Monday, December 28, 2009

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I am watching the snow fly, my daughter crafting through her Christmas gifts, my son flitting from one toy to the next. Christmas Day has come and gone, and it was a wonderful day. Hectic and too fast, but good.

We have been spending Christmas Eve at my parents' house for, well, most of our married life. First because we lived several hours away and were both working, and it was just easier to see everyone if we came back for Christmas. Next, because we had Baby Girl and my sister moved away and it was one of the few times we could all visit together. Once we moved closer, we just kept staying there, getting up Christmas morning, opening gifts with my family, driving to our house, quickly opening gifts there, and then driving to Dr. Dad's parents' house to do it all over again.

This year we actually gave Baby Girl the choice to change things, but she is happy with our tradition, and so we were all over the place just like always. I have to admit that while I love it, it is exhausting.

This Christmas was even more special because my whole family was at the dinner table Christmas Eve. My sister is getting married next August (she totally stole my wedding month...just kidding sis!) and so she and her fiancee were here. I wonder if they should have code names, too? They currently live outside of LA and I hate that I hardly ever see them. I am sure the wedding will be a hot blog topic in 2010...

Dr. Dad is back to work already, and the kids and I are going to be spending some more time with my sister before she and her fiancee go back to LA.

I will get pictures up soon...just wanted to say enjoy the week...I know I will.

Monday, December 21, 2009

17 Months

You are changing so fast now that I am afraid to blink.

Like a little parrot, you love to repeat our words...'side (outside) 'ungry (hungry) choo choo (train) sisi (sister).

You know way too many cartoon characters. Dora, Elmo, Olivia (and when you sing the theme song to that show you are so cute I can't stand it).

You are still all boy...your love for cars and trucks and running and climbing and food never ceases to amaze us. If you think you could potentially drive something you will try...

Still, you are developing some habits that remind us of your sister...playing the piano, singing, looking at books.

When Santa came to visit you and your sister on his Firetruck this week, I was not sure how you would react. I don't think you knew what was more thrilling: Santa in your house, or a giant truck parked outside.

We are so excited for Christmas morning. Last year you were just 5 months old and slept through most of the excitement. This year you have embraced everything about this time of year with such an exuberance it has made us all a little more aware of how awesome Christmas is for a child.

Thank you for teaching us to look for the joy...in everything.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Done

Cards written! Shopping completed! Groceries purchased! Cookies cooked! Just need to get the wrapping wrapped and I am DONE!

Santa...we are ready when you are!


(Well, we all look ready except for Baby Boy. He has the sniffles and it is seriously bringing his Christmas spirit down, poor guy.)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Happier Holidays

Amazing what a decorated tree can do for your spirits!

And now, by popular demand...a video of our number one Santa fan...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Greeting Cards Have Not Been Sent...

Every time I hear that Carpenters song I get a little more panicky. I am staring at my Christmas cards as I type this and I think they are multiplying while I sleep. Our tree is up, but not decorated. We have given up any hope of baking. I am not done shopping.

Each and every year, right around Thanksgiving, I think "this year it will be different! I will be done with everything by the end of the first week of December and then have the whole month to sit back and enjoy, stress free!"

It's the 15th. I am stressing.

Mission not accomplished.

Sigh.

However! Baby Boy can say Santa and HoHo and he is enjoying himself immensely. He got his first taste of Christmas cookies a few weeks ago and he has been on a mission to get more. Now that he can ask for them by name...there is no stopping him. Enjoy a video of Baby Boy and his new love...the Gookie. I'll just be over here, addressing envelopes.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Home is Where the Germs Are

While December may be the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, it is also, at least at our house, the Most Germiest Time of the Year.

Just when we got Baby Boy on the mend, Dr. Dad started a hacking cough that I also inherited. Of course these are the lovely viral types of issues that nothing other than some cough syrup might help, so they just seem to go on and on and on.

Then, Saturday night, after a day of busy fun, Baby Girl pronounced herself unwell and proceeded to get a fever. She is still not so hot (or hot, depending on how the fever goes) today. So we are spending the day chilling (hahaha, the fever humor just doesn't quit) at home.

Of course, hiding out under a blanket while watching Dora on TV seems to cheer up everyone.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

High Hopes

A few years ago, I had what is now referred to as "The Perfect Thanksgiving Weekend." It was chock full of family and fun and completed projects and impromptu happiness.

Here is the problem.

Whenever you have one of these types of experiences, comparisons will be made.

The year after "The Perfect Thanksgiving Weekend" I was moody and grumpy and had no fun at all (of course, I soon after found out I was pregnant, so I chalk that one up to hormones). Last year was good, but we were trying it out with Baby Boy and all his spit up and, well...you get the picture. So this year I was really, really trying to just let it go. See what happens. Enjoy the weekend for what it is and quit writing little compare and contrast paragraphs in my head.

I did pretty well.

We managed to fit in all the old (dinner with the family, tree lighting downtown, a trip to the Peanut Shop, our niece's birthday), and some new (paintball for Dr. Dad, Black Saturday shopping for me).

What I am learning is that every year is unique. It's fun to reminisce but not so fun to have expectations that may not be met.

I am also learning that remembering to be thankful is not always easy, but it is important for my personal well-being. It does me no good to blog about being "lucky" if I don't ever stop to remember why I'm lucky in the first place.

And I am.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

16 Months

Dog! Goldfish! Dora! Quack! Down! Up! No! Snack! Kitty! Elmo! Sister!

So many new words, so little time has passed!

You are so busy.

Busy getting teeth. Busy chasing the Cat and Dog. Busy tackling your sister when she gets home from school. Busy fighting your first goopy cold of the season. Busy eating all our food. Busy waking up at 3 am every night for the past two weeks. Busy reminding us who is boss.

We are exhausted and excited. Proud of you and perplexed by you. Wondering what is in store as you march toward month 17.

My guess is: we will all be busy.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Cinderella

Last weekend, Baby Girl was escorted by her Daddy to the annual Cinderella Ball.

She gets to wear a pretty dress, put flowers on her wrist, and dance with her Daddy.

He gets memories to tuck away for a day, not too far in the future, when she doesn't save all her dances for her Daddy.

I love that they get this special night together.

I think they love it too!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday to you, Dr. Dad.

Thank you for being such an awesome husband, father, and all around good guy.

We love you very much!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Baby Boy

At the doctor's appointment today, Baby Boy weighed in at 22 pounds 6 ounces and is 32 inches long.

Still only 15 months old, but after another haircut...

I'm gonna have to change his name to Mr. Man.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Yoda One for Me....

First we carved the pumpkins...

Some of us (Dr. Dad) got creative. That is Moose A. Moose from Nick jr. The other is a Baby Girl original design.

Baby Boy wasn't too sure about the goo inside...

Then we had the First Grade party...

A big costume parade with the whole school was the highlight of the day.

Finally it was time for Trick or Treat!!!

I think Dr. Dad has been waiting his whole life to have a Star Wars moment like this.

Baby Boy seemed to really enjoy his short time as a Jedi Master.

Baby Girl was Rosetta from the Tinkerbell Movie.

We had Dr. Dad's family over and braved the chilly weather...but the kids never seem to mind when candy is involved!

As you can see from the picture, Disney and George Lucas were well represented this year.

Hope your Halloween was a good one!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Fish, Fashionista, Fall Fun

Another mish-mash post. There is so much going on lately and, let's face it, I am too lazy busy to post every single day. So let's get caught up, shall we?

First, and most importantly, I have promised Baby Girl I would mention here that her fish are now celebrating their second anniversary with us. We bought them for her 5th birthday and they have been going strong ever since. We are not sure if it is because they are GloFish (learn all about them at this website) or if it is because of the excellent care they receive from Dr. Dad. I am betting it's because of Dr. Dad. There are 3 GloFish and some sort of algae eater in there (it hides in the filter so we never see it). Their names change depending on Baby Girl's mood...but I like to think of them as Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Sue.

Second, Baby Girl has new glasses! Her prescription hasn't changed, but after 2 years we felt she needed some new frames. She originally picked out a pair that were very similar to her old pair, but with some rhinestones on them. Then she went for a pair that were tortoiseshell. Then she found these beauties. They are, of course, from the Hannah Montana line. They are not at all what I would have chosen but this girl knows what she likes. She is very happy with her selection and has declared herself very stylish. We agree!

Third, we have been trying to get in as many fall festivities as we can, despite it being rather gloomy in the weather department. We made a mad dash to pick a pumpkin on Saturday.

It was the fastest pumpkin picking trip we have ever made. We usually like to do the whole ride out to the pumpkin patch and pick one from the field, but we couldn't seem to make it work this year. They each chose a pumpkin from the "pre-picked" section and we had just enough time to get a fun picture before the rain came (again).

I was hoping for a picture outside, but since the weather would not cooperate we did a little picture at home in their holiday finest. Hopefully I will get one outside during Trick or Treat.

Sunday proved to be a better day, weather wise, so Dr. Dad took the kiddos on a fall hike while I attended a baby shower.

Here they are on the trail.

Here is Baby Boy, practicing for his Senior Pictures.

Next up, Baby Girl's school party and Trick or Treat! Until then, Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

15 Months

Fun things about Baby Boy at 15 Months!

He has 7 and a half teeth.

He is moving up to size 4 Huggies.

He still eats like a champ. He seems to like everything but carrots. We don't know why.

He says: dog, mama, up, dada, sis, ni-ni (night night), bye bye, hi, car.

He waves bye bye and hi, but mostly to passing cars.

He LOVES cars.

He has finished nursing (too much information, I'm sure, but considering his sister took until 18 months to give up her bottle, this is news).

He is between 18 months and 24 months for clothes, mostly for length.

He lets his sister dress him up.

He loves to play "chase" with his sister.

He enjoys pointing at pictures and looking at books.

His eyes are green. For now.

He still loves to climb and get into everything.

He didn't flinch at all when a garter snake slithered up his pant leg.*

He really enjoys being outside.

He is a real joy.

*Ok, here's the story. Yesterday, I took Baby Boy outside since it was such a nice day. We were on the driveway when I saw what I thought might be a stick, until I got closer, and realized it was a small garter snake, sunning itself on the concrete. Snakes do not bother me at all, so I thought it would be fun to show Baby Boy the little snake up close. I sat him down next to it, and then tried to get the snake to move. Well, the snake wasn't too crazy about being disturbed and took off for the closest shelter it could find: up the pant leg of Baby Boy's overalls! He looked at me and I looked at him...and after laughing nervously, thought it was probably a good idea to get the snake out of there. So I picked up Baby Boy, gave him a little shake, and the snake slid right out. We then watched it slither up the driveway and out of sight.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Long Weekends, Bad Weather, Broken Cars and Adenoids

This is one of those entries where I ramble on about nothing and everything. Nothing monumental happening, which is good, I guess. But there is a lot of little stuff I might as well document. Birthdays are over, we are firmly in the school groove, it's not quite Halloween and it's still too early to think about Christmas (you hear that, Target? It's TOO EARLY! There should be a rule that all the Halloween stuff has to be gone before you can start putting up the Christmas stuff. It stresses me out).

We have a long weekend and Baby Girl is THRILLED. I think she really likes school, but she really, really likes being at home. We have a few fun things planned, but the weather here has been awful. No, it hasn't snowed, but this has to be one of the gloomiest Fall seasons I can remember. I feel like we went directly from flip flops to parkas. I am hoping we will get the kids to a pumpkin farm but it's not looking good. We may get snow on Saturday and I am not a fan of picking pumpkins in the snow.

Baby Boy is still being his adorable self. Except for the giant molar. It shouldn't be possible for a tooth that big to show up in the mouth of an almost 15 month old. He is still eating like a crazy man. We went to a bonfire last weekend and he ate 3 hot dogs. It is a mystery as to where this food is going. I suspect it is what is growing the giant molar.

A few weeks ago we had to say goodbye to our fabulous 1991 Ford Taurus. We had high hopes that the car would last us until we paid off our other car (an equally fabulous station wagon) but I knew we cursed it when Dr. Dad mentioned that in 6 short years we could apply for Historical Car status. I don't think the Ford liked hearing that. So the transmission went to the big Car Dealer in the Sky and we started looking for a slightly better fabulous car for Dr. Dad. We are closing in on a Toyota Camry that should work just fine.

So. About that adenoid thing. We took Baby Girl in for her 7 year check up. She is now 3 feet 11 inches...and not yet 40 pounds. Still long and lean, and for the most part, healthy. She had her yearly fall ear infection a few weeks ago, and the doctor that saw her at that appointment mentioned we might want to have her adenoids looked at. Dr. Dad had his removed as a child, and Baby Girl is a champion snorer. But I was genuinely surprised when her doctor took one look at her xray and declared we will be making a trip to an ENT. They are pretty large. Well, at least that is what the doctor said. I looked at the xray and just saw a bunch of white stuff. Apparently they sit on the roof of the mouth (toward the back) and you can only see them by xray. I had no idea. We aren't sure what we are going to do...we will talk to the ENT and see if removal is something that is necessary.

So that is what is going on. I think I covered all the topics and so will leave you with a picture. A rare moment of quiet, brought to you by a can of Pringles and Dinosaur Train.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

7 Years

There is something harder about this year than your previous birthdays. You are very much not a baby and not even a little girl. You are a big girl now, practicing your attitude and letting us know (just the other night at dinner) that we treat you like a baby and you are ready to be grown up.

Of course, we told you that was fine...and that you can start with a good list of responsibilities like making your bed, feeding the pets, setting the table, etc. You thought maybe being treated like a baby was just fine.

There are more times, still, that you want to cuddle with us and be silly and hold hands. But there are other times when you roll your eyes and stomp your feet and inform your Mom that "maybe you shouldn't sing out loud anymore."

Still. You are an amazing girl. Smart and funny, kind and thoughtful. You love to read and draw and play on the computer. You love to dance and sing and tell jokes.

Seven years ago we could never have imagined this day. Every year we are thankful that God allowed us to be the parents to a miracle. To celebrate your birthday is a special joy, a reminder of the blessings in our life.

Although it makes us a little sad to see the time flying by, just knowing how far you've come, and how far you will go, makes us so proud to be your parents.

Happy Birthday.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

IM ON UR BLOG WISHIN U HAPY BLOGIVERSARY



Started this blog one year ago. Still at it. Thanks for reading it!

Lucky