Happy Thanksgiving

Nov.24-Nov.30, 2008
Cold Monday—lots of role playing games with the boys. We only made it out of the apartment for music class and by that time the boys were very ready to get out and run around. We left early and I let them collect sticks for a while in front of the boy scout building. The boys both wanted to wear their superman outfits to class.


Isaac has fully entered the “WHY” stage, except for most of the time he says “how” instead of “why.” He’ll say things like “how is it that we don’t have a swimming pool on our roof” And “how did I not want to be reverent in church?”

Levi surprises me everyday with how well he understands and communicates. After getting home from playing with his friend Jordan today he said, “mom, I want Buzz lighyear shoes like Jordan. We need to go shopping for Buzz Lightyear shoes. He cracks me up.

I had my OB appointment on Tuesday morning and she said everything looks good. I had partial placenta previa on my first ultrasound, but the ultrasound they did on Friday showed that everything was okay now. The baby’s weight is fiftieth percentile and there’s plently of fluid in the womb. I also passed my glucose test, Dr. Prilou did say that since my iron count was low in my last blood test, I need to start taking an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamin.

Isaac really loves elevators. Today he wanted to go over to the Central Library just so that he could push the letter “R” for roof. We went up there, but all of the doors to get out on the roof were locked. Isaac loves asking people what floor they’re going to and pushing the button for them.

Levi is obsessed with popcorn, but he’ll still eat lots of other good foods like cucumbers, asparagus, baby tomatoes, and carrots. I really wish that Isaac would eat vegetables like Levi!! Isaac drives me crazy with his eating habits and I know that I’m part of the problem because I’ve let him get away with it.

Isaac seems very sensitive to my moods now and if I’m not smiling he’ll say, “mom, how is your mouth feeling?”—its kind of his subtle hint that I need to remember to smile.

Levi’s new favorite game is “momma cave.” He really enjoys pretending that the bed spread on Isaac’s bed is a cave and then getting tickled inside the “cave.”

We found the Toy Story 2 music soundtrack at the library and the boys love listening to track number four over and over and pretending to fly around the house like Buzz Lightyear. I really need to take a short video clip of it because it looks really funny to see them running all over the place with their hands stretched out in front of them.

Isaac wanted to know this week where the baby will come out of me. He wanted to know if the baby was coming out of my mouth—well not exactly. . .I remember when I was a kid I thought that babies came out of the belly button.

Thanksgiving!! We had a very nice Thanksgiving celebration with the Millers and the Hollingshaus family over at Edgewater Apartments. We had the big turkey dinner over there potluck style and then everybody came over to our place for games and dessert. Isaac and Levi had a blast playing with Jackson and Jordan. Isaac actually ate some of the turkey which was a total miracle. He also ate almost a pint of strawberries from the fruit salad. Levi was too distracted with the Buzz Lightyear toys to even think about eating.

Isaac asked me tonight why his friend Jackson had to go far away in May. He overhead John talking about his job offer in San Francisco and how they’ll be moving. It’s hard because Isaac’s really starting to understand things like people moving and not coming back. He kept saying, “I just want Jackson to stay here in Philadelphia with me!” It’s going to be really difficult for Isaac to lose a good friend. I’m really glad that he’s got Levi though and at least he has the security of knowing that they’ll stick together because they’re brothers.

Isaac and Levi and VERY excited about Christmas. Isaac is the most excited because he loves the idea of Santa Claus bringing presents. He can now say in Spanish “quiero ir al polo norte”

The boys woke up Sunday morning and decided that they wanted to pretend to be the Wiggles. Isaac was Greg, Levi was Anthony, I was Murray, and James was Jeff. It was hilarious because Isaac kept up pretty well with the Australian accent. He also insisted on wearing yellow to church so he could be in Greg colors. We compromised with a yellow t-shirt under a blue sweater.
I love my boys.

Vacuum Power

Newsflash: Isaac has overcome his fear of vacuums and beaters. Unbelievable. This week he actually asked if he could help me vacuum and then he wanted to help use the beater to make cookies. This is major progress for him—he used to run from the room when he even heard the word vacuum or beater and he would shut the door to avoid the sound. I’m not sure what changed things for him—but I am very grateful to see this change in him. Es un milagro.

More fire station pics

Firestation frenzy

Nov. 17-Nov.23, 2008
Monday morning we headed over to Target to pick up a b-day present for our Chilean amigos. Matias and Pepita are having a joint b-day party on Saturday since their birthdays are so close together. I just had to grab a couple of things quickly since lingering in the toy section with my boys is a ticket to the land of meltdowns.

Mr. John the music teacher gave the kids cds at the end of class and Isaac and Levi can’t get enough of listening to it.

I went to Isaac’s preschool on Tuesday to teach a lesson at the end of class. All of the kids get to have their parent come in and teach something with them once during the year. I let Isaac show off his Spanish skills and we taught los numeros y los colores. We also did a fun treasure hunt at the end and I let Isaac find the “galletas” to share with all of his classmates.

Wednesday morning we went over to a local firestation for a fire house tour and the boys really got a kick out of that. The firefighters let them try out the firehose and pretend to drive the firetrucks. Levi kept saying, “there’s no fire” and then looking up at me for reassurance. He wasn’t sure why were were talking so much about fire and getting out the fire hoses when he couldn’t see any fire. Isaac was very excited about getting to climb up in the fire truck and pretending to drive it. He was hoping that the firefighters would let him take the truck for a spin around Philly.

Jackson and Jordan came over Wednesday night while Carrie went to a meeting and Isaac and Levi were in heaven with their buddies over. They wanted to do playdough and then take a bath together. Isaac is always disappointed when they can’t spend the night.
Thursday was just a long cold day. Isaac had school, but afterwards it was too cold and dark to go out again.
Friday morning we woke up to SNOW! It was snowing outside and I had to go to a doctor’s appointment. Isaac kept trying to catch the snowflakes on his tongue when we were walking outside.

We found Toy Story 2 at the library and Levi has become even more obsessed with Buzz and Woody. He really loves pretending to be Buzz Lightyear and jumping of the bed or bureau while yelling “To infinity and beyond!!!”

Saturday was a morning shopping marathon at Aldis and then I let the kids play and eat at Chickfilae and Ikea. They had a lot of fun a the Matias and Pepita fiesta and had chance to practice a lot of great words like “pastel” “regalo” “globo” and “juguetes.”

We had a Sunday afternoon Thanksgiving potluck at the Huntsman building for the Wharton Kids Club. Isaac and Levi started a game of red light green light with the other kids and they totally wore themselves out running back and forth in the lobby.

Superboys

Isaac and Levi both love snacking on frozen yogurt tubes after they're done leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

bubbles. . .las burbujas

The boys love taking bubble baths now. We got some Dora strawberry scented bubble bath and they love playing with the bubbles.

Petite Rouge

Nov.10-Nov.16, 2008
Jessica Larson took care of the boys Monday morning while I went to the dentist—the boys absolutely love the chance to get to play with other people’s toys. Charlton has a Woody toy the Isaac really wanted to take home and Levi wanted to leave with a handful of cars. My kids would make great shoplifters.

Levi can say sentences now like, “there’s something in my eye” and “fix it mom” and “are you tired?” he always amazes me with his ability to communicate. I also got him to say “gracias por la manzana” when Laura gave him an apple when we stopped by her apartment on Tuesday.

I read Isaac the story of Petite Rouge that my brother gave me and Isaac was very interested in the part where Petite Rouge gives the alligator hot sauce. Isaac has chapping around is mouth from biting his lip and being out in the cold and after reading the hot sauce part of the story he his convinced that I gave him hot sauce because he says his mouth burns like the alligator’s.

They put the Christmas tree up in our building and both of the boys think it looks magical. Isaac asked if it was Christmas Eve yet. I told him we had to wait for Thanksgiving first and he got pretty upset about that and said, “no I don’t want Thanksgiving—just Christmas!!”

Isaac: “Mom, remember in far away time when you stepped on my foot.”—I thought it was interesting that he came up with the term “far away time” to describe “a long time ago”

Levi must be going through a growth spurt because he’s been pounding a lot of food lately.

Friday morning I took the boys in for their first visit to the pediatrician here to get their flu shots and for Levi’s 2 year old check up. I was pleasantly surprised with their new pediatrician. She seems really thorough and it was nice to have a doctor that didn’t just rush in and out of the room.

James took the boys to the Children’s Museum on Saturday and when he was putting away some of the pretend food at the marketplace he heard a parent screaming, “whose child is this!!!” Apparently, Levi had a sharing crisis with a little girl and he ended up biting her arm and leaving teeth marks—not good. James felt pretty bad about it. Its tough with Levi because for the most part he plays really well with other kids, but he will bite when he gets really frustrated.

Saturday afternoon here was a last beautiful breath of summer. It was in the mid-sixties and I took the boys on a long walk down the Schukill River Trail. Isaac wanted to explore a spooky forest so we went off the trail in a couple of places to go “exploring” and crunch through the fall leaves. I really wish that I would have remembered to bring the camera because it was the last glorious day of fall and I didn’t get any pics of all of the natural beauty here. At least we’ll be here for one more autumn season. We went past the art musueum for the first time and over to a place called waterworks that has some nice lookouts over the river and a place where you can feed the ducks. There were a few wedding parties going on and Isaac asked me if we were in “wedding land.”

Levi can finish the words when we say a prayer in Spanish and his new favorite Spanish word is “tiburones.” He and Isaac love pretending to be crocodiles and sharks.

Reading Stories with Momma

Nov. 3- Nov. 10, 2008
Monday, Monday—Carrie had a doctor’s appointment so I watched Jackson and Jordan in the morning at our place. The boys had a ball dancing to the animal, freeze, and elephant songs. After music class we walked over to our Chilean friend’s apartment because the weather was actually pretty nice. Their kids were watching the Cars movie and Levi was enthralled.

Levi has become a much better eater now that he’s totally off of the milk bottle. He also poops a lot more too. . .

The other day Isaac said, “We have three houses—one in Houston, one in Arizona, and one in Philadelphia—we live all over the world mom!” I reminded him that we’d also lived in San Diego, but he looked at me like that was over the top.

Wednesday morning I was supposed to go to a Book Club to discuss A Long Way Gone—but I woke up late and I could not get momentum with the boys to get out the door. I still hadn’t quite finished the book so I let the boys play around the house while I finished reading it and WOW is it ever a powerful book. It’s about a boy soldier who lives through horrific cycles of war in Sierra Leone and it’s a very well written memoir. It’s shocking to think that so many kids have had to live through such chaos. It really turns your world upside down and makes you realize the priceless nature of the safety and comfort that most of us have in this country.

Carrie took care of the boys Thursday morning so that I could go on a school tour of the Independence Charter School over on 16th and Lombard Street. It’s a school that offers a Spanish immersion program so it would be a great opportunity for Isaac. The spots are filled by the lottery system though so it looks like he’d have a one in five chance of getting in.

Spanish class today (Thursday) was a bit chaotic but the kids liked the new cocodrilo song and pretending to be astronauts and blast off to the moon. Isaac actually came up with the astronaut game and all of the kids love it.

Our Chilean amigos came over on Friday morning and Isaac learned how to say “tenemos que tomar turnos” from Mattias.
Saturday afternoon James took the boys to a kids haircutting salon to get official hair cuts since my attempts at trimming were not keeping up with their hair growth. They both look a lot better—Levi looks so much more grown up!

Isaac will say sweet things out of the blue now like, “I think I love you momma” and “you look pretty momma”

The fall leaves here are incredibly GORGEOUS right now. All of the trees seems to have changed colors over night and there is a glorious canopy of yellows, oranges, and reds all over Philadelphia. The most beautiful spot I’ve been to so far is the park over by Isaac’s preschool. I took Levi to play there on Tuesday and we thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by a kaleidoscope of colors.

Conversations with Isaac lately are hilarious. He said, “Mom, I want the baby to come out of your tummy. You must swallow a shovel so that the baby can dig his way out of your tummy okay?”
I told Isaac on Sunday that he was going to have two little brothers soon.
Isaac, “no mom, I want three little brothers.”
Me, “really, and how many sisters do you want?
Isaac, “one hundred!!”

Converstaion in Spanish with Isaac:
Isaac, “mama, tu eres muy alta!”
Me, “si, y tu eres bajo.”
Isaac, “y tu eres arriba tambien mama”
Me, “tu eres chistoso Isaac”

Levi’s Spanish is more receptive than productive right now, but he keeps up just fine—especially when our Chilean friends come over. He loves saying “Buenos Dias” and “Adios”

Isaac is all about counting all the way to one hundred these days. He especially likes counting to one hundred with the parachute during Spanish class which can also be kind of annoying when everyone else would prefer to stop at ten.

Levi is the ultimate energizer bunny. He gets such a kick out of rough housing with James. James and the boys have invented a new game called “zip, zip” where the boys come running and then leap into James’ arms and then he tosses them on the bed so that they bounce really high.

Tiger and pirate smiles

Wearing the big shoes

Levi still loves wearing his tiger hat and he especially loves trying to walk around in James' shoes.

Trunk or Treat at the church

Just when you thought Halloween was over. . .our church had a kids "trunk or treat" activity on the day after Halloween so the kids got to dress up one more time and loved it.

Trick or Treating on Halloween

We took the boys trick or treating to the town houses around our apartment building. Needless to say, they think Halloween is the coolest holiday ever.

Halloween Party at Isaac's school

Isaac's preschool had a Halloween party on Wednesday and I helped out with the morning activities.

Here's the update on weekly craziness. . .

Oct.27-Nov 2, 2008
Isaac really enjoys the music class that we go to on Mondays. There’s a song about animals waking up in the morning and Mr. John always asks Isaac what animal he wants to sing about and he says “a dragon!”

Isaac always insists on pushing the Basement or Sub-basement button in the elevator. He also likes pushing other numbers when he can get away with it too.

The weather was miserable outside on Tuesday—the world series game even got postponed in the middle of the game because of the constant rain. I was surprised that 3 moms actually made it to Spanish class. It was small but we had a good time learning the playtime ASL/Spanish vocab.

Wednesday morning I took the boys to the Please Touch museum and they had a blast. We discovered the playdough/painting room and they were in heaven.

Thursday was a Halloween party at Isaac’s school and I volunteered at their mini “carnival.” A few of the mom’s set up stations like cookie decorating, mask making, stories, etc. I had the kids play a basketball game and read a Halloween story with them. It was fun to see Isaac interacting with the other kids in his preschool class. The teacher brought some dry ice and poured root beer on it inside a plastic black cauldron for the kids and they all thought that was magical. At the end when all of the mom’s came to pick everyone up, the kids sang a couple of cute Halloween songs. I was impressed at how well Isaac knew the words! He was a very cute pirate.

Thursday afternoon I took the kids over to campus and we helped out at the bake sale that Mandy and I organized for Kids Club. James distracted the kids so I could try to sell what was left of the cookies, muffins, etc. I was amazed to do the finally tally and realize that we had raised over a thousand dollars!!! $1055 to be exact. Last year they made $500 so we doubled expectations. Pretty cool. And then the Phillies won the world series early Thursday night—definitely a day for celebration.

Friday was kind of a rough day—I think I was feeling grumpy from lack of sleep and a long week of not seeing that much of James. We muddled through the morning—usually our Chilean friends come over, but with the craziness in the streets due to the Phillies parade, it didn’t work out. The afternoon got better when I took the kids over to the science museum. We discovered a new section we hadn’t seen before called Sir Isaac Newton’s workshop.

Our ward had a trunk or treat party on Saturday so the boys got to indulge in the Halloween festivities at least one more time. Before the dishing out of the candy though there was a get together inside with chili, corn muffins and fruit. The boys ran around the church and Levi got a hold of two corn muffins and managed to distribute the crumbs in an artistic pattern through the building hallways. Needless to say I spent a good chunk of time vaccuming it all up.

On Sunday I helped teach the 10 and 11 year old girls in primary. As part of the lesson I asked them what they would do to get ready if Jesus was coming to their house. A couple of them gave basic answers like clean their rooms and be nice to their brothers and sisters, but one of the girls said, “Well, the first thing I would do is make popcorn. Then I would get out some candy—but not too much candy because Jesus wouldn’t like that. Then I would find some good movies to watch with him.”

Levi is all about participating in Isaac’s role playing games these days. He’ll say “I’m Buzz Lightyear and your Woody and Isaac is T-Rex.” He also likes to be baby Jaguar and have me be Diego.