Hula Hooping

Below is a gratuitous video of Lena hula-hooping in our yard. (Apologies for the stray cardboard boxes, the random assortment of house remodeling detritus, and the dryer vent that the dog ripped up.)

Sweet Dreams

I have finally figured out what babies dream about.

Food.

All the time.

Well, at least my kids do. Today we had a fairly long day of sleeping in, lazing around, watering our garden, and (somehow) making it to IKEA. Poor Oliver had been cranky the entire day, and even lunch of swedish meatballs and mac and cheese wasn't enough to tide our tired boy over. After tantrums and assertions of independence spanning both levels of the store, we decided to get ice cream/frozen yogurt at the end in an effort to plug some happy vibes into our kids. Apart from the moments when Daddy had to sneak giant mouthfuls off of Lena and Ollie's cones so they didn't melt everywhere... and the ensuing tellings off that Daddy received "No Daddy! No! Ice Cream!"... it was a big success.

So much of a success that Oliver, in a sugar coma, fell asleep before we hit the freeway. He then proceeded to dream about his ice cream cone the WHOLE way home. How do we know? Take a look.



And then when we got home, he woke up in a daze and promptly fisted his hand and licked his imaginary cone. And kept licking. And kept licking. I think he was a little very disappointed that there was nothing there. Poor baby boy. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Oliver's Birthday - Videos

Sleeping Habits of our Little Boy

You will need to turn up the volume on your computer.

Our little boy snores. We think it is really cute.

He is also mostly disregarding the pediatrician recommended 'back sleeping'. Most of the time he sleeps on his front with his bottom in the air. Sometimes, though, right before we go to bed, we will find him in positions like this:


And for good measure...

Maybe The Cutest Thing Ever...

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas

Happy New Year everyone! After a great, but sadly not long enough, break I am finally getting around to blogging about our Christmas (last year!). Lena had a blast and really started to understand the whole concept of Christmas and what was going on. Oliver had fun watching, playing with his new toys (that Lena unwrapped), and just sitting like a big lump. He is way too young to remember anything, and after seeing Lena's joy this Christmas, we are really looking forward to the next one for Oliver.

We elected to have Christmas at home on our own, and it was so wonderful to relax and spend time together, especially after the last few weeks of school for Evan. I was glad to have my husband back, and I wish the break could have been longer. I stole an idea from my parents which I am very excited to incorporate into our family Christmas traditions: Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. I like it because it means that I get to really enjoy spending time with my family on Christmas Day rather than spending it slaving and fretting over food. And lets face it, who wants to go shopping on Christmas Eve? There are never any good presents left, and all the grocery stores are bare. Plus, it makes Christmas seem longer if you start celebrating before it actually happens. I see no problem with that.

Present opening was really fun. It was so cute to see the sheer joy on Lena's face as she opened things up. I made her three tutus (so easy, and so fun) which she loved. We got some video footage so you could all enjoy it too. Sorry it is long.




Santa also brought Lena a Little Einsteins rocket - a big hit! For those of you that don't know, Little Einsteins is Lena's favorite TV show. And can I just say, having a DVR is an absolute life-saver. Being able to put on a 25 minute TV show for her at any time of the day so I can get things done around the house or with Oliver is awesome! But anyway, she got a plush rocket. She thought it was amazing. We loved it too because it cost us - I mean Santa - $6 on clearance at the Disney Store. Her is another video - it is of Lena opening up her rocket. So cute! Again, sorry it is long.



I love how she was totally excited for a cardboard box. I know what we are spending our money on next year! I also think it would be really funny to just give batteries with a note saying "Toy not included", but that might be a bit too mean.

And I also have a little video of Oliver sitting in his swing. On of my favorite parts of the morning was Lena opening up a big fluffy blanket, cuddling it, and then walking over to Oliver's swing and laying it gently over him. It was so adorable, and I wish we had have had the camera out for that one. She is a great big sister, and she loves the fact that Oliver is learning how to play with her. They both spend a good portion each day laying on their tummies sharing toys, and rolling around on the floor. Lena thinks it is really funny to dress him up in her fake-pearl necklaces, and Oliver thinks it is really funny that Lena finds that so funny. It is so great to see them together.