Merry Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho

Both kids agreed to their Santa picture without me this year!  Still searching for a smile though....

Lauren told Santa she didn't know what she wanted for Christmas this year.  Cole told us he asked Santa for 'a cat!' Go figure. We told him he should have asked Santa if he would like a cat, since we are trying hard to reduce our cat count of two, to zero.  But then Cole tried to insist we only have one....

Thanksgiving Weekend

Pie heaven, courtesy of Mom.  The kids' favorite was the apple pie, the adults' favorite was the icebox pumpkin-mousse pie, recipe from the Nov issue of Everyday Food.


Next, up with the Christmas decorations and tree.  Santa brought this Frosty train last year, and the kids were so excited to set it up.  They can literally stare at it for hours.


And Cole decided to line the tracks with snowflake ornaments...

Operation Potty

There's no turning back now... Cole was excited to put on his big boy underpants this morning (and Lauren really wanted to pose in hers as well!)  We put away all the diapers, and he said 'No more diapers for me!'  We'll see how this goes :)


Hopefully we won't have to go through the whole stash by Sunday :)

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

Music Time

A few weeks ago, we purchased a piano - a 2004 Kawai upright that we found via Craig's List.  (And it turns out the seller's wife is a dental hygienist at our dentist's office - small world.)  I've played it the most so far - mostly in the evening when the kids are asleep.  However the kids have had a few turns, only once they've asked permission and have thoroughly washed their hands.  Lauren has been perfecting Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Cole has poked around on the keys a bit (and successfully managed to drop some drool onto the piano bench on more than one occasion.)

Determination

Stopped off for some dim sum at Golden Buddha last weekend after visiting the Big Bugs exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden.  The server brought Cole and Lauren a fork, but they were both determined to make the chopsticks work.


And they had my favorite dessert - custard buns.

The Purge Principle

On Friday, Lauren and I went through all her 'artwork' from this year, and purged a significant portion. It was an interesting process - and she actually did most of the sorting herself.  Look at the big recycle pile (on the right) that we came up with :)

Right Now | Sept 2011

Lauren (age 4): Afraid of bees. Hula hoop queen.  Learning to read.  Pours her own milk.  Likes puzzles and games. Will only wear dresses.

Cole (age 2):  Loves strawberries. Idolizes 'Lore-yen'.  Is into matchbox cars and Thomas trains.  Loves to wear his 'snazzy' (button down) shirts.  Wants to do everything himself.  

Sugar in the Morning

On Sundays, we usually have one 'special' breakfast item - smoothies, pancakes, etc. A few weeks ago, I was a bit tired of pancakes, so I made Lauren an offer I was sure she wouldn't refuse - waffles, chocolate waffles. Unfortunately, Cole did not partake (although he seemed perfectly content with his frozen waffle).


This week I searched for a dairy/egg-free version so Cole could enjoy too, and found this recipe for Chocolate Banana Vegan Waffles - which uses a banana, olive oil, dairy-free milk, whole wheat flour, and a little maple syrup and brown sugar.  I made a few modifications (used vanilla soy milk, doubled the cocoa powder, and reduced the amount of olive oil slightly), and it turned out quite well.  Next time I'll probably double the recipe (so there are plenty of seconds!).