Best Friends

... do EVERYTHING together! When you have two kids who are very close in age, it's almost inevitable that they will most likely do everything together (mainly what the older one's doing). It's one thing to force them to do everything together, but when they choose to do it together, that's when you know you just birthed BFFs!

 Lil sissy loves him!

 Princess toys? What's that?!

 Hey bro, even our socks match!

 Lucas stealing his sister's snacks

 Big bro reads, little sis follows

 BFFs have matching chairs

 A Charlie Brown Christmas

 Total adoration for each other

 Sissy just wants to be near big bro

Yup, she loves him

Don't get me wrong, these kids are great... BUT, they can also be a handful! One day, I will work up the energy to have a vent session about Thing 1 and Thing 2. As for now, all is calm as both are FINALLY sleeping after playing for 1.5 hours in their room.

Typical "nap"

Kiddie Christmas Party

The Monday play date mothers thought it'll be awesome to have a surprise visit from Santa. We figured Santa would either be a hit... or not. And the video will clearly explain what happened...

Besides the Santa fiasco, the kids had fun. On Lucas' third Christmas, he finally understands presents. I wish I recorded it, but he was shepherding his friends into the playroom so they can start opening presents.

 Sitting around waiting for the herd to come

 Presents time!

No tears after presents... Santa who?

I think we just started our first tradition with a Secret Santa gift exchange. Not sure about Santa though... the mothers enjoyed it.

Cousins Hanging Out

One of Lucas' favorite people in the world is his cousin Lo Lo. He screams like a little school girl whenever he's playing with Lo and whimpers like a puppy dog when she has to go. We had a impromptu family get together so Lucas could invite some of his favorite people over for a simple dinner and lots of play time. The boy had fun. Tons of fun!

 Younger cousins playing (downstairs)

Older cousins playing (upstairs)

Advent Week 1

December is upon us and that only means one thing... CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! Just kidding. Since Lucas is old enough to understand pretty much everything I say and has a knack for learning, I thought it'll be cool (and a challenge) to do an Advent calendar with him this year. This is actually my first time doing this, but with the help of Pinterest and some googling, I was ready! The main purpose of this was to 1) do a little something special with him each day and 2) try to teach him about why Christmas is so important to us. So far, I think he understands that 1) we're celebrating Jesus' birthday and 2) there's something special to do each day. The one thing which stood out about our advent activities this week is that Lucas started to really enjoy reading his toddler Bible and would often read Char and I stories each day. Of course his stories sound something like "God made everything. God made plants. God made Mommy. God made Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve bad", but it's a start! He even sleeps with his Bible in bed too. 

 

Day 1: open a special present

(I was rushing to finish the Advent calendar before Lucas woke up that I forgot to take a picture of our special activity)

 Day 2: eat special treat while listening to Christmas music

(Lucas now loves Christmas music)

 Day 3: read Bible story before nap and night time

(Lucas loves reading his Bible now)

 Day 4: decorate kiddie felt Christmas tree

(Lucas loves to point out Christmas trees wherever he goes)

 Day 5: visit Bethlehem

(Lucas really enjoyed seeing all the animals)

 

Day 6: watch Christmas movie

 Day 7: eat special Christmas breakfast (Daddy made a snowman pancake!)

 If you're wondering why Charlotte is only in half of these pictures, it's only because she's too young this year. Don't worry, she'll be part of our Advent activities next year.

Almost 2.5!

The biggest change this month in Lucas (besides the shaved head = thug life) is how he's grown to be a good helper/big bro. I may have already mentioned this before in a previous post since I tend to gush about my son and how "perfect" he is. He's been doing a better job of keeping his cool when Baby is crying/acting up and not joining her. I think he sees how stressed I am at times when she's going crazy so he entertains himself. He even tells Baby to be patient and that Mommy is going to be back when she's screaming bloody murder. There are also times when he's a good helper and keeps Baby entertained and calm when he knows I'm busy. 

Lucas has started to pray more elaborate prayers. Unless he's super hungry, he tends to add more to his "Dear God, Thank you for my food. Help me to be a good boy" prayer. He prays that he'll take a nap nap, that Baby won't cry (and if she does, she'll have her paci), he prays about what happened during the day, etc. He's a good kid. And a great older brother (I'm so proud of him!). When you see the way Char looks at him, you can see how much she loves and adores her big bro. A mother can only hope that this love continues on for infinity times infinity long!

He's currently obsessed with animals and likes to make animal noises. He's become a book worm and is really into reading animal and Cars books. And of course, this is Lucas, so he is still a ball of energy.

 He likes to wear his hats like this (THUG LYFE)

 Hard time falling asleep for nap time

 Advent day 2: special treat & Christmas music

Happy crazy haired Baby

I'll talk more about my first year of ever doing an Advent thing with Lucas (or for myself). He's a smart kid, so I'm hoping he'll catch on to some of the stuff I'm telling him. So far, he's just been counting the numbers on the advent calendar and talking about Jesus' birthday.

Thanksgiving 2013

Happy belated Thanksgiving! Daddy had the entire week off so our normal routine was a bit off track. Every day felt like a Saturday and it's kind of weird that the real Saturday has already passed.

We started off Thanksgiving Eve at home. I am proud to say that I made the best turkey in my life (and am super proud of it!). Of course, after eating turkey for 24 straight hours, our entire family got sick of it. We'll take a break till Christmas...

 Grubbin'

 After a full stomach, Char finally opens up to Uncle San

 Poor Char, always getting blocked...

 Rebel parents taking Santa pictures at an empty mall

 Kids table (Thanksgiving day)

 The youngest cousins bonding over O's

How the toddler was entertained and contained during BF

Overall, it was a good Thanksgiving. And of course, with two healthy (but crazy) kids, we have much to be thankful for. And now it's December!

It's A Cray Cray Life

... but it's our life. Having two kids who are mobile, with one who's just army crawling, can get quite crazy. For example, life at CDM has gotten quite challenging as I often find myself having to divide my time between the two. If it weren't for fellow mom friends being there as well, it would be even more challenging! Luckily for me, these two rugrats LOVE each other! At least I can say they get along. 

Lucas has come a long way as he's learned how to become a good big brother. This week, when I had to take an emergency poop, I ran into the bathroom and shouted in back of me for Lucas to help Mommy take care of bebe. Lo and behold, Lucas stepped up and kept bebe company and stopped her from crying while I took my 2 minute deuce! Another morning, I wanted to wash dishes after breakfast and asked Lucas to help me take care of bebe. When bebe started crying, he ran to her, gave her some cars and said "here bebe, red car right here". Another time when I was preparing lunch, bebe started crying and scooting towards me, so Lucas rushed in, started scooting too and said "Lucas is here bebe. It's okay", as he directed her to the piano pedals with his cars (for some reason, she has a thing for those pedals). Also, the kids wake up around 7:00 and bebe starts crying every once in a while. Since Lucas is super loud, I hear "bebe, no cry. Mommy come later. Here's paci" multiple times in the morning. Oh Lucas, you gotta love the kid...

 Reading to bebe

 Little bookworms @ B&N (again)

Contained and content!

Happy Friday and Thanksgiving week!