Facebook and Taylor doing Yoga in the park

So it's been a while since I've updated this blog, and hopefully I'll get back into the habit.  I've started playing on Facebook, and I'll admit I'm a bit converted.  After hating on it a long time, it has some pretty cool stuff and it's really simple to use.  I know...


















Anyway, a couple of weekends ago, we were at the park and Taylor decided to do some Yoga with these older Indian ladies.  They welcomed her and she is a born Yogi!

The past few weeks...

We're tired tonight. You get a list this time.
1)Taylor did yoga in the park with a group of adults and actually stuck with it for about forty mins.
2)AJ has been saying tons of phrases: "I'll get it! I can do it! Let's go!" etc etc
3)AJ can count to ten in Spanish.
4)Taylor has started swimming lessons with Miss Becca and loves them!
5)We went to conference for Taylor at her school. She is excelling in math and doing great in everything else. The teachers are working with her on self-control and adapting to unfamiliar people and situations. Taylor is very focused and loves reading time.
6)Taylor has been doing little building projects at Lowe's.
z z z Maybe we'll think of more things later...

Easter and stuff

The family, excluding Chris, went down with Meme' and Pops to Mill Valley for Easter at Tia's. We were sad to not have Chris with us. Unfortunately, he had to work and go to the dentist on Monday. Boo! We had a great time. Tia lives in an awesome area surrounded completely by trees and a public walking trail. It kind of reminds me of the Santa Cruz Mountains with the dense foliage and beautiful tall trees everywhere you look. I loved being in the Bay Area with the moist air. Aaaahhhh! Anyway, we got to see Ed and the kiddos (Ben and Lily). Tay and AJ had a great time swinging on their indoor swing and running amok. Their place kind of reminds me of a cabin..very rustic, but comfortable. Lily laid out eggs everywhere in the house. It was more like a pickup than a hunt. Everything was in plain view, but the kids loved it! They both ate way too much candy, but who cares!

As far as day to day stuff goes, AJ has mastered using a couple of pronouns (I and me). I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, and me, me, me!!! When he's hungry, he just barks out commands. It's pretty funny to be around. He's just like Taylor was. He hears something once, and he's using it himself. It's great. He's only 16 months, but it's going by so quickly.

Taylor is 3 1/2 and she's really starting to show interest in learning to read. I bought a couple of books on Amazon that will hopefully help out with learning. I'll probably start putting up labels on everything in the house so she can learn to site read. Fun stuff. She's still loving her preschool and has recently shown interest in learning how to play chess online. She and Daddy have been working on that a little bit together. Tay's a great  kid. That's all for now!

Shiny, clean teeth for Taylor!

Today, Taylor had her first dentist appointment. I set it up for her about two months ago and since then, she had been asking when she would get to go to the dentist almost every day. Then, last week, Taylor's school had a special visitor. Sure enough, it was a dentist who told the class all about visiting and getting their teeth cleaned. Since then, that's all Taylor has talked about. So okay, I don't know who this dentist was, but I was so thankful for all of the prepping they must have done. Taylor was absolutely perfect from the time we arrived to the time we left. This is a little girl who hardly ever sits still, but we walked in and she greeted everyone so nicely and then sat patiently in her chair until she was called into the room. She walked in and noticed the reclining chairs and she  told the hygienist that they had the same chairs at the gym out by the swimming pool. Taylor was so cute and shy pretty much the whole time we were there. She sat still for x-rays, cleaning, and even flossing. Then came the fun part: picking out a prize! Towards the end of her appointment, she asked when she would get to come back again. Yay! The dentist was a success!

Things are happening!

Lots of little changes have taken place with the kids in the last couple of weeks. Taylor thoroughly enjoys helping out Mommy and Daddy with the AJ duties. She wants to be the first one to greet AJ in the morning and if she doesn't open the door first, she's all upset. If AJ is doing something wrong, she'll carry him away and say "How sad, AJ!" It's pretty cute to watch. She's just like a little Mommy now.

We recently moved Taylor's bedtime to 8:00. We figured since the time is changing, why not change her bedtime and hope that maybe, just maybe, she'll sleep in a little bit later. So far, so good. Taylor is also doing great in school. She's interested in writing letters now and she likes to do lots of coloring. She also has an amazing memory that works in her favor especially against her parents. She's a clever kid for sure.

AJ is an active little guy. He climbs anything he can manage at the playground and climbs everything at home as well. He gets hurt sometimes, but it doesn't seem to phase him. He is a huge talker. Every morning usually starts with a flurry of words like this: "Mammy, Eeyore, Clougy (Cloudy), raining, rainbow, dryer, no, no, no, eat, eat and hi Daddy." He and Taylor both wake up with tons of energy. Other words he loves to say are lawnmower, mantis, moon, butterfly, and gummies. We are really enjoying the stage he's at right now.

Bought a new Fridge

yeah, the old one was leaking and didn't have an ice maker or fresh water.  Very frustrating so we bought a new fridge.  Then our washing machine started acting weird, and I had to fix that, then the fridge started leaking, fixed that.  I've learned 2 things about owning a home: I'm learning a lot about how to make minor repairs, and stuff breaks a lot.

Also, AJ loves to point out the birds and anything he sees.  The other day, after working out at the Gym, I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder for a long time just cuddling.. It was so cute, highlight of the day.  He's so cute, when he walks his little arms swing back and forth so strongly, like he's trying to show just how big and tough he's getting.

Taylor is turning into a sweet girl lately too.  I got home from work the other day and she was in the garage, and as soon as the car stopped, arms up and yelling DADDEEE!  So great, I know I'm going to miss these times, infact just thinking about it makes me miss it :)  Taylor absolutely loves eating my cadbury eggs, and it's fun to share them with her, she gets such a kick out of them.

Nicky just got over being sick and not feeling well.  She's loving having our new house.  We went to Ikea yesterday and bought new bookshelves, I put them together, I was all proud of myself for doing all the pieces correctly, the shelf looks very pro.

This morning the kids clogged the toilet with toilet paper.  No poop, just paper, and I couldn't get it unclogged.  Apparently when i went to work, Nicky did it first try... wtf is that!?

Holy cow!

So it's been like 2 weeks since I've posted.  We've been over our heads with moving, and me with school on top of that.  We're in our new house, finally got both cars parked in the garage.  We bought a new fridge, I got a PS3, and I'm going to get a bunch of dental stuff done tomorrow.

AJ is saying all kinds of things.  Saturday Nicky went to work for her mom and I was home with the kids for the day.  AJ turned to me and said "nana".. I didn't realize he knew how to say that.  Other words I didn't know he knew.. Ear, Nose, Eye.  He's going through a phase right now where he wants to be held every moment, and if you set him down, he cries and arches his back.  It's a pain but I know he'll grow out of it quickly.  Other than being very needy and saying lots of new things, he isn't doing a whole lot physically.  We went to Home Depot tonight and he was staring up at the lights, his head was straight back at a 90 degree angle and he was so entranced.

Taylor had a play date with Linda today.  She went and saw the Princess and the Frog.  Yesterday we went to Castle Park for the first time (on foot) and she had a good time.  It was hard though, because AJ wanted to be held and Tay wanted me to climb with her on the structure...impossible to do both.  It used to be at Taylor's bedtime she would hide under the sheets, now she likes to just take a nice sweet kiss and go to sleep.  She's handled the move fairly well and is enjoying her new room.  When we were at Home Depot she wanted to get a light switch plate that was pink.  We bought it and she helped me install it, using a screwdriver for her first time!

Nicky and I are exhausted but making progress on the house.  We keep talking about all the neat things we'd like to do with the yard and the inside... having a house is so cool, but so expensive.  We've replaced door knobs, shower heads, fans, and as of today, the fridge.  I didn't realize how much I liked having an in-door ice maker/water filter, but since we've been here Nicky and I have both been feeling dehydrated since there's no easily accessible cold water.  The new fridge comes Tuesday!

I'm about to finish up my first Phoenix class, I've learned a fair amount but it's taking up a lot of my evening times.  I suppose it's worth it, but I wish I knew that I was going to be putting it to good use.  I'm not certain I want to do CPA exam or what, but either way a master's degree can't be a bad thing.