Summer Fun!

Last year if you remember for Tom and Joe's 3rd birthday we gave them these yellow hummers. For the winter we stored them at Grandma and Grandpa's house in order to put store both cars in the garage. Needless to say, they have stayed there. It is actually really nice, whenever the boys go G & G's house they can have something fun to play with. These pics are of them riding and crashing into each other....there were a lot of laughs that evening!:) When Peter rides, it is like he is king of the road...always in control and very comfortable behind the wheel. I joke with Brian about Peter some day driving Tom and Joe around town b/c T & J are so timid.
I believe that Joe is on the Left and Tom on the Right....but then again I could be wrong....they are looking more and more alike. The two of them were laughing so hard because they were running into Grandpa's bushes.
Here is Tom wearing one of "uncle" Kelly's old fire helmets. She tried to sell it in the garage sale I had, but Tom snatched it up and hasn't put it down since. The helmet must also remain in the van in case there is an emergency somewhere.
Here is jolly Peter the day of our garage sale. He was pretty content with himself, b/c his older brothers had went to their first friends b-day party and he had all the ladies giving him plenty of attention.

I have many more post in my mind, so hopefully I can get them posted soon. I hope everyone has a very Happy 4th of July!!

First Field Trip!

Class Field trip to Pinehaven Farm May 2010

I believe this was Joe riding the tractor. It was also Joe that said, "I'm not feeding no stink'n farm animals!" when the lady offered the children to feed the animals.


So about 3 weeks ago, Tom and Joe had their 1st field trip! They went to the Pinehaven farm and I was able to go along as a chaperone:) It was an adventure with a school bus full of 3 and 4 year olds! Tom and Joe were SO EXCITED to ride the school bus. Here is a picture of them sitting with their friend Emme. As soon as the bus started moving, I looked over at the kids and there was Tom holding Emme's hand. It was very cute:)

After seeing the animals, playing with the tractors, sliding down the big slides, eating lunch and the bus ride home, we headed home and took a nice long nap!

The Enforcer!

Don't mess with me or "I'll poke your eye out!" -Peter

Peter looks like he belongs in the IRA or could be the stunt double of the mean old lady from the Goonies!

Almost 4

Joe left, Tom right (St. John the Baptist Preschool)

So this last Wednesday, Tom and Joe celebrated their 4th Birthday at Preschool. They had picked out a bunch of cupcakes at Target to bring and had gift bags to share with their friends. I decided to bring my camera to capture the day....Tom and Joe were not as thrilled with this idea. After taking a few pictures, Tom looked at me and said, "Mom, you can go now." Really! Another mom said to me, "Well next week you will be dropping him off at the corner. :)" I guess only time will tell what being 4 years old is going to bring to the Vnak house!

Easter Fun!

Easter was fun this year. We went to mass at 9:30 and then had brunch and a Easter egg hunt at at Grandma & Grandpa McClanahan's. Tom is in the picture above showing us the goods he found.
Peter have a blast searching for Easter eggs.
Joe was also having a good time. Notice his bunny ears...on backwards and wearing them over his ears..Ha!
Here was our attempt at a family photo. Peter refused to remove his precious ND hat.
My mom and dad with the 6 grandkiddos.


Another shot of the kids except for Peter Rabbit.
Oh wait, there's Peter Rabbit without his bunny ears :(
Tom, Joe, and Peter helped me color Easter eggs this year. I have to admit it was fun....I can't remember the last time I had colored eggs....probably when I was a wee little girl.

After the all that fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house, it was time for an afternoon nap. For dinner, everyone came to our house and Brian out did himself with a homemade chocolate cake...very tastey.

Peter preparing for a higher calling?

So last Saturday, we went to mass and after mass we were walking out of church and Peter saw us dip our finger in holy water and bless ourselves. The next thing we see is Peter dipping his whole hand in holy water and pointing to his forehead saying, "Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen!"

Fast forward to this week...we were all eating lunch on Sunday and Peter decided to dip his whole hand in orange juice saying, "Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen!"

Tom and Joe responded, "Peter, orange juice is not holy water."

"Mom, Peter thinks his orange juice is holy orange juice."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tom and Joe wishing everyone a Happy St. Patty's day! Go IRISH!

Peter running in the parking lot of the school yesterday on his way to the park....He has all that he needs in his little hands-lamby, a pinecone, and some yummy smarties!

Our Stevie Wonder....Peter Style

So we took the boys to the Children's Museum for the first time a couple of weeks ago and then to lunch at McDonald's. It appears Peter likes to sing with his eyes closed and it always happens when he is eating a meal, which happens to be a lot during the course of a day.

So here is a clip of him singing at McDonald's while eating a chicken nugget. It is hard to hear him singing, but thought you would enjoy because this is our entertainment lately.

The World of Snow Clows

For one reason on another Joe calls snow "plows" snow "clows." All of us, including Peter and Tom, know this isn't right and the following conversation ensued last night:

Joe: Why do snow clows have two clows?

Dad: Joe, how many times have we been over this? It's not a snow clow, it's a snow plow.

Tom: Yeah Joe, it's a snow plow!

Joe: No, it's a snow clow.

Dad: No Joe, it's plow......Pah-lau....P...L...O...W....Plow.

Joe: No, it's clow......Cah-lau.....................X........Y.......Clow!

And with that, I conceded

Stay Classy Sir Joseph

Everyday I get up with the boys first thing in the morning while I let my beloved catch some much deserved extra sleep before I head off to work. Each day starts off helping the boys go to the bathroom and I am asked, without fail, "Daddy, do you have to work today?"

"Yes, yes I do" is my answer to which the boys always appear a little disappointed, but I do qualify it with, "But on Saturday and Sunday I'll be home and we'll have lots of fun!"

Monday through Friday this conversation occurs.

Saturday arrives and Joe comes in and asks the inevitable, "Daddy, do you have to work today?".

"No Joe, I'm going to be home to play with you guys." Anticipating unbridled excitement I ask, "Does that make you happy?"

Joe responds in a very deadpan voice, "Well sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't."

Stay classy Joe, you're on a role!

The day has finally come!

On January 12th, Peter got put in his crib for a time out for hitting one of his brothers over the head with garbage truck. His two cousins were over at the time, so I was watching 5 boys 3 1/2 years and younger. I was standing by his bedroom door trying to break up another argument when Peter opens the door and says "Hi!" He did it! He finally figured out how to escape his crib with the use of the rocking chair.

Today is January 13th. I lay Peter down for his nap like I usually do every afternoon then I go and put Tom and Joe down for their naps. When I am putting T & J down, I hear Peter open his door again!!! Here we are 3:46 pm and he is still awake!!

I guess it is time to move him to a big boy bed....so I've been looking at bedding on-line this afternoon in order to make the big step!

The weeks leading up to Christmas!

Peter, Joe, and Tom on the ladder wanting to help decorate the tree!


Here she is in all her beauty....aka over 1300 lights....no wonder it kept blowing the fuse! Don't worry I have it all figured out for next year already. This year was the trials and tribulations of our christmas tree. It took over a week to put up due to non-working multi-colored lights from the previous years and my initial refusal to use the white lights Brian just happened to have on hand. Then we needed to buy more lights anyway because we didn't have enough, of course. Once we got the lights working, they worked for approximately 2 days when I noticed they weren't working at all....Called Brian at work crying.....he, of course, laughing. Long story short, my amazing electrician was able to fix the lights just in time for Peter's 2nd Birthday celebration.

Best Buds (Tom left, Joe right)


Tom in his GQ pose
No Nativity seen would be complete without a construction cone.


Peter and his special lamby! Never leave home without it.
We were invited to our neighbor's house to meet Santa Claus.

My little Peter Pie has officially turned 2. He is not so little anymore. He is only a pound behind T & J and not too much shorter. Tom and Joe are being great big brothers by helping him blow out his candles.


"What cake? I don't see any cake!"




"I wish for a garbage truck from Santa!" Tom

The boys helping grandma and I bake sugar cookies!


Tom and Joe starring in their first choir concert for preschool. Not so much into it.

Joe loves to be outside.

Tom and Joe's second debut singing in their Sunday school Christmas program.
Joe, Peter, and Tom after church.

The twins giving Peter lots of love!

The Evolution of Peter: Year 2

On December 16th we celebrated Paeter's segundo birfday. It was crunk. Balloons, frosting eating contests, and a boat load of toys, all within two weeks before Christmas. The month of December will forever be splendid for this young lad. Actually, Peter's birfday (an intentional mispell to phonentically salute to both 50 Cent and Coach Willingham, and my high school tennis coach who always emphasized the "fuddamentals" of the game) is great from a consumers perspective as the retailers we frequent throw at us latitudes upon longitudes of great deals.

Anyhoo, this post is supposed to be about Peter, the person, the brother, the babyof the family. He continues to age like fine wine. Being the young brother of twin brothers demands a lot of Peter, and he takes charge no problem. From a parents perspective, it is both good and bad. He plays well with and commands the respect of his brothers, but also has created the expectation of being entitled and capable of everything that Tom and Joe do. Lest we not forget, Peter is 18 months the junior, so he is not as "entitled" as he expects, which adds for plenty of screaming (and not of the quiet varietal). Physically, he's 30 some pounds and only a pound or two shy of his brothers. It's not that he is a large so much as Tom and Joe are just smaller, so this keeps him physically equal to Tom and Joe. All three share the same clothes now. Peter is an angel though and still is sweet as can be. Bedtime prayers still end with "Faader, Son, Hoohie, Spurt, A-Ben!". He loves to high five and dance away. After dinner he dances the Conga and spins in circles to "ring around the rosy". As the pictures below tell, though, I postulate whether he is headed for eternal geniusness or the simpler life. Let's employ a 3 question test.

Question 1: Is he handicapped or incredibly creative?

Peg leg Peter never looked so....peg legged. But a creative use of extra X-mas light boxes nonetheless. I award one point for the ingenuity. (As a personal note, this is probably my favorite picture of the year, makes me laugh every time.)

Question 2: Peter, what do you do with a garlic press?

Hmmm, that's one Par 5 of a Garlic pod if you ask me. Simpler life here we come. (Although, the mouthful of drool almost makes me reconsider).

Question 3: What does Peter share in common with the rapper 'Lil John?

It's official, you are unanimously awarded a genius point. Game, set, match, you are a genius. Yea-yeah! It's incredibad, any yes/no question is answered in the affirmative with a guttoral "Yea-yeah!" Give it to me Ursher!

The future is bright, here is to year 3!

PS: I hope you all enjoy the foreshadowing and subjective context of this post. I did.

3 little Pigs

Tom, Joe, & Peter with Great Auntie Dee
Joe looking to see what goodies he has in his trick or treat bag.
Tom (The pig who built his house out of sticks).
Ding Dong! Treat or Treating at Grandma and Grandpa Vnak's house
The 3 little Pigs, the BIG BAD Wolf and little Red Riding Hood trick or treating at Grandma & Grandpa McClanahan's house.
Peter (The pig who build his house out of straw).
Showing off their carved pumpkins.

"We are so proud of our pumpkins!"