Goodbye January

What a beautiful month you have been! These are the days that I adore living in Southern California. The beach? In January? Yes and yes. We had a busy and fun filled month. Here are the few of the highlights.

Two wheeler

Guess who rides a bike? He LOVES his new found freedom! He flies around the neighborhood on his bike. It is so fun to watch him learn to ride. It didn't take long and now all he wants to do is ride his bike. He rides yelling "I'm going SO fast!". No one told me that boys would be so fun.

Mom's Point of View

How do you say no to that face? I don't. It's a problem I have with both of my kids. Although there are days when I would love to have nothing hanging on my leg, I know it won't last forever. Her new word is 'shoe'. MELT. This girl loves shoes. She loves putting them on. She loves trying to wear mine. She loves other people's shoes. (Would this be a bad time to mention that there was an autistic kid in my neighborhood named Superman who also loved shoes. He would come into your house, find a closet and try on every pair of shoes. Let's just hope its a normal case of a girls love of shoes and not a case of autism.) We really have been the best of buds lately. Of course I'm easy to love when I protect you from an older brother, read books, and let you stand on the dishwasher door (renting has it's perks!). She has also been egging Evan on lately. Yesterday while he was watching TV, she wanted his attention. When she didn't get it she pulled on his pajamas which led to squirming and swatting. Unfazed, she just smiled and kept doing it. I loved it! I know one day, she'll get the best of him. I love this little girl.

Good times

My little helper

Guess who loves to help? She digs laundry and she even more helpful with the dishwasher. I love these pics, I put the last one in just in case anyone has any questions as to the father of my daughter is. Could she look any more like Paul here?

Playtime with dad

The best dad in the world award goes to Paul. It's true. He's the super fun one and I'm the boring one -or at least not as fun as Paul! Evan and Kate adore him. I love to see them playing like crazy fools on the floor- not so much in the air- but the floor is good! We love our dad!

Bedtime

Things are always chaotic at bedtime. Evan goes to bed a little later than Kate, but they share a room so really they probably get to sleep around the same time! She wakes him up in the morning. There is nothing cuter than hearing her talk to him in the morning. Kate LOVES to read. If she sees a book, your not off the hook until you have read it several times. Her favorite books are the Karen Katz books (they were also Evan's favorites:). Evan likes to drag out bedtime. First he's hungry, then he's thirsty, then he needs a story or two (his famous line is 'one more that's all'). I love telling him stories. He's the only one who thinks my imagination is great! He also edits or changes the story as he sees fit. We have some great conversations and silly play time. Eventually we do get them to sleep, and oh, how I love that sound!

Going, going, gone...

And she walks!

A very useful engine

I was cleaning out my kids closet today. You know putting away the stuff they have grown out of, sorting through the new stuff, and organizing socks. Then I came across this shirt. This shirt is a special part of my boys life. He started wearing it when it was too big and continued wearing it until it was too small. He hasn't worn it for a little while, and I have been putting off putting it away. When I did, I cried. I think I'm officially more attached to this shirt now. It represents so much of his little life. He still loves Thomas, but not the way he used to. Growing up is good, but oh so sad too. I will put it in his special box of stuff that way I will always have this little shirt to remember that awesome time.

One sick little nugget

This little girl has been sick for days! Poor thing got hit by a double ear infection and a tooth all at the same time. All we have done is read books (the same three ones over and over), cuddle (the best part of a sick baby) and hold (not the best part of a sick baby). We are going on a week and we all hope this will be over soon! Even thought the shoulders of my shirts are covered in snot, I'm loving the bonding we've had this week.