December Recap

This month was a bit slower for the Y family, compared to November with all the birthdays and family gatherings.  We started December off by attending an early Christmas celebration held at big sister K's dance school.  She got to take pictures with Santa, go on a horseback ride (they had a smaller pony, but big sister K insisted on riding the bigger one... total opposite of baby M, who was too chicken to even get near the pony), and play with some farm animals at the makeshift petting zoo.

We extended our Sesame Place season passes to their "A Very Furry Christmas" event.  We tried to make the most of our season passes knowing we wouldn't be renewing them for another year (sorry baby M!), but was hard with the turbulent December weather we had.

 

The first time we went to A Very Furry Christmas, the temperature was in the 20s and we were freezing... I don't know what possessed us to go the day we did.  The second time we went, it was a beautiful mild Sunday afternoon, but that only meant every other family with kids had the same idea we did and ended up at Sesame Place.  It was so crowded and the lines so ridiculously long that we couldn't even get in to see certain shows.  Definitely not worth it.

We celebrated Christmas day at my brother-in-law's place.  Big sister K started an annual tradition by making all the family members do a conga line before opening up presents.  Despite suffering from food coma, everyone got up and went along with it... I mean, how can you say no to an adorable 5-year old?  On that note, I just googled the conga line and found out that it originated from Cuba... how appropriate!  I guess it's in her genes.

The Saturday after Christmas, we had lunch with my parents and the M family at a buffet place in Secaucus.  Afterwards, we let the kids run wild outside.  It was great seeing them play together.  Big sister K and her cousin A put together a show for us singing Christmas carols.  My nephew was so awesome with baby M, running after him and keeping a close eye on him to make sure he was okay... would totally have him babysit in a few years if they didn't live so far away.

One thing that can't be beat during the holidays is the time spent with family.  Goodbye 2013, hello 2014!

Thomas Funny

Baby M had trouble saying "Thomas and Friends" up until a few days ago, and would always say "Thomas Funny" instead.  Now it has become a running joke with M and me... whenever baby M says "Thomas and Friends," we would ask him, "Thomas funny?"  He would laugh, then respond adamantly, "No! Thomas AND FRIENDS!" with emphasis on the "and" and "friends."

Baby M's speech has improved significantly over the past few months.  He's talking a lot more now, and right where he should be for his age, so it was an easy decision for us to end his speech therapy.  Thanks to the delayed billing from the state though, I will still be paying for his sessions for the next three months!

My Mischievous Baby M

We were all hanging out in the living room when big sister K went upstairs to use the bathroom.  Baby M, being the curious fellow he is, followed her upstairs but went to his room instead.  When she was done, I told her to turn off all the lights on her way down in hopes of getting him downstairs, since he couldn't reach for the light switches himself.  Needless to say, it didn't work.  I assumed he was sitting upstairs in the dark, but after a few minutes, I heard him yell out "look at me," so I did and to my surprise, the light in his room was turned on.

This is what he did: First, he stood on a potty chair (which is used more as a toy than a potty chair) to reach for the light switch.  When that didn't work, he went to the bathroom, took the stool we have in there, and tried using that, only to find that he was still inches too short.  Then he took the garbage can in his room (fortunately, it was empty), flipped it upside down, and stood on it to reach for the light switch.  Jackpot!  He was so proud of himself (as was I) for having succeeded.  It's amazing what goes through the head of this two-year old!

Back On Track

After a month of sabbatical, I can finally resume my blogging.  New laptop has been purchased (it's been about two weeks now, though this is just my first time using it), so I don't have an excuse anymore.

November came and went.  It was a busy time, and now that we're at the end of December, things that happened a month ago is a big blur.  Some highlights I can recall:

• We had lunch with family one Saturday afternoon to celebrate the kids' birthdays.  Everyone came over afterwards and as usual, big sister K and baby M had fun playing with all their cousins, aunts, and uncles.  Despite the number of people we had over, we were still left with three-quarters of the Buzz and Woody cake.  Ice cream was definitely the more popular choice.

• Big sister K's soccer lessons came to an end for the fall season.  Here she is, proudly displaying her trophy.

• We attended LY and JC's wedding.  What a blessing it was to watch them tie the knot!  It took big sister K a while to warm up on the dance floor, but once she did, she wouldn't stop.  Even the fact that she was the only one out there didn't deter her from showing off her dance moves.  I couldn't download a video of it, so here are a few pictures instead.

• Big sister K had an all-girls birthday gathering with a few of her friends from school.  We kept it low-key and didn't do a big bash this year (which was actually big sister K's choice).  Here's a picture of them after they made their crowns.  Can you tell that the party was somewhat princess-themed?

• Thanksgiving dinner was held at my brother-in-law's place.  Too much good food as usual.  We had leftovers lasting us for days after.
• We celebrated CW's birthday at Pump It Up.  Baby M finally reached the height minimum, but as much as we tried, he refused to go into any of the bounce houses.  Oh well, maybe next time.

• Somewhere in between, M managed to find a few hours to clean the leaves on our property (though he never got a chance to finish between the cold weather and three snowstorms we got in one week).  Baby M got a good laugh watching his big sister get buried under the leaves.

 

December update to be posted shortly!

On Hiatus

My apologies to those who have been waiting for a new blog entry.  Due to technical difficulties (our laptop at home went kaput a few weeks ago), I haven't been able to post anything new.  Hopefully we will get a new laptop soon so that I can get back on track.