Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Sick, Sick, Sick...

Yup, I am STILL sick. This is getting ridiculous! First I had that horrific stomach bug which lasted for a day. Then I was fine for a day or two, then BAM! I got slammed with this cold/flu/whatever this is. And after nine days with no real improvement, I am finally going to the doctor tomorrow. I am sick of being sick! Enough already!

Adding to my exhaustion, though, is the fact that my sweet baby girl seems to be going through a "Mommy" phase. As in, she wants me (and only me) to hold her and carry her around, 24/7. While it is very sweet, and I do enjoy the great cuddle time I am getting, it is also really frustrating when I have to, say, use the bathroom, or cook dinner, or just have a moment to myself! Sigh. It really wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't already so run down. And for all I know, she is sensing my sickness and wanting to cuddle with me BECAUSE of that. So I am not complaining, because I love my baby girl more than life itself! But with that being said, I am very, very tired!!

It is amazing, though, to listen to her communicate lately. I still only understand about a third of what she says, but some words are SO clear-- including words that strike me as kind of funny, such as "tissue," "napkin," and "Minnie Mouse." She also says "mess" a lot, either referring to her hands (as she requests a napkin) or when she wants to see the framed photo of her diving into her birthday cake. She is so funny about messes, too, and always likes to clean up. She will wipe her own hands/face after a meal, bring dirty dishes to the sink, and will put toys away without being asked twice. She loves brushing her teeth and washing her hands. She clearly believes in the philosophy of "a place for everything, and everything in its place." She will even go and get the push sweeper if the floor is dirty. If only she did windows... :)

Anyway, she is a really cool kid. Both my kids are just awesome, and so different from one another, and yet they get along so well (*knock on wood!*). I am thinking we are pretty lucky! Except for the being sick part. But hopefully the doctor can fix that.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Better late than never, right? Our Thanksgiving was great, minus the fact that I am STILL sick. Honestly, this has just been the worst. I timed it just right so that I'd be sick during my entire week off. Ugh!

Anyway, we spent this Thanksgiving with Gus' family up in Orange County. There were eight of us in all: us four, Gus' parents, his sister, and her fiance, Bill. It was very nice, though I wish I had been able to actually taste the food! I am pretty sure it was good, though. :)

At any rate, here are just a few pictures from dinnertime, taken with my little camera. I didn't feel like bringing the big one, so oh well! The first one if of Nikos clinking glasses with Bill ("Cheers!"). He had on a cute sweater earlier in the day, but insisted on taking it off... sigh!


Yesterday, after we got home, we set up the Christmas tree and got all the decorations set up. All we have left to do is get the outside lights up, and we'll be done! Let the Christmas season begin! :)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Friends

It's moments like these where I realize just how cool it is to have kids so close together in age! Maya simply idolizes her big brother, and wants to play with him all the time... and he is almost always eager for a playmate! This afternoon, he convinced Maya to play "baby tiger" with him. They crawled around the house like this for nearly an hour, pretending to eat things and getting into various predicaments (created by Nikos, of course). At one point, I asked Maya if she was a tiger, and she just grinned at me and growled. I managed to get just a short bit of their tiger-playing on video:

I just think it's so cool that she's old enough to get sucked in to his pretend play, and really enjoy it! His imagination is in overdrive these days, and I also appreciate that there is someone (besides me!) to join him in all his adventures throughout the day. I get tired, you know! Anyway, I am also so lucky that they get along as well as they do (despite the occasional disagreement about which-toy-belongs-to-whom). They are some pretty great kids, that's for sure!

New 'Do

As you know by now, Nikos hates getting his hair cut. And that's putting it mildly! He throws a complete tantrum every single time, and it is pure torture for all involved.

With that in mind, and with his hair getting shaggier by the day, I made a decision yesterday: we were going to buzz it ourselves! I called Gus at work so he would have time to mentally prepare. After dinner, we all went into the bathroom, and first we cut Gus' hair (he needed a trim, anyway). Nikos thought that was great fun. But then it was his turn, and he was NOT a happy camper! Gus held him in the (dry) bathtub while I buzzed his head as quickly and thoroughly as I could. And honestly, I think it looks pretty cute! He recovered quickly, and now we won't have to worry about getting another haircut for a while. I still love his longer hair, but am not worried-- his hair seems to grow faster than everyone else's, so it will be back before we know it!

Without further ado-- our guy and his new buzz cut "just like Daddy's"!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Two Short Stories

1. After finishing up his lunch today, Nikos asked for a piece of Halloween candy. Fine, not a problem. We only have a few pieces left, and what he chose from the bowl was a bag of peanut M&M's. He took one bite, and said, "OHHH NOOOO! There's NUTS in here! YUCK! Nuts are for SQUIRRELS!" haha!!

2. Then, this afternoon, we were all in the car together. Nikos decided to ask everyone what their favorite instruments were. I said the piano, which was an acceptable answer. Gus answered "xylophone," though, to which Nikos replied, "No, no, no, Daddy... it's called a saxophone." :) He then proceeded to tell us that his favorite instrument was the guitar. I told him that his daddy plays the guitar, too. Nikos promptly suggested that they play together in a parade, and that they needed to get some marching band hats.

This kid just kills me!!!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Another Language Post

Having studied language acquisition as both an undergrad and then again while getting my teaching credential, it always amazes me how kids pick it up so quickly. However, I have been so focused on Maya's major breakthroughs recently that I haven't paid as much attention to my boy.

Really, though, his language is impressive. He is one of the most verbal kids at daycare, without question, and the little things he says are so funny. For example, he has started to say, "Oh my goodness gracious!" when he drops a toy (and sometimes seems to drop one on purpose, just to say it). It kills me! And that's just one example out of a million!

A big thing happened tonight, though. As we were finishing up our dinner, I had a coughing fit (see previous post). Without thinking, Nikos said, "Xristoulis!" Now, my Greek is very limited, but I knew that was something. So I asked Gus, who started to explain that "It's something you say when people..." Nikos jumped in to say "Cough," which was apparently correct! I know that he understands a lot of Greek, but it was really unusual for him to produce a Greek word on his own without any prompting/modeling. I was impressed!

And one more silly story from today... He didn't want to take his nap this afternoon, though he eventually succumbed to sleep. But for the first half-hour or so, he laid in his bed and yelled "MOOOOOOMMYYYYY! MOOOOOOMMYYYYY! MOOOOOOMMYYYYY!" over and over and over again. He wasn't really upset, just yelling for the sake of yelling, I think. Anyway, he took a little break, reevaluated his strategy, and then started calling out, "BRIIIIIIIAAAAAR! BRIIIIIIIAAAAAR! BRIIIIIIIAAAAAR!" haha! Needless to say, I didn't respond. But I did think it was a clever ploy, at least! :)

Sick Bay

Well, it's that time of year again: Cold and flu season! Blech!! We started off with a bang last week, when Gus and I were in Massachusetts. Both kids came down with some sort of short-lived stomach bug while we were gone, forcing my parents to clean up more than their fair share of toddler vomit (sorry, guys!). They seemed okay by the time we got home, though.

Tuesday afternoon, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Everything just felt wrong. My head was pounding, my heart was racing, I felt dizzy, I had chills, etc. Not good. I forced myself to eat dinner, thinking that maybe I just needed some food. Bad idea. Long story short, let's just say I won't be eating chili again anytime soon. I continued feeling queasy on Wednesday, but woke up feeling fantastic on Thursday. So at least it was quick!

Then, Thursday night, Gus joined the club. It was not a pretty sight. He stayed home from work yesterday, and luckily feels a lot better today, because... I am sick AGAIN!! This time it's a really bad cold of some sort. I can't stop coughing, my head hurts, and I'm dizzy and weak. blech.

The kids seem to be mostly okay, though they both have runny noses and Maya has a hacking cough just like mine. We are just Germ Central right now. In fact, all four of us are still in our jammies, and I have already taken an hour-long nap on the couch (it helps that it's a rainy day). Here's hoping we feel better and get our appetites back in time for Thanksgiving!

Oh, and I did take a few pics of my girl playing on the floor in her jammies earlier. Nikos didn't want his picture taken, as he was too busy snuggling with daddy on the couch. But here's my little sickie!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Manners

I just need to brag about my kids for a minute. And really, what better place to do it? :) But they have both impressed me so much lately, and I am really proud of them!

First, there is Maya, who is very rapidly mastering her "P's and Q's." Her language is just exploding lately, and it is such a treat to watch! For example, this morning. She finished her waffle, pointed to her tray, and said "Wan mo (want more)." If you pause ever so slightly before fulfilling her request, she will tack on a "Peez! (please)" to the end. And after she got more food, she said "tankoo (thank you)" without ANY prompting whatsoever. She is such a good kid!

Oh, and despite her love for digging through the drawers in the kitchen island, she almost always cleans everything up again. She even puts things roughly where they actually belong, which is a minor miracle. Love it!!

Then there is our boy. He has been great with saying please and thank you for a long time now, which is most likely why Maya picked up on it so quickly. But the other night, his manners impressed me in a different way. I went to give the kids their bath, and Nikos ran in and turned on the cold water (he wasn't supposed to do this). The bath was actually set to "shower," so water started raining down, and we both got a little wet. I turned it off really quickly and told Nikos not to do that. A minute later, he wrapped his arms around my neck and said, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I'm sorry I sprayed the water and got you wet." Totally unprompted, totally remorseful. He is the sweetest kid, I swear. And so smart, too. This is off-topic, but he will tell you all about how the Mayflower was a boat, and that the pilgrims sailed on it from England to Massachusetts. It's the cutest thing ever!!!

And since I am already straying from the subject of this post, I just wanted to share one more fun story. I was making dinner tonight, and both kids were playing nearby. Nikos was playing with some Play-Dough at the table, and Maya was going through kitchen drawers. Next thing I knew, she was walking by me with a mouth full of... something?? Instantly concerned, I grabbed her and took a look-- only to discover her mouth was full of CAT FOOD, which she was happily chowing down on. OH MY GOSH!!! Our cat's food dish is behind a baby gate, but I guess she has gotten tall enough to reach it. She was happy as can be to be eating it, too, and started wailing when I scooped it out. EW!!!! The good news, though, is that her urinary tract should be very healthy, and her coat nice and shiny...

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Exhaustion, thy name is Briar

Exhausted doesn't even really begin to cover it, but that's okay!

I had two days off this week, due to Veteran's Day and the Friday afterward (which the school district wisely gave to us). Gus and I decided a few weeks ago that I would take one extra day (Wednesday), and we would spend the long weekend in Massachusetts!

There are lots of good reasons why we decided to go there, of all places, but that's another post for another time. Still, we had so much fun! We explored the central/northern parts of the state, which were absolutely gorgeous! A lot of the leaves had just fallen, but there were small parts where autumn was still alive and well. And those parts were truly spectacular! We also spent a night out on Cape Cod, which (as it turns out) is really pretty dead this time of year. Still, we could see what fun it would be during the warmer months!

The highlight was our final day, which we spent in Boston and Cambridge with Gus' old friend, Ramzi. These two went to high school together, lived together as roommates in college, then Ramzi was a groomsman in our wedding... you get the drift! After undergrad, Ramzi swent to Harvard Law School. And now, he lives right down the street from Harvard! So, after a morning spent walking the Freedom Trail in downtown Boston (which was a fun adventure, since it can be tricky to follow at times!), we headed back and got the full tour of Cambridge and the Harvard campus. My feet STILL hurt, but it was really neat! I loved getting to actually go inside some of the buildings and see the actual classrooms. Amazing!

Anyway, we got back to San Diego at about 1am, slept for a bit, did a few quick errands, then headed up to my parents' house to get the kiddos. My parents had an adventure of their own, with two sick kiddos! Nikos was throwing up on Thursday, and Maya joined in not too long after. She bounced back right away, but our boy has been kind of blah all week. He was ready to come home, I think, despite having a blast with his grandparents. I think he is a lot like me. If I am sick, or tired, the ONLY place I want to be is home. He was doing well this afternoon, so here's hoping that tomorrow he feels better!

But without further ado, here are just a few of the pictures I took on our mini-vacation! And yes, the fourth picture is of Ramzi giving Paul Revere a high-five. I love it, haha!!




Sunday, November 7, 2010

An odd milestone...

Today, our sweet baby girl is 18 months and 6 days old!

What is the significance of this age, you wonder? Well, this is exactly how old Nikos was when she was born.

Looking at Maya now, she still seems SO little. Maybe it's because she will always be "the baby" in the family, but I cannot even imagine her as a big sister to another baby. Nor could I imagine being pregnant again! I guess we are just at a different place now!

Still, eighteen months and six days ago, our boy was this same size. And in a matter of minutes, he went from being a baby to a big boy, and from an only child to a big brother. I remember coming home from the hospital and noticing how big his hands and feet seemed, how active he was, and how thick his hair was. Of course, if I had another newborn, it would be easy to make these same comparisons with Maya! I actually did go through this just a few weeks ago, seeing her next to her baby cousin. She really IS a big girl!

Anyhow, just for kicks, here is the picture we took the night before Maya was born. Our last photo as a family of three!


And then Maya, with her cousin Colton a few weeks ago. Who's a big girl now (with her Farrah Fawcett hair)?

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Halloween!

Man, am I tired! And I am REALLY ready for Gus to come back home tomorrow!

Anyway, my parents drove down this afternoon to have dinner with us and help me out with the whole trick-or-treating thing. It was nice to have two more pairs of hands available, especially since one of those pairs made Maya's costume and knew how to tie the bow properly!

So we ate an early dinner, cleaned up, and got the kids into their costumes to head out right at dusk. Our first stop was Bonnie's house (our daycare lady), where her daughter Renee gave them oodles of candy and they basked in the attention. From that point on, Nikos seemed to put careful thought into which house to visit next... He didn't want to go anywhere with scary things in the yard or music playing. But at the houses we DID visit, he would shout out "Trick or treat!!" get candy, say thank you, and just generally act adorable. Maya followed behind him, mostly due to being sleepy and a wardrobe malfunction (her shoes kept slipping off). She was as cute as can be, but would shake her head "no" when offered candy. It was hilarious! She would try to put it back into the giver's bowl!

After four houses, Nikos announced that he was ready to go home. When I asked him if he wanted more candy, he pointed out that he already had candy in his bucket. So, we went home! He had a BLAST the rest of the night, distributing candy to the other kids that came by. He did NOT want to go to bed!

Anyway, I am beat (being a single mom for a week will do that to ya!), but here are a few pictures from this evening... They aren't the best, because I put my camera on "auto" mode for convenience. I generally shoot in "manual" mode these days, and have so much more control over what I get! But the lighting was bad, I needed my hands, and had very little time to take pics... So, it is what it is, right? I tried!