#1.  The boys aren’t wearing any shorts.  Nope, that is scivies under those oversized t-shirts…this is their preferred mode of dress.  Blame it on potty training or what have you, but no matter how many pants cover those legs during the day, this mom inevitably finds them wadded in a corner later with little naked legs and tidey whiteys running here and there and everywhere!

#2. The sheer amount of dirt, chalk & other unknown substances that coat their faces and skin!  These boys need a BATH!!! Which they promptly got as soon as the photo op was over….and which they get every nite out of sheer necessity!!!

#3.  The chalk.  You give these kids an inch and they take a mile.  Joe and I had just got done praising Avery for his first ever circle drawn by hand.  15 minutes later we return to the backyard because the boys want to show us more masterpieces……the ENTIRE backyard is covered in circles.  The walls of the house, random pieces of wood, the fence and all over the floor there are circles covering every chalkable surface. 

Hence the video….the ring.  So yes, I know the original ring is a scary flick, and that was actually my intention with this one, but since no scary music would avail itself to me in my search, it turned out that Little Big Town’s song Boondocks was the perfect fit when applied to these grubby faced orphans running around in their underwear reveling in the simplest of art forms- chalk.

So here you have it, the world premier of The Ring- Reyes boy style. (sorry the resolution on the internet is not so hot…still working the kinks out in this process…but this is too cute to wait:)

 sometimes you get more than just candy filled eggs….the E.B. has a practical side these days.  Goggles and socks.  Sweet!  (Maybe he should have provided a toothbrush and paste too??????

Oh, by the way, this is the coffee table that will be featured on the blog for the last time.  This long time family friend has finally met the ultimate disgrace thanks to the artful hand of Avery Jude….no, that is not crayon….that is deep groove scratches made with the hook end of a bungee cord. (????).  And yes, I could refinish it in all my spare time, but since that is a bit hard to come by these days, it will go in our church rummage sale this weekend.  This table served us well, surviving nail polish, crayon, marker, spilled beverages of all kinds, melted candies and mooshie food of various types…yet its day has finally come to bid adieu.  What will take its place????  We are not sure but the one thing we do know is that we won’t be spending a whole lot…..its risky business being furniture in our house!

I am feeling mega preggers these days…not in the “good” ways yet…still feelin the first trimester woozies 24/7 even tho we are approaching week 17.  Thats ok, it won’t last forever….just another 20 some odd weeks more at the most!   Wow….I don’t think that did too much for my positive thinking.  Ok, leave the week count out of it and lets just say we are almost halfway there:) 

3 weeks until we find out WHO is in there….and then the names will be leaked….at least the list of possibilities anyway.   Anytime before then I should start feeling movement….I am anxiously awaiting this moment….I may have felt a few flutters recently, but never consistently enough to know if that is baby or belly:)  Anyway flutters or not, someone IS growing in there, as the photos below prove!  Hooray!!!

This may be the last shot for that shirt tho!

Blogging backwords is no small task, but one I have inevitably put off for so long that it must be done! Hence the new blog location, as wordpress is light years ahead of bloggspot and ultimately saves this momma time, which the lack thereof is why I haven’t blogged so long afterall! So without further ado, here is a look BACKWORDS at our 2009 so far, starting off with the most recent pics of the boys so that their cuteness will suck you in to reading the rest of the post…..

Just before I leave for a photo shoot today I snap a couple of quick close ups of the boys while I do a systems check of my cam before packing it in the bag.

Donovan is now 4.  Says he is five, or fourteen, but he is really four.  Doesn’t act four or five…..acts fourteen.  Split personality of total sweetness transforms into a complacent tween with an answer for everything.  At least he thinks all girls are princesses…..and he whips out princess treatment on mom whenever he is in trouble.  Dang it….it works.

Avery.  Oh Avery.  The bad thing about zooms when you are three is that your boogers look really big.  But those brown eyes are heart-melting.  The other thing that melts easily is his temper, which will surely serve him well someday, but right now absolutely wears this momma out.  However, he, like his big brother, has enough moments of absolute poetic heart-warming tenderness that I just may keep him around a little longer:)  LOL.  He is my sweetheart, but he is a one woman man….and don’t you dare look at his mom you little playgroud villians, he will tell you like it is: “Thats MY momma….don’t look at her. She’s MINE.”  Thou shalt not covet thy playmate’s mother….thats in the Bible- King Avery Edition.

Now we begin from the oldest event to the newest.  Invaders from the north in the form of doting aunties crashed our New Year’s Eve party and stayed for a few days of fun in the Texas sun.  The boys reveled in every moment and Jamie, Sam and Mary learned just how un-relaxing being an auntie can be:) 

Now I had vowed on Christmas morning that I was going to get myself a puppy.  After my emotional miscarriage in mid-december, I realized that the blues were not going away and by Christmas decided it was either puppy or prozac.  So Joey softened enough with that threat to whisper a yes to which I took immediate action before he could change his mind.  So, while my sisters were visiting, I decided it was the perfect time to go puppy shopping.  And I didn’t want just ANY pup….it had to be the tiniest, softest, sweetest puppy possible.  So this picky chick dragged sisters and sons all over town looking for the perfect pup and FINALLY we found her.  Stella Luna.  ……Joey and Jamie insisted that she be called “Squishta”….since Joey nearly squished her within the first five minutes of being in her new home, but I prevailed and she is our little gem:)  See….I got my “girl” one way or another:)

The boys adore her, and she is their snuggle partner.

Shortly after the New Year we went to the Cathedral for the feast of the Epiphany and a gorgeous Concert & Theatre production. This was the donkey that Mary rode in….literally, down the aisle of the Cathedral.  And this was the picture that convinced me the boys needed haircuts.  They actually have the same doo as the donkey!  Yikes!  But oh do they EVER look so darn handsome in those duds….handpicked by Nana in Oklahoma, she has good taste.  That is the one thing this mom loves about her boys, they take great pride in dressing up for a special occasion! 

And speaking of a special occasion……one of the most special of the year so far was the wedding of our dear friend April- my best friend,  an honorary auntie and Avery’s Godmom.  Both boys were the ring bearers….what April was smoking when she made that decision, I don’t know, but despite the nightmarish visions we had, we gave our blessing since the pillows were to bear fake rings- whatever happened, we reminded her diligently- was on her.  Both boys spent months caressing their shoes and fancy suits, awaiting the day when they could make that important march down the aisle. They were surprisingly into the whole thing, both practiced carrying pillows of all shapes and sizes throughout our house (on their own…I did no coaching!)  Finally the big day (January 24th)arrived….and after all that practicing,  Avery fell asleep just before the ceremony began, leaving Donovan to escort his lovely flower girl Lizzy alone. 

Shocker of all shockers…the Reyes crew goes on vacation!!!!  Thanks to a timeshare shared by Uncle Jorge & Aunt Yvette, we got to spend a week living in the lap of luxury at a San Antonio resort, and seeing the sites.  Here….my silly boys are donning those cool shades for the IMAX theatre’s Dinosaur movie!

Of course, what is a vacation without SWIMMING????!!!!!!! These two purple lipped penguins swam until they could swim no more each day.  The resort boasted an indoor/outdoor pool with 2 waterslides.  Talk about the boy’s dream world.  However, being that it was FEBRUARY….it was a little chilly:)

Maybe the  best part of their vacation was getting to visit Uncle Jorge at his work…and climbing all over a real blackhawk!!!!  Mommy was a little tense during this one….it was  only a multi million dollar aircraft that will actually be flown later that day……should the  boys have flipped that switch???????

Ok, so after all that vacationing, we got home and the boys were a little stir crazy.  How can they go from such constant entertainment to their boring old house again????  Well, mom and dad decided to spice things up a bit and take the plunge to building a state of the art play fort…..even though our peanut sized backyard has no business hosting such a castle.  But the boys united and embarked on phase one.  The swings and climbing wall will be added later…..once we engineer our yard to fit this structure better:)

That is Donovan wratchetting all the 6in bolts in…he did that all on his own…like father like son!

The finished product….fit for two little Kings!

Captain Avery…defending his fort!

And with this parting shot, I will leave you.  I know….words to describe it would only take away from the perfection of mighty innocence.