Kindergarten Registration!

Somerset's cute man drawing.

This is what Leo likes to do!

Joe found this keyboard at the Goodwill. He had the same toy as a kid!

This about sums it up! Leo and Somerset are sure showing us their likes and dislikes.

Leo LOVES anything electronic He plays Star Wars video games on the computer and games on Joe's phone. I am so torn up about this. I try to restrict him, but nothing makes the boy happier. It has proven to be a good negotiating tool though...."if you make your bed, then you can play for 15 minutes." As a mom though, I feel guilty about these activities, which I equate to being a waste of time.

Leo and his best friend are always geeking out about Star Wars and video games. I am glad that Leo is a bit techy and geeky, I just want ghim to be well balanced with other interests too. 

I registered Leo for Kindergarten! This was a huge step for me as a mom.....wow! I can't believe that boy is ready for school. I am really excited for him though and know he will love school. We have a couple of schools in mind and will be a part of a lottery system for a Charter school. Our local school is good though, I just hate the class sizes being so large.

Somerset loves art. She is so good at drawing too and has inherited some pretty advanced skills! Joe and I found the drawing featured at the top of this post and we were both amazed! Pretty good for a newly 2 year old.

Somerset is speaking in full sentences exclusively. It is still difficult to understand everything she says, but she is communicating beautifully. I love her sweet little voice and her sassy attitude. She definitely is our child: strong willed, determined, funny and stubborn.

I have to take more photos! This is a difficult age for getting kid photos. For Somerset, every smile is fake and Leo is just annoyed, so more candids will be in our future.

Joe and I are still very busy with our DIY hobbies. I am still very active with my soap making and looking for avenues to sell more. I have been making soap almost daily to prepare for a craft show that I hope is a huge success. I also need to reopen my Etsy shop.

Joe is preparing to enter another beer competition. He is brewing every few weeks and I LOVE his beer. It is really good, but he has very high standards.
 

First Best Friend

Leo and his best bud Donovan. Somerset had to be in the photo too!

Fun times were had by all at Leo's preschool's fundraising night at Papa's Pizza.

My sweet girl likes to be just like Mommy, which means she likes to clean.

Showing off the construction of his "big boy" Leo and Daddy creation" Star Wars X-Wing!

These kids are great! So great in fact, that my job, as a full-time Mom is getting so much easier. I have a such a good handle on things that I am able to make soap when I am watching them, they are able to do things for themselves, entertain themselves etc. Life is great!

I also have never posted about Donovan, Leo's best friend. These 2 little boys connected from the first moment they met at preschool orientation. They really love each other. Everyday, when I ask Leo what he did at preschool, his answer is almost always the same, "I played with Donovan." I really hope these two stay friends forever, because they sure do like one another. As a mom, I love that Leo has developed such a close friendship...this brings back so many fond childhood memories for me. I have to admit that Somerset seems very fond of Donovan as well. She definitely plays the role of the cute, but annoying little sister.

Leo is now obsessed with traffic laws. He is always telling us what the speed limit is and does not want us to exceed it. In addition to being Officer Leo, he is also into imaginative play and wants to own every Lego minifigure in existence. Sorry kid, we don't have those funds!

Somerset is a darling little girl. She knows many of her letters and is smart, sassy and determined. She still wants to be Mommy's baby though. She wants to be an independent little girl, but she still needs her Mommy to hold her. I can't help treating her like a princess. She is just so sweet and angelic. She can be terrible demanding, but one look into her big brown eyes, and you are captive.

Motherhood has been good. These kids are my everything! I am so blessed.

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!