Dressing To The Nines

About two weeks ago one morning we woke up to the boys dressed in swim trunks, puffy vests, beanies, and shoes. Phil asked them where they thought they were going and the boys said the beach! Ok that explains it. The next day they did it again and it was all very cute but by the 4th or 5th day I was getting tired of having to put the same clothes back in their respective drawers. So I reprimanded everyone and asked them to please stop! I also put all those clothes they kept putting on in a big box and threw them in the basement hoping that was the end of that. Of course I was wrong and they kept it up except now with different clothes. I mentioned it to one of their teachers and she said it was probably just their way of trying to become more independent (I guess at some point they do have to learn to dress themselves, I just didn't realize the process would be so annoying). So that made me feel a little bad for telling them to stop playing dress up for the sake of not having to put extra clothes away each day, ooops!

It should be to no surprise to me that the process of gaining more independence automatically comes with a hefty dose of annoyance. Take for example, getting these kids into the car. When they were babies I used to stress out and think it was so difficult to go anywhere when they were infants because of the fact that I'd have to load everyone up in their infant carseats and take them out one by one to the car (we have an unattached garage where our car has never been parked, we park in the drive way, so I'd be trekking back and forth in the elements). It was a lot of work but when I'd finally drive away at least I felt a sense of accomplishment, yay I did it! I was so excited when the boys finally could walk themselves to the car, little did I know how difficult (not physically, but mentally) it would be get them to walk into the car. Try carrying them when they want to walk and you may be dealing with a tantrum that results in doubling the time it take to get them in side the car let alone buckled in their car seats! I can buckle everyone up in about 30 seconds flat but then THEY want to buckle themselves in, which turns into another arduous brain wrecking ordeal. 

"Sit on your butt Caleb

Sit on your butt Eli

Thomas stop clicking that light off and on!

Now sit on your butt Thomas!"

(repeat)

"Do your top buckle Caleb

Eli don't eat that gross m&m you found on the floor! 

And do your top buckle Eli

Do your top buckle Thomas"

(repeat)

Sometimes they can do one of the two small buckles below but sometimes they can't. So I watch them fumble around while I bite my nails and wait for them to scream in frustration. 

"Just let mami do the bottom ones you are not strong enough yet to do it yourself!"

They finally secede and approximately 20 minutes after locking my front door I drive away feeling as frazzled as ever!

Why does their independence have to be so annoying?! 

Anyways at least it makes for some cute pictures...

Thomas dressed himself to the nines because not only does he have a blazer on he also has...

a dress shirt!

Caleb looking quite happy with himself!

Eli is attempting to do a button...he came really really close but no cigar!
I can only imagine how fun it will be to wait around for three little boys to button up a dress shirt with 5 buttons each on meeting days, ugh!

Phil and I had to admit that besides his shoes being on the wrong feet that Caleb looked pretty darn good!

Just had to share how bad Caleb looks in this picture (you may have to click on it to get a better view). Not only does he have some kind of sauce on his cheek but the boys face is a wreck and looks like he got into a cat fight with an actual cat! A bruise on the top of his forehead he got from throwing himself on the floor (is own doing), scratches on his cheek from Thomas while they were fighting, and more scratches that I have not idea how he got but appeared after he'd been jumping on my bed with his brothers. 

yup...pretty much bad to bone