Los Angeles

We're in L.A. this week. Been here since last Saturday & go back to Seattle on Monday. We came down to celebrate Tyler's 1st birthday with my family...and because we haven't been here since last August. It's the cheapest option for a little sunshine in February, though it hasn't been very warm. We did make it to the beach yesterday. I will post pictures when we get back to Seattle. I couldn't upload on David's computer this morning and didn't want to mess anything up.

Here's what we've done so far:

Saturday - Flew to L.A. - dinner at Yoshinoya (fancy, huh?) then slept
Sunday - Visited my mom's Chinese school, watched lion dancers perform. Dinner at Road to Souel, Korean bbq.
Monday - hung out in Hacienda Heights. David and I went to see Avatar while kids napped.
Tuesday - South Orange County for the day to visit my friend.
Wednesday - KidSpace Children's Museum in Pasadena & Speed Zone.
Thursday - Santa Monica Beach and pier.

The plan for today, Friday, is nothing. Saturday we will take Vincent to Disneyland, while Tyler stays home with my parents. Sunday is Tyler's birthday party. And, we go home Monday.

FUNshine! & A Piece of Mommy For Everyone

There are 6 living beings in our household...half of them don't want me to cook food, they would prefer I pay attention to them instead. One of them couldn't care less, as long as there's food in his dish at all times. One of them appreciates it when I cook food & happily eats it up. The last one IS the cook. That's me. I usually want to cook, but only on my terms, which is all by myself in the kitchen, making as big of a ruckus as I please. That rarely happens. Can you guess who the other five are? And, just so you know, I just tried prepping for dinner, and finally gave up because a certain female cat got right in front of me as I was chopping mushrooms. She rubbed her head against my hand as it was holding the top of a shitake while the other hand held a sharp knife...the same sharp knife that sliced my finger open this morning.

But, it's sunny today and the boys and I got outside for a little wheels action! Check out Tyler's moves - thumb sucking while triking!

Tyler fits into Vincent's old Teva sandals. I love hand-me-downs, especially when they get handed down more than once. Vincent had on matching Tevas, too. Also a hand-me-down. What a coincidence!

And, as I sat down to write this post, Stella was on my lap like butter on toast the moment my booty touched down. At least I know that I would win the popularity contest in this household.

Fat & Skinny

Vincent: "Mommy, I see something over there."

Me: "Ooh, yeah, that's a dog. A beautiful dog."

Vincent: "No, Mommy, who's that walking the dog?"

Me: "I don't know who that is."

Vincent: "That's a big lady walking the dog. Mommy, that lady is fat."

Me: "Oh, Sweetie, it's not nice to call people fat."

Vincent: "Why, Mommy?"

Me: "Well, would you want someone to call you fat?"

Vincent: "No, Mommy. But, I'm not fat."

Me: "Okay. Would you want someone to call you skinny?"

Vincent: "Yeah, I would. Cuz...I am skinny. That would make me happy."

Oh dear. Where does he get this? I guess I lost that one.

Coincidence

When Vincent was a baby, he received two pairs of pajamas that are exactly the same, except for the sizes. I bought him the size 12 months one & my aunt bought him the size 2T. It was a coincidence that both boys ended up in matching pj's one morning this week. I dressed Tyler & David dressed Vincent. Yes, he still fits the 2T, although barely. I know I'm their mom & supposed to say this, but they are so stinkin' cute!

Happy Birthday David!

It's David's birthday today. Lucky for him (not), he had to go to work early & stay late. With the little time we had with him today, we tried our best to make him feel special.

This morning, he was greated by Vincent with a gift, which Vincent immediately began to open as soon as he saw David.

For dinner, since he was staying an hour late & would then have to be in traffic, we decided to take dinner to him. I packed us a dinner of Trader Joe's microwaveable bbq beef brisket, some simple kaiser rolls, a salad, and sauteed snow peas with sesame seeds. The kids and I had also stopped to get balloons and cupcakes earlier in the day, so we brought those, along with candles & matches, too. We heated up the food in his swanky new cafeteria & feasted. Microsoft provided the flatware, napkins, and drinks. Happy Birthday Daddy David!

Pink Acoustic Guitar

My children love music. Okay, all children love music. But, it has only just become evident in the last week or so that Tyler is really into it. We've known about Vincent's love of it for a long time now.

Today, on our way out of the grocery store, there was a young guy standing outside with a pink guitar. Vincent asked what he was doing, and so he started to play us a song. The boys sat in the shopping cart listening happily, Vincent tipped him $1, and we clapped when he finished. He said that we had made his day.

"I feel sorry for you."

That was what was said to me by a nanny today, after she asked me if Vincent is "like this all the time." She was referring to his energy level. Yes, he pretty much is energetic at all times. It's exhausting, and I find myself telling him to settle/calm down many times a day, but I don't think I would want him to be the complete opposite.

And, since I'm quoting, last week I was asked by a fellow mom, after she gestured at her belly, "How far along are you?" Yup, this is my almost one year postpartum body you're all lookin' at.

Superbowl Sunday

We had a busy weekend. Saturday, we went to a 3 year old birthday party. It was tons of fun. The boys played with the other kids really well. Then, I interviewed a Mandarin speaking nanny while Tyler took a MONSTER long nap (kid was pooped out from all that playing). Vincent, not so much. The nanny was nice, but it seems our scheduling needs don't match up. After Tyler woke up, we went to Brooke's for some seafood - lots of it.

Superbowl Sunday was very low key for us. Vincent and I were a bit busy, but David and Tyler hung out doing very little. I took our old stroller to Babies R Us for their "Great Trade In". If I give them the old one, they give me 25% off the purchase of another one. It's for more than just strollers, but we needed an umbrella stroller. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the right stroller at the first store we went to. So, I took Vincent to Red Robin for lunch.

Here we are enjoying a rootbeer float. Vincent got a $3 off coupon from Toys R Us for his birthday. He has been asking me for a watch. I gave him a $10 budget & we found him a Sponge Bob watch! On our way to the car, after lunch, there was a group of Japanese gals that saw him watch and thought it was super cool.

Vincent didn't finish his corn dog at lunch, so I let him take it into the car. He fell asleep eating it.

We were invited to watch Superbowl at Bob & Jen's house, but we felt too whimpy to try and time it with naps, so we opted out. Instead, we went to Piecora's NY Pizza, who were showing the game on multiple screens for pizza, wings, and buttered noodles. It was perfect. I feel so lucky that we can have such a good time with just each other.

A Typical Thursday Morning

This is what a typical Thursday morning looks like for us. The only difference this morning is that Tyler sat up on the counter with Vincent (just briefly), and Vincent did not eat waffles or pancakes (he usually requests one or the other for breakfast).

Tyler almost always wakes first. This morning, I nursed him & changed his diaper. During this time, Vincent woke up & David went to attend to him. Today, Vincent woke up soaked...thank goodness for waterproof mattress pads! Once both boys were clean & dry, we went down for breakfast.

Typically, Vincent will get up on the counter and help make his breakfast. Tyler will roam around the kitchen floor playing or tugging at one of our legs. David and I will scramble around trying to get food on the table for the boys & for ourselves. I have recently taught David how to make coffee in the French press, including freshly grinding the beans as needed. He has added this into his morning routine. He makes coffee for the two of us, including adding cream & sugar. So sweet. We can thank Bob & Lucy for teaching David this skill.

Then we sit down to eat together. Vincent usually takes his sweet time eating, while getting up and down for whatever millions of reasons he has. Tyler will plow through his food & scream at us to get him off the highchair. David and I take bites of our food & sip our coffee in between juggling the boys.

David then goes upstairs to finish getting ready for work while I finish up breakfast with the boys. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I also fix a lunch for Vincent to take to school. Once David's ready to go, he kisses us all good-bye and heads out. The boys stand at the door and wave good-bye to him as he walks up the hill towards the bus stop. So cute.

The boys and I play a little bit & then we head to Vincent's preschool. Tyler and I drop him off, then we head home for Tyler's nap. The boys on the counter.

Tylerstarts off with Cheerios & then moves on to some other item for breakfast. Today, he tried feeding himself some yogurt.

The boys bid Daddy farewell.