Daddy week, birthday parties and old friends

New Years week Daddy stayed home with the kids while I worked Monday through Thursday. Daddy had a shut down at work and I needed the extra hours to qualify for FMLA for maternity leave.  Daddy daycare is much more fun and exiting than mommy daycare. Daddy took the kids to swim, to story time, to Sports Basement, to the bank, grocery shopping, to visit Mommy at work and much more. The kids got out and played every day. Axel even helped Daddy do yard work. The kids had a great week and I could tell how much their relationships grew from a week together.  

On New Year's Eve, Daddy took me to see Star Wars in IMAX 3D. It was a great day and we really enjoyed ourselves. The kids loved that Monica came over to watch them as well, so it was a win, win evening for the entire family.

The kids still love books. Axel finished an entire reading level on Razz kids over his winter break, which is an online reading site through his school. It is amazing at how much his reading has improved so far this year. He was able to read a Magic tree house book almost completely by himself. It seems like just yesterday I was reading the Magic tree house series to him and now he can read it to me!

 I forgot to thank everyone for sending Christmas gifts. The kids loved everything they received, whether store bought or home made. We have managed to use everything we received so thank you. Here is the 500 piece puzzle little Grammy sent that Axel and Daddy worked on during winter break. Axel is really getting good at puzzles.

Axel enjoyed his winter break but was very excited to get back to school. He absolutely loves it. This week was my first week back to 3 days a week. It was really nice to have the extra time to spend with the kids and get things done. On Friday, I went to Axel's classroom to volunteer for Project Cornerstone. Usually I go without Phoenix because it is during her nap time. Since it was changed to the morning I decided to bring Phoenix too. The kids and Axel absolutely loved her being there. She did great for the first 45 minutes and then struggled for about 10 minutes until we transitioned from the floor to the desks. 

 Friday after school and both mornings this weekend have been spent catching up with our good old neighbors the Bartolos. Max, Sophia, Axel and Phoenix played extremely well together.

 These last three play dates are bittersweet as this visit was to get their house ready to sell. They have been gone for just over 2.5 years and need to sell their house before the 3 year mark in order to get around some tax implications.

 We will say our final goodbyes tomorrow night before they head out for good on Tuesday. Our only saving grace is if a nice family with children around Axel and Phoenix's age buy their house. Our neighborhood is not as much fun without kids to play with, so we are keeping are fingers crossed.

 Yesterday afternoon we headed to Automobuild for our neighbor's son Charlie's 4 year birthday party.

 Axel and Phoenix had a great time. We haven't really played with Evelyn and Charlie very often, but it is nice that they invited us to their party. Speaking to their mom, it might be a good idea not to get too attached as they are likely going to try to buy a house this summer before their 1 year lease ends.

Today we are headed over to Tyler and Cynthia's for a BBQ once Phoenix wakes from her nap. Axel also started another 8 week session of weekly swim lessons at the Y. We are gearing up for baseball tryouts next Saturday morning and then Pheeny's 3 year old birthday party the following weekend!

A Very Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. Here is one of Axel's beautiful art projects that he did at school. His school had him make 3 ornaments for us as gifts as well as several other art projects like below. I don't have them pictured because we have so many other pictures to share. 

 On Friday, the 18th of December the kids and I finally did our annual gingerbread house. This year they picked the village. Axel and I did the village several years ago. I thought this was a great idea so they both had their own houses to decorate.

 Axel had his last weekly winter swim lesson on Saturday the 19th. He is wearing his new rash shirt that we bought in San Diego. Unfortantely, the YMCA is very strict and wouldn't let us take pictures of him during his lesson. It was really good for him to have 6 weeks of lessons because it helped him maintain his back stroke and free style that he learned this summer. His back stroke continues to improve and he is able to swim the distance of the pool. Endurance is his main issue and what prevents him from being able to do the crawl across the length of the pool, which is a necessity for him to move up to the next level. He is going to do one more set of weekly lessons to bridge him to when the Cabana club opens, a pool that we joined this year.

 On Sunday the 19th we went to Eileen's house for her annual holiday get together. They moved into a house in San Carlos that is right next to a street that they close down at night for on lookers to come and enjoy the lights.

 It was very enjoyable for the kids and I to see the houses covered in lights.

 I only had to work 2 days Christmas week. The kids loved having Annika home from school watching them all day. On Wednesday we went to story time. I received a message from Grandma Sonia that she wanted a picture of me with the kids. The only two pictures I had were from Mother's day and they weren't very good. Here is a picture of me trying to get a picture with the kids. I love how engrossed they are in the story.

On Wednesday night we went to Petco and got Louis an early Christmas gift, a new bed. He  hurt his back again and he is no longer the young spry dog who can go up and down the stool to the couch. The family has finally come to grips that Louis is aging and needs some accommodations.

 On Christmas Eve, we were able to spend the day together. The kids opened their one gift, which happened to be matching pajamas this year. Keith and I found them and decided we wanted to make this a family tradition.

 After opening the gift we got ready for an early church service. I had Daddy take pictures of the kids and I since we really didn't have any pictures together all year.

 I love my kiddos so much!

 Here are the kids in their pajamas. We watched a Christmas movie and ate some yummy cookies before heading for bed.

 Here is a great picture of Daddy and the kids right before bed.

 Christmas morning the kids woke up excited as usual. We opened our stockings and then had our traditional slow cooked pumpkin pie oatmeal before heading to the pin ball room to open gifts. I was able to get another picture of the two before we dug into gift opening.

 Here is a picture of Phoenix after opening a gift. This was her after every gift. She was over the top happy with everything she received. It didn't matter if it was her super hero underwear in her stocking or a little purse. She loved everything!

 Axel also loved all of his gifts. Here he is being Mr. Rico Suave in his new Star Wars robe. The robe was purchased with the idea to keep him warm after swim lessons, although he wears it much more often than just s

 Axel is very thoughtful and got gifts from the heart for Daddy and I. Here is a picture of Axel giving Daddy his checker/chess set that he really wanted. Daddy wanted to teach Axel how to play chess and checkers over the break and that has been more than accomplished. Axel has such a great memory that he has picked up both games quite easily and remembers all of the strategies that Daddy is teaching him.

I finally received the Cooking Light magazine that I have been getting as hand me downs for years. The girlfriend who had been giving me her old magazines moved away so I asked for my own subscription. Axel made me a beautiful card and purchased a two year subscription!

 After opening all of the gifts Phoenix spent hours playing with each of her new toys.

 Axel spent the rest of the day putting together his new Ninjago Lego set. Both kids had a wonderful Christmas.

 The next day we ate breakfast and headed to Grandma Susan's house. We spent the day enjoying each others company, opening more gifts and eating yummy food.

 Shannon and I finally took a picture together. It has been years!

 And we finally got a picture of all of the girls in the family!

 Speaking of girls, Braylin and Phoenix had a blast playing together. Instead of napping they played on the blow up mattress together. They were adorable!

 Axel spent most of the day building his new Shockwave marble kit.

 The only break he took was to watch a movie with the girls. The girls were so tired and rambunctious I was glad to get them settled down for a short bit.

This week Daddy has been home with the kids all week while I have been working. It has been such a treat to see how their relationship has blossomed in just a few days. They absolutely have loved spending so much time with Daddy.

I was also very excited that my loving husband wanted to go out on New Year's to a movie! If anyone knows Keith, they know he doesn't like to go out on New Year's and doesn't like to go to the movies. Well, thank you Star Wars! We really enjoyed Star Wars in 3D at the IMAX theater.

Today has been low key and more family time. We were suppose to go to a friend's house, but they are sick from travels. We look forward to a weekend together before our regular routine starts on Monday.

San Diego Vacation

Last weekend we had a lovely long weekend in San Diego. We left on Thursday and were there in time to enjoy some fun play time on the sand and a few minutes of the hot tub.



We had a rough night our first night as we tried to get the kids to sleep together for the first time. Phoenix missed her nap so she was asleep by 6:45pm. Axel crawled into bed next to her around 7:30pm and then by 10pm everyone was up. We played musical beds most of the night until Phoenix finally fell asleep in my bed and Keith in Axel's bed.

The next morning we headed to Legoland. It was a day full of fun. We arrived just after 10am. We enjoyed almost all of the attractions.

The highlights of the day were making your own Lego car and racing it down the race tracks. Axel designed an awesome car that kept winning. You can see from the pictures below.



The other highlight was Axel and Daddy participating in a 1 hour Lego Robotics class. Phoenix and I were able to sneak in for the first and last 15 minutes of the class. The remaining time while we were waiting Phoenix enjoyed a yummy soft serve ice cream. I got to help only when the ice cream started to drip. I was impressed that she was able to finish it almost entirely by herself!



You can see from the many pictures that it was an awesome day. Axel was in heaven. We were able to make it through until nearly close. Because we stayed so long we had the not so lucky luxury of San Diego rush hour traffic and spent over an hour getting back to our hotel. If you ask Axel he would say it was worth the long car ride home to have 6.5 hours at Legoland!









The next day we spent the morning on the beach. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, Axel more than Phoenix. Phoenix got wet and cold so we headed in an hour earlier than Daddy and Axel.


After nap time we headed to Sea World. We were able to enjoy their Christmas Village.

Phoenix even got to meet Santa. Axel and Daddy wanted to go to the sea lion show so Phoenix and I rode a few rides and then met with Santa. This is the first year she didn't cry. She also answered all of his questions. She said she wants a doll and bear and was very excited about the candy cane that Santa gave her. We ended the night watching the Christmas Shamu special. It was a very fun afternoon and the kids were ready for bed once we got home. We learned that as long as Phoenix has her own space (like a couch) that the kids sleep well in the same room. She just can't sleep with other people in the same bed because it was too exciting and new for her.




















The next day we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was such a great experience. It is so different than any other zoo that Keith and I have been too. The two highlights for me were seeing the gorilla/ape and the orangutan with their babies. The ape has a new born between her knees and they are sleeping together. The orangutan's baby was 2 years old and awfully cute and playful.











After a lovely day at the zoo we went out for a nice dinner along the boardwalk and saw a beautiful sun set. We absolutely love our little family vacations and hope we can continue doing them.

This week  has been full of Christmas parties and school field trips. Next week is just as busy. We had lovely little get togethers the past couple of days over the weekend and are looking forward to more social fun over the next couple of weeks. Axel developed pink eye Saturday evening and our morning this morning was spent getting him the proper eye drops. His eyes look great now and hopefully school will help assist him with the drops without a doctors note! The good thing about phone appointments are that you don't have to see the doctor. The bad thing is that you don't see the doctor and therefore can't get a note for school! Lets hope an email will suffice! 

Have a great week!