Just one more...

I had to share this one of the kiddos playing this afternoon. It was kind of a rough day, actually. Maya was cranky, Nikos refused to nap, and meltdowns were had all around. And after spending most of the day attempting to clean/declutter the house, we needed to get outside.

The kids were fine playing with the various toys out there, but it was hot... a perfect day to play with our water table! Maya had actually never played with it before, since it had grown some truly spectacular scum and was sitting, abandoned, in our side yard.

With the help of a good scrubber sponge and a hose with a strong spray nozzle, I managed to get it cleaned up pretty quickly (who knew?). And they had a BLAST. Guess what we'll be doing for the rest of the summer? :)

Some Pics and Stories...

As I've been getting my photo business off the ground, I have come to the realization that I have been taking more pictures of other people's kids, and fewer of my own! So this morning, I sought to rectify the situation. I broke out the big camera and took some snapshots of my little cuties in their jammies, playing in Nikos' room. The lighting was terrible, but the subjects were adorable! :)




In other news... We went out to dinner with some old friends last night, as well as their 19-month-old daughter. It took Nikos a while to warm up to her, but by the end, all three kids were hugging and tickling each other and having way too much fun inside the restaurant (yes, we were THAT table-- luckily, it was a family-friendly place!). Maya decided to wander off a few times, making some friends at nearby tables. But the highlight (ha!) was when Nikos announced that he needed to go potty. I immediately whisked him off to the bathroom, only to discover that someone had taken the handicapped stall (grr!). And when I tried to bring him into the little stall, he began insisting that he didn't have to go anymore. While still doing the "I-have-to-go-potty" dance. I didn't know what to do. And then I remembered the little potty sitting in the trunk of my car. So we rushed out to the parking lot, and he went potty in the car! haha! Not exactly ideal, but it worked. I guess the boy doesn't like public restrooms. We need to work on that...

Then, on the way home, it was past their bedtime and Nikos was acting super silly. He sang songs the entire way home. (Mostly this one, which is relevant to what I am about to say.) And then we passed the hospital where both kids are born, which happens to have a large stork statue on one corner of the parking garage's roof (Nikos calls it a pelican, despite constant correction). And all of a sudden, he started singing, "Pelicans, I like pelicans... I like how they fly in the sky, I like pelicans..."

Anyway, I was impressed, because it was the first time I'd heard him make up new words to an existing song! His first parody! :) Funny kid!

Family Fun Day!

So life has been crazy lately... We were out of town last weekend, then Maya didn't feel well, then Gus had to work late because some Very Important People were in town on business, and then I got sick. And somehow, at my most recent photo shoot, managed to pull a quad muscle in my left leg. Too much squatting, I guess! In the meantime, Nikos has been thinking about giving up his one and only nap of the day (no!!!), Maya is teething like crazy, and I am so paranoid about going out in public with a recently-potty-trained toddler that I have been going a little stir-crazy. What should feel liberating is, at times, a total inconvenience! I mean, with diapers, you never have to be on the lookout for a bathroom, etc. But that's okay. I'm sure it all just takes some getting used to.

And on that note, we decided to go the Wild Animal Park today. It made me a little nervous, knowing that we'd be out of the house for a long time and that Nikos would most likely have to use a public toilet-- for the first time ever. Yes, that's right. We haven't crossed that bridge yet, and I haven't been looking forward to it! But since I knew Gus would be with us, it didn't seem so daunting. At least one of us could watch Maya while the other took Nikos to the potty. I also had to address the issue of germs. At home, Nikos puts his hands on the toilet seat for balance. And on a public toilet, that is just disgusting! At the same time, I KNEW he would do it. And I didn't really see the paper seat covers as being the best option, either, because of the added time involved, the incomplete coverage, and the fact that they would probably fall into the toilet before I could get him on there. So my mom suggested bringing some Clorox wipes, and wiping the area down really quickly. Good call! I had my backpack stocked with a baggy of those, some regular baby wipes, extra underwear and shorts, and a pull-up (why? I don't know!).

Aaaaaaaand... it didn't happen. haha! Nikos has still not used a public restroom. He is fine using the potty at other houses, but I think he holds it when we are in public. Even so, today's outing felt like a big accomplishment, because I was prepared to handle it, if necessary. I can do this!!

But I digress. Really, this post is supposed to be about our fun day together. So how about some pictures?

Silly kids, pretending to be a butterfly and a flower. Both their faces look a little weird in this one, but oh well!


In the "Petting Kraal"-- the high point of the day, since Nikos staunchly refused to ride the tram out to see all the big animals (elephants, rhinos, etc.). We saw lions, cheetahs, a few monkeys, and lots of birds, but spent the most time with these deer, haha!



And he kept saying that he wanted to see rhinos... even though he wouldn't ride the tram. So this was the closest he got, haha!

Weekend in the Bay Area!

Gus and I had an amazing weekend! It was probably slightly more amazing for me, since I hadn't been back in the East Bay (AKA "home") for about four years. It felt so good to be back in familiar territory, even if a lot of things had changed in that time!

Anyway, the reason for the trip was to attend our good friend, Mary's, wedding on Sunday. Mary was our neighbor back when Gus and I first met in 1998. And her Maid of Honor, Elaine, was another neighbor on the same floor in the dorms. Aaand, both Mary and Elaine were my bridesmaids back in 2005! So, we wouldn't have missed this wedding for the world! :)

At any rate, we drove up on Friday, and spent Friday evening with my grandma. It was such a nice visit! Sadly, I didn't take any pictures. What was I thinking?? The next morning, though, we went to have brunch with my old college friend, Natasha, who (coincidentally) ended up moving to my hometown-- about three minutes away from my parents' old house! So we had a great time visiting with her and her husband, Jeff. It was just like old times!!
After our visit, Gus and I headed downtown to the BART station, and took the train into San Francisco for the afternoon. We had fun just walking around and playing tourist, along with about a million other people. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so there were thousands of people crowding the Embarcadero. We wandered around Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, got ice cream cones, bought a Christmas ornament (our vacation ritual), and just enjoyed not being on any sort of schedule whatsoever! Here are a few pics from the afternoon:




That night, we met up with Tash and Jeff again to go see "Eclipse." Certainly not anything to write home about, but it was fun-- and made more so by the good company AND the fact that we very rarely get to see movies in theaters these days! So we had a blast.

The next morning, we got up bright and early to make the long drive into the wilderness for Mary's wedding. We had been to the location once before, for Alayna's wedding back in 2003, and we were looking forward to going there again! It really is such a gorgeous spot. And Mary was such a gorgeous bride! What a great wedding. It was next to impossible to hold back tears, because they are just so darn sweet together. I had a blast seeing my old friends (Mary and Elaine), and meeting some great new friends, too! We were seated with some members of the bridal party, who I had met at her shower last month, so it was fun. The wine was flowing and the conversation was great-- what more could you ask for?


After the reception (and a few glasses of wine), we headed back to the hotel to relax for a few hours before the formal Chinese banquet that evening. We decided to take a short nap... only to wake up, hours later, and realize that the banquet was starting in 10 minutes! And was 30 minutes away!!! Aack! We got ready really quickly, though, and managed to make it there when pretty much everyone else did (fashionably late!). Whew! However, when Mary and Will made their rounds, I reached into my purse for my little camera and... it wasn't there! I had taken lots of pictures at the morning wedding, and I had NOT taken the camera out of my purse. And so the panic began. Was it on the floor of the restaurant? No. Was it in the car somewhere? No. Was it back at the hotel? No. Had I dropped it somewhere at the morning wedding, or at the hotel? No. Ugh. After searching the car three times, I ended up finally finding it under the seat (which I had checked every single time!) the next morning. Talk about relief! That very nearly ruined the whole trip for me!

Sooo... I suppose it goes without saying that I didn't get any photos from the Chinese banquet, which was quite impressive! I think there were about 10 courses, mostly seafood, and all very fancy and spectacular. We enjoyed our tablemates, who were mostly Will's groomsmen and their wives/girlfriends. And two of the couples had young children, so we definitely had things to talk about. It was fun!

The next morning (yesterday), we made the long drive back home, stopping in Orange County for a few hours to pick up the kiddos. They had a blast with Gus' parents and sister this weekend, but were ready to go home. And Maya woke up with a fever yesterday morning, and was a little cranky (today, too-- I'm keeping an eye on her). All in all, it was a jam-packed weekend of fun! But coming home is nice, too. :)

Non-Baby-Related News!

This is more relevant to my photography business, but today was a big day for me!! I recently filed my Fictitious Business Name paperwork with the county clerk's office. That was a big step, but really didn't mean much. I mean, I could choose to go into business or not, and it wouldn't really matter. But today, I took the plunge! I applied for my California seller's permit, got my city business license, and opened a business bank account. So... It's official! Sweet Briar Photography is open for business, and I am super excited. I was also pleased to learn that the business account was free, and that I qualified for a business credit card with no annual fee and a high line of credit-- and that having said card does not affect my personal credit whatsoever. I think this will be really useful for making future business-related purchases. Well, having the bank account in general will be really good for keeping detailed records of all these things.

At any rate... I have my first paying client next week, and a few more scheduled down the line. I am so excited! I feel nervous at the same time, as I am still trying to figure out exactly how taxes will work, but I am ready for the challenge. Wish me luck! :)

About My Girl...

I feel like, with potty-training and everything, so many posts lately have been about Nikos. And meanwhile, Maya has literally been changing from day to day! Not only does she have more words than just a week ago, but she is a walker! Yes, she's been toddling for a while now, taking a few steps here and there, but she quite suddenly starting walking all. the. time. While I was getting dinner ready this evening, I watched as she literally did laps around our kitchen island. She may still look like Frankenstein, but she is getting GOOD! She is so confident, and so fast! Look out, world, because here comes Maya!

That video was one I took at my parents' house yesterday, where we went so that we'd be out of the house for the cleaning lady this morning (and so I could do a photo shoot for a friend who lives near my parents). While we were there, we went to the park. Nikos made friends with a highly entertaining three-year-old girl who was the biggest drama queen I have ever met (hence the highly entertaining aspect of the whole thing). She was constantly telling Nikos what to do, and he, being his good-natured self, followed her instructions. haha! Meanwhile, Miss Maya showed us that she can hang with the big kids just fine, thank-you-very-much... She crawled through the tunnel...

Then she tried to climb the slide, but was thwarted by gravity. She had enough, so she took off (walking, of couse!)

And back at the ranch, she relaxed on the chaise lounge while her brother rode in the swing. It's rough being one!

Road Test

My brother called me late last week to tell me that he was taking this week off from work, and that it would be a good time for a visit, if I wanted to bring the kids up to swim and hang out. Well, I had already rearranged my life to do potty training Monday through Wednesday, and I had two photo sessions scheduled for Thursday. So a quick trip was scheduled for Friday-Saturday for the kiddos to go and see their Uncle Grant and Aunt Melissa!

Before I explain what happened, I just want to point out that it is a solid three-hour drive from our house to his house. And the last hour is spent mostly in bumper-to-bumper Los Angeles traffic. Which is why I consider it pretty amazing that Nikos wore underwear and had no accidents the entire way-- both ways!! I didn't pull over once. I had originally planned to stop every hour, but decided to just follow his lead and see what happened. And... he held it! He used the potty pretty much right away when we got out of the car, but had no problems holding it until then.

The rest of the visit was more of the same... He told me (or Grant, or Melissa!) when he needed to use the potty, and he made it in time. No accidents! A highlight was when he was swimming in the pool with Grant, and he suddenly announced that he needed to get out and use the potty. I had just brought his little potty out into the back yard, so he ran over, we got his trunks off, and he peed. And then he went back to swimming, like it was no big deal! And the only thing I had told him beforehand was that going potty in pool was super yucky. That's all it took, apparently, because he got out to pee! HOORAY!!!

Anyway, that was a huge, HUGE success. He's still wearing the pull-up at night, for now, but I think it's safe to say that he is pretty much potty-trained! How awesome is that???

And, just for fun, a few pictures from yesterday. It was a short visit, but the kids had a blast!

Pretending to sleep on the raft (Nikos kept giggling, but he DID close his eyes!)

Shooting hoops in the spa (no heat):

Maya went swimming, too, but I was the one holding her at the time... so this is the only picture I got! :(

He Did It!!!

Nikos didn't have any accidents today at daycare!!! I was nervous when I went to pick him up, wondering how things went, but they went great! He wouldn't tell Bonnie when he had to go, so she just had him sit on the potty every hour. And he stayed dry!

Well, until he got home, where he promptly pooped in his pants. He did tell me, but it was just a tiny bit too late. Still, that was easy to clean up. But did I mention that he stayed dry at daycare???? :)

As for tomorrow's 2.5-hour drive to visit my brother, this is my new game plan: bring the little potty in the car, and make a pit stop every hour. I plan to have him wear underwear, but will put a towel or something underneath him in case of an accident.

Wish me luck!

Day Three- Potty Training DONE!

Well, that's a HUGE overstatement, but I have completed the three day plan, and he is doing REALLY well! Aside from one small accident first thing this morning, our big boy kept his underwear clean all day long, and both peed and pooped in the potty on multiple occasions! Better yet, every single one of these occasions was initiated by him! He'd run to the potty, saying, "I gotta go to the potty," and then he would do his business! Really, I don't think I could possibly be more proud of him. He never ceases to amaze me, that kid!

Today I was much more laid back about things, too. I removed the plastic paint tarps that I had laid down in the living room and his bedroom, brought his soft chair back out for him, and didn't remind him nearly as frequently as before about telling me when he had to go. Honestly, I think that part annoyed him. He knows when he needs to go, and is perfectly capable of telling me, thank-you-very-much! I even left him in his undies for naptime, and he woke up dry (for the third day in a row).

As far as what the future holds, I guess we will just wait and see! He is still wearing a pull-up at night, and doesn't wake up dry. He still needs help getting his underwear off and on, so this will be interesting when you add pants to the mix (he hasn't worn them for the past three days). And he goes to daycare tomorrow. I'm thinking I will send him in a pull-up, along with a bag of extra pull-ups, underwear, and pants, and hope that he tells Bonnie when he has to go. Plus, we have a long car ride on Friday to visit my brother and Melissa. I'm not sure what to do there-- does he wear underwear or a pull-up? I can bring his little potty in the car, but will that work? So many questions, so few answers... And so we begin our journey into the Land of the Semi-Potty-Trained Toddler, haha!!

Day Two Potty-Training Wrap Up!

So today started with an accident... followed by a very promising pee-in-the-potty, followed by three more accidents. One of those was a not-so-nice poop accident-- ewww! After that, I was beginning to feel a little discouraged. I mean, he did really well at pooping in the potty yesterday, so it seemed like a step backward! Still, I focused on the positive. I gave him tons of praise for peeing in the potty. And then he said we should bake a cake! Really, he said he wanted to make one! I couldn't resist. So we made a mini chocolate cake (one-fourth of the regular recipe). As always, he enjoyed dummping in the ingredients, mixing them all together, and providing me with regular updates as he stared at it through the oven window while it baked. Funny guy! Here is my little baker in action!

From that point on, there were no more accidents! He went again in the potty (#1), and that was that! He even wore underwear for his nap! I was so proud of my big boy! He never did poop in the potty today, but that's okay. I think his accident was a fluke. For the most part, he is really good about saying that he needs the potty, and making a run for it. And then, of course, he hangs out in there with his reading material...

Funny guy! At any rate, tomorrow is day 3, so we'll see how he does. But I have been really impressed so far-- I expect great things!

Day Two

It's still early, but I wanted to share a huge success from this morning!!

Well, today started off with a pee accident, which greatly upset our little big-boy-in-training. But he rebounded quickly. About twenty minutes later, he said, "I need to sit on the sea turtle!" So we ran to the potty, where he sat and passed gas for a few minutes, haha! (yes, I think it's funny... especially because he laughs like crazy and totally enjoys it!) It wasn't exactly a productive visit, per se, but he once again showed me that he was aware of his bodily functions, so we celebrated.

But the BEST part was about 20 minutes after that. He was standing in the entry hall, playing with his cars, when he suddenly froze, looked at me, and said, "Let's go to the sea turtle!" I rushed him there, yanked down his underwear, stuck him on the potty, and he PEED! Like, a LOT! He was so ridiculously proud of himself, and I was proud, too. :) He told me that Thomas, James, and Percy (the trains on his undies) were happy, because they didn't get wet. And then he pointed out that his pee was yellow. And then he informed me that it was having fun "playing in the pool" (his words/idea completely!). And once he flushed the toilet and it began to swirl away, he shouted, "Wheeee! See you later, pee-pee! Have fun in the pool!"

Oh my gosh. He is just too funny. And he is doing really, really well, I think! I had no idea he would be so successful so quickly-- I am thinking he really was ready for this! :)

He Did It!

He pooped on the potty!! All things considered, I think that day one has been a great success. He had four pee accidents, but each one was smaller than the last and, by the end, he was starting to run for the toilet before he finished going. And when he had to poop, he ran for the potty and did, in fact, poop! Never before has a poop been so celebrated, haha! But he found the whole thing very funny, and seemed pretty proud of his accomplishment (just like we were!). I'm interested to see how things go on day two. So far, so good!!

Potty Training: Day 1

Sooo... I mentioned that we were starting potty training, and today is the day! I figured we would give it a shot, since he's approaching age 3 and I am home for the summer. But truthfully, I was not super optimistic. Nikos is incredibly stubborn and strong-willed. If he adamantly opposes something (and there are many of these "somethings") he will not do it. Period. At the same time, he is very bright, and he definitely has the vocabulary needed to understand/communicate throughout the process.

With his personality in mind, I decided a Cold Turkey approach would be best. As weird as it sounds, he kind of has this need to do things in an "all or nothing"-sort of way. It's the same way he was with sleeping, too. We did sleep training, which was very rigid (fixed intervals, etc.), and BAM! He became an amazing sleeper. He likes rules and limits and rigidity, though he will often tell you otherwise. And so I read up on the Three-Day Potty Training plan, and it sounded perfect!

We started the morning in our usual way, eating breakfast. We had talked about potty training, so he knew it was a Big Deal and that today was the day! I actually offered to make him a special breakfast of blueberry pancakes to celebrate, but he said he wanted his usual instead (okay... less work for me!). After breakfast, we took off his diaper and put him in Big Boy underwear. This particular pair had Cookie Monster on them. And I told him the phrase that I would be repeating all day long, every few minutes: "Remember, tell Mommy when you need to go potty!" The system calls for me to repeat this frequently and never leave his side for the duration of the training (except sleep times).

About an hour later, when I went into the kitchen for two minutes to get a drink, he had his first accident. Of course, right when I had left his side!! He peed on himself while standing in the entry hall, and immediately began to cry. Partly because he slipped in it (ew!), but mostly because he did NOT like the sensation and the mess. We cleaned him up, and got him into some new underwear (these ones had monkey pirates on them). I reminded him again to tell me, and we moved on...

Later, he was playing with his cars when he suddenly had that oh-so-familiar pooping face! I told him to tell me if he needed to go potty... and he ran into the bathroom! I ran after him, of course. He said he needed to sit on the sea turtle (this), and he did! Gus was there, too. Nikos proceeded to push and pass gas like crazy (causing LOTS of laughter!), but no poop. Still, I was pretty impressed! He told me he didn't want to get the monkey pirates dirty and make them sad. I filed that one away... Note to self: Mention that the characters on his underwear don't like getting dirty!

Not too long after that, he made the monkey pirates sad with another pee accident-- in the exact same location (entry hall!). Gus airlifted him to the little potty (which I have been dragging around the house with us), and he may or may not have gotten a drop in there. Meanwhile, I cleaned up the floor.

Anyway, it's naptime now, and I put him in a pull-up with the little potty in his room. I don't think we are ready to go without diapers during naptime, so I will worry about that later. But for now, things are going alright! Here's hoping this method proves as effective as I think it will!

On a side note, though, he looks so ridiculously cute in his Big Boy underwear. I love it!! I would post pictures, but there are perverts on the internet. So I will just have to keep them as blackmail material for when he's older. :)

Happy 4th (er, 5th) of July!

We had a fun day yesterday! We started by heading to a local park for their 4th of July festivities, which included (but weren't limited to): steam train rides, temporary tattoos and crafts for kids, a quilt show, model train displays, pictures with Uncle Sam, a live band playing, a blacksmith, and people dressed in period clothing reenacting gunfights and firing old cannons. So many fun possibilities! Sadly, the big train scared Nikos, and the firing of the cannon sealed the deal. Maya wasn't bothered by any of it, but Nikos was DONE after the cannon. He really is a pretty sensitive little guy, and he does NOT like loud noises (I think this was also the problem with the train, which he wanted to ride until it blew its whistle). The band playing just made it even worse, too. So our stay was rather short... Here are two pictures I managed to snap-- just look at Nikos' face in the second one! That was when we were watching the cannon...


Then we came home, did naptime, and played in the yard for a bit... So I got my BIG camera out and took some pictures!


After dinner, my parents brought Maya to their house, since we are doing potty-training for the next three days. I wanted to be able to focus all my attention on that, but I'll post about that, later! Still, since it was just us and Nikos, we thought we'd take a big chance and go to see the fireworks. Knowing that he hates loud noises, we were fully prepared to go home. But he was really excited to stay up late, and super excited to go to a FOOTBALL FIELD! So thrilling! :) He freaked out about one minute before the show, though, when Gus mentioned that they would be turning out the lights. He did NOT want it to be dark, and insisted that we go back to the car right away. But he climbed into Gus' lap, and Gus covered his ears, and the kid FELL ASLEEP! He slept through the entire show, which I never would have anticipated in a million years! I mean, we were right where they were launching the fireworks. Car alarms were going off like crazy. And he just snoozed the entire time!


He woke up when it was time to leave, and was quite chatty (he told us his favorite fireworks were the green ones, which made us giggle!). It took us an hour to get home (normally a 5-minute drive, but traffic was nuts!), and he was awake the entire time. He ended up going to bed close to 11pm! And he woke up at 7:15, which means he is currently snuggled up next to me on the couch, acting very drowsy. All in all, I will call it a successful 4th of July! Maybe next year, he'll stay awake! :)

Fine Dining Companions

Yes, this is my second post of the day, but I just wanted to share these two pictures. We went out to dinner tonight (to celebrate Gus' birthday yet again), and they had so much fun. They really are wonderful little restaurant companions! Nikos LOVES eating out, and is usually on his very best behavior-- he even picked up the food Maya dropped on the floor tonight, haha! And Maya loves the people-watching aspect of it all. Every time we eat out, I turn to find her grinning and waving to complete strangers who, in turn, are grinning and waving back to her. She is such a little flirt! Anyway, part of me wonders if they are somehow hard-wired to be great restaurant-patrons, seeing as they come from a restaurant family (on Daddy's side). At any rate, here are my little cuties, waiting for dinner to be served. (please note that the picture of Nikos smiling was a complete fluke, since he almost always covers his face and demands that I do NOT take his picture. I was too fast this time, mwahaha!!)


And on a very-loosely-related note: Maya is getting her third tooth!!!! That's right, number three. She has been getting by with only two chompers for a loooong time now, so this is Big News! She might be able to chew some more solid food in the not-so-distant future! :)

Videos!

As it turns out, my new little camera takes some pretty nice video! Bonus!! Anyway, here are a few from today...

First, Maya just being silly. She really is like this all. the. time. So happy!


And proof that she is coming along nicely with her walking! She can officially get to a standing position all by herself, without holding on to furniture, people, etc. And from there, she takes off! (and yes, I had fun playing with music, hehe! Trying to drown out "Barney" in the background!)


Finally, a video of both kids. We went out to dinner tonight, and this was on the ride back. I just think they are so cute together! Maya was really sleepy here, though...

Old Friends and a New Camera!

We had the pleasure of hanging out with Bryce and Aditi today, who used to live in SD but then moved to Texas for his grad school. And clearly, hanging out with all their nieces and nephews has helped them develop quite the comfort level around babies and toddlers-- Nikos had a BLAST! He was in full "show-off" mode, wanting to show them EVERYTHING in his room. It was a one-breath, nonstop narration of everything he did and saw-- so funny! Anyway, we went to the park for a picnic, and I snapped a few pics with my new camera. Yup, a new camera! But in case it wasn't obvious, this camera is of the smaller, point-and-shoot variety. I LOVE my big camera (LOVELOVELOVE it!), but it is really bulky and inconvenient to carry along on, say, a trip to the park. And my old point-and-shoot is bulky and doesn't take nice pictures. I bought this new one using my credit card reward points, and so far, so good! I especially love how tiny it is. Yay for having options!

Anyway, here's Aditi helping Maya up the stairs...

And Mr. Nikos, modeling his "I'm-too-cool" shades

Maya led Bryce all the way up to the top of the structure, and was fully prepared to walk right down the curly slide... but was (fortunately) carried down on Bryce's lap instead

And... the King of the Sandbox!

All in all... a great day! I hope we get to hang out again before they head back home!

Busy Day!

I started my day at 5:45, hopping out of bed, getting dressed, shoveling food down my throat, and hitting the road before 6:30. Drove to the mall (and trolley station), parked, bought a trolley ticket, rode said trolley to the end of the line, boarded another trolley, made it downtown, and then hoofed it over to the courthouse for jury duty. Watched the very-dated introductory video, and then listened to the retired judge give the same incredibly long-winded speech about the importance of jury service that he has given every single time I have served. Waited for the jury services office to open. Walked over, told them I only had childcare available on Thursdays but was otherwise a stay-at-home mom over the summer. (Yes, I could have done this by mail, but I forgot until it was too late-- oops!) Got excused. Walked back to trolley station, boarded trolley, and rode it to the end of the line. Boarded second trolley, made it back to the mall, and was in my car by 9am. Whew!!

And what did I do with the rest of my day? Well... I went to the county clerk's office, which I learned was closed to the public because of budget issues. Doh! So I went home to change my clothes, but stopped and got Gus a birthday cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes (YUM!!!) along the way. I got on the computer, located a different branch of the county clerk's office, and drove there. I filed a Fictitious Business Name statement for my photography business (yay!!) and, while waiting, realized I should also pick up a copy of Maya's birth certificate. I mean, it's only been 14 months since she was born... But I got both things taken care of after waiting for nearly an hour, and it felt great! Then, I stopped and got Gus a birthday balloon, and made a quick stop at the market for lasagna ingredients. I got home, made an awesome lasagna, and put it in the fridge for later. I wrapped presents, cleaned the house, picked up the kids, shoveled snacks into the them, cooked the lasagna, and waited for Gus to get home.

Did I mention that today was Gus' 30th birthday?? Well, it was. And Nikos was SO excited about it, it was hilarious! He directed Gus to open his cards, blow out candles, open presents, etc. He was so wound up that he had trouble going to bed tonight. Funny kid!

Anyway, it was a busy, but crazy-productive day. And I really hope that Gus had a good birthday, because he really deserves it!!

Home Sweet Home!

Back to reality! We actually made it to my parents' house at around 3:30 yesterday afternoon, and then stayed for dinner (and bathtime for the kiddos). But we're home now, and it feels good! I definitely enjoyed almost every minute of our trip, but getting snuggles from our babies is pretty awesome, too. :)

The crazy thing is that every time we leave, they seem to change so drastically! I guess it's just proof that they really DO grow and change by the day, but we are normally too close to see it. But the changes in Maya were especially noticeable this time around. When we got there, she was SO much more talkative (in her own Maya way, which means we still don't understand a lot of it) and she was walking all over the place! She has gotten to the point where she can take a few steps, start to lose her balance, and correct herself without falling over. Which then translates to being able to walk longer distances and with less help. It really is something to watch! She walks like Frankenstein, but is very deliberate and exceptionally cute. And she is so proud of herself, she looks like she could burst! So adorable!

In terms of language, though, we have determined that she can say the following words: mama, daddy, hi, buh-buh (chicken noise), gaff (giraffe), ta-oo (thank you), dat? (what's that?), yeah-yeah-yeah!, and some others that are escaping me at the moment. But she's really starting to talk more! And, perhaps not-so-coincidentally, is using her pacifier less and less. I think she has things to tell us! And I am not complaining! :)

Her receptive language far surpasses her expressive language, though. I swear that she understands EVERYTHING. When I tell her not to do something, she stops (most of the time). If I ask her if she wants something, she will either say "yeah-yeah-yeah!" or shake her head vehemently to signal "no way!" And she has mastered the art of pointing at what she wants and whining. That isn't super fun, but she is definitely communicating with us. And if this is any indication, her opinions on things are just as strong as her brother's. It should be interesting as she starts to talk more!

And then there is her new favorite game, Ring Around the Rosie. She saw Nikos playing it with Grandpa, and had to get in on the action. It is hilarious to watch! The three of them (or the three of us, when it's just me and the kids) hold hands in a circle, sing the song, and then all fall down. Maya always falls down at the right time and cracks herself up in the process! And I really think she likes being included in a "big kid" games. It's really sweet to watch. :)

Anyhow... we spent our first day back at home making some heavenly strawberry ice cream and running errands. I've officially gathered all my gear to start potty-training next week-- wish me luck! Nikos is just as strong-willed as his mother, so this should be interesting!!

And... one picture of my girl from today, just for good measure. She kept walking around and snuggling with her puppy-- so cute!!