pre-Christmas fun

I have almost forgotten about the fun stuff we did before Christmas. Time is a flyin' and tomorrow is 2010!!!

Our moms have arrived and the kids are ecstatic!! And the spoiling continues. Ruby gave us the gift of climbing out of her crib on Christmas. We removed the front panel of her crib and she now has full run of the room. Sigh. Never a dull moment around here!

Royal Albert Hall

Ruby was a little overwhelmed when Santa came out

not such a fan of giant santa

merry

It was a Merry Christmas indeed!

Our first London Christmas was oh so much fun. It was so nice to wake up in our own bed and in our own home. The kids were tickled with all of their goodies and after some very delicious homemade cinnamon buns (which I made!!) we got dressed and headed to church with the South Africans. The rest of the day was spent eating, lounging around and then, eventually, cooking. We ate and ate and ate and drank many, many bottles of bubbles. It was the perfect day spent with the people we love. And, miraculously I was finally able to fit my foot into one of my new pairs of boots. Yay!! A Christmas miracle indeed!

kaneu's "office"

waiting patiently for Jesus' birthday cake

the answers

You guys are good!!! We will have to play this little game again.

"yeah, i'm having massive cravings for a third kid"

Brian ... he is really making it known around here that another child is wanted badly!! I have to agree with him but we just don't know how exactly our family will be expanding. Living overseas makes it very difficult to adopt from S.Korea, which would be our preference. We haven't looked into other options BUT we are planning a trip to S.Korea this summer. A proper vacation in our children's birth country. We cannot wait.

"i've wanted to do this my whole life!! this is so fun ... you are the best mama ever"

Kaneu ... we were in the kitchen making sugar cookies and our boy was having so much fun. Too bad I burnt the cookies to a crisp. You would think after almost 4 years I would get the hang of converting from fahrenheit to celsius!

"baby bottle, mama ... i share with rosie, mama"

Ruby ... was given a babydoll for her birthday and she is all about giving the baby the bottle and even sharing her plug (pacifier) with the baby. She is also all about sharing with Rosie. She is so proud of herself and anytime she drops (throws!) food from the table she signs "share" and says "I share Rosie". Sneaky yet gracious little lady.

"more bubbles, please"

Me ... we've really been on a sparkling wine kick ever since Thanksgiving ... and if that is wrong I don't wannt be right!!

merry merry!!

xo

what's been heard at our house today

can you guess WHO said WHAT??

"yeah, i'm having massive cravings for a third kid"

"i've wanted to do this my whole life!! this is so fun ... you are the best mama ever"

"baby bottle, mama ... i share with rosie, mama"

"more bubbles, please"

what's been going on

We were all a little sick yesterday. It was a very loooooong day. I seriously thought that it would never end. Brian was out of town for work and so it felt extra long because we stayed inside all.day.long. Did I mention it was a long day yesterday? Thankfully we're back to normal today.

Ruby took it upon herself to tp the bathroom while Kaneu and I worked on cards for his class. She is turning into quite the mischievous girl!! She really (and literally!)keeps me on my toes. Today I found a puddle next to Kaneu's bed. I think potty training is definitely in order!!

Today we woke up to snow! Such a treat.

I *think* my foot is on the mend, though haven't I been saying the for 5 weeks?! I am on my 2nd antibiotic and I actually think it's working and it doesn't make me feel like I want to puke my guts out. Good, eh? Sigh. A minor setback in the big scheme.

In other exciting news we are moving!! I am ecstatic though right now I am feeling so overwhelmed. We are not moving far, just down the road, but we are going to be in a house. You just don't even know how this is going to change our lives. We shall have space!! and closets!! and the kids can have their own rooms!! and we will have not one, not two but 3 spare rooms!!! One of which will be a designated space for my sewing stuff. I will really miss our cozy little garden flat but it's time to move on. Our family is growing and so is our stuff. Our move date is Jan 15 and there is much to be done between now and then - including Christmas, visits w/our moms AND a family ski trip to France.Here is a sneak peak of our new kitchen. I am in love.

Okay, no more procrastinating. There are about 7 loads of laundry to be folded, a house to clean. lunch to be made and I could go on ...

3 things

Last week I asked Kaneu what he would like Santa to bring him. He replied "I will be happy with anything. Any toys I will like." This was a)sweet and b) a relief because I have already completed his shopping. Flash forward to two days ago and he says to me "can we make a list of things I'd like Santa to bring ... a microscope, an office and gum."

Where does he come up with this stuff?

in action

Here are some video clips of the newest 2 yr old in action.

Hope you are having a great weekend. Brian is skiing this weekend with JD so Elaine and I are having yet another girly weekend! It seems that last weekend in Italy did not agree with my poor foot and I came home with an aching and very swollen foot. A quick trip to the dr on Tuesday confirmed that it is infected :( I had a feeling something just wasn't right. The very top of the incision has been very slow to heal. Thankfully I am on the mend now ... 4+ weeks later!! Our trip to Italy was SO much fun. We shopped 'til we dropped, drank the most delicous local wines and ate and ate and ate. It was perfect. I will post pictures just as soon as I can.

two, cont'd

Ruby's 2nd Birthday

We did not have a big party because the kids had been sick and I just knew that something like that was going to happen. Mother's intuition!! We still had a sweet day which started off with a cupcake after breakfast. We spent the day just the 3 of us while Kaneu was at school. After he came home Ruby opened gifts. She didn't get too spoiled. Our moms gave her a beautiful wooden play kitchen. We bought some accessories to go with and gave her her very own box of girly leg*s. Her special gift was a beautiful little blue box that she will get when she is much, much older. Brian's dad and stepmom did spoil her rotten with tons of girly toys that she probably otherwise would not have. She adores them all. We are still a little clueless when it comes to girls!! Afterwards we went out for pizza, followed by the most delicious (and beautiful!) cupcakes I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. I have to give props to Brian because he ordered them and they were so good!!

wooden sushi!

she loves her "daydough"

her first ponies- pinkie pie & rainbow dash

pinkie pie is her fave

and somebody else's fave, too!

Last Thursday I took Ruby to Wigmore Hall for a tots chamber concert. We had a fun time and she was really taken with the music. All in all I think this girls 2nd birthday was a success!

Ruby's Favorite Things ...

Bedtime ... For the last year we have always put her to bed with 3 things: OohOohAhhAhh (aka Pink Monkey), her pink blankie and her plug. They are still the must-haves for bedtime though it seems like lately she has become very attached to her blankie and her plug as in she carries them around with her a lot of the time.

Books... She loves all books and is constantly carrying them around with her. Musical books (which drive me crazy!) are what she adores especially if they play "Wheels on the Bus". Another top favorite is Goodnight Gorilla.

Songs...

Wheels on the Bus. She goes nuts over this. We sing it at least several times a day. Sometimes it's the only way I can get her to brush her teeth. We sing a LOT. It's good bribery. Oh, you don't want to brush your teeth? Well let's sing "wheels on the bus" and before you know she's forgotten what it was that I wanted her to do and happily obliges.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This is her new favorite song that she likes to sing all by herself. Brian said she sang it for an entire hour over the weekend. Can you imagine how sweet that sounded?

Rockabye Baby. Several times a day and before bedtime she will ask "mama rock" and signs "baby".

Language

She is talking SO much. By far the words I hear the most each day are ...

"dat mommy?" (what's that mommy?)

"mama booboo" (while pointing to my foot)

"round and round" aka The Wheels on the Bus video

"nak mommy"

"nu nu bye bye"

"miney"

"no miney"

"i need help mama"

Arts and Crafts

She loves to do craft projects and is so proud of what she makes. There is a little paper angel hanging on the tree that she made over the weekend. When I got home (from Italy!!) that was the first thing she showed me.

There are a zillion other things that she is doing and saying but as always I have little time and even less brain power!