A quiet midnight feeding

Taj is out of town for a few days -- we managed to find a buyer for our condo, and she went over there to clear it out.  In the meanwhile, the boys and I are staying at home.

The boys had a lot of fun at 'Namma and Grandfather's house, so by the time we got home around 8:30pm, they were asleep in the car, and then went right to bed at home.

I had the baby monitor on, all was quiet, and I was getting some work done... Then, about fifteen minutes ago, the bedroom door opened, and Nic came out to the living room.  He did not make a single sound!   He looked calm, and didn't cry or complain...  Just a semi-sleepy walk over to where I was sitting.

I grabbed the plate of left over french fries that I had saved (just in case one of them woke up hungry) and offered it to him: "Are you hungry?" 

He nodded, and then proceeded to eat the fries -- quietly.  The only minor fuss was when I dipped one of the fries and handed it to him.  (He's going through a "must do everything myself" phase.)

...and now, as I'm about to click Publish, the quiet has been broken.  "Daddy go play, daddy go play..."

Savoring his bottle

Jac still bottle feeds in the middle of the night.  When he stopped only half way through, I asked him if I could take the bottle and put it away in the fridge.  He clutched the bottle and replied, "No... I'm going to savor it!"

Jac's new Snoopy shirt!

We went to Knott's Berry Farm with all of the cousins and had a nice time. Jac picked out this shirt for his one item that money promised to buy.

Weaning?

I have not spent a night away from Nicie since he was born and only a few away from Jac. And I am not at home tonight. I am not calling and checking in, I am trying to take the no news is good news approach.

I know my milk supply is going to change a lot if Nic doesn't nurse, and I feel sad about it. But I think it is about time. It is comfort at this point, but for both of us in a way. With all that is going on, I need to know that he can be okay without me for a night.

Augh! Hard!

Ama's food

Ama and Akon have been helping out!!! with the boys a lot this week. Ama has been feeding them and of course! cooking for them! They love it! They ask for more and more of her food! Not mine! I am going to actually have to learn how to cook - for real - or all of my boys! may move in with Ama!

Really?

I have lost my iPhone 3 times in the last week, and yet it is in my pocket right now.

I lost my wallet once this week, and yet it is in my bag right now.

Alexis lost her iPad once last week, and yet it is next to her bed right now.

Really?

Can't sleep without all of my boys

I am staying at my parents' house tonight and I can't sleep. I miss all of my boys. Ama is staying with Daddy and the boys, and I am here helping out.

I really miss them. I need a boy on each side, tucked in to me.

I miss you guys!

ABC song

Jac and Nic have been singing the ABC song a lot lately, and Jac can nearly sing the whole thing correctly, without any help.

He doesn't hear the what LMNOP part of the song correctly though, and sings "tem in no pee" instead - which I think is adorable.

One to Ten

Jac can now count from one to ten, with all of the numbers correct in between! Wow! He still prefers 1,3,5,8 (as does Nic) but I have heard him count from one to ten twice.

Glad I didn't have to take the kids out today

I am really glad I didn't have to take the kids out today. It feels like I am being baked!

Happy and sad

This morning I needed to visit my parents but Jac is still sick and so I can't bring them with me. I asked Ama and Akon to come over and stay with them while I went to visit. I told them that I was going to go while Nicie was still doing morning nursing. He asked to nurse the other side and I gave it to him. He nursed and then pulled off and waved to me and said, "Bye bye Mommy." Happy and sad!

Sent from my iPhone

After a long day

We spent the day at Long Beach and it was a long one. It was warm, although much cooler than Pasadena's near record heat. We cooled off with a couple of drinks in the shade.

Too bright!

Jac is actually wearing sunglasses. For more

37 months? Really!

(Jac learning about cat food at Target)

OMG! Jac turned 37 months and it completely passed me by.

I am exhausted. Nic and I have been sick for a week now, Daddy for a few days and Jac just today.

Nic took a nap from 8 pm - 10 pm last night and then stayed up until 2:30 am. Even when he does sleep it is pretty light because the cold has him so stuffy he sniffles along all night.

But... Amongst all of that my Jacie is 37 months old! Wow! Not just 3, but 3 and 1 month.

Today he said the sweetest thing to me, with no prompting. We went to the mall, to get out of the 90 degree plus heat. When we got there the boys spotted a toy store with cars. They of course begged to go in and then wanted to buy a car. They have lots of cars!

I told them that if they both ate a good amount of growing food at lunch that I would buy them a car. Bribery! Plain and simple. We went and had Panda Express for lunch and they both ate well, better than they have for me in a couple weeks!

As we were walking away from lunch Jac said to me, "That was a very good lunch. Thank you Mommy." Oh man! Talk about touching Mommy's heart.

After a bathroom break they got their cars, and a little candy and they were pretty happy!

Jac's imagination has blossomed. He creates all kinds of stories of things that are happening, and places that he is, and what is going on that are not! Tonight he wanted to buy a toy for his cat - he doesn't have a cat, but he wants one, and so he wanted to buy a toy for it. Earlier in the day he was going in and out of his little house (under a blanket), going to sleep in there, and then coming out into his "yard." Cute! Tonight he created a train station with trains coming, outside of Souplantation!

He is into mice at the moment. He wants to watch them on YouTube and he wants one to hold in his hand, and play with, and he comes up with other things the mouse is going to do. This fascination started in NYC when he saw the mice in the Zoo (they weren't supposed to be there ;)

He wants a little dog to carry!

"What does that say on it?" He wants to know what things say now (meaning what is written on them). He asks me all the time to tell him what something says.

"Where are we going?" He wants to know where we are going all the time. He also wants to know where things are. He will ask me, "Where's Nama's house?" and I will point the direction of Nama's house, and he will say, "I want to go there."

He is starting learn the names of places. He knows we live in Pasadena and Nama lives in La Canada. He also knows the name of the street we live on, and he knows that we have phone numbers, but doesn't know what they are yet.

"Where's the moon?" Every night when we drive home from Nama's house, or anyplace else, the boys ask where the moon is. If the moon is not out I tell them that it is sleeping. They will then say (especially Nicie), "Hi moon sleeping." So cute! When the moon is out they get very excited and locate it over and over again.

Fears and caution - Jac has gotten more cautious about the car and getting to and from it. He used to be willing hold hands and walk across the parking lot in our apartment building but now he will only go if he is carried. He says it is dangerous! He also needs me to stand with him and help him into his seat when he climbs up, rather than being willing to climb in all by himself like he had been for a month or so.

Mommy, mommy! Jac is very Mommy focused right now, generally preferring me to do things for him rather than Dadda.

Changing every day! Every day I am amazed by the things that come out Jac's mouth! It is like have a U.N. observer by my side at all times!

Weekend with Mommy

The boys and I spent the entire weekend together - without Daddy for most of it. As I mentioned in a previous post Jac wants to have his own bed in his own bedroom. Daddy spent the weekend cleaning out his office and moving things into our storage space.



On Saturday the boys and I went Knotts Berry Farm. It was pretty hot and there were a lot of people! We had to park in the far western lot which is all the way on the other side of the park from Camp Snoopy where all of the kids rides are. Fortunately the boys were very amenable to using the stroller and I was able to roll them from one side of the park to the other without too much fuss - it would have near on impossible to get them across otherwise - I can still carry them both - but only for about a city block - after that I have to set someone down - and things get really slow.



There were so many people that getting on a ride was a major accomplishment. After some refreshments we got on our first ride, "Huff and Puff." This is one of the boys' favorites and they both had a great time. Next, they wanted to go on the trucks but the lines was REALLY long and in the sun so we (meaning me!) decided to go on the carousel. Both boys were happy to get on but in the end Nicie didn't want to stay on his horse and rode in my arms. Jac happily stayed on his goat and went around and around (but not up and down - his row didn't do that!).



After that we rode the little train and then headed out to the car (we have been driving Nama's car all weekend because Daddy is using our car to ferry stuff to the storage place). Nic fell asleep on the walk across the park and I put them both in the car. On the ride home Jac said he wanted to go to Nama's. I explained that Nicie and I couldn't be at Nama's because we are sick but that he could go by himself if he wanted. He said he wanted to be "dropped off" at Nama's. What? Okay Jacie!

We drove to Nama's house and I literally took him inside, set him down, said hi to Nama, and left! I told him that I was going to do that and he was just fine with it. He spent the rest of the evening with Nama, Grandfather, Auntie Kathleen Cousin Cooper and Lou (Cooper's nanny). He had a great time and only got upset at the very end when he wanted "Nilla." It was awesome!



I took Nicie home and ended up taking him to the park by our house and playing for an and a half, just us. We have never done that alone before and it was so much fun! It really brought home how different the two boys are and how much Nicie has grown up! He HAS to do everything for himself - if you try to help him or take something apart when he wants it together he gets very! upset!

Daddy and Nicie and I had dinner together, and it felt weird to ask for a table for three rather than four. It was nice to have dinner with just Nicie, we could really focus on him, and Jac had a great time eating dinner with Nama and Auntie Kathleen and Lou.

While Nic and I were at the park I called Katie, our former mother's helper. She is living in San Diego now and we haven't seen her since her last day, about two months ago. She and I had been trading voice mails back and forth and we finally managed to have an actual conversation!



We decided that I would drive the boys down to San Diego the next morning and we would all go to the San Diego Zoo together. Daddy helped me get the boys in the car (fortunately they both went back to sleep!) and we drove down to San Diego, picked Katie up, had some KFC, and went to the Zoo. The Zoo was pretty fun - we started by taking a the bus tour that covers 70% of the park. That was great - we had a very knowledgeable driver and we got to see a lot of animals from the comfort of the shade in the bus. After the bus ride, a potty break, and a snack, and some shopping we saw some reptiles, which the boys really enjoyed, especially Jac, and then we headed out. It was a lot of fun, and it was really great to see Katie. She feels like my other kid sister (a lot younger!) who has headed off to find her way.

All in all, the weekend went well, with a very tired Momma at the end!

Picnic at the park

Picnic at the park ala Trader Joe's

Cooper's seat!

Nicie might be a little too big now!

"Too many people"

We spend a lot of time at parks and play areas. Because it is summer there are a lot more kids at the parks and play areas than there are during the school year. I have never liked places that are too crowded and noisy and I tend to avoid them. When we get to a park that is really full of older kids (school age) sometimes we leave and go to another park although generally we stay anyway. I have expressed to the boys that a park has "too many people" a few times and today it came back to me.

We were at the Mall and we went to the play area. There were a lot of kids (there usually are) and a lot of little boys running around chasing each other. Jac has expressed before discomfort when there are a lot of people but this time he said, "Too many people," and climbed into my arms! He ended up playing and being fine but it does make we wonder to what extent that comes directly from my resction and what is genetic. All the people and kids didn't bother Nic in the least.

Jac and Daddy building together

This weekend Daddy was building a modified TV mount for Grandfather and Jac was very excited. Daddy was able to make it so that Jac could help with some drilling and putting in screws. Jac is very mechanically oriented and loves this sort of thing. This morning he was helping me put together boxes from Ikea and insisted upon putting the screws in and the nuts on by himself!

Happy Birthday Mommy and Grandfather

Grandfather, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

Yesterday we had a joint birthday party for Grandfather and me. It was very nice, with a lot of my Dad's friends there. There are a bunch of pictures up on Flickr.

Sleep without Mommy at Ikea!

I took the boys to Ikea today and while we were there Jac found the kids beds. He told me, many times, that he wants his own little bed, from Ikea, and the he wants to sleep by himself, without Mommy. Now, this is a suspect statement since he frequently tells me he wants to sleep by himself, with Mommy! Hmmmm - he doesn't quite understand what by himself means! Maybe it just means without Nicie!

We have been co-sleeping since forever, and since we moved back to California we have all been sleeping together. When we first moved back we shoved a crib mattress and our queen mattress together and a few months ago we put a twin mattress next to the queen mattress - all on the floor - and it worlds well. A lot of nights the boys and I are in the queen bed and Daddy is in the twin, or Daddy and Jac are in the twin and Nicie and I are in the queen. It works well - but Jac says he is ready for his own bed!

I love sleeping all together and am not in any hurry for the boys to leave, but when they are each ready they should go, and come back, and go, etc. until one day they stop coming back!

We currently only have one bedroom, the other bedroom is being used as Daddy's office. Daddy is going to clean out his office and we are going to turn it into a second bedroom for the boys and some more play area. Daddy will eventually he relocate his office, but for the time being he doesn't have enough time to work in his office anyway!

Garfield Park

Garfield Park has become one of our favorite parks to go to. It is very shaded, and is cooler than the surrounding area, even on a hot day like today (90+). During the summer there have been a lot of older kids there from various camps, which has been a bit disruptive, but today the older kids were playing at the other end of the park, so we ventured into the sandbox and slide area.

The boys had a great time digging, one of their all time favorite pastimes. We have two! bags of digging toys and we end up sharing with a bunch of other kids every time we take them out anywhere. I hear a lot of comments from other parents that they wish they were "that prepared!"

The boys are very good at sharing their toys with other kids (they are better with other kids than they are with each other - no surprise there). Today, they were playing with a little girl we have seen at the park before. She is an older four, and can be a bit bossy, but today she was sharing and playing nicely, and Jacie and she we were really getting along. It was very cute to watch them try different things. For a little bit, Nicie and I stepped away about ten feet, where I couldn't hear Jac and the little girl, just watch them, and it was fun to see him interacting so nicely with an older! girl! Just in time for his cousins!

They also had a good time climbing on the jungle gym and I got a bunch of great pics while they were doing it.

Missing "S"es

Our little Mister Nicie does not say leading "S"es. Examples.

"Ocks" for socks

"Oos" for shoes

"Ippy cup" for sippy cup

He clearly does not realize that they are missing! It is super cute! I wonder when he will get this one sorted out!

22 months!

Nicie is 22 months! Wow! Almost two! My boys are growing up so much!

We have had a major breakthrough in the last two weekends.

Last weekend Dadda took the boys out for the entire day - for the first time ever! He took them to Ikea with Ama and Ima and then out to do shopping and watch airplanes.

Yesterday, Ama, Ima and Dadda took the boys to San Diego to visit the model railroad museum for its 30th anniversary. Whoa! They were without me for nearly 12 solid hours!

Today, I woke up with awful pain on the left side of my neck - pain that I have had on and off for about a week - and it was just awful this morning. I could barely move. Daddy was supposed to have day today off for some more than deserved "Daddy time" and I was going to bring the boys over to the grandparents' house - but he decided with all of my pain, that he would take the boys to Knotts Berry Farm (we bought a Season Pass). Nicie had been up since 5:30 am (very unusual for him - he sleeps best in the late morning and can sleep for at least an hour without me nearby (usually!) so he fell asleep around 9:30 am before they left. Jac was awake and in a pretty good mood.

Joseph carried Nic asleep and managed to scoot Jac out the door with a train in his hand all while I stood in the kitchen. Most impressive on all of their parts.

I am not used to being alone anymore - and I have now spent a large portion of two days without my boys - and it is a revelation - but I miss them. I want to hear Jacie's ideas and Nicie's ideas and watch them learn and interact with the world - but it is nice to have a little time to reflect on the fact that I want and miss that!

Nicie's language has taken off even more - he is at the point now where I don't feel as surprised by his pronouncements anymore!

This morning at 6 am - my neck was hurting really badly and playing with him was not making things better. I asked him if he would like to watch his "Little People" video. ( I like them, because - unlike "Thomas the Tank Engine" videos - they have no relational violence.) He said "yes," very eagerly and climbed up on the couch in anticipation. I turned the TV on and the first thing that came up was a commercial from the TiVo that had two adults in it. Nicie immediately said, "Little people, not big people." This morning he was clearly trying to master the word "not" and make sure he understood how the word worked in his mini-sentences.

He is running faster - and more stably - and he loves to run as fast as he can straight into waiting arms (or legs if there are no arms).

He likes to jump at the edge of the bed - he jumps so he lands with his feet on the floor (our mattress is on the floor) and then can walk away - it is very efficient and he doesn't have to crawl off!

"Mommy likes it" - Nicie likes to feed me a bit of what he is eating or drinking and then when I say, "Mmmmm, good," he says, "Mommy likes it," and nods his head.

"That's dangerous" - Nicie now understands the idea that something is dangerous - as this is what I say to them if they are doing something where they might get hurt. He now tells us about all kinds of different things that are potentially dangerous. A bug - he will say, "That's dangerous?" as a question - checking to see if that particular bug is dangerous. He fell out of the shopping cart at Target and now when I try to put him in the cart he cries, "That's dangerous cart." He will tell Jacie that something is dangerous for him to do. He will announce proudly, that something is dangerous, and then do it! He will point out animals in his books that are potentially dangerous because they horns, like a rhinoceros.

The boys both have strong opinions about what they want to do at any particular time. Fortunately this is frequently the same thing, but there are times when it is not and it becomes a negotiation about what we are going to do. Last week, we were driving by a park that we like and we had the time to stop for a little bit so I asked the boys if they wanted to stop. Nic wanted to, Jac didn't. Nicie started lobbying Jac, "Park, yes Jacie?" So sweet!

Jac has lately been wanting to race, although he doesn't quite know what that means and usually his races are in his imagination. The other day he asked Nicie if he wanted to race, "Nicie, you want to race, yes?" Nicie said, "No race!"

"Jacie is?" - This is now Nicie asks where Jac is if he doesn't know.

"Bash" - Nicie loves to bash things and he frequently announces "bash" before he does it!

"Do that again" - In the cutest voice imaginable! When Nicie likes something he wants to do it several more times and his way of asking you to do it again is, "Do that again." It is really cute! He was saying it when he kept on telling me he was five, and then laughing, because he now knows he is one, but he likes the number five and likes to announce it as his age.

"Don't like it that" - This is what Nicie says when he doesn't like something.

"Thank you Mommy carry oda" - I carried a soda and he thanked me for doing it.

"Mommy doing?" and "Boy doing?" - Nicie's way of asking what someone is doing is to say, "Mommy doing" or "Daddy doing" or "Nama doing" or "Boy doing" depending on who he is asking about. It is a really sweet way he asks.

"Please", "Thank you", "No thank you" - The boys have been working on saying please and thank you and they are really incredibly polite! "

"Nummy that" - What Nicie says when he likes a food or drink! He also nods his head to indicate that he likes something!

"Mommy help me" - He has learned to ask for help (sometimes!) by saying this!

Sea World and a stroller

So, I have publicly stated in this blog that I don't like strollers. And I still don't really like them. But, the necessity for one has finally struck home. The boys are getting too heavy. At 25 pounds and almost 20 pounds carrying them all the time is getting to be too hard on our bodies. And! We are starting the Couch to 5k program and we are going to need them to ride in the stroller for that. Argh. The competing needs!

OMG! Jac is three!

OMG - Jac is three and has been for 11 days and I am just now getting the mental space to write about it. It is 2:21 am and I am writing!

It feels like Jac is hovering between toddlerhood and little boy hood - and which he is in changes moment by moment.

He is really Mommy oriented right now. Everything is Mommy! He used to be just fine with Daddy doing all sorts of things but Mommy has become everything. I am needed for sleeping, carrying, kissing, hugging, playing, all of it! Which can be a bit tiring!

He is talking up a storm - as is to be expected - but man can he talk! His imagination now runs wild and he tells me all kinds of tales about his yellow car and other things, but mostly his yellow car. This is car that does not exist, only in his head, but man can this car change and morph and exists of the moment! He also has an airplane and sometimes a truck. The color changes all the time! He is the "regular" driver of his plane and Nicie is usually the co-pilot although sometimes it is Mommy.

He is going through a tough phase right now in terms of getting upset about certain things and burying himself in my shoulder and being unwilling to talk about them. He wraps his arms around me and won't let go, won't tell me what is wrong, won't let me look at him. Sometimes he cries and sometimes he just holds on. It can last for several minutes to 40 minutes. It usually seems to be associated with noise - one of the most clear incidents was when we were serenaded at full blast by a mariachi singer singing happy birthday at an El Torito. I had to take him and Nicie out to the car and sit and talk and wait and play videos and he finally calmed down. The same thing happened at Tahoe Galbi. I am hoping he grows out of this one.

He is running really fast now - amazing - when he runs down the hall and really gets up speed it is really amazing! And he loves to run really fast!

Tricycle - he got a tricycle for his birthday. It is hard for him to reach the pedals although he can - but he doesn't quite get the idea of pedaling - he still prefers to push off the ground with his feet.

Jac Sketch

JPEG created with SketchMee HD 1.0 for iPad by Studio Mee

Technique: Color Pencil
Paper: Canvas
Color Layers: 32
Color Overlap: 3
Density: Higher
Color Tip: Medium
Color Opacity: High
Color Style: Precise

Fun at the mall

We are having a nice day at the mall and Jumpin' Jammin'.

Times Square!

Yeah for closing Broadway!

The boys are enjoying all of the late night sights and sounds of Times Square!

Our little talker - 21 months old!

Where to start!

Nicie turned 21 months old 3 days ago and he is going strong!

His language is just out of control - there is no other way to describe it.

He routinely uses three word sentences and sometimes as many as five!

A recent one - "Thank you Mommy carry oda" - I was carrying a soda and he thanked me for doing it!

"Dangerous" - He understands (sort of) the idea of things be dangerous and will announce when something is dangerous.

"Yeah Mommy made it" - The boys yell this - very loudly - when we make it home in the car. I thank them profusely for their congratulations!

"Do it again" - Nicie says this all the time when he wants to do something again - which is very! frequently!

"Mommy get it" and "Mommy do it" - When there is something he wants done and he wants me to do it rather than him!

"Crash" - He likes to crash things into one another and he says "crash" all the time when this happens.

Pretend play
Jac and Nic's pretend play has skyrocketed lately. He is currently pretending that he is cutting a hot dog with a ruler that he found in Madeline and Caitlin's stuff. He is saying, "Cut it hot dog". And now he put the ruler away and said, "Put it away."

This is all for now - too tired! 5:22 am! Go to sleep Nicie!

Welcome to NYC

Yeah, we made it!

We are in NYC, staying in my brother's place.

And Nic is awake!

It is 5 am NYC time!

Augh!

Captain Jac. Airbus A320 LAX to JFK

Jac's modern photography

Jac started taking pictures with my camera tonight. He understands how to take them now and he come up with this pretty cool pic of Mommy.