Alamosa!

We went to Alamosa to celebrate Grandma's birthday with all the fam. Man there was a lot of us! Grandpo Pete and Grandma Rose counted 28 people, all in Grandma's house. 10 of those people were little boys! What a great time we all had. Michael had a blast with all his cousins, wrestling. At one point, Grandma's living room looked like a royal rumble, with Aunt Dottie and Jeff refereeing. Matthew got to meet everyone, and was used to all the noise in no time!

Royal Rumble!!

The boys playing soccer with Donald Pete

SSSSHHHHH Uncle Kenny let the boys "try out" the frosting on the cake....before Grandma even got there!!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma! Hope you had a great weekend!

Oh and P.S CONGRATS to Donald Pete and LeAnn, who got engaged that weekend!

And here they are!

SO here they are, the pics I promised. Sorry, there are a lot, but it has been a looooong time since I have posted anything. (Amy, how do you do this everyday??)

Michael thought helping daddy shovel snow with a rake was a great idea!

Matthew's 2nd playdate with my friend Kathy's son, Jacob. He is 3 weeks younger than Matthew. Why does my son look so much bigger??

Our visit to Coney Island in Bailey. Michael had a blast!

Jeff bought a kite for Michael and we took it to my mom and dad's since it is ALWAYS windy there. Michael was interested for about a minute. After that mommy and daddy had fun flying it.

Me and my boys after bathtime, cuddling in Michael's bed. Man I love these kids.

Michael's cousin Julio had his birthday party at Amazing Jake's in Aurora. It was a blast and Michael found a new love for car racing games. (Must take after his momma.) Auntie did the pedals while Michael drove.

My parents and I took the boys to the Aquarium, where Michael fell in love with these ducks. Ok, I did too.

It's a playdate with the cousins! 10 kids and 3 adults and only 1 picture was taken. Oh well, it was a blast. Hey Amy and Amber, what do you guys think of making this a monthly thing?

Me and my boys watching Jon and Kate plus 8.

Michael loves to help give Matthew his baths. This was when Matthew still fit in the sink. Now my baby boy is too big for it and has been moved to the tub. They grow so fast!

The firetruck Michael's Nino and Nina (Godparents) gave him for Christmas. Do you think thet spoil that kid?? (thank you Chet and Danielle!)

So there's a few of the pics from these last couple of months. I hope you enjoyed and I will post the pics from Alamosa as soon as Matthew lets me!

Happy Easter!

I am SO sorry for neglecting you for so long. Getting used to 2 kids took some time, but I finally have the hang of it. Now if only I could figure out how to transfer pics from the camera to the computer, maybe I could blog more often! So I apologize for no pics this time, I am waiting for Jeff to transfer them for me. :)
It has been a busy couple of months here at our home. From having a baby, to playdates (thanks Amy!) to swimming, a week stay at Granny and Grandpa's, a visit to the aquarium, Matthew's 1st visit to the zoo, a trip to Coney Island in Bailey and a trip down to Alamosa for Grandma's birthday....whew! I have so many pics to share and promise to post them soon.
In the meantime, here are some cute things Michael has said lately.

Me: Michael, do you WANT to be able to watch a movie tonight? (he wasnt listening to me I was trying to get him to do what I said)

Michael: Of course I do mommy (where the heck did he learn to say that??)

Jeff and I keep a bottle of tequila on the counter and Michael happened to be sitting up there one day. He grabbed the bottle and he said "medicine" so I asked him, "who's medicine?" to which he replied "daddy's". Do you think maybe Jeff is hitting the bottle a little too much after work?? LOL

I think I may be texting way too much lately. My phone beeped the other day to let me know I had a text message and Michael was quick to let me know I had a text AND when I am typing something on the phone he asks if I am texting someone. Hmmm

I was blowing my nose one day, and my wonderful son who I love with all my heart told his daddy "mommy sounds like an elephant". So much for my ego!

Hope you enjoyed those. There are tons more stories to tell, but I will spare you (for now!)

Have a great Easter everyone!!

Welcome to the world Matthew James!

It took me a little over a week, but here it is, the announcement of the birth of our 2ND son, Matthew James Madrill. After a loooooong labor (15 hours) Matthew made his way into the world at 5:55 p.m. on January 13th. He weighed in at 8 lbs and was 21 inches long. Everyone says that is a big baby, I don't think so, he seems so tiny to me.

Matthew is a good baby, doesn't cry much (yet) and is so mellow, just like his brother was. We are so blessed to have had this healthy, beautiful miracle. Here are some pics and hopefully Matthew can meet you all soon!

Michael watching Wall-E on my I-pod, waiting for his brother to arrive.

Here he is, Matthew minutes after he was born, poor baby looks cold!

Matthew James Madrill

The Madrill Family

Christmas update....FINALLY!

OK, OK, I know I am weeks behind schedule. The rest of you are talking Valentine's day and I am just now putting up a pic of all the stuff Michael got for Christmas. I know, I am a slacker. :)

Michael must have been a saint ALL YEAR, because he got so many presents, I'm still trying to figure out where to put them all. And what were these presents? Toys, lots and lots of toys. I have a huge family and most of them buy presents for all the kids (at some point, this is going to have to stop, there are quite a few kids now with three more due this year!). So anyway, usually, they will get Michael clothes. Not this year. Almost everyone gave him toys. I know I shouldn't complain, and I truly am grateful, but where am I going to put all this stuff?? I was joking with Jeff, saying I should open a home daycare, the house already looks like a daycare center anyway. LOL

So here is a pic of what he received. Well, most of it. I think a few things are missing. And yes, that is a car in there. Leave it to my mom and dad to buy him a car. They didn't buy me a car until I was 17! If anyone wants to bring their kids over for a play date, give me a call. We have all kinds of fun stuff to play with here at our house of toys!

Seriously though. Thank you to everyone for the gifts. You are all so generous and Michael loves everything!

Goodbye my Chewy - I'm going to miss you

My first Yorkie I got passed away yesterday at the young age of 6. After being sick for a few weeks and only getting worse, all that we could do was to put him out of misery and have him put to sleep. :( We aren't sure what made him so sick, and neither did the 25 (yes 25) doctors who ran tests and examined him up at CSU's animal hospital.
Chewy (short for Chewbacca) came into our lives December of 2002. Jeff and I were not yet married, I was living at home with my parents, and had been going through a rough time after a car accident and having to leave school. I had been wanting a Yorkie for years and it was the perfect time to bring him into our lives and our hearts. And take over our hearts he did. I'm not saying he was the best dog ever to live, in fact, he was stubborn and at times acted like a grumpy old man. But we loved him. We loved his stocky frame, short legs and his tongue that seemed to be too big for his mouth. We loved that as soon as you bought him a new squeaky ball, he had to rip out the squeaker, we loved that he expected to get a treat every time he went potty. We loved Chewy. Every little bit of that dog. Forever.
So I had to post a blog to honor my Chew Chew. And to post this poem I had been given when my hamster (I get very attached to all animals, big or small) passed away. If any of you have ever lost a beloved pet, this is a beautiful poem to remember them by.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

In Loving Memory Of Chewbacca "Baby" De Herrera

September 2002 - January 2009

I Love You Chew Chew

Help! I need some advice!

OK, so I need some advice/help from some experienced moms. Jeff and I just cant figure out an easy solution to this, so I thought maybe some of you moms out there can offer up what you may do.
We took Michael to a birthday party today for a friend's son at Pump It Up (in case you have never heard of it, it is a place where you can take your kiddos to go jump in bounce houses and stuff like that, it's really cool.) Anyway, that is not what our problem is. The problem, you see, is that we have taught Michael to share, to take turns, and to not hit. That's what most parents teach, right?? So here is what happened. The staff brought out cars for the younger kids to ride in, which Michael LOVES and desperately wanted a turn. The thing is, apparently other parents do not teach their kids to share and take turns, cause the other kids just kept on riding and never let Michael have a turn. When they finally did abandon the car and Michael got to get in, poor kid would be in it for about a minute (long enough for the other kids to see someone else was now playing with the car) and the other kids would come take it away from him. Not ask if they could have a turn, but literally take the car away from Michael. And because we have taught Michael to share and stuff, he would just get out of the way and the other kid would take off with the car. One kid even started a fight with Michael, scratched him up and tried to take the car away. Michael did start to fight back, but that's when we stepped in and told Michael its not nice to fight. But in my heart, I WANTED Michael to fight back, poor kid kept having to give up the car.
So here is our question(s). What do we do in that situation? The other parents aren't watching their kids, so they don't see that they are taking toys away from Michael. Jeff and I watch Michael, so we see what is happening, but don't know how far we can step in. Are we allowed to tell the other kids that no, it is not their turn yet, and that they HAVE to take turns?? I just don't think its fair because we have taught Michael to be nice, he keeps getting "screwed" (sorry I didn't know how else to state that.) And when that other kid started hitting and scratching Michael, poor Michael was the one to get disciplined, not the kid who started the fight. That's not fair for Michael, right? Are we allowed to discipline the other kid, or what do we do? And my last question is, are we too overprotective?? Whenever we go someplace, our eyes are always watching Michael, making sure he is behaving or not getting hurt. We have noticed though, that almost everywhere we go, no other parents do that with their kids. So are we overdoing it? Should we just let him run off and do what he wants?? What do all of you do? Any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated, because we want Michael to be a good kid, but at the same time, we don't want him to never get a turn, you know what I mean? Help!!