Christmas Day!

It's Christmas Day!!! Randy and I managed to keep all the kids upstairs snuggling with us in bed until a little after 7 am. Their reaction was somewhat surprising to me...very subdued, almost like they couldn't believe that Santa had come. 

 The scooters were a big hit....both Caleb and Lina took off riding through the house almost immediately. Levi quickly got into participating, even crying when Randy couldn't get one of the toys out of the package quickly enough. It was heart-warming to see Caleb and Lina so excited for each other and for us to open up our presents too.

 It's an iPad!!

 After our traditional blueberry pancake late breakfast, Randy bundled up the kids and took them to the park so that they could enjoy their new scooters...and so that I could have a little time getting to know my iPad ;)

It was a great day, filled with love and surprises!

Christmas Eve

Finally Christmas Eve came! The kids woke up very excited and happy, knowing that they only had one more day until Santa came. It was also the last day for 'Lil Sneep, our elf, to be present. The kids had a great time each morning finding 'Lil Sneep and talking about what he would tell Santa every night. 

Somewhat off-topic....Levi has been really enjoying driving cars around of late. You can usually count on a car or truck giving him some satisfaction. Unfortunately, he usually finds his way under the table or stuck under a chair!

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Here is Lina singing the "Wheeley Levi" song. Back in the summer, Caleb made-up the "Wheeley Guy"....it was pretty much his alter-ego whose only purpose is to annoy Adelina. The term "Wheeley" has since been adopted by the family as anyone or anything that is being annoying....it is both a noun and a verb!

 In the afternoon, the kids and I baked a small batch of cookies for Santa. I let the kids do whatever they wanted and they had a blast! We also spent some time tracking Santa on NORAD while Randy and Levi took a nap.

 It was finally bedtime. We all watched the Grinch, wrote Santa a letter and left out cookies and eggnog. Lina had a hard time falling asleep that night, both excited and anxious about what would happen when she was asleep.

Week Before Christmas

I kept thinking back to my childhood during the week before Christmas....what an exciting and magical time. The kids were really wild, but we were trying to be patient, especially when reflecting on our own feelings when we were kids. On Tuesday, I set up a "water station" for the big kids to help pass some time. Caleb is especially interested in volume these days. He wants to know what specific volumes look like and is especially curious about all the different units of measure. He's even made up his own unit-a konqit, which is equivalent to 0.1 mL. So we ultimately have to convert every volume into konqits...he and Randy just calculated the volume of the earth in konqits!

 We braved the cold and the crowds and went to the annual Zoolights at the Stone Zoo. All the kids had a great time looking at all the lights, but the favorite by far was the car carnival ride.

Caleb's Christmas Pageant

Caleb had his annual school Christmas pageant last Friday. As was the case last year, it was a crowded and somewhat crazy event....parents get very serious about trying to capture their kids singing about Rudolph! Lina, Levi, and I found the best seat in the house....all the way in the back. I could stand up and bounce Levi to sleep and Lina could stand on the chair and see Caleb....and thankfully my camera has a 10X zoom! The kids sang a bunch of songs and Caleb did great. Just like last year, he wasn't most animated kid up there, but his mouth was moving and he seemed to be having fun. After the concert, the kids filled up on cookies and got to visit with Santa. It was a great day for them!

Some videos of the Caleb and his classmates

Daddy's Birthday and Christmas Tree

The weekend after Caleb's birthday was a busy one. We went to the Museum of Science on Saturday as a family in lieu of having a party for Caleb. We had a great time together. On Sunday it was time to put up the Christmas tree....poor Randy always gets the short of the stick on or around his birthday! I had envisioned getting a smaller tree this year since Levi would likely be bothering the tree a lot. Of course, we ended up picking out one of the biggest trees on the lot! In fact, it was too big to fit in the house! So poor Daddy had to saw some of the bottom off to make it work. The kids were very interested and entertained. 

Everyone had a great time decorating and finding the perfect spot for the ornaments. I need to take another picture of the finished product because the tree has relaxed and filled out more since this photo.

Monday was Randy's birthday and as tradition mandates, it's a day for cheesecake. This year might have been the best one yet, with a fresh cherry sauce topping the cake. The kids were so excited for Daddy and worked hard making him special cards. It was a nice day.

Caleb also brought home a special Christmas wreath from school. Nothing says Christmas like pasta glued to a paper plate and spray painted gold!

Happy 5th Birthday Caleb!

It's hard to believe that I'm writing about Caleb's 5th birthday. It seems just like yesterday that I was pregnant with him and then we were navigating the craziness of being first time parents. It seems like turning 5 is a real milestone birthday. So much has changed in five years and it really makes us stop and reflect on all that we've experienced as a family. Caleb has never been more excited for a birthday and it's almost like he is aware of the transition from "preschooler" to "little boy". To add to his birthday excitement, his birthday was a school day and that means one thing: cupcakes! I attempted to make little Jupiter cupcakes for the occasion. 

 Caleb got a special birthday crown and the whole school sang to him at Circle Time. He was so thrilled with the crown that he wore it all day long. It was funny to take a picture of him in his old crib. Lina and Levi joined in on the fun by climbing in the glider chair together.

 Finally after a day of play and a dinner at Rang Indian Bistro, it was time for presents. I can imagine that waiting all day to tear into your birthday presents was a tough thing for a 5 year old boy-but I think Caleb would say it was worth the wait! He was really excited about all the gifts. We've been working on the 1000 piece puzzle everyday and LEGOs are his new favorite thing.

 Caleb wanted an ice cream cake for his birthday, so that's what he got. Yum!

 The day after Caleb's birthday was great. He was so excited to play with his new toys and kept himself busy all day. Lina just wanted to stay in her pajamas and color on the living room floor. Levi kept getting in her space, so we ended up building this "Great Wall of Lina" to keep him away. Lina was happy, Levi was not!

Levi Dancing

While cooking dinner tonight, I put on some Rolling Stones to entertain the kids. Lina immediately started dancing, and to my surprise, Levi did too. I managed to catch a few glimpses of him between Lina's wildness. 

Home for the Holidays

This past weekend was the annual Melrose Home for the Holidays celebration. Friday night Santa arrived to Main Street on a fire truck, which was very exciting for everyone. The kids got to shake his hand and enjoyed the lights and music of the festivities. On Saturday, Randy took the kids to decorate a Chirstmas cookie, ride a "reindeer", aka a pony with fake antlers, and have another encounter with Santa. 

 On Sunday we attended one more holiday party, where the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and chat about what they would like for Christmas. Lina has really embraced Santa this year and is eager to talk and be close to him. Levi enjoyed listening to the music (although cheesy) and the big kids loved eating a candy cane.

Levi is 9 months old!!

I can hardly believe that Levi is so rapidly approaching "toddlerhood". These nine months have literally flown by. He had a great doctor's check-up this week. Other than a potential food or antibiotic allergy, he's doing great. He's been exploding developmentally....crawling like crazy, pulling up on everything in sight, standing momentarily, cruising a little, and "talking" and signing more and more. He's such a happy, sweet little guy. He measured in at 19.9 lbs (40th percentile), 29 inches (74%)...compared to Caleb who was 19.5 lbs and 27.75 inches and Lina who was 18.5 lbs and 28 inches. He continues to be our biggest baby!

Plotting his escape

The weather has been extremely warm for late November. We went to the park yesterday, but it was flooded. Instead of going home, we made the most of playing on the basketball court...before Caleb and Lina started splashing in the puddles.

Thanksgiving 2011

I keep saying that last week was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I love planning the menu, writing the shopping list, making a to-do list to get ready, and then doing it all with the kids! This year was even more special because for the first time in years, we had guests to share our Thanksgiving with. The kids were lots of help with the shopping and pre-Thanksgiving Day cooking. They worked very hard to make turkey-hand print place cards and were so excited for the day. 

Lina looking at the turkey before heading to the airport to pick up Grandma Gi Gi and Pa Pa. 

 After Grandma GiGi and Pa Pa arrived, the kids got busy playing and I got busy cooking. After hours in the kitchen, it was meal time! Our menu this year: Cajun-spiced turkey and gravy, collard greens, butter beans, mashed potatoes, Mana's sweet potatoes, balsamic-glazed beets, brussel sprout hash, clover-leaf rolls, cranberry-apple cider relish, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. Caleb made an Indian head-dress at school and we made Lina a pilgrim hat to complete the scene. Everyone ate a huge meal and really enjoyed all the food. We thought Caleb would never stop eating! It was awesome. Levi enjoyed his first turkey and devoured the beets and butter beans.

Several hours after we finished eating, we finally had room for dessert. Levi loved the pumpkin pie and whipped cream. He was literally saying "Mmmm" with every bite. Unfortunately, a case of hives after dessert  took us to the Emergency Room. We are still awaiting the results of blood-work to see in a milk allergy is to blame.

Caleb and Lina were overjoyed to have their grandparents visiting. Lina spent lots of girl-time with Grandma Gi Gi and got a full manicure and pedicure.

Caleb and Pa Pa (or Pops as Lina has re-named him) had a blast working just about every puzzle in the house. The weather was fantastic, so we all spent lots of time soaking in the warm temperatures. Caleb got into the habit of enjoying a slice of pumpkin pie outside every afternoon.

The leftovers lasted us all through the weekend. Caleb always wanted an exact repeat of the Thanksgiving feast and he never tired of it. Finally on Sunday we were down to the drumsticks and the kids were in heaven. You'd never know that have a vegetarian mother! It was a wonderful holiday as a family!