Christmas Morning 2015

For my boys, Christmas morning 2015 was ALL about the presents!  I actually had to slow them down a little bit because they were going too quickly.  So quickly that later on at Grandma & Grandpa's house, Logan started opening other people's presents.

Pumpkin Patch

What Eclipse?

Almost 20 years ago, I remember driving to Livermore for a night class I had at Las Positas.  As I approached Livermore, the most spectacular moon started to peek through the hills on the horizon.  It was humongous, bigger than I had ever seen the moon, and a bright yellowish-orange color.  And I have never seen anything like it since then.

So I thought it might be fun to check out the supermoon and lunar eclipse this evening, hoping to see something like that moon from decades ago.  We timed it perfectly, and we had a perfect viewing location, way up on a hill at Old Ranch Park in San Ramon.  And we were not alone.  The park was packed with people hoping to catch a glimpse of the moon.  Unfortunately the clouds got in the way.

Owen and Logan didn't seem to mind.  They forgot about the moon and had a blast running around all over the place.

By the time the clouds cleared and the moon became visible, we were long gone.

The clouds covered the moon, but made for a spectacular sunset.

Muscles!

Jump!

The grassy field was a dandelion lover's paradise.

Logan has not learned how to blow the fluff off of dandelions.  He mostly just spits on them.

Hopeful spectators up on the hill

All Smiles

These two sure know how to push each other's buttons (aaaggh, the BICKERING!)  But then there are those times, rare as they may be these days, when they are best buddies.

Logan- Age 2

Terrible twos? I can't really say that the problem has claimed Logan as a victim.  He has his fair share of crying and whining and maybe the occasional temper tantrum, but that kid just warms my heart with his sweetness every single day.

If I had to describe Logan at this moment in time, I would first think of his smileyness.  His smile lights up his face and lights up a room.   His eyes get lost behind his big round cheeks and all you see is a big grin.

He is a cuddly kid.  The kid I nicknamed as a baby "He-who-will-not-be-put-down" would still much prefer to be held than be put down. He snuggles in my lap to read books and still wants me to carry him when I pick him up from daycare. With that said, he is starting to explore his independence.  He likes to "do it by myself" and he likes to walk to the car but NOT hold my hand. If he doesn't get what he wants, he will scowl, point his finger, and say, "I'm MAD at you, Mommy!"

Logan's Likes:
1. whatever Owen has/wants/is doing
2. babies, especially his cousin Isla
3. animals, especially farm animals
4. singing and dancing
5. Scooby Doo
6. choo-choo trains

Random Quotes:
June 22, 2015, while hearing a fire truck outside:
"I see a fire truck with my ears!"

June 7, 2015, showing me his knuckles:
"Mommy, look at my nipples!"

May 30, 2015: Logan had just pooped in the tub, and Jeremy and I were scrambling around trying to fix the situation.  Logan was still IN the tub, but scooting toward the back corner, afraid because...
"Poop gonna get me!"

May 10, 2015 (Mother's Day, not my birthday):
"Happy birthday, special Mommy!"

January 20, 2015
Me: "Is ice cream cold or hot?"
Logan: "Yummy!"

First (and Second) Haircut

I am such a cheapskate and a DIY-er when it comes to certain things that sometimes I don't realize that I am not doing myself any favors. Take the boys' haircuts, for instance. I've always cut Owen's hair myself with clippers, and I know I'm no expert, but I thought, how hard could it be? And I didn't think I had done too badly all these years.

But for awhile, I have been meaning to have a pro give it a try, and I finally got around to taking him in for his first "real" haircut...and look how HANDSOME he looks!  He even got highlights (just a temporary gel).  And now I know I am a crappy hair stylist!  Logan also got a trim, with results not quite as dramatic as his first haircut, but very cute nonetheless.

Preschool Graduation

Owen helped pick out his outfit.  He insisted on the belt and the tie because Ms. Bobby said they had to dress up.  I love that despite the work he put in to dressing nicely, he's still sporting a Ninja Turtles band-aid on his leg.

Owen and his classmates from the 4-year-old group: Jason, Owen, Kaylee, and Amiia

Owen and me- He is ready for kindergarten!

Owen and his teacher, Ms. Bobby

Easter

This year's Easter egg dying included the obligatory Paas kit as well as some additional Pinterest-y methods.  My method: wrap the egg with rubber bands before dropping into the dye.  Dad's method: put the dye into a cup of rice, and then shake the egg and the colored rice.  Owen's method: pour as much glitter as possible onto the egg, and then wave the egg/glitter all over the table.

Egg hunting- not as important to Logan as getting the stickers inside.  He would find an egg, open it up and take out the stickers, and then toss the eggs aside.

Owen is a task-oriented, serious egg hunter.  He collected 19 out of the 24, and he also found Logan's eggs and gave them to him.

The highlight of Owen's day, according to him, was making the plastic eggs float over the air from the hair dryer.

Easter baskets

Sleepy L

Poor Logan sleeps very lightly like me.  Something woke him up about an hour into his nap. No way was I going to let him get up from his nap after just an hour (I need his naptime more than he does) so I brought him into our bed and cuddled next to him so he would snooze a little longer.

P.S. You know Logan is asleep when you hear the slurp slurp sound of him sucking his fingers.

Our Walks

One of the top reasons I love our neighborhood is the easy access we have to these bike paths. Now that the days are longer I'm excited to get back to weeknight walks.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite times of year to live in Dublin.  The city plans a whole weekend full of Irish-themed festivities.  And I like that our kids are both at ages when they can appreciate this stuff.

This year, Owen and I caught only the end of the St. Patrick's Day parade because he had his tae kwon do class.  Afterwards, we walked a few blocks to watch the parade until it was over.

The next morning we got to see the 5K runners run past our house.  I like to see the variety of runners, starting with the serious runners who are still going strong when they get to our house, followed by the semi-athletic and not-so-serious runners, then the families (those kids and/or strollers slow them down), and then the people who just signed up for fun and who are just walking leisurely.  (Last year I watched the runners from our kitchen as I made pancakes; the irony was not lost on me).

But my favorite part of the festivities is the St. Patrick's Day festival.  You've never seen so much green and Irish stuff in one place, and it's fun to be a part of that.

Me & Logan on the flying elephants; he LOVED this! (Check out the green t-shirt I found from 5th grade!  I think it was part of some kind of reading incentive program because at the bottom it shows that I read 9,500 pages.)

Owen was probably not quite tall enough to ride the Fun Slide by himself (not in an adult's lap), but with a little tippy-toeing near the height chart, he made it through.  From the look on his face (and the fact that this was his second slide in a row) he had fun.  He wore himself out with all the rides, and especially with his favorite thing, the bounce houses.

We came home from the St. Patrick's Day Festival to find some holiday cards and stickers for the boys in our mailbox.  This is how Logan does stickers: he puts each sticker on his shirt, one at at time, and they all end up in one pile.

A few days later, on the real St. Patrick's Day, Owen made a leprechaun hat at preschool and he thought Logan might want one, too.  He came home and decided to grab some construction paper, markers, and scissors and make a hat for his brother.

Ice Crystals

Living in the Bay Area, in a climate where the temperature rarely drops below freezing, it is indescribably AWESOME to find ice crystals on your car's windows when you visit someplace cold.

(photo taken with my iPhone; kicking myself for leaving my macro lens at home)

New Year, Old Friends

One of my favorite aspects of our trips to Quincy is watching the kids play together.  It reminds me of the olden days, when I would see my cousins at holidays, and we would be shy at first, but then we'd pick up where we left off the last visit.  Both Owen and Logan gobbled up the idea of a new house to play in and new toys to play with.  Poor Logan was just too little for so many things; he spent a good part of the trip just following the big kids around.

Logan trying to track down the action

Logan, still a step behind the big kids

Logan, Jakodi, and Emmery

Logan, unable to climb to the top bunk, and jealous of Jakodi (whose feet you can see) because she can

The boys (look at ALL THOSE LEGOS!)

Running down the hall...

...chasing each other...

...and just looking for his buddies

Seamas and Jeremy, and there I am in the background :)

I prompted them to just do something they'd naturally do.  Hmmm.

One final bit of Christmas magic