Monday, March 30, 2009

Happy 18 Months Oliver!



He's officialy a year and a half now. (insert sad face here) I will admit it's been the most beautiful thing watching my son grow every day, but I can't say I'm thrilled to watch my little baby turn into a big boy quite yet. I don't understand why they have to grow and develop so fast!

He's really using his words (palabras!) now. Spanish and English mix of course. He's getting better at saying "abajo" to get down. He also uses "down" to get down.....and to get up! silly boy, we'll get there. He's voluntarily saying "Ma mo" which is his translation for "Te Amo" meaning "I love you". "Outside" is becoming much more understandable. And really he's still at that stage where you can play the "repeat after me game". He'll say anything on command and try his hardest to nail every syllable. It's so endearing, you gotta see it in action.

This boy is READY to potty train, and I'm both dreading and anticipating this next step. He tells me almost every time he poops by patting his butt and saying "poo poo". AND, that silly little boy also pats the front and says "poo poo" when he pees! When they're finally tired of sitting in a soggy and poopy diaper and want to communicate that to you, it's a momentous signal to get equipped with a baby potty or child seat fast. I'm fortunate that his montesori school is beginning to assist in the potty training now, instead of waiting until they're 2. That's why we pay them the big bucks! <3

That's about all I have time to say right now. I long to post a video clip of what our morning snuggles look like with him so I can break your little hearts!

Field Trip Day!

Saturday was very disagreeable until about 12 when I got to leave work. The good news is that the exam for my neurosurgeons went really well. I was left to work alone on that while my boss was vacationing for a couple weeks. This years test triumphed over last years.
At 2 we TRIED to see the 3D Shark Movie at the Natural Science Museum Imax...regrettably, we arrived too late and the tickets were all sold out. Looking into membership with the museum now and we'll have to catch the flick another time. Then we headed over the the Downtown Aquarium and Restaurant to exhaust the kids a little. (WINK!!) We spent a good 45 minutes walking through the aquarium to check out the eel, pufferfish, lion fish, clown fish, snakes, a parot, and even pet some sting ray! The shark adventure train travelled through a 200,000 gallon shark tank. It was breathtaking. (did i mention this was all free for olly?!). Next up, a few spins on the ferris wheel as well as the caurosel. We did a new ride this time, too, which lifts you up and quickly drops you multiple times. It sort of felt like my butt was in my chest each time we reached the bottom! ha.
I'm really proud of my koops, and I can't wait for more field trips!











WOOZY
I just dig her in pigtails!



A few fun pics

Beautiful and peaceful Kizzle D. PHOTO CRED: Daddy

I'm cooler than......

Gorgeous boy behind the camera!

Just a few shots I took of Oliver while he was concentrated on NOT FALLING INTO THE WATER while feeding ducks. He was very "serious business" with this! way cute.

Presenting: Chocolate!




Meet Chocolate, Kiran's faithful and trusty homemade stick horse. They gallop well together, and Chocolate is really good at finding rocks in our house...(a little game we play!)
Kiran helped pick out all the decorations and helped put her together for a school project. it was MUCH fun! :-)

I had "wings" in Dallas







Wednesday, March 18, 2009

the fog, the haze



During Spring Break, I'm able to get to work about an hour or more early since i'm only getting ONE kid ready and ONE kid to school! I didn't know Kiran took that much of my time in the mornings - you mean I could be sleeping until 6:15?! ha.
I arrived to work around 7am, it was still dark. Looking out of my window on the 21st floor was pretty neat.

Spring Break 09!






Slightly larger than "mini" field trips have been taking place in Dallas! My little girl is with Gammy and Pops to take a nice, relaxing break from school. Yeah, Sure...they'll relax! > )

Meanwhile me and the boys have been hanging out trying to keep ourselves busy. My house is looking a little cleaner than normal, so I'm really wondering if Kiran is at fault for a lot of the mess! That's what makes youth so fun - you don't have to worry about cleaning up. Just play all day, skip washing your hands, eat around your veggies(not at MY house), and erupt into a tantrum when things don't go your way. The good life.

Gammy has been documenting their first few outings, so take pleasure in these fine photos. Do note that the new Dallas residents, George W (not pictured)and Laura Bush have been taking in the scenery. Laura is in the background. Describing the Secret Service to Kiran was a bit tricky, but I'm sure Kiran thought that meant they have to whisper if they wan to talk.


Friday, March 13, 2009

"Mini" Field Trip Day!

At our best attempt to reinforce appropriate behavior at school, we decided to give the koops a sticker chart and prompt reward without any delay! It's hard to keep up with this since we were busy to begin with, but I like that we're doing it anyways.

3 stickers and she gets to choose the field trip we take that next day.
As we were brainstorming on the possibilities of all the things we could do, Kiran's idea for her first was going to China. Given that suggestion I decided to change the name to MINI-field trip. We just can't go to China on any given wednesday .....so she can learn more about the origins Kung-Fu Panda:-)

Here is Kiran at brunch to start the day off right! We had veggie burgers and acorn squash at Ziggy's Health Grill.


And here we are just before heading to our first mini-field trip! We went to see Coraline in the movie theaters - just us girls. Then we met the boys at Marble Slab for some rediculous looking ice cream. Her strawberry with sprinkles was very loud, but it really did taste great. poor me stuck with sugar-free frozen yogurt. poor kiran, poor daddy, and poor oliver had to put up with me sneaking bites of theirs to fulfill my appetite for something better.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

JONI CLEVELANDS' BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Happy Birthday Mom!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

love this

Toddlers live large, play hard, and love big. When they get upset, they can start acting irrationally, just like adults do. And they often use emotional outbursts to clear out the bad feelings — which may feel good to them but isn't always easy for you. Before losing your cool, remember that your child's lack of self-control is normal and that he'll eventually learn what's socially acceptable by the way you and others react to his antics. Try to respond calmly and enforce the limits you've set so things don't escalate.