so sophisticated

Abby just doesn't want to stay a baby- much to my dismay! (And surprising since the girl STILL does not want to walk!!!) But she loves to use a fork, attempts to drink out of a regular cup, and can put away real food (especially pizza) just like the rest of the family!

Hoppy Easter 2011

Happy Easter from the Garcia Four!
(not to self.. erase the dry erase ink before the next day or you will forever have the date imprinted on the board!)

cousin Savannah with a big grin...

the kiddo's love their uncle Rob!

WARNING - keep your bellies covered

We have a new sheriff in town... and her name is Abigail. She wants to make sure that you keep your clothes on, and in-check. Any exposed belly buttons will be subject to finger poking. And yes, she can dig pretty deep.

The triplet connection

They say that "multiples" (i.e. twins/triplets) share a special bond...and I have witnessed it first hand, over and over. Today's example:

SCENARIO:
Having yelleding (okay, let's be honest - screaming) and disciplining the girls because for the upteenth time today they were hitting and punching each other, the girls were sitting on the couches... sniffling and snuffling their tears. I sat down next to Gabby to finish talking to her and Mateo was sitting nearby on the other couch.

Mateo: Mom, you're breaking my heart.
Mom: I'm what?
Mateo: You're breaking my heart.
Mom: How am I breaking your heart?
Mateo: You are being mean to the girls and it is making me sad. Stop being mean to the girls. It is making me angry.

And then, less than 5min later... he is off hitting/pushing the girls as they fight over a toy. So I guess I didn't break his heart hard enough.

and the extra activies continue...

Soccer started today....and Mary scored a goal! Gabby would have scored had it not been for the big bruiser who pushed her aside (I'm the mom... I am allowed to write this!) and Mateo had fun eating the snack after the game. (He was more upset by the other kids pushing to get the ball than he was about actually playing the sport.)

a boys point of view

When asked if he would be willing to play with his sister, Mateo responded... "EWWWWWW"

Bippidi Boppity Botique

The trio were treated to time at the Bippidi Boppity Botique where they were transformed into princesses and a knight.... They weren't sure what to expect, and even after it was over, they didn't know if they even liked it!

PRINCESS MARY





PRINCESS GABBY




SIR KNIGHT MATEO




BEAUTIFUL BABIES

disney lives on

Although we are home from Disney, it seems as though we haven't left! The trio found my 4 disc set of Disney music classics and it has been playing non-stop ever since. The girls love to guess which movie each song is from and then quickly change into the corresponding princess dress! Fights have broken out, but once their favorite part of the song plays, they are holding hands and singing along. Snow White (Gabby) has been known to fall deep asleep after eating her apple and Prince Charming (Mateo) is sought out by Sleeping Beauty (Mary) to break the spell that has been placed on Snow White. Their imaginations are endless and it is such a joy to watch!

Disney 2011 memories

kiddo's outside rainforest cafe

first family photo at disney

this was a sci-fi drive-in place where you ate your food on the dashboard of a car and watched sci-fi movies on the big screen

trio sitting by our name-sake hotel, the SWAN

kiddo's with miss katie

I AM Luke Skywalker!

Disney 2011

Two weeks ago we embarked on what I thought would be complete and utter craziness - a trip to see THE MOUSE (as I like to call it) with all 4 kiddos. And because the sheer destination was not enough, we decided to drive from OH down to FL. (That, and the price of airline tickets was extreme.) Within 5 minutes of leaving, our GPS broke. Within 45minutes of leaving, we had to make a potty stop (and a Best Buy stop to buy a new GPS). And then we ran into an hour delay due to a combustable semi trailer. A 940am departure led to a 330am arrival in Jacksonville, FL. (Where Lou had to search for a 24hr pharmacy for poor Abby's pink eye!) But the long time spent in the car the first day was worth the extra time we could play at the Swan hotel the next day, on property. Luckily, the trip back home was uneventful - with the exception of Abby having a gas/constipation issue. Boy oh boy was this just not her trip!

I brought home a few lessons learned from the trip:
5. You can never over-plan for rain. We had 4 out of 5 days of rain at the parks and I had packed 88 cent poncho's from Wal-Mart as "emergency" poncho's. Sheer plastic doesn't keep out the cold rain for that long! And wet, soaked, sloshy shoes are no fun to walk in!
4. It pays to have married a doctor. Abby developed pink-eye on the way down and lucky Daddy came to the rescue. I can only imagine if.....
3. I have a great husband. He was awesome with planning out our days and making the best out of the wet weather.
2. I have an even great(er) babysitter/friend/nanny... Katie came with us and allowed us the opportunity to enjoy being with the kids because we knew we had an extra set of hands/eyes to keep watch of all.
1. I have amazing kids. They kept up the pace and enjoyed our vacation. Their smiles, laughter, and energy made for a perfect get-away!

family photo shoot