oh my goodness! we are going to chicago for 10 days this thanksgiving. mommy has not been home in 1.5 due to having lil c! we usually make this trip home every thanksgiving but last thanksgiving, i was 8.5 months pregnant so we skipped it. this was c's first airplane ride! so how did she do???
WELL, our flight was a mess. we hit a storm just as we were about to descend to chicago and the plane was rocking SOOOO hard. i usually am fine on flights - it's your dad that doesn't like to fly but i was actually really nervous at one point! but you know what, i told daddy during the turbulance that because we were all together, i didn't even care what happened to us. for some reason, just having our whole little family intact made everything ok. so anyways, our flight was diverted to madison, wi (which you both missed because you were both sleeping) for 1.5 hours and then we flew back into chicago.. chicago was totally clear when we landed and it seemed very surreal that we had to go through that whole ordeal...
with all that being said, you guys were amazing on the flight! jt, you always do well on flights. you have your tv and that's about all you need (yay, jetblue!) c-bear, you totally amazed me. you took both your naps in a sling, lying on mommy when you have NEVER been able to sleep on me before. you have to be in a crib, pack-n-play, swing or stroller but not held. but this time, you did it! you didn't cry except your normal 5 minute cry before naps so in total, you cried like 10 minutes!! the rest of the time, you just hung out, looked out the window, played with daddy and even watched a little bit of tv! you're awesome :) thank you for being such a good girl!!
the sad thing is, c-bear and daddy are here in chicago one day later - SICK. stomach bug of some sort. mommy and jt are fine so far. mommy's friend from college also just had the baby today so i hope to see her so stay healthy, little ones, so you don't get me sick! i wanna hold a newborn again!!!! here's to a great rest of our trip!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
love you to...
jt, you and i have this thing we do sometimes.
you say: i love you, mommy.
i say: i love you soooooo much.
you say: i love you soooooooo much, all the way to the sky.
i say: i love you to the sun
you say: i love you to the mountains
i say: i love you to ______
(you get the point)
but one day, we were doing this and you said: i love you to your mom....because she's in heaven with God....
jt, at age 4, you sometimes stop me in my tracks with some of the things you say. at age 4, you can comfort me beyond words when i miss my mom. she's the grandmother you won't remember personally but you always speak lovingly of her and ask me just enough questions without making me lose it. one day, i will tell you many, many stories about her and how amazing she was... but not yet. it's still too hard for me. you reassure me that even though i miss my mom, i still have you. and that, my love, is the absolute truth.
you say: i love you, mommy.
i say: i love you soooooo much.
you say: i love you soooooooo much, all the way to the sky.
i say: i love you to the sun
you say: i love you to the mountains
i say: i love you to ______
(you get the point)
but one day, we were doing this and you said: i love you to your mom....because she's in heaven with God....
jt, at age 4, you sometimes stop me in my tracks with some of the things you say. at age 4, you can comfort me beyond words when i miss my mom. she's the grandmother you won't remember personally but you always speak lovingly of her and ask me just enough questions without making me lose it. one day, i will tell you many, many stories about her and how amazing she was... but not yet. it's still too hard for me. you reassure me that even though i miss my mom, i still have you. and that, my love, is the absolute truth.
Monday, November 15, 2010
critical thinking..
jt, when i was dropping you off this morning at school, i saw the "finish the sentence" that your teachers like to do... this one was a picture of a baby lying on a bed of rose petals with a huge smile on her face. the question was, "why is the baby smiling?"
out of the 16 answers, 14 of them had to do with the flowers. either the flowers were tickling the baby or the flowers made the baby happy... one kid answered, "because she's happy". your answer? "the baby is smiling because someone is making funny faces at her and making her laugh"... you amaze me. i love to see how your brain works and i love that you can think outside the box... in these moments, i see your dad in you. i hope you get his creativity and his brains, to be honest. it's funny though. every time there is any "finish the sentence" activity, you ALWAYS have the longest answer. ALWAYS. i can pick out your answer just by the sheer length of your sentence. :) my verbal, articulate son...
the other thing i want to mention is that you have been exposed to the concept of divorce. you mentioned to me a few weeks ago that your best buddy at preschool doesn't live with his dad. you brought it up randomly on our drive home. you told me he was sad because his dad lives somewhere else... i know that his parents are separated and getting divorced... well today, you brought up your buddy again and how he was sad that his dad didn't live with him but then you commented that maybe he can have another day one day. i said to you that T's dad will always be his dad, no matter what and just because he doesn't live with T doesn't mean he's not his dad. you got kinda quiet and then said that you hoped your dad would live with you forever.... i can only reassure you, my love, that your dad and i love each other and we love you and your sister more then you'll ever know... i hope by the time you read this, you can say that your parents have been together for 35 years or whatever... :) your dad and i have had great role models in marriage through our own parents so hopefully we'll have a long, loving, succesful marriage as well...
c-bear - GIRLFRIEND! 8 STEPS TODAY!!! woohoo!!!! haha your updates are so much more straightforward and seemingly not exciting but you put such a smile on my face every single day. keep growing and doing your thing, girl. :) love you!
out of the 16 answers, 14 of them had to do with the flowers. either the flowers were tickling the baby or the flowers made the baby happy... one kid answered, "because she's happy". your answer? "the baby is smiling because someone is making funny faces at her and making her laugh"... you amaze me. i love to see how your brain works and i love that you can think outside the box... in these moments, i see your dad in you. i hope you get his creativity and his brains, to be honest. it's funny though. every time there is any "finish the sentence" activity, you ALWAYS have the longest answer. ALWAYS. i can pick out your answer just by the sheer length of your sentence. :) my verbal, articulate son...
the other thing i want to mention is that you have been exposed to the concept of divorce. you mentioned to me a few weeks ago that your best buddy at preschool doesn't live with his dad. you brought it up randomly on our drive home. you told me he was sad because his dad lives somewhere else... i know that his parents are separated and getting divorced... well today, you brought up your buddy again and how he was sad that his dad didn't live with him but then you commented that maybe he can have another day one day. i said to you that T's dad will always be his dad, no matter what and just because he doesn't live with T doesn't mean he's not his dad. you got kinda quiet and then said that you hoped your dad would live with you forever.... i can only reassure you, my love, that your dad and i love each other and we love you and your sister more then you'll ever know... i hope by the time you read this, you can say that your parents have been together for 35 years or whatever... :) your dad and i have had great role models in marriage through our own parents so hopefully we'll have a long, loving, succesful marriage as well...
c-bear - GIRLFRIEND! 8 STEPS TODAY!!! woohoo!!!! haha your updates are so much more straightforward and seemingly not exciting but you put such a smile on my face every single day. keep growing and doing your thing, girl. :) love you!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
so tired!
i've been so tired that even writing a few lines wasn't possible for the past few nights! i did take both of you to get comprehensive eye exams by an opthomologist for a multi-ethnic pediatric eye disease study and both of you have healthy eyes! yay! jt, you have 20/20 vision which was already established by our pediatrician at your 4 year check up but it was confirmed by the opthomologist. so yay for healthy eyes (so far)!
we did a family day today. we usually do a family day on the weekends and just to let you guys know, mommy and daddy started this tradition when we were first dating. but back then, we called it "caroline day". one day on the weekend (either saturday OR sunday, but not both), daddy let me choose an activity to do where we would get out and not check emails or be available by phone or watch tv. we did lots of fun things and went all over the county, wondering how it would be if we had kids to take around.. and then, we had you guys! and "caroline day" turned into family day. so today, we went to church, picked up some good hot dogs at the slaw dogs and headed to the arboretum. we had a little picnic outside the arboretum and then headed inside, searching for a grassy dinosaur that daddy SWEARS is in the arboretum (i think it's at the huntington, myself). we didn't find the dinosaur but we had a nice stroll on the grounds. at one point, we took a little break near a lake and jt, you said to me, "this is a nice place, here..." sometimes you just surprise me with these little bits of maturity. it's not so much the words you're saying but the WAY you say it...
jt - i love the time after sunday school, where you tell me the story you learned at church that day.. you have an amazing memory and can retell the story in great detail and then add your little commentary at the end. i hope you learn to know God and to love God and most importantly, treat people with compassion. with your dad as an example, i know you'll grow up to be a compassionate person...
c-bear - you are a riot. you are a loud girl with definite thoughts and feelings (just like ME). when you have these very strong expressions, your dad and i just look at each other and crack up because you seem like such a mini-me. you can now stand, crouch and then stand back up again. your record is 5 steps. i hope you're walking by your one year birthday. i can't WAIT to dress you when you can WALK! i have been waiting a looooong time for a daughter to put in dresses! you've worn dresses so far, but i like the look of dresses on babies who are WALKING :) can you tell i'm so excited?!!?
today, at the arboretum, i could see you guys having fun and then i wonder how your strong personalities will play out in the future. both stubborn, both strong-willed.. but i do know that oppa is extremely giving and unselfish and i'm counting on that to balance out the negatives :)
we did a family day today. we usually do a family day on the weekends and just to let you guys know, mommy and daddy started this tradition when we were first dating. but back then, we called it "caroline day". one day on the weekend (either saturday OR sunday, but not both), daddy let me choose an activity to do where we would get out and not check emails or be available by phone or watch tv. we did lots of fun things and went all over the county, wondering how it would be if we had kids to take around.. and then, we had you guys! and "caroline day" turned into family day. so today, we went to church, picked up some good hot dogs at the slaw dogs and headed to the arboretum. we had a little picnic outside the arboretum and then headed inside, searching for a grassy dinosaur that daddy SWEARS is in the arboretum (i think it's at the huntington, myself). we didn't find the dinosaur but we had a nice stroll on the grounds. at one point, we took a little break near a lake and jt, you said to me, "this is a nice place, here..." sometimes you just surprise me with these little bits of maturity. it's not so much the words you're saying but the WAY you say it...
jt - i love the time after sunday school, where you tell me the story you learned at church that day.. you have an amazing memory and can retell the story in great detail and then add your little commentary at the end. i hope you learn to know God and to love God and most importantly, treat people with compassion. with your dad as an example, i know you'll grow up to be a compassionate person...
c-bear - you are a riot. you are a loud girl with definite thoughts and feelings (just like ME). when you have these very strong expressions, your dad and i just look at each other and crack up because you seem like such a mini-me. you can now stand, crouch and then stand back up again. your record is 5 steps. i hope you're walking by your one year birthday. i can't WAIT to dress you when you can WALK! i have been waiting a looooong time for a daughter to put in dresses! you've worn dresses so far, but i like the look of dresses on babies who are WALKING :) can you tell i'm so excited?!!?
today, at the arboretum, i could see you guys having fun and then i wonder how your strong personalities will play out in the future. both stubborn, both strong-willed.. but i do know that oppa is extremely giving and unselfish and i'm counting on that to balance out the negatives :)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
first kiss...
cbear! you had your first kiss with a BOY today! at parent ed, little james was following you around and totally eyeing you and then he leaned in.. you leaned in.. and both of you went for it!! the whole class was squealing. then you both pulled back and almost at the same time, you went in for another!!! you're too young to be a mankiller!! slow down, pretty girl :) i also took you for a comprehensive eye exam today and everything is healthy. yay!
jt - you cracked me up today. at dinner, you were just being crazy. you ate smarties seconds before i set your dinner plate in front of you and freaked out when i told you that you get no dessert because you already ate smarties. you started acting up so by the time i was washing dishes, i was so irritated. i said to you, "you're not my best friend right now, jt" and instead of being sad or upset, you said right back to me, "yes i am!" your answer took me so much by surprise that i just started cracking up and i said you were not my favorite person at the moment and you said, "yes i am! i'm your best friend" hahahaha you didn't even bat an eye throughout all this; rather, you found it all very amusing. one of the many reasons i love you so much. you're such a complex little 4 year old. you surprise me with your wittiness and humor, nevermind your intelligence and spunk. i haven't told you that my grandmother passed away because i don't feel you need to know this but when you talk about my mom in heaven, you always reassure me that i have you here. those are the words that come out of your 4 year old mouth - "it's ok mommy, you still have me here"....
i want to share with the two of you how special your relationship is. cbear literally squeals with delight at anything oppa does. no one else in her life has been able to make her squeal. many people can make her laugh, but not squeal. the only way i can describe it is that she delights in you, jt. and even though i tell you every single day, you are the best oppa in the universe. not once have you ever been jealous of your sister... irritated, sure.. frustrated, yes! but never jealous.. and for that, i'm extremely blessed and thankful. my own mom told me many times as i was growing up that the most painful thing for her to see was her children fighting with each other. i'm sure you guys will argue and fight MANY times in your life (i still argue and fight with MY brother) but for now, your relationship is almost exclusively that of love and caring and i will treasure these moments because i know it's a very short time that this love will be this pure. i hope when you read this, your relationship will still be close and loving. and when you're frustrated and upset with each other, i hope you can look back and see the genesis of your relationship and how much you enjoy each other..
jt - you cracked me up today. at dinner, you were just being crazy. you ate smarties seconds before i set your dinner plate in front of you and freaked out when i told you that you get no dessert because you already ate smarties. you started acting up so by the time i was washing dishes, i was so irritated. i said to you, "you're not my best friend right now, jt" and instead of being sad or upset, you said right back to me, "yes i am!" your answer took me so much by surprise that i just started cracking up and i said you were not my favorite person at the moment and you said, "yes i am! i'm your best friend" hahahaha you didn't even bat an eye throughout all this; rather, you found it all very amusing. one of the many reasons i love you so much. you're such a complex little 4 year old. you surprise me with your wittiness and humor, nevermind your intelligence and spunk. i haven't told you that my grandmother passed away because i don't feel you need to know this but when you talk about my mom in heaven, you always reassure me that i have you here. those are the words that come out of your 4 year old mouth - "it's ok mommy, you still have me here"....
i want to share with the two of you how special your relationship is. cbear literally squeals with delight at anything oppa does. no one else in her life has been able to make her squeal. many people can make her laugh, but not squeal. the only way i can describe it is that she delights in you, jt. and even though i tell you every single day, you are the best oppa in the universe. not once have you ever been jealous of your sister... irritated, sure.. frustrated, yes! but never jealous.. and for that, i'm extremely blessed and thankful. my own mom told me many times as i was growing up that the most painful thing for her to see was her children fighting with each other. i'm sure you guys will argue and fight MANY times in your life (i still argue and fight with MY brother) but for now, your relationship is almost exclusively that of love and caring and i will treasure these moments because i know it's a very short time that this love will be this pure. i hope when you read this, your relationship will still be close and loving. and when you're frustrated and upset with each other, i hope you can look back and see the genesis of your relationship and how much you enjoy each other..
Monday, November 8, 2010
24 hour bug!
jt - you literally had a 24 hour bug. you got sick sunday morning at breakfast and this morning, you ate 2 helpings of cereal before school and told me you were "starving". when i picked you up from school, you yelled, "mommy, i'm not sick - i'm ok, you don't have to worry anymore!" i just about fell over from the sweetness of that statement. i find it interesting that you seem very perceptive and aware of my feelings at all times. in that sense, i guess you are very much a mama's boy. you're back to your normal antics but i sense a slight change in the wildness. you have moments of making good decisions more often now and you can chill out for longer periods of time. can it be that you're maturing???? i'm glad you're not sick anymore...
ct- you took 5 steps today!!! a personal record for you! i also used the nosefrida on you today and it's fantastic. it's a snot-sucker but MUCH gentler on your little, tiny nose.. i think moms who have used the old fashioned aspirator can appreciate this much more than the moms who went straight to nosefrida. i wish i had this when oppa was a baby because he was sick so much more than you have been! darling, you showed the first signs of being a daddy's girl today. you were all over him and gave soooo many bbo-bbos (kisses) to him. and he loved every moment of it. i may grumble in the years to come about you being a daddy's girl but deep down inside, i hope you WILL be a big daddy's girl and i will love to see your relationship because i, too, am a big daddy's girl and i treasure the relationship and love i share with my dad.
it's been a rough day, kiddies. i lost my grandmother today. my last living grandparent. but during my times of sorrow and pain, your faces and smiles pull me out of the sadness and back into the light. no matter how cliche this all sounds, you really do show me that there is a circle of life and the future is yours...
ct- you took 5 steps today!!! a personal record for you! i also used the nosefrida on you today and it's fantastic. it's a snot-sucker but MUCH gentler on your little, tiny nose.. i think moms who have used the old fashioned aspirator can appreciate this much more than the moms who went straight to nosefrida. i wish i had this when oppa was a baby because he was sick so much more than you have been! darling, you showed the first signs of being a daddy's girl today. you were all over him and gave soooo many bbo-bbos (kisses) to him. and he loved every moment of it. i may grumble in the years to come about you being a daddy's girl but deep down inside, i hope you WILL be a big daddy's girl and i will love to see your relationship because i, too, am a big daddy's girl and i treasure the relationship and love i share with my dad.
it's been a rough day, kiddies. i lost my grandmother today. my last living grandparent. but during my times of sorrow and pain, your faces and smiles pull me out of the sadness and back into the light. no matter how cliche this all sounds, you really do show me that there is a circle of life and the future is yours...
Sunday, November 7, 2010
sick..
jt, you are soooo sick today.. maybe the sickest i've ever seen you. you haven't kept anything down except maybe half a cup of water all day. you say you have neck pain (which your dad thinks may be from headbanging with your sister the night before!) and a slight fever. :( you've vomited twice and turned down your favorite smoothie. you even told daddy to turn OFF the tv at one point so you could rest. THAT NEVER HAPPENS. hehehe. at one point during the evening, when you felt better, you were back to your goofy self and started doing karate chops into the air but otherwise, you've only been a shell of yourself. while i like the quiet and stillness (you took 2 naps today), i'll GLADLY trade it in for your healthy, rowdy self. just gotta remind myself of that when you're better :) you even agreed to see the doctor in the morning if you don't feel better. i think i may have told you i loved you 100 times today. but here it is again - i love you!
ct - what the heck?! while changing your diaper today, you were SOOOOOOOO squirmy, i had to say "STOP IT" in a semi-loud and stern tone. what did you do? you looked at me as if i crushed your little soul and then you were actually bbi-juh-ssuh (irritated/huffy/upset) at me and yelled some babbling words at me! you seem to have been irritated for like 20 minutes and would NOT come to me at all. missy, you have some 'tude, girl! i'm scurrred of you but i love that you are independent and sassy. stay that way, but give mama a break, k? :)
ct - what the heck?! while changing your diaper today, you were SOOOOOOOO squirmy, i had to say "STOP IT" in a semi-loud and stern tone. what did you do? you looked at me as if i crushed your little soul and then you were actually bbi-juh-ssuh (irritated/huffy/upset) at me and yelled some babbling words at me! you seem to have been irritated for like 20 minutes and would NOT come to me at all. missy, you have some 'tude, girl! i'm scurrred of you but i love that you are independent and sassy. stay that way, but give mama a break, k? :)
new blog
i blog mostly on xanga but i thought i'd start a new blog. my xanga has been with me for so long and for so many different phases of my life. it's more my personal space. i talk to my kids on there and one day, i hope they will read my blog and get to know me better - in a personal way... but there are so many moments that i encounter during my day with the kids and i want them to remember how amazing they are to me. it's probably going to be boring to most people and full of bragging about my kids but it's my perspective on them, so why wouldn't it be? :) so here goes....
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