Binks4Bikes&$'s

First purchase from the Piggy Bank!  So, Miss Mila has been trying to get rid of her binky...well, let me rephrase that.  Chad and I have been trying to persuade/bribe Mila if you will to get rid of her stinky binky for weeks now.  The week of the 2nd birthday she gave the bink up cold turkey for 6 months!!  She had a terrible rash the whole six months but she gave it up...when baby brother was born I really worried that she would relapse.  But for the first four months it didn't really seem to phase her.  UNTIL one day when Rome's bink fell onto the floor and I picked it up and cleaned it by putting it in my mouth.  She looked at me, kind of confused, like we can put binky's in our mouths?!?? And very slowly put a binky into her mouth.   I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, thinking that if I just ignored it then it would just go away.  It didn't, the bink was back and she was going to make sure that she would never be without one EVER again!  Usually she had one in her mouth and one in each hand.  Binks never bothered me.  Chad hates that she had one tho...he was always was trying to persuade her to get rid of it.   I was kind of was fine with her having it for a while because I didn't want her to get the poor rash that she had on her lip from licking her lips all the time.   Also, she had potty trained when she was barely two and I didn't want to tramatize her with new baby brother, potty training, and taking away her new favorite addiction...I really didn't want her to revert back to diapers.  BUT 500 binky's bought later and many drama filled nights because there was not a binky to be found in the house of many binkys... I too was ready to be rid of the bink!!  So I hopped on the no bink train with Chad.  Deal was NO BINKY=NEW BIKE!!  Then I quickly , realized that wasen't happening, the no binky part.  But she did really want the bike. ;(  SO I made her a deal.  Binky only at night time and she has to buy the bike with her own money out of her piggy bank!  Win, win situation, right?   She is learning the value of money, getting her princess bike, kinda gets to keep her bink (but I won't buy ANYMORE, so when this one is gone it's gone!) and now we are learning about chores and making an allowance! 
She was tickled to count all her monies.  And even more tickled to put all her monies in her owl purse and go to Toys R us to go and pick out a bike!

We headed to Nana and Papa's after we got the bike where Chad assembled it.  Papa pushed her around for the next two hours while Chad and I went to Mi Ranchito for my birthday dinner.  Mila was tuckered out by the time we got back...it's hard work having your papa push you around on your bike!!  She could not wait till the next day to show all of her cousins!! 

So yes, I think that she got the whole "allowance concept."  "Mom, do you have any chores for me?"  "Babe, today you helped mama pick up all of your barbies and make your bed.  Those were your chores for the day."  "Okay, then I have something for you... I need my allowance, can you do that for me?"  O HELL, what have I started!!?  She is my...my "mother's curse"  Love that little stinker!

Sluggo McFenster

Rome is 1!!  I cannot believe that this day has come and gone.  From my last post you can see when I say that this was a weird and crazy year.  Rome has been nothing but a blessing in our lives.  He is the sweetest little dude I have ever known.  He has these big brown eyes that can melt his mama's heart...really he can do no wrong.  My whole life I have told my mom that she loved T.J. more than me and I always made fun of her how she babied him so bad and her answer was one day you will have your own little boy and you will know...well...Rome came along and it's not that I love him anymore than Mila, it's just very different... a mother's love for her son.  One day, Mila, you will have your own baby boy and you will know...

Joseph ROME!  What can I say about you.  You very rarely don't have a smile on your face.  You LOVE to eat, anything and everything!  Always have.  It's the Italian blood in you, we live to eat not eat to live!  When the nurse handed you to me she told me that you were hungry and to feed you but no more than one ounce.  You finished one ounce in like no time and I could tell you were still starving so I asked what she thought.  She said, " Maybe just one more, his stomach is very small"  so, you did one more in like another second.  Asked her again what she tought, and she said, " Well, your're the mom, you decide!"  So I decided to feed you another ounce.  You ate three ounces and another 21/2 in an hour.  You were born weighing 9 pounds 10 ounces and left the hospital at a solid 10!  At your one year appointment you weighed 25 pounds. 

You are a mama's boy and I LOVE it.  You are also pretty fond of big sis too tho.  You do love to tease her.  You are a little stinker.  You can see it in those big brown eyes, they are going to give every thing away just so you know...no secrets with those things.  You will go up to her and pull her hair or take her toy, whatever to make her holler and look up at me like, what??  You love to hang with your "roll dog" Tripp.  You are kinda a bully tho.  You sometimes will just push him down for no good reason.  Tripp is scrappy tho, he'll go and when your not expecting it take your toy from you or get ya from behind, kinda serves you right!  You guys do love eachother tho, you just laugh and laugh, melts my heart listening to you two.  You have your daddy wrapped around your little finger, he thinks you are pretty cool.  I just love when he will pick you up and kiss you.  And he loves when you will let him snug you, which isn't very often anymore because you are way to busy to cuddel!  We love you little man, and your booger head!!