Tristan makes me laugh!

Chris has been so bummed that he hasn't been hunting yet this season. In fact he hasn't been able to hunt in a long time. His buddy Paul Wallace sent him a picture of a deer he had shot recently showing the bloody entrance wound. Chris was excitedly showing Tristan the picture and Tristan's face got a little sad. Chris asked him why he was sad and Tristan said "because I wish it was YOU who shot the deer dad."

SO Chris is finally out hunting this morning. Lets hope he gets some BIG game!!

Up in the sky! Apples...Bapples

Soren has a fascination with airplanes and anything that he can spot way up in the sky. It all started when we would lay on the trampoline and stare up at the sky. He moves his arm side to side to show the clouds are moving. He points at every bird, bug and airplane he can see and makes an excited noise. I can't believe how sharp is eyes are. He can spot the tiniest plane thousands of feet high.

Barrett has always been my talker. He can carry on a whole conversation with himself and seems to know exactly what he is saying. It is nothing but mumbling and gibberish to me. Yesterday he spotted an apple on the counter and desperately wanted to hold it. I gave it to him and he held on to it for an hour or so then decided to try a bite. He ate half the apple and I had to trail him and pick up pieces of skin he would spit out. The whole day he was running around with it saying BAPPLE, Bapple! He is just too darn cute!!! AND I just Love the way his smile lights up his whole body.

These boys are such a blessing to our family. I can't imagine one without the other.

Mother fighting Breast Cancer delivers twins b/g Babies!!

I just found out about a local woman who is battling with Breast Cancer and is a new mother of twins. She just had healthy 6 lb boy and girl babies and she starts her Chemo this week. Our local Multiples group is trying to figure out a way to help this family. It brings me to tears thinking about the trials this family is facing. She is such a young and beautiful woman and I hope that they triumph over her Cancer and she can enjoy every moment with her precious babies. Keep them in your prayers.

Ruffin' around on the Trampoline

I have been putting the boys on the trampoline since they were babies hoping that one day they would get used to it and want to jump with us. That day is here and they are WILD!! Tristan, Barrett and Soren wrestle while Eliana bounces them around. Tristan still gets a little rough but Barrett is the toughest. He is seriously strong! He can get a death grip on you and it hurts like non other!

PS off the topic. Eliana asked me if there will be food in Heaven. I told her there should be and then she asked me "How would you know? You've never been there." She is just too smart for her own good.

Last swim of the Summer

Eliana has gotten very good at swimming under water. She doesn't seem to think she can swim on top though. Strange child!! Tristan was off running errands with dad but the boys and Eli had fun in the water. Barrett and Soren LOVE splashing around and being glided on top of the water. I think Soren will be an early swimmer. He is very eager to go all in and he can't keep still. He is like a bar of soap in the water!! They are even worse in the BATH!!!

Dog food, dog food everywhere...dog food, dog food in my hair!!!

The boys love to go out on the patio and feed Diesel his food. They think it is SO much fun to play fetch with his food. They hide it in crevasses, stuff it in toys and worst of all...they eat it!! I used to stress out about it but realized that there are worse things they could be putting in their mouths. The funny part is when I catch them in action. As soon as I step out into the patio I give them "the eye" and say spit! They both start spitting out all that nasty dog food. It is so discusting and hilarious all at the same time! Now I need to catch Soren on video as he is sliding at light speed down the stairs and Barrett when he throws one of his silly tantrums.

Chris and Tristan's Fishing Trip To Alaska

Last year Chris took Eliana to AK to go fishing with Grandma Elaine and Grandpa Gary. This year was all about the boys! Chris and Tristan flew up with Jess and his dad Jim for 10 days. They had a great time fishing the beautiful waters down in Valdez, AK. I love how the gorgeous mountains climb straight up out of the ocean waters and the waterfalls that come down from the glaciers. Can you tell I am totally jealous that I didn't get to go??!! They had loads of fun fishing but didn't catch as many as they hoped for.

Tristan had fun playing with Gary and Elaine and roaming around the Alaska State fair.

They saw a big black bear that was roaming the camp grounds. They saw several sea otters and sea lions.

There was also this stubborn star fish that was eating their bait.

I should just have Chris post about it since he was there! I sure did miss them and was ready for Tristan to give me a big hug.

My husband's the BEST!!

Eli and I flew out to Arkansas for the long weekend. I left her with Grandma and Grandpa Eastman while I drove out to Oklahoma for my friend Tracy's wedding. The whole weekend was a blast and we had a great time. Chris was left behind with the 3 boys. Other than a few phone calls asking "can the boys eat Chicken Salad?" and "how come you have never taken video of Soren flying down the stairs? It's hilarious!" Chris did a great job with the boys. He cleaned the kitchen every night, swept the floors, folded laundry and kept the kids entertained. I have to say that Chris is a fabulous husband and father!!

Check it out! A new Alice in Wonderland

I saw these pics on a friends blog and I can't wait to see the movie next year. click here

Independence Day celebrations

We got to an early start and headed out to Fort Stewart with Kayleen and her kiddos Zach and Mackenzie to enjoy all the fun and free festivities. Chris stayed home with the babies so they didn't have to endure the relentless HEAT. The day was filled with face painting, crafts, jumping on inflatables, riding loads of rides at the carnival, playing at the sprinkler park, sliding down the water inflatables and swimming in the big pool with the twisty slide. We finally left around 6pm sunburned and we still had to pry the kids into the van. They had so much fun they couldn't stand leaving.

Tomorrow we are putting on our own fireworks show out front. The babies love the colorful smoke bombs. I will hopefully make a point to post again with all the fun pictures of the night.

I am proud to be an American! I am eternally grateful for all of our freedoms and liberties. I am very proud of my husband for his service to our great country and to all the men and women to give so much of their heart and soul to protect the meaning behind our flag. If you haven't heard the story of Francis Scott Key then you must look it up online or email me and I will send you a great audio video. for some reason it wouldn't let me upload it. Have a safe and happy 4th of July!!!

In DEEP water

OK, OK, OK!!! I know I have been a major slacker for not posting in a very long time. I have lost the fire. I am on my way to bed but I thought if I write this quick post maybe it will spark something in me to do it again tomorrow:)

I have to post about our trip to Italy and all the happenings with the family. Wish me luck!!!

In paris

Well, we are in the Paris airport waiting to catch our flight to Rome. We are tired but have had a good journey so far. I am totally excited about the 3 weeks to come. It was a little hard saying good bye to the kids. Eliana woke up this morning happy and normal but when she saw Grandma and Grandpa at the house so early she realized that today was the day. She started to get really sad and cried. She got better after talking about all the fun things we would be bringing back for her. We walked her to the bus stop and she seemed fine. Tristan came with us to the airport and cried after we left for 10 mins or so until Grandpa took him to walmart to buy a little pool. Which I hear the babies absolutely LOVE. They are water junkies for sure. I didn't get to kiss the babies goodbye because they were sleeping when we left. I miss them already but it is not weighing heavily on my mind. I am sure once all the fun starts I wont miss them as much.

I will post pictures for the kids and all to see. Ciao!

Crochet giveaway!!

My friend is having a giveaway. you should check it out!
http://createcrochet.blogspot.com/

Achieving Goals

I was able to experience one of those "proud parent" moments yesterday at church. You know...the kind when you can't stop smiling and your tummy gets excited! Recently our Primary leadership put up a chart to keep track of those who could pass off their 13 Articles of Faith. As soon as Eliana heard about the challenge she wanted to DO IT! So every night we practiced an article of faith and the following Sunday she passed it off and got a sticker on the chart. I could see her beaming with a positive self-concept and the feeling of success. She set the lead in the whole primary and last Sunday was awarded a prize in front of everyone for achieving her half way point. If she wasn't SO shy she would have spouted the fist 7 articles of faith out as fast as she could. I am very proud of my little 5 year old who has a memory just like her daddy's!

When we first started practicing and she was doing so well, I could tell Tristan starting to feel down on himself. We were giving Eliana praise for her success every night at bedtime and Tristan was watching it all silently. I started to give him a little extra attention and tried teaching him the AOF but he didn't show any interest. The Sunday before last when they told Eli she would be awarded her halfway prize Tristan changed his attitude towards the whole thing and made efforts to learn the first AOF. He and Eliana are totally different personality types and this type of stuff doesn't come as easily for him. He gave it his all and passed off his first AOF on Sunday. Not only that, he showed an interest in doing the second. I hope he keeps his motivation and can feel the same success that is so good for building his own self-concept.

Lately I have been making a huge effort in my parenting. It may not be noticeable to others but I have been trying my hardest to not respond to my kids with anger when they make mistakes. Instead, I approach them with love and give out a solid consequence. I can tell a difference in their behavior already. This is a very difficult thing to do and I can't always bridle my anger or frustrations. I have been thinking a lot about their future and how challenging it will be to parent them as teenagers. I really need to shape them NOW and teach them respect, consequence and how to solve their own problems instead of coming to their rescue. I remember walking all over my parents and getting away with so much. I look back and feel awful for the stress I put them through. If only all parents had the resources and took the time to mold their kids at an early age then our society might not be so scary!

Well, I have to say I am very proud of my kids, and my husband for participating every night with the kids. It is a great feeling to have such a united family. Their is no greater love than what we share within our families.

Barrett's first words

I keep forgetting to post about important things and I don't want this to be forgotten. Barrett's first word is DADDY! He says it like (daa-tee)It is soo cute. His other word he loves to say is Ah-Oh. He learned that fast. He loves to drop things from his high chair and I used to say Ah-Oh and pick it up. Now he does it for fun and smiles big while saying AH-OH over and over. He practically throws food at the dogs and laughs hysterically watching them scurry to find the feast.

Barrett is an adorable little guy. He is great at independent play but on the other hand he doesn't want anyone but mom. He is very curious and likes to discover new things. He absolutely loves to play with the dogs. Poor Bella just lays there while he pulls open her mouth and cracks up laughing while she licks his hands and snuffs at him. Barrett has the biggest smile I've ever seen! His whole face lights up, he crinkles his nose and his eyes close shut. I can't help but laugh every time I see him smile. It is fun watching him finally start to walk from his never ending knee walking. He is so wobbly and unsure but he is quickly gaining confidence. I still love that the babies love to play and wrestle with each other after bath time. I always put them both in Barrett's crib naked before I get them dressed and they love to romp around. Tonight I got Soren out first and I put him in his crib and he started throwing a big fit. I realized he wanted to be in the other crib. As soon as I put him in Barrett's crib he laughed and waited. Barrett joined him and they were at it once again. Thankfully Barrett has cut back on the biting!

I love little Barrett!! He is very precious to me.

Easter fun

The morning started off a little mixed up. Tristan has been sick so he slept in late. The babies were up first and I didn't think about them going after all the eggs the Easter bunny had set out the night before. By the time Eliana had woken up I had already picked up all the eggs in the house. When she woke up she found her basket and I explained about the eggs and told her after Tristan woke up we would hide all the eggs outside.

Chris gave a talk in Church and I was SO bummed I didn't get to hear it. The Stake President said it was Masterful and he was Spiritually edified and everyone I spoke to that day commented on how much they enjoyed his talk. I am truly sad I missed it. After Chris came home we hid the eggs and all the kids came outside for the hunt. I think they had more fun hunting eggs at our home than any other place. It is great to have a nice, big yard to hide them in. This year I put little toys in the eggs instead of candy. I haven't really been limiting their candy intake as much as normal, I just want all of it to be gone asap.

I attempted family pictures. I have a feeling from now on family photos are going to be a real head ache with these kids.

Our Easter was filled with family togetherness, the love of Christ and an appreciation for the Atonement.

4 weeks and counting!

Our Italy trip is upon us! We have made all our hotel reservations and are excited about all the fun things we get to do while we are there. My mom asked me how long I thought it would take for me to completely unwind. I told her I would let her know:) Next on my list is to go buy some new clothes so I don't look like a run down mom in jeans and a t-shirt all the time.

The babies are walking...yeah!!! Soren started about a week ago and walks about 90% of the time. Barrett started walking on his knees 3-4 weeks ago and that is his preferred way of cruising the house. I catch him walking through the house but as soon as he spots me he gets down on his knees. I give him another week or two till he is trying to keep up with Soren. It is ironic since Barrett was the first to sit-up and to crawl. I guess one can never truly predict these things.

Eliana is turning into a beautiful little girl. Her hair is almost down to her waist and she is all about giving and getting hugs lately. She is learning to read and doing an incredible job. She is very enthusiastic about reading. She has made some good friends in her pre-k class this year. I am hoping we will have plenty of friends for play dates this summer. I am already getting anxious about having all 4 of them home all the time. I have a couple friends that we are planning trade-offs with. I think we will be at the pool a lot this summer! Hopefully the babies will enjoy the water like they do in the bath.

Tristan's birthday is TODAY! He is now a big boy of 4 years. I can hardly believe it. Where is the time going. We had a great little party planned for today but he has been sick with a high fever. If his fever is gone all of today then we will re-invite all this little friends, but for now it is going to be our little family, Jess and maybe the neighbors. We are cooking out on the Big Green Egg and having cake while the kids run around back and jump on the trampoline. Tristan is going through a fun yet difficult phase. He is all boy and loves to go shooting with his daddy. Soren loves to give Tristan hugs and Barrett just laughs at the crazy things Tristan does. Most of all I love Tristan's sweet spirit. He can be the most loving and kind little guy.

Today we are going to J.F. Gregory Park for a massive Easter Egg hunt. Last year it was insane to see the mass numbers of kids rush the park to find all the eggs. Even though it is craziness, the kids still have a great time so it is worth going.

Max and Ruby

Today I was able to go with Eliana's class on a field trip to the civic center to watch Max and Ruby. We all had a blast. We got front row seats right in the middle. They didn't allow any photos to be taken during the show which was a bummer! Eli had a great time with her friends and afterwards they had a picnic in the grass and ran around for a while. It has been a really fun day!

Happenings in March

I feel I have completely neglected my blogging lately. I consider blogging the only form of journaling I do and it is a way to stay personally connected with friends and loved ones. I have to blame how crazy my life has been lately and that I created a facebook account. I was completely addicted to it at first and I am trying to slow down and reconnect myself with reality.

Now that I have successfully stunk up my kitchen I can retreat to the office and blog. Here are some of the latest happenings of the Damato family:

-Tristan never fails to crack us up laughing. At bed time he said he missed our little dog Lanie (a Yorkie that we had to find a new home for). Chris said that maybe when Bella gets old and dies we can get another dog. Tristan replies, "I'm going to pray that Bella has an accident and dies so we can get a new dog". That kid! We obviously had a laugh then a little talk. Funny because he loves Bella.

-The babies are finally starting to walk!! They are almost 15 months old and still aren't brave enough to move those little legs. Soren will walk by himself across the room with encouragement. I even spied him walking down the entryway on his own accord. Barrett is extremely stubborn. He loves to cruise around the house walking on his knees. Every time I try to hold his hands or arms to walk him he buckles his knees and refuses. I just wish this would happen sooner than later. It is much easier to hold their hands and take them places than it is to carry two 26 lb. babies.

-OK I started this draft a couple weeks ago and never finished it. SO here it is and I am on to a new post. ;-D