Counting and singing

Earlier this weekend K was trying to teach C take me out to the ballgame… here is how it went




K Take

C Take

K Me

C Me

K Out

C Out

K Too

C Three



Lots of laughter…



Another try later in the weekend



K Take

C Take

K Me

C Me

K Out

C Out

K Too

C One

More laughter!

A lot of love and a lot of energy!

Hand me downs may be the best...

K still loves dolls a lot! Now instead of changing our babies we have them line up for school... For her bday we found a teacher set and so she teaches her children, moves them from green to yellow on her little poster based on behaviour and teaches, well quite a lot! If we are lucky we get to be the teacher assistant... So when an email from a girl in the mom's group offering more accesories I jumped on it... more doll stuff, perfect! Especially as K is telling C she has no choice but to love dolls... really no choice at all... This evening K and C spent the evening changing outfits on their dolls... we had to pull them away to eat and pull them away for their baths... after all their babies had never seen tutus and ski coats or even riding gear.... So now all the baby stuff is in a pile in the middle of the living room. C is sleeping with her fancy fancy baby... and K is sleeping with 200 of her favorite babies... C was horrified that her baby didn't have shozs on, but luckily I pointed out she doesn't get to sleep with shoes... and so neither does her baby. I am guessing our standard morning routine will be a little more crazy. After all, we will have to change the babies, dress, change the babies, eat, change the babies pack the backpack... well you know what we will be doing! K is in heaven... and so of course C is as well.

Gmas...

This weekend was one of those moments where we remembered just how lucky we are to  have our great Gmas... We had dinner with both Gmas on Fri. Sat I took K for most of the day and T and Gma C spent the day with C so K could do big girl things. Sat night Gma S took K for a sleepover. We put C to bed and because Gma C spent the weekend we headed off to dinner after C was asleep.... Sun morning we picked K up from the farmers market after her sleepover had a wonderful family morning and put C down for a nap. K played with Gma C we had a coupley lunch and walk... Feeling very lucky that are Gmas are part of our lives and really grateful that sometimes we can have the family cover the girls for us! Thank you Gmas for being the best.

Lou

St Patty's day was much bigger than I realized it would ever be... K has been insisting leprechauns are real...

One day she wrote a note to Lou (the leprechaun) asking him to explain to her where he was hiding. I put the crayon away and she burst into tears... thinking she was tired and overreacting I tried to send her to bed... first was required to get the crayon out... still thinking she was tired I forgot about the incident and the note. The next morning she found a response... the answer was from Lou.. it said I am hiding in the bushes... I mentioned my suprise but she said she wrote it, but Lou was in the bushes... Today while bringing up her lunchbag she mentioned she and a friend found a piece of candy on the ground... she couldn't eat it and was holding it as you guessed it Lou left it for her. So Lou is our leprechaun and he is real... but now I need to figure out a way to have Lou leave something for K...

And the girls continue to grow...

K had her first visit from the tooth fairy... A bit earlier than expected due to a fall at my favorite cafe in Santa Monica, but luckily silly bands makes almost everything better... While playing on a fountain she fell and bumped her tooth loose... lots of tears and blood. Luckily we only lost the loose tooth and the fairy was able to relocate and come to a hotel room with princess silly bands.. K was thrilled! C keeps checking her mouth for loose teeth and pointing at her mouth, happy to report no loose teeth, but a full mouth of baby teeth... which she sometimes uses to bite when she is playing... She thinks it is quiet funny we are not quite as amused.
C was not ready to give up mommy milk and so the frequent checks to see if there was any milk has us nursing together again... I am ok with this... but unlikely to have this last more than a couple weeks due to upcoming travel schedules...

K and C are continuing to play more and more together.. Yesterday they had their first tea party which I had to break up to get C to school...

They are proving to become better driving travelers... after years of avoiding all driving trips we have found that driving at night is much like red eyes and works well for them, but not so well for us... Another wonderful LA weekend as a family.

More to report, but due to sleep deprivation from the 6am boot camps and yoga I can't remember...

Cute moments

I came home to an art gallery... I really mean it... every inch of our banister was covered, the barstools were covered.. and there was an envelope with a love letter and a pic from K (she found a stamp and placed it on the envelope - I had no idea she even knew we used stamps)... she had made lots of love mame and dada letters and pictures... On a sidenote T joined me for a weekend in NYC... pics later, but amazing to enjoy time together in a wonderful city... Pmogi also came along... making for a weekend filled with shopping, museums, eating, umm eating, walking and coffee! But anyway....

K snuck into our bed at 3 Friday night... kept whispering to me as T decided the couch was a more ideal spot for sleep with our bed piggy in residence... K kept chattering and whispering and then worrying she had to be quiet for fear of getting in trouble and then more chattering. She finally dozed off until 6am at which point she brought in all her art projects from the week... and with this new school that means a scary amount of art... we looked at art and more art and I caught up on her week...

C was in shock when I returned and stayed close all weekend.. She wouldn't even let T near her to change diapers... lucky me!! I know.... Anyway she was smiles, giggles and more smiles... This morning was a lot of lip quivering and head burying when I had to drop her to school, but she has been very cuddly otherwise.

Games and moments

And a couple cute things., they love to play cats who have to be adopted... they sit under these chairs waiting for us to take them home... their names little laila and bella rose... this game allows them to eat all sorts of foods otherwise unedible in the form of treats...

C also loves to get ready to go and runs over says bye and miss (for miss you), carries a shopping bag and strains her lips for a kiss... too cute for words...

C has also started to like to run around the island and so they both chase each other and run...

They are enjoying football, unfortunately C doesn't understand that when K takes the ball it is part of the game and just cries... a lot!

C loves to say K's name... she doesn't have any of the letters and continues to believe K's name is dee dee.. Yesterday I tried to pronounce it slowly and asked her to repeat... she just looked at me and said deeeee deee really slowly... as if not sure what my mom is not getting but obviously K is dee dee!

K always listens for C in the mornings and at naps... amazingly after these quiet listening periods outside C's door  C typically ends up awake and ready to play... amazing!

K loves her sister so so much... to watch is amazing... and hard to believe that she can be so sweet...

The end of nursing maybe...

My nursing experience with C was very different from K... K decided around three months the bottle was preferable and not knowing better I let her decide that was ok. C tried the same thing around three months, but the memories of nine months of 5 times a day of pumping just didn't allow her the same luxuries... So instead she eventually gave up trying to fight and decided well to continue nursing well would be ok...

As the one year mark hit I realized we weren't ready to give up nursing. Rather we decided to take on a more mellow routine, every morning and night we nursed and cuddled.... Every month I thought well she would naturally give this up and so I let the routine continue... On this last work trip I decided to be more mellow about the pumping and so when I returned this weekend C and I realized my supply had almost run out... Thinking this would a natural next step I decided we could try and just give it up... So far she is being very brave (I am not) and she keeps checking, sighing and crying a bit, but really trying to understand the change... Last night when she checked again she suggested we read and so we cuddled and read... It is sad to say goodbye to one of the last stages of baby as it has been a sweet experience for both of us.

It is exciting to know I won't be required to perform gymnast moves to read to K while nursing C each morning and rather help C learn to love books as much as K does. In place of K's nursing time we used to spend hours each week reading and so now we will get to do this as a group which is nice... but for now it is hard to believe C is growing up and becoming a young girl... Another nice outcome is the retun to singing and rocking her to bed which I got to do both nights this weekend. KS's signature song is also CH's signature song... thank goodness they have the same syllables in their name and so another routine returns.

Next up on the things to get rid off will be the binky, but I can only tackle one thing a month... or maybe quarter if I really chicken out.

The girls

The girls are growing up so so quickly.

K has finally adjusted to her charter school... We are so happy. She is getting to do all sorts of amazing things! Tuesday gymnastics, Wednesday yoga, Thursday art and Friday science. She is making friends and feels like such the young lady... She is still madly in love with princesses, baby dolls (some things never change) and pink....

C is also growing like crazy. In fact tonight when I rang them on the way home I couldn't quite be sure I was talking to C until listening to her vocabulary as she is starting to sound like her big sister... She still only says one word at a time, but now seems more stable on her feet and more like a little girl. Boo where is our toddler?

Loving our little girls a lot... loving being parents a lot... wishing for a tiny bit more quiet, but otherwise feeling very happy!

Back to blogging...

Somehow January started and seems to be ending and still the "getting ready for 2011" mode continues... I had envisioned endless amounts of time with the completion of school... the reality is there has been a lot more time as a family, but really the time continues to disappear...

This weekend we continued the transition of the school with lots of events to make K feel ok during this difficult period.

Friday night K had a play date with her best friend from her old school. They were so so cute together... The boy's little brother appears to be quite enamored of K and so spent a lot of time making sure he could sit next to her and play with her. Adorable.

K continued her weekend with her bff from preschool... Because her bff has a little sister almost the same age as C, the two of them got some time to bond as they have no choice but to grow up playing princesses and baby dolls together... they loved it.

And we had our awesome pretend it isn't winter beach day yesterday.. sunshine, yummy food and the beach. The girls managed to get soaked and although they didn't quite splash in the waves they had a great time in the sand.

Happy 2011

Celebrating our first new year's eve east coast style... very fun night! And our first pic for 2011...

It's official!

I can't even believe it, but I am officially done with my MBA... turned our thesis in today... a day ahead of schedule which might be even more amazing... I couldn't have done it without my awesome husband, our wonderful Mom's who supported me by caring for the kids due to classes etc, my amazing company/boss and all my friends many who I have met in the program... It is so great to be done, so exciting to know I won't have to spend any more time away from the girls doing homework, studying or going to class... To say thank you to my husband and math tutor would be an understatement. None of this was possible without his support... Outside of some fun pics at graduation in June no big plans for now.

Nonetheless a new era begins although I am not sure what it will mean minus the five months of boot camp I signed up for starting in Jan so I can get rid of all the yummy lattes I consumed studying for the GMAT and the MBA. And dreams of becoming certified as a yoga instructor and ok there is a lot planned... Lots of fun ahead.

Best Thanksgiving ever

This year was one of the nicest Thanksgiving holidays we have ever had... although it was rather small it was simply the best... We had a wonderful Thanksgiving breakfast at our house and decided to spend the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying the quiet something we never ever do (my fault entirely)... We watched Beauty and the Beast while C napped, we took the girls to the park and had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's. The kids were happy all day and there was no tears the whole day... a very happy and peaceful day. The rest of the weekend was more of the same, quiet, happiness and family time.

The prep for Santa continues... it is quite the affair this year as we have just ten more days to get everything ready before our annual warm weather vacation... And as C gets older and older she is more aware and way more into presents...

The more exciting countdown, seven days until I finish business school... can't wait! K is also counting down and so excited at the prospect for no more classes, group meetings and study sessions...

The joy of working from home

Listening to K and T sing Christmas songs... K just made a wish, that C never ever dies as she wants to be an adult as she wants to be with her.

K's Xmas list this year
Fairy wings
Dolls
American Girl dolls - every one ever made and all the accessories
Princess dresses
Princess shoes

And whatever else Santa wants to bring her. Translation all toys ever made.

Our smiling girls.

Highlights from our zoo adventure...

We went to the Oakland zoo yesterday... sounded good on paper... K and her bff together... BFF' lil sis and C together... A lot of parents covering... and it went well until we got to the freeway exit... apparently everyone goes to the zoo on Veteran's day... so much so that it caused a traffic jam and the exit was completely stopped.. I would have never believed such things could happen before K.

As it turns out the day was just as great in principle. The highlight watching the elephants eat pumpkins in one bite. C was a bit late on her first zoo visit, but I have amazing shots of utter concentration as she took it all in not even wanting to stop for a picnic lunch.

We split up and decided to take the kids to Berkeley where we tried to go to a cafe in N. Berkeley. As it turned out to go was a good call and we got great pics of the kids wandering on the campus. We headed over to Cheeseboard for pizza, very impressive and happened to stumble on a live band. The kids loved dancing and eating. Really the way they think every meal should be. We ended the night with vanilla ice cream from Ici.

K spent 10 minutes in the car talking about how exhausted she was... completely and utterly exhausted. C demonstrated this by not even wanting milk when offered the choice of nursing or bed during the transfer for car to crib. K was exhausted until she was put in her bed at which point she jumped up and claimed she wasn't tired... Finally when we did get her into bed and on the last check in the one where I threaten to take all fun from the weekend "no more playdates, no ice cream, no anything if you don't go to sleep" I went down the hall and she called me "Mama, thank you for taking us to the zoo. I had so much fun today." And in that moment it was a day well spent and yup, decided a double scoop vanilla ice cream was a must at some point this weekend.

Holiday cards

It is that time of year... holiday cards! Years ago we decided that every holiday season we would take professional photos of the kids as a way to capture memories in a much more stunning manner than my point and shoot capabilities.

The hard part ends up being how many pictures to fit in one card. This year we are using Shutterfly for the photos and are considering all the cards that have multiple shot capabilities... way too many to choose from, but here are some of our favorites
Shutterfly has quite a few options for holiday gifts and invites available such as Christmas invites, Christmas ornaments and Wall calendars
Our pictures were rained out last weekend so now we are in the mad crunch of getting pics uploaded to Shutterfly in time to print them... but what is a little pressure around the holidays. Here is to another year of holiday cards with my two beautiful girls.

Halloween

This was my favorite Halloween yet.

For C it was her first celebration of the holiday. She loved her school party, loved the gift bags and most of loved lollipops. She got to eat two over the weekend and enjoyed every lick. Pics to follow. She was a turtle, beyond cute and lovely.

And for K... she got it, like really got it this year. She was so sweet running up to houses, making sure C got a treat in her bag and counting up her treats and surveying her goods at the end. Our neighborhood as always was simply phenomenal and all the associated activities, parties and adventures associated with the day were fantastic. If this is any indication of what Thanksgiving and Xmas are like we are in for a treat. K also had a great time. This morning she woke up and said she wished it was Sunday again so that she could trick or treat.

The walkathon was a fantastic success. Thanks to all our friends who contributed Kaitlin raised a great amount for the school and had so much fun. I missed the event due to work, but heard it was quite the affair and K came home glowing.

Thanks to the Gmas we spent a wonderful weekend in Carmel watching some great friends marry. The last wedding for the year, but so enjoyable to watch so many couples marry and being able to celebrate their special day. We were treated to a pod of dolphins yesterday. So although an exhausting weekend it was great to celebrate Halloween with our girls and so fun to watch our friends marry.

First fundraiser....

Our girlies.

C is slowly becoming much more in control of her world. The phase of amazed wonder of everything around her is leaving us only to be replaced by a very mischevious and happy little girl enjoying everything around her. Her language continues to grow and now she is saying more and more words although she has been able to make herself quite clear about how things should be without words to this point.

As I put K to bed last night she asked me about when her tooth was going to fall out. She was tired of waiting for it to come out... not that we have any loose teeth, a false alert a year ago, but obviously a false alert. I tried to explain to her that her teeth were late coming in so my guess is they would be late to leave as well. She was bummed, but accepted the reasoning and reminded me not to throw the teeth away when they fall out...

In other funny moments, we are getting daily requests for green veggies... the reason, her new best friend from kinder told her the more green veggies she eats the louder her snap will be when she snaps her fingers! So we are eating lots of green and snapping our fingers after each meal to see and yes I didn't tell her that was totally not true...