10/30/2012 - Keep away Liam

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I asked Finn to recreate his "Keep away from my delicate magnatile building" face. Liam, our little personal wrecking crane, finds anything that anyone builds and proceeds to knock it down. FOr the most part, Finny is really patient with Liam, but sometimes it makes him really upset when Liam ruins his creations. I am sure that Finny will ruin Liam's creations one day as payback. Oh .... the joys of brotherhood!

10/29/2012 - Allowance

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Finn has been asking for all sorts of toys lately, so we thought it would be a good idea to introduce chores and an allowance for him to have his own money. We started a list of ideas for weekly chores. So far, there has been a lot of reminding, but he has been really receptive to the idea of doing "jobs" for weekly payouts. Child labor is the best!

10/28/2012 - Distraction Tactic

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Tonight I used the ultimate weapon to get both boys fingernails and toenails cut. The Netflix App on the Iphone, I love you. Both kids have had an aversion to nail clippers since birth. Finn would shiver and cry each time we would ever touch his long and terrifying toenails. But I have discovered that certain distractions will allow me to get at give them their much needed finger and toe nail clipping. 4 little hands and 4 little feet all done in about 10 minutes. I swear it used to take an hour of negotiations with Finn previously. My hands were tied up during the mani pedis, but here are the sweet boys afterwards holding on to their iphone with such tenderness.

10/27/2012 - Big Boy Bike

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One of our friends threw a little adult kid party at their house. While the older kids ran around screaming, Liam quietly discovered the cool tricycle in the kitchen. He proceeded to mount it and was just an inch from reaching the pedals. He looks so much older already. I can already see my little Liam speeding through the streets on a big boy bike!

10/26/2012 - Friday Night Downtime

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After a weird and crazy week, we all needed some downtime. Some magazine perusing and pre-bed Thomas the Train was a treat for all.

10/25/2012 - Dental downer

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It seems that our little Finn's filling fell out. We had to take him to the dentist today to get it refilled. He was an absolute star. This picture looks kind of sad, but actually he was making an unhappy face because he didn't want to get his photo taken. He was a lovely brave and patient boy. I rewarded him with a cool Batman themed Hot Wheels car as a reward for his good behavior. No more Reese's pumpkins for awhile.

10/24/2012 - Pumpkins for my pumpkins

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Halloween is upon us next week and my work candy bowl is full of all sorts of tempting treats. I brought home a little Reese's Peanut Butter pumpkin for each kid. I don't know why but the cute shape seems to make it taste better.

10/23/2012 - Just because he is cute

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He's so cute. That is all.

10/22/2012 - Giant Day

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Today, in the mail at work, I received the most lovely gift. Months ago, I was in charge of buying a large set of Giants Bleachers seats for a group outing with my sales reps. Ever since then, my email has been bombarded with all sorts of deals on GIants tickets and promotions. Today, all of that spam paid off with the gift of a Brian Wilson gnome. It arrived on the last day of NL championships. Game 7 is a game that the Giants have NEVER won. I had faith though that tonight the Giants would clinch the NL title with a huge win tonight and the Brian Wilson was a great omen because OUR SF GIANTS are back in the World Series, TWO YEARS IN A ROW. Yeah! So exciting. Halloween will be another fun and exciting time, as we ask about the score of game 5 at each house. Today, also marked the first big rain of the season.

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Liam brought out Mama's Rainboots and proceeded to amuse us all as he robot-walked around the kitchen. Cute boy! Can't wait to get the kids both a set a rainboots to splash in puddles soon.

10/21/2012 - Fairyland Visit

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We took the kids to Children's Fairyland today. After months of Finn begging to visit Fairyland again, the Living Social gods answered and gave us a cheap deal for a family ticket there. Both kids were absolutely elated to visit. Finn rode on a merry-go-round parentless. Liam oohed and ahhed at all of the cool sights.

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Both kids loved the train. Finn went on one ride and Liam convinced each parent to take the train and got 2 rides out of the deal.

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Such an enjoyable day. Finn knew how much fun we would have.

10/20/2012 - Party in the Back

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Today was our neighbor's little girl's 2nd birthday party. Liam and little K are pretty good buddies. They are only about 4 months apart.

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It was Sesame Street themed. So her mom and aunt made her the most amazing cupcakes. They were both adorable and delicious.

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They received the Liam seal of approval. Mama approved as well. Splurging today to partake in some amazing grub.

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Finny and Dylan had a great time as well. Not pictured, but a total blast, was the massive Happy Birthday Jumpy Castle with industrial strength bubble blower. Fun times!!

10/19/2012 - Back Notes

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When I arrived at Chatham today to pick up Finn, his class was playing a game called Back Notes and it was Finn's turn. He was up at the front of the class with a little note taped onto his back with a word and a picture on it. He showed the class what he had on his back and then he chose classmates to give him clues as to what the picture and word was. It was such a cute and fun little game. We decided to play it at home with papa, Finn and I. This is what Finn drew and put on Papa's back. Here are the clues. 1) It has long hair. 2) it has a hairy chin. 3) It sometimes comes out a Halloween. Any guesses? It's the most awesome Werewolf Ever!!!

10/18/2012 - New Couch = New Play Area

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Before we made our big couch/loveseat purchase, I was a little sad for the kids to lose their big playspace. But, it looks like the couch is just another wonderful and new playspace for them to inhabit. Liam is enjoying climbing all over the large arm rests and back to peer out the window. The boys use the large armrests as roads for their cars, trucks and tractors. And already they have found the joy in bouncing on the large couch cushions. Yeah new couch and loveseat we all are happy.

10/17/2012 - Mental Health Day

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After a hard couple weeks at work, I took a mental health day off. I got to drop the kids off at school, which I rarely get to do. I got a lot organizing done. I got more than a garbage bag full of goodwill items to purge. I got a task that has been nagging me completed in publishing two photoalbums full of pics of the kids. Just need to get started on this year with their pictures. AND best of all, I bought myself some new kicks. The bright colors make me energized, at least that I what I am telling myself.

10/16/2012 - Tomica Time

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Everyone had fun playing with Finn's fun Tomica set tonight. Liam has figured out how to install the lightposts and trees to the scene. He also can rip off the doors from the gas station store and the garage. Finn thankfully was playing in the bathtub while Liam destroyed Finn's carefully constructed Tomica City.

10/15/2012 - School Pics Year 2

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My boys get more handsome every minute. I love how this picture captures them so perfectly. Finn's sweetness and Liam's irresistable gruffness. And with the pic of them together, they are so happy to be together, Liam smiled really big when he was with Finn, but the photographer said that Liam didn't want to be in a picture without his brother and refused to smile, Their personalities perfectly captured. Such lovely boys.

10/14/2012 - Loving the loveseat

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Our formerly one seated living room now has a couch. Such happiness. Now, we plan to take some time to lounge and decompress after chasing 2 wired children around 3 different furniture stores in search of our LOVEseat.

10/13/2012 - Cozy bozy

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We are in the market for a couch since we finally got rid of that eyesore of a desk. It has not been the easiest to only had one padded chair in the house. But one plus of it is the boys spend time snuggling while watching netflix on the laptop. I have a feeling it will be a little less cozy once we buy a couch.

10/12/2012 - Take my Finn to work day

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Finny was slightly under the weather today. His cough has been sounding croupy. Both Jesse and I had crazy days at work planned, so I proposed that I would bring Finn to work with me. He was such a sweet patient boy. He was thrilled to be able to watch hours of movies. He was rather shy with all of my coworkers, but I was proud of how patient he was spending almost 9 hours in the office with me. So lucky to have such a sweet kid. I have to say that his close proximity to the candy bowl was a huge bit of happiness for him.

10/11/2012 - Squirmy Worm

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Our busy boy Liam hardly will stop moving for anything. And though, being active can be a really good thing, sometimes we really need him to slow down. One such example is when we need to change his poopy diaper. Sometimes it is actually a 2 person job that Jesse and I both need to take part in. Looking forward to getting him potty trained sooner rather than later.

10/10/2012 - Flat Finn

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Today we received our packet with our Flat Finn. We are going to be switching Flat Kids with the other Chatham campus. Finn will get a Flat Friend and we will take him on adventures with our family. So cute and exciting.

10/9/2012 - Cousinly love

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Finn and Kai are as close as brothers. They fight like brothers. They tattle like brothers. They play together like brothers. It has been so fun for Finn to have another playmate in Kai. So cute!

10/8/2012 - Blank Space

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On his day off from work my saint of a husband decluttered and got rid of our desk and majority of the stuff on that desk. We can't wait to get a couch and actually to have seating area in our living room. Ah!! The possibilities!

10/7/2012 - Family Fun in Gilroy

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We took a detour on our return home and stopped by the outlets in Gilroy. We did a little bit of shopping and then headed out to Vietnamese Food for lunch. Baachan sat at the kids table with me and the 3 boys. It was hilariously messy and chaotic at our table. All Baachan could do was laugh at the madness of three busy messy little boys.

10/6/2012 - Fun in Monterey

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We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium today. THe kids had a blast seeing all the cool exhibits and spending time with the entire family. The Monterey Bay Aquarium really never gets old for me. Totally amazing and fascinating to see all the cool marine life.

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We ended the night with a good dinner and dessert. The kids were so excited about the photo cake of Jiichan. It was really delicious cake and worth the cheat. That cake was divine.

10/5/2012 - Cousin Fun

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Today was day one of Jiichan's birthday celebration weekend. We arrived late afternoon in Watsonville at the KOA campsite. THe boys were thrilled with our little cute accomodations,, but mostly just thrilled to be spending time with Kai. Those boys are as close as can be. It's really cute.

10/4/2012 - Walking in Liam's shoes

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Finny tried on Liam's hand me down crocs from Kai. Didn't quite fit him.

10/3/2012 - 2 stellar kids

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When I picked Liam up from daycare today, his teacher was doting on him calling him Ojitos Bonitos. What a perfect name for our little looker!!

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This post is dedicated to our amazing Finny who did a stellar job at the dentist today. He had 2 fillings today and according to papa was on his best behavior. He was patient and pretty calm for the most part. I feel so proud of him.

10/2/2012 - Cold Beverage

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So, Jesse and I have been really focusing on our eating habits and started food journaling about 2 weeks ago. It's an interesting process. Being that Jesse is taller and skinnier than me, he gets a lot higher daily caloric intake allowance, allowing him lots more food and lots more beer. I for the past couple of years, have not been much of a drinker, but lately since I am not really allowing myself any alcohol, am craving it like crazy. It's the weirdest thing. Every time I see him drink a beer with dinner in the evening, I get so stinking jealous. Oh well. Guess I will just imagine this nice tall glass of water is an ice cold beer.

10/1/2012 - Monkey on his back

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Papa tried to enjoy some downtime reading a magazine tonight, but the little monkey on his back was determined to keep his attention focused on Liam. One day we will have downtime again ....one day.

9/30/2012 - Spiderman Ice Cream

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We had a busy active day today. We took a hike over at Lake Chabot. Liam took a snooze in the stroller while we huffed it through the hills. After Skuuting for over a mile, our little Finny got tired and took a ride on papa's shoulders. After Finn had a brief nap, we went to Dimond Park where the kids got to enjoy Spiderman Popsicles. This is clean looking picture. Liam was a huge mess with blue and red stickiness all over his clothing and body. Quite messy, but kind of cute.