5 + 2 does not equal 7

Combo spring birthday party!

It's birthday season again. My little lady, who has gotten quite serious lately, turned 5 in March and my little man, who is goofier by the minute, turns 2 tomorrow. It's been quite fabulous really. They play so much together and I love hearing them giggle together while I do chores around the house. They are both taking gymnastics at the same time, separate classes, and it's so sweet when Max looks over the mini wall to watch his sister or escapes his lesson to join his sister's class. Max will ask me after crawling into bed with me in the morning: "Sissy wake?" When Maggie wakes up, Max crawls in with her and they hug.

Max loves his summer flip flops and doesn't want to wear shoes and socks anymore. He calls them "flop flops" or something similar. His vocabulary is exploding and he's saying 2 or 3 word sentences. He is now sleeping in his big boy bed and it took about a week to train him (although recent nights haven't been so easy and he's wanting out or waking up in the middle of the night). He calls out lawn mowers (his favorite), buses, and choo-choo's on the road. He has been telling us thank you for the funniest things, like changing his diaper. And speaking of, he's using his potty more and more!

Maggie is completely infatuated with the movie Frozen and Elsa, the magical sister. She belts out the songs constantly. For Maggie's birthday, I took the kids on a spur of the moment trip to the beach in San Francisco. We enjoyed beach time, the spa, and riding the train through the city. I've also started a special present theme for her that I will continue as she gets older. I gave her an antique tea cup that she can use with supervision but it's something I want to collect and save for her once she's older and on her own. We've christened it with hot cocoa :-) One day she'll have quite the eclectic collection of little tea cups and it's something we can share over the years.

I'm 5!

How old are you? Five (said perfectly)
Who do you like to play with most? Kellen and Kelsey and all my friends at daycare
What is your favorite toy? Ede (sea turtle named after her cousin) and Howie (her little dog that goes everywhere with her) and Snowball (little white rabbit)
Where is your favorite place to go? Lita's zoo (the Sacramento Zoo which her grandma takes her to often)
Why? Because I like the animal hospital and I see "Doc" there (she makes sure I know she means          pretend)
Are you happy to have a brother? Kind of
What is your favorite show? Octonauts and Stella & Sam (and then lists other shows like Caillou, Doc McStuffins, and Frozen)
What do you like to wear most? Dresses and flip-flops
What is your favorite color? Pink and purple and red and turquoise and light blue...
What is your favorite song? Taylor Swift songs, Frozen songs, Tangled songs...
What is your favorite food? Grains and star or princess soup
What is your favorite animal? Turtle
What is your favorite book? Frozen
What is your favorite craft? Coloring ("in the lines" she adds - first child syndrome :-)

I'm 2! (I hadn't really planned asking him questions but he saw Maggie being asked and was giving me his answers too)

How old are you? One (said in his learning-to-talk voice)
Who do you like to play with most? Me
What is your favorite toy? "raarh"
Are you happy to have a sissy? (nodded yes)
What is your favorite show? na-nauts (after Maggie said it)
What do you like to wear most? Flop flops
What is your favorite color? (sounded like "black")
What is your favorite song? "oo-oo-ah-ah" (Matilda the Gorilla)
What is your favorite food? milky

On the Muni in San Francisco on Maggie's birthday

Exciting August

Surprise! Life can change in an instant. For us, that means one day we are moving along as usual, the next I am in the ER with my hubby waiting for him to get an MRI, ending up in emergency surgery that night. In the course of 24 hours, he went in, got diagnosed, operated on, came out of anesthesia (hilarious!), slept some of it off, and waited for clearance from many doctors and nurses to go home and recoup for about a month. His stay at the hospital was exciting. Hubby is not one to stay still, so it was a nice change to be the one by his side helping if needed. At home...a slightly different story but after a week, he is being pretty good about not doing too much and I think recovering well. The silver lining to when something unexpected and potentially life threatening happens to you and/or your family: friends and family are there for you wanting to help and make life easier. I appreciate the kindness, it's what makes life so special in the end.

 One of the best and most fun gifts we've received since his surgery is the building of a tortoise pen for Maggie. It was something we were in the middle of so two of hubby's best buds came over to make it happen. It resulted in a day full of laughter between three goofy guys that might as well have been kids back in high school. Maggie somehow ended up on the name Wendy, which evolved into Wendell. It has a back story but the tortoise is most likely a male, so either way, he's covered.

 

 

Our trip to Oregon this summer was brief (sigh) but tons of fun. I was a little worried about Max being a handful in the car and also at night but both turned out really good. We managed to pack in fun activites every day we were there. We travelled with our friends and one of the best parts of the trip was talking over the radio between cars while travelling. That's where we reminisced about past trips (most before kids) and laughed a lot at eachother. We were able to spend a day at Crater Lake and show our four kids combined what it was all about. While the two littlest ones slept on us in ergos, we hiked the Discovery Trail along the rim of Crater Lake. Maggie did great walking 2 1/2 miles. Overall, we got some hikes in, visited a fish hatchery, the guys fished one evening, took the kids on a fun and funky train ride, visited a native american art gallery that is always a must, and made most of our meals at our cabins family-style. All in all a great time.

 

{Kiddo catch-up}

Maggie @ 4 1/2 yrs:

LOVES having her nails painted, tea parties, music and recently Mary Poppins songs (over the movie), her stuffed animals which all have names and they often are being fed with bottles and the like, picnics, and helping me cook.

She tried out soccer this summer and had a good time. She's been asking me what words mean when we're reading books - sly, tricked, cocked (as in "the crow cocked his head" from one of our library books :-). She does not look forward to her hair being brushed but loves ponytails and all types of braids. She is very sweet with her brother. This is one of the best things about having two. Maggie will sometimes mimic us when talking to him and sounds like an adult. They give the cutest hugs and kisses to eachother.


Max @ 1 (16 months):

Max needs a lot of haircuts! He loves to dance, all you have to do is turn on some fun music or he copies Maggie. They like to dance to the intro. of the cartoons Maggie likes. The kids love dancing in the car too while strapped in to their carseats. They made us laugh on the Oregon car ride.

Max gets everything we say to him and gives big nods for yes and shakes his head for no. He says a lot of uh-ohs. He started saying mama at 15 months. Then he started saying recognizable words like turtle, blueberry, and duck after that. He's our goofy boy. Not as dramatic as Maggie but they love to fight for attention at the same time.

Ok, ready for fall and Halloween costumes!

Holiday ramble

A lot has come and gone and I keep thinking "I need to write that down". Maggie's comments have been great lately, I want to bottle it all up. Oh wait, here's one:

I am fond of the old Rudolph animated movie and bought it last year to show to Maggie (she was 2). When the scene with the abominable snowman came on, it was too scary for her so we turned it off. This year, we tried it again. I built it up and she was back and forth about it. During a moment where she was for it, we turned it on. During the elf/misfit scene, I walk out of the room for a second and I hear wierd crying so I run back to see what was up and she was really crying, saying she'd seen a "claw!". I guess that was enough for her. She told me this week that we can watch it on Christmas day. Why? Because she'll be big enough then. LOL.

I discovered 4 new teeth popping through on Max Thanksgiving day. That makes 8 teeth on an 8 month old boy (as of tomorrow). He is now crawling, not just scooting everywhere and he likes to stand up holding onto things. Have I said how much he likes paper? He's like a goat. Present opening with him should be fun.

I am very much in the Christmas spirit. I've made my list of fun holiday things to do and I'm crossing them off one by one. Last weekend, when I started writing this post, we had crazy winter weather, we decorated our Charlie Brown tree (truly intentional this time), went to a Christmas party and birthday party, and I made some pumpkin bread and butternut squash soup with Christmas music playing in the background. Maggie watched the Caillou holiday movie and immediately asked for hot chocolate. I searched the cabinet and instead made her atole de pinole (like hot chocolate kind of but made with corn flour). It was "yummy mommy" until it tipped and spilled everywhere. This is our life. Something like that happens most days around here, I'm not sure we can escape it with 2 little ones running around.

I am in need of planning our next family getaway. The snow is calling me...but so is the wintery beach and family.

On my list for this month is taking Maggie to her first Nutcracker ballet! We both can't wait. She plans to wear her flower girl dress that she wore last month to a wedding. It's cleaned and ready for it's 2nd appearance :-)

{Christmas Holiday Fun Short List}

Nutcracker with the girls
Caroling
Have fun with Maggie's daily advent calendar
Listen to lots of Christmas music until we can't stand it anymore
Drink hot chocolate/warm drinks
Make a gingerbread house with Maggie
Watch the Dr. Seuss's Grinch cartoon
Make or get Maggie a scarf
Make cinnamon rolls
Have Maggie write her wish list to Santa
Pictures with Santa
Go ornament shopping
Get a couple new stockings
Go ice skating
Make holiday crafts

Two nights ago, I put Max to bed early and Maggie and I bundled up in her princess tent and read books, drank egg nog, and ate truffles with flashlights and candles until we fell asleep. She liked it so much she did it again last night. Creating good memories (especially for hubby when he sees me scrunched up in the tent) :-)

Overdue

Our household has been sick since the day after Halloween and as of tomorrow, my 33rd birthday, I'm still under the weather with my second round of mastitis. I was really hoping I'd be past my cold and back to health but then this crept up on me this week and it's crazy frustrating! Clearly a sign that I should slow down but I really don't do much more than work, be with the kids, errands, cooking... Maybe this just comes with the territory right now.

Anyways, the other day when I started this post, I was truly getting into the holiday spirit. Spending my morning with the kids listening to Christmas music on Pandora, getting excited about taking Maggie to the Nutcracker this year (her first ballet), thinking about my upcoming birthday, last weekend's beautiful wedding, and being thankful for not feeling sick anymore.

Ah, short-lived. I send a huge prayer out there for us to all be healthy soon so that we can enjoy my favorite holiday next week.

Pictures from over the past few months - it's taken me awhile to get any pictures on here, I'm a bit behind the times as usual by not having a sweet iPhone or something of the like where taking a picture and uploading them to Facebook or my blog would be a cinch. Speaking of, I have a new little iPod shuffle sitting her on my desk. It's been there for awhile and I'm clueless about how to get songs on there. That is what I want for my birthday - my husband to help me put songs on there :-)



How's October treating ya?

Last week felt kinda hard, this week is I'm feeling good. Last week I was jealous - hubby got to escape on a trip kid free for a few days of fun to the Wild Wild West ~

Don't get me wrong. I do have the opportunity to "escape" as well but I keep turning it down. It all comes down to "do I really want to be away from the baby?" Nah, not really. I just need moments of peace. And it made me think about how much life has changed from the times we used to do those trips together a lot. I really love the open road.

October highlights:
Max army crawling (starting to crawl!), sitting up, toothy grinning and giggling, babbling - I swear I've heard him say "hi" back and saying "dada-da-da...", weighing in at 20+ lbs (maybe I should put that under lowlights? ha ha)
weather fall-ish some days, this weekend rain?
Maggie singing and making up songs, in a "Princess" phase, always hungry
pumpkin patch fun
sleepovers with the grandmas
connecting people
a little bit of home cooking (like the loosly followed minestrone soup recipe where I used up leftovers including tri tip, pasta wheels, frozen summer marinara sauce, and asiago cheese rind that turned into gooey chunks in our soup bowls - yum)
fun family weekend to Nevada filled with visit to see extended family, Donner memorial state park nature walk and picnic, 25th floor hotel room and indoor pool (Maggie ecstatic), ferris wheel ride, and splashing dog competition. Maggie's comment on the dog competition: "I didn't know dogs liked to jump in water!"

October lowlights:
nursing induced hormone fluctuations?
forgetting to take vitamins + carrying 20 lb baby and sometimes 30 lb preschooler=sore joints/body
interrupted sleep (I'm the kind of person that just doesn't feel good if I don't get my 8+ hours)


It's starting to feel like knitting weather again. I haven't picked anything up yet, but I want to! Something new/easy/and gratifying!

Pictures to come...

Today

listening: Gwen Stefani album - Sweet Escape. Especially enjoying "4 in the morning".
eating: healthy-ish foods: sandwiches, salads including a yummy fish/green apple thai salad with a co-worker.
drinking: lots of water, mother's milk tea, milk...yearning for more reasons to have a glass of chardonnay.
wearing: new to me clothes from a local consignment shop - stretchy dark wash jeans but not maternity :-) and flowy tops
feeling: very alive. at moments pure exhaustion, lots of love, happiness.
weather: hot but welcoming fall and the changing of colors.
wanting: more time to myself even though when I get it I miss my kids, a Macy's shopping trip.
needing: listening ears, lots of kisses, good sleep, day trips.
thinking: about my family because they make me smile.
enjoying: laughing at the little things.
wondering: how to plan my next weekend and how my kids are doing.

It was a good night

Last weekend I went dancing with some girlfriends to celebrate my friend Jessie's birthday. It was a great time...tapas, sangria, one man band, and dancing. Watching the music videos and hearing new music was mesmerizing. Watching Jessie dance on the podium surrounded by dry ice and strobe lights getting her groove on...priceless.
Have you heard this one yet? It's a REALLY good one. Makes you want to hop up and go crazy!

I Gotta Feeling

Other good one...

Boom Boom Pow

What about Lonely Island (SNL parodies with Andy Samberg)? They crack me up. There's lots of good ones. I'll let you do the you tube searching on this one, they are a bit explicit.

(Couldn't figure out how to embed imeem songs...do we really have to pay?)

Yee-haw

I know there are a lot of you out there that don't care for country music, but in our household, it's a staple. Our alarm clock is set to the local station, Michael always has it playing in the garage, and we usually listen to it in the car. Michael's ipod is a strange mix of music and not very kid-friendly, and my little ipod is stuck in Maggie's boombox....but that's a whole other story. Our friend Ken refers to country music as "goat-ropin' " music. The lyrics can be a little cooky sometimes, but overall, it's fun, energetic, feel good music.

We went to a country concert the other day and listened to some bands. I was there mostly to hear Little Big Town, but I also liked One Flew South (note to self: get some of their music). It was Maggie's first concert. A little loud for her, so we walked around a lot and left a little early (ok by me-not a big Billy Ray Cyrus "Achy Breaky Heart" fan).I love concerts and easily get starstruck. Michael can take or leave them but he's a sport and often will go with me. When we do go, it seems to be along the lines of country or bluegrass since we agree on that genre. I don't see him going to an Enya concert with me (hmm...not sure she's ever been on tour, that would be an odd one) :-)

As for bluegrass, nothing will cure the longing I have these days. With Nickel Creek apart, what is a girl to do? Punch Brothers, Allison Krauss, solo acts...they just don't fill that empty spot. But I keep trying and next up is Sara Watkins solo CD. Oh, how I would love for those three to get back together...it's not off the table so here is to dreaming.