Today's Pics

Today's high is expected to be 72 degrees.  We packed a lunch and headed to the park.  Derek met us there and we played and ate together.  It was a great little break for Derek, and the kids always enjoy a surprise visit from him. 

Hide and Go Seek!

We have a mattress on the floor in Makena's room.  Lately, Karis has been crawling under the covers to hide.  So, today we played hide-and-go-seek.

We were downstairs in the family room and I told her to go hide.  She ran into Makena's room as she knew exactly where she wanted to hide.  As I climbed the stairs, I told her I was coming to look for her.  It was easy to find her, not only because she was giggling the entire time but because she only hid her head under the covers.

She wanted to play again.  This time, I told her I was going to count to five and then come look for her.  Again, it was easy to find her.  Not only because she was in the same place, but because she counted out loud to five with me.

I love the innocence of this child!  Some days with the kids are a test of patience but days like these are so sweet!

Here is a photo of our Playdoh time earlier in the day.  She especially loved the one of her and Fluffy (her blankie).   

Staycation Day 5 (Last Day!)

We didn't do much for Day 5.  In the morning, I took Karis with me to run a few errands.  Derek stayed home with Makena.  It was an uneventful day, especially for being New Years Eve!  But, that's the way we wanted it.  Vacations, even staycations, can be a lot of work, so we didn't want to squeeze in another activity.  It's always a little tricky going out with two little ones who take naps.  There's only a short window when both are happy and awake.  I'm a big protector of their naps and they only miss it if I deem it "worth it."  My kids are easy going kids but if they miss their naps, they are quite crazy and cranky and we pay for it later in the day!

I loved having lots of family time this week.  It's been fun just lounging around the house and playing with the kids.  I think Karis really enjoyed having both parents around.  She definitely took advantage of it -- when Derek reprimanded her, she would come to me and say, "Mama, hold." Or, if the answer from Derek was a "no" she would come and ask me, and vice versa.

Aside from the family time, I really enjoyed having a little extra help around the house.  I napped more and made dinner less this week and it was great!

I am thankful for my family.  I just can't spend enough time with them!

I don't have any photos for this day, but I'll post a quick little video of Makena.  I love it because it shows you all kinds of things she's been doing lately:  1) sticking her tongue out 2) standing and bouncing up and down 3) "talking" and 4) turning from being happy to upset in two seconds.

Staycation Day 3 & 4

Day 3 was rainy so we just took the kids to Chik-fil-a for lunch. It was the usual chicken and waffle fries for lunch, a balloon and some play time in the indoor play area. We spent the rest of the day playing at home.

On Day 4, we went to Mt. Baldy to show the kids snow and to go sledding. We left around 11:30 am and got up the mountain in less than an hour and a half. It's one of the great things about living in southern california -- both the ocean and mountains are a hop, skip and a jump away.

It was bumper to bumper up the mountain and cars were parked everywhere. It was packed! Thankfully we found a small spot that had a place to park, so we pulled over and spent about an hour there.

We sled down a very tiny hill but it was perfect for the girls. They both loved it. When the sled came to a stop, Karis immediately said, "More" every time. Makena and I went down a few times and she was smiling and enjoying it too.

Yes, I am one of those mothers that bundles up their kids so much they can barely move.

Staycation Day 2

On Day 2, we took the girls to Zoomar's petting zoo. Karis had a great time feeding all sorts of different animals. She rode a horse and the little kiddie train -- she cried for brief moments while on both. It was quite uncharacteristic of her. She was probably just tired since she had gone to bed late the night before and it was her nap time. Or else, she thought we were sending her away.

I thought Makena would love the bunnies and guinea pigs, but she was winding down and pretty tired by the time we went to see them. She was interested in them but didn't get that excited. When I gave her a carrot to feed them, she tried to eat it. I guess she's still a little too young. Here are some pictures of our visit.

Staycation Day 1

Since Derek has the week between Christmas and New Years off, I took the week off as well. We thought about doing a road trip, but decided to stay home and do a few day trips/activities throughout the week.

On the agenda for Day 1 was some fun around the neighborhood for the girls and rest for us -- we needed to recover from Christmas!

Highlights:

For me, taking the girls out one-on-one. Karis loves to be outside, but we can't go outside a lot because of Makena's naps. While Makena took her morning nap, Derek stayed home and I took Karis out in her new pink car, we went to the playground and just ran up and down little hills across the street. Later, I took just Makena on a long walk in the stroller.

For Derek, he loved taking Karis out on her new bike seat. She even fell asleep at the end!

We also saw Makena take a couple steps on her own!

Christmas Day 2010

It's so much fun watching kids open presents. Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Karis and Makena got a new car. You can tell how much Karis liked the gift from the photo. Unfortunately, Makena didn't really get a chance to take it for a spin. She ended up pushing Karis in the car.


Makena playing with a few small toys she received.

Karis with her new Dora bike helmet.

Karis playing with her Smart Cycle. It's a video game that is controlled by the bicycle. Her feet can't reach the pedals yet, but she likes to push the buttons and watch the video (and stand on the seat). Makena also likes to play with it. She stands next to it, pushes the buttons and tries to get the handle bars in her mouth.

Happy 1st Christmas, Makena!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Karis and I made a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve. I thought about letting Makena help us, but then I remembered how much raw batter Karis ate last year. I think it was best not to have her be a part of this tradition until next year.

This year, Karis was able to do most of the pouring and mixing.

I rolled out some fondant and she cut out some shapes so that we could decorate the cake. She poured, I mean put sprinkles on top of the cake too! It was a white cake with strawberry jam and chocolate buttercream.

We went to my sister's house for dinner on Christmas day. The kids enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Karis was so excited to finally get a "bite" of the cake we had been working on for two days!

Makena at 9 Months

Here is a snapshot of what Makena has been up to:

* She babbles a lot!

* She has four teeth

* She loves to eat solid food. Sometimes she’ll sit at Karis’ feet while she is eating and feast on whatever falls on the floor

* She crawls and cruises all over the place, yet she hasn’t taken a first step yet

* She can climb a full flight of stairs (and often does when we’re not looking – she’s quick!)

* She takes great naps – usually 2 hours

* She’s been sleeping through the night since 6 months and has rarely, if ever, woken up in the middle of the night in the past three months

* She is starting to understand the word “no” as we’ve had to use that word more often lately

* She loves to take baths

* She has stranger anxiety, much more than her sister ever did

* She weighs about a pound heavier than Karis did at 9 months, even though she weighed one pound less than Karis at birth

* She sleeps with two pacifiers (one in the mouth and one in the hand) and has not yet taken to her bunny blanket that is in her crib

Here are some recent random pics:
Checking out the Christmas tree for the first time:
Fun in the tub (and showing all four teeth):

Everything in the mouth!

Santa in Our Neighborhood

Earlier tonight, we bundled the kids up, grabbed the umbrella and walked over to our neighborhood clubhouse to meet Santa. I wanted to get photos of the girls and Santa, but I was trying not to get my hopes up too high. If you remember, last year didn't go so well.. (click here to see photos from last year).

Right before we left, I quickly showed Karis a Dora show that had Santa in it. I told her we were going to see him (she hasn't heard much about Santa yet). When we got to the clubhouse, she saw Santa across the room, walked right to him, and got on his lap. Yay!

Makena, on the otherhand, was a different story. She wasn't in a good mood before we arrived and she certainly didn't want to hang out with Santa. She tried so hard not to cry but she couldn't hold back for long. That's okay... I think the crying photos are just as cute!

We had some Christmas cookies, did a craft project, and then watched the train for a little bit. We then headed back out in the rain to go home for dinner. Karis hopped in puddles all the way home...