Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Melt my heart!
We're taking care of Asher, Adeline and Hartley right now and at 1:00 I told Alexia she had to go up for her nap. Asher asked if he could put her down and she loved that idea. When we went upstairs Diego asked if he could rock her in the chair before Asher put her down. He climbed up into his chair and she climbed up on top of him and just cuddled in his lap. Of course by the time I ran downstairs to get the camera and back up again, she was getting antsy, but I still caught Diego's sweet kiss on her head.
After the cuddle, Asher picked Alexia up and sang her a song and everyone else joined in. So sweet! 
Ruth, Anjuli and Keona came over yesterday and we had a blast! We all had lunch and then put Alexia and Keona down for naps. Diego and Anjuli kept themselves super busy while Ruth and I had a special time of catching up. Ruth and I had our teatime in the family room while Diego and Anjuli had their teatime at the table. They were adorable sipping their mint tea and enjoying their cookies!
It reminded me of this picture of when Alexia was 3 weeks old:
After the cuddle, Asher picked Alexia up and sang her a song and everyone else joined in. So sweet!
Ruth, Anjuli and Keona came over yesterday and we had a blast! We all had lunch and then put Alexia and Keona down for naps. Diego and Anjuli kept themselves super busy while Ruth and I had a special time of catching up. Ruth and I had our teatime in the family room while Diego and Anjuli had their teatime at the table. They were adorable sipping their mint tea and enjoying their cookies!
This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous. On Saturday we had our first BBQ of the season and had a blast playing outside. On Sunday after early church service we went to Piedmont Park and played for a couple of hours before heading home for lunch.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tellus Science Musuem
Yesterday we headed on a field trip to the Tellus Science Museum with Gwen and her kids. Diego had been counting his "sleeps" for 14 nights for the day to come. He was SOOOO excited!
I think he was expecting something more like the Children's museum with lots of toys and interactive play, but he still really loved it and so did Alexia. They loved the dinosaur exhibit and the highlight was panning for gems and digging for dinosaur fossils. They got to keep the treasures they found so it was a huge hit!
After nap time we headed outside to test Diego's remote control cars on the driveway and he loved it. On Wednesday I bought Alexia a new baby doll, stroller and crib. Since I brought her home new toys I decided to buy Diego a new remote control car so he would have something special as well. The last few days have been occupied with baby dolls and cars! So when we went out to the driveway yesterday, he was busy with his car and she was busy cuddling her baby doll.
Ricardo came home close to 6:00 so we all headed out to Blockbuster to get a movie and to pick up a pizza at Mellow Mushroom. We have been watching the Planet Earth documentaries for our family movie nights and the kids LOVE them. It is such a treat to watch videos of God's awesome creation while we celebrate being together as a family.
Notice the baby doll in hands! It goes everywhere with us!
Here too! 
Astronaut Alexia 
Panning for gems
Digging for dinosaur fossils
Watching Diego play with his remote control car while she took care of her baby 
I think he was expecting something more like the Children's museum with lots of toys and interactive play, but he still really loved it and so did Alexia. They loved the dinosaur exhibit and the highlight was panning for gems and digging for dinosaur fossils. They got to keep the treasures they found so it was a huge hit!
After nap time we headed outside to test Diego's remote control cars on the driveway and he loved it. On Wednesday I bought Alexia a new baby doll, stroller and crib. Since I brought her home new toys I decided to buy Diego a new remote control car so he would have something special as well. The last few days have been occupied with baby dolls and cars! So when we went out to the driveway yesterday, he was busy with his car and she was busy cuddling her baby doll.
Ricardo came home close to 6:00 so we all headed out to Blockbuster to get a movie and to pick up a pizza at Mellow Mushroom. We have been watching the Planet Earth documentaries for our family movie nights and the kids LOVE them. It is such a treat to watch videos of God's awesome creation while we celebrate being together as a family.
Notice the baby doll in hands! It goes everywhere with us!
I love how all five children are busy here!
Here too!
Watching lightning storms and rainstorms on the ceiling
Astronaut Alexia
Panning for gems
Digging for dinosaur fossils
Watching Diego play with his remote control car while she took care of her baby
This is from Playgroup on Thursday. Zach and Alexia were adorable, holding hands and walking down the hall!!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Playing house
The kids woke up feeling very domestic yesterday morning. Alexia had the idea of putting her baby doll into a little high chair and feeding her:
Diego then went to get the other high chair and put his frog in there to feed. His name is "Marco" and he is 5 years old.
They eventually took a ton of toys down there and asked for a roof on their house so they could be safe. They spent most of the morning playing inside and had a total blast.
Diego then went to get the other high chair and put his frog in there to feed. His name is "Marco" and he is 5 years old.
Diego is dying for it to be summer so he can wear shorts and swimsuits. On Friday, while it was snowing like crazy, he ran upstairs and came down with this outfit. (Katie, hilarious that Ella Ann and him did the exact same thing!) He played with his beach balls in the playroom and ended up all sweaty since he was playing so hard!
Monday, February 15, 2010
A fun week ending with snow and the circus!
Something went wrong with my camera last week and I was not able to upload pictures, but it's all fixed now! We had a great week last week. We started Monday morning off by doing some errands and then heading to the library. It had been too long since we had been there and we checked out a ton of books. The best part was the amount of reading that took place at home. We read books for hours that afternoon and Tuesday morning. My favorite days with the kids are days that we read and read and read!
On Tuesday we went to Monkey Joes with Megan and her boys (Luke and Henry). The kids had a blast and it was a great way to burn all their energy! It had been a long time since we had been there, so it was a special treat. In the evening we went to Tio Aldo's for dinner and the kids loved their time over there. They are attached to Cami and have such a blast playing with her. Ricardo met us over there after work and we all had a nice dinner together.
On Wednesday we went to bible study in the morning and then out to lunch with my small group to the Flying Biscuit which was great. One of the ladies is moving from our small group so we took her out to lunch for a send-off and we had a great time. Alexia was thrilled because she got to have pancakes for lunch!
On Thursday we met Kim and kids for a cookie at a fun bakery and then headed to a field trip to Trader Joes! Kim and I really wanted to hang out, but we had limited time slots due to the different schedules of our kids so we decided to combine grocery store with play date and it worked out great! Diego and Alexia love Zach's little sister, baby Ellie and were thrilled to talk to her and make her giggle.
On Friday morning we went over to Jessie's to decorate Valentine's cakes for daddies. We did this last year as well so it is a fun tradition. We decorated a delicious cake and Ricardo was thrilled to dig into it after dinner in the evening.
When I put the kids down for their naps in the afternoon, there were a few tiny snowflakes falling and when we woke up at 3:30, everything was completely white and beautiful. We had a quick snack, bundled up in layers of clothing and headed out to play. It was the first time Alexia was happy to play in the freezing cold. It was so fun to see her running and giggling in the snow. Diego was a nutcase of excitement and ran around like wild.
We came in to warm up with hot chocolate and then headed right back out again as soon as Ricardo got home. Our friends (and neighbors!), Jeff and Kylie came over to play with the kids in the snow and everyone had a blast. Kylie built a snowman with Diego and he was thrilled. I went out to pick up pizza and Jeff and Kylie stayed over for pizza/movie night and we had a fun time.
On Saturday we headed to the circus and it was awesome. Diego was absolutely mesmerized and sat through the entire show, without losing his attention. Alexia was a bit young for it, but still really enjoyed it.
OK, I have black beans in the crock pot so I need to go finish up the rest of dinner, but wanted to get this post wrapped up!
Decorating the cakes with Sofia and Albe
This is a random picture from a couple of weeks ago. We made chocolate chip cookies and the kids did most of the work - it was great!
Our first trek out to the snow on Friday afternoon.
Warming up with hot chocolate
And back out again with Papa, Jeff and Kylie
Devouring popcorn and lemonade during intermission at the circus
The highlight for Diego: Tigers!
The elephants were very impressive!
Our backyard on Saturday afternoon
Our street
On Tuesday we went to Monkey Joes with Megan and her boys (Luke and Henry). The kids had a blast and it was a great way to burn all their energy! It had been a long time since we had been there, so it was a special treat. In the evening we went to Tio Aldo's for dinner and the kids loved their time over there. They are attached to Cami and have such a blast playing with her. Ricardo met us over there after work and we all had a nice dinner together.
On Wednesday we went to bible study in the morning and then out to lunch with my small group to the Flying Biscuit which was great. One of the ladies is moving from our small group so we took her out to lunch for a send-off and we had a great time. Alexia was thrilled because she got to have pancakes for lunch!
On Thursday we met Kim and kids for a cookie at a fun bakery and then headed to a field trip to Trader Joes! Kim and I really wanted to hang out, but we had limited time slots due to the different schedules of our kids so we decided to combine grocery store with play date and it worked out great! Diego and Alexia love Zach's little sister, baby Ellie and were thrilled to talk to her and make her giggle.
On Friday morning we went over to Jessie's to decorate Valentine's cakes for daddies. We did this last year as well so it is a fun tradition. We decorated a delicious cake and Ricardo was thrilled to dig into it after dinner in the evening.
When I put the kids down for their naps in the afternoon, there were a few tiny snowflakes falling and when we woke up at 3:30, everything was completely white and beautiful. We had a quick snack, bundled up in layers of clothing and headed out to play. It was the first time Alexia was happy to play in the freezing cold. It was so fun to see her running and giggling in the snow. Diego was a nutcase of excitement and ran around like wild.
We came in to warm up with hot chocolate and then headed right back out again as soon as Ricardo got home. Our friends (and neighbors!), Jeff and Kylie came over to play with the kids in the snow and everyone had a blast. Kylie built a snowman with Diego and he was thrilled. I went out to pick up pizza and Jeff and Kylie stayed over for pizza/movie night and we had a fun time.
On Saturday we headed to the circus and it was awesome. Diego was absolutely mesmerized and sat through the entire show, without losing his attention. Alexia was a bit young for it, but still really enjoyed it.
OK, I have black beans in the crock pot so I need to go finish up the rest of dinner, but wanted to get this post wrapped up!
Decorating the cakes with Sofia and Albe
This is a random picture from a couple of weeks ago. We made chocolate chip cookies and the kids did most of the work - it was great!
Our first trek out to the snow on Friday afternoon.
Warming up with hot chocolate
And back out again with Papa, Jeff and Kylie
Devouring popcorn and lemonade during intermission at the circus
The highlight for Diego: Tigers!
The elephants were very impressive!
Sweetness!
Our backyard on Saturday afternoon
Our street
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Me: "Vamos ninos!" ("Come on kids." In Spanish, "ninos" is a masculine word, but if there is a girl and a boy, you use the masculine word.)
Alexia: "Mami, no soy nino. Soy NINA!" (Mami, I'm not a boy, I'm a girl!)
-----------
We have been teaching Diego about self control lately. I have definitely seen an improvement in his behaviour since he has grasped the concept of self control and how important it is. I realized it has really sunk in when this happened the other day:
Alexia does not like me to give her kisses and refuses to give me kisses. She will let Ricardo give her tons of kisses and gives him kisses in return. This drives me crazy since I really cannot help but kiss her at least 45 times a day! The other day I was holding her, giving her tons of kisses on her cheeks and she was getting very annoyed. Diego looked at me and said "Mami, you need to control yourself." It was a great opportunity to explain to him that even mommies struggle with self control and that I am also working on that character trait.
Alexia: "Mami, no soy nino. Soy NINA!" (Mami, I'm not a boy, I'm a girl!)
-----------
We have been teaching Diego about self control lately. I have definitely seen an improvement in his behaviour since he has grasped the concept of self control and how important it is. I realized it has really sunk in when this happened the other day:
Alexia does not like me to give her kisses and refuses to give me kisses. She will let Ricardo give her tons of kisses and gives him kisses in return. This drives me crazy since I really cannot help but kiss her at least 45 times a day! The other day I was holding her, giving her tons of kisses on her cheeks and she was getting very annoyed. Diego looked at me and said "Mami, you need to control yourself." It was a great opportunity to explain to him that even mommies struggle with self control and that I am also working on that character trait.
Monday, February 1, 2010
FOUR YEARS OLD!
(I started this post over a week ago and am just now getting back to it...sorry!)
At each birthday I usually like to do a recap of favorites, stats, etc. Since I didn't include it in Diego's birthday post, I thought I'd do a new one.
I forgot to tell a cute story from the morning of his birthday. As soon as he woke up he said "Mami, ya que tengo 4 anios, puedo saltar mas alto? Yo creo que si...mira!" (Mami, now that I'm 4 can I jump higher? I think so...watch!") He stood in place in his room and jumped as high as he could He proceeded to go all around the house to see if he was bigger. He sprinted across the living room to see if he could run faster. He went up to several counter tops to see if he stood taller. He tried on clothes that used to be too big. He sat in the chairs at the dining room to see if he could reach better. It was adorable! He spent a long time testing his new 4-year old skills!
He had his four-year check up this past Thursday and he is in perfect health, praise God! He weighs 40 pounds and measures 40 inches. He had his hearing and eyesight checked and did great. When the doctor asked him who his best friend is, his response was, "Asher!" So sweet.
He received 4 vaccinations which were dreadful, but it did help that he had a new transformer in hand to distract him from the pain.
Some favorites of our sweet boy:
Favorite color: Green
Favorite food: yogurt, hummus & crackers (only the kind from Trader Joes), salad w/ broccoli and cucumber topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Favorite dessert: ice cream or any fruit with whipped cream
Favorite beverage: orange juice and his morning smoothie (milk, banana, blueberries, strawberries, flax seed & wheat bran)
Favorite article of clothing: red lounge pants
Favorite game: Candyland and Ladybug game
Favorite time of day: 7am - 1pm
Favorite activity: Running
Some fun facts:
- He is learning to read and write. He can read all 3-letter words and is enjoying being challenged with longer words. He loves to sound out letters which really helps him with his reading. He can write all letters of the alphabet, but of course some are better than others!
- He loves to count and sequence objects. He can count by twos and can count backwards.
- Every evening we tuck him in my doing a "sandwichito" (little sandwich). Ricardo and I lay on either side of him in his bed and he is the peanut butter and we are the pieces of bread. We give him a long cuddle and it makes him sooooo happy. The problem with this routine is that Ricardo is not home for bedtime on a lot of week nights so Diego gets upset and will sometimes settle for Alexia being the other piece of bread.
- He makes our coffee every morning by pouring the water into the coffee maker and scooping the coffee into the filter
- He pours his own milk (no matter how full the gallon is!) and never spills
- He is a total cuddle bug
- He loves to hide and as soon as he hears the garage door (Ricardo coming home) he runs to a hiding place
- He loves to run and run and run
- He loves to sing and is always singing in the car and usually humming a tune as he plays
- He loves to shower with Ricardo in the mornings
- He has become especially attached to Ricardo lately and is very loving and affectionate with him
- He claims to "love the cold," but usually asks to put a sweater on when he wakes up in the morning
- He enjoys memorizing bible scriptures and learning catechisms
- He is an amazing big brother to Alexia and really adores her. He is thrilled to have a baby brother soon!
At each birthday I usually like to do a recap of favorites, stats, etc. Since I didn't include it in Diego's birthday post, I thought I'd do a new one.
I forgot to tell a cute story from the morning of his birthday. As soon as he woke up he said "Mami, ya que tengo 4 anios, puedo saltar mas alto? Yo creo que si...mira!" (Mami, now that I'm 4 can I jump higher? I think so...watch!") He stood in place in his room and jumped as high as he could He proceeded to go all around the house to see if he was bigger. He sprinted across the living room to see if he could run faster. He went up to several counter tops to see if he stood taller. He tried on clothes that used to be too big. He sat in the chairs at the dining room to see if he could reach better. It was adorable! He spent a long time testing his new 4-year old skills!
He had his four-year check up this past Thursday and he is in perfect health, praise God! He weighs 40 pounds and measures 40 inches. He had his hearing and eyesight checked and did great. When the doctor asked him who his best friend is, his response was, "Asher!" So sweet.
He received 4 vaccinations which were dreadful, but it did help that he had a new transformer in hand to distract him from the pain.
Some favorites of our sweet boy:
Favorite color: Green
Favorite food: yogurt, hummus & crackers (only the kind from Trader Joes), salad w/ broccoli and cucumber topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Favorite dessert: ice cream or any fruit with whipped cream
Favorite beverage: orange juice and his morning smoothie (milk, banana, blueberries, strawberries, flax seed & wheat bran)
Favorite article of clothing: red lounge pants
Favorite game: Candyland and Ladybug game
Favorite time of day: 7am - 1pm
Favorite activity: Running
Some fun facts:
- He is learning to read and write. He can read all 3-letter words and is enjoying being challenged with longer words. He loves to sound out letters which really helps him with his reading. He can write all letters of the alphabet, but of course some are better than others!
- He loves to count and sequence objects. He can count by twos and can count backwards.
- Every evening we tuck him in my doing a "sandwichito" (little sandwich). Ricardo and I lay on either side of him in his bed and he is the peanut butter and we are the pieces of bread. We give him a long cuddle and it makes him sooooo happy. The problem with this routine is that Ricardo is not home for bedtime on a lot of week nights so Diego gets upset and will sometimes settle for Alexia being the other piece of bread.
- He makes our coffee every morning by pouring the water into the coffee maker and scooping the coffee into the filter
- He pours his own milk (no matter how full the gallon is!) and never spills
- He is a total cuddle bug
- He loves to hide and as soon as he hears the garage door (Ricardo coming home) he runs to a hiding place
- He loves to run and run and run
- He loves to sing and is always singing in the car and usually humming a tune as he plays
- He loves to shower with Ricardo in the mornings
- He has become especially attached to Ricardo lately and is very loving and affectionate with him
- He claims to "love the cold," but usually asks to put a sweater on when he wakes up in the morning
- He enjoys memorizing bible scriptures and learning catechisms
- He is an amazing big brother to Alexia and really adores her. He is thrilled to have a baby brother soon!
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