2/26/2012 - Fresh Air will do us good

After being quarantined indoors since Thursday, I needed to get myself and the boys outdoors for some fresh air. While Jesse went on his 10 mile run this morning, I bundled the boys us, and threw them in the stroller for a walk down to get coffee and pastries followed by a little jaunt to Dimond Park. I think that the fresh air did us all some good. Only so long you can keep yourself cooped up indoors before you go stir crazy.

2/25/2012 - Indoor Fun

With everyone being a little bit sick, we have stayed indoors for the past couple of days. We have managed to find many things that keep us amused while staying in the house. Liam can now Dukes of Hazzard Style get himself into his Radio Flyer Wagon on his own. Our wild man is quite proud of himself for his latest accomplishment. He's going to be a risk taker. I just know it.

2/24/2012 - Appa Juice

I am ashamed to admit that one of Liam's first words is Apple Juice. One day, he stole away Finn's sippy cup of Apple Juice and now is totally is love with it. He actually will say AppaJuice to us. He will even pull the container of juice off of the pantry in an effort to get to the forbidden juice. I love him little determination.

2/23/2012 - Repeat Customer

Back at the doctor's today the day after his shots, they didn't even charge me the copay. Yikes. Plus, we were greeted by name. That's what frequent visitors we are to Dr. Bean. The nurse practitioners determined that they couldn't determine what the exact cause of the rash was and told me to give Liam Benadryl. It's a relief that it's not Chicken Pox or Measles. Just hope that the rash goes away soon. Poor kid. He really is such a good sport.

2/22/2012 - Rash Reaction

Poor Liam had a bad reaction to his one year shots. He is covered with a red itchy rash all over his trunk and back. He's still a good little sport about it. Hoping it is not Measles or Chicken Pox. Back to the doctor's office tomorrow!

2/21/2012 - Cars Addiction

I am admitting today that I think that I am as obsessed with Pixar Cars as Finn is. In fact, it's has become an obsession to complete our Cars 2 Collection with every possible character car that is made. Our latest acquisition is Carlo Maserati. I was so excited about it, maybe even more so than Finny. Major addiction.

2/20/2012 - Girl Scout Cookies

From Drop Box

My coworker's daughter was selling Girl Scout Cookies in the office. oh lord, I can't resist. So I bought 3 different kinds. Jesse loves him some Thin Mints. Finny loves the Tagalongs. I can't get enough of the Samoas. Sometimes we have to hide the cookies even from the kids. Does that make us bad parents?

2/19/2012 - Childhood Buddies

From Drop Box

I reconnected with my best friend from Kindergarten recently. She had moved to Austin but was back in town for a family wedding. We met up for brunch this morning and were joined by her mother, her sister and her family. It was a sweet treat to meet up with them and reminisce over fun times. It was such a treat and I hope to stay connected with her.

2/18/2012 - Three's Company

I took the little guys on a little trip down to the park this afternoon. Finn and Dylan have not had a playdate in awhile and I invited him along. All 3 boys played together so well. I could tell that Finn and Dyl really missed each other because of their excited enthusiasm just to be together. The piled all three boys in our double stroller and even pushed them all up the hill. That mini journey up that hill is going to make my quads sore for awhile.

2/17/2012 - Sick Day

I stayed home with a sick little Liam today. I was supposed to attend a fun work outing, but parenting duties were more important today. I have to admit I was pretty bummed and had a mini breakdown with Jesse tonight. We both came the conclusion that we need to plan more outings that don't necessarily involve the kids, because these outings are too few and far between. I had spent weeks planning this event and Jesse and were supposed to go to a really fancy dinner out with 14 of my coworkers and their spouses. And we couldn't make it happen because of sick kids and bad timing. It was a major letdown to miss this. We figured out that we need more of these little outings so when they fall through, they don't turn into a crazy letdown.

2/16/2012 - Mini Cooper love

I have been on the search for a Mini Cooper Hot Wheels for Finn. The last one we bought him fell apart and he loved that little car. I discovered this little treasure in the Lucky's across the street from my office on a office errand. Such a fun little find. Finn does love his Mini Cooper.

2/15/2012 - Lovebug

From Drop Box

Finn's teachers have nothing but great feedback about Finn lately. Miss Mariam told me today that he really seems to be opening up with them. Our once shy boy who hardly talked to anyone is now the vocal boy to goes up to the teachers to tell them things. Miss Natalie told me that he shows her the cute designs on his undies daily. Miss Lisa says that in her many years of teaching toddlers, he is one of the sweetest boys she has ever met. Even Miss Janeen, who seems like a hard egg to crack, just loves Finn and tells me what a sweetheart he is. Miss Gina has been calling Finn her little boyfriend for months. I think that he is a hit at school! Nothing makes a mama prouder than great feedback about her kids.

2/14/2012 - Valentines

Here is a silly early morning pic of two of my Valentines right before we headed off to Baachan and Jiichan's house. I managed to get a smiley Liam and a goofy kissy faced Finn. It did take multiple tries. I love them and their father so much and am thankful that I have three boys that love me as much as I love them.

2/13/2012 - Wrestlemania

From Drop Box

So the boys are definitely playing with each other a bit more, but sometimes the games they play seem rather dangerous. I mean, coming from a house a 3 girls, you did not often find us wrestling around. It just wasn't our thing. So I am learning news things about parenting boys every day. Play wrestling seems to be part of the game. It's a silly and dangerous game, but its the game nonetheless.

2/12/2012 - Jumpy House Playdate

I befriended a nice couple whose son attends Chatham School with the boys. Their little boy is just 2 months younger than Finn and their daughter is one month older than Liam. We arranged a playdate with the kids today. Finn had a blast playing with cars and trains and running around wildly at their house. They topped off the best playdate ever with a small bouncy house in the backyard. I wasn't sure I would be able to get Finn to ever leave their house. So much fun. I love seeing the kids bonding and interacting with new friends. I love expanding my community as well.

2/11/2012 - License to Drive

We attended the 1st birthday of one of Liam's friends from school. They hosted the party a cool little community center on the border of San Leandro and Oakland. The center had an amazing little blocked off play area, a large green lawn area and many little cars for the little ones to ride in. Liam had his first little driving experience today and tried to do it standing up. I swear this little boy is going to be stunt man someday. He just gravitates towards danger. Thank goodness Finny is such a cautious little man and requires a little less supervision. I can't imagine having two little danger seekers.

2/10/2012 - Zingo

From Drop Box

We broke out a new game for Finny tonight called Zingo. It's a version of bingo that helps preschool kids count and add numbers. He is actually a pretty darn good counter for being so young. Maybe we have a mathmeticiain on our hands?

2/9/2012 - Block time

From Drop Box

Our busy boy and his hiragana blocks. Too cute.

2/8/2012 - Cheeky boy

Liam is such a happy chubby baby that most people assume that he was a purely breastfed baby. Sometimes I feel rather guilty when people ask me if Liam is a breastfed baby, because the answer is both yes and no. Yes, I still breastfeed him pretty much every night and some mornings. But no, because for the last 2 months of his first year, we also solely fed him formula throughout the day. Why must there be so much guilt in this job called parenting?? Why?? Why can't I just let it go?

2/7/2012 - Guest photographer

I was too tired to take a picture tonight, so I asked if Finn would be my guest photographer and take pictures. The first couple shots were rather blurry because of him eagerly and slightly aggressively pressing the camera button on the iphone, but after some instruction, I think that he got the hang of it. Here's Finn's view of his papa and mama.

2/6/2012 - Buddha Belly

With his Buddhism inspired middle name of Kensho, it seems so appropriate that he has a beautiful round Buddha belly. Our little foodie just loves food. He makes these little sounds when he eats like he is eating the best thing that he has ever tasted. Love it!

2/5/2012 - Snugglebug

I spent the first 5 months or so of Liam's life with him sleeping in my arms on the couch every single night. We eventually transitioned him and myself out of that habit. But this afternoon, while most of America watched the Super Bowl, I sat crosslegged on the floor with a slumbering baby nestled in my legs. It felt so cozy and wonderful. Every so often, he would open his sleep eyes and look at me ... then fall back asleep. That back cramp was so worth it, just to have the mellow time to snuggle with him.

2/4/2012 - Lunch date at Vik's

Finn is definitely feeling better today. He still has a runny nose and was running a mild grade fever, but his happy energy was back. So today, we took a little outing to Vik's Chaat house. Finn was making funny expressions at me from across the table and I caught this one on my iphone camera. He looks upset, but really is just giving me his focused face. Finny wanted to take a picture of me, so this is his view from his side of the table.

2/3/2012 - No curse February

At work this month, two of my coworkers and I are trying ot limit our swearing. Working in a sales environment, we tend to have potty mouths. So, to track this, I created our no swear trackers with no curse stickers to go with it. Each time one of swears, we have to put a sticker on our no swear tracker. So far, I am doing the best with only one curse word. I think it helps to be around my kiddos, because I have found other non curse words to use in challenging situations. Hope I keep up the good work!

2/2/2012 - Sad silliness

From Drop Box

Our Finny is a sick sick boy today. He has had a fever all day long. We were able to set up a doctor's appt for tomorrow, to check him out. I suspect that he might have an ear infection like his brother. Nothing worse than having sick kids and feeling helpless about it. All you want to do is to make them feel better. We snuggled and made funny faces at the iphone camera to try to perk up his spirits. I think that sometimes faking happiness can make you feel a little bit happier.

2/1/2012 - Doctor Checkup

Brought Liam in for his 1 year checkup today to find out that he actually has croup and an ear infection. Little man is now on Amoxicillin for the next 10 days. I had no idea he was dealing with an ear infection because he was his usual wily little self exploring the doctor's office, playing with dangerous stool that specifically state for kids not to play with them. He's a stunt man, a risk taker or as the physician's assistant said "He crazy, girl!"

1/31/2012 - Sippy Fail

We are trying out the sippy cup on our little Liam, with no success so far. He likes to fake like he is drinking from it and then toss it on the ground. Just going to keep at it and hope that he figures it out soon. Gotta get rid of the bottles soon.

1/30/2012 - Work perks vs. 2.0

We invited my boss and his family to Liam's party, but his son was sick so they were not able to make it. He still generously bought Liam the coolest set of green instruments. Both the kids enjoyed banging and jingling around the house this evening. I feel so lucky to have such a cool work situation with such an amazing boss. I'm glad to share the rewards of this with my family.

1/29/2012 - Liam's 1st Birthday Party

From Drop Box

What an amazing birthday party! It was definitely enjoyed by our two boys and hopefully our guests as well. The kids frolicked around habitot playing trains and with the water table. Liam ate his very own Strawberry Sprinkle Cupcake from my new go to Cupcakery! So fun!