Lifelong Buddies

... I hope!

I officially have two toddlers, no question 'bout it! Char can walk, even though she still prefers to crawl if she needs to quickly get from point A to point B. Nowadays, I often let the kids do whatever they please while I either cook or browse through the internet. As long as I don't hear hurt-crying, I'm just going to assume that things are okay. It's amazing how great they are getting along now! In hindsight, I wouldn't mind having them even closer in age! Although I vaguely remember kicking myself in the rear exactly a year ago when I always wondered why I wanted these kids so close in age. Lesson learned from 2013 - 2014: the first year with two young kids is hard, the second year is much more manageable and fun. 

 Collaborating on building an "I see you" tower

 

Giving sissy poo a free ride

Helping sissy poo walk upstairs

Checking sissy poo's pants to see if she pooped (she did!)

Helping sissy poo walk at Target

 

Lucas = Jesus. Char = Mary. 

They always make lunch time so entertaining

The kids usually play a bit after lunch while I wash dishes. I went upstairs first today to tidy up their room and noticed that they were downstairs and quiet for a while. I've been yelling (yes, I'm too lazy to go downstairs when I know they understand what I'm saying to them) for them to come upstairs but they chose to ignore me. After playing on my phone for a while, I decide to walk down to see what all the giggling is about this time. And this is what I caught on video...

Dancing Shinns pt 1

Dancing Shinns pt 2

Best 20 cents spent! (After Easter sale window clings)

These kids sure are something. And a handful. I'm exhausted!

Our First CDM

... where both kids are walking (sorta)! I purposely avoided going to CDM since Char became mobile and I knew I had to deal with two separate kids with two separate agendas. However, my worst fears didn't come true. Today was actually pretty manageable, and both kids looked like they had tons of fun! I think it's time we start going back on a regular basis again.

 Started with bubbles

After realizing how wet Lucas was getting, I suggested we go upstairs to the Wonder Cabinet and they can do whatever they want up there.

How cute is this?!

Having "lunch" together

Spent some time in the baby room

Now, the real fun begins! In the past, Char was always ergo-ed and practically asleep by the time we went to the water area. This time around, things were different. Char is steady on a feet now and I've already deprived her from the water area for far too long.

 Nice and dry (for now)

 Nice and dry (for now, too)

 Gross, Char!

 Captured a moment of pure bliss (in full wetness)!

 Making pizza before we call it a day

So, it was a good CDM trip. Both kids went down pretty quickly (Char has practically dropped her morning nap) and I was able to give them a bath before nap time too. Time to go back next week!

Never Grow Up

"Oh darling[s] don't you ever grow up. Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little."

Toddlerhood. A time where your biggest troubles are 1) thinking of ways to delay bedtime and 2) separation anxiety. As I watch my munchkins giggle their way through life without a worry in the world, a part of me wishes they could stay this young and innocent forever. BUT also be potty trained and dress themselves (am I asking for too much?).  

Being 1 and 2 (but turning 3 in a couple months) means... 

Water fun in the backyard after nap time

By the way, it's amazing what mothers will do to make their children happy. Our backyard has been collecting pine leaves and all sorts of other nasties since last summer. I never bothered to clean anything up till I realized how much both kids enjoy playing outside. Now, during their nap, I spend around 30-60 minutes cleaning up the backyard little by little. It looks a lot more presentable than it did before I started this project, but I still have a long way to go. My goal is to finish before the weather gets really hot so I can lounge in the backyard peacefully while the rascals enjoy the heat.

Jamba Juice treat after dinner

Story time at the library

Peek-a-boo with sissy poo

These munchkins are so easily entertained. It's great that Lucas is FINALLY giving Char the time of day and "playing" with her. Even though he's really just bossing her around, "Char, come here!", "Char, play with this", "Char, come upstairs!".

Snacking with your fellow toddler buddies

 ... then having lunch with your toddler buddies

 Crazy kids having lunch at home

These two rub off each other like no other. Lucas loves to copy Char and Char loves to copy Lucas. Sometimes I really don't know who's setting the bad example...

Coming out of the closet (oh Char!)

 Taking selfies with Daddy on Mommy's phone

I hope these munchkins remember bits and pieces of their toddlerhood through all the pictures I take of them. And I hope they remember that their mother did the best she could to make their toddlerhood as fun as possible! And that their father paid for everything to make mother's dreams for them possible.

Easter Easter

It was a good Easter. It was also a crazy Easter (thanks to Easter falling on Daddy's birthday this year). I had this grand plan to have an advent-like Easter egg week with Lucas... until I realized he was too young to get it this year. Hopefully I'll be more prepared next year so Lucas will realize that Easter's not just a bunny and egg hunts. Speaking of egg hunts...

 Egg hunt #1 (play date gang)

 Natural segregation between boys and girls

Egg hunt #2 (cousins)

Listening to the Easter story (yes Lucas is surrounded by girls)

Final egg hunt (church)

 Cute little Easter bunny

 Mommy's annual Easter picture on the couch

 Easter dinner (kids' table)

 Easter/Daddy cake celebration

Happy Birthday, Irving!

Daddy rarely gets any love on the Shinnanigans' blog (probably because he's not with the Shinn kids for most of their waking moments). So, in honor of Daddy and his birthday, this post is dedicated to Daddy (aka: Irving)! 

First of all, who is Irving?! Before bedtime, I read books that the kids give me. One of the more popular books at the moment is "Happy Birthday, Little Pookie" by Sandra Boynton. Lately, Lucas has been LOVING this book. His favorite phrase... "Happy birthday Irving!". Since Daddy's birthday happens to fall around this time, he's purposely saying "Irving" instead of "Daddy" during birthday week. He knows that Daddy gets sad over this and does this to be funny (guess where he got his sense of humor from?). 

Anyway, I swear Daddy's birthday became a celebration that lasted two weeks long. However, I didn't take it seriously till Thursday when we started our celebration by going to Benihana's.

 Birthday meal - $30 off (best bang for your buck!)

 Daddy/daughter moment

Coloring Daddy's birthday card

Why is everything the color of puke, Lucas?

 

 It's okay, Daddy still likes it

 Picking up a cake for Daddy

Why do you sound so sad, Lucas?

We went to Forbes Mill to have a celebration without the kids and ate like carnivores. Was it weird not having someone climb on me? Or be able to eat my food while it's actually warm? Yes... a bit. It was nice to just talk without having side conversations every other minute.

 Mmm... bone in ribeye... wagyu... meat...

HBD, Irving (kona coffee creme brulee, get it!)

My Not-So-Baby Baby

There is a fine line between the transition from babyhood to toddlerhood. Are you officially a toddler once you turn 1? Or do you have to wait till you can walk? Well, this fine line is pretty much close to over for our not-so-baby baby. She has taken a few steps here and there, but still prefers to crawl because she's so much faster at it. I give it a few more weeks and she'll officially be running after brother (although she has a long way to go since Lucas is pretty fast).

When people ask, I tell them that my kids are 19 months apart. Technically, they're more like 18.5 months apart. As Char is getting older, it has become even more apparent that her interests are really similar to her brother's interests. She does like the occasional tea party or what not (but so does Lucas), but she prefers climbing over things with her brother, being crazy, and reading the same books as him. The first year, especially the first six months, was dreadfully hard, but there is FINALLY light at the end of the tunnel with my two toddlers!

 Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum

 Regular play date gang (huge behavioral difference between boys and girls!)

 Char's first Easter egg "hunt"

 They like to destroy everything together!

Instead of going to play date part 2 this week, Char and I went to visit baby Gavin. Often times, Char looks like a runt in pictures because everyone is so much bigger than her. But lo and behold, we finally found someone who makes her look big! (Big bro Lucas was born bigger than lil Gavin!)

Char and a real baby

Anyway, happy belated 14 months, my not-so-baby baby! You still crazy and as sassy as ever!

TGIF

My kids usually don't dress that nicely when going to the park, but today we had a make up photo shoot (which Lucas absolutely despises!) at the park. While waiting for the photographer to find us, the Shinn kids had some fun of the see saw. It was great to see lil Char Star being able to hold her own and have fun with big bro. On the other hand, the photo shoot did not turn out great because Lucas threw a fit after Char pulled his hair and refused to take any more pictures. He also refused to smile during the entire photo shoot too. Oh Lucas..

 I captured better happy pictures of the kids on my phone

 Char's hair is getting wild!

After the extremely short photo shoot, we went to our regular story time at the library. I was a bit disappointed when the regular librarian wasn't there though... Lucas loves the repetition of Elmo eating the ABCs and is very involved with the songs. Maybe next time...

Couldn't capture on camera, but Char was sitting on Lu's lap who was sitting on my lap

TGIF. But does that even mean anything when you have two young kids?!

Time With The Little Lady

After dropping Lucas off at school today, I had an important decision to make - Target or CDM? Char actually doesn't mind going to Target since she's a pointing Nazi and is content standing in the cart and pointing at everything she sees (and occasionally giving some hugs to stuffed animals). I can also peruse the aisles and aisle shop. However, since Char is semi walking now, I knew it'll be fun to spend some quality time with her at CDM. Big bro wasn't there to control our CDM activities so Char can do whatever she wants there. After a minute of thinking, I decided to put my selfish desires aside and bring Char to CDM. Although we only spent an hour and a half there, she had a great time playing in the Wonder Cabinet! (Good job Mommy for making the right choice!)

 Spent 20 minutes playing here!

 Happier than she looks

 Also happier than she looks

 Finally caught a happy Char on camera

Met her new BFF

Char had such a fun time that she forgot how tired and hungry she was (very rare). Next time we do this, I think we'll stop by iJava Cafe first so we can have breakfast #2 (Shinn ladies love to eat!) before going to CDM.