Jimmy Turns 4

Here we go again...where does the time go? How is my little man four!?!? They just keep on growing and I haven't figured out how to stop them yet.

What happened to this 6 month old baby?

Oh yeah...here he is, 4 years old now.

Jimmy was very much looking forward to his special birthday activity. Since their birthdays are right after Christmas and a day apart, last year we came up with letting them pick something they want to do for their birthday. It was in the hopes each of them would feel that their birthday wasn't being overlooked because of Christmas or their sibling. I am not in favor of celebrating the half birthday. I don't know why, I am just not.

Anyway, Jimmy got up in the morning and we let him open his presents. Since ours wasn't wrapped, we told him to go take a look in the garage!

He was very excited to have discovered the big boy Spiderman bike that he had been asking for. So far he is doing a great job riding it too! For his birthday, Jimmy wanted to go to In & Out Burger for lunch and then to the "dragon slides", (a.k.a. The Daly City Party Playhouse). He also requested that our friends join us for the excursion, and since their mom was sick that day, she was happy to have them out of the house! I left Alyssa home with sick Doug because it was her nap time.

Off to In & Out for a yummy lunch!

Grilled cheese and french fries w/ketchup! Yummy!

After lunch we headed over to the Party Playhouse. Jimmy was so excited he could barely contain himself! The kids were off and running as soon as I said go! Since it was a holiday week, I did not anticipate the place would be exceptionally crowded. But despite that fact, the kids had a blast running around, climbing and sliding for 2 hours. It was very hard to get pictures of them in the large play structure, but I did manage to pin them down for a few pics.

He calls it the Dragon Slides because of the one slide that has a dragon head on the end! It isn't even his favorite slide!

The kids were pretty tired out after a big afternoon. We headed home to get ready for dinner. Jimmy's request was pasta and blueberries. If it were up to Jimmy, he would eat pasta every day of his life! We sang happy birthday over some cupcakes.

Jimmy continues to be the sweetest little man on the planet. He has a gentle and caring nature about him that just takes my breathe away when I am a witness or a recipient of his gestures. There isn't a selfish bone in his body as he is always willing to share what he has with others. Whether it be his last M&M's or a toy. He loves both of his sisters so much. He and Paige continue to have a very close bond and he is always showering Alyssa with hugs and kisses. Jimmy is continuing to thrive in preschool and has adjusted so well there. He loves swimming lessons! Now Jimmy is very very cautious when it comes to the water. He takes things at his own pace and comfort level. He has not proven to be the strongest swimmer of the 3, but he is progressing well and fortunately not afraid of the water.

While Jimmy has his sweet side, let's not forget that he is a little boy! He has a mischievous side and a temper. As much as he loves his sisters, he also loves to torment them. And watch out if you push his buttons because then his temper comes out full force.

Now while Jimmy has told me that he loves me very much, he definitely has a special bond with Daddy. While I admit that I get a little jealous of this, it is adorable how he wants to be with Daddy only on the weekends. When Daddy is around, it is near impossible to get some one on one time with him, let alone a hug.

As the years go by, I hope that Jimmy continues to be the gentle, sweet little man that he has become. Happy Birthday Jimmy! I hope you had the best birthday ever! You are the apple of my eye, my little Bug! I love you!

Paige Turns 5

The only thing I have to say about Paige turning 5 is...OMG, where did my baby go? Of course she will always be my baby, but she is just getting so big.

What happened to this 5 month old baby?!?!

That baby turned into this beautiful angel.

Paige had a great birthday this year. For her special day, we went to Children's Fairyland in Oakland. A perfect place for kids this age. Even Alyssa loved it. It was just myself and the three kids on our excursion. We arrived about 10:15 am and once inside, the kids were off exploring. We enjoyed the 11am puppet show of the Velveteen Rabbit. We checked out every inch of the park and went on all the slides and rides. Fortunately the weather held up, even though it was a little cold.

For Paige's birthday dinner, she chose Red Lobster. She loves that place (I wonder why!). It was just myself, Paige & Jimmy for dinner, because unfortunately Doug was sick. We left Alyssa home with him because eating out is much more pleasurable without a 21 month old in tow. Paige had fish, macaroni and cheese and broccoli for dinner. The best part was the staff singing happy birthday to her over an ice cream sundae!

Paige continues to amaze me every day. She is such a sweet, caring little girl. She has nothing but love for her baby brother and sister. Of course siblings fight, but she is always looking out for them both in any situation. In some instances, I am getting a glimpse into the teenage years with her (which I am not looking forward to!), but I am soaking up every moment of her needing me or wanting a hug, kiss or snuggle. She is excelling in pre-school and in swimming. She loves hula class and dancing. Come over to our house for a dance show starring Paige any time. She loves to put on dance performances in the living room.

We are on the brink of Kindergarten this year ahead and I know she is going to seem so much bigger to me once she starts school. She is looking forward to Kindergarten and seems ready and eager for the change. That first day of school is going to be much harder for me!

 
Happy birthday my dear Paige! I hope you had the best birthday. You are truly my little sunshine!
 

Me and My Hula Girl

Since September, Paige and I have been taking a Hula/Tahitian dance class at The Spark of Creation Dance Studio. I signed Paige up for a 5-week session this past summer to see if she would like it. She had been taking ballet at the community center, but seemed to be getting bored. She ended up loving the hula class! I had been planning on signing her up for a dance school, which runs weekly classes for the duration of a school year and has performances. When it came time for enrollment, I noticed they had beginning adult Hula/Tahitian and thought, hhhhhmmmm...that is something I have always wanted to do!

Here is Paige on her first day of class.

So here we are, 4 months in and we are both loving it. We recently had our first recital on December 10th. We had so much fun. It was Paige's first time on a stage ever and my first time on stage since High School. Paige was in a terrible mood all day and then she melted down in the dressing area because she didn't like the tube top she had to wear. I was convinced she was going to get on stage and stand there. But she didn't! She danced the whole dance the best she could and she did such a great job. I was able to watch her from back stage and I was just beaming with pride! It was awesome!

Paige is on the far right.

My group went on two groups after Paige's. I was so nervous. I was part excited, part nervous and part teary-eyed from watching Paige. At the beginning, I was shaking so much from nerves, my arms didn't feel very graceful. About a few lines in, I started to relax and have fun. It was a great experience and I am very much looking forward to our year end recital in June.

I am so glad to have gotten into this. My plan is is to stick with it for some time and see how far I get through the classes. As for Paige, I hope she sticks with it too. Right now she loves it, but we will see what the next year brings! Aloha!

 

Thanksgiving Islamorada Trip

Thanksgiving this year was absolutely amazing. We had the wonderful opportunity to spend 8 days with Doug's family in Islamorada, which is located in the Florida Keys. His cousin Michael has lived there for many many years and when we had the opportunity to see him on our New Jersey trip in August, he mentioned the possibility of hosting Thanksgiving for the family at his soon-to-open new restaurant. I was doubtful it was actually going to happen, but alas, it did. And anyone who knows me, knows I never pass up a tropical vacation!

We flew into Fort Lauderdale on a red eye. The kids did great, they slept the whole flight. I, however was a walking zombie for 24 hours. We picked up our car, stopped for breakfast and some playtime at the park before picking up Doug's parents and driving the 2 hours down to The Keys.

The drive down was long, but when we arrived at our condo, I was in awe. I thought I died and went to some version of heaven. The whole family was able to rent condos in the same complex that cousin Michael lived in. We had a 5th floor unit with panoramic views of the ocean!

The view from our living room and balcony.

Even though there were a few windy days, the temperature was about 83 degrees with the water temp at about 73. The kids got to swim every single day in the complex pool, which was located right on the beach.

View from the pool.

Paige had the opportunity to go out on a boat for the day with daddy and most of the family. She had a great time getting sprayed in the face and swimming in the ocean.

Thanksgiving Day was amazing! Of course we spent the morning swimming with the kids and hanging out. Then in the afternoon we headed over to Michael's restaurant. He had two long tables nicely set for dinner and a huge buffet table set up. We had appetizers out on the deck of crab cakes, baked brie and chips & dip. The whole family was there. I think there was about 25 of us. It was amazing to spend time with everyone and share this holiday and time together. Dinner was out of this world! Aside from turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and all the fixings you can dream of, we also had stuffed lobster tails! Dessert consisted of authentic key lime pie, pumpkin and apple pie with ice cream! My stomach feels full just thinking of all the food I ate!

My kids are in love with Cousin Michael!

The munchkins on Thanksgiving.

The whole family at Michael's new restaurant.

The trip was extremely relaxing. We spent the rest of the time doing nothing but hanging at the pool and spending time with everyone. One of the days, we spent the entire day at Founder's Beach Park. This beautiful beach with a playground and bbq area. Most of the family came out to spend the day and enjoy the sun. We had an awesome bbq lunch and the kids had a blast playing in the sand, the playground and swimming in the water. The water was so shallow, that the kids were able to explore the water and play. Even Alyssa, she could walk pretty far out and it only reached her chest. They found other kids to play with and build a water fall on the sand hill. They borrowed a kid kayak and their cousin Christian pulled them around in it. From 9:30 am to about 3pm we soaked it all in!

Playing in the water with Cousin Michael.

The Keys are stunningly beautiful. The crystal blue all around you.

Building the waterfall.

Doug relaxing with his aunt.

Being pulled around in the kayak with cousin Christian.

This was a common site for most of the trip. Not a bad place to be in the middle of November!

On one of our days there, Doug's parents took the kids for the day and we drove the extra 2 hours down to Key West. The drive was beautiful and Key West is very nice. It was a little too touristy for our taste, but it was very quaint and pretty to see. We actually liked Islamorada a lot better. The coolest thing we did was take a 28 mile wave runner tour around the island of Key West. We saw bottle nosed dolphin frolicking among the waves within 2 feet of us. We went from the Gulf to the Atlantic around the southern most tip of the Continental U.S. and back to the Gulf. Doug threw us both off the wave runner at 30 mph because he banked a turn too sharply! It was amazing and beautiful and by far the coolest thing we did down there!

This was truly an amazing trip! To be able to spend that kind of time with family and in such a beautiful place, it really was priceless. The Keys are a beautiful place and we hope to be spending a lot more time with Cousin Michael in Islamorada in the years to come! Our utmost thanks go out to him for being the wonderful, warm and gracious person that he is. That being said, I will leave you with a few more fun photos to enjoy!

The sunrises there were breathtaking!