Running around town

We have done so much stuff lately, it is impossible to keep up! I wish I could blog and scrapbook every moment of their little lives so they (and I) will never forget what a great time we are all having. But, since there is still laundry to do, dinner to cook, shopping to be done, etc., the scrapbooking and regular blogging will have to wait a while longer. In the meantime, here are a couple of movies: one from our trip to Disneyland for Tyler's 4th birthday where we spent the night in the hotel next to the park and the boys got just as big of a kick out of running down the halls as they did on the rides (they are a bunch of cheap dates), and another of the little train at our mall that they ride all the time and Tristan is waving so enthusiastically, I just had to post it! Let the chaos continue!
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Next stop, Jimmy Choo's

It has been MONTHS since my last update...bad mommy!!! In my defense, I have been working diligently on another project so everything in the house has been falling to the way side. However, I took this video this morning and had to share it because I just love it. It totally illustrates a typical moment in our busy household. Tristan is absolutely CRAZY about shoes, so here he is in my closet, trying on and walking around in the red platform ones I wore at my wedding. He definitely prefers the brighter, more colorful shoes, except when there is a good gooey flip-flop hanging around, in which case he'll try them on and then suck the gunk off the bottom -- delicious! Oh, and Tyler is happy to usually tackle him or just squeeze him, boa constrictor style, until he gets a good rise out of him. He also loved shoes when he was Tristan's age. I think I might have to write a book about Jimmy Choo's shoes, sounds like a good children's book character!

So here we go, and hopefully there will be a better update with more photos to follow soon!


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The Big One!

What? I'm one? Should I be worried?

It's hard to believe, but Tristan turned one on April 17th. It seems like just a month ago we were in the hospital, just him and me, watching the palm trees blow in the breeze from our window. Now he's a full-throttle toddler, walking all over the place (starting to run all over the place) and having very strong opinions about everything. He's such a little boy, loves rough-housing and exploring how every little thing works. He cracks us (and himself) up all the time. Just this week he discovered that if you blow in one of the tools from the doctor's kits it will make a whistle. So he ran around the house whistling then laughing hysterically about it all. He refuses to hold hands on walks around the block and will dart out of the preschool class and run down the hall first thing when I drop off Tyler. In short, he is a handful! Oh, and this teething business? When is that going to stop? This morning I found a little chunk of wood in his crib - where the heck did that come from, I wondered? Then I saw the edge of his crib. Tyler had left a few bite marks in the edge, but Tristan has pulled full-on beaver action and is actually trying to gnaw his way out of the crib!!! Needless to say, our little beaver keeps us on our toes and entertained, and we are so very delighted to have him in our lives.

So, I get presents for my birthday but Tyler gets to open them all. Huh?

Ummmmm!!! Cake! This is way yummier than I expected! And fun to pound, squish through my fingers and then rub in my hair!!!

Yes! I'm a big boy now and can ride facing forwards. Let the backseat driving begin!



Cool, one year old and I'm already king. What should I do for my second birthday?

And He's Off!

Tristan, that is. Off and running. Well, not running yet, but he wanders all over the place, Charlie Chaplan-style, usually holding his favorite drumstick. We corral him in the playroom as much as we can, but he grows tired of it and wants out and when he wants out, HE WANTS OUT! So, I generally let him out knowing that the house is baby proofed. And then he wanders. Wanders to his bedroom to check out his books. Then to Tyto's room to look for used binkies (he won't take one of his own, but likes to chew on Tyler's used ones, it's pretty gross. He also likes to chew on shoes, the dirtier the better. Ew.). Then back to the living room to play with the trains and look for the TV remote to slobber on. I looked over while doing dishes and couldn't see him but then saw his shadow coming out from the dining room and he was just waddling back into the kitchen to give me a little sugar. He's Mr. Independent and he cracks us up how he just doesn't care if we're around or not. We've lately taught him to raise his arms in the air after we ask him, "How big are you? So big!" so he'll be wandering around and we'll say, "So big" and he'll shoot his arms up in the air. Here's a video of me trying to get him to do it. He did it once at the beginning, but then was just bothered by me following him around.

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Walking has been Tristan's biggest accomplishment this month, followed by eating normal people food and totally shunning baby food. He really wants nothing to do with it, but I keep pushing it (and my luck) knowing it's good for him. It's much better than the fireplace rocks I found him eating the other morning. Or the piece of foam he bit off of one of the squishy toys we had. Or even Uncle Ed's full cup of (luckily) cold coffee that he grabbed off the table, drenching himself and then licking the cup. Yes, he keeps us busy. And speaking of which, here are a few photo ops of what we've been up to this month.

Look! Someone else has my same hair-do!

String cheese in hand and silly glasses on. This is how we roll.

Pajama day at school for Tyto!



Uncle Ed helps Tyler to pick the tallest oranges from one of our trees.


The St. Patty's Day parade. Yes, we are drunk on the candy they handed out. Everyone else is just drunk.

Cupcake smiles at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. Tyto played "Special Delivery" with his new truck giving out gold coins to all the staff. They then sent him room service of cupcakes and milk - what a sweet surprise!

The top of the mountain on our hike at Ojai. It was just beautiful there. Tristan is in the backpack on my back pulling my hair. The whole way.

We drove through Oxnard, where they grow strawberries, to get to Ojai so we picked up a bunch. Tristan LOVED them and tried to see if he could get one the size of his fist into his mouth. He was pretty successful.

Fabulous February

What a fun month February was! It wasn't that we did anything out of the ordinary, but as I look back at my calendar to refresh my memory and look at photos to post, I realize how much fun we have on a daily basis. Just this morning, while Tristan was taking his morning nap, Tyler and I played "Easter Egg Hunt" upstairs in our bedroom (we're practicing early so we'll be good and ready next month). I would hide under the covers and pretend to sleep while he pounced all over the bedroom hiding "eggs" (blocks). It was hilarious to hear him padding all over the room, moving stuff, shuffling around, and then have him jump on the bed and yell, "Wake up! It's Easter! The bunny was here!" Then as I hunt for the eggs he shouts, "I see one!" like he didn't know he, himself, was the one who put it there. We did this for an hour taking turns hiding eggs and could have played longer if Tristan hadn't woken up and motivated us to go to the beach. Tyler is so curious and almost always up for going on an adventure. He loves playing with Aleksa now (our new au pair whom we all just adore) and I'll see the two of them head off down the street to practice their "silly walking" and it just makes me giggle.

A boy, his magnifying glass and his froggy boots.

Then yesterday, as Tyler slept, Tristan and I played what I call "snugglebug." He was in such a snuggly mood. I would show him a stuffed elephant and he would laugh, grab it, suck his thumb and lay down on it. Same with a monkey, blanket, ball, etc. He was so cute! These moments that I have with them are priceless and they are such fun little people who seem to genuinely like eachother - so far - some days a little too much as I have to tell Tyler to "quit touching your brother!" as he practically hugs his ears off.

Make sure dinner's on the table by 6, boys.

Tristan is about to take off. He's already taken 2 steps, and he loves to be held so he can walk around (not by the fingers, you have to hold him under the armpits, he will let you know). He loves dancing to the hotdog dance and eating sand at the beach, and wreaking havoc all over the train set as you will see here (the sound on my movies isn't working for some crazy reason, I'm trying to fix it):

So, what else have we been up to lately? Well, Tyler had a week off from school for "ski week." I guess that's when all the folks from Manhattan Beach take their ski vacations. We did a lot of stuff around here including visiting our friend, Justin, who is a firefighter at his station for the tour. He has now been given God status in our household. I can say, "Firefighter Justin eats his broccoli so he can be strong," and in the mouth and down the hatch it goes. Amazing. We went to the zoo (Tristan's first time - he LOVED seeing the animals and his eyes would light up when it registered in his brain that it was an animal. Tyler loved the food and instead of eagerly going from one exhibit to the next, he eagerly went from the popcorn vendor to the monkey drink vendor). And, we went to Hollywood to visit our friends and go to the Grove which was a big disappointment because we didnt' get to ride the train. Other updates include the fact that Tristan got a new tooth, the right front one, so now he doesn't look quite like a vampire anymore (his fangs were already in), he loves playing karaoke with the microphone on our play piano, it's hilarious, he can now say "mama" but it sounds more like "mo-ma" and both kids are still waking up in the middle of the night. On nights when John is out of town I pray that they don't wake up at the same time. All I need is to be rocking Tristan back to sleep with Tyler wandering around the house looking for me.

Nana and Papa allow Tyler to help open their Christmas gifts, we're not exactly punctual around here.

Bonzai!

Tristan and Aleksa - he lights up and grabs for her when he sees her.

more present opening..."why aren't any of these for me?"

the next great sushi chef

ride 'em cowboy!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mickey Mouse pancakes, who has it rough?

Yes, I am cute!

Forward motion

There is evidence of the passing of time everywhere around me: we just celebrated the beginning of a new year; the old, lame administration is gone and a new, hopefully better one, has taken office; Tristan is moving all over the place, goodbye to sitting still; and Tyler is now a full-fledged legitimate little kid, no more toddlerdom for him. Now I'm all for looking forward to the future, but I'm having a bit of a hard time saying goodbye to the past. 2008 is going to go down in my book as one of my all-time favorite years that will be pretty darn impossible to top.

For starters, Tristan was born and he is a healthy, smiley, snuggly baby, who is already growing up too darned fast for my liking. At 9 1/2 months he already looks like a one-year-old and most people gasp when I tell them how old he really is. "He's big! Really big!" is their typical reaction. Yes, he jumped out of newborn clothes and into 2T's almost instantly. I love all the development that happens in this first year, but I can't stand that it happens so fast and with so much other chaos going on. Where is my chance to savor it all? Tonight he stood by the bathrub BY HIMSELF for six seconds before grasping the tub. Walking is right around the corner, then talking, then he's off to college. I can't stand this.

2008 was a banner year for Tyler as well. His language skills exploded at the beginning of the year and with those new communication skills came a host of questions and comments that I will treasure forever. Just a few days ago I was working in the office when he ran in to get me and said, "Hey lazy bones! Come dance with me!" Who can resist that? Of course, the oddball sentences are still in full force such as, "I'm your email helper. Break a leg!" Just this past week I've noticed that he's no longer scared of going down the slide and is climbing up practically everything. He's out of his crib and into a super-cool fire engine toddler bed. He's becoming much more independent and I expect him to be requesting the car to hang out with his friends next week. Why does this all happen so fast? Three years is not long enough! (On the flip side, he is still in diapers and prefers the baby swings, so he's not moving out of the house yet).

While posting these little movie clips, I just looked at a few from the past years and they make me so nostalgic already. I am going to be an absolute mess when these little people go to college. John had better load up the house on wine and line up some good vacations so I'm not begging to adopt another baby when we're 60.

Here are a few videos that I will treasure forever. The first is Tristan in his walker, running around the house with his bath flutes that he just loves. The second shows him learning to crawl. The third show Tristan and Tyler dancing and playing together with Tyler's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. And the last is from the inauguration, which was freezing, poorly organized, exciting and inspirational all at once.


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Christmas!!

The big man (and we're talking BIG) in the red suit at the mall.

It may be February, but we are still awash with Christmas spirit here at our house. Not a day goes by that we don't talk about Santa, or play Santa, or sing about Christmas, or ask about presents and/or candy. You get the drift. Santa and all his wonderous ways were in full force this year and it truly was fantastic. We started in October when Tyler learned the Chipmunk's Christmas song and while it peaked at a 4-5 times a day one-man concert, now we're down to hearing it maybe three times a week. We're still reading our Christmas books and just this morning we watched "The Polar Express," again. And although "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas" crecendoed around New Years, we're still watching that a lot, too.


Tyto shows off his gingerbread "Polar Express" train

Eventually I'm sure we'll start talking about other things and Christmas will fade away. Tyler knows that Santa is in Mexico right now sucking down margaritas and taking a vacation, but I have to admit that I absolutely love his enthusiasm and excitment for the holidays and I am enabling as much of it as possible (especially the part where Santa is watching so he needs to be good - boy that's an amazing behavior modifier!!).

Show us your bowl full of jelly!
Tristan, of course, was just in awe of all the activity. Tyler opened every one of all of our presents and Tristan delighted in the ripping of the paper, the climbing into the boxes. Next year we're going to have our hands full. So, here's to keeping the Christmas spirit with you all year long!

Tristan would make a b-line straight for the tree every chance he got. Needless to say, it looked a little bare on the bottom.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

I need to sleep all this excitement off.

Oh, boxes and paper! Just what I wanted!

On the go!

The best present ever!

Helping Daddy unwrap his birthday presents.

Thanksgiving!

What a bunch of turkeys!!

I am so incredibly thankful for my family! Just look at this lot, they are silly, sweet, gracious and fun. I know I'm blogging about Thanksgiving and it's practically Valentine's Day, but not a day goes by where I don't find myself thinking how lucky I am to have such a great family. And yes, in particular I'm talking about my little boys who are just so adorable, but it also applies to everyone else in my family whom I love so much. I actually keep track of what I am thankful for every day on my calendar. Sometimes it's as ridiculous as gingerbread biscotti cookies (which are really friggin' good!), sometimes it's the sound of the wind on the palm trees as I nurse Tristan to sleep, usually it has something to do with Tristan and Tyler and how cute they are and how I absolutely love, love, love being their mama and watching them grow up. It's the most important thing in the world, and I'm ever so thankful that I get to be part of their lives.

Enough with the mushy stuff, mama! I want my turkey dinner!

We definitely don't have problems with finicky eaters at our house. Tristan is a chow-hound and I love how he just opens his mouth like a little bird waiting for a wonderful surprise. I found myself this Thanksgiving wanting to let him experience each and every dish- including pumpkin pie - whereas I was much more conservative with Tyler (I wanted to make sure Tyto could handle all the foods individually first, then make sure he was up to the task of the different textures, etc.). Tristan got his fair share of sweet potatoes and a little turkey, which because he didn't even have any teeth at the time had to be blended and then gummed, but from the "uummmm, ummmm, ummmmm" sounds he was making, he didn't mind. Next year should be even more fun!

Did the Vikings have a Thanksgiving dinner?

Playtime at the park. We don't get the typical Thanksgiving weather, but this day was nice and crisp (probably a chilly 60 degrees!). This photo depicts one of the rare occasions that Tristan isn't eating leaves, grass or sand and Tyler isn't on the swings.

Nana and Papa (and Uncle Ed, too!) were with us for Thanksgiving so we took the ferry one day over to Catalina to visit some friends. Tyler couldn't wait for the ferry, he thought it was so cool but was scared to death of going outside and really didn't like being close to the windows, either. He was, however, very content to sit in his seat and eat plenty of snacks. He still talks about the snacks to this day!

Tristan was loving the boat ride, too, and charmed everyone who would sneak a peek at him.

Back at the beach, I tried to get some decent shots of the boys for our Christmas picture, but it was like herding cats. One would look cute and the other would look dopey. Then they would reverse it. Did they choriograph that? Finally, I got this shot which I liked, they are probably both making faces, squinting, or something else, but they still look adorable. Hopefully not all of our shots in the future will be of our backs.

Papa loved spending time with both boys and they in returned hanging with Papa!

Tristan gets a chuckle out of Nana and his rolly-polly ball.

"Dude, go get the potatoe chips, I've got the munchies. I'll hold down the fort."

Uncle Ed went with us to the Redondo Beach Christmas festival. The anticipation for Santa was palpable with Tyler. He is still talking about Christmas every day and it's now February! The wonder and amazement in Tyto's eyes when he sees Santa is priceless.