Uh-Oh...

And just when I thought I had it allunder control, Donovan comes up with a new one. While I was finishing the last blog...he crossed the threshold into a new level of destruction. You know the doomsday sci-fi movies about aliens that come down to earth and use our own technology against us? Well, those are stories inspired by people with toddlers, I swear.

My little "engineer" just came out with a screw driver that he apparently got out of the junk drawer and proceeded to go to try to use it to take off the door of one of the cabinets. Of course he wasn't coordinated on the first attempt to do it...but do you know what this means? My ONE AND A HALF YEAR OLD KNOWS HOW TO USE TOOLS. Terrifying thought. Its only a matter of time now before I go to sit on a chair and it collapeses cuz all the screws are missing. These used to be only funny stories before....now its becoming all too real. AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh!

This week's opening statement: Mommyhood is hard work!!!!!!!
Avery, my poor baby, has now gone into full colic mode, and his Doctor and I are trying to get to the bottom of it. I have the next week to try out some meds, and if that course of action doesn't show improvement, we are going to start looking for more serious causes. Until then, I am melting what little baby fat is left by pacing the floor constantly trying to soothe the poor littl guy. Luckily (so far) once I finally get him down for the night, I always get a good 3 or 4 hours rest (unless Donovan wakes up:) before Avery gets restless. Anyway, I am holding up just fine...trying to maintain good humor through it all.

As for Donovan, he has taken this choice opportunity to go on a rampage whenever mommy is distracted by little Mr. Avery. There are a few things in our house that are major no-nos and Donovan knows exactly what they are. I honestly think there is like some inexplicable magnetic pull to these objects, because his drive is so relentless in returning (sometimes instantly) these things no matter how much trouble he gets in. These things are: the kitty litter (no its not a sand box), the cat food/water dishes (which are now moved up high!), the garbage can, mommy's cherished cookbooks, and the cupboard under the kitchen sink that has all the cleaners in it (remember the windex). It is for these things that he gets out of bed in the morning, and it is for these things that I would rather NOT get out of bed in the morning. Oh, and I can't leave out that he likes to turn on the dishwasher, the oven light, and just reach whatever his little fingers can grab off the kitchen counter. He has magnificently long arms by the way...they might look tiny, but they can go on for miles in order to get what he wants. I must add that that EVERY SINGLE ONE of the above mentioned objects are highly baby-proofed, with all of the locks and blocks you could ever want...but I guess none of them were designed with Donovan in mind. He is going to be an engineer, I tell ya.
Luckily he is talking a little more, and he always gets this big manly voice when he sees something decidedly adult...like knives, scissors, or anything hot. And he will in his deep gruff voice comment on the "sharp"ness or "hot"ness of the said items. So as long as he keeps talking himself through that kind of trouble, than many of those sorts of disasters can be avoided.

Dinnertime with Daddy is a circus, since Donnie Joe eats in his chair for a whole five minutes and then alternates between daddy's lap or navigating the many blockades and climbing onto the far end of table to try and grab things while either daddy or I or both try to ourselves navigate the blockades to get him down. Not to mention that no matter WHEN we sit down to eat, Avery instantly knows it and is not happy unless he is in my arms. So while I struggle to cut my meat, hold onto Avery, and corral Donovan, Joey and I might even get a small conversation inbetween...and I do always clean my plate one way or another. See...mission accomplished.

HOW DO I DO IT WITHOUT LOSING MY MIND?
LADIES....MOMS and MOMS to BE....keep this in mind...here are my secrets to sanity and survival:
1. I don't set goals. At this point in my life, goals mean trouble, because you never meet them and then you feel like you are just failing all the time. Without goals, every thing I accomplish is a victory. As long as everyone survives the day, the day is won...and if I took a shower or managed to do laundry or dishes, I feel as proud as if I won the Olympics with a gold medal. And if I do any of the above things PLUS something extra...like run an errand or scrapbook or sew...then I have won a PLATINUM medal...which is so good that they don't even have those for the Olympics yet.

2. Laugh. Find the humor in it...and share that humor, because we have all been there at one time or another.

Avery's motto: "Always be ready."

This is how one must sleep when you are born second to a brother such as Donovan

Okay, for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting the latest blogging update from the South, the following little "week in review" will explain why it has taken me so long to finally fulfill my promises in keeping this site updated.

Heck- forget the WEEK in review...lets just review the last 10 MINUTES.....

10:49am All is quiet in the Reyes domain...never a good sign
I search only to discover Donovan sitting on the kitchen floor dousing himself in Windex. Maybe it was something he gleaned from watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," or maybe he just thought his bath wasn't good enough and he wanted a streak free shine, regardless of the reason, he was soaked from the neck down in window cleaner.
Stifling a laugh, and chiding myself for letting him out of my sight, I carry him to the restroom.

10:51am I have peeled off all of his clothes, and all that remains is his scapular and diaper. I wash off the windex residue and leave him there in a towel while I go find him another change of clothes. (mistake #2)

10:53am Returning to the bathroom there is only a shrugged off towel where a boy once stood, so again I am searching for him, but don't have to go far as he is in the living room washing the marble floor in a sticky mixture of strawberry-banana juice with his bare hands. (Sounds like he has a thing for cleaning, huh?) I catch myself muttering aloud, "how on earth do you come up with this stuff, Donovan?" I once again return him to the bathroom and repeat the washing all over again (at least his clothes weren't on this time!). Next I dress him and make him stand against the wall while I now clean the floor.

10:55am Now Avery is crying. He was sleeping soundly in his swing
all this time, but when this kid wakes up, he does so with trumpets blasting!
I finish with the floor and go to him.

10:57am Avery gave up and went back to sleep, so I take the opportunity to open the blog for a much needed update.

10:58 am Donovan enters the room carrying something, as I see out of the corner of my eye....
a second glance and I see it is his little plush baseball. I then actually make the mistake of inwardly sighing in relief that for once he is playing with something normal....

10:59am Donovan approches Avery sleeping peacefully in his swing....and I know that can go two ways, either Donovan will reach in a lovingly pat or kiss him, or something else.
I guess this time he went for option number two, as before I can jump in to rescue poor Avery, Donovan gave him a good four or more thumps on the head with the plush (thank God) baseball.
So for those of you who were becoming perturbed with the lack of news, there. Thats the latest.

Welcome!

So you must be wondering...Chocolate Toes?
Well, the meaning for this blog name can be summed up in that famous phrase,"Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you are going to get." Hence it is for Joey and I and our respective families as we count down the months of each pregancy in anticipation of "what color" our newest addition will be. In reference to the precious little feet that scamper throughout our happy home, a perfect blend of their mommy and daddy, our boys are sweet and delicious right down to their little chocolate toes. Is doesn't take a Masters in Genetics to understand that dark is dominant, so much to the delight of the "Bugos" side of the family, both Donovan and Avery were born with the perfect tan & deep brown eyes! As for the "Reyes-Torres" side, they are still awaiting their blonde haired-blue-eyed baby. We may have to change the blog name if that ever happens!:)

Nevertheless, this is the journal of days in the lives of our little chocolate-toed boys and we their often frazzled parents. Much of the site is just photos for now, but keep checking back to hear the "colorful" stories that can only come from such a busy household!

HAPPY EASTER
(Note to self: Never take a family photo when both kids
were just "ressurected" from their naps just moments before!)

Joey's (29th) Birthday...a milestone in more ways than one....

like the fact that we even got coordinated enough to

celebrate by throwing him a party just 1 month post partum:)

Brotherly Love

Terribly Adorable Moments

(what you get when you have one boy in the terrible two's, and the other in adorable age of innocence:)

Wait mom...let me just get this booger out for ya!

All smiles................ The moment is gone:)

This is the best we could do on Easter!

We call them "Milk Chocolate" & "Dark Chocolate"

A-very Amazing Avery

Little Tiny...17 days old (3.27.06)


Little Boy Blue (4.04.06)


Off to Olan Mills for my
One Month photo shoot
4.11.06


I love my Auntie Sam!


"What do you mean there is no Easter Bunny?"


They call me Mr. Chubbs! (4.21.06)

Pregnant Pause...

Magical Moments Captured Throughout Our Pregnany

The Wonder of a Brother
(6 months along)

Sono-three weeks before birth

February 2006-Anxious Parents

So much love inside

The day before baby came; hard to believe a little person is in there!

Oh Brother

So there I was, the center of attention, the very axis upon which my parent's world did spin. Every part of every day was all about ME...cute, adorable, trying-to-sneak-toys-into-the-toilet little me!

Then something happened.

I began to sense a change in the air. Mommy and daddy began to act different. They would talk about things I did not understand. They kept telling me that I was going to be the big boy now. Now what? What was making me into a big boy? I like me just the way I was...their BABY.

Then my mommy got a big tummy....and it would move in funny ways! She told me about this thing called a "brother"...and she told me it was in her tummy! I would sit with my cat in our special window and wonder about this "brother-thing." Is it a toy? Could I eat it? When would it come? But there were no clear answers to these deep questions, so I would finally forget thinking and go back to playing.

Every night I would kiss my "brother" in my mommy's tummy goodnight. This seemed like an odd ritual, because no matter how much I would kiss it, it would never come out...only poke at me and make mommy's tummy move funny.

Then one day daddy came home all excited and moving very fast. He took mommy's suitcase and pillow outside to the Jeep. Mommy was getting stuff ready...ready for what? Then she would stop and hold her tummy with and make a strange face. Suddenly my auntie Rachel came and said she was going to take care of me for a little while...before she was even all the way through the door, daddy was rushing mommy out...a quick hug and kiss and they were gone.

Daddy came home the next day, but mommy wasn't with him. He gave me a hug and said my brother had come. But I was confused because I didn't see any brother OR any mommy of mine! More days passed, and yet mommy didn't come. Then finally after 4 days daddy told me he was going to bring mommy home...and my brother too!

Before I knew it they were walking through the door...mommy was moving very slow, but she reached down and she gave me a big hug. Then I noticed my dad carrying something funny...it was a little seat, and there was something moving inside it! He put the seat on the kitchen table, and I could hardly scramble up on a chair fast enough. I wanted to peek at this curious thing for myself.

There he was: my brother. So this is what all the excitement had been about. So THIS is a brother: a squirmy little thing with tiny hands and feet, and a face all scrunched up with a plug in its mouth. Well, to tell you the truth, it was kindof a let down at first. This brother thing seemed awfully boring. I couldn't eat it, and it didn't have any flashing lights or make neat sounds. And I had to be "GENTLE" with it. No fun, cuz I like play rough!

But now three weeks have gone by, and I have quite changed my mind about my brother. First of all he is MY brother, and I have learned that he needs me! He is always dropping his plug (we call it his paci)...and I have to crawl under the desk or into the corner to get it for him so that he won't cry. And if he does cry I have to go find my mom so that she can get him. I LOVE to kiss my brother, and I think kisses help him grow, because every time I give him a kiss I see him getting bigger. I can even hold him now...but mom has to help me because sometimes I get too excited and forget to be gentle. Oops! Plus my brother comes with all kinds of cool accessories...little shoes that I put on my fingers and tiny diapers that I can stack up, and some musical things over his crib that I can't touch.

I just love my brother...what more can I say?