We finally had a snowfall, and the boys had fun playing in the yard. Thanks to Miko & Rumi for the boys' cool winter hats!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The last Family Days of 2011
School was closed this week, so the boys stayed home with us....
We finally had a snowfall, and the boys had fun playing in the yard. Thanks to Miko & Rumi for the boys' cool winter hats!
Justin got new running shoes, and he did a happy feet dance at the store. He was so excited to have shoes that look like daddy and colin's!
Then, Colin decided that he wanted hair like daddy and Justin. Colin loves it, "now it feels just like Justin's!"
Lots of eating popcorn and watching movies...
Lori surprised me with a new pair of boots!!! LOVE THEM!! (Yes, I posed and made Jack take a picture! I know you'll be more interested in the little guy on the ground though.)
And lastly, the little Honda finally reached 100,000 miles.
We finally had a snowfall, and the boys had fun playing in the yard. Thanks to Miko & Rumi for the boys' cool winter hats!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
More Colin quotes...
Recently, Colin has asked for us to go upstairs with him if he has to go the bathroom.
Colin: I have to go potty, can you come with me?
Me: Why? I will wait for you down here.
Colin: Please, mom. Please.
Me: When you were 3, you went upstairs by yourself.
Colin: When I was 3, I didn't watch Ghostbusters yet.
After his sleepover at Reagan & Brooke's:
Me: How was you sleepover?
Colin: Fun. I always have fun with Reagan and Brooke. They let me play with their toys.
Me: I know. They love you very much.
Colin: But if I lived there, I would miss you.
Me: I would miss you too.
Colin: I would miss you more than I miss Aunt Natalie....And that's a lot of missing.
Colin: I have to go potty, can you come with me?
Me: Why? I will wait for you down here.
Colin: Please, mom. Please.
Me: When you were 3, you went upstairs by yourself.
Colin: When I was 3, I didn't watch Ghostbusters yet.
After his sleepover at Reagan & Brooke's:
Me: How was you sleepover?
Colin: Fun. I always have fun with Reagan and Brooke. They let me play with their toys.
Me: I know. They love you very much.
Colin: But if I lived there, I would miss you.
Me: I would miss you too.
Colin: I would miss you more than I miss Aunt Natalie....And that's a lot of missing.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas Cheer & "That's what brothers do."
We had a fabulous Christmas! Family time, good food, and blue skies. Can't ask for much more. Well, I suppose we could have asked for Justin to sleep through the night on Christmas Eve. He decided to wake up 3 times. Not sure if he heard Santa or if it was his body reacting to a sugar overdose from Christmas Eve cookies. Either way, we made the most of it and had a fabulous weekend.
First, Christmas Eve dinner at Jack's mom's house. Here are the cousins (plus Ana who is taking a nap upstairs).
The kids all sang Christmas songs...
Then some of them started dancing...
C & J finished their cookies on the steps, and joined in at the tail end of dancing. With Jack & my genes, they are not destined to be dancers anyway.
I think I'm slouching. I swear Tami isn't that much taller than me!
We're not completely sure how much sugar Justin had...we found him by the chocolate bowl a couple of times, and I caught him climbing over the table for Grandma's cookie platter. I can't blame the kid though...I ate a whole lotta Christmas sugar myself. =)
Then Christmas morning... Colin wasn't sure if Santa was coming because he had been "bad and nice." So he was a bit surprised to see that Santa did show up. Justin wasn't sure what was happening, but quickly got the hang of it once he found the Pocky and candy canes!
After presents, we spent Christmas afternoon with Nick, Tami, Reagan & Brooke. We love our time together and Colin would live at their house if we let him. The girls take such good care of both boys - and when the boys are bigger and older, I hope they take as good care of the girls.
Colin had so much fun that he slept over their house on Christmas night. Justin came home with us because we didn't trust that he'd sleep through the night. Thank you for hosting, Tami &Nick - Colin loves his Brooke/Reagan sleepovers!
As for family updates: I started Bikram Yoga 2 weeks ago and I love it. I also signed up for the Cleveland half marathon as motivation to make use of our treadmill. Jack is busy working on a huge todo list for the rentals and declared it a "rest period" from running until he can get through his list. Colin is 4 years old - he's full of great thoughts, questions and ideas, and he wants to try them all out. Justin is almost 2 and loving life - talking, repeating, demanding, laughing, helping and playing. We are truly enjoying life.
And to finish, one of my favorite "brother moments" of the weekend...
Colin: (grabs a candy cane from our tree.) Justin, come here. (and runs around the corner from where I am sitting.)
Justin: (goes to Colin)
Colin: I am going to give you some. C'mon.
Justin: (thrilled and so excited.) Mommy!!!!
Colin: No Justin. Come back here. Don't tell Mommy. That's what brothers do.
Justin: (goes back to Colin and doesn't say anything else to me.)
C & J: (Sit quietly and eat the candy cane in the corner. Giggling and laughing.)
I just started to think of all of the things I'll never know about because "that's what brothers do."
Merry Christmas everyone!
First, Christmas Eve dinner at Jack's mom's house. Here are the cousins (plus Ana who is taking a nap upstairs).
Then some of them started dancing...
C & J finished their cookies on the steps, and joined in at the tail end of dancing. With Jack & my genes, they are not destined to be dancers anyway.
I think I'm slouching. I swear Tami isn't that much taller than me!
As for family updates: I started Bikram Yoga 2 weeks ago and I love it. I also signed up for the Cleveland half marathon as motivation to make use of our treadmill. Jack is busy working on a huge todo list for the rentals and declared it a "rest period" from running until he can get through his list. Colin is 4 years old - he's full of great thoughts, questions and ideas, and he wants to try them all out. Justin is almost 2 and loving life - talking, repeating, demanding, laughing, helping and playing. We are truly enjoying life.
And to finish, one of my favorite "brother moments" of the weekend...
Colin: (grabs a candy cane from our tree.) Justin, come here. (and runs around the corner from where I am sitting.)
Justin: (goes to Colin)
Colin: I am going to give you some. C'mon.
Justin: (thrilled and so excited.) Mommy!!!!
Colin: No Justin. Come back here. Don't tell Mommy. That's what brothers do.
Justin: (goes back to Colin and doesn't say anything else to me.)
C & J: (Sit quietly and eat the candy cane in the corner. Giggling and laughing.)
I just started to think of all of the things I'll never know about because "that's what brothers do."
Merry Christmas everyone!
Friday, December 23, 2011
C & J Stories
Justin screaming at 6:30am waking the whole house up. Colin walks out of his room.
C: My eyes are awake but my body is so tired.
Me: Colin, can I have your favorite blanket that Grandma made you?
C: Sure you can.
Me: Ok, thanks!
C: Then I'll just sleep with you in your bed.
Justin: Elf, elf? Pop? Place?
Me: We have to go look for him. (then we find him.)
Justin: Hi elf! I like elf.
Colin: That elf doesn't look real. He looks like a stuffed animal. I think somebody has to touch him to move him.
Justin is talking more and more. Copying everything Colin does and Colin is loving it. My favorite Justin phrases are "I did it!" whenever he does something. Or when he checks in with everyone in the family. "Cah-yin?" "Daddy?" "Mommy?" wondering where everyone is. When I tell him, he just says, "Okay, mommy." I love his "thank you Cah-yin," and his "Christmas LIGHTS!!" every time we drive home from school.
Colin whining and throwing a fit.
Justin: Colin cry. Colin cry.
Me: Yes, you're right. Colin is crying.
Justin: Justin no cry.
Me: Very good. Justin is not crying.
Justin: Justin no cry. Justin no cry. (as he proudly walks away.)
Justin not eating dinner.
C: Justin. Look at me in the eyes. Justin. Look at me.
J: (looks at Colin)
C: Please eat a bite so we can have dessert. Just one bite.
Getting ready to eat popcorn and watch a movie.
Me: Here's the popcorn.
Colin: Did you make it? (looking very hesitant)
Me: Yes.
C: Did you put butter and salt on it?
Me: Yes, I did.
C: Daddy always puts butter and salt. He makes really good popcorn.
Colin: Daddy is good at fixing things. He fixes everything.
Me: Hey, I fix things too.
Colin: No you don't. But you drive us places.
Colin earned some money in Hawaii by doing some chores for my dad.
C: How do I earn money?
Jack: By working. But work in the house is family work and you can't earn money for that.
C: I'm little. How can I work and earn money?
Jack: You can ask people if they need you to sweep the snow off of their steps or you can work at the rentals for money.
C: How else can I earn money?
me: You can draw pictures and try selling them. Or try selling other things.
C: I can sell things in a restaurant.
Jack: Yes, you can sell something to drink, like lemonade.
C: Or I can just sell water.
C: I wonder what choice the elf will make.
Me: What do you mean?
C: We have been bad and we have been nice. I wonder what he will tell Santa.
Me: I don't know. What do you think?
C: I think he's going to tell Santa that we've been bad and Santa might not come.
As I'm washing dishes in the kitchen, I hear...
C: Justin, come here.
C: Justin, open this. C'mon Justin. Open it.
Me: No opening presents!!
Justin: (runs to me.)
Me: (I peek around the corner and see Colin with a present trying to get Justin to open it.) Presents are for Christmas morning. Presents go under the tree!
C: What if I took the presents upstairs and opened it? You wouldn't know.
Me: Yes, I know everything.
C: What if I took the presents downstairs and opened it? Then I could rewrap it and put it back under the tree. You wouldn't know.
Me: I know everything. Put the present back under the tree now.
Colin & I made our very first batch of peppermint bark. "The cooks get to lick the spoon." - C
Love their ages. Love these boys.
C: My eyes are awake but my body is so tired.
Me: Colin, can I have your favorite blanket that Grandma made you?
C: Sure you can.
Me: Ok, thanks!
C: Then I'll just sleep with you in your bed.
Justin: Elf, elf? Pop? Place?
Me: We have to go look for him. (then we find him.)
Justin: Hi elf! I like elf.
Colin: That elf doesn't look real. He looks like a stuffed animal. I think somebody has to touch him to move him.
Justin is talking more and more. Copying everything Colin does and Colin is loving it. My favorite Justin phrases are "I did it!" whenever he does something. Or when he checks in with everyone in the family. "Cah-yin?" "Daddy?" "Mommy?" wondering where everyone is. When I tell him, he just says, "Okay, mommy." I love his "thank you Cah-yin," and his "Christmas LIGHTS!!" every time we drive home from school.
Colin whining and throwing a fit.
Justin: Colin cry. Colin cry.
Me: Yes, you're right. Colin is crying.
Justin: Justin no cry.
Me: Very good. Justin is not crying.
Justin: Justin no cry. Justin no cry. (as he proudly walks away.)
Justin not eating dinner.
C: Justin. Look at me in the eyes. Justin. Look at me.
J: (looks at Colin)
C: Please eat a bite so we can have dessert. Just one bite.
Getting ready to eat popcorn and watch a movie.
Me: Here's the popcorn.
Colin: Did you make it? (looking very hesitant)
Me: Yes.
C: Did you put butter and salt on it?
Me: Yes, I did.
C: Daddy always puts butter and salt. He makes really good popcorn.
Colin: Daddy is good at fixing things. He fixes everything.
Me: Hey, I fix things too.
Colin: No you don't. But you drive us places.
Colin earned some money in Hawaii by doing some chores for my dad.
C: How do I earn money?
Jack: By working. But work in the house is family work and you can't earn money for that.
C: I'm little. How can I work and earn money?
Jack: You can ask people if they need you to sweep the snow off of their steps or you can work at the rentals for money.
C: How else can I earn money?
me: You can draw pictures and try selling them. Or try selling other things.
C: I can sell things in a restaurant.
Jack: Yes, you can sell something to drink, like lemonade.
C: Or I can just sell water.
C: I wonder what choice the elf will make.
Me: What do you mean?
C: We have been bad and we have been nice. I wonder what he will tell Santa.
Me: I don't know. What do you think?
C: I think he's going to tell Santa that we've been bad and Santa might not come.
As I'm washing dishes in the kitchen, I hear...
C: Justin, come here.
C: Justin, open this. C'mon Justin. Open it.
Me: No opening presents!!
Justin: (runs to me.)
Me: (I peek around the corner and see Colin with a present trying to get Justin to open it.) Presents are for Christmas morning. Presents go under the tree!
C: What if I took the presents upstairs and opened it? You wouldn't know.
Me: Yes, I know everything.
C: What if I took the presents downstairs and opened it? Then I could rewrap it and put it back under the tree. You wouldn't know.
Me: I know everything. Put the present back under the tree now.
Colin & I made our very first batch of peppermint bark. "The cooks get to lick the spoon." - C
Love their ages. Love these boys.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Adjusting back to real life...
We've had to adjust back to our routines and some things are different... Justin has been sleeping about 14-15 hours/day to recover from jet lag, and Colin will say random things every once in awhile that tell us that he misses family.
I am not adjusting as well as the kids and am having difficulty driving in the snow instead of the Hawaiian sun. (And I didn't think of this until now, but I started Bikram yoga this weekend - yoga in a heated room. Perhaps my unconscious is trying to stay in warmer Hawaiian-like climates. haha.)
Other parts of life have remained the same...Our elf found its way back to our house from Hawaii...
The kids are still playing the instruments and asking everyone to be in their musical parade.
And we've adjusted back to life by spending time with our Oakdale family. We live on Oakdale Road and we had a dinner reunion with Sarah and our neighbors that have since moved away. Here are all of the Oakdale boys! The boys all played together while the parents got to enjoy dinner and talk time. Nice.
And lastly, Hawaiians put mayo on their rice - and I think that's as weird as Sarah putting butter on her rice. See - you can be 5000 miles apart and still do weird things to rice. =)
- "I don't like our bath. Auntie Lori has the best bubbles."
- "I want ice in my water so it tastes like Bachan's."
- "I'm keeping my eye on you." (my dad taught Colin this)
- "I like 'vacation mommy' better."
And we've adjusted back to life by spending time with our Oakdale family. We live on Oakdale Road and we had a dinner reunion with Sarah and our neighbors that have since moved away. Here are all of the Oakdale boys! The boys all played together while the parents got to enjoy dinner and talk time. Nice.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Hawaii, Week 2
Our Hawaiian adventure continues.
I don't have any pictures that show my favorite vacation moments, like
Most of us went on a daily walk or run... and our beach house was down the street from Dog the Bounty Hunter. I was scared to get too close because there were security cameras everywhere, so I made my mom pose for the picture!
The boys getting their train fix on the Candy Cane train ride at Ala Moana.
Colin created his own games for the family...here we are playing his version of "hot potato." Everyone was such a good sport and Colin loved all of the attention he was getting.
Jack & I had several date days, and we went on a beautiful Mariner's Ridge hike for this one. Love the sunset.
The beach at our house. Lovely.
Eating out with no kids and Jack had okonomiyaki for the first time!
Date day outing: Jamie with frozen yogurt and Jack with his beer/margarita!
Date day outing: at Lanikai beach. Jack & I also ventured out to Northshore and saw where the Pipeline Masters competition was, had Giovanni's shrimp and ate at the Beet Box Cafe. Wonderful date day!
Colin & Bachan spending quality time together.
Auntie Lori and the boys at the zoo.
Jumping off to go swimming during our boat ride! We went for a ride on a boat, appropriately named, "Hapa." (hapa = half asian/half white.)
Gingerbread House Time!
Jamie & mochi ice cream from Bubbies. SO GOOD. We ate two tubs of these.
Building forts...
Auntie Lori & Uncle Greg treated the boys out to a trip at Sea Life Park. Dolphins, turtles and seals, oh my!
And we spent lots of family playtime at the house. Jack & Colin swimming in the pool.
Hi-bachan, the boys and me playing in our own band. Hi-bachan is on the drums, Justin playing the guitar, I'm the clapper and Colin is the singer.
What a wonderful two weeks in Hawaii with family. Loved every moment. The family, food, weather, outings, date days, kid time, sleeping, adventures. Loved it all. Thank you for spoiling us silly with so much love and time. Aloha!
After a very long 12+ hour travel day home and Justin only sleeping 1 hour of our 8 hour overnight flight, Jack & I have decided that we are never flying with him again. Well, unless he grows up or something. =)
Cleveland welcomed us with sunshine and a slight chill in the air. Colin ran through the house and screamed, "the ground is cold." Justin wanted to go in his crib with his binkies and stayed there for about an hour. Jack & I unpacked, put the summer clothes in boxes and put our winter clothes on to get ready for our regular routines this week. We're definitely not in vacation mode anymore... reality = grocery shopping, cleaning, chores, Christmas prep & jet lag recovery. We're home!
I don't have any pictures that show my favorite vacation moments, like
- watching Lori & Colin march through the house as a marching band & dressing up in my mom's clothes or
- my mom playing with the kids everyday with the energy of a teenager or
- Justin looking for the elf every morning (yes the elf showed up in Hawaii!) or
- Justin calling for hi-bachan, bachan & jichan with love (ahhh-ahhhm) or
- watching Lori & Greg spoil the kids silly with attention or
- my dad teaching Colin all sorts of random things like how to color in the lines or
- playing family poker and watching my grandma squeal in delight every time she kicked our butts or
- all of the date time Jack & I spent together because our kids were too busy being spoiled by everyone else!
Most of us went on a daily walk or run... and our beach house was down the street from Dog the Bounty Hunter. I was scared to get too close because there were security cameras everywhere, so I made my mom pose for the picture!
Eating out with no kids and Jack had okonomiyaki for the first time!
Colin & Bachan spending quality time together.
After a very long 12+ hour travel day home and Justin only sleeping 1 hour of our 8 hour overnight flight, Jack & I have decided that we are never flying with him again. Well, unless he grows up or something. =)
Cleveland welcomed us with sunshine and a slight chill in the air. Colin ran through the house and screamed, "the ground is cold." Justin wanted to go in his crib with his binkies and stayed there for about an hour. Jack & I unpacked, put the summer clothes in boxes and put our winter clothes on to get ready for our regular routines this week. We're definitely not in vacation mode anymore... reality = grocery shopping, cleaning, chores, Christmas prep & jet lag recovery. We're home!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Aloha from Oahu!
Week 1 highlights:
Watching the Honolulu City Lights parade.
My sister and me with our grandma. (The boys call her hi-bachan = great grandma)
Colin's birthday table. The birthday fairy also had some gifts for Justin too. =)
The boys love Auntie Lori! Going crazy with bubbles.
Justin and his shades.
We are staying in an amazing house, and people came to take the coconuts down from our tree. The boys LOVED it!
Our day at the Outrigger Canoe Club. Beautiful place and beautiful day.
The XTERRA running group. Jack did the 21K world championship trail run and the rest of us did a fun 5K. We had the privilege of running in the valley of the beautiful Kualoa Ranch.
Jack finishing his 21K. Kualoa Ranch is in a beautiful valley and the course takes you up and down it. The race estimates about 2900 feet of climbing for the 21K. Ah-maz-ing! Nice job, honey!
Aloha! More to come...
- After 12 hours of flight time, we landed on beautiful Oahu. When we arrived at the house, everyone had a birthday surprise set up for Colin. Lots of presents and his birthday dinner of choice - spaghetti, meatballs and peaches!
- The weather is perfect. We're running and swimming, taking long walks, lounging by the pool. It's perfect weather to enjoy.
- A trip to the Outrigger Canoe Club and swimming in the ocean. It was my first time swimming in over a year, and it was amazing. Swam about a mile with my dad, got caught on a reef and we both have cool battlewounds and bruises to show for it. Colin played in the ocean while Justin stayed back and preferred to watch birds, planes and trucks.
- Running the XTERRA World Championship trail run race. Well, Jack ran the 21K race while my mom, Greg, Lori and I had fun in the 5K trail run. My mom even placed 2nd in her age group!! She's so amazing.
- Watching the Honolulu City Lights parade.
- Lori & Greg took the kids to the Children's Discovery Center and the boys had so much fun!!
The boys love Auntie Lori! Going crazy with bubbles.
Jack finishing his 21K. Kualoa Ranch is in a beautiful valley and the course takes you up and down it. The race estimates about 2900 feet of climbing for the 21K. Ah-maz-ing! Nice job, honey!
Aloha! More to come...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
