Tahoe Vacation

We took a vacation to Tahoe over President's Day week. We drove up Monday and came home on Saturday. We all had a GREAT time! Thank goodness it snowed...the kids really had fun sledding, throwing snowballs, making snow angels, eating snow and drinking LOTS of hot chocolate! Wyatt put on ski boots and skis for the first time (Annabelle tried on the boots, too, as you can see in the pictures!). He had a smile from ear to ear every time he "hit the slopes". Matthew pushed Wyatt around so he could get a little bit of the feel of it. Wyatt learned how to do "pizza" (snow plow) and "french fries" (parrallel skis). It's funny how the terminology changes...

We have a ton of pictures, and a few good videos for you to enjoy!

It's finally snowing!!!

Apres snow play rosey cheeks!

The kiddies enjoying their first bowl of snow and some hot chocolate!

Playing outside

I'm trying out new technology...here's a snippet of Annabelle playing in the backyard. She's a funny one!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the first Valentine's Day that actually meant something to Wyatt. We prepared his Valentines and his Valentine bag yesterday - I don't think he really knew what was happening at that point. Today at school, the Valentines were delivered and they had a party of sorts. You can see the tiger face - another first for him. Up until today, whenever face painting was available, he wanted nothing to do with it. I'm sure the excitement of all of his friends getting it done had something to do with it. Annabelle was really into the tiger face! When we got home, we went through each and every Valentine to see which was from whom. Brings back memories, for sure.

At school, the parents were invited in for circle time - this is rare. I welled up as I walked in and saw my little boy - looking so big - sitting there. It was really simple - a story, a song and a poem - but I loved it anyway! I so know I'm going to be "that parent" that drives the teacher nuts asking to "help out with anything". I think pre-schools should have a streaming video camera in their classrooms so parents can log-in at anytime and see what their little cherubs are doing! I know, I know...that's crazy...from a teacher's stand-point, there's NO WAY I'd buy into that idea!

Annabelle was a sight for pictures today, too, but I didn't have my camera at the ready until she was already in bed for nap time. She had on her black and white striped heart shirt, jeans, caterpillar rain boots, Wyatt's red scarf, and a pink tutu! The boots, tutu and scarf were all her doing...she has quite the fashion sense already!

Both kids say a big thank you to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa and to Susie for the Valentines! And a great big Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

Guns

Wyatt to me: Here, I made this for you!
Me: What is it?
Wyatt: It's a lady gun.
Me: Oh yeah?!
Wyatt: Yes, it shoots food!



Hmmm... I said he was into guns...he knows I don't love them...should I be worried that a "Lady Gun" shoots food????!!!

current photos

My Mom requested some new photos of the kids, so here they are! It blows my mind how big they are getting...

How She Passes Time...

The little girl really likes the bathroom. If I am busy doing something - or nothing for that matter - and I notice that she has been missing for a little while, I first head to the nearest bathroom. She thinks she's gotten savvy, as she now closes the door...but to no avail. She is in there doing one of three things: 1) ripping off pieces of toilet paper and putting them in the toilet (after she's wiped her nose, as not to be wasteful); 2) ripping off pieces of toilet paper and dipping them in the toilet water, then either putting that in her mouth or wiping off the toilet seat (collective gag - go ahead); or 3) pumping the liquid soap onto her hands, the hand towel, etc. in order to "wash hands". Very nice, I know. I'm really working on getting across how dirty and yucky toilet water is, but she's just not believing me at this point. I think I might work on using the t-p and "washing hands" as a motivator for potty training, though. Who needs fruit snacks???
Wyatt never did any of this, so I'm in new territory here. One or two times of redirecting for that kid is all it took! So different, yet from the same genes. One of man's biggest mysteries!
I hope all is well with everyone!

Journaling

So here goes. I've tried to journal about/for my kids in all manners. I started off really well with Wyatt - I had a website, didn't like it, so then just kept my own digital journal on Word and inserted pictures. I wrote fairly regularly, until he was about 18 months. Then it was patchy. I figured that was fair, I could surely keep up a journal for the first 18 months of each of my kids' lives, and whatever was written about them from then on was great effort, but not an expectation. My goal was/is to have about the same effort for each kid. You know, Matthew is #4 and he has nothing! I'm serious...it was hard to find a baby picture of him (I've seen one or two). Thank goodness for the annual school pictures!


Then Annabelle came along. I did start a journal for her in Word, but with far fewer entries. I beat myself up about it because there are so many great things that she has done that is not written down anywhere. I moved my writing to a regular spiral bound notebook- have one for each, thinking that if I just had it handy, I would surely pick it up regularly just to jot down the little things. It worked that way for a little while, but has trickled off. I think the last time I wrote in it was about 6 months ago!


So here is a fresh new start. This one is much more public, which is frightening to me! Much of what I write will be extremely boring to most...but at least I will be making a new effort towards chronicling the great and not so great things my kids do, that I will want to hold on to once they are grown.

Here are a few cool things about the kids that you might not know:

Annabelle

• went potty in the toilet for the first time last night!


• has a funny personality - likes funny faces, laughs easily and with gusto


• loves to sing and will tell you if the song you're singing is what she wants to hear, or if she had something different in mind


• is exhuberant about almost everything!


• LOVES her papa


• copies everything her brother does


• could live off of Kraft mac-n-cheese and itty bitty beanie burritos from High Tech Burrito


• actually loves most kinds of cheese


• calls the telephone the hello


• smart, smart, smart - but in a different way than her brother
  

Wyatt

• favorite color is still red


• gets more and more into Star Wars every day (thanks to his papa)


• naps almost every day (thank you!)


• easy-going and very eager to do what's right


• has a friend in one of our garbage collectors (yesterday was the garbage man's last day before retiring and he was sad that he didn't get to see Wyatt to say good-bye)


• LOVES to play bad-guys


• smart, smart, smart


• an observer

There's always more I could write, but, as always, the little stories escape me right now. I am going to try to be more diligent about taking the time to write the tidbits that happen as they happen so I don't forget the way I do!