Why, Why and Why?

You know how most kids hear something like, "pick up that toy," and ask, "Why?" then you answer and you hear, "Why?" and you keep hearing "Why?" as the response to everything that you've said and you start to question the intelligence of the little beast asking you. I have one of those kids now. In true toddler fashion, Benjamin's favorite question has become "Why?" - but like the smarty-pants that he is, his ABSOLUTE favorite question is, "Why, Why and Why?" It's like deep down he knows where the conversation is headed and just to make it more aggravating he asks why up front. It flusters me, honestly. Like my first repsonse would never fully answer his burning need to KNOW why his toys have to be put away, why he can't sleep with 3 or 4 baseball bats in his bed, why ice cream is not a good breakfast food and why it is unsafe to climb the banisters. However I will also say that besides policing his sister, this is really the only bad thing Benjamin does lately. He still doesn't understand that he doesn't NEED a hockey stick in every color, but for now he is willing to simply add things to his Christmas list and for that I am grateful.

Sofia is at the streaking stage that Ben was at last Summer. I guess I should have known that it was coming, but no one else had even heard of a kid ripping his own diaper off whenever he pooped, so I thought Ben was going to be the lone exception. I was wrong. So Sofia drops trow whenever she poops and it's gotten us thinking that we may have found another use for duct tape cuz really it's gross and we just had the carpets cleaned. She is a fighter and won't let Ben push her around which is a good thing, I guess, but it leads to LOTS of arguments where Sofia is yelling, "No Ben!" and pointing at him and Ben is shrieking and telling me that Sofia is saying a bad word. Yes, he thinks "no" is a bad word. It's frustrating, but then funny, so I guess every cloud really does have a silver lining.

Charles is working from home and thanks to a donated desk, he is no longer operating off of two saw horses and a sheet of MDF. I have almost finished unpacking the kids' stuff, Sofia's room is painted, her curtains are up and we are starting to hang things on the wall. I still have two boxes full of clothes in our bedroom that don't have anywhere to go because I can't figure out where my dresser will fit. Charles is helping to draw up plans to put some storage in the closet which will solve that problem. I am LOVING the upstairs laundry room because I used to not like taking the laundry downstairs and the kids ask to take a bath everyday because they say, "there is a pool in here!" (They are referring to the tub in the master bathroom.) I will post a picture of the outside of the house and will not bother you with the inside since there isn't any furniture downstairs and the pictures I have of the kids' rooms are stricly "before" pictures.

There isn't much else going on. We've spent the last two weekends back down in San Diego sharing with our friends some amazing times in their lives with a birthday, a baby blessing and a wedding. We're gearing up for what people up here call "the hot part of the year." Which we are told starts around Memorial Day and lasts until Thanksgiving. A Dad at the park told Charles the hottest he's seen it get is 113 in the summer - he claimed it "wasn't that bad." I will be breaking out the kiddie pool again and soaking, I think. Here are some pics to keep you entertained...


You've gotta love Yo Gabba Gabba for teaching kids to make a funny face!



It wouldn't be Easter without a bucket on your head!




Out new home. We LOVE guests!

Praises to Chuck E. Cheese!

A huge thank you to Chuck E. Cheese!!! I was a little nervous that Ben wanted his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, but it ended up being perfect. Since we're in the process of moving we needed a location away from home and this was AWESOME! The food was better than I remembered - not great, but better than I was expecting. The kids had a BLAST playing and we didn't have to set up or clean up a thing. We are so glad that there is CEC not too far from the new house!

Happy Happy Birthday Sofia Dear

Sofia is oficially 2!!! Can you believe it? We can't! Everyday she is saying more and more, including the announcement to Ben, "This is MY room!" She is sassy sometimes and sweet other times and we love her dearly. Here is a list of the things we love most about Sofia (and by "we", I mean me.)

1) The lady-like way she belches mid meal to make room for more food.
2) The way she runs at you full-speed to give you a hug.
3) When she pets my hair and snuggles with me.
4) That she's not afraid to poop in the potty.
5) That MEAT is her favorite food group.
6) That she can kick a soccer ball - hard!
7) Her sweet smile with spaced out teeth and all.
8) That she doesn't cry when she gets her shots.
9) That her belly-button can be an inny or an outie.
10) Her awesome dance moves.
11) That she balances like a gymnast or a dancer.
12) That she can climb as well as a 4-year old boy at the park.
13) That all dogs are named Bolt or Marley.
14) That she uses her stuffed piglet as a teether and a pillow.
15) That she sings "Yo Gabba Gabba" and primary songs all of the time.
16) When she says, "aw, cute" everytime she sees an animal.
17) Her soft curls.
18) The way she bounces and moves around when she runs.
19) That she holds her fork in one hand and eats with the other.
20) That she is the perfect combination of tomboy and girly girl.

Sofia has blessed our lives so much. She is so sweet and caring and loves making friends. She has been the best friend Ben could ever have asked for and she makes everyday a little more exciting. Happy Birthday fia. We love you!

Chicken Nuggets

I noticed that most posts tend to be more focused on Ben and I apologize, but Sofia is at more of the "silent movie" stage of her existence where as Ben has something to say to everything and he has a hard time not talking. Well, to make all of the Fia fans in the world happy, we have another Sofia story...

Lunch time on Friday was like any other lunch time. Ben wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, because that's what Ben likes, and Sofia, the carnivore, wanted meat. The easy cure for a meat craving in our house is the Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets from Costco which I plug because they are cheap, and they make me feel like a good mom because they have whole grain breading. (I know, who am I kidding, right?) So I make Sofia a sensible portion of nuggets, 3, which she eats with ketchup for dip and a giant scoop of cottage cheese. I will also add that she ate a banana about an hour before this. Three nuggets down and Ben asks for nuggets. When I get the bag out of the freezer Sofia points and says, "more plate." Which means she wants more nuggets on her plate. (I think it's obvious what she means, but I don't want you to be confused dear reader.) 2 more nuggets on a paper towel and she seems happy. I got to put the nuggets away and I hear, "more plate." Where the heck did the last 2 go. I scan the floor for the dog and utter something to myself, it probably does not bear repeating. 2 more nuggets in the microwave and I leave the bag out. I go and tell Charles that his daughter is eating nuggets number 6 and 7. I come back and the next two go in the microwave. I am seriously questioning her ability to eat all of this food. So after nugget number 8 is down and number 9 is missing an ear, I put the nuggets away and tell her I am cutting her off. I think she could have eaten 11, maybe 13, but I REALLY don't want to see what nugget puke looks like. All in all, Sofia amazes us with her ladylike appetite and the way she burps during a meal to make more room for meat!

Washable Markers

So most of you know we are gearing up for another move. Hooray, really, but I HATE to pack. I also hate to unpack and I know that this time around is going to be messy since we have had things in boxes for the last 10 months and we've managed to survive. BUT, that is not the point of this entry. Since we're moving, I've been trying to pack a box or two a day on the days that I am not super busy. Thankfully, today was one of those days. I figured, since I was at the kitchen table I could pack a box and let Ben and Sofia draw on the windows with the AWESOME window markers their Grandma and Papa Jackson gave them. I could hear the gentle squeak of marker on glass and wasn't worried when I hear Ben shriek, "Mom, Fia's coloring herself!" And indeed she was. She had eaten half the tip of the marker, so her lips were a vibrant purple color, and she had managed to get a good coat of crayola purple on her belly and both arms. Me, being the picture of motherhood, took her out to the car to get the camera rather than washing it off. We did eventually make it into the bath where all of the evidence easily soaked away, but it made for an interesting morning. I promise to post the evidence this weekend. For now, I'm off to bed.



'Night.

Happy Birthday Dear Benjamin!

Can I just tell you how much I love my little boy?!?! I see so much of what I like about people bundled up in one little person. Don't get me wrong, Ben has more than his share of "moments" when he would rather die than share, can absolutely not be reasoned with that ice cream or gum are not breakfast items, REFUSAL to even think about going poop in the same room as a potty, but then I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that Ben:

1) Dresses up his sister in jerseys and uniforms so she can look like a real athlete.
2) Calls Sofia, "my fia."
3) ONLY gives kisses on your lips, not cheeks.
4) Would eat peanut butter and jelly every day if he could.
5) Watches "yo, gabba gabba" and jumps around saying, "my name is Benjamin, I like to dance."
6) Can make a game to play with any ball.
7) wears jerseys to play in and to sleep in.
8) Knows most of the NHL teams by their logos.
9) answers, "sure, sure, sure," when I ask for help with anything.
10) Cuddles in bed with me every morning.
11) Rubs my back when I hug him.
12) Calls his Daddy "Charles" when he wants to get his attention.
13) Could sit and read every minute that he isn't playing sports.
14) Gets excited about going to the mall. (it does have a carousel after all)
15) Sings songs even if it is just the chorus over and over and over again.
16) Grows and grows and grows everyday and I get to watch.
17) Likes going to the ball store almost as much as going to Disneyland.
18) Gives his stuffed animals voices and they talk to him and to each other.
19) cares so much about animals - especially dogs.
20) Cherishes his friends and family so much, even at his young age.

Benjamin was worth the wait. We love you so much sweet boy. Thank you for all that you do to bring fun and love into our lives.

xo

A perfect Disneyland day!

Saturday was designated a Disney day way back in January when we realized our annual passes would soon be expiring. We splurged for Ben's second birthday and decided to take advantage of the fact that neither kid would need a pass or a ticket for a whole year, so $500 later we had two little pieces of plastic in my wallet. Another $59 on top of that and we would get "free" parking. Awesome.

Our last Disney day of the year started out looking a little depressing. It was POURING rain here, so we wore warm clothes and figured we'd do what we could. The drive was miserable, can't see in front of you, speeding down the freeway kinda scary and we arrived at Disneyland with hardly a sprinkle in the sky and so few cars we thought the place must have been closed. The kids were great in the car, we ran through "Mickey and Friends," and Ben announced the first ride he wanted to go on was a bus. Wahoo! So we rode the tram to the front gates, towed our umbrellas, stayed dry amidst the drizzle and packed them away before we left Main Street. We rode on Buzz, Dumbo, the Carousel, the Storybook Land train, Autopia, Pirate's of the Caribbean, the Winnie the Pooh ride and saw Tiana, Mickey and the Tiki Room before heading to dinner and returning for the Pixar Play Parade and a trip on Toy Story Mania and the under sea carousel. Charles and I both got to ride Screamin' before we picked out a treat and headed for home. We pulled out of the parking structure to POURING rain. We stopped in San Juan for AWESOME burritos, got home, put the kids in bed and then collapsed.

Seriously. Almost no lines, no rain, no tantrums... a PERFECT Disney day.

I'll post pictures as soon as I find the adapter for the camera. It might take awhile. I have a feeling a golden-haired girl might have put it in a "purse" and tucked it away for safe keeping.