Rock Wall Climbing

In our ever more obsessive (Joke people; that's a joke. I mean, sort of. Maybe.) of helping our children become well-developed citizens, we have moved on from taikwando to another form of physical agility and activity. 

Rock climbing. Because duh, what else produces amazing little people like overdeveloped upper body strength and toes with the agility of monkeys? 

It has been extraordinary to see the children really pursue their fearless side and climb, climb, climb and be okay to fail and fall. If there's anything that I've been happy about, it's been that they have been okay failing (!). They try a "line" (a fancy way of saying "path") up the wall and if that doesn't work, reverse and try something else. I love that! 

Lily especially is good at being persistent and daring and just giving no cares about if she fails. She is loving the journey and I think takes some pride in being the smallest kid on the wall by far, going the highest. 

Making it to the top means "ringing the bell" and both kids have learned how to always ring the bell, even as they fall off the wall, and even as they learn to try again when the first option didn't work. For the summer, they'll be in swim lessons and art camp but come fall, we will give them the option of taekwondo, soccer, basketball, hockey, ruby and climbing. It will be fun and interesting to see what they choose. 

Easter 2018

We had such a lovely Easter this year because we got to spend it with the family. Cousin Alise and Lily remain the best of friends and also the most little mischievious egger-onners. We're going to have to watch out for those two as they get older (or wait; should I not say that? Should I instead hope for the best and speak the best and assume that we'll get the best?! Quick, elders, weigh in!) 

All of the grandkids now have their own motor vehicles and are extremely adept at driving them. Alise has caught on beautifully and can be trusted with a motor vehicle. I, as a terrible parallel parker (hey! Maybe that should be my 2019 goal! Learn how to drive more skillfully?!) can completely get on board with the idea of giving all of our children the maximum amount of time to learn new driving skills so their natural talents at driving at such an early age make me happy. 

This year, we decided (okay, I decided after I saw this idea on Pinterest ... but whatever, "we" decided) to add copious amounts of food coloring to shaving cream and then roll eggs that had been pre-vinegar-softened (just enough so that the color would take) into this concoction. 

Obviously, this was not a clean process but it was a fun process and that's all that mattered. Because, really, creativity is essential and what's not creative about food color + shaving cream + boiled, softened-shell eggs? Obviously, shaving cream Easter eggs for the win (or, as the cool kids say it, #FTW!). 

Our kiddos especially loved the tactile nature of the shaving cream and getting their hands all messy. They were both given (complimentary) food coloring colors so that they didn't inadvertently end up with brown eggs rather than the Pinterest-worthy tie-dyed Easter eggs of art. 

We used good ol' fashioned shaving cream for the base. Only... did not take into account the fact that both children would completely dye their hands the color of the shaving cream. Whoops. Lily had red hands for days. Jamisen's green/blue hands wore off quickly, thankfully. 

The kids loved hunting Easter Eggs (who wouldn't?!) and Grandma Faiola of course did a Golden Egg (three cheers for tradition!). They also all really like candy so that helps with the whole "Easter is one of our favorite holidays of the year!" thing. 

Of course the cousin dogs helped with the Easter Egg hunt. 

We also went to Bellwood Acres where all of the kids enjoyed their pony rides with abandon. 

Easter 2018 was a hit with connections, creativity and animals. We are deeply blessed with family, love and laughter. 

Pasta Fun

We recently went through an entire 'Let's Make Pasta From Scratch' phase. 

The kids were SO into it. We got a beautiful pastamaker from Italy (handcrank, of course) and had such a fun time cranking out all kinds of pastas. 

We made ravioli from scratch and every kind of pasta known to man, including vegetable dyed pastas. The best thing is that pasta dough freezes so we have plenty of frozen pasta dough to get us through summer evenings when we just want a light and easy summer pesto over a beautifully delicate pasta strand with olive oil. Yum! 

Park Day and Cousin Fun

The sweet cousins had a fun park day after playing at Alise's for Easter. Alise is quite the proficient driver of her little vehicle now. Jamisen and Lily, of course, were fascinated, with Jamisen wanting to "help" a lot. 

Once the kiddos got to Fairhaven Park, Jamisen immediately climbed up to the very tippy top of the play structure. It was fun to watch him aggressively pursue a new (dangerous) goal. 

Not one to be left behind, Lily also wanted to climb on the tippy top of everything but being slightly shorter, she needed to use some help. She was quite happy to stand on my shoulders and then head to get up to the very tippy top of the play structure. She was pretty proud of herself which in turn, made us all smile. 

Lily and Alise went off exploring on their own, like two little Miss Independents. They were sweetly caring for each other. In a rather dapper move, Jamisen helped them to cross the street safely, watching both ways for cars.

We had a great discussion on the way to school this morning about Donald Trump. Jamisen asked: "Mommy, how did Donald Trump turn out to be such a bad man."

It was a logical question. 

So, I tried my best to answer him.

The answer went something like this: "Well two main reasons: 1) He's never really had to work and work gives meaning and value to life. It shapes your character and makes you a better person. And, 2) He's always been rich. And when you're rich, people give you a pass and don't expect your best behavior and so you often sink to your base instincts." 

Then we got to talk about what base instincts were.  It was a great morning discussion.

Lily then piped up and said: "Mommy, I wanted Hillary Clinton to win. And God is stronger than Donald Trump. And He would win in a fight. So it might take time, but God is going to win." 

Out of the mouth of babes indeed. 

It's really great to have them in Montessori school. The kids are learning all about community and even commemorated the nationwide walk-outs to demand safe schools by walking out themselves.  This is what their teacher said about the walkout and how they handled it in an age-appropriate manner:

Students will learn that there is a nationwide walkout that will hopefully bring to the attention of lawmakers the importance of healthy school communities, how to build and nurture them, and the need for all children to feel safe at school.  During the walk out, we will spend seventeen minutes outside reflecting on our school and classroom culture, and what it means to have safe schools. 

Another thing that both kiddos learned at school is how to swing and pump their legs. Grandpa and Grandma were thrilled to see that Lily has learned how to pump her own little legs now and can propel herself forward on the swing. Grandpa was obviously inspired.

We love our little Lily and Jamisen so very much. It is heart-warming to see how much they love each other too. Our family is blessed. 

Christmas Fun

Jamisen and the 'Three Questions' 

What is your favorite color: gold

What do you want to be when you grow up? Maybe a soapmaker; but maybe

What is the meaning of life: It's like a place where you can go and see things

Lily and the "Three Questions" 

What is your favorite color: green, and pink, and gold

What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist

What is the meaning of life: Candy. And, soap.

Lily continues to have some issues with her bladder and her torturous colon that leads to less-than-successful-bathroom attempts and misses. Jamisen's hilarious commentary tonight as he walked over a wet spot on the carpet? "If it's wet and it's warm, it's pee." Oh, sweetie; no truer words have ever been spoken. And we continue to hope Lily will outgrow this phase. 

The sweet Elf on the Shelf visited this Christmas, every day. He was adventurous and rappeled, baked, got into the powdered sugar and generally gave the children quite a delight every morning. 

Sweet Lily is fully into her imaginative phase. She loves to tell elaborate story scenarios. For example, last night, the candy **took over the room!!** and she had to wall off the marshmallows because they wanted to hug me so bad. But then the marshmallows escaped and they kept hugging me (she said this with the hugging motions; for future reference, marshmallows have very very short stubby arms, sort as if you stood a lizard on its hind legs ... stubby little arms). She is very (very!) imaginative. 

Of course, like every year, the kids decorated gingerbread houses. Lily ate much of her candy but Jamisen showed some good self-control and created a solid design. Lily had enough candy to decorate 1/2 of her gingerbread house. Don't tell the kids but I have two more gingerbread houses for them hidden under my desk (yes, yes I do in February still. Maybe a birthday present for Jamisen in April?). 

It's been fun to see Jamisen get super physical in his play. He is turning into quite the bruiser and he and his Dad totally wrestle and rough house. 

Jamisen got a gecko for Christmas. Not just any gecko; a crested gecko that could only be found in one place in Washington state. Luckily, that one place was near where Grandma and Grandpa Faiola were and they generously went out of their way to bring home Pom Pom. We've now had Pom Pom a couple months. She's escaped a few times but has come back to her cage each and every time. We adore her but she's a nocturnal creature so we rarely get to see her. If we do, it's late at night and she is not a huge fan of us handling her but we'll get there. Pleasantly persistent is a great strategy for people and, geckos. 

Behold two different children with the same exact project. Notice Lily smearing hers so creatively (?) that it's completely black and Jamisen slowly and carefully reading the instructions and figuring out how to make his project the best it can be. 

They really do come out of the womb differently. Nature vs nuture ... it's a thing.

The kids love having books read to them and Grandpa and Grandmas are always happy to oblige. Grandpa Winston and Grandma Kelly are champion book readers as well.

We went to a gingerbread house festival over Christmas with the sweetest cousin ever (hi not-so-Baby Alise!) The kids were SO excited to see the architectural wonders that a little gingerbread and icing can make. It was nice that they didn't try to eat the displays too. That felt like a parenting victory, however fragile and small.

Sweet Lily wore her princess gown and got to meet 3 real live princesses. She was delighted to meet them and they were enamored with her too.

Merry Christmas .... may the spirit last all year.

The Case of the Turkey that Would Not Thaw

Our little dude Jamisen is learning how to read. It is such a kick and a rush to see him sound out words, piecing the letters together, one painful, slow synapse snap at a time. **We can do hard things** and watching this little guy learn to read leaves me in awe of our capacity to achieve, grow and change. I'm so proud of him.

 

 His sister is following suit by 'pretending' to read books. She makes up long nonsense phrases and it's adorable, cute and precious. She really wants to be like her big brother.

This year sister in law Cheriss and Erik spearheaded Thanksgiving. It was a huge undertaking for them but really made it lovely for the guests (Thanks, Cheriss!). Baby Alise isn't really a 'baby' anymore so I'm going to need to quit calling her 'Baby Alise' like it's a compound name. She is growing up so quickly and it's fun to watch her go through the development phases of compound sentences. 

She plays with her cousins so nicely and they're super cute together. Alise is also super agreeable (for a toddler or any age!) and that flexible, go-with-the-flow attitude is a thing of beauty (especially when contrasted with her more stubborn cousins; cough cough).

Aunty Saron came up to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. She had not seen the kiddos for a while and they very much enjoyed having another adult to read to them and show interest in their thought-processes and projects. 

You can sort of tell in the above photo but Jamisen is in a "I wear the same pants every day" phase. We finally bought him a pair of duplicate pants but he insists they are different so we alternate between this secondhand (really, we bought them at a consignment store) elastic waistband pants and this pair of striped knitted cozy pants from the Gap. He is so thin and tall that no pants stay up (ever) so despite him having a variety of drawstring pants to wear (hello lined, soft Hannah Anderson pants for boys), he insists on wearing the same pair of pants for weeks on end (though we do wash them at night every few days to keep the dirt at bay). We ignore it for the most part because there are more important things to use parental command-and-control capital on like, being nice to his sister or keeping his room semi-pigsty as opposed to full pigsty. 

At Thanksgiving dinner, we were one seat short so Cheriss took the short end of that proverbial seat and sat on two chairs (one butt cheek on one chair, the other on the other one). It was pretty funny and then she also had the two wiggly worms on either side to ensure that she couldn't possibly eat a bite herself until they were done. 

Lily is not yet taking piano lessons but this is the year that she will start. One of our goals as a family is to have one extracurricular movement-based class per week + piano. Right now, the kids are in taekwondo but that might change as their interests change and grow. 

The food for Thanksgiving was epic. Though there was no turkey (oh the hilarious tale of the turkey ... keep reading to learn more about that), we did not starve. Amazing dishes were prepared by all. Aunt Sharon brought 3 savory appetizers that were devoured by everyone so quickly that there was barely room for the actual feast of Thanksgiving. 

The kiddos got to go to church with Grandma and Grandpa Faiola.

They even fit three car seats side by side in the back of the car. Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa Faiola's workhorse of a 20 year old car. It's quite roomy. 

The kids loved their time with the entire family. And that's what holidays are for. Family. Laughter. Fun. And memories ....

Eh hem, speaking of memories, the tale of the turkey: Cheriss has never cooked a turkey before (of course she hasn't - we're mostly all vegetarian). So when she won a 22 pound (frozen) turkey at her work, she gamely brought it home and started to cook it the day of. Little did she know, a frozen turkey of that size not only takes overnight to thaw, it takes another day to brine. So, on Thanksgiving evening, at 10 p.m., Grandpa Faiola and I wrested the turkey into a plastic bag, in our garage, into a garbage can to brine it for 24 hours. Then, Cheriss and Erik put that whole contraption in their car and drove like 2 miles an hour home to get it to their house and cook it. Yes, it spilled along the way. But really, what this meant was that we got a full second meal at Erik and Cheriss's house and that was awesome. Leftovers + the turkey and another meal to laugh and make memories over? It was a total win-win.