rex has a newfound fear of bats. i have no idea where it came from! he started saying there was a bat in his room and he doesn't like to go in there if it's dark. today, at nap, he woke up screaming (after only an hour - he usually sleeps 2 1/2 hours!). i went in and he told me he was dreaming that his seahorse (the light up lullaby one that he sleeps with) turned into a bat. i think it's a little funny, but i don't like that he's waking up because of it!!!

friday: the kids didn't have school, but we went in so i could go to their teacher conferences. they had fun playing in the playroom with some of their friends.

still snowing :( 

rex wore malloy's pjs to bed

bedtime cuddles

saturday: we went to the gym in the morning and the kids played with safina and emery. then we hung out the rest of the day at home with daddy! 

today, we had a nice relaxing day at home. malloy never got out of her pjs! malloy made a necklace or two with her beads, rex played with his guys, they played together in the kitchen for a bit, we painted some easter eggs. 

rex's imagination is amazing and his language is finally catching up! it amazes me how long he sits and plays with 2 of his guys, one in each hand, and makes up a whole storyline for them! 

this afternoon he was taking neal on adventures. he'd say "come on, we're going to the museum" and run into a different room and say "wow, look at the skeleteons" each time they went somewhere, they'd have to run away because the monsters were coming.  he took neal to the museum, to sky zone, to a rocket ship, and a few other places. it was very entertaining to watch.

helping make bread

painting easter eggs

we had an exciting day of going to the gym, returning bottles, and shopping at wegmans. rex loved putting all the beer bottles into the machine. he took his job seriously! malloy got to go in wkids and play. the girls always ask if rex is coming in, too. i always tell them, no, he's not 3 yet. we dropped malloy off and then returned some more bottles at the service desk. when we were done, we walked past wkids again and rex was saying "i'm 3" holding out 3 fingers. it was so funny! he was trying to convince himself and everyone else that he was ready for wkids, too!
no naps again for the kids. tomorrow will be a nap day for sure!!! they were pretty good but just get so tired that they're constantly at each other and seeing how many of my buttons they can push! yikes!

Annoying

On our way to visit grandma and grandpa's, Malloy was making all different noises and asking "h that sound annoy you, dad?" a few minutes later, Rex makes a noise and asks "does this kind noise you, dad?"

wow! it's been a week since the last post! we've been busy! 

last wednesday, 3/13, rex didn't have an accident at school. in anticipation for good news, i bought these swirly pops as a reward for not pooping in his underwear. yes, i was that excited that he didn't have an accident! (fyi -  i know this is a ridiculous treat. the lollipop got thrown away without a dent even made in it!) when rex saw it, he started jumping up and down and he said "that's the best treat i've ever seen!" 

waiting for malloy to get out of class

malloy got a swirly pop, too. she's been very patient and understanding during rex's accidents and the consequences (no tv) 

rex also got a toy for filling up his potty chart. malloy got to pick one , too. 

playing blocks

peek-a-boo! 

thursday 3/14

we went to the dr. in the morning because rex has pink-eye. we got an antibiotic and were on our way! i'm pretty sure it's from the poop incident at naptime a few days ago! we stopped at wegmans to pick up the prescription. rex got a donut and chocolate milk and malloy got a cheese pizza bialy and strawberry milk - i was so impressed with how quickly they got ready to go to the dr. 

when we got home, it was time to administer the first round of eye drops. i showed rex how i was going to put the drops in on malloy's bear. when it was his turn, he laid right down and shut his eyes so i could put the drops in the corner of his eye and then he opens them to let the medicine in. he did amazing! i was so proud of him!!

using malloy's headphones

superhero rex

helping dad take apart a computer. or as rex calls it, a "pacutor" 

friday 3/15

malloy went to school and enjoyed the st. patrick's day festivites while rex stayed home with me. we stopped at tops, rented wreck-it ralph and got some donuts. we had a little movie morning (slash disinfecting the entire house!).
the kids napped, and then we were on our way to visit grandpa gary and grandma tappy. we went home to celebrate grandpa gary's 60th birthday! the drive down was uneventful - the kids were great! they stayed up way too late!! rex went to bed at 10:45 and malloy finally fell asleep at 11:30!!

saturday 3/16

the kids were up at 6:30am despite going to bed so late! they were pretty cranky all morning long!!! they napped and then went to uncle ryan and kari's for a birthday party for grandpa gary! the kids were super excited to play with bella! bella had a friend over, neveah. she was the sweetest little girl and was running around holding rex's hand, dragging him everywhere. malloy was a bit shy at first but warmed up within a few minutes! they were playing karaoke and chasing each other all over the house.

sunday 3/17

happy st. patrick's day! grandpa gary made the kids a fun breakfast - animal pancakes! we packed up and said good-bye to grandma tappy and grandpa gary and headed over to grandma val and grandpa don's! the leprechauns had come and left green coins hidden everywhere, green milk, and shamrock cookies! the kids got to play for a bit and then we had to hit the road to get back to buffalo!
there was a bit of crying but both kids slept for a bit on the way home. when we got home, the leprechauns had gotten in our house, too! they played a bunch of tricks and left some candy gold. neal ran out and got the kids a shamrock shake to celebrate st. paddy's day!
they were happy to be home and went right to sleep in their own beds!

searching for coins

sour candy

the leprechauns were bowling in the kitchen! 

green footprints and pee

piling stuffed animals

monday 3/18

rex has been accident free for 4 days now!! yahoo!!! 

modeling his mohawk

tuesday 3/19 

nothing too exciting! we went to the gym and wegmans. 

today - 3/20

we picked our friend, ben, up for school today. he's got newborn twin sisters, so i figured we could help out a little and pick ben up and drop him off on our way to school! malloy and rex were so excited about this! we had to play some simon says to keep the kids busy since we got there a tad early. they were having a blast, though! 

the kids didn't nap today but played nicely together so i could have a tad of quiet time, too! 

they were pretty much a blur waiting to go into their classes this morning! 

at bedtime, i put this hat on rex as a joke. auntie elaine's mom made it for malloy when she was born. rex kept it on and did NOT want to take it off! it was hilarious!!! he finally took it off when it was time to go to sleep.

never a dull moment!

yesterday afternoon, i went upstairs to go to the bathroom. not even a minute later, i hear malloy yell "mom! rex has green stuff and he's getting it all over! it's paint!" i come downstairs and find food coloring all over the floor, all over the playmat, and all over rex. he's FAST!!! he did help me wipe it up, at least! while i was throwing the wipes away, i caught a glimpse of rex out of the corner of my eye. he was in the hallway wiping his green hands frantically all over his body - mimicking a washing motion on his head, face, arms, belly, legs. it was like he was trying to make all of him green as fast as possible before i could wash any more of him!!! made me laugh - you can only wonder what was going on in his head! my theory: he was turning himself into hulk. 

food coloring feet

green! 

blurry but i love this shot. he's so tired (no nap) that his eye is turning in!  

chocolate milk 'stache

the princess joined us for dinner

waiting for daddy to take her to bed

"i don't like their ages"

yesterday we had a fun (and somewhat chaotic) playdate at our house. since st. patrick's day is this weekend, we did a leprechaun craft and frosted shamrock cookies! there were some younger boys at our house - under 2 years old - and rex was calling them babies and freaking out that they were playing with his toys. i pulled him aside and told him that when we have a playdate, kids of all different ages come over and  it's ok that friends are playing with our toys because we're sharing. later he came over and was brooding behind me. when i asked him what was going on, he scowled and pointed to the younger boys and said "i don't like their ages." i tried really hard not to laugh!

malloy and gianna played so nicely together!! they were playing pretty pretty princess, taking turns, following the rules - when did they grow up?! 

i had a girl's weekend away this weekend so the kids were home with neal. they played outside, went to dinner and out for ice cream with uncle ryan on saturday. sunday, they went for a walk and played outside. it was a nice break but nice to come back and get some squeezes!

rex pooped his pants pretty early on this morning. it was only a tiny bit, but poop's poop, so we had no tv for the rest of the day. malloy had school, so rex and i went to the gym and then to the store before we got malloy. the kids both took naps. rex slept for quite a while. when i went in to get him he was laying there and said "i peed" and pulled down his covers. he was naked from the waist down and there was poop smeared on the side of his sheets with a teeny turd in the bed. his room smelled like poop and i couldn't find his pants and pull-up anywhere. i finally found them behind the door with the pull-up fill of poop. so he must have pooped before nap and decided he didn't want to sleep in his poop, took off his pants and pull-up and passed out. there's certainly never a dull moment with him!!!

after dinner, we played outside because it was still pretty warm out. the kids are loving the little bit of warmth  we're having!!!

rex pooped in his underwear at the gym today therefore there was no tv today. after i pulled my act together (it's REALLY frustrating that he's doing this - i know he's only 2, but still!), i made him a sticker chart. if he fills up all 20 stickers, he gets a toy. he did amazing the rest of the day! no other accidents! the potty chart must have been super exciting - rex didn't nap at all.
malloy was great and went along with the no tv for today rule. she did have a little meltdown when we got back from the gym. i was getting in the shower and she was crying about something. i ignored it, but she cried the entire time i was in the shower. i came down and she was crying because she wanted her shirt off. drama queen! she got over it after a while.
we took an afternoon trip to target and then came home for dinner and bed for rex. malloy got to stay up and hang out with us for a bit because she napped. she was thrilled to have some time alone with us!

rex was getting his pjs on last night . i left his shirt on his head and  he said "i look like captain america!" 

playing games

"fishing" with celery, peanut butter, and goldfish

modeling her dress that grandma val made!