Fun fun fun everywhere... overall, it was a good weekend. Minus the Niners loss... We started off Saturday at CDM. It was the first time Daddy's been back (he's definitely not getting his membership money's worth!). Now that both kids are mobile, we split up.
Happy Char @ CDM
My little explorer
Homegirl "smoking"
The boy and his love for wheels
Char's first time! ... and she got the concept!
Look at her smile of satisfaction!
The weekend calls for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Since Sunday was the Niners game, Saturday dinner was our only option.
I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible, but I really think Lucas is a really good kid! Sure, there are times when he loses it and fakes cries till he gets his way, but what toddler doesn't pull that trick every once in a while?! So here's my reasoning...
Lu was at school today so I decided to it was time to finally spend some 1-on-1 time with Char. It happened to be LGCC's open gym today so I took Char there after dropping Lu off at school. As always, the place is a bit of a mad house with way too many kids there. (btw, I don't think this place is worth $2/kid. Go find yourself some play date friends instead!) Char was playing with something when this boy, who looked at least 3 years old, came up and tried to grab something from her. Luckily the mom was there and repeatedly told him to stop. He just kept going at her and trying to grab her toy without speaking. And that's when I thought of big bro Lu and how nice he is (most of the time) with his sissy poo.
There was also this other boy who tried to grab her toy and said "NO" to her when she tried to get it back. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but some parents definitely have to teach their children how to share better. Don't worry, in our household, we go through this sharing thing every single day.
Lucas will be building his Angry Bird blocks on the coffee table and in one swoop, Charlotte will knock everything down, which causes him to get mad. Sometimes he gets so mad that he pushes her down and she starts crying. I hope he understands that what he did is bad, but it's also bad that Char is doing that to him. Anyway... I have witnessed time and time again how Lucas has been very patient with Charlotte when she's messing with his stuff and "bothering" him. He is also mighty patient with his sister when she goes through random crying fits at night. Last night was so bad that we had Lucas sleep with us so he could actually sleep.
My petite little girl just turned 11 months old today! This may just be the fastest year of my life! Char turning 11 months old means I better get my act together and start planning her 1st birthday party. So far, I have the venue and date down (isn't that good enough for a mother of two?).
Only one more month of getting her to sit still and smile
Loves to flash her toothy smile while eating
Loves taking my phone and taking (emo) selfies in the morning
Loves living in the danger zone and riding dangerously at Target
This girl's personality is definitely starting to show. Long gone are those days where she doesn't have an opinion about what to eat. When homegirl doesn't want to eat something, she spits it out of her mouth and sometimes throws it at me (just for kicks). She screams out of excitement AND out of anger. She likes to copy whatever her big brother is doing. She also enjoys bothering him when he's doing his own thing (which sometimes annoys him). But overall, homegirl is doing well. Though she's small, she's eating well and is pretty smiley as long as mother is around.
A week before going, we told Lucas that we will be taking a trip to Disneyland. "Let's go Disneyland", he would say every single day when we got in the car. And almost every day, the answer would be "not yet. Soon." And soon has now come and gone! Disneyland was probably Lu's most memorable vacation (though it wasn't really much of a vacation-vacation for the parents). But hey, the kids had loads of fun staying up late and being a bit cray cray.
Hotel luxury: permission to jump on the bed
Let's start with DISNEYLAND!!!
"It's for the blog!" - Mommy
It's A Small World - every baby girl's favorite ride
"We need a picture in front of the castle!" - Mommy
Shuttle ride back to Disneyland after nap time
Mommy fail: couldn't get both kids to smile
You can't tell, but we're on Dumbo
Toon Town would've been a bigger hit if it was still light out
As you can see, not many pictures were taken at Disneyland because we were too distracted riding the rides. Of all the kiddie rides, I would say that Peter Pan was the best one. Unless you want your child to freak out, I would recommend skipping the Mr. Toad ride. I actually have no idea what that story's about. Lucas seemed to like Dumbo best since he kept talking about it, and "driving cars" (aka: Autopia). I didn't get to take a picture of it cuz I was too busy devouring it, but the corn dog at the Big Red Wagon is a MUST! And for you nursing mothers, it's right next to the Baby Care area.
On to CA Adventures...
The main reason we went
Lightning was the main attraction (duh!)
Why not, let's take a pic with Tow Mater too!
And what?! Tow man?! There's such thing?!
Looking for Sally, but ran into Red instead
First Cars Land ride
Tip: if you have a child who's less than 32", get a pass so each parent can go with the toddler and bypass waiting in line!
Major freak out (future blackmail pic!)
What Char was doing while her brother had his freak out
"Make a silly face, Lucas!" - Mommy
A really good big brother indeed!
I mean, look at him... how could you not love the fella?
Freaked out when he realized how big Goofy was up close and personal
Disneyland was worth the $92 admission, but CA Adventures? Meh, not really. We only went because we knew Lucas would love Radiator Springs and meeting Lightning McQueen. Bring your kids when they're 2.5 years old, it's still free and they're old enough to have a blast! Now, time to attempt to make this a yearly tradition...
This post should've been written before the previous post, but oh well! Long gone are those NYE invites where we stay up watching Ryan Seacrest (is he still the one doing the countdown?) host NYE's at Times Square. Instead, with two children in tow, we spent NYE in Monterey... at Monterey Bay Aquarium! Yup, this is how we roll now.
The last time we came here, Lucas was only 9 months old. Right now Charlotte is 10 months old! We went with the other Shinn cousins and it looks like all four kids had fun. I never grew up with any cousins or family around, so it's pretty neat seeing these kids grow up together. Lucas loves his cousin Lo Lo and was super excited when we were driving there.
The boy turned 2.5 years old today. We have been married for 4 years today. And it's 2014! My how time flies!
When I told Lucas he turned 2 1/2 years old, he immediately sang "Happy Birthday" to himself. What a ham! He told me he likes vanilla cake (so unless things change, Daddy will be baking vanilla cupcakes for his birthday this year). This boy talks like crazy and I can comprehend 90% of what he's saying. He's a pretty good kid overall and usually only acts up when he's hungry (like his mother). He is able to tolerate his sister touching his stuff and bothering him when he plays Angry Birds Star Wars. Speaking of that, his current #1 obsession is Angry Birds Star Wars. Cars is still following as a close second. When he sees something he wants at the store, he tells Mommy "I bring it home". Yes, he is very commanding. He also told me it's time to go grocery shopping today when I told him we had no fruits at home and Charlotte has no yogurt. Yes, little boss man!
My toddler boss
Protective big bro watching over his super petite sissy-poo
Besties
Besties take 2
Daddy's not happy Mommy ordered Lu his own drink at Verde
Mommy's not happy Daddy got Lu these fobby animal stickers to put all over his room (he loves them though, and is proudly taking pictures of what he did "all by myself")
Four years ago, the husband and I become a family of two. Life was nice back then. Lazy Saturday mornings existed, we ate at new restaurants all the time, we lived in Mountain View... Then an accident happened and a few years later, we became a family of four! Saturday mornings now start at 7:30, we only go to family friendly restaurants and reside in an area where we never thought we'd be. As crazy and unpredictable as everything is, it's also a life we love. It's not the most relaxing life, but it's our life.
A younger, skinnier us
And now it's 2014! My baby girl is turning 1 next month and is as mobile as ever. Happy New Year everybody!
First of all, I have a confession to make. After day 21 on the Advent calendar (which was a cheat Advent activity anyway), I got lazy/stressed with all the holiday extravaganzas going on and was not able to finish strong. Basically, I gave up on day 20. Next year I'll be more prepared.
Anyway, Christmas came and went just like that *snap* this year. Lucas was really good about not touching any of the presents under the tree whereas Charlotte ripped things here and there. This is Lucas' third Christmas and he finally understands the concept of presents. Next year will be even more fun!
We started the festivities on Christmas Eve and ended a few days after Christmas.
Went to visit Po Po's grave in the morning
Shinn kids entertaining themselves while Mommy was cooking
Char wants to eat!NOW!!!! Another turkey @ the Shinn digs
Christmas dinner @ other Shinn's digs
Shinn kids with all their cousins and grandparents
Day after Christmas with a few of their new toys
This turned out to be her favorite toy (it was free!)
The gift he suckered Mommy into getting him after Christmas
Fancy dinner with Shinn/Chia cousins
1st & 2nd cousins gift exchange
You see how many kids are in there?! INSANE!!! That's how many kiddie Christmas gifts we bought this year! We have way too many toys at home now... spoiled kids!
Well, I've already gone Pinterest crazy with tons of Christmas ideas for next year. We'll see how diligent I am in making my obsession with pinning into a reality. Till next time...
