embrace the camera - march 31

today, i'm embracing one of my dear, dear friends. she is one of the first people i met when we moved here to our town two years ago. since then, she and her family have been a constant, and very welcome, presence in our lives. i feel so grateful and fortunate the she has become part of my "village". she is an amazing mommy to three beautiful kids: joelle 4, jaden 3, and julian 1. {follow the adventures of the abris 5!} the two of us could laugh and share stories about our crazy under-4's for hours and hours and never tire.

she's always there for me. always just a phone call, e-mail or facebook message away, when i need her. she's my lactation consultant, therapist, fellow sinigang lover, crafting buddy, emergency babysitter, as well as my emergency roadside service, among countless other things.

she's always willing to just listen and i'm thankful for the unending love, support and encouragement that flows from her. she is an amazing person and mother, and if more people could be like her, the world would instantly become a better place.

anne, i hope you know how much you are appreciated and loved by the adams six-pack! :)


sorry for this horrible picture taken with my phone, but you get the idea.

anne's joelle and jaden, and my isaiah and mikey

i have a secret

i'm a sneaky mommy and i sneak the 'good stuff' into anything the boys will consume at any chance i get. i haven't gone so far as sneaking spinach into the brownies, but i'm getting there. just call me 'the nutrition ninja'.

we recently started a new ritual around these here parts so that i can practice my ninja skills. every afternoon, after we pick isaiah up from school, we bust out the blender and concoct a round of super yummy berry smoothies. the boys suck these down like there is no tomorrow, so i had to jump on the opportunity to sneak in some good stuff.

so delicious and very unassuming, right? {insert sinister laugh here}










the boys also get a kick out of 'helping' with making their smoothies, so that's always a plus. we don't follow a recipe and pretty much just throw in whatever we have; usually strawberries, blueberries, bananas, plain yogurt, and apple juice to thin it down. and every cup gets 1/4 tsp of probiotics, 2 tbsp of ground flaxseed and 1 tsp of fish oil.

the nutrition ninja strikes again.

time's up

surprise!


that's right, monkey face. surprise, surprise. you're three months old today. this means your three-month probationary period is up. after today, you're either in or you're out, so you'd better make a quick decision.

ah-hahaha. i know, mommy is hysterical. we all know you're not going anywhere!


the only place you're going is into the book of world records for shortest and fattest neck.


and maybe this one is going on the cover of gq, googoo quarterly.


three months old, and this is how you spend your days...chillin' in your bumbo, watching your crazy bruddahz run buck wild. don't look so worried, wyatt. you'll catch on quick and you'll be partaking in their shenanigans soon enough. 

sunday fun day

today was one of those days that are few and far between where we had absolutely nothing to do. no errands, no parties, no appointments. i wish we had more of these days. hanging out and having fun...just the six of us.

we sat around in our pajamas all morning until about 1 o'clock, when we decided to head to the park. it was the first day without rain in about a week, so we made sure to enjoy the sunshine. and the bikes got their first tune-up since summer. whoohoo! spring is here! {kind of}

our doggy, cooper, also loves the park. particularly, the swings. and tubby little wyatt needed to get out for a minute. otherwise, he would still be eating and getting tubbier by the minute.

we came home from the park just to play out front some more! the sound of squeals and giggles of our sweet little boys filled the air...the afternoon was absolutely perfect. well, almost perfect. the ice cream truck didn't drive by. boo hoo.

there was a lot of wagon pulling action. lots of playing catch. frisbee tossing. parachute play. biking. scooting. you name it. the boys even decided to extend their outdoor play area into our neighbor's lawn and driveway. good thing we have nice neighbors.

we even took inventory of our spring/summer toys. yup, we still have that t-shirt/floatie combo thing. fabulous. i wonder if they make anything like that in adult sizes. that would be h.o.t.

with a house full of boys obsessed with mixed martial arts, it was only appropriate that the garage be outfitted with a 12x12 wrestling mat and equipped with punching bags and gloves of all sorts and sizes. this is the man/boy cave. i need a mom cave. seriously.

liam enjoyed his time in the garage with his daddy.

after the kiddos went to bed, i snuck out to wal-mart and picked up some fabric i needed for a couple crafty  projects i hope to complete this week. my sewing machine and i will be spending a lot of time together while i try to make some bandana bibs for wyatt and reusable sandwich and snack bags for the boys' lunches. wish me luck! if you don't see a post later this week, that means they were a complete and utter fail!

liam's super food

my liam is a pretty picky eater. he has phases where he'll eat a few different things at a time, and that's it. it's always been frustrating because i never felt like he was getting all the vitamins, nutrients, etc, that he needs from his food. that food battle finally ended last week. i was strolling through my happy place {target} and stumbled upon these little pouches of perfection in the baby food aisle.

ok, i get that i'm feeding my two-year-old son something that is labeled as suitable for one-year-olds on the package. my response to that is a big, fat WHATEVER. it's the same fruits and veggies that i'd like to feed him in their natural form, but he refuses. so if he'll take it all in as a soft mush...so be it. this brings me to my annoyance with labeling of toys as "age-appropriate." don't toy manufacturers realize that kids don't always develop at the same rate? why not label them as some sort of "developmentally-appropriate"? because here i am shopping for toys with my autistic two-year-old son, who is about the size of a four-year-old and has a developmental delay of one year, in the section of toys suitable for one-year-olds. and if anyone gives me the stink eye about it, i will not hesitate to pop you in your eye. anyway, i digress....

this stuff is awesome. not only is he getting the nutrition i always feared he was missing, but the stuff is also  gluten free and dairy free. it works with his gfcf diet. score! needless to say, i cleaned out the shelf of every flavor. and liam sucks down one, sometimes two, of these at every meal. he loves it. i love it. the world is right again.

it's all right

i've probably gone on and on, countless times, in this blog about what a great big brother isaiah is to the little ones. and how he's always so helpful and supportive and extremely sensitive to everyone's feelings. and how he's embraced his role as the big brother more graciously than we expected. and how we can always count on him when it comes to being a good role model to his younger borthers. you know, all that good stuff. so i won't go into it again. oh, wait. i just did. sorry.

there was another example that happened today that further exemplifies isaiah's wonderfulness. the boys were being unusually quiet in the living room, so i went in to investigate. i found isaiah helping liam with his letters. isaiah wrote the alphabet on his dry erase board and as he pointed to each letter, liam recited the letter name.

my heart could not have been more joyful than it was at that very moment. liam was reciting the letter names and isaiah was teaching him. 

i know there are many things that i haven't done right in my life...but it doesn't matter a single bit anymore. i have boys that are loving, patient and supportive to one another. my world - our world - couldn't be more right. 

embrace the camera - march 24

here's a typical friday night in the adams house.

the mister and i are made for each other, wouldn't you agree?

and some cuddle action with my sweet little man.

this is also a typical of a night in our house. 

the family band cranking out some fresh beats.

i love raising boys!

between jam sessions, the boys love to skype with their grandpa.

their funniest conversations happen via internet and camera.

i'm doing really horrible with blogging. i need to step it up and get back to it.

it's not like i have anything better to do.

geez. i'm such a lazy bum.

my handsomes

i'm not sure where my handsome big boys went. 

we went to my niece's birthday party with them and came home with these two very scary lookin' dudes. 

his roughest day yet

liam's been doing great with therapy lately, as i showed in the videos of him naming his letters and numbers. but, obviously, it's not always rainbows and unicorns. this morning, liam had one of his roughest days yet with therapy. i guess his autism was showing.

the most important thing we are trying to teach him is to sit in a chair to prepare him for doing tasks at a desk when he starts school in a classroom setting. every three minutes, a timer goes off and that signals that it's time for him to sit down in his chair. he has to complete tasks (i.e. complete a puzzle, shape sorter, ring stacker, etc.) before he can get up from his chair again. he was doing two tasks in the chair for a while and did so well with that, so his therapists decided to increase it to five tasks.

the increased expectations started today. and, let me tell you, liam was NOT happy with it. he refused to sit in the chair the when the timer went off. he kicked, punched, flailed, pulled my hair, threw toys at me and his therapist, all while screaming-crying at the top of his lungs. i had to physically pick him up and put him in the chair, only for him to flail harder and arch his back so that i couldn't even sit him down properly. i was sitting behind him with my arms wrapped around him and the chair just so they would stay together. all i could do was hold him as tight as i could, close my eyes and believe with all my heart that this too shall pass...and it did, every single time. he'd complete his tasks then run off and be the happy little boy that he usually is. then when the timer went off again, he turned back into jell-o boy and dropped to the ground in tears. this scenario didn't only happen one time. it happened every four minutes...for two hours.

i seriously think that liam possesses some crazy x-men ability. there is no other way he could display such superhuman strength when things don't go the way he wants. and he is stubborn as a mule. {i don't know who he gets that from.} i also discovered today that this boy has a pretty mean left hook, because now i sit here with a bag of frozen corn against my right eye as i type this. yes. my two-year-old son just gave me a black eye.

through all of his crying and fighting, i have to keep my poker face on. but, my god, every single bit of me wants to just break down and start bawling. but i don't. because i'm his mom and i know i have to do it. liam has so much potential and he will never progress if he isn't challenged.

my bucket of patience grows bigger every day and this is just another drop into that bucket. tomorrow, i'll just have to remember to do some stretching before his therapist arrives...and also to put on a helmet and safety goggles.

liam's letters

this will be a post of few words because it's a busy day for us. but, i thought i should post this before i forget.

liam's other surprise: he not only knows his numbers, but his letters, too! 

such a smart little monkey. his mom, on the other hand, not quite the sharpest tool in the shed. i forgot to open the lens cover on the camcorder so please excuse the first few seconds.

happy monday!!!

for japan with love

take this day to think about how you can get involved.

liam's counting!

our little liam turned two years old in december.
he is the cutest, sweetest, most snuggly little peanut that you ever could meet.
and i'm not just saying that because i'm his mom.
he was also diagnosed with autism back in september.
autism shmaw-tism.
it hasn't stopped him from learning his numbers!

{don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the page and pause the music}


note that he is non-verbal besides a few words like mama (of course! :)), milk, juice, cup, and up. so the fact the he knows his numbers is seriously mind-blowing to me {and everyone else around him}. we have a behavioral and speech therapist that comes to our house every morning to work with him and liam brought her to tears last week when he showed her what he knew.

my next post will be another wonderful surprise from our little liam. i just have to get him in a good mood for the camera. :) be on the lookout!

embrace the camera - march 10

what? it's thursday already?

this week has been crazy busy and exciting, with our alpha boy turning seven and all. i almost forgot about embrace the camera....almost.

last weekend, the adams six-pack got a chance to embrace the camera at the 2nd birthday of a sweet little girl named lauren. you can visit her awesome mommy, ashley, who blogs at the peters party of 5.

it was super fun day for everyone. we are so lucky and thankful for having great friends with wonderful kids who share their special days with us.

happy thursday! one more day 'til fridayyyyy!

seven is kind of a big deal

i cannot believe our alpha boy,

isaiah zacarias

 is seven years old today! 

who, what, when, where, why, how did this happen? 

i could swear it was just yesterday that you were this chunky baby with a big, bald head.

isaiah in august 2004 - 5 months old

you've always been such a silly little monkey.

july 2007

then, i think i blinked and, all of a sudden, you were graduating preschool and entering kindergarten.

july 2009

i woke up the next morning and you were this handsome, young boy.

a sweet, sweet boy with charm and wit.

a boy with a sweet tooth who loves to run around without a shirt.

on top of all this, you've got the smarts, as well. 

isaiah received a medal for academic achievement in kindergarten.

and such a stud, too.

he won double gold at the "battle of the bay 2010" jiu-jitsu tournament.

 you are seriously the total package, kid. 

we are so in trouble when you get to high school.

shakkkkaaaaa!

you're a big brother three times over and you embrace your role so well.
always so proud and protective.

 your little bros are so lucky to have you as their bodyguard and fearless leader.

isaiah with newborn mikey in 2007

isaiah with liam in 2008

isaiah with wyatt in 2010

we know that we aren't always the perfect parents.

so, thank you for always loving us and for letting us love you. 

and we hope you know that we couldn't be more proud of you than we are now.

it has been a joy to watch you grow and mature into the boy you are today.

and we are excited to see what another year, or two, or ten, will bring.

little hands

liam and his little hands are constantly hard at work. he loves...no, really...LOVES puzzles of all sorts, shapes and sizes. earlier today, i was crafting a birthday banner for my niece and cut the lettering out with my cricut. he immediately went after the letters and my scraps and saw them as a brand, new puzzle. 

 i can't wait to see what these precious hands will create someday.
this made me remember another time when we were out for lunch...someplace that serves multi-colored tortilla chips. liam immediately saw this as a sorting exercise. :)

this little boy is always full of ideas and i can't wait to see what he'll surprise me with tomorrow.

hold up...time out

mikey was on time out yesterday {just one of many, many times} and he looked so darn upset, and cute, that i had to take some pictures. i think the fact that i was taking pictures of him at one of his darkest hours {or darkest three minutes} made him even more pissed off! oh well, i am mom and i can take pictures of whatever i want. 

and if you didn't hang from the curtains pretending you were on a zip line in the rainforest with diego, resulting on the entire curtain rod and its brackets being ripped from the wall, you wouldn't have been in this position to begin with. hmmm...???? better choices, my child....you need to learn to make better choices. next time, hang off of the ceiling fan. at least that thing is mounted to steel framing.