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!

Where did the Summer go?

 Olympic Fever...oh yah, that happened too!

Leo cheered for the Czech Republic...not sure why, but it was sweet.

 Summy after her bee sting

 Leo's old robot jammies!

 Longer hair!

 This is her "cheeeeeeese" face!

 Shopping?

It pains me that it has been so long since I have updated the blog. It is not for lack of care, but it is a sign of the times. Our family has been trying to make headway on some debt and as a consequence, I am working about 5 nights a week. This is tough, but the money helps. I feel that it is too much though and I need to taper back. My family is my life and I don't want to miss a single moment.

So much has happened!!! Leo got his yellow belt! We are so proud of him. He is the model Karate student and a shining star in his class. Many of the kids look up to him for his leadership qualities.

Leo is excited for preschool to start. It starts next week and I know he missed his buddies, especially Donovan, Adelaide and Hazel.

Leo continues to love all things boy. As I write this, he is playing with his Legos and pretending they are from Star Wars. He loves any electronic game, but he just likes games in general. 

Summy is talking up a storm. We can understand most of what she says and she uses simple sentences now, but mostly 1-2 phrases. She is sweet but determined and she does not like when I give Leo too much attention. This pains me and I tell her that I love Leo and I love to hug him too. I am so lucky that Leo has the type of personality he does. He is pretty easy going about letting her dominate the cuddles.

Summy got stung by a bee. She was in our playroom and I hear her scream. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, but then she got listless and super tired and I really freaked out. I tired calling Joe and then the doctor. I thought maybe she got shocked, but we ruled that out. Still not knowing what was wrong with her, I let her nap and kept a close eye on her. She had quite the temperature too. When she woke up, I was holding her and noticed her finger was red and swollen, so I deduced she was bit or stung by something. Joe confirmed it when he removed the stinger...my poor Somerset!

I can't believe how fast the kids are growing up. Leo is a full on boy. He would be ready for Kindergarten if we could send him and Somerset is no longer a baby. She is looking more mature everyday. I am happy and sad for all these changes. I love the children they are becoming, but am sad that I will never hold them as babies again. I do admit that it does get better and better though.