Easter!!!

We colored Easter eggs on Saturday night.  Grandma Marci came over and joined us.  The kids had a great time and were quite fascinated with the eggs.  Sebastian couldn't get the eggs in the dye fast enough and Abby seemed to want to taste it and Gabe was just dropping the eggs in the cups so hard and fast the the dye was splashing everywhere, Austin was trying to make some cool designs but was distracted by his siblings and found it difficult to share the color cups between everyone.  Vinnie was getting splashed with the dye and was not so crazy about the mess of it all.  Grandma had fun watching the kiddos and I stood back and took pictures...

Easter morning the kids always wake up to a trail of candy leading them to their goodies that the Easter bunny left for them.  

The kids were excited and it was fun to watch them go thru their things.  The Easter Bunny did hide Easter eggs throughout the house (it was raining outside and pretty chilly).  Some were hidden really well and others were simply left in noticeable places.  The little ones didn't really take to the hunt to much but Austin did as he has all the past years.

Once the kids were done playing for a bit it was time to get ready to go to Uncle Scott and Aunt Ingrid's house for an Easter dinner and some fun family time.

Always a challenge to get all 4 kids to cooperate for a photo!

They had a lot of fun in the backyard playing on the swing set and then later playing fetch with their dog.

The only thing, (the important thing) that was missing from our Easter Holiday was church.  We haven't found our church yet since we moved here, and then we are nervous to take our little kiddos because of their lack of comprehension we are concerned about them sitting quietly thru Mass.  Crossing our fingers to make it to Easter Vigil next year or even just Easter Sunday Mass.

Happy Easter everyone!

First Easter Egg hunt for the little ones...

Gabe and Sebastian were invited to a Birthday Party, fortunately it was for Kristy's son Carter which meant that we were able to go too and take Abby.   It was a fun party with an Easter theme.  First we went and saw the movie HOP which only held their attention for maybe the first 20 min or so and then they got a bit too restless and we decided it was best to leave early.  After the movie we met over at Kristy's house for cake & ice cream and then headed out to the back yard for an Easter egg hunt.  There were a ton of plastic eggs filled with candy in their yard.  Here is a group picture of the kids at the birthday party, Sebastian was being a stinker and wouldn't cooperate for the picture.

Gabe didn't seem to be too interested in the hunt, he just kind of did his own thing.  First he thought that he would have his Woody doll from Toy Story ride on the dog just like in the movie.  This entertained him for a bit and then he moved onto exploring Doug and Kristy's garden...

Sebastian had a great time, the other kids were trying to help him find the eggs.  He would get excited to find the egg but then would sit down to open it up to see what was inside.  This little guy LOVES chocolate!

Abby had fun following the other kids and trying to do what they were doing.  She did pretty well gathering the eggs.  In fact, she did so well that she really enjoyed her chocolate as soon as we got home.

Daddy & Abby!

Nadya & Hallie (Kristy's daughters) are so great with the kiddos!

Fun Little Stories...

Our friend Kristy had us over for St. Patrick's Day and she had these chocolate gold coins.  When we left that night she sent some home with us for the kids.  Of course they loved them because our kids our chocolate fanatics, including Abby!  Well now everytime Abby finds a real coin on the floor, in my purse, on the counter, or anywhere for that matter, she brings it to me to open it up and give her the chocolate that is inside it.  Poor little thing, it breaks my heart that she seems so happy to be getting chocolate and I have to tell her that nothing is in there.  Of course being only 17 months old, this means nothing to her, so I went to See's the other day and bought of couple of little bags of these coins and hid them in the pantry.  I have been very diligent in making sure she isn't finding any real coins laying around anywhere but now if she does I have a stash in the pantry to swap out for the good stuff she is looking for.  :)

Another fun story, tonight after I read the kids their bedtime story Abby left the room while I was tucking Gabe and Sebastian in.  Once I was finished with them I went to get Abby to put her to bed just as we do every night.  I couldn't find her.  I heard some rustling in our bedroom but I didn't see her anywhere, I went downstairs and had no luck, I went back upstairs to our room and the little stinker was peeking around the side of our bed and she quickly ducked when she saw me.  When I came around to the side of the bed and "found" her she was cracking up!  She is quite the talented little hider in "hide & seek".

Update on our family goals...

It has now been a little over 2 weeks since I did my post "Here's the deal".  The kids have sat at the table everyday since this post for both lunch and dinner.  I can't believe how easy it was to transition them.  No fuss what-so-ever!  I say "time for lunch/dinner, come sit down" and they come and sit down.  Sebastian likes to test us a little and see how far he can push the line.  On occasion he will try to get up and walk away just to see what we will do.  I do keep one of their books at the table and I will start to read it to them if they begin to get restless which has done wonders!  When they are finished they get up and take their plates to the sink and them come back to us for a "high 5".  I am so proud of them.  They have also been getting story time every night since I set the goal.  All 3 little ones get up on Gabe's top bunk while I read to them.  Sebastian LOVES book so much and gets upset when story time is over.

TV time has been cut back quite a bit.  It does help that the weather has been a little warmer and they can go outside and play, but along with that we have been turning the TV off and letting them have some play time in the quiet.  We definitely make sure it is off well before their meal times so they aren't too distracted when they are called to the table.

I think potty training is just right around the corner.  Gabe is doing great and consistently uses the potty when given the chance.  Sebastian seems interested in what Gabe is doing and is trying to copy him.

We are all doing an awesome job on our family goals and we will keep working on and toward the others that have been set.

Autism Awareness Day!

Light it up Blue!!

Today was World Autism Awareness Day.  The month of April is  the dedicated month for Autism Awareness.  What a fabulous way to kick off a great month with a Light it up Blue Balloon Launch!

My really good friend Kristy, had an "event" posted on her facebook wall, so I clicked on it and teared up as soon as I read that it was for Autism Awareness.  I immediately clicked "attending" and then sent the same invite to my friends and family.  The only downfall was that Vinnie couldn't make it, he was booked up at work. My Mom, the kids, and I all went together.  We met Kristy and her kiddos there.  We all wore blue and brought blue balloons.

Right before the launch Grandpa Jim, Chandler, and Noah showed up and were able to let some balloons go with us...

the count down began 5..4..3..2..1

It brought tears to my eyes watching to balloons float  blow up into the sky. It was a windy day and the balloons were quickly gone. We took blue metallic star shaped balloons which turned out to be amazing because you could spot them from a distance and know that those were ours. Gabe did awesome and was so excited to watch the balloons go, he yelled "bye bye balloons".

After the balloon launch we stayed at the park and had some blue treats and let the kiddos play on the playground.  We stayed for hours.  Grandpa enjoyed hanging out with his grandkids/great-grandkids and watching them play.  It was such a fabulous day!

 

Grandpa, Austin, Noah, & Chandler..



Grandpa & Gabe!

Cute little Abby was just taking it all in..



Here's the deal..

Okay so I have to admit that we have some things to work on here in our household.  It is no surprise that we have a crazy busy life but I do think that if I work toward these goals that I am setting for our family then maybe things will run a bit smoother.  The reason that I am blogging about this is because it will give me some accountability for the success of these goals.  Our 2 youngest boys, Gabe and Sebastian have very poor eating habits.  They are very very picky and both have the gag reflex, their menu is very limited. Every morning they both eat poptarts for breakfast, Gabe always having blueberry flavor and Sebastian always having the cookies and creme flavor.  For lunch they both have a sandwich, Gabe has PB & J and Sebastian has PB & Nutella.  For Dinner, Sebastian will have another sandwich and Gabe will have popcorn chicken.  These are their everyday meals.  Gabe likes to snack on a variety of things, cheese, crackers, chips, apples, and of course candy.  Sebastian only likes to snack on candy chocolate.  To top it off, they will not sit at the table for any of their meals.  In fact, mealtime around here is quite ridiculous!!!  Not only do they walk around while eating but for their lunch and dinner we have to literally feed them bite by bite while they are doing whatever they are doing.  Somehow along the way they have taken control over this situation and it is time we take it back!!!  First goal will be to have all meals at the table, once we successfully reach this goal then it will be time to introduce some new foods to them.  I am happy to report that they both ate their lunch at the table today.  It started out a bit rough with some resistance but I stayed strong and mellow at the same time and it was a success!  They both even took their plates to the sink when they were finished.  Yay!!  Of course, Abby is our little eater in which we have no problem with her, she asks (with gestures) to get in her high chair and will try and food.

Another thing that I would really like to work on is being consistent with their time outs and see if we can get them to listen better.  My kids all seem to have tempers and don't respond well to being told what to do.  Sebastian has the biggest temper and it seems as though Abby is trying to copy him and follow in his foot steps.  Scary!  Gabe just seems to be out of control, getting into everything just to simply make a mess and then he moves on.  I know that a lot of this stems from Gabe having Autism and him just being in his own little world but with a little time and patience I know he eventually understands things.  I just really really need to be more consistent.  So, with the 3 little kiddos I am going to try the "Super Nanny" time out technique.  Sebastian was the first one today to get the time out.  I put him in the chair and told him why I was putting him their.  He tried to get out of the chair several times and I just kept putting him back without saying anything.  After his 3 min were up, I told him he needed to say sorry to Abby (for hitting her) and give her kisses.  He did it!  A little bit later Abby had her first go at a time out as well for hitting Sebastian.  I just kept sitting her in the chair and told her "no hitting" and to give Sebastian kisses.  She did it too!

Another thing is CUT BACK ON TV TIME!!  We are so guilty for endless hours of television.  They love Sesame Street, Dora, Diego, Super Why!, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Toy Story.  I am so excited that the weather is getting warmer and they can play outside.  Today has been great, they watched Toy Story 2 and then an episode of Sesame Street.  I turned the TV off almost 4 hours ago and they have just been having fun playing.

Need to have the boys start helping clean up.  I need to remember that if they are capable of making these huge messes with their toys then they are capable of helping to clean them up too.  We will start singing the "Clean up" song again and have them help.

Finally, read bed time stories on a regular basis.  It always seems so busy and chaotic around here that somehow we forget to take a few extra min to read them a story.  Just seems hard sometimes because Gabe doesn't sit and pay attention, he kinda "checks out" for a bit and does his own thing.  When I say "checks out" I mean that it's as though no one else is around him and his mind just starts going, almost like he is watching his own show in his own head.

Okay so now that I have put this out there I am ready for the challenge!!
*meals to be eaten at table
*introduce new foods to Gabe & Sebastian
*be consistent with time outs
*cut back on TV time
*have kids help with clean up
*bed time stories

Oh my, I just remembered one of the most important family goals that needs to be done!!!
POTTY TRAINING!!!  I have 3 kids in diapers, atleast 2 of them need to get out of them ASAP!  Gabe is starting to get it, he will request to go pee pee in the potty on occasion, so I know he is finally grasping the concept.  Time for me to do some more following thru

There you have it, 7 Family Goals for the Almanza's!  Wish me luck!

Green Beans!!

I am so happy that we have a child that LOVES her food and loves to try new things.  She isn't very picky and she is always interested in what other people are eating.  Her favorite snack is a can of green beans, straight from the can right out of the pantry.  She loves to munch on them!