Christmas 2012

I love the holidays! Christmas is my favorite. We had a great one too, despite my CRAZY work hours! I survived another retail Christmas season.

The kids really got into Christmas too and were talking non-stop about Santa, gifts, stockings etc. In fact, the holiday was so built up that the kids had a meltdown during present opening. It was chaos to say the least, and next year, we will device a better plan with Santa to make sure things go smoother.

The kids were blessed by the generosity of family and Santa. Angry Birds building games (Star Wars) and Legos were Leo's 2 favs. Somerset loves her Disney Princess castle, tea set and Karaoke machine.

Joe and I were also bestowed with many thoughtful gifts mostly relating to our hobbies....soap and beer making. We are still loving being able to spend gift cards and money on our favorite past times.

Christmas Eve was spent and Tiffany and Martin's house enjoying a nice dinner followed by our Secret Santa gift exchange.

Christmas was spent at home, relaxing...I needed that! We also went the Portland's famous Peacock Lane at night. Peacock Lane is just a regular street in SE Portland, where the home owners all decorate their houses for Christmas elaborately. It is quite the sight and the kids loved it.

I am excited for 2013. 2012 has had it's ups and downs and I am ready for a fresh year. I am hoping that 2013 will be the best year yet. Happy New Year!!!!

Playing Together

Kid in a box!

Singing time at Chidren's Museum. She was captivated!

The Angry Bird obsession continues. I realize it has been over a year, as many of Leo's Christmas gifts from last year were Angry Birds. Now Leo is getting Somerset in on the action. They were cramming themselves into a cardboard box and taking turns throwing Angry Birds at each other. What a reward it is as a parent to see your kids playing together!

I had a lovely date with Somerset at the Children's Museum. We played for almost 2 full hours and she cried when we left. She loved it there! We really enjoyed the 30 minute music time and she sat through the whole thing mesmerized. I love that her attention span is so much longer than Leo's was at the same age. In fact, the whole experience with her is just different. She plays gentler and can stay on task longer than Leo did. I imagine that her behavior is just plain normal, as Leo is just crazy intense and intelligent. Not to say that Somerset isn't as intelligent, she just isn't as intense.

Leo has become a joy. He is doing well in school, excelling in Karate and is so imaginative with his play. He can now spend hours entertaining himself playing with his Legos and flying his creations around. He always has these dialogs that accompany his play, "I have been hit. There are Vulture Droids behind me. I am coming in for a landing!" I have to admit, that at this point in time, he is the "easier" child. Crazy but true!

We are all thrilled for Christmas. The kids love this season and clap every time they see Christmas lights! It is adorable. Love them. 

It's been a long time!

 

Oh boy! It has been way too long and I miss my blog! I blame it work (5 days a week) and I was unable to download photos for a while! I feel unbelievable guilty for not recording all the amazing moments we have had over the last few months.

We had a wonderful Halloween full of lots of pumpkins and candy. The kids got into the full swing of things and now that Somerset is 2, she fully embraces Halloween, pumpkins, dressing up and eating too much candy. The kids both went trick or treating and although there were scared by certain houses, they had so much fun gathering candy. Leo counted 73 pieces.

Somerset now talks in full sentences, sleeps through the night and is gaining tons of weight. She has growm up so much the last few months. She can be sassy with us, even telling us to "go away!," when she is tired and wants to be left alone in her bed. She whines more than I wish, but in general, she is a joy. Care takers always tell us she is perfectly behaved and she doesn't have the mischievous temperament that Leo had at the same age. She is very concerned about making us upset and her lip quivers if she feels that she has disappointed us. 

Our biggest challenge with her is her selfish steak. She cries if I cuddle with Leo and yells, "My Mommy!" She also does not like to share. I think this is ytpical toddler behavior, but Leo is so generous and doesn't have a jeapous bone in his body, so this is new to us.

Somerset likes singing, dancing, Calliou (ugg), ABCs, Angelina Ballerina, Tinkerbell, play cooking and books. She is learning so much and show casing her intelligence every day. I love her sooo much, and I can never get enough of her beautiful face. She is possibly the prettiest living thing I have ever seen.

Leo is doing great. He has gotten easier as he ages. He is so smart, I can hardly believe it. His understanding of math astounds me. He also is catching on with reading. I wish I devoted more time to his learning, but we get very little one-on-one time together.

Leo is so sweet and is the best cuddler. He will be the best husband, because he is so good about expressing his affection for those he loves. He is am amazing big brother and teaches his sister, protects her from harm and is constantly hugging and kissing her. We are so lucky that these kids get along.

Leo is not only obsessed with Angry Birds, he is a savant at the game. He has far surpassed most adults in his ability to play and pass levels. It really is incredible. Joe assures me that this is a valuable skill. All I know is that he is super determined and that is a great quality to posses.

I will try to be better about posting. We are already excited for CHRISTMAS! It is early to catch the Christmas bug, but this is my favorite time of year. Somerset is getting into the spirit too, which I love and Leo now likes Christmas better than Halloween. Whew!

Give a Kid a Camera...

Leo has been known to steal my camera. When I take photos, I am so concerned with centering things and getting just the perfect smile, but when he takes photos, it is so pure. He takes photos of things that interest him and although I would never think to photograph a basketball or a pair of Clone Trooper Crocs, he does and does so very well. I just love his view of the world!

I love my kids!

Leo draws a lady bug!

Leo combines his love of numbers and Legos!

Mommy's Shoes and Daddy's tie!

Daddy's childhood Paddington Bear. Summy holds Paddington as she watches a Paddington DVD.

The kid update! I feel that I have been neglectful in focusing on how incrediby adorable the kids are. Leo is more talkative, imaginative and smarter than ever. I recently accompanied Leo on a preschool field trip to New Seasons grocery store and Leo was the standout of the class. He loves being the center of attention, asking many questions and making people laugh.

Leo is amazing at math. He started skipping numbers...1,3,5,7. The he started counting backwards from 100, skipping numbers...100,98, 96, 94. OMG! He can count by tens and he even did a simple algebra equation the other day. Joe and Leo were talking about when Leo turns 11. Joe asked Leo how old would Somerset be. He said if I am 4 and Somerset is 2 now, when I am 11, she will be 9! This kid is smart!!! Crazy smart.

He is also starting to recognize words by sounding them out. I feel that soon, a light will go off, and he will be reading. I have worked with him on all the sounds letters make and we sound out words together. The other day, Joe spelled the word vomit, because Leo is sensitive to theis word and Leo told us what Joe had spelled! He blows me away!

Leo is also getting much better at drawing. He has made some really cute robots and bugs! Typical boy!

Somerset is making great progress too. She recently said, "I am 2 now!" She also says, "Mommy, don't go!" when I have to leave for work. She identifies so many things that I had no idea that she knew, like crocodile.

She is becoming so sweet and affectionate too. She is the best hugger and she will sweetly touch my face or carress my hair. She has a sweetness to her that is so different than Leo. Leo is full of big hugs too and is a big love, but she is more tender.

She loves to be like me. She will stand at the kitchen and want to cut bars of soap. She also like to make us cookies in her play kitchen or bring us cups of coffee.

She started asking "why?" Oh boy! It is cute, but this could get exhausting!

The kids are loving playing together. Somerset laughs at anything Leo does and she looks to him for guidance on what to do, or what is funny. She's laugh at something that he says, even if she doesn't know why and he delights in making her laugh. Watching their relationship grow and develop has been the most amazing thing to witness as a mom. They really love each other and on the days I feel inadequate, at least I feel that I have exceeded in making sure they are close. I am so glad that Somerset came along sooner than later because I have a feeling they will be great friends for life!

Somerset turns 2!

Somerset is now 2 and we had a wonderful time celebrating her birthday. We started the festivities by giving her lots of extra special attention. She had her photos taken in her beautiful birthday dress (compliments of my mom: dress and photos). We then spent the night with Aunt Tiffy and Uncle Martin having cake and spoiling Somerset with gifts. She was showered with kitchen goods, a tea pot set, a doll that goes potty and clothes. She was very happy playing and showing us how much she loves her new things.

On Saturday, we headed to Newport to spend the day with G-Pops, Grandma Paula, Uncle Aaron and his girlfriend Maryam. It was so great to get away for a bit and it's always fun to be with family. We played, ate, visited the aquarium and the kid's loved spending time with family at the beach. FUN!!!

I am still having a difficult time grasping that Somerset is 2. It is so wonderful seeing her grow into such a fun, sweet, spunky little girl, but the baby is gone. She is a kid now. She talks (although we don't really understand all of what she says). She has her own interests: Caillou mainly. I think she is in love. She loves pretending she is me. She will grab a purse, perhaps a baby doll and wave goodbye to everyone. Yes, she is a girl on the go. She is in love with Leo and will often imitate him. The kids have a deep love for each other. Their bond in strong and I hope it stays that way for life. Somerset also has a deep love for us. She wants nothing more than to be close to me or Joe. I cherish hugging her Fuzzy head. I love the thickness of her chubby arms, which look just like mine.  I see so much of myself in her, which I never saw in Leo. It is strange, but wonderful. I just love how she fits into our family. She made Leo a brother, she made Joe fall in love again and she has stolen my heart. We are so lucky to have this amazing little girl in our lives.

Happy Birthday my little French Fry!