Just Another Week

How is it Friday already?! This week went by pretty fast! After a nice Christmas break and an even nicer extended family break (but if you're a SAHM, would that even be considered a break?), this is the first week we completely went back to a regular schedule. We went to our regular Monday play date, Lucas had school on two days, and then we went on even MORE play dates (with the same play date friends). And of course we had our own family fun at home, too.

Snacking after nap time

 New Cars coloring book! YEEEEE

 Showing off his artwork from school

 What we did while Lucas was in school

 Sharing is caring!

 Daddy's face totally photobombed a great picture

 Ta-da! Building an Angry Birds tower all by himself!

Playing independently 

Now that Char is almost 1, life has gotten much easier. Although very mobile, she's also much more independent (meaning I don't have to hold her all the time!). I've been waiting for her independent stage to come for a very, very long time! It makes me happy seeing Lucas read his book quietly while Char's playing with who knows what semi quietly. 

Yup, that's my cray cray boy!

Happy weekend!

Just Random Weekend Shinnanigans

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.

 This is normal...

 So is this!

 Sad to have to retire our jersey for the season

Not lookin' good right now...

 ... at least Char's happy

and Lucas just cray!

Happy MLK everybody.

What A Mighty Good Man

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. 

11 Months Old!

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. 

Surround sound happiness

 Lil shorty "cooking" with big bro

 Look at the height difference!

Happy 11 months, Princess!

DISNEYLAND!!!

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...

NYE

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.

He had more fun than his non-smile shows

 Char loved the water bed

 "PENGUINS! PENGUINS! Hi Penguin!"

 Comparison pic to see how small Char is

 Two youngest cousins

Cute little clams

2.5, 4, 2014

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!