The kids being cute

Here's a couple of pictures of the kids...they make me think of summer (Hi Summer!) because it was so warm in these pics...and now it's barely 70 at the end of May. Oh global warming, why don't you actually *warm* us???

Annika is almost done with her first year of Kindergarten. She's an ok reader, pretty good at simple math and a very attentive and obedient student. I sorta think she'll be that kid who gets A's and B's but every teacher wants her in their class because she's so good. I'm ok with that. We'll push on the straight A's for high school - you know, so she can get into Harvard (Hi Summer!).

Declan is knee deep in his terrible 2's which is upsetting because Annika never had any. So we don't know what to do. I've told Chris a number of times that I think one of our problems in dealing with him is that we discipline him like we did Annika...and that isn't what works for him. But what does work? Hell if I know.

However, he is wonderful to his sister, is very funny (tells some great knock knock jokes!) and is super handsome. He's so cute...hmm, gotta go so I can go cuddle him. xoxo.

Looks cute now

But puked all morning and can't stay asleep. Annika just woke him up after he finally went down. Yay.......

But this (sorta) makes it worth it.

Party weekend

Not only was Annika's pool 4th birthday party this weekend, but so were two other important birthday parties - Nico's and cousins Pierce and Audrey. This is what she looked like after her 6-hour party yesterday:

Backing up a bit, this is what she looked like in the middle of the party after a 2-hour swim and after she swallowed some water:

Then it got a little better when the pinata made its appearance:

Oh, and she enjoyed her birthday cake and the party theme - Scooby Doo. Have I mentioned how much she loves Scooby Doo? It's unnatural. So unnatural in fact that she's watching the live action movie right now...who would do that willingly? Only a true fan!

I'll post some video from the part(ies) later this week. I have some great pool action shots, though I missed Chris's cannonball.

Boowie the Dog

It's pronounced "boo-wee"...not sure how it's spelled, but I took a chance.

Annika and I have been drawing together all night. She says the animal she wants me to "trace" (i.e. freehand of anything that seems doable on the internet) and she colors. So far, she has colored a butterfly, frog, tapir, dog and is currently working on a kitty cat. Oh - and she wants to be a kitty cat for Halloween this year. She's told us about a thousand times.

Oh - tapir was not a typo.

Annika the Builder

Making cupcakes

Thank you, (Great) Aunt Christine, for these amazing cupcakes from Sprinkles!

Who's cute?

That's who!

Preparation

Practice makes perfect!



By the way - Dario is super cute, born on January 7 and has been a great teacher for a soon-to-be-big sister.

Baby's first hot chocolate

Downing her not-too-hot, just right, hot chocolate:



"Uh-oh!" it's (predictably) on her shirt:



And yes, we still call her baby.

Belly pics: 20 weeks and 3.5 years

4/28/09

Many of you know that when we first told Annika that we were expecting, she was absolutely adamant that it would be a 'baby sister.' She said that's what she wanted and she would teach it how to play with her dolls and would feed it a bottle. When pressed as to whether she could accept a a baby brother, she would pause and point at me and say, "You can have the baby brother. I will have the baby sister."

No, we are not having twins but we are having...a baby brother! Chris was convinced it was a girl and I had an inkling it was a boy, but you're never quite prepared for the official unveiling.

Chris and I are very excited, but disappointed for Annika who has become increasingly interested in the baby and had further asserted her insistence that it would be nothing but a girl. In fact, she had a few favorite names - Gabriela and Cutie Pie were her current favorites.

So, with a little trepidation and a lot of fear, we sat her down this evening to break the news. I brought her on my lap as Chris sat across from us and I said, "Baby - we have big news!  We found out if you're having a baby brother or baby sister today."

Annika raised her eyebrows.  "You did?..." she asked.

I said, "Yes!  It's a....baby brother!!!" And with much excitement as I could muster (the trepidation still a factor) I announced the news in a stage whisper with my lips pressed to her little ear.

Annika's face registered the news, and she sat for a second or two thinking about it. Finally, she hopped off the couch and starting jumping up and down, "A baby brother!  A baby brother! Yay yay yay!!!"  With big smiles she ran up and down the room and was genuinely excited about the news.

Chris and I hope that this new baby is as amazing as Annika.  Of course he will be. But wow, with moments like this, I do wonder.

Annikasyncrasies

Annika has a new fun game - it's called "take a picture of me with ______".

"Take a picture of me with this blue thing." (location: Home Depot parking lot)


"Take a picture of me with Wall-E." (location: Circuit City)



"Take a picture of me with this red thing at the park." (location: the park)












Funny, I usually say, "Take a picture of me and I'll crush you."

Annika's first wedding.

No silly, Annika didn't get married! Uncle Tony did.

Loved the dancing. Loved the cake. Loved the veil. (Yeah, that's the real one...don't ask).

Congratulations to two amazing people who don't read this blog!

A big girl's bed

She told us that she was too big for her crib. Multiple hundreds of dollars later, we present you with...Big Girl Bed: The Movie & Accompanying Photographs.

Happy Halloween!

Out and about

We just love putting her hair in pigtails (ponytails?). This addresses my quandary from a previous post...she is getting better about allowing us to put her hair up but when she's out and about she prefers to let it hang loose. Fair enough. I can compromise. Life with a 2-year-old is all about compromise.

Annika had her 2-year check-up last week and the doctor, a rather reserved chap (WARNING: BRAGGING ALERT) offers up this gem: "Wow! She is really talking very well. Very clearly and in sentences. I rarely see this with a child her age, and generally I hope that they can speak 50 words. Her vocabulary is very impressive!"

A moment of silence for her burgeoning genius.

She also weighs in at 30 pounds and is 34.5 inches tall. To spare you an Internet search, that means she's about 80th percentile in weight and 75th for height. He said that tracks nicely and "whatever you're doing is working." We'll also pull her off whole milk and start with lowfat. It starts so very early.

The Negretes took us for a free ride (no pun intended) to Gilroy Gardens this Sunday. Most people outside of Northern California (and let's face it - most of us within NoCal) have no idea what Gilroy Gardens is. My understanding is that the place makes no money, but for toddler-aged kids; this place is perfect. Not too crowded, rides built for the little ones, and nicely manicured landscaping. Maybe the last part isn't so interesting to a toddler, but I found it pleasing.

What I found a little odd about the place is that there was a walking garlic character (apparently named "Gil") with very short arms. Annika happens to worship anything in a big puffy/fuzzy suit (see Chuck E Cheese and Lou Seal) so she was all over it. I am also pleased to report Gil did not smell of garlic. He gave her a high five and was quite friendly. Little Nico reported that he had purple shoes.

I told Chris that taking Annika to theme parks and/or other family outings to engage and entertain her makes me feel more like a parent. It feels responsible and selfless to find activities uniquely designed for her. It also feels good. I just love watching her have fun. (P.S. Also makes up for quite a few trips to the mall & Starbucks).

It's been a while...

...but she's still cute.