Aloha 2011

We had a really nice visit to Hawaii to visit Papa and Tutu! The kids LOVED the beach....so fun to watch them play in the waves! Here are some pics from the trip....

Dear Apple,
Thank you for inventing the iPad....our kids were so well behaved on the flight over, we kept pinching ourselves!!
Thanks,
Jill

Jake tried boogie boarding (though he will tell you it was SURFING).....he also loved the blue "surfboard" that Tutu bought him with a viewing window to see the fish!

Down the waterslide....he did it all by himself and later in the day, graduated to going without his life vest. Daddy taught him the trick to going fast and he was a HAPPY boy! Tutu hooked us up with a pass to the Hyatt for the day and doing the waterslide there was one of the highlights of Jake's trip!

One of the projects Tutu had ready for Jake....he LOVED doing all of them!

This is what happens when you wake up at 4:30am every day.....Mia never did adjust to the time change. The good news is that she slept in late the day we got home ;)

Melt my heart.....

Best part of the whale watching trip.....his own can of Hawaiian's Own.

Noisy

Mia is a lot of things.....and NOISY is towards the top of the list :) She's been hitting some high pitch tones recently that Jake just can't handle. I couldn't help but crack up when I looked in the back seat and saw Jake.....coping with the noise.
Thank you to my iPhone for capturing the moment ;)

Misc.

Their new favorite rainy day activity....take all the cushions off of the couch and play and make a bed, a fort, a jump zone.....it can turn into a WHOLE day worth of fun.

Booties

They do love to hug....typically followed by a body slam of some kind.

She loves her bath....

Thank you to the genius who came up with WASHABLE markers.

Jake on skis

Jake going down the small hill.....later in the day, he did the big hill on his own too!

Trip to the cabin

Here's our super skier at the top of the hill! Jake made HUGE progress this weekend.....we got rid of the harness and he was on his own down the Super Cub hill ALL on his own, and doing the chair lift with us. So fun to see him doing this.....such a big boy!

Daddy and Jake on the lift!

My little ski buddy!! We're taking the pic of ourselves, so it's a little off :)

Gramps had his own team of helpers to shovel off the deck.

Change in plans....building an igloo instead of shoveling

We had a great time at the cabin with Grammie and Gramps!

Monster Jam

We took Jake to see Monster Jam and it was SO fun. It was pure entertainment.....and that's saying a lot, as I don't think I'm exactly their target audience. Jake loved every minute and has insisted on wearing his monster truck t-shirt (that's 3 sizes too big) every day.

We dressed ourselves....

Need I say more?

Hearts

Yes, I really do think things taste better if they are cute.....and what's cuter than hearts?! We celebrated Valentine's Day with the kids (though we did do a "date night" the night before, which was SO nice!). We had heart shaped pancakes, heart shaped pb&j's, and you guessed it, heart shaped pizza. We made heart shaped cookies for all of our valentine's too.....and I really enjoyed all of the reject cookies!! It was a fun day and boy, do I LOVE these kids!

Valentine's Day

We had a fairly successful photo "shoot" for Valentine's Day.....the kids were very cooperative.....I'm quite sure that was due to the HUGE lollipops bribe :)

Kids

I find my self busy with with the kids lately......our days are full, but not with anything that's too exciting to report. With life as busy as it is, I'm sure I don't write as many things down in the baby books as I should.....and things are forgotten so quickly that I am doing a "recap".....both Jake and Mia are at such fun ages! Both have their challenges, but they keep us smiling!


MIA
Climbs anything and everything
Is a binkie addict
Has still never slept as more in a 24 hour period as her brother
Is down to one nap a day
Loves the words stinky and NO
ADORES her brother
Says "hiiii" to you like she hasn't seen you in weeks....and it's only been long enough for you to throw a load of laundry in the washer
Puts her head on my shoulder just before I put her in the crib.....a little slice of heaven
Has the sweetest kisses and hugs......if she is in the mood to share them
Is gonna keep us on our toes!!
LOVES dogs and babies
Does not like it when mommy leaves
Melts my heart each and every day...



JAKE
Has really awesome language skills but says "yittle" intead of "little"......part of me hopes he never outgrows it, because it's so cute!
Will do anything if you let him watch a show
Is finally eating dinner after nearly a full year of protest
Says "I love you mommy/daddy" often....and in the sweetest voice you've ever heard
Starts most statements with "well, ya' see"
Thinks knock knock jokes are hysterical....with or without the punchline
Could live on pickles.....and french fries
Does not transition well
Thinks that "please be gentle with your sister" means.....okay, you can tackle her one more time
No longer naps.....and thoroughly dislikes "quiet time"
Does not like to participate in group activities....even if it's something he likes to do
Has mood swings similar to those of a teenage girl
Would sit and listen for as long as someone was willing to read to him.
Can officially beat me in the game, memory
Thinks any variation of the word "toot" is pure comedy....and says it as often as possible
Knows the difference between a phillips and a flat head
Thinks that "please hurry" means go as slooooow as you possibly can
Is protective of his sister if someone ELSE is being mean to her.....though the same rules don't apply to him :)
Is the sweetest little man I know
Gives the BEST hugs

Ellen Show

Julie and I took Mom to see the Ellen Show as a 60th birthday present and it was SO much fun! We spent the weekend near Burbank.....did some shopping....had some good food.....and then headed to the show on Monday. We arrived at 1pm for a taping at 4pm.....there was a fair amount of waiting around, but they did a good job of keeping us all entertained! We saw Juliana Marguiles and Kevin Nealon (who was hysterical)....and did a lot of dancing!

Here we are in the audience....Julie is on the left, I'm on the right....and mom is in the middle of us.....behind that really tall person :)

Brian had the kids all day Sunday and took the day off from work on Monday to stay with them as well......in 10 years at Clorox, I think this is the first time he's taken a day off for something "just because". It was also his first time having the kids by himself for any extended period of time.....he and the kids had a great time and he ROCKED the whole Mr. Mom gig! I came home at 10:30pm on Monday and was pleasantly surprised to find the house clean, the kids bathed, and flowers + a homemade card. I could not have been happier!