legoland family vacation

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Happy Birthday Mommy

Dave, Drew and grandpa sing Happy Birthday to me!!! Classic Drew...telling everyone else to "stop, stop, stop" singing so HE can be heard. And, of course, big bro HAS to dig right into the cake by plucking out the candles to lick them!!!

Gotta Love Ice Cream and Homeless Charlie

We had a special ice cream treat at the Ghiradelli Store on Cannery Row in Monterey. Here's the little guy 'la la la'ing' it down the street as he finishes his cookies and cream cone...what can be better than a special ice cream treat?

You also HAVE to love Dave asking daddy if, "the old guy is his friend?" There's an old guy strumming and singing away on a park bench up ahead...

Just Like Mama?

You know when they're quiet...they're up to no good!

Drew found my facial moisturizer and was lathering it up like a pro when I caught him on camera. Oops...hi mom!

Gone Fishin'

We joined Gramma and Granpa A on a camping trip and the boys fished their hearts away! Dave was SO excited to catch his first fish (after the first 10 minutes...at least 2 feet long!!!) - and it was the ONLY fish caught that day by anyone - definitely beginner's luck! And, Drew was super happy to have his very own Spiderman fishing pole. The boys donned fishin' caps, hooked worms, and reeled away. They can't wait to go fishin' again!

Busy Bees

Over Spring Break, we took the boys to the Stockton Children's Museum for indoor rainy day fun! The boys had an absolute blast playing in the fire engine, helicopter, ambulance, police car and motorcycle, tractors, bank, shopping center, news 10 set, grocery store, water ways, magnet walls, and more! Dave must have spent at least an hour on the fire engine alone! They both KONKED out on the way home...Drew didn't even make it to the freeway.

See Vince...Stockton is Great...Take a Look! :) lol!

Snake Scarf

Nature's Critters visited Dave's preschool class a couple weeks ago and Drew was invited to join in on seeing a tortoise, lizard, legless lizard, a couple snakes, and a gecko. Drew was FEARLESS and chose to touch ALL the critters...he even wanted to wear this snake around his neck!!! Not even his brother wanted to do that! Oh boy...the adventures of having 2 BOYS!

Drew Flies a Kite

For Easter, the boys received kites from Grandpa. They couldn't wait to try them out...it wasn't too windy on Easter, so they used a LOT of RUNNING power to get their kites up!!! :) Of course, Drew has Elmo and Dave has a Transformers kite.

No worries...grandpa stopped Drew before he ran into the corner. Thankfully there wasn't much car traffic on our street! And Dave, he just ran out of gas and decided to plop down...nice sound effects Dad!

Hit a Cow???

For his birthday, Vince asked for a Wii..."Lou, to play with the boys, of course!" I have to admit, it has been rather entertaining to watch them playing sports or driving on Mario Cart.

I got a new camera for Christmas, and finally tried it out for the first time last week - including this new video feature. Sorry for the "shaky ride" - but, the video was precious...Dave and Grandpa playing Mario Cart...Grandpa hit a COW!!! How do you hit a cow?? It was pretty funny! I think this is the first video game grandpa has played since Lar and I were kids!

It's ON!!!

OK! The Ito vs. Ito vs. Ito Garden Competition is ON!

I understand Kimmy built her raised beds, dad has his seedlings planted and GROWING, and our spring/summer fruits and veggies are in their beds and GROWING!

Though, those pesky squirrels have been sighted digging (looking for buried acorns! EEK!) and trying to pull the weed blocker cover over the strawberries (trying to save them ??) in our beds. Here's to great crops!

By the way, the only true winter garden crop was the sugar snap peas. Broccoli flowered before we were able to pick them (oops), brussel sprouts were too small and started to flower, kale never made it...but, we continue to pick hand-fulls of sugar snap peas every other day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Stupid Cupid

The boys love sticking seasonal gummy pictures on the sliding glass door!!! Thankfully, it has NOT given them the idea to stick stickers on the walls!!! I usually arrange them nicely...then, they have a free-for-all!

Dave wanted to know what the little "guys" were called. I told him, "Oh, Dave, those are cupids! They have love for Valentine's Day!" He thought about it for a minute...then said, "Stupid Cupid...HEY, THAT RHYMES!" Vince would be so proud...as that's what he calls cupids...and I KNOW Dave has never even heard him say this before...oh well, at least he's got rhyming down...

Peek-A-Boo Grandpa!!!

Drew is enamored with playing Peek-A-Boo behind chairs, bags, books, his hands, stuffed animals...

So, while grandpa was trying to eat lunch, Drew turned his chair around and CRACKED UP that he could sneaky peek a grandpa! Of course, Dave HAD to get in on the action! Peek-A-Boo Grandpa!

Welcome to Robotland!

What to do on a rainy day? Make ROBOTS!!! The boys had a blast wrapping empty cereal and oatmeal containers, attaching arms, legs, and antennae, and then adding various eyes, noses, mouths, buttons...

Dave named his "Songo Sada" and Drew was determined that his was to be called, "M M." Geez...could it possibly be named after his sweet tooth candy?? The Robots were carried throughout the ENTIRE house during the day, at meals, and Dave even asked if the robots could watch them take baths! Drew's MM has undergone multiple surgeries due to broken appendages, but, 2 weeks later, it's still in one piece! :)

This is a look of concentration!!!

and, a happy look of SUCCESS!!!

The little boy is interested in potty-training! He's had at least one success each day this week! Not bad for a 22 month-old boy...then again, he aspires to be a BIG boy...just like brother! Go Drew!!!

Got Meat?

Grandpa, can you please come over and barbecue MEAT for us??

OK, so I guess this was a good hint to make more dinners with straight unadulterated meat for my lil' carnivores...it's almost reminiscent of Larry's grade school writing, "I love mommy, I love daddy, I love Lou, but most of all, I LOVE MEAT!"

The boys JUMP to put on their hoodies, brave the chilly winter air, sit on their lawn chairs FAR from the HOT barbecue, and watch grandpa work his grill magic!

Future Garage Band

The Things I Get To Look Forward To...

World Fishing Network, and now, my future Arias Rock Star Band!

The guys had a blast rocking out with Guitar Hero...Dave on the drums, Vince on guitar, and Drewby on mic. I really don't know WHO had the MOST fun???!! They even made it through one song without getting booed off the stage.

Hmmm...sure looked like fun...wonder what I can play... :)

WFN, Seriously???

Yes, this is a shot of the TV screen...of...the World Fishing Network. Somehow, one weekend, Vince flipped to this channel (could it be just because it came in hi-def??) and Dave was INSTANTLY intrigued...and the guys weren't even successful in catching anything! Some kids adore Spiderman, the Transformers, Disney channel...Dave has found HIS channel...WFN! If I need a bit of time to get dinner started or jump in the shower, this is THE show I know will capture his attention and KEEP it! Go figure!

Family Photo From Christmas 2008

The Rooster LOVES Snowman Friend!

Who knew one stuffed, singing snowman could bring THIS MUCH glee to a little boy?? Drew adored his eye-level friend, clapped as he sang, gave him hugs and kisses, declared that the snowman bit his fingers, and pulled him all over the house!

I'll have to upload pictures of his new best friend from Gramma and Granpa A...ELMO!

Mondays with Grandpa

Drew loves Mondays...Dave goes to preschool, Mom goes to volunteer in Dave's class, run errands, and head to the gym, and Drew gets Grandpa ALL to himself! They read TONS of books together, cook in Drew's kitchen, vroom cars, eat lots of snacks, and other secrets I'm sure they're not ready to divulge! Here, grandpa was making a trellis for my sugar snap peas...Drew knew he was outside, so he found a stepstool, brought it to the window, and sneaky-peeked! :)

Yes! My sugar snap peas started producing before dad's! Ito Garden Competition 2009 continues!!!

Gingerbread House Making 101A

Dave was VERY excited to help mom create his first real gingerbread house. I put on the frosting, and he did the candy! He had SUCH concentration putting each piece of candy on...and LICKING his fingers with EACH piece! Little brother wanted to get into the action SO badly...he was scaling the counter to get at the house. Unfortunately, Dad had to take him for naptime so our project could get finished! Sorry Drewby! Maybe next year!

Dave made his very own graham cracker house after we finished this one. And, about 10 seconds after he finished decorating it, a "wrecking ball" knocked it down. (At least, that's Dave's story!) So, he had to eat ALL the frosting!

On New Year's, as we were taking down all the Christmas decorations around the house, the gingerbread house came down. Dave nibbled on a few candies and icing, and threw the rest away. I think he went in search of a tangerine instead. Drew, on the other hand, found a wall (or maybe it was part of the roof?), and ate the ENTIRE thing! Actually, he tried to finish it in one day. It finally became time to brush teeth, and he was REALLY upset about having to put the roof down. Finally, Vince had to convince him to put it in a baggie and put it on his dresser, and that he could have it when he got up the next morning. Of course the sugar fiend remembered it as soon as he awoke!

Happy New Year!

The creepy crud bug has finally left our house...except for the lingering cough. November and December did not have many updates due to a "lack of quiet time" around our house. I look forward to being more diligent about keeping up with the blog this year...as long as kid #2 can nap solo for more than 30 minutes! :)

First, an update of some December highlights...