French Anyone??

Kylie has recently really gotten into "Fancy Nancy." Those of you with little girls probably know what I am talking about. In any case, I am in need of some help. Here is the conversation this evening when Chris was reading to Kylie before bed.

"Dad, Jewel is the dog's name and its french for butterflies."

"Wow, Kylie, nice job."

"Dad, how do we say kiss in french?"

"I am not sure Kylie."

Dad, how do we say toot in french?"

The conversation stopped there. Anyone with answers, please advise.

Santa... he's friends with my friend Joe!

Here are some pictures of our visit to Santa. Kylie was a geared up to see Santa at Joe's. (Joe is our realtor who sold us our house in Hawthorn Woods. Kylie likes Joe now since he is friends with Santa and even had to bring Joe cookies since he invited us-- yes, Kylie's idea).

In any case, here are three pics below. We did not forget about Anika... She was fussy the entire time we were there and would not look at the camera when Chris was holding her. Shay was a little freaked as you can see by the picture, but managed to not cry-- probably because she still had food on her tray. And for those of you complaining that I am in no photos--- here you go. I look goofy since I could not kneel down (it was 2 weeks post surgery), but I am actually photographed, so yes, these children have a mom. HA!

Santa, He brought everything I wanted-- even the chapstick!

Here are some pictures of the kids on Christmas morning/day.

Apparently Kylie was a good kid because she got her coveted Dora Snow Princess.

Kylie, Pegasus, and Snow Princess playing shortly after opening.

Anika/Shay playing on Christmas morning. (Kylie opened all their gifts, so no pictures of the wee ones opening presents- sorry!)

Kylie in her new chef outfit, ready to help Chris make the Ham and dessert!



After dinner and sporting our new Dora Snow Princess PJ's.... And not to mention the wonderful Dora coloring poster too she is holding. Do you see a theme yet?

And Anika starting early.... We do anything to keep them happy somedays!

Ahhh...

No excuses besides.....
The kids have been sick-- they just keep sharing it-- colds, coughs... I think its been three weeks by my count.
Then Amanda had the knee fixed and that has been SOOOO much fun for everyone- Not. Chris has pulled double duty as he had to do everything since I was unable to walk, carry a kid, bathe the kids, etc.. it was a mess..
Then the kids passed their lovely cold and cough to us, and we ended up getting it 2x as bad. So much so, that Chris and I both lost our voices. The kids thought it was great. The timing sucked since we were scheduled to head to IA over Thanksgiving weekend, but we were all miserably sick and stayed put... good thing, cause not sure any of the Donovan family really wants this...

SO..... excuses yes, but I we are trying to play catch up and this is about as good as it will get until we get things back on track, well, attempt I should say.

The Crew-- all caged up!

Need I say more?

In case you cannot tell the little girls apart-- Left to right---
Shay, Chris, Anika, and Kylie

9 months and counting

Here are the latest couple of photos-- Anika and Shay are now 9 months old and Kylie is a "crazed" 3 year old. We still have our "moments" but all in all, they are good kids, but we are biased!

Kylie in the leaves (don't worry we picked up the dog crap)

Anika stealing Kylie's rake

Shay attempting to eat the leaves

Kylie raking the leaves

Kylie diving in the leaves

Kylie getting rained on...

Local Adopted Grandma

I never thought moving into this neighborhood 3+ years ago we'd be so lucky to have such great neighbors.... really. Its almost like a dream.

Lee is our local adopted grandma. She rocks. This woman is amazing. I am not sure how else to describe her. The woman used to come twice a week to feed the twins their bottles- in rain, sleet, snow, anything, she'd be here and the twins LOVE her. Now, she comes twice a week to feed them the "big" time stuff- baby food. She has even come to sit with the kids while I run the sitter home, I mean, she is awesome.

Today she was feeling rather ambitious-- she came to the doctor with me.... two screaming little girls in the office for an hour plus and she was a trooper. Calm and collected, Lee kept the girls happy inbetween the doctor poking them and the nurse giving them shots.

Just wanted to let you all know, this woman is really amazing. You could only be so lucky to have a neighbor like her!! THANKS A MILLION LEE!!

Below are some pictures of Lee with the girls a couple months ago... mental note-- need to update these pictures of the girls with you Lee!

Kylie, Kylie, Kylie...

Sorry its been so long, but somehow or another we got busy!

Here is a short story from today. I was picking up Kylie at school and she was telling me about her best friend.
"Sydney would not tell what she was thankful for today."
" Why not, Kylie?"
" I think she is shy mom but she is really nice."
"what are you thankful for Kylie?"

"PUMPKIN PIE!!!"

Enough said!

Halloween

Halloween 2008---
The warmest Halloween that we can remember. Kylie loved it... too bad so many people were not home. It was actually pretty depressing seeing that over half the houses we stopped at were not home. In fact, we had NO trick-or-treaters! Can you believe it!
Chris' office will have plenty of candy for awhile.

Heading out trick-or-treating--- no coats, but yet a month ago when we went with her school to get pumpkins, we had hats on- go figure! (and yes, Anika and Shay were not in their costumes- they wore them once and we were doing everything we could to keep them happy!)


Kylie in her school halloween parade.


Shay hating her costume-- this was a couple weeks ago at the Fall Festival at school. (she's a cat thanks for a friend for passing on the costume)

Anika in the dog costume (again, thanks for a friend for passing it on!)

That's all on our front. Time is limited and I didn't want any crap for not putting up the pics!!

The weekend of his life!

Poor Odin... the dog used to be the "only one." But as time passed, three little loud talking humans came into his life. He not only does not get the attention he once received, but he is constantly chased, runover, hair pulled and growled at (by Anika).

To the point, Odin had the weekend of his life. Chris' buddies- The Fords-- came to visit. Not only did the come to pay attention to the "humans" but also gave Odin much attention- enough for Odin to sleep for the next two days straight. Ford took to Odin. The hound got more attention and treats with Ford here. I think Odin would have loved to go home with them--- until he reached their house and realized, wait, they have FOUR humans who would chase, runover, and pull his hair..... :)

Now if you can see closely, Odin has a gross disgusting bone in his mouth that the Fords gave him--- Chris (Ford) choose to put that thing in his mouth when he was rough housing with Odin... I know-- gross!

It was great to see you guys and hopefully we'll make it up north SOMEDAY.... Not sure how we can leave Odin here after this weekend he had with you Chris.. he needs someone who will share bones with him and more importantly, share the bed. :)

Another week goes by and we wonder what happened??

Where do we start with this funny farm??

There was a news flash for Amanda-- You are not 20 anymore. I seemed to do a number to my knee, although I do not really want to admit to it. However, the doc said it might not have been due to running, but constantly getting up and down with the kids. For those of you doctors out there, I supposedly have a partial tear to the medial meniscus. I am starting with physical therapy and trying to aviod the "other" fix. So, yeah, I guess I need to act my age.

Chris-- He's still thinking its summer and wears shorts to work as often as possible. He thinks he can make it till November. I don't think so, but now Kylie thinks she can do the same. How am I supposed to say no when her Dad comes out wearing them?

Kylie-- she has a fancy new carseat and VERY proud of it. Don't faint all of your, its PINK. She LOVES it and thinks she is sooooo cool now. We'll see how long that lasts. She also was very proud when she made dinner for the family the other night. Yes, it was edible. Sunday she went to the Fall fest they had at her preschool's church. She got to play games, walk in a parade, see a firetruck, and go "trunk or treating."

Shay (on the right)-- Loves her blankets and snuggling up with them, saying DADA all the time (ALL THE TIME), singing, blowing raspberries, NOT wearing her Halloween costume, chasing the cat, laughing at Kylie (althought I think she secretly laughs at Anika when she gets into trouble, and that is a lot recently), and stealing toys from her sister, Anika. Lastly and the most important update on Shay, according to Kylie, is DORA-- Shay LOVES DORA. Shay gets all excited, stops what she is doing, even eating, to watch Dora. Backpack and Map are Shay's current favorite characters.
Anika (on your left)-- loves to do everything she should not do! Chasing the cat and dog, pulling herself up in her crib and using the bumpers as a way to get higher and escape her crib (she has not done this, but you can tell its on her agenda), stealing toys from Shay and Kylie, screaming at 4 AM, growling, the tripod stance ontop of any toy or person, hanging upside down and just being Anika.

A Halloween Story

I am sure you all have seen a Christmas story--- and the famous scene of when the mom makes Ralphie put on the bunny costume. Well, today I think Shay had that same face-- "Do I have to wear this?"

Kylie and the twins at their best!

This one was too good to not share.... Atleast in our opinion.. it should make you laugh.

Have a good start to the week...

Punky Brewster

I am not sure where this new stage came from, but now Kylie has to accessorize her outfits. For the past three days, she has to put EVERY single bow, barrette, headband, and bracelet on. Today, she had to wear her striped tights under her shorts. The girl has gone crazy! I am blaming school, cause lord knows, she doesn't get it from her mom or dad! HA!! Check out the photo below. This does not do justice to the outfit, but it gives you a glimpse of her new fashion. (And for those of you who grew up in the 80s, it certainly reminds me of Punky Brewster-- esp. you Bey! I think it was your 4th grade costume or something!)

This photo was Wednesday's attire... (and yes, that is a DORA shirt)

This photo is Thursday's attire... This is before we got the hair stuff out, so its a little "dressed down" for the part.

5 Year Old's First Job

I received this email from a good friend today and made me laugh out loud. Maybe it's because we spend so much time at Home Depot or doing home improvement projects, but this was just so good. Hope you can enjoy it as much as I did..... I promise to update the site with more "Donovan" doings. (The camera battery is dead and my photo taking has been put on hold-- atleast that is my excuse I am using.)

A 5 year old's first job...
Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little 5-year-old girl and some construction workers that will make you believe that we all can make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house, next to a vacant lot. One day, a construction crew began to build a house on the empty lot. The young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in the goings-on and spent much of each day observing the workers.

Eventually the construction crew, all of them 'gems-in-the-rough,' more or less, adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her during coffee and lunch breaks and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her feel important.

At the end of the first week, they even presented her with a pay envelope containing ten dollars. The little girl took this home to her mother who suggested that she take her ten dollars 'pay' she'd received to the bank the next day to start a savings account.

When the girl and her mom got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own pay check at such a young age. The little girl proudly replied, 'I worked last week with a real construction crew building the new house next door to us.'

'Oh my goodness gracious,' said the teller, 'and will you be working on the house again this week, too?' The little girl replied, 'I will, if those assholes at Home Depot ever deliver the fuckin' sheet rock.'

Kind of brings a tear to the eye - doesn't it?

The corral, cage, jail..

Some requests for pictures of the corral... here it is. This was about two weeks ago (maybe) and now the pillows are stacked one pillow higher (3 total) to keep the rugrats from escaping. We are in the process of trying to find another section of the corral. (originally bought it a garage sale for 10 bucks.. looking on ebay to add on to the sections, been outbid twice for 75 bucks.... DAMN!)

Oh boy... are we in trouble now??

Anika has not only been the first one to crawl, but now add to the list, stand up. She has managed to pull herself onto anything she can and try to jump to where she needs to be.

It started this AM when she crawled over to Chris on the floor and crawled up to his lap and them proceeded to stand up. Then this afternoon she pulled herself up on the stacked pillows we have to block her from escaping on the hardwood floors. She got herself standing and then tried to jump up to get herself complelely on the pillows.... she didn't managed to master that today.

It won't be long till that girl is running circles around the house like Kylie used to do... We hope it wears her out just as much as it did Kylie at that age.

And not to leave Shay out, she is on the beginning stages of army crawl. She gets to where she needs to get and/or big sister Kylie will give her a toy to make her happy.

Other than that, these twins are eating out of the house. These girls keep Chris and I (and Kylie is she "feels" like it) busy making their food. Its amazing how much they are chowing!!

Oh Odin... poor Odin...

I thought we'd honor Odin this time around. I have gotten this email sent to me twice and figured we share it. Odin has had some adjustments since the twins came, but seems to be managing okay. He's got a pretty good thing going here for a four legged massive hair loaded creature.

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell
from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.



An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.' The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 3 children, 3 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

Dora Update

Just in case all of you wanted to know... the DORA nightgown given to Kylie by a friend of mine, its been worn almost everyday since it was received... so we are looking at, about 8 times in the last 10 days.

In fact, last night we were in tears because Kylie thought it was dirty and she was not going to be able to wear it.... oh man.... but luckily, it was clean and available for wearing. Otherwise, I am not sure if we would have made it last night. It would have been a total disaster--- almost as big as this financial mess the economy is in.

So, ease your minds and know that Kylie has her Dora gown is clean and waiting for her to wear it tonight.

Thanks for worrying about our Dora drama, we appreciate it... Buenos Noches friends!

What were we thinking?

What's better than having three crabby rotten stuffy nosed kids?? Invite a friend over with the same aged kids that have three snotty kids! (I do not mean snotty as a personality trait, I mean mucus, for those of you who are smart asses). Oddly enough, these kids (boys)-- 3 year old and almost 1 year old twin boys...

The "boy crew" came by this evening for a dinner and met all their future girlfriends (kidding). Yeah, not sure it was a smart idea or not-- three girls and three boys, all with runny noses and all running/crawling around like crazy. Wait, I take that back, Anika just whined and cried. The poor child did not want to nap more than 40 minutes today. Shay thought the boys were funny and managed to giggle at them. And Kylie... she was in her element-- being goofy and doing anything but eating her dinner. The boys were all good eaters and very well behaved. I am not sure how she does it!

7:15- Kylie did finally finish her dinner. a whooping 2 hours later.....
8:30-- all is quiet here-- finally.... Let's just hope they can ALL sleep through the night-- PLEASE!

Until tomorrows challenge....

Yes, once again...

The kids are "sick" once again. We've got the cold, runny nose and just all around crankiness. It is a great time here at the Donovan house and its only 6 AM. We managed only to be awakened last night twice by kids with full noses and couldn't sleep. We can only hope they'll take great naps today, but with their track records, I am not counting on it.

We managed to stay healthy for almost two weeks. I am sure it will only get worse!! Am looking for ideas to help keep these kids entertained--- any ideas would be fabulous. There is only so much TV I can handle before I get a headache from mindless stuff.

With us luck and a fast recovery. I am already tired of this crap and its September.... and they say kids get 5-7 colds a winter. We can knock off two already!!! HAHAHA!

Dora, Dora, Dora

Oh lord are we sick of Dora in this house--- I guess I should say, Chris and Amanda are sick of Dora. Kylie and Shay would be lost without Dora. (Anika doesn't seem to care because lone behold she stops for one minute to do anything).




We recently retired a wonderful Dora pajama set. Kylie called it her "Dancing Dora" pjs. A dear friend gave those to us when she came by to help me with the twins. This must have happened in March. These wonderful "Dancing Dora" pj's were about two sizes too small come September and not to mention, the weather is colder and there is no longer need to wear shorts and short sleeves to bed (well, the majority of the time in Sept.). Now mind you, these pjs fit in March perfectly. This child has grown like a weed these past 5 months and when she tried to squeeze into these wonderful pj's it looked like it hurt. Chris and I were to excited to finally "retire" these pajamas without any fight from Kylie (she constantly thinks they are dirty and we are just so far behind on laundry, that it will take awhile).



Then another dear friend (Katie) came by with her son(Charlie) and miraculously knew it was Kylie's 3rd birthday in August and that she LOVED Dora.. (And BTW Katie, totally unnecessary on the gift).. Anyhow, Kylie opens her gift and its a DORA nightgown and a DORA Halloween book. And she LOVES it!!!! Just when Chris and I thought we were ahead of the game, then comes along another curve ball! But, like we say, its all about the kids and keeping them happy. Sometimes you just have to let them win.... Check out the lovely picture below...

And Santa's list, you guessed it... so far its ever DORA item you can find. Kylie says, "mom/dad I want that. I know, who do I have to ask? Santa, I know."

For those of you die-hard DORA fans, she has a new dance party album available on Itunes-- check it out. It will only make you lose brain cells after the first couple songs.. "Oh MAN!"

Oh the life..... Wait, what life?

So, I admit, its been awhile since we wrote.... but really, there has been nothing earth shattering to tell the world. I do have photos to share, but that would require energy and patience, which are two things that we (Chris and I) just don't have. Big surprise, I know!

Here is the rundown--
Kylie loves to go to school-- this week was letter B. She tells me the most random things from school, none of which I can really remember at this point. But the line she uses EVERYTIME she gets in the car, "Mom, I just want to go home and get my pink pillow and green blanket and take a little rest on the couch and watch a show." So, every Tuesday and Thursday, that is what she does for 30-45 minutes after she gets home from school. Its fine with me, I can get lunch ready then!
Anika and Shay-- been working pretty hard on getting these two buggers on a "regular" (HAHAH) nap schedule. I'll let you know when it really comes into place-- you'll probably hear Chris, Kylie and I all cheer that they are finally NAPPING!!! YEAH!!!

Anika still is the mover-- army crawls to anywhere she can go. We do have the corral up and I will post pictures of that when I get a chance (like next year). Shay is rolling and getting into the crawling position more often now. I would imagine she'll be on the move here in the next two weeks. (God help us!)

Chris managed to get all but one of the cabinets hung this weekend (we added more cabinets to the kitchen). I helped--- well, when the opportunity arose and he actually wanted help-- men... :) Love ya Chris! Kylie thinks the new cabinets "look AWESOME" and now her toys have a new home- thankfully!

That's it on our front.... we'll keep you updated with our ever so exciting life!!
Oh, I can't believe I forgot, Chris and I did get out without the kids on Saturday night... we actually ate a "hot" dinner without interruptions. We had forgotten what that was like!

And can't we all relate?

A friend of mine sent me this and I just could not resist..... isn't this the truth anytime you need to be somewhere fast!! (please for give me on the profanity-- but doesn't everyone think this when you are stuck in traffic especially with screaming kids?)

7 months... where did it go?

Where did 7 months go? Well..... I am not sure nor does my better half. We could start with the not sleeping through the night for MANY months and still have issues with the "party girl" otherwise known as Anika. Although, Shay was the problem child last night.... funny how they do that.

The girls are 7 months old and time as flown now that we look back at it. There were many days when we wondered if we would make it to the next day, but somehow we just plugged along and did it. It certainly helps that big sister Kylie is a HUGE help-- seriously. She is so helpful that she has no idea... But SANTA does.

This past weekend we had a party for all those who have helped us make it through. We couldn't have done it without you and thanks a million for all the help you have offered-- even if it was just listening to the kids sleep while I take a sitter home, feeding a kid (or two), or picking up milk at the store-- every little bit has helped!

Just wanted to post a recent picture of the girls--- Anika is on the left, Shay on the right.



More to come--- I hope the video came out, but its Kylie cleaning out the cooler of which was all beer. I thought it was rather humorous, but we'll see!

Have a great weekend!

Look what I learned at school today mom!

** Disclaimer: We full well know that Kylie is learning a lot at Preschool-- believe me, she tells us EVERYTHING-- from the shirt the teacher was wearing that she did not like to the girl and boy ducks that were not being shared- we hear a pretty good amount here... but this one was great.




Tuesday afternoon, I was feeding the twins in their chairs and Kylie was in her chair eating her dinner at the counter. The twins were not cooperating, probably cause they were eating vegetables and not fruits (I can't blame them) and Kylie was trying to help get them to open their mouths so I could shove the spoon in there- nice, I know. Anyhow, back to the story... Kylie turns to them and says, "Look what my teachers taught me today at school!" I couldn't resist, so here it is.... What we learned at preschool on Tuesday!

And for those of you counting--- the DORA shirt--- it gets worn 3-4 times a week--- and yes, I do do laundry more often so I do not have to deal with that battle on a constant basis. I think DORA might have to leave on a long vacation soon.... you might hear the screams coming from this area soon!

Pedaling is hard Daddy!

I couldn't resist--- Kylie is riding her new trike, but had to take a break with her dad half way... Aren't they cute-- although I guess I am a bit bias... oh well!

We are on the MOVE!

Yes, you read correctly. This house just became more active. Anika is now our army crawler. She can move across the floor in no time flat is there is something there she wants-- like all of Kylie's toys or Odin. We have now barricaded the carpet area with the big pillows to confine her for a bit, but once she has figured out how to crawl over the pillows, she'll be put in the "corral." I am sure we'll have plenty of pictures of Anika in the corral (or jail, depending on the day)soon enough.

Not to leave Shay out, but she can roll across the floor and find her way to where she needs to go, but not at the army crawl stage. I am sure soon enough, we'll have two movers.... and then our lives will be a whole lot more complicated!



That is the newest news from our abode... Hope you are now laughing at us---- how can you not?

And here is a more recent photo of the entire crew-- Odin included, although he is hiding....

Black and White

Many questions have come up about these twins and to set the record straight-- no they are not identical and actually are quite different in all areas-- Here are a few.

Anika- loves her mimi (pacifier) and can't sleep without it
Shay- loves her thumb and could care less about the pacifier

Anika- eats only when she wants to-- well sometimes force fed

Shay- could eat anytime any place

Anika-- sleep-- are you kidding! She is our party animal

Shay- needs her sleep-- we never miss her naptime!

Anika- loves the saucer
Shay- loves the walker

Anika- Doesn't like to stop-- because that would mean she'd have to sleep or eat

Shay-- is fairly laid back and happy unless she has missed her nap

Anika- 1/2 taller than Shay

Shay- 2 lbs heavier than Anika

Anika- Sleeps on her stomach
Shay- Sleeps on her back

Anika- picky eater
Shay- eats pretty much anything you give her

Anika-still can squeeze into 6-9 month clothes

Shay- forget anything that is not 12 month or bigger!

These two kiddos have their own language, fight over every toy, wake each other up with their screams (they share a room), love their big sister, love the hairy dog and sneezy cat, and most days jump up to see their dad when he comes home from work.

Here are some recent photos of the "monster twins."

Anika on your left, Shay on the right
Shay on your left, Anika on your right-- they are waiting for some meal.. whatever it was, we are never fast enough. Even so, Shay gets very angry at you when you are feeding Anika. Its rather humorous at times.

Anika playing and probably trying to steal toys from Shay.

Shay getting pissed because Anika stole her toy or its past her bottle time.

And last.... this child drives us to have a drink...... and sometimes we share! HA!! Just kidding mom!

"I'm a Big girl, I'm three!"

Kylie turned three as many of you know on Tuesday of last week. It was a pretty low key happening around here- big surprise for this family-- and not to mention the wonderful snotty cold we all had (minus Chris).

Kylie had pretty much all she could ask for. For a few weeks we had been hearing about how she wanted dinosaurs. Chris told her that dinosaurs were really hard to find in stores. Of course, the first thing she opened that morning were a set of six baby dinosaurs. They all have names and they all get to play unless they are grumpy (atleast that is what I hear--- there seems to be one that is always grumpy and I get to play with him-- geeh, what does that mean?). You'll see in some pictures, the dinosaurs are there-- especially for blowing out the candles! Kylie also got her own tricycle and of course, DORA legos. What more could a girl ask for??

Below are the pictures of the bday. She had a great day and managed to stay cold free until Wednesday. And the poor girl, she got the worst of the sickness.... still fighting it, but almost back to the normal Kylie.

Kylie waiting for her ice cream cake and candles.

Kylie blowing out her candles-- notice in the photo the dinosaurs and her "Sheepy" that is watching her do this monumental blow.

And, we could not do a post if we did not include DORA....

Happy Birthday Kylie! 360 days till the next!