my star spangled girls (and boy)

Although you don't hear Mateo in this one... all three love to belt out our National Anthem!

it's like her hunny pot!

superheroes

To say Mateo is interested in superheroes is putting it mildly. Between Luke Skywalker, Batman, Iron Man, and Spiderman, I just can't keep up.

And I really think he thinks they exist. Take this morning's conversation for example.

On our way to day camp in the car, Mateo started looking for the bat signal. He couldn't find it amidst the thunder and rolling clouds... and Mary concurred it wasn't visible. Since they couldn't find it, he started calling out for Batman. I asked him why we needed Batman, and he said that "he needed to save us from the rain."

He was so sad... so I tried explaining that Batman only stays in Gotham City, not Cleveland... so he said that we needed another superhero to save us from the rain storm... and after a moment of thinking he shouted, "I CAN SAVE US!"

My little hero!

summer lovin'

fairytales

The trio LOVE fairy tales (especially since visiting Disney- the home of the magical fairy tale)!!! In the past, I have had to create them (not such an easy task) but lately, they have wanted to take turns telling them before bedtime. And tonight's went something like this...

Gabby- Once upon a time... in a far, far away place called "downtown cleveland" lived 26-100-5-67 people!

Marry - oh my goodness gracious

Gabby - hang on, do you want to know how many children there were?

Mary - sure!

Gabby - 100-5-6-7

Mary - that's a lot!

Gabby - and there lived a dragon there....

Mary - will this be scary?

Gabby - no, it was a nice dragon... and a monster!

Mary - oh my!!!

Gabby - but it was a nice monster... and everyone came over to see it. And he asked if we wanted to see magic tricks... and we said yes... so some went inside to watch tv while the rest watched the monster. Do you want to know what they were watching on tv?

Mary & Mateo - yes!

Gabby - football! And basketball, baseball, and even soccer!

Mateo - yes!

Mommy - you mean that all of cleveland was at the monster's house? And some were watching tv while the others watched the monster?

Gabby - yes! Maybe 2 or so... I don't know how many were watching tv...

Gabby - And then Jake (he is a disney character that is on tv) showed up with Izzy (another character) And do you know what Izzy turned into???

Mary - yes?!

Gabby - a princess pirate... and Jake? It's a scary one!

Mary - a sea witch? oh no!!!! (grabs on to me...) It's scary!

Gabby - yes! a sea witch

Mommy - whoa here... there is all of this in downtown Cleveland?

Gabby - no, Jake is far away... in Florida

Mommy - so this is a different story?

Gabby - not really...

Mary - I can't believe it... she is changing stories!

And then I lost track of what happened.... sigh. To many interjections. But I do love the numbering system they are using... it's almost like playing the lottery!

snake! snake! (for real... snake- yikes!!!)

While visiting a friends birthday party, our fearless warrior, Mateo, tried on a real snake "neck tie" for size. Lovingly called "candy cane", the snake was harmless enough.

the "other" mouse

We celebrated the end of pre-school by visiting Chuck-E-Cheese with our friend, Sonya.

westlake soccer

It was the trio's first experience with soccer and overall, they did pretty good. It is hard to teach a yr old to "not touch" the ball and to try and run in front of another player to steal the ball awayand run to a goal to score. (Even as I type this, I find myself exhausted just thinking about it!)

At the soccer picnic we had a fun time with Indian's SLIDER!

Holding our trophy's with Daddy

fill'm up

Quaker Stake is a great place for wings...

and even Daddy gets to join in on the fun!

sisters make the best friends

The girls love to help Abigail... here we were leaving Mass.

happy 71, pa!

The Garcia's celebrated Pa's 71st birthday at the Macaroni Grill...

safety hazard

I felt that Abby's safety was at risk, so while the trio trashed the house, Abby was sent to the pen. (Please note that no one was harmed during this stunt.)

triplet-tized

He struggled to get out of the bathtub. Suds and bubbles had reached highest proportions and covered every square inch of the tub, with the exception of his head. The whites of his eyes stung and were the color of bright red roses from the glup, glup, glup of the shampoo that had been dumped on his head. His skin was rubbed raw and his toes wrinkled from being in the water too long. Dad had been "triplet-tized" by Mary, Gabby, and Mateo. But at least he was clean.

last day of pre-school

The last day of preschool was bittersweet. (As all parents experience, I imagine.) To see my child so different than just 6mo (or a year) earlier is both rewarding (WOW look how great they are doing!!!) and a tad bit sad (who took my precious 4lb babies). All in all, our "Fit by Five" preschool experience was great!

Mateo with his station teacher, Ms. Beth.

The trio with one of the 4 preschool teachers, Ms. Patty.

The trio with Mary's station teacher, Ms. Holly.

Gabby with her station teacher, Ms. Loretta. (Funny, Gabby's middle name is Loreta!)

overdue

My dear fans... you are way overdue for some blogging! We've been rather busy... so I will have to share the blame!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Abby has decided that she must walk if she wants to keep up with her brother and sisters... so she has taken off. In fact, she is attempting to run and insists upon walking up the stairs!

Gabby found herself in a fight over a (for lack of a better word) "toy" with Mary... and Gabby lost. The desired object, which had elastic in it, flung back into Gabby's eye when Mary let go - which lead to a corneal abrasion. Three doctor's visits later (I am counting Daddy's review with his surgical loops as an appt) and some antibiotic goop and she is healing nicely. A positive from all of this is that the trio are trying hard to not fight over toys.

Mateo has been fighting a sinus infection and is finally on the mend. He was well enough to push the screen out of his bedroom window... and lucky for us, his guardian angel (Grammy) was keeping him safe. Normally we don't keep any of our windows unlocked but since our A/C was out for a week (with a power outage during that time) the 90 degrees was unbearable and we were using fans/windows to circulate the air. We are still counting our blessings on that one.

Mary is the "fall guy" of the trio. She is blamed for the shenanigans mentioned above (and more) and seems to hold them well on her tough shoulders. Price to pay for being the oldest, I guess. She has also really taken to Abby. She loves to carry her around and sing/play with her. The two of them together make quite the team. My two drama queens!