more Christmas gifts...

Nothing says, "Get your act together!" like receiving beauty products that weren't on your wishlist...from your brother-in-law!!! Oh my! I know I've let myself go over the years, and I know I've been meaning to do something about my appearance before Michelle and Kimi send my photo to "What Not to Wear" or "How Do I Look?" or some other embarrassing makeover show. So I've been using these lovely potions whenever I remember! I think it's a good baby step in the right direction, but I just don't know if there's anything that can help this face full of freckles, wrinkles, giant pores, and bags under the eyes!

Now can somebody find me some instant all day energy and grouch suppressants?!

GAME ON!!!

So guess what I got for Christmas? YES! A Nintendo DS Lite! No, I'm not thirteen anymore, but boy, do I still love a good video game! My sister got it for me, and as I gasped and pulled it from the wrapping, (I swear I heard angels singing and there was a shining light from the heavens gleaming down on it) my husband and my mom looked at each other and gave each other simultaneous eye rolls. Russell worries that our boys will inherit my addiction to video games, but hey, there are worse things to be addicted to! The new Harvest Moon comes out in February. I can't wait!!

Christmas Part 2

Greetings from The Island of Sodor! (Thomas the Tank Engine's home, for those of you lucky enough to not know!)

We made it home from L.A. on Sunday, which was nice because we had Christmas eve to prepare for Christmas day. I had to wake up the boys on Christmas morning so we could open Santa's gifts before heading over to my sister's house. I had to wake up Russell too, and then hold the boys in their room until he could get his camera ready to catch them coming down the hall. Tanner still didn't open any presents, and just hovered around Cody to encroach upon his gifts as they were opened. We soon resorted to having Cody open Tanner's gifts, in order for Tanner to take an interest in them. Santa brought lots of Thomas this year, and a few learning toys. I know, I know, it should be ALL learning toys, but hey, Christmas is supposed to bring fond memories, not disappointment (at least not yet!). HAH!

It was so much fun this year, and I'm always a little sad when it's all over. All that preparation, and it's over in one day!

Christmas Part 1

We went down to L.A. to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws this past weekend. I got a little homesick, and when we were driving home, I almost told Russell that we were going the wrong way because I expected to go back to El Segundo!

But back to Christmas in L.A., it was very nice to see everyone. My mother-in-law is a great cook, so we can always look forward to yummy food when we visit (and lots of it!)! However, the gift opening was a little...um...stressful!! See that box they opened first? Yeah, that Thomas the Tank Engine Ultimate set? BIG MISTAKE! Nothing else in the universe existed after they caught sight of that box! You know that irritating Mervyn's commercial that says, "OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!"? Imagine that, ten times louder, looping about 100 times!!! They refused to open any other presents! How embarrassing! Russell finally gave in and just started setting the tracks up, just to stop the "OPEN OPEN OPEN!"! When it finally got all put together, they really loved it. Baby Godzilla (Tanner) didn't do as much damage to the tracks as we thought he would. Whew!

Whoa! It's 3:28 am! I'd better get some sleep! I guess I'm just so excited for the boys to open their presents from Santa! Oh, and it could be that "You Go Girl!" energy drink I had with dinner! Man, I had better put a case of that stuff on my wishlist!

Merry Christmas!!!

Cody's Speech Therapy

Cody recently had his final evaluation for speech therapy. He had gone to two sessions to see if he qualified for services through the public school system. In the first session, the pathologist asked him to say a bunch of single syllable words like "sit" "go" and "top". Then she held up a book of pictures and asked him questions like, "Where are HER shoes? If he's all wet, what does it look like outside?" He did okay, except she had to bribe him with fruit snacks. Hey Cody, can you say "ADHD?" The second session was the expressive section, where I thought he would have a hard time. She asked questions like, "Fire is hot, and ice is...." or "If I'm sick, what should I do?" He knew the "sick" question because he's quite the hypochondriac! He answered with, "Medicine!" But for most of the other questions he was clueless. I thought, "YES!" he is going to totally qualify now! But NO! He had to be in the 7th percentile to qualify! He was in the 20th percentile, which is still low, but not low enough! I guess I feel better that he didn't have to have special classes, but the state qualifications seem ridiculously low. The speech pathologist thought he was progressing nicely (since she had seen his evaluation from when he was 2 yrs., 9 months), and said we should continue to work with him at home by saying words often, without turning it into a lesson. Like when he asks for "Hot chachi", we should say, "Oh, you would like some HOT CHOCO-LATE?, Okay, I will get you some HOT CHOCO-LATE!", instead of saying "No, it's HOT CHOCOLATE." She said they learn from hearing it more than being told how to say it.

Cody has come a long way since we've moved to San Jose. He used to say, "Doh" for "cookie" back in June. Now he can say it fine. He's starting to put sentences together better. I know we just have to keep his own progress separate from the other kids his age (Bryce and Haley)! Bryce can count really fast and talks like an eight year old! And Haley... she tried to have a conversation with Cody, but kept having to say, "WHAT?... wait what?" And don't get me started on little Einstein Brandon! He's reading at four! Hey Cody, let's call Brandon for a playdate! Speaking of socializing, everyone thinks pre-school will help Cody along with his speech (I just wanted to get his speech evaluations out of the way first), so we've been potty training since last week. That's a whoooole 'nother entry in itself!

Festivus!!!

In early December 2005, I was still recovering from a c-section, so Russell had the great idea of taking us to the DWP (Department of Water and Power) Light Festival! It was the perfect outing for us that year because you just drive your vehicle through a path of light displays. We weren't sure how the dinosaurs (middle picture) fit into the theme, but it was all neat to see anyway!! Tanner was only 13 days old, and I think he slept through the whole thing, but Cody really liked it!

Russell dubbed the whole experience "Festivus", like George Costanza's father. We thought it was SO funny! I think we watched too much Seinfeld...

The Beach Boys

Before we moved from El Segundo, Russell used to walk the boys down to the beach after work. He found a spot that was no longer used for the bike path (but still paved for tricycle riding), was far enough from busy Vista del Mar yet far enough from the water, plus had a lot of sandy area to run around in! He took their buckets, shovels, garbage trucks, monster trucks, snacks, and Cody's tricycle! This time, he took a kite as well. I was at home, trying to regain my sanity (after a day with our two wild ones), while Russell took pictures of their first kite flying experience.

The Rest of Tanner's Birthday

So even though Tanner refused to open any presents (Cody was glad to help), and he cried when we brought out the cake, I think he enjoyed his birthday. He liked the presents AFTER they were opened and gobbled up some cake AFTER we cut it. Maybe he'll be ready to have a party next year...