Anatomy of a Tantrum

Ahhhh..just when I thought Finn would be my "mellow" child...he has his first tantrum. Not quite as full blown as a 2 1/2 year olds ( she will remain name-less) ..but a tantrum none-the-less. It was actually quite comical at how dramatic he could get. The pics here are not from his first tantrum but of one he had a grammy and papa's house a few weeks ago when we were in Palm Springs visiting...*sigh*.

It starts with a cry of protest...



Then a look downward in complete frustration...



Then comes the dramatic "throwing of the body" onto the floor...


Then a smile of "possible" admittance of naughtiness?


Naw...just a slight hesitation and now a move away from mama in complete reproach..


Then finally, admitted defeat in a prostrate position...oh , the unjustice of it all!!




xoxoxo

Rainy days in June?

We are used to the SoCalifornia "june gloom".. we actually really like it...because once the valley heat hits...it stays for about 4 months or so...but rain in June? We VERY rarely get that...the kids got a kick out of watching it from the back door. That excitement lasted about ...oh....4 minutes , and then they asked to go outside to play.. I had to gently tell them that it was too wet outside to play...

Anyway... it was a hard concept to grasp. :-)

xoxoxo

Banana Bread Beater

Finn finally shared in one of Olivia's favorite pastimes... licking the beater after mommy whips somethin' up! I decided to make some banana bread last week and since I used "Egg Replacer" I figured it was safe for Finn to lick a beater...boy did he LOVE it!!! Then he tried to lick Olivia's beater....that did not go over very well...hahaha!

xoxoxo

More "Olivia-isms"

Here we go again..

Olivia: " Mom, we don't live outside.."

me: "You're right, we don't, we live inside, right? Can you think of something that lives outside?"

Olivia: "Yeah, cheetahs... and um..squirrels, and baby giraffes".

( Apparently regular "adult" giraffes were not on her mind) :-)

and..

Olivia: "Mom, what does dev-bo mean"

me : " What? What's a dev-bo?"

Olivia: "MOM! Dev-bo means nothing!"

*sigh*

xoxo

A new musician in the family...

Finn finally found the "big" piano in the house...xoxo

Hmmm..what's going on here???

I looked around the corner the other day and this is where I found Finn...


....the next day I found him on top of the coffee table...( didn't get a pic of that one). He is climbing EVERYTHING!! ...and he's not even walking yet...

*sigh*

There is DEFINITELY a difference between boys and girls... I have now been witness to it.

xoxoxo

Quote of the day

Here's a doosie..


Me: ( watching Olivia's finger head towards a nostril).."Olivia, don't pick your nose, you might hurt yourself".

Olivia: (considering this)..."Oh, ok mommy.".

*silent pause*

Olivia: " I will just do it in my bed tonight".

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

apples with brother

Our new favorite pastime is enjoying the late afternoon in the new little swimming pool that I recently purchased. Olivia loves to swim in her "green" pool (as she calls it)..and Finn is hesitant at first but after about 15 min. is usually on his stomach cruising around in the water.

The other day Olivia decided it would be fun to have her snack ( an apple) while sitting in the pool. She also decided it would be fun to share it with Finn...what a nice sister. :-) Finn loved the apple of course and tried his hardest to bite it but mostly ended up licking it like a lollipop....yummmmm..slobbery apple!

xoxoxo

Hello?

I know right?

*sigh*...I can always tell that my days are busy when I don't get onto the blog regularly. I would love to say that we have been vacationing in some far-off desert island with clear blue waters... however...the reality is we have just been knee-deep into navigating the waters of 2 1/2 year old behaviors/antics.

I am not joking when I say " the "stuff" finally hit the fan" when it comes to tantrums and cheekiness.

Don't get me wrong.. she is such a good and obediant little girl 97% of the time... but the other 3% has been brutal.

I know that God is just finding new and interesting ways to help me grow as a mom and wife... but dang it, does it have to be so hard?

On a lighter note... Finn has really started showing his little personality to us. Right around 10 months his little cheeky side started to show.. how you ask? The first sign was when I was trying to change his diaper and he (quick as a flash), flipped over and crawled as fast as he could to the opposite side of the room, stood up ( in all his bare-naked glory) and blew a raspberry at me. What is a mom to do? I definitely couldn't be angry...but I was shocked.. he had never shown this side of himself to me...( literally and figuratively). From there it has progressed into other facets... like crawling into the kitchen at my mom's house and grunting quite exuberantly at a fruit bowl sitting on the counter and squealing with delight when I produce a banana out of it. What a monkey. He has even made Olivia laugh on occasion.. ( though she doesn't like to admit it... )

Anyway, life is pretty normal these days...we are happy that summer is upon us which means many trips to the beach and warm walks at dusk before bedtime. I promise to post some pics and videos soon as they are accumlating on the computer at a rapid rate. Peace, for now...

xoxoxo

Good things about today..

1. I took my kids to Toys r Us and we bought a few fun "summer" type toys:
a. a new plastic pool to play in
b. play dough ( I have tried making my own but it just gets NASTY after a couple days)
c. bubbles
d. a new coloring book for Olivia
e. a new board book for Finn ( The very hungry catapillar)

2. The weather is warm...about 82 degrees.

3. The kids are both in a great mood today...no tears, no time-outs, and no sassiness! Whoo-hoo!

4. I'm having a good hair day... ( it doesn't happen very often )

5. I am going to take the kids to the park later in the new/gently used bike trailer that we recently aquired. It is attached to my beloved red beach cruiser that I LOVE!

6. I had fish tacos for lunch and they were very delicious.

7. We had lunch with Jamie and her daughter Rachel ( Olivia's age) and it just made the day even better.... yay for friends!

8. Chad looked very "professor-esque" when he left the house this morning and my heart beat a little faster than normal...

xoxoxoxo

There's nothing like...

a warm dog belly to lay on....

Couldn't you just die?


xoxo

Easter 2009!

Our Easter was so much fun this year! We started our day with Easter baskets and then church/brunch at the Hollywood Bowl. Afterwards we headed home to have a great Easter egg hunt and relax with family....Olivia really had a great time singing all the music at Easter service and Finn even enjoyed himself until he conked out right in time for the sermon. ( which was great for me because I actually got to listen to it! ). The weather was gorgeous and the company was awesome! It was a glorious day because of Him....Happy Easter!

xoxoxo

Two little monkeys...

Sometimes mornings are like this....

I just love it.

xoxo

My first Bagel

For some reason I think it's great when a baby can eat his/her first bagel.. kind of like a right of passage..anyway.. this morning Finn got to eat his first bagel (sans cream cheese)...he was so happy. I actually got to sit and eat a bowl of cereal for 5 minutes without interruption... what a concept!! I might just have to give him a bagel every morning except that might cause him to become a little " backed up" ( if ya know what I mean.. ).

xoxoxo

a Different point of view

Olivia finally asked the other day if she could use my camera to take a picture. I said " yes" and these are some of the pics she took....they are ( of course) pics from "her" vantage point... but some aren't half bad ( in my opinion..)

xxoxoxo

Popsicle

Warm weather means one thing around here.... Popsicle time!!!! Olivia didn't really like popsicles last summer but has discovered a new passion for them...luckily, a couple years ago I got a popsicle maker from Crate and Barrel... it is the best!

xoxo

Quote of the day

I tend to rotate Olivia and Finn's toys so they don't get bored with them.. it also keeps a bulk of them out of the house and in the garage at any given time. Olivia came across her My First Leapster beginner computer this morning and boy-oh-boy was she excited. :-)

Olivia: " MOM, i found my 'puter!"

Me: (Doing dishes.. and admittedly not really paying attention) " That's great sweetie!"

Olivia: " I'm going to go to work now... so please don't bother me!"

...youv'e got to be kidding.. did she really just say that?

And just when I thought I'd heard everything..

Olivia: ( running in from the other room) " I did work on my 'puter, and I'm so tired, can I have a snack now? "

*sigh*

xoxoxo

Faces

Here's a good one...

xoxo

The Eye of Sauron

Ok.. this one is for all you "Lord of the Rings" fans...


This is what happens when mommy gets to play with the blocks for 5 minutes....



The great eye sees all!!! hahahahaha!

xoxo

Finn Month 9

Finn is 9 months old! It's simply amazing that he could possibly be that old already...but here are some of the fun new things that he can do!

Finn can:

1. Army crawl all around the house!

2. Chew on all sorts of things with all SIX of his teeth! ( He decided to cut 4 of those teeth all within 6 weeks..good times. )

3. Take toys away from Olivia. ( You can just imagine Olivia's response to that)

4. Pull Olivia's hair. ( Another fun pastime..)

5. Scream REALLY loud when Olivia takes a toy away from him. (*sigh*)

6. Sleep most of the way through the night....Hurray!

7. Laugh at just about anything... he is such a jolly baby!

8. Melt mommy's heart with his cuddles and snuggles...:-)

It is so amazing to see the differences and similarities between Olivia and Finn...Olivia now includes her brother in most conversations and will make an effort to play with him on a daily basis...I love to see the two of them interact. To Finn, Olivia is "the light" . When she walks into the room, he laughs. When she is in time-outs , he laughs. The only thing he doesn't like about his big sister is her loud voice... he has proven himself to be a very sensitive little fellow who doesn't care for loud sounds ( just like daddy...BTW). We look forward to all the things Finn has to say to us when he finally decides to talk... :-)

xoxoxoxo

A couple good quotes..

Here are a couple good ones...she never ceases to amaze us!


Olivia: "Mom! I hear something!"

Me : " What do you hear?"

Olivia: "The sun is coming down!"


or there's always this little gem..


Olivia: "Mom, I need my hood pulled up."

Me: "Ok, come over here and I will pull it up for you...( pulling up her hood)".

Olivia: " I need my hood pulled up so my hair doesn't fly away. Oh, hanks Mom!"


BTW: "Hanks" is how she says "Thanks".

xoxoxoxo

Father Daughter Dance 2009

Last Saturday night Chad took Olivia to her 2nd Father Daughter dance at Bel Air Prestbyterian. They had a great time dancing, doing crafts, and eating treats! Olivia came home and told me that they did the "chicken dance"...then she proceed to wiggle her tush and flap her arms like a chicken.. pretty funny. Here are some pics from the dance and one from last year to compare...my , how she has grown!

xoxox







Here is the pic from last year.... what a little peanut!!!