Winter Break - Part 1

This is big sister K's first year in public school, so for the first time ever, we now have to follow the school schedule instead of being able to take off whenever we want (work permitting).  Big sister K has been off since Christmas Eve, and for most of those days, I've been fortunate enough that I could take off with her.  Thank goodness for my abundance of vacation days left over!

I scheduled a play-date with one of her classmates on Christmas Eve.  We dropped baby M off at daycare and headed over there in the morning.  I probably had just as good of a time chatting with the mom as big sister K had playing with her friend.  It was a struggle, but I eventually managed to tear her away so that we could met up with M for lunch.  In the midst of enjoying our waffle fries at Chick-fil-a, big sister K lost her very first tooth!  She was playing with the straw while drinking her milk, and the next thing you know, there's a tiny tooth in her hand and blood coming out of her mouth.  She was so excited for the the tooth fairy to come that that was the only thing she talked about the rest of the day.  She told me it's $5 for the first tooth, and $10 for the second.  Man, talk about inflation!

Big sister K was the first to wake up Christmas morning (which is a rarity).  You'd think she couldn't wait to get up so that she could open up her presents... but no... bright and early at 6:30 in the morning, she comes running into my room exclaiming she got something from the tooth fairy.  I had her open up the envelope and read the letter that accompanied a $5 bill (I gave into her wishes on the $5, contrary to M suggesting a buck, but I have to set expectations so that she won't be expecting $10 for the next one).  Big sister K was so thrilled with the tooth fairy's visit that it totally trumped Christmas morning (despite it truly being Christmas morning).

The kids opened up their presents after breakfast.  Loved seeing their happy faces.

On Friday post-Christmas, we went to Adventure Aquarium with the S family.  I didn't want baby M to miss out on the fun, so he played hooky from school that day and we all clambered into P's mini-van for the long drive there.  It was our first time to Adventure Aquarium and the kids had a blast.

Monday was another play-date, this time to the Liberty Science Center with the H family.  It was our second time carpooling in four days and I am becoming a pro at uninstalling/ reinstalling car seats.  Though I would probably never get one myself, I must admit, mini-vans do come in pretty handy.

 Who knew rice could be so much fun??

Four hungry kids anxiously awaiting lunch.

Rock climbing!

Baby M having his own fun.

The Infinity Climber was probably big sister K's favorite exhibit.

About halfway done with winter break!  More to come on the rest of big sister K's days off!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!

Rockefeller Center

We went to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center after church on Sunday.  While the kids didn't particularly mind going, I don't think they really appreciated it as much as we had hoped.  Baby M had more fun going on the subway than seeing the tree itself and big sister K kept asking what we were going to do next and why we were there.  Someone recently asked if we were going to make this an annual family tradition.  After seeing the kids' lack of interest, I'd have to say no for now.

Baby M's second time on the MTA... he loved it.  Big sister K had her hair flying all over the place when she took off her hat.

Family photo by the tree.  It was too crowded to get a decent one with the top of the tree, so this was the best we could do. 

Kids had more fun playing with their McDonald's Happy Meal toy than enjoying the sights of Manhattan.

Freshly Squeezed OJ

A few days ago, when I went to pick baby M up from school, his teacher told me that the kids were served oranges during snack time.  Rather than eating it, baby M took his and squeezed the liquid into a cup to make orange juice (and apparently, this isn't the first time he's done this... don't know where he got it from since he doesn't do this at home).  All the kids saw what he was doing and started copying him... soon enough, the whole class was making orange juice!  LOL!

November Birthdays

November is always a busy month for us, filled with what seems like endless birthday celebrations.  There was so much going on (big sister K had a few birthday parties to attend plus her normal extracurricular activities on Saturday) that we decided not to hold a birthday party with friends.  We just had family come over and celebrated both baby M and big sister K's birthdays together.

Cupcakes on baby M's actual birthday (had it right after dinner and silly us didn't bother to wipe his pasta sauce mouth):

Birthday gathering with family... there was so much food/dessert left over that we ended up throwing away more than 3/4 of both cakes:

 Ice cream on big sister K's actual birthday:

Cupcakes at big sister K's Girl Scouts meeting (we did it backwards and took a picture of the cupcake with a candle after the girls already ate theirs):

Sweetie vs. Smart Aleck

When big sister K came home from school the other day, she told M and me that she wanted to write cards/letters to people in the hospital.  At first, I thought this was something she learned or was doing in school, but then she told us no.  I asked why she wanted to write to people in the hospital, and she said because it's a nice thing to do, and she wants the people in the hospital to feel better (and she thought of this all by herself).  My little girl can be so sweet sometimes that it simply leaves me speechless.

Meanwhile, my conversation with her brother (in response to something he said)...
Me: You're such a smart aleck.
Baby M: I'm not an aleck.
Me: So you're just smart?
Baby M: Yeah!
Me: LOL!

I certainly have my hands full with this one!

New/Old Daycare

Baby M started his first day back at his old daycare yesterday.  Things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, but he did well for the most part.  I was antsy all day after dropping him off because it seemed like they were ill-prepared for his arrival.  First off, my badge didn't work when I got there and I had to be buzzed in.  Then at the front desk, I was told that baby M's primary teacher was not there (Monday is her day off) and that the assistant teacher was helping out in another classroom, so baby M didn't get to meet any of this new teachers that day.  When we got to his room, his cubby was not set up and I didn't have a place to put his coat and backpack.  The teacher that was there (she used to be the assistant teacher in big sister K's preschool class... not my favorite) was kind of blah... I had to actually tell her that it was baby M's first day, and can she please do something to make him feel more welcomed, like introduce him to some of the other kids in the class.  Even then, all she does is sit down next to him at the breakfast table.  I ended up introducing baby M to the other kids sitting around him and asking what their names are.  The daycare has known for two weeks that he was returning... I guess I just expected more for them to welcome him back.  On the bright side, he didn't cry, so that's always a good thing.

Today's drop-off went a lot better (at least for me).  Baby M got to meet both his teachers and a lot of the kids in the class said "hi" to him and welcomed him in.  Baby M even knew some of their names, so looks like he's already made some new friends. :)

Thursday, November 20 Update:
I definitely have no regrets moving baby M back to his old school.  He had spent two months at his "new" school, and we would ask him all the time what he learned that day, to which he responded with either "I don't know" or "Nothing."  Baby M has been back in his old school for only four days and I can already see the difference.  While I was giving him a bath tonight, he started telling me about a book he read in school (without me even asking!) called "Three Bears in a Boat."  The fact that he was paying attention and remembered what the book was about (as well as the name of the book) is huge.  Apparently, he also made a very good friend in class.  He told me he asked his friend J's mom if they can have a play-date together, and said that J is his best friend.  It's been four days... and he has a best friend!  Wow!

My Girl

Random thoughts and updates:

Big sister K's masterpiece on my co-worker's whiteboard when she accompanied me to work last Thursday on her day off from school:

Conversation in the car today:

Big sister K: Is Kwanzaa in December mommy?

Me: I don't know when Kwanzaa is.  We don't celebrate it. We celebrate Christmas.

Big sister K: Jewish people celebrate Kwanzaa.

Me: No, Jewish people celebrate Chanukah, not Kwanzaa.  African-Americans celebrate Kwanzaa.

Big sister K: Christmas is an important holiday because that's when Jesus was born.

Me: That's right, big sister K!  Very good!

Big sister K: Halloween is not an important holiday. Easter is an important holiday because that's when Jesus died on the cross for us.

Me: Yes, that's right.  Good job!

Times like this... makes me feel like we're doing something right.  :)

As I was flossing big sister K's teeth before I realized she has shark teeth (adult teeth growing behind her baby teeth)!  It freaked me out and I was all ready to call the dentist first thing in the morning until I googled it and realized it is not that uncommon, nor is it something that can't resolve itself.  Hopefully her baby teeth will fall out on their own soon.  Big sister K's been reading so many books about losing the first tooth (plus seeing it happen to her friends) that she is excited for her turn.

Daycare Change... Again

Those of you following this blog may have read about our unhappiness with baby M's daycare.  We finally made the decision to move him back to the daycare by my work (we would have done it sooner, if it weren't for baby M refusing to go back to his old school every time we asked him because he likes his current one).  We broke the news to the daycare last Friday, and I have no regrets whatsoever about pulling him out.

When I went for baby M's Halloween celebration last week, I stopped by his classroom before the parade started.  While I was there, I witnessed another child push baby M for no apparent reason.  The teacher saw it too, but did absolutely nothing.  She just mouthed "sorry" to me... like really, what is that supposed to do??  The child's mother was there, and she halfheartedly told her son to apologize.  He didn't, and she did nothing to pursue the matter.  Afterwards, I asked baby M who that child was and whether he played with him in school.  Baby M told me his name "L" and said no, he doesn't play with him.  I asked why not, and he said, "L always hits me."  I asked what he did when L hits him, and he said to me, "I hit him back."  I honestly did not know how to respond to that.  On the one hand, hitting is bad and he shouldn't be doing it.  On the other hand, he is provoked; there is no one else to defend him and I want him to be able to stand up for himself.  In the end, I didn't tell him not to hit back (is that bad of me?), but I did tell him he should be telling his teacher about it.  I relayed this to M that night, and his response was "Good... I am glad he is defending himself."

Fast forward to today.  I picked baby M up from daycare and when we got to the car, he said to me, "I didn't hit anybody today."  I told him that was good, but then he proceeded to tell me that L hit him.  I asked what he did when L hit him, and he said he told him, "NOT NICE!", at which point L hit him again.  He repeated himself, and L hit him a third time. I couldn't get a straight answer from him as to why he didn't tell the teacher, but I am so glad he only has one more week at that place!  This also got me to thinking... baby M was so proud of himself for not hitting anyone today.  So does that mean on all the other days when he didn't say anything, that L is still beating up on him and he retaliates?  I told M to mention it to the teacher when he drops baby M off tomorrow.  The fact that she isn't doing anything about these incidents, or worse, that she doesn't even know about them, is just unacceptable.

Halloween 2014

This was my first time in five years not participating in the Harvest Parade at the daycare by work.  I didn't think I was particularly attached to them, but it was a bittersweet moment for me, not watching those kids march around our office campus.  Instead, I spent the morning working from home, then went to see big sister K's parade around her school at 1:30.  The timing worked out perfectly since baby M's parade wasn't until 3:00, so I got to make it for both.  Having taken half a day off from work, I picked the kids up early and we got to go trick or treating around the block before dark.  Then we went for more trick or treating at the mall (though by that time, all the stores had run out of candy) followed by dinner at Panera Bread.

My Princess Elsa and me at her school (yes, she is wearing the exact same dress as the girl standing next to her, who happens to be her BFF... totally unplanned):

Selfie of my little Mickey and me at his daycare:

Away

This is my first time traveling for work in over seven years... and my first time being away from hubby and the two kids.  It is only a few days in Tampa, but I started missing them even before I left!  I recently posted this video on Facebook as well, but I was trying to get a decent picture of the kids before they left for school Monday morning.  Needless to say, it didn't work out as I had intended.  Baby M insisted on "singing" so I took a short video instead.  I love these kids so much!!!  They'll be sleeping by the time I get home tonight, but I can't wait to see them!

Parent Teacher Conference

Tonight was our first "real" parent teacher conference at big sister K's school.  We heard a lot of positives, but also some areas where she needs improvement.  We were told big sister K is very sweet and hardworking (sweet sure, but hardworking?  Really?). She's advanced in her reading skills, writing stories, spelling (which M and I don't really see), and in her attempts to sound words out, but she has trouble retelling the story from a book she's just read (consistent with my complaint from a few days ago).  For that reason, her teacher can't move her up in the level of difficulty of books that she is reading.  In terms of math, I think she's a little ahead of what she's learning now, but she has trouble explaining how she got to the answer, so that is setting her back.  I wish there were more hours in the day to work with her on these things.  It's hard enough getting her homework and reading done every night as it is!

October Update

I've been on a blogging hiatus for the past few weeks.  Not sure why, but hopefully with this October update, I will get back on track.

There is no denying that fall is here, and it is here in full force, as evidenced by the cooler temperatures, the changing leaves, having to turn on my headlights when leaving work (because it's dark out already), and waking up before the sun has fully risen.  We were hoping to continue our annual apple-picking tradition earlier this month, but as luck would have it, it rained every time we made plans to go to the orchard.  We resorted to purchasing apples from the farmer's market and getting a bunch from my mom (who did go apple picking).

Both kids are enjoying school.  M and I seem to be having more difficulty adjusting than they are though.  With big sister K, she doesn't always pay attention to what the teacher is saying and half the things she is supposed to communicate to us never makes it home.  I am also frustrated that she's forgotten everything she's learned in kindergarten - simple things like addition, spelling certain words, or understanding the books that she's reading (being able to retell the story back to me).  With baby M, we are not happy with his new school.  The employees there seem pretty miserable and they are totally understaffed.  There are often times only one teacher in his room watching as many as 10 preschoolers.  She can't be at two places at once, so if someone needs help going potty, there is no one looking after the other nine kids (or in baby M's case, he ends up going potty by himself in the dark because he's too short to reach for the light switch and his teacher is too busy to help him).  The problem is, baby M likes it there.  We've asked him on several occasions if he wants to go back to his old school, and he always says no.  We're not sure what to do at this point... will need lots of prayers!

On another note, Halloween is coming up.  We just got costumes for the kids over the weekend.  Unfortunately, I can no longer recycle big sister K's costumes for baby M as I had done the past two years (I refuse to put my son in a dress).  She was Minnie Mouse at his age, so I guess it is only fitting that he gets to dress up as Mickey Mouse. Here's a sneak preview:

A Tough Topic

How do you explain death to a five year old?  Some people think they're too young to be exposed to such a horrific topic, but death is a part of life, and I don't believe in sheltering my children from it.  When my friend passed away last month, M and I debated on whether we should bring the kids to the funeral.  It turns out the funeral was held on a Monday, so M had to work and the kids had school anyway.  We did however, attend the viewing on Sunday night.  Without the luxury of having babysitters on standby, the kids ended up going to the viewing with us.  Baby M was too young to understand anything, but I did tell big sister K that Auntie I was very sick, and she couldn't get better, so she died and is now in heaven with God.  I don't know how much that really sinked in, but both kids were surprisingly well-behaved at the viewing.  They eventually got antsy and wanted to leave, but we managed to stay for at least an hour.

A few days ago, we drove by the funeral home.  Out of the blue, big sister K said to me, "That's where Auntie I lives... she was sick and she died, so now she lives over there."  I explained to her that Auntie I doesn't live there... she was only there for a short period of time after she died so people can go and pay their last respects.  I told big sister K we went to the cemetery the next day while she was at school and buried Auntie I in the ground.  Then I tried comparing it to when we were in California and had visited my grandmother's grave.  Big sister K got confused and asked, "So now Auntie I is in California??"  I told her she's in another cemetery near where we live, not in California, but I don't think she quite understood it.  That night, she asked to pray for Auntie I.  I said that Auntie I is already in heaven with God, that we didn't need to pray for her anymore.  Instead, I told her she can pray for Uncle P and K & M (their two kids), so that's what we did.

Sibling Scuffles

M came home tonight complaining about the drive to school/daycare with the kids this morning.  He said I wouldn't believe what the kids were arguing about in the car... baby M told big sister K she couldn't look out his window, to which big sister K responded yes she can, and the bantering went back and forth until M couldn't take it anymore and told them both to be quiet.

Here's the kicker: his total drive time to drop off the kids is only ~5 minutes (okay, it could go up to seven minutes if he has to wait for the lights).  I just laughed and said, "Welcome to my world.  Now you know what it was like for me for two and a half years."  Or rather, he's only getting a little taste of it, considering my commute with both kids was at least half an hour long each way, sometimes 45 minutes if we got stuck in traffic.

Kids... there's never a dull moment with them around.

Big Boy Bed

After months of procrastination, we finally upgraded baby M from a crib to a twin-size bed.  We assembled the bed over Labor Day weekend and his mattress was delivered last Tuesday.  I worked from home that day to wait for the delivery, and once it came, I couldn't wait to cover it with the Thomas the train bed sheets that I had gotten a while back.  It was only afterwards that I realized I was supposed to let the mattress "air out," so I removed all the beddings, threw them into the wash to get the new mattress smell out, and remade his bed again a few hours later.  I had to take big sister K to her ballet lesson that evening, so I was a little disappointed I couldn't be there when M showed baby M his new bed.  When I got home that night, baby M asked me, "Mommy, did you make my Thomas bed?"  I told him I did, and asked if he liked it.  He answered yes, though the big smile on his face already said it all.

Needless to say, we didn't have any issues getting baby M to sleep in his new bed (conversely, we had trouble getting him out of it!).  The good thing about the transition is that now he can get into and out of his bed on his own; he no longer has to call for us to get him out of his crib.  The bad part is, he's still waking up every night and climbing into our bed with us, and now he brings with him his gigantic Thomas pillow and whatever else he can carry (toys, stuffed animals, sometimes his blanket).

Our conversation the other night:
Me: Baby M, you have your own big boy bed now.  Why are you still climbing into mommy and daddy's bed?
Baby M: Because I want to.
Me: But you should be sleeping in your own bed.  What if mommy sleeps with you?  Would you stay in your Thomas bed then?
Baby M: No, I want to sleep in your bed.
Me: But if you sleep in mommy and daddy's bed, then there's no use for your Thomas bed.  Does that mean we can throw Thomas away?
Baby M: No.  I want to sleep in my Thomas bed AND mommy and daddy's bed.

How do I argue with that one?  Personally, I don't mind it too much because I know there will come a day when he won't want to snuggle next to us, so while he still wants to, I am willing to oblige.  They are only this young once, and I am trying to savor every moment.

First night in his new bed:

First Day of Preschool

After months and months of searching, I finally bit the bullet and changed daycares for baby M.  He started his new school today. I've been prepping him for it and we even visited last week to meet his new teacher.  I am praying baby M will have a positive experience at this new place.  It is close to big sister K's elementary school, so the drop-off and pick-up will be easier with one person taking care of both kids.

A brief video from this morning:

Cheese?

Conversation in the car with baby M this morning:

Baby M: Mommy, we're hiding in the cheese.
Me: We're hiding in the cheese?
Baby M: No, we're hiding in the cheese!
Me: In the cheese??
Baby M: No, in the CHEESE!
Me: In the trees?
Baby M: Yes, in the cheese!

First Day of School

My little girl is all grown up and starting first grade at public school!  

 Big sister K's second day of school:

A Day At the Beach

Baby M has been asking to go to the beach for weeks now, so this past Saturday, we finally gave in.  This was the last free weekend we will have for the next few months; if we didn't go now, it'd be another year before we'd get a chance again. And if that were to happen, I'd have to suffer the endless nagging in the car by my stubborn 2-year old.

The last time we went to the beach was about four years ago (you can read about it here... oh the memories!).  This time around, our trip to Point Pleasant beach was much more enjoyable (we managed to stay longer than five minutes).  Big sister K loved putting her feet in the water and watching the waves rush in and getting herself wet.  Baby M had fun playing in the sand, messing up whatever structure daddy was building, and plopping himself in the hole that M had dug up.  We spent about two hours at the beach before heading over to Jenkinson Boardwalk.  We bought a booklet of 60 tickets for the kids to go on rides, and they were gone in no time.

Baby M wanted to be buried in the sand.  We were more than happy to oblige, but then he changed his mind after getting waist-deep into the sand (those on Facebook would've seen a brief video).

 

Food = happy boy

Picture taken by big sister K... it's a little crooked, but hey, she tried.

The kids enjoying the rides at Jenkinson Boardwalk:

Selfie with my baby:

My Boy

Sometimes the words that come out of baby M's mouth just cracks me up, or shocks me, or both.  He's talking so much now that the days when we were concerned about his speech seem almost non-existent.  He's been in the "why?" stage, always questioning everything he sees in car rides, and is a lot more persistent than big sister K ever was, so unless you give him an answer he likes to distract him (usually something that involves vehicles), the "but why mommy?" game could go on forever.

Baby M's favorite color is blue.  Combine that with a cupcake, and he is one happy boy.

Excerpts of conversations with baby M:

Big sister K: That's cool, right dude?
Baby M: Who's dude?

[I made the mistake of bringing baby M to McDonald's for ice cream last week, and he's been asking to go every single day when I pick him up from school...]

Baby M: Can we go to Old McDonald for ice cream?

Me: It's not called Old McDonald.

Baby M: Can we go to Ronald McDonald for ice cream?

Me: It's not called Ronald McDonald.

Baby M: I don't know... I can't say it.

Me: It's called MCDonald's.

Baby M: Can we go to MCDonald's for ice cream?

Me: No.

[How is it that he knows Ronald McDonald, but he can't remember McDonald's??]

Me: Baby M, say cheeseburger.

Baby M: Cheeseburger.

Me: Say hamburger.
Baby M: Hamburburger.

[He can say cheeseburger, but he can't say hamburger... I don't get it!]

M and I were talking in the car yesterday and I was explaining the different route I took to pick up big sister K from camp last week (kids were in the back keeping themselves occupied).  All of a sudden, baby M goes, "I saw a helicopter there!"  I looked at M in awe and was speechless.  Baby M did see a helicopter!  We passed by the center of town where there was a helicopter on display and I had pointed it out to baby M at the time.  How did he know what we were talking about??  I didn't even think he was paying attention!  That boy never ceases to amaze me.

In case you're wondering, below is a picture of the helicopter we saw (pretty obvious why it's left a lasting impression on baby M's mind).  I did a bit of research and found out it is an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter that was used by the United States Army.

2014 Arthur Ashe Kids Day

We took the kids to the US Open on Saturday for their annual Kids Day.  I think either a lot of people were away for the weekend, or the cloudy weather (though I don't think it was forecasted to rain) scared them away, because it wasn't as crowded as I expected it to be.  Sure, we still had to wait on line to do some of the activities, but compared to two years ago, we were able to do a lot more.

Big sister K and baby M went through an obstacle course where they had to roll a tennis ball through some cones, twirl a hula hoop, jump through the steps of a ladder placed on the ground, and hit a few tennis balls with a racket.  Big sister K did really well, but baby M just kind of stumbled his way through everything (which I'm not complaining about... I'm just happy he was willing to go through the course without mommy and daddy there with him!).  They got a goody bag at the end and it included a toy Hess truck.  Baby M saw the truck and his day was made.

Baby M rolling the giant tennis ball around the cones... it looked promising at first, but didn't take him long to steer off-course.  Take your eyes off of him for one second and the ball ended up halfway down the court.

Big sister K showing off her hula-hooping skills.

Baby M had fun going through the boxes.  I don't know what the lady told him to do, but I doubt he listened.  Baby M just marches to his own drum.

Looks like the two weeks of tennis camp paid off.  Big sister K hit practically all the balls thrown at her (she only missed the first one).  She'll be continuing tennis lessons in the fall... already have her signed up for September.

 Family photo at the American Express Fan Experience: