Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Happy New Year!

I know it is a few hours early, but wanted to wish my reader(s), I think there is more than one, a Happy New Year. This year has been interesting and they will probably only get more interesting as the years progress. It is fun to go back and reminisce over some of things that I have posted not only this year but last as well, it is hard to believe I have been blogging for two years now as it seems like just yesterday the Boy was born (even though he is five).

As an update to what has been going on here, I took the Boy to his second pro hockey game (he went to an exhibition NHL game with us when he was much younger and this time we went to an ECHL game with a skate on the ice afterwards. We had a great time and not only did we get to see 7 goals for the home team, he also got the pro hockey fight experience. He seemed to really enjoy so it looks like we will have to make another trip soon. By his request we also went to the art museum, even heard some bagpipes while we were there which I thought was neat while he was a bit unsure. I also think he is getting antsy for school to be back in session, well at least I am.

The girl is starting to communicate even better and we hear new words all the time. She still eats everything as a couple of nights ago she ate a whole enchilada and some strawberries. I love the fact she will eat anything but at the same time I am not happy about as that means there is less of the good stuff for me. I am convinced she will speak Chinese before English as she loves Ni-Hao Kai-Lan and seems to have no trouble making the sounds of the Chinese words. In reality she has probably been talking the whole time and I am the one that needs to learn a new language.

Christmas was good, the Boy really loved as the one thing he asked Santa for, Santa brought among many other nice things. The Girl was also happy with her Kai-Lan, Sid the Science kid, Wonder Pets Dolls Santa brought her, among many other great things.

Finally as a wrap up to 2009, I will be continuing to write about the kids, my frustrations, etc., but I was curious to my reader (or readers carefully assuming there is more than one) if there are any questions or things you would like to read about in the coming year. Happy New Year, 2010 promisings to bring some exciting things to blog about. Stay tuned...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Placek and Santa Questions

Well being the week of Christmas it is time to make the Placek and give the Kitchenaid Mixer a workout. I have posted guards outside the doors to guard against family from trying to steal them. Granted I was given the business a little bit because I don't hand stir the flour in, but efficiency has taken over and my shoulders and arms are sure thankful. This is something that we all look forward to every Christmas. Some of you may be wondering what "Placek" is, so I will leave it to you to figure it out.

This season has brought some interesting questions and comments from the Boy about Santa. We have been fortunate to have his Santa photo taken with the same Santa every year, but he can't figure out why Santa always looks the same, and we simply can answer because it is Santa. He seems to know something is up but I think he is smart enough to know not to say anything or ask the right questions, as he certainly believes especially when I threaten to call Santa to tell about his behavior. Of course my favorite was the other day when he asked, "Will Santa bring presents for you and Mommy too?" So from that we got a couple little things to wrap up from Santa so we have avoided that for the time being. Sometimes I think he is trying to figure out how Santa does things and magic is always the answer. Well, he certainly is excited and especially since he asked for something specific we should be able to keep the magic of Santa alive and well.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Santa Claus

The kids got to see Santa Claus recently. Last year the Boy wouldn't go anywhere near him as he hid behind the stroller and the Girl happily sat on Santa's lap. Well this year the Boy agreed to stand next to Santa and the Girl freaked out a whee bit:
The Boy actually then talked to Santa and told him exactly what he wanted. Santa said he would do his best. He is very excited and can hardly wait for Christmas.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Girl's First Haircut

What a difference from her screaming, crying brother at his first haircut. The only thing that I think bothered the Girl is the fact that she didn't get good salon head massage shampoo and conditioner. She did very well and was very cooperative, the only time she cried was when it was time to leave (remember they have a slide inside that she thought was fantastic).




Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Pants Dilemma

The boy has become a pants destroyer. He can literally wear or tear holes in pants in less than one day. It is very frustrating as we are trying to get him to wear jeans in hope that he won't destroy them nearly as quick, but the problem lies in the snaps on jeans and the fact that he is five years old over 46 inches tall and only about 43-45 pounds. He has a hard time with snaps and is currently practicing, although he is great at legos, so we tried to convince him that the snaps are like legos which he believes but he has a hard time snapping the jeans back up. I thought about sticking in some legos on his pants and then he would probably never take them off, instead I went shopping for jeans with a button as opposed to a snap and had a real hard time finding any. Then I found a great solution and I almost cried, there are adjustable waist size 6 slim jeans that look like a snap/button but actually have a hook like on dress pants. So this week we will try those and see what happens otherwise I think his pants will be very religious because they will be so holey.

The girl is really trying to become my favorite as I found out she likes Taco Bell and on top of that the kids meals come with Cinnamon Twists. So after her cheesy roll-up we shared in the cinnamon twists and both very happy from the experience. On a side note, the cantina tacos are good and it is one of the very few fast foods that look just like the commercial. She is learning more and more words, but the best is still her lion roar (if you see her jsut ask her "What does a Lion say?"). She is also becoming quite expressive and this little girl knows what she wants and will throw a good tantrum to get it and it almost seems that she knows my weak times when I am frustrated to no end and will give in because those tantrums are clearly on another level.

Coming soon, first haircut pictures...

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

Sometimes I just don't understand how much a little toddler can eat. The girl who is 19 months old is going to eat us out of house and home. She eats what seems like 7 meals a day, and when it is Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner it seems like the only reason she stops eating is when we either stop giving her food or we run out. This morning thus far she has had two bowls of apple Cinnamon Cheerios, one Jimmy Dean sausage biscuit, and about 8 or 9 strawberries. I am pretty sure in about an hour or less she will want a snack. I realize she may be going through a growth spurt but this has been going on since she turned one and if she keeps this growth spurt up she will be taller than her brother by the time she is two. In six months she went from 29 inches to 33 inches at her 18 month checkup. So the question is can you feed a toddler, that is very demanding, too much?

The Boy is really enjoying hockey, I can't wait until he gets to play on a team as right now he is in the learn to play program where they do play some games but it is mostly learning to skate better, handle the puck a little, etc. He is adventurous some times too, he decides he wants to go play in the bigger groups because they look like they are having more fun because they use pucks more, I like the fact that he is willing to be adventurous but at the same time it scares me as I don't want him to get hurt because some of the kids in the other groups are 7 or a bit older as you have to go through the learn to play before being put on a team. He does ok just doesn't have the knowledge or all the skills of what they are doing to participate easily. He is also very excited for Christmas and even more so the Polar Express party they are having at school. I don't think the teacher knows what she has gotten herself into as he lives for this movie and his Polar Express Train and his CD, etc., etc., etc.

Also just a note for those who have missed it the new Disney Christmas special "Prep and Landing" is very good. The Boy didn't see it yet but he will be watching it on Dec. 18th at 7:00 on ABC Family. My wife and I really enjoyed it and I think we were both surprised by how much we liked it. (Just a note I don't get paid by Disney, but maybe I should.) The Boy has seen commercials for it and already quotes lines from the show.

Friday, December 4, 2009

5:00 AM

5:00 am is sure early unless you are 19 months old. The girl was up early this morning and would not go back to sleep, my wife and I both tried. Turns out she was hungry and we figure it must be a growth spurt. Granted she is a good eater, unlike her brother, and she will anything and everything she can get her hands on. Maybe she just wants to work on talking as each day it seems she has something new to say: chair, shoe, cracker, cookie, juice, choo-choo. All I know is 5:00 am is probably easy when you are 19 months old, although we may pay for it when it gets closer to bed time. When you are the parent, 5:00 am is not as much fun unless you are like my father who gets up very early for what I call his "4 am retiree meeting". Maybe she needed to get up to talk to Dzia Dzia*, or maybe because we did something and she was just punishing her parents.

* Dzia Dzia is a polish term for Grandpa and if you need a pronouciantion just find a Polish person to help you out.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I don't say that!

The Boy was watching me update the blog the other day and saw the graphic at the top. He got a little upset because it says, "Daddy I'm stinky!" He says he doesn't say that, which is right he is five now and he doesn't. I tried to explain to him that it is old and what I used to start typing the blog but he really didn't understand what a blog was, so there went another five minute conversation. He then proceeded to say that his sister doesn't say that either because she is just learning to talk. I thought about changing the title for a about .01 seconds but decided it will stay and be used fro grand embarrassment when he gets a little older.

The quote of the day from the Boy, "There is no crying or whining in the morning." He was talking about his sister, but then later before school he decided to whine a bit and reminded him of the rule that he made up. Needless to say he was not happy with me bringing it up.