Breakthrough!

Peek-a-boo!

Finally got a decent picture of Rhys's first tooth and the second one made its appearance today! He'll have a full set of chompers in no time.

How do you explain?

Brea loves to explore, she is a go-getter and full of energy in every endeavor. Lately she's been discovering new things with pen and ink and I don't know how to explain that sometimes trying new things is not always the best idea. I want to foster her imaginative skills and her sense of wonder but there is a fine fine line that separates good exploration from bad.

The other night, she discovered that pens write on all kinds of things, paper, clothes, sleepsack, face... she was so proud as she ran to me to show off the artistic marks she had added to her smile.

I was not so enthused and told her so and watched her smile fade and the tears begin to form. "Is my face broken?" she asked, "Mommy is not happy?". I stopped her crying and explained that I could wash her face and her clothes but sometimes things can't get fixed or cleaned and she had to be careful.

But today on a playdate at a friend's house as the mommies sat for a few minutes to talk, we heard the scritch and the scratch and ran to find an array of crayon lines newly decorating the wall. They were happily playing together until we stopped them. I don't know how it started or who's idea it was. Perhaps I should have been more forceful in reprimanding her earlier and this could have been avoided. How do you know what to do?

Little ears

We were driving into the garage after Brea's soccer class.
Craig was having a hard time with the door opener - "I'll just push the damn button on the wall."
From the backseat, a little voice calls out - "I want to push the damn button!"

Avenue Q

Craig and I made it out on a date this weekend! Kau-Kau Ambrose and Po-Po were gracious enough to babysit for a few hours while we made it out on the town to see a show.

 I first heard about "Avenue Q" when I watched a episode of "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network. They were making a cake for the Broadway production and had a full cast of puppet look-alikes on the show. I was smitten by the misfit puppets (à la Sesame Street but so not rated G), so when I saw an ad on TV for the touring show, I excitedly bought tickets. Craig is not much for musicals but I figured one full of bawdy puppets was right up his alley. He had a great time - he did say afterward that he'd never thought that he would ever see puppets engaged in such lewd acts on stage :o) I thought the cast did a spectacular job seamlessly passing off puppets and singing hilarious songs. I was also thrilled to have a few hours away from the kids to spend with Craig. It's hard for me to remember that we need some time to ourselves every once in a while.

Brea's Mother

My little Picasso was so proud of her portrait of me... there's my eyes, my hair and my shadow.

Non-chronicles

My days lately are so full. Full of fleeting time that is. It feels like from the moment I wake I have someone pulling at me, asking for me, wanting me and loved as I know I am, I have no time to do some of those little things that I love. I have been a terrible chronicler of deeds and moments in time. For example, Rhys just popped out his first tooth yesterday (yipee!) and I barely had time to jot the date down.  I feel terrible for all the things that I keep putting off writing about. Now I have so many things I want to cram into one post.

I guess, I'd better get started before something else gets in the way.

Brea has been stellar in everything she's been asked to do lately. We went the dentist and she was so calm and collected. She went to get a haircut and she sat patiently and still while her hair was trimmed - I finally booked an appointment, not because of all the comments from my family but because she came up to me one morning brushing the hair out of her face and said "I'm a mess! I need a haircut!". She's started soccer and had a blast running around passing the ball to Daddy. And she's hilarious with all her day to day commentary.

"How old are you?" is a frequent question she gets asked.
"Two olds" is her standard reply.

As we stepped out of the car today to grab groceries and Craig stayed with a slumbering Rhys, she had to reassure him. "We'll be right back Daddy. Don't go away. We'll be back soon!"

We were told that we were her hero.

And she loves telling her brother how well he eats, how well he sits, how cute he is... she's very positive towards him except when he takes her toys and puts them in his mouth, then she'll exclaim "that's disgusting!"

She wants to be all grown-up and drink tea like Mommy (we actually went shopping and she got to pick out a special tea for herself - a strawberry/rhubarb rooibos, quite delish). She wants to grind pepper on her dinner and eat with a "big" fork. She looks like a mini-me.

Rhys has been taking strides too. He's been steadily eating more and more types of food and yesterday when I made pasta for dinner I decided to just put it through the food mill for him to eat with us rather than sticking to his purées. The look of amazement on his face was priceless as he scarfed it down.

He is sitting solidly now and can swivel around to grab at things. He will lean to crawling position but is just lacking that last bit of confidence needed to go... I'm sure any day now he'll take off.

He's discovered his voice and is experimenting with growls, shrieks and gurgles. He makes the most expressive faces and still smiles all of the time. He just doesn't feel secure when I'm holding him if he doesn't have a hold of my ponytail. He adores his sister and watches her constantly.

They keep me busy, I try to keep them busy, we are just busy but I don't think I'd want it any other way.

Welcome 2011!

2010 was a special year for us as Brea became a big sister when we welcomed sweet smiling baby Rhys in May. Our city hosted the Winter Olympics and we took part in the celebration; we journeyed to Denver, CO to visit friends, we journeyed to Alberta to visit family; we celebrated one year in our home and all the while we laughed, cried, and experienced life as a family.

I'm looking forward to what 2011 will bring.

Happy New Year everyone, wishing you all the best that is to come.