Where have we been?

It seems as though I am writing more of these types of posts... recaps of the time that has gone by since the last post.  Life has gotten busier and the little time I do have to write, I spend writing short sentences of our happenings on Facebook.  I guess Facebook killed the blogger in me?  Although, I need to keep up this blog because it allows for a train of thought versus a concise sentence. 

It's been 3 years since my last post and the children and our lives have changed drastically.  We no longer have little kids!  They are your typical All American kids!  Lets' start at the top:

Gabriella Ashleigh
Now in 4th grade, she is learning everything from long division to fractions and decimals, plural possessives to prepositions and American Indians to Colonial America!  I cannot believe her school work!  Some of the math has proven to be a challenge for her but she gives it her all and pushes through!  She just fininshed her 5th Musical Production, Willy Wonka!  Her father and I are still in amazement that the child that wouldn't speak in Kindergarten will actually get on a stage and sing and dance in front of an audience.  She lives for Musical Theatre and shows no signs of stopping!  We continue to be amazed and proud of her! 

Isabel Pilar
Bella knows no bounds.  She cowars at nothing.  She faces a situation head on and doesn't stop until she has mastered it.  She continues to do gymnastics, enjoying it as much as ever.  She speaks of returing to the piano, we'll see.  She excels at school, performing well beyond her grade level.  It seems as though everything she touches turns to gold.  We all know how that story ends, so we continue to be sure that she maintians realistic goals and we make sure that she isn't too hard on herself when perfection is hard to obtain.  As she begins 3rd grade next year, we will look out for this, as schoolwork will become inevitably more challenging.

Alejandro Ramiro
No one could have ever prepared me for the child that is Alex.  He's beyond intelligent, has a personality most adults strive to have, he's charismatic, charming, cute, funny and sensitive.  The preschool teachers are amazed that we actually have a child that not only speaks but commands the room!  His math skills are out of this world for his age.  He understands basic math concepts that are typically taught in 3rd grade.  He genuinely has a love of learning all things.  He asks about birds, cars, negative numbers and anything else that comes to his mind!  He is finishing his 3rd year in preschool and is beyond ready to begin Kindergarten.  He is still my boy though.  He still crawls into my lap and asks to cuddle.  He covers me in kisses when he sees me and tells me he loves me.  I know these moments are to be cherished.  I secretly hope he never outgrows this.

So that's what the children are up to.  Ramiro and I continue to be amazed by the children.  Sometimes, looking at each other wondering what we did to deserve them.  We try and breathe it all in and appreciate it all.  We hope it will last! 

I keep saying I will blog more of the quick quips that the kids come up with.  Some of it is hilarious, some is just them being goofy.  They need to be documented and I need to be better about it.  As I've said in the past... I will try.  Until then...

What to Post???

So the Lopez family has been busy since the last post, which to my surprise was December 2008! It's nearly Christmas time again! The children now is 2nd grade, Kindergarten and Preschool are quickly outwitting us! They outnumber us for sure! If they worked together instead of against each other, we'd lose this battle for sure.

Gaby continues to grow to our amazement. I don't think we actually thought about what life would be like when she was 7 when we brought her home from the hospital! She is funny and witty and her re-telling of stories are quite amusing. She is learning things at school that we didn't learn till we were in high school! And what amazes us more is that she can actually do them! She is your typical all American 7 year old girl, although she has yet to lose a tooth, and is beside herself because of it.

Bella, Bella, Bella.... What can I say about Bella. Being our surprise baby, she continues to surprise us. Her quick quips always surprise us. She is little Miss Kindergarten and for the first time in a long time, is enjoying school. I now think that she was bored in Preschool and has now found her niche in Kindergarten. Every day when I pick her up she has a new story to tell about what she learned. Nothing can explain that light in her eyes. She is learning to read at light speeds. She, for the most part, teaches herself. She is very much an independent worker and is never bored at home, since she will make up projects for herself. From creating a store, to drawing and making stories around her drawings, she manages to keep herself busy. She LOVES her gymnastics class, and again is quite good at it. Bella will never settle for anything, it's perfection or nothing!

Alex, my sweet baby boy... is turning into well, a boy! He's very energetic, very into dinosaurs and trains, and who could forget Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger! He gives his sisters a good run for their money. If he can get a reaction out of them (positive or negative) he's there! Having said that, he also adores his sisters. When he is scared, he hardly comes to me, but goes to one of them instead. He looks for their approval and their guidance. He has started preschool and is finally settling into it. It was a rough start at first,but is now confident and proud to be a preschooler.

I think that's the recap. I need to be better about blogging all the anecdotes that are quickly forgotten. There seem to be more than ever now that they are getting older.

Hello? Who is this?

Yesterday we were watching the Polar Express, when who should call? None other than Santa himself!

First you should know the backstory -
Over the last few weeks the girls have been grilling us about Santa Claus. The questions started off simple and innocent enough.
"Why does he only come once a year?"
"How can the reindeer fly?"
"Why was everyone so mean to Rudolph?"

...But the questions soon turned to suspicion....

"How can he really deliver ALL of the toys in one night?"
"Isn't his sleigh really heavy?"
"Does he really come down the chimney?"
"Why doesn't Mrs. Claus come to help him?"

AND the mother of all questions -

"Is Santa real or just a character."

We have been fielding questions right and left.
(For those of you who are curious - our response to the last question was "people say he's real")
It's not a lie!

So yesterday, while watching The Polar Express, Santa calls.
He spoke to Gaby first. I will never forgot Gaby's incredulous eyes! He asked the obvious questions.
"Have you been good?"
"How is Coco?"
"How is your brother?"
Then he asked what she wanted to for Christmas.
When he spoke to Bella she answered his questions too.
They could not believe that he actually called.
When we put them to bed, of course they still had to ask -

"Was that really him?"
and
"If he can see us when he's sleeping, can he see us when we are at school?"

We have a feeling that this will be our last year with Santa. They better not ruin it for Alex!

Cousin Connor

The girls and Alex are excited about their new cousin Connor.

He was born on Dec. 3, 2008 at 10 43 am.

He is perfect.

Big brother Ocho seems to be adapting well.

Do you believe in magic?

Today we went to the Marriot Lincolnshire to see the children's theatre production of Aladdin. It was a great show. The part where the Genie appeared absolutely baffled the girls. They had the whole smoke and lights trick then quickly flickered the lights while the actor playing the Genie appeared and disappeared. The girls were mesmerized and awed.

At the end of the play they do a question/answer session. This was the most asked question by the children. Apparently, my girls were not the only ones amazed by the art of magic. It was kind of cute to see the innocence that still exists in them.

Happy Veterans Day!

While the country celebrates all who fought for the freedom of this country, the girls and I will be celebrating the fine art of children's theatre. We are going to the matinee presentation of Aladdin at the Marriot Lincolnshire. The children's theatre is actually quite nice and it's interactive too. They do the traditional stories with a twist. It will be interesting to see what tomorrow's presentation is like. Poor Alex, he will be staying with Aunt Mary. There is no way he would sit through it, actually, I don't want to find out if he will.

Uh-Oh. Bella's mad at me.

So Bella came home in one heck of a mood. What could possibly be wrong now?
Her friend Ava Claire said that Bella had invited her over for a playdate and she had already asked her mom. Fine by me. It's actually easier for her to have a playdate because she will be occupied. Ava Claire's mom said no and I got the silent treatment. Bella refused to talk the whole way home and when I finally got it out of her she said that it was all my fault. What did I do? I actually told Ava Claire's mom that Ava has an open invitation whenever she wants. Now I have to assume responsibility for other people's parents' decision? I can't win!

Cool Kid at Last

So, I gave in to peer pressure and joined Facebook. No, I'm not very proud of my decision to join since I was a huge proponent, but I suppose I see it's benefits. It's pretty much a virtual hang out. People comment on each other's lives and post anecdotes of their own. So, I guess I can say that it's going well so far. See you in Facebook!

So little time.......

So I realize I have been negligent in keeping up with our blog. The kids schedules are so tight that therefore mine is as well. At the end of the night, I am too tired to pack backpacks, lunches and other things let alone blog. Here a quick summary of what we have been up to:

1. The girls are back to school again. Summer ended as it usually does, with the kids at each others' throats and everyone sick of mom. Gaby transitioned into 1st grade better than anyone could have ever imagined. She is speaking in class, although she does not speak in front of the class.
Bella, on the other hand, has decided to have separation issues in this, her 3rd year in preschool. Maybe she isn't getting enough mommy bella alone time. We are working on this. She has gotten better about staying at school. She is sad most days still but does not cry.
Alex will be starting a 2 yr old program at the preschool. He cries when we drop off Bella because he can't stay. So, Bella cries because she doesn't want to stay and Alex cries because he can't stay. I can't win!

2. Bella will need to wear glasses. Like her sister, she was getting headaches, although not as often and not as severe, but we thought we'd get her to the doctor anyway. Yep, she needs glasses all the time. Gaby only needs the for reading, computer and tv. Bella is far-sighted and will need them forever. Poor Bella.

3. Alex's speech therapy is paying off. He has been in speech for 6 months and just completed his 6 month assessment. Although the report is not finalized his therapist tells me that just from the screening, she can tell that his delay is not at severe as when he first started. He began at a 50% delay (at 18 months he had the speech of a 9 month old) and now he's testing closer to 24 months. We still have alot to work on. He still does not put 2 words together but can convey a story to you by single words. We are hoping his class will help him.

4. The girls began soccer this fall. They are born naturals... I'm not at all biased. The are playing through the AYSO and I am very pleased with the organization. They are having fun and have already learned some good fundamentals.

Well, I hope to have more time to blog now that we have our fall routines down. I will post pictures soon.