This week

Nothing big happened this week, so here are the things this week that made me smile:

Aryana is in that stage where she is so excited to run around naked.  I don't know what it is, but each of my kids went through this.  Wriggling excitedly while I dry them from their bath, eager to run as soon as I loosen my grip.  I am not sure if it is being naked that feels good, or knowing that mommy wants them in their pajamas and in bed.
As soon as her pants come off for any reason, she has gotten good and quick at ripping off her diaper and heading for the hills.

Ignore the crazy messy entrance way.  I really am trying to come up with a better set-up.

My little angel also (to say it nicely) pretends she has boy parts.  Yup, just like her brothers, pretending to "go" on everything.  She is in for a rude awakening when she learns she will not be able to pee standing up.

Along the same lines (maybe I should have titled this "this naked week"), Nico made me laugh so hard a couple of days ago.
My Niconater.  I am hoping I can find time to write a whole post about him, about each of the kids, really, but he is my mischief maker.  My Dennis-the-menace.  I have been told it is the middle child or the second child, but whatever, he is hilarious and frustrating.
We went to the park earlier this week in the fog.  Not sure why I did not put two and two together, but the fog made everything wet and muddy.  The kids and Nina, of course, had a great time, but when we got home their clothes were muddy.  I took off the boys' shirts and pants, and was working on getting Nina wiped off and everything inside, when a car drove by...with my boys in the driveway in their underwear.  All those times in the past when I judged the woman with the baby just in a diaper, or with a daughter with horribly messy hair, in their pajamas or mismatched clothes, I'm getting mine.  It's hard to keep one person in order, now I have to keep FOUR?!?!?  And when I pick out nice, preppy clothes for Matteo, he says he doesn't like buttons and wears a burnt-orange UT jersey with hunter green soccer game shorts.  I have to grin and say "good job getting yourself dressed, bud" lest I give him a complex about his clothes later in life, or does letting him wear it make him sure of that crazy decision and when he does it in late elementary he will be shunned by all the popular kids and forced to eat lunch alone.  It's no wonder we blame our parents for all our problems, it IS our fault.
Ok, parenting is making me sound crazy.
Back to the story.
I told the boys to get inside because no one needs to see them in their underwear.  Matteo made his way to the door, but Nico stood in the middle of the driveway, looked at me.  looked at the road....and dropped his underwear.  Then he ran laughing and screaming down the sidewalk, while me, Matteo and Aryana chased after him, laughing our heads off.  I realize that was probably not the right mommy-call.  I shouldn't have laughed, but seeing his little butt racing past THREE houses before I caught him was hilarious.  I could just see teenage Nico doing it on a dare at a football game...he's so going to be that kid, with his brother laughing behind him in mis-matched clothes, Aryana not far behind with scraggly hair she will not let me brush.
Wow, this is so much fun! (in reading back over this, I realize that may sound sarcastic, but I really mean it...at least most of the time)

Matteo's new fish face.

Future football star. 

And look, Auntie, the jersey fits Nico now and not surprisingly, Matteo is insanely jealous.

So pretty.  Take note of the fantastically styled hair.

What I caught her doing one day after napping.

Check out those fine motor skills.  Who needs to set up fancy sensory bins and buy small-part toys when you can just have them pick off their dead skin.

Two more cute happenings I want to remember.  We were playing outside, and Nico was having a fit in the Cozy Coup (plastic ride-in car).  He would not stop, so we rolled him inside and shut the door.  Sounds mean, but you should have heard what he was saying to us.  Very mature argument, I know.  Anyway, Aryana saw this and ran to the door crying and saying "buuuubbbbbbbbyyyyy"  (brother in Aryana speak).  Those two really have a bond.
Now, I will finish with my favorite Matteo quote of the week.  We were playing bouncy ball back and forth in the living room.  I am not sure what prompted it, maybe he "scored" - please note, that his wonky rules do not allow me to score.  If I do, somehow, he automatically gets another point - but he ran to me and said,
"This is my best day ever!"