so the first month of the new year comes to a close... and if January is indicative of what is to come... well, let's just say, it's not going to be fun.
Few good things came about...the kids sure made a big haul for xmas, between wii games and handmade chessboards and everything in between. The goob turned 7 on the 4th and had his annual sledding party, that went off without a hitch. Except the cheese didn't particularly care for sledding.
I've been working almost non-stop for the past 3 months and there's no sign of slowing down. too much to do, too little time, not enough help. that's the name of the game. the entire office took a pay cut, a few people got laid off and with the pay cut came more work. I don't even want to go into it. at least not on this blog. you can check out my personal blog to hear me B****!
the papa is still at his company, making his way up to the top. Last year he got a promotion... this year—we'll have to see. otherwise, he's liking his job and will be shifting his schedule at the end of feb. earlier than before even! who would have thought he'd be able to deal with a 6am shift.
the goob continues to do well in his 1st-2nd grade combined class. though he's in 1st grade, he's doing work closer to 2nd grade level. My mother was right, HE'S A GIN-OS (yes, that's how she pronounces genius)
current stats (our estimate):
7 years old,
about 4ft tall,
50+ lbs?,
size 7 on pants & shirts,
size 13 on boys shoes (he prides himself in being just 1 size lower than my shoe size in boys)
talks a lot, sometimes non-stop. very inquisitive as always, though it's nice to see more light bulbs lighting up more often. his favorite line, "ohhhhh, now i get it..." and proceeds to explain it to you even though you're the one that just got done explaining it to him.
oh and let's not forget, eats like a horse and still can't gain any weight to hold his pants up.
next up...
the cheese:
turning 20-months-old this Feb. 8th
about 29" since last check up in Dec.
about 23lbs
finally fitting 18-months-old clothes
has 6 top teeth (2 of them molars)
4 on the bottom (2 molars and two front—2 more currently coming in)
talks and talks and talks... not sure what about but sometimes you can figure it out.
sings abc, loves to be sang to, loves to snuggle, love to sleep in the mama & papa bed.
she's move up to the 18-24 month class.
named "the best/funkiest dressed toddler in the preschool" by her teachers.
last but not least, the bean.
about 14lbs, miniature schnauzer, liver/party color
lazy dog, acts more like a cat
the cheese and her are best buds
she was shaved by the groomer last year (without my permission!!)
so she's currently all shag in order to get her skirt back.
that's it for now. more at a later date, but don't worry, it won't be as long of a gap like the last one.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Monday, August 24, 2009
the Camp Out of the summer
so we are nearing the end of the summer. just a few more weeks and finally we can officially say "we've survived the first summer of expensive day camps, swimming lessons and babysitters."
after camping in Astoria/Fort Stevens earlier in August, Cooper wished his "buds" could have gone with us. So the birth of "Cooper's Camp Out" happened. Now the question is when, how long and what to do?
after much thought (well not really, I finally just sat down and emailed the moms and spent 30 min. laying out the plans) we decided to have the Camp Out yesterday (Sunday, Aug. 23). why sunday you ask? well, aaron normally works on sunday and i can't handle four 6-yr-old boys, a 14-month-old and a dog.
so it was decided and emails were sent out, unfortunately Carson (whom we still have yet to meet—he couldn't make it to Cooper's birthday last Jan either) was unable to attend. But Zach was able to come and spend the night. Logan was able to spend the day but was not able to spend the night.
so here was the itinerary for the day:
kids get dropped off, have lunch, bike ride to park, play at park, have snack at park, come home, play in the sprinklers, do tie-dye t-shirts, set up the tent in the backyard, have dinner, play out in the tent, roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories, go to sleep. next morning, kids get picked up after breakfast.
Now here's WHAT REALLY HAPPENED:
Zach arrives shortly after 11am. Aaron & I, of course were not quite ready. (why? well if you know us, you shouldn't have to ask, we are night owls.) So Coop and Zach watch TV while i take a shower. while Aaron was in the shower, Logan gets dropped off. Now all three play up in Cooper's room. Aaron and I get lunch ready. Everyone has PBJ sandwiches with strawberries, cherries and/or BBQ chips. Well, let's say the BBQ chips got the popular vote.
then after lunch i start to get the tie-dye baths, but before i start, i actually decided to ask the boys if they wanted to do tie-dye shirts, actually more like Zach announced that "we would like to play Wii." so I inquired what they would rather do, "play Wii" or "tie-dye", and of course i knew what they would rather do. but i thought i'd at least give them the option. on a side note, the reason we were going to do tie-dye shirts was because Cooper and I took a tie-dye class at working wonders museum 2 weeks ago and we only had time to do 2 shirts so the next day made more at home. someday i'll take photos of the shirts and post them.
and so continuing with the story, Zach and Cooper played Wii while Logan was more interested in playing with Lily the bean. of course, miss "pet me, pet me" was loving it. Princess bubble butt on the other hand took a liking to the cute, tall and blonde-haired boy, Zach. She just flirted with him the best way she knew how—giggled and wiggled her bubble butt. it was actually too cute as Zach politely said "hi Kihra" every so often.
then at some point in the game, Zach and Cooper were getting frustrated because the game was a little to hard and required much synchronization. By this time, Logan was in the backyard playing fetch with Lily. So Cooper decided to join him and they played in the sand box.
Meanwhile Zach was perfectly happy playing Wii by himself. and of course, i was worried that they weren't all playing together like they should. I mean, as a host, aren't you suppose to make sure everyone is included in what's going on? So i decided to intervene and suggested we do something all together. Well that prompted the responses "i wan't to play Wii" (zach), "i want to ride bikes" (cooper) " i want to play in the sandbox some more" (logan). GREAT! now they each want to do something different.
so finally i said, let's ride bikes. so we got everyone's helmet on and headed out, with Aaron & princess bubble butt (PBB from now on) in the lead, followed by the boys and me at the end, reminding them to stay on the sidewalk or stay to the right. unfortunately, PBB lasted about 3 blocks and fell asleep in her seat (she as an ibert which sits in front just behind the handlebars. so aaron had to return home. The boys and I pedaled for a while but after 10 minutes it was getting hard to give them directions when they were ahead of me and hard to make sure they were following right behind when i was leading. so we headed back home.
Cooper and Logan then played in the sprinklers out front and Zach once again played Lego Batman on the Wii. He declared that he wanted to play "just a little bit of Wii, then i'll go play in the sprinklers." well, Cooper and Logan lasted about 10 minutes playing in the water then decided they were done.
Cooper and Logan, the toothless wonders
So then at this point, I've ran out of activities for them to do. so I figured we should go ahead and put up the tent. so Aaron and i put up our 10-man tent, which barely fit out back while Cooper and Logan with Lily played in the sand box again, and Zach stayed inside playing Wii. After the tent was up, Cooper and Logan rinsed off in the sprinklers and changed to dry clothes. And finally, all three played in the tent for a little while. then snack came and well, i wanted some ice cream, and i couldn't very well have some and make the kids have fruit and crackers. so they had ice cream as well.
the three musketeers!
I had to finish some work, so Aaron took over. so i'm not sure what they did, i think they pretty much played in the tent. Then I got sleepy and joined PBB upstairs and took a nap at 4pm.
PBB and I got up at 5pm and found the boys playing Legos in Cooper's room. So then i bugged Aaron to start the BBQ so we can have dinner. So while Aaron BBQ the burgers and hot dogs, the boys came down and played with the legos in the tent as well as made sure Kihra could not go in the tent, "no sisters allowed". Lily was allowed since Logan really liked playing with her.
Dinner was ready, Cooper had a cheeseburger and the other two had hot dogs. we at outside on the deck but then Logan didn't care for the "bee" though i thought it was a fly and decided to eat inside. So I made Aaron eat with him inside. Of course, as always, Cooper too forever to each because he spends most of his time talking. Actually so did Zach. I had to remind them both to eat. At the end, Cooper ate half of his cheeseburger and most of his fries and tater tots, Zach at about 1/6 of his hot dog and all his fries, Logan ate 2/3 of his hot dog and all his fries. Logan said politely after being offered celery and carrots "no thank you, i don't really like vegetables." to which i pondered whether to insist but then i thought, "well, i wouldn't kill him if he didn't eat vegetables at our house."
so once again all three went up and played in Cooper's room. then Logan's dad, came and picked him up. so it was time to get ready for marshmallows. Aaron started the fire and we roasted marshmallow at the fire pit. Zach and Cooper each had 4. PBB had an un-toasted 1/2. then it was wash up and pajama time. at 8:30p, all the boys were in the tent ready for bed. We decided against the ghost stories—it would scare them to much and then no one would get any sleep.
Shortly before going in the tent to spend the night with the boys, Aaron made the comment of "i'm sure we'll be back in the house in the middle of the night."
I put PBB down for the night and headed downstairs to finish work. at about 1am i went to bed with PBB and Lily and the boys were still outside.
this morning, with PBB in hand, we went downstairs, let Lily out to "hurry up" and the boys were still asleep in the tent. 5 mins later Zach and Cooper came in and had breakfast. Aaron came in shortly. Apparently, it got cold—in particular, Cooper asked for a blanket in the middle of the night.
So here are some pictures of the camp out. enjoy.
LET ME IN!!
the end.
until next time. ja ne.
after camping in Astoria/Fort Stevens earlier in August, Cooper wished his "buds" could have gone with us. So the birth of "Cooper's Camp Out" happened. Now the question is when, how long and what to do?
after much thought (well not really, I finally just sat down and emailed the moms and spent 30 min. laying out the plans) we decided to have the Camp Out yesterday (Sunday, Aug. 23). why sunday you ask? well, aaron normally works on sunday and i can't handle four 6-yr-old boys, a 14-month-old and a dog.
so it was decided and emails were sent out, unfortunately Carson (whom we still have yet to meet—he couldn't make it to Cooper's birthday last Jan either) was unable to attend. But Zach was able to come and spend the night. Logan was able to spend the day but was not able to spend the night.
so here was the itinerary for the day:
kids get dropped off, have lunch, bike ride to park, play at park, have snack at park, come home, play in the sprinklers, do tie-dye t-shirts, set up the tent in the backyard, have dinner, play out in the tent, roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories, go to sleep. next morning, kids get picked up after breakfast.
Now here's WHAT REALLY HAPPENED:
Zach arrives shortly after 11am. Aaron & I, of course were not quite ready. (why? well if you know us, you shouldn't have to ask, we are night owls.) So Coop and Zach watch TV while i take a shower. while Aaron was in the shower, Logan gets dropped off. Now all three play up in Cooper's room. Aaron and I get lunch ready. Everyone has PBJ sandwiches with strawberries, cherries and/or BBQ chips. Well, let's say the BBQ chips got the popular vote.
then after lunch i start to get the tie-dye baths, but before i start, i actually decided to ask the boys if they wanted to do tie-dye shirts, actually more like Zach announced that "we would like to play Wii." so I inquired what they would rather do, "play Wii" or "tie-dye", and of course i knew what they would rather do. but i thought i'd at least give them the option. on a side note, the reason we were going to do tie-dye shirts was because Cooper and I took a tie-dye class at working wonders museum 2 weeks ago and we only had time to do 2 shirts so the next day made more at home. someday i'll take photos of the shirts and post them.
and so continuing with the story, Zach and Cooper played Wii while Logan was more interested in playing with Lily the bean. of course, miss "pet me, pet me" was loving it. Princess bubble butt on the other hand took a liking to the cute, tall and blonde-haired boy, Zach. She just flirted with him the best way she knew how—giggled and wiggled her bubble butt. it was actually too cute as Zach politely said "hi Kihra" every so often.
then at some point in the game, Zach and Cooper were getting frustrated because the game was a little to hard and required much synchronization. By this time, Logan was in the backyard playing fetch with Lily. So Cooper decided to join him and they played in the sand box.
Meanwhile Zach was perfectly happy playing Wii by himself. and of course, i was worried that they weren't all playing together like they should. I mean, as a host, aren't you suppose to make sure everyone is included in what's going on? So i decided to intervene and suggested we do something all together. Well that prompted the responses "i wan't to play Wii" (zach), "i want to ride bikes" (cooper) " i want to play in the sandbox some more" (logan). GREAT! now they each want to do something different.
so finally i said, let's ride bikes. so we got everyone's helmet on and headed out, with Aaron & princess bubble butt (PBB from now on) in the lead, followed by the boys and me at the end, reminding them to stay on the sidewalk or stay to the right. unfortunately, PBB lasted about 3 blocks and fell asleep in her seat (she as an ibert which sits in front just behind the handlebars. so aaron had to return home. The boys and I pedaled for a while but after 10 minutes it was getting hard to give them directions when they were ahead of me and hard to make sure they were following right behind when i was leading. so we headed back home.
Cooper and Logan then played in the sprinklers out front and Zach once again played Lego Batman on the Wii. He declared that he wanted to play "just a little bit of Wii, then i'll go play in the sprinklers." well, Cooper and Logan lasted about 10 minutes playing in the water then decided they were done.
Cooper and Logan, the toothless wonders
So then at this point, I've ran out of activities for them to do. so I figured we should go ahead and put up the tent. so Aaron and i put up our 10-man tent, which barely fit out back while Cooper and Logan with Lily played in the sand box again, and Zach stayed inside playing Wii. After the tent was up, Cooper and Logan rinsed off in the sprinklers and changed to dry clothes. And finally, all three played in the tent for a little while. then snack came and well, i wanted some ice cream, and i couldn't very well have some and make the kids have fruit and crackers. so they had ice cream as well.
the three musketeers!
I had to finish some work, so Aaron took over. so i'm not sure what they did, i think they pretty much played in the tent. Then I got sleepy and joined PBB upstairs and took a nap at 4pm.
PBB and I got up at 5pm and found the boys playing Legos in Cooper's room. So then i bugged Aaron to start the BBQ so we can have dinner. So while Aaron BBQ the burgers and hot dogs, the boys came down and played with the legos in the tent as well as made sure Kihra could not go in the tent, "no sisters allowed". Lily was allowed since Logan really liked playing with her.
Dinner was ready, Cooper had a cheeseburger and the other two had hot dogs. we at outside on the deck but then Logan didn't care for the "bee" though i thought it was a fly and decided to eat inside. So I made Aaron eat with him inside. Of course, as always, Cooper too forever to each because he spends most of his time talking. Actually so did Zach. I had to remind them both to eat. At the end, Cooper ate half of his cheeseburger and most of his fries and tater tots, Zach at about 1/6 of his hot dog and all his fries, Logan ate 2/3 of his hot dog and all his fries. Logan said politely after being offered celery and carrots "no thank you, i don't really like vegetables." to which i pondered whether to insist but then i thought, "well, i wouldn't kill him if he didn't eat vegetables at our house."
so once again all three went up and played in Cooper's room. then Logan's dad, came and picked him up. so it was time to get ready for marshmallows. Aaron started the fire and we roasted marshmallow at the fire pit. Zach and Cooper each had 4. PBB had an un-toasted 1/2. then it was wash up and pajama time. at 8:30p, all the boys were in the tent ready for bed. We decided against the ghost stories—it would scare them to much and then no one would get any sleep.
Shortly before going in the tent to spend the night with the boys, Aaron made the comment of "i'm sure we'll be back in the house in the middle of the night."
I put PBB down for the night and headed downstairs to finish work. at about 1am i went to bed with PBB and Lily and the boys were still outside.
this morning, with PBB in hand, we went downstairs, let Lily out to "hurry up" and the boys were still asleep in the tent. 5 mins later Zach and Cooper came in and had breakfast. Aaron came in shortly. Apparently, it got cold—in particular, Cooper asked for a blanket in the middle of the night.
So here are some pictures of the camp out. enjoy.
LET ME IN!!
the end.
until next time. ja ne.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
now showing pudge and princess bubble butt
here's a video of the kids earlier this summer.
click on the name above
click on the name above
Friday, August 14, 2009
in the middle of the night
okay, i thought i'd have more to say—since it would seem that when i'm wide awake because Kihra was up for an hour at 1:30 am—i think of things the kids did or whatever that i could talk about. Yet here i am. super sleepy and tired and have nothing to say...
Hmmm… i had tons of ideas on the way home from the in-laws this evening. i'm afraid my brain has failed me, but i'm sure it won't fail me at 2 in the morning!
oh, wait...nope false alarm. it was just a brain fart.
so, i leave you with a pathetic, non-informative post and some pics of the kids.
photos taken with aaron's iphone
hanging out with mr. cooper
only one thing to say, NO OREO COOKIES IN THE CAR!!
the lazy dog, Lily "the bean"
NOW SHOWING:
"the skeleton butterfly and the pirate and his dog"
in theaters Halloween 2008
goodnite. it's pajama time.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
we've joined the masses
We've always thought "are we all that important and interesting for people to care enough to read about our lives?" I mean, why blog? who's going to read it? what do you write about? but mainly, who cares?
anyway, here's the readers' digest version of what's been going on.
yes, for those who don't know, this past march was yet again another year closer to 40. i'm not telling how much closer. in fact i've decide to subtract from now on. so i guess it would be another year closer to 30. (hey, i have to meet aaron half way — he turns 30 this labor day weekend)
Kihra is now 14-months-old. Walking since 10-months. Talks but only a few words. she calls aaron "dada", calls me "memem". can say ba-ba for bottle, bye, hi, ride, dog, book. those are it i think.
Cooper learn to ride his bike without training wheels. it took him only 5 days to get comfortable. and now you can't get him to come in. His summer vacation is almost over. Yippee! since it's costing us an arm and a leg for babysitting. He also has recently lost 2 teeth. one on the bottom and one of the top two front teeth.
but after much deliberation—well not really. our lives are so busy with 2 kids, a dog and full time jobs that we really don't have time to update everyone we know and love about our lives. so here we are, or i should say here i am (sam) as we all know, aaron will probably not do any blogging. he already has SOOO MUCH to say in person, right?
anyway, here's the readers' digest version of what's been going on.
yes, for those who don't know, this past march was yet again another year closer to 40. i'm not telling how much closer. in fact i've decide to subtract from now on. so i guess it would be another year closer to 30. (hey, i have to meet aaron half way — he turns 30 this labor day weekend)
Kihra is now 14-months-old. Walking since 10-months. Talks but only a few words. she calls aaron "dada", calls me "memem". can say ba-ba for bottle, bye, hi, ride, dog, book. those are it i think.
Cooper learn to ride his bike without training wheels. it took him only 5 days to get comfortable. and now you can't get him to come in. His summer vacation is almost over. Yippee! since it's costing us an arm and a leg for babysitting. He also has recently lost 2 teeth. one on the bottom and one of the top two front teeth.
Aaron is now a senior rep at t-mobile. it's a promotion, but unfortunately the pay increase doesn't cover the daycare we now have to pay for kihra. oh well. but he seems to enjoying his job more. he's not on the phones as much. so he doesn't have to deal with stupid people on the phone.
Me? still designing magazines that seem to have never-ending deadlines. Getting fat and getting old. that's sums it up pretty much.
Here's a photo to enjoy.
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