A Year In Review: 2012

2012. Where to start? It's all a little fuzzy, honestly. Perhaps it's because I'm only now writing about it in February of 2013 (Yes, I back dated this post). That is saying something about how 2012 flew by and my state of mind at the moment. I have come to learn that having one kid is easy. Not easy, because having any number of kids is, of course, challenging but in retrospect having only one makes it so much easier to maintain control of all the glass balls that we balance everyday. When did I feel like I was starting to loose that perfect balance? Hmmm. Let me think. That would be when Lincoln started to walk. Having a second mobile and curious little mind who can now run the opposite direction of his sister and yet cause just as much, or even more, chaos changed everything. And since he started walking just before his 1st Birthday we've been living this truth for most of the year.

And then he started climbing.

And then he started moving chairs over to the counter.

I am constantly (constantly) picking random things up off the floor such as pens, refrigerator magnets, wooden spoons, construction paper, and there was one particular incident involving dried mung beans that I will not forget anytime soon. As hard as I try to keep on top of things I can see the peace in my household slipping. I'm getting corners of clutter and my toy baskets are no longer organized by type. So what's to do about it? Be realistic, that's what. So my counter tops aren't always (or often) clear. So the clean laundry sits in the dryer for 24 (or 48) hours. It all gets done eventually...usually the hour before the housekeepers arrive, but whatever. I just keep reminding myself that I'm in the thick of it right now and before I know it, both my kids will be in school all day every day and I won't know what to do with myself. Or at least that's what I want to believe right now. I need to believe that right now.

So, with my somewhat downer reflections out of the way, let me sum up this glorious year of our Lord 2012. We started the year battling cold after cold but came through it victorious and crunchier than ever because of it. We've started some important supplements and made a few changes to our diet that have improved the health of the family as a whole. Lincoln started solids, and true to form insisted on doing it his way only accepting pieces of whatever the rest of us where eating. He became mobile, learning to crawl, and then walk, then run, and finally climb. He was following his sister up the ladder of the swing set and down the slide by 1 year old. Not so much talking but lots of personality and fun anyway. He loves music and is quick to join in on any song that involves hand motions (thank you Kids Music Round and Miss Marilyn!). He's a complete mama's boy and doesn't want to spend one precious moment away from me. Can you blame him? The boy's got good taste, what can I say?

Pippa had a pretty great year too. She is growing so fast and turning into such a beautiful and smart little girl. She made the transition from toddler to preschooler. She learned to use the big girl potty which I think was as big of an accomplishment for me as it was for her! She also turned 3 and blossomed into the 3 year old that every parent thinks they wont have and yet they do. She is supremely independent and knows her own mind which, though are challenging attributes at times, makes me incredibly proud. She started school at Montessori and is doing wonderfully. Her self confidence is growing every day and she is nearly reading, starting to write, and doing great at pre-math things like puzzles and simple word problems. She is a great big sister and even when she and Lincoln are fighting over some toy (which is often, btw) she is still always loving towards him.



It's been a good year for Sto and I as well. We are stronger than ever and thankful every day for the family we've given each other. We made it through the first year of babyhood, survived anther hurricane, saw our first born of to preschool, and even managed to have a few great vacations. Sto got a partner which opened him up to some actual and blessed free time and I was hired by a family practice and scheduled to start in the new year. Lincoln will starting daycare soon too (stay tuned for that story...). In 2013 we are looking forward to a new family balance with me at work, more family vacations, maybe some camping, getting in shape (don't we say that every year?), and lots more laughs and love. Oh yeah, and a wedding! Joel and Katelyn will be tying the knot in November and we can't wait. There is nothing we love more than family and in our world, the more the merrier!

No Thanks, Santa

Christmas is such a great season when you have kids. It's seems like everything is just a bigger deal, even the simple things. Sto and I certainly got into the spirit this year. We put the tree up early; right after Thanksgiving. This meant that our house was decked out for Christmas for Pippa's Birthday party. We even attempted hanging lights on the trees outside (which turned out so-so but don't tell Sto I said that.) All that work has been worth it, though, just to have the opportunity to plug the lights in every day and hear the kids (especially Lincoln) say 'Wooow!'

There is just something about Christmas lights at night. We took multiple car rides around the neighborhood to look at them and an extra special trip to an area farm that puts on a huge display. The kids love it for multiple reasons. First of all, there are tons of fun light to marvel at as we drive around the fields. Second, we let the kids sit on our laps in the front seats. Obviously awesome. And last, but definitely not least, we get to buy fresh popped kettle corn that is out of this world. This is one of our favorite Christmas traditions now.


So the topic of Santa Clause gets some discussion from Sto and I every year. Neither of us grew up in a Santa household so it's not automatic that Santa will visit our household either. Not only do we find it all sort of annoying, but we don't like the expectation of the season to be all about getting gifts. A lot of kids get really greedy and spoiled this time of year. Also, I'm really not comfortable with flat out lying to my kids like that. So I just didn't really bring it up much this year...until Santa visited Pippa's school. On the ride home she informed me that she did not want to sit on his lap and of course I said that was fine. Then I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk more with her about Santa and kind of feel it out. After all, I don't want to rob her of some 'magical childhood memories' that so many people have of Santa. So I asked her what she thought about Santa coming to our house on Christmas Eve and leaving presents for her. She nearly started crying. She adamantly did NOT want Santa to come to our house. I tried telling her that Santa is just pretend and while she was visibly relieved, at this age it's all still confusing for her. Santa was just in her classroom after all so he's pretend, but not really. The only way I  was able to assuage her fears was to promise to call Santa as soon as we got home and tell him not to come to our house. Let me tell you, I could not get to the phone fast enough! I dialed Sto and talked to Santa on his voice mail. It totally cracked him up. Any time after that, whenever someone asked her if she was looking forward to Santa coming I had to jump right in and inform them (and Pippa) that I had indeed called him and told him not to come. We never even mentioned him on Christmas morning and neither did she. We'll see what happens next year but I'm fine with this turn of events!

Even without Santa's help it's possible we went a little overboard this year in the gift department. But I justify it by pointing out that Pippa has entered a new stage of development (i.e. preschool) and we didn't have many appropriate toys. And we didn't have many boyish toys either. But I was sure to make room for all the new loot by cleaning out the old stuff. They may have gotten a lot of stuff from us and other relatives, but it was all quality. Good job everyone! Lincoln especially loves his new sneakers from Ni-Ning and No-Nong. Pippa is especially into the cash register from Kuya Mateo and Rapha. And I especially love the huge doll house that now graces our basement. Thanks, everyone, for blessing us and our kids not only with material possessions but more importantly with love and friendship. Merry Christmas everyone.

A Crafty Family

 We love art and crafts in this household. We love all types. Play-dough. Stickers. Contact paper stuffed with wonderful outdoor discoveries. And paint. Definitely paint. We especially like painting with paint brushes but I thought it was time to pull out good, old-fashioned finger paint. Who doesn't love that squishy squashy stuff after all? Well, Lincoln was not a huge fan, as it turned out. Surprisingly he was not too into getting all messy and quickly got bored. Pippa enjoyed herself a bit longer smudging all the colors together to an inevitable shade brown.

But Sto loved it. Apparently he has a little suppressed artist somewhere inside of him. I even hung his paintings on the window to show them off. Even daddies need a little praise from time to time. After all, a family who paints together, stays together!

I'm 3! 3! 3!

On the morning of November 28th I whispered to Pippa that it was her birthday. She laid there for a moment taking it in and then a beautiful smile spread across her face as she whispered back, 'I'm 3!' She then hopped up to run and tell daddy that today she is 3! Beyond cute. We spent the next several days celebrating. I took her lunch and the waitresses brought her a chocolate covered pretzel with a candle in it and the entire diner sang Happy Birthday to her. She was mortified and buried her head in my shoulder but I fought back tears the whole time. I felt like they were singing to me! The next day she celebrated at school and they got to have a special snack of strawberries in honor of the day.

Then Saturday rolled around and it was time for the party! So exciting! I decided to keep things low key this year. No themes. No games. Simple take home gifts for the kids of a plush toy with a balloon tied to it. It all worked out so well that I double I'll ever do a big, involved party again! We decorated the house with balloons and streamers in the morning. Pippa and Lincoln helped by taping crape paper randomly around the house at about the level of my knees. Hysterical. I brought out he helium tank and blew up some balloons and they took turns releasing them to the play room ceiling. Super fun. Then Sto came home with the massive amounts of food (why do I always over order?!) and we set up the last few things before the guests started to arrive. I must be getting good at this because I didn't not have one single moment of stress or panic! Pippa even put on the dress we picked out previously, though the outfit did include striped leggings that didn't come close to matching. Still, I considered it a success. 

The family came over along with a few of her friends and everyone had a great time. It was just enough people and kids without being too many. Soon, the time came to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles on her cup cake. However, she decided it was too loud and kept her hands over her ears and a frown on her face the whole time. But that changed as soon as I told her she could eat the whole cup cake and have some strawberry ice cream too! I've learned a valuable lesson, though. The next time I question whether it's worth ordering the mini cup cakes or not, I will do it! It is worth it! Those kids were on a serious sugar high and all of the parents where thankful for the basement for them to burn off all the energy in. The house was trashed after everyone left but it was so worth it. She had a great birthday and is already talking about next year!

So, for posterity's sake, I want to record some Pippa-isms. She still really likes Dinosaurs, especially stories involving pink Aucosauruses named Lisa. In fact, every character in our stories, every doll and stuffed animal, and every picture of a female anything is named Lisa. We aren't sure where this specific name came from but it's very popular in our house right now. Another thing Pippa really likes is talking in Spanish. Wow, she knows Spanish too? No. She doesn't. But she speaks it anyway. She and Sto will have entire conversations this way. Him saying a few phrases that he knows over and over again and Pippa babbling Spanish sounding words. I really need to find that girl a tutor! She speaks English very well on the other hand and has a vocabulary that rivals my own. But she still has some cute mix ups. People do's things instead of does things, for instance. And you can be assured that if you ever say 'me too' she will follow up by saying 'me three'.  She is very independent and like most kids her age prefers to do everything by herself. This can tend to take a long time so I really have to plan ahead. She picks out her own clothes and is getting pretty good about following the rules (long sleeves, long pants, and a skirt or dress over leggings) and as long as she does I don't care if it matches or not. Granted, I've removed everything I don't like from her wardrobe so it can get chosen anyway. She looks like Punkie Brewster most days but I find it sort a charming...in an eye rolling sort of way. She really likes puzzles and is getting good at them. She's into matching games, too. She likes to help me cook whenever she can. Her chores include putting the silverware away from the dishwasher, feeding the dog, clearing her dishes, and wiping the cabinets. And she will gladly use the dust buster whenever I bring it out. She is growing up so fast and is such a smart, funny, kind, thoughtful, and confident girl. We love her to death and are thankful to be witness to her life!

Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday and this year ranks as the best in recent memory. It was 4 days of good, quality family time and far too many calories. What more could a girl want? I have a subscription to Family Fun Magazine and they always have so many fun ideas. The Thanksgiving issue had a ton of fun ideas for crafts and games to make some great memories and that's what it's really all about, right?  I've been thinking about that sort of thing lately. I really want to have a bunch of family traditions surrounding the holidays that the kids will look back on throughout their lives. Is it sad that I need a magazine to tell me how to create special memories for my family? Maybe a little. But I'm not too proud to take good advice when I see it!

On Thanksgiving Day, we all go over to Ate Belen's house for the main meal and this year it was scheduled for 4 o'clock so we had the whole day to hang out and do fun things. I had gotten a bunch of Thanksgiving crafts from Michael's along with an idea for a game involving popcorn and a thanksgiving wreath to make.

Let me pause and recognize a shortcoming. I used to walk through those craft stores and see all the pre-fabricated crafts and scoff at them. Surely I would never stoop so low as to buy those. I am much more clever than that and will put the loving time into designing homemade crafts for my children. Um, I apologize. I get it now. Those things are awesome!

So Pippa and Lincoln and I had fun making owls out of pine cones and turkeys out of foam stickers. Once Maddy arrived we all decided to decorate sugar cookies. That was Sto's idea, actually, and I was ready with a huge supply of cookie cutters (that are still in the box, btw. I'm not sure if store-bought dough from a tube will roll out and I didn't feel like experimenting.) The girls had a great time with it and were a glorious mess when they were finished. We even had a bunch of cookies to bring with us to dinner later on. In the end, no one was interested in playing the popcorn relay race game except for me. I considered forcing everyone to play anyway. You ARE having fun, dammit! But I decided that might not achieve the happy memory I was going for so I gave it up.


When we got to dinner I was brought out the wreath. Everyone was supposed to write what they were thankful for on a leaf and pin it onto the wreath. I honestly felt pretty foolish as I was explaining it sure that everyone would think I was pretty lame. But it was really well received. Everyone got into the spirit and soon the wreath was complete. As simple of a thing it was, it really got everyone in the spirit of the holiday and we agreed to make it a yearly tradition. Mission accomplished!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and More Pumpkins

Oh what fun the fall can be! We've been enjoying the (mostly) nice weather and hitting up as many pumpkin festivals and leaf piles as possible. There surely is no shortage of festivals around here, either. There are dozens of small farms in the area and every one of them celebrates the autumnal season in some way. On the first nice weekend we ran right out to pick apples and get some pumpkins. Sometimes these sorts of things slip past us and before we know it, it's Christmas. Since we didn't want Pippa and Lincoln to miss out on the fun of decorating pumpkins, we didn't waist any time. Little did I know that, this year, at every turn we would somehow acquire another pumpkin. We now have exactly eight. Five of which are gloriously decorated. No pumpkin shortage here, that's for sure! Spending an afternoon at a festival is a great way to get some quality family time, though. Apple cider, fresh doughnuts, pony rides, goat feeding, and hay rides. What's not to love?

---I'd like to take this moment to also talk about Pippa's latest obsession: picking out her own clothes. It's becoming more and more difficult to influence her decisions so aside from removing all summer clothing and/or clothing that I find ugly (like all those vacation t-shirts everyone insists on bringing her) I'm trying to just go with it. I can usually at least convince her to add a skirt or leggings that will turn the outfit into something that is quirky/cute instead of completely ridiculous. Hence this sort of crazy but also kind of cute/hippy outfit she is wearing in the pictures. ---

We've also had
lots of fun playing in the leaves this year. We have mostly pine trees in our yard and some years the few leaves that we do have get blown away. But this year, I raked a great pile and they both had a blast. At one point Pippa wanted to be completely covered and she stayed that way for a good 10 minutes. I could only think of the number of spiders that were probably on top of her, but the ignorance of childhood is a wonderful thing and I'm trying hard not to pass on my dislike of all things creepy crawly. Lincoln gets in on the fun, too, by grabbing a handful of leaves and throwing them up in there are while saying, 'WOOooow!' The kids have also been having a great time playing out back amongst the pine trees. We lost a good size branch during Hurricane Sandy and propped it up against the fence with an old sheet over it. They've had great fun piling pine cones and sticks in their 'tent'. So many fun Fall things to do!

The Hat Parade

Pippa's first school event! The Hat Parade. We were supposed to decorate a hat at home and bring it in for her to wear in the parade. Pippa worked very hard on her crown using Elmer's glue and plastic jewels (pink, of course). Then, just after drop off, all the parents stood in a row along the sidewalk while the kids 'marched' past to show off their great hats. It was hysterical. The host was led by the wonderful Miss Lori playing the tambourine and followed by a couple of kids who where actually marching. Pippa could be found in this group, of course, taking her job very seriously. They were followed by the kids a little less inclined to participate with the same level of enthusiasm, a few of whom needed to be carried by Miss Cheryl. All the while us parents are beaming on the sidelines. The first of many such events, I'm sure.