Confessions of a Change Addict

Because that is what I am, right?  Who in their right mind makes multiple major life changes every year of their adult life?  Obviously I am not in my right mind.  I go on and on about wanting some monotony and settling in this year and nesting and blah, blah, blah.  I am all talk.

Let's see.  We started the year with a 2 week old.  I decided to throw a birthday party for the 2 year old when she was only 3 weeks old.  At our house.  Husband starts a new job (working longer hours with a longer commute and more travel, at that).  Brother has scary bad accident.  I fly across the country with a newborn and a toddler by myself.  We decide to refinance house (paperwork time suck). I return from my maternity leave, but keep taking the baby with me (i.e. working two jobs at once).

And then I thought: life is getting dull.

We have gone a month without having our lives turned upside down.  Must do something irrational and stress-inducing.  I can either get pregnant (just typing that almost induced a panic attack) or I can embark on a new job adventure with more work hours, more responsibility and more management required.  To hell with the cushy, familiar, part-time job I currently have that was perfectly fine (well, that is debatable, but as my boss once said "I don't know why people complain because it isn't like it is a dangerous work environment.")  Let's take a job that promises huge growth and responsibility, fancy business attire and a steep learning curve!

So, I did.  Of course I did.

Humor is in the Eye of the Beholder?

Roscoe is a regular comedian today.

First, when he woke up this morning I was holding him and telling him how Mama was going to be home All Day today and how much fun we were going to have together.  He normally gets excited about All Day, but today he just said "what chicken butt!" and started laughing hysterically at his own joke.  (Thank you, darling husband, for teaching our son his first "joke": guess what? chicken butt!)

Second, he was trying to share his strawberries with Luka at lunch today and she was smiling at him and then SHE LAUGHED.  For the first time.  It took me by such surprise I was actually confused for a second wondering what that sound was.  So, I told Roscoe we should keep being goofy and try and get her to laugh again.  Roscoe and I are making faces and acting crazy and then he pulls out the big guns: he pulls a pretend choochootrain out of Luka's ear.  Because Daddy does that to him and it always make him laugh...

More Roscoe-isms

Luka is a sweet pea and a master coo-er.  As much as we are soaking up her precious baby-ness, Roscoe does tend to steal the show these days.  Toddlers are entertaining in general, but Roscoe's Oscar-worthy performances really take it to the next level.

* I just love the toddler speak.  I love that Roscoe says things are "yummy yummy good" and that he calls robots "robops."  My absolute favorite right now is that he calls his rocking chair his "raccoon chair."  So stinkin' cute.

* When Rocs and Lu are both demanding my attention I will sometimes have Roscoe sing a song with me to Luka to help calm her down.  The other day Nani had just come over and I was nursing Luka on the couch.  Luka was crying so Roscoe decided they needed to sing her a lullaby.  He got his guitar and made Nani play the drums right up next to us and he belted out one of his original compositions.  Something like "LA-LA-LA-LUKAAAA" (sung very loudly, while stomping one foot).

* Speaking of Nani... that girl wins the prize for best nanny ever.  She adores Roscoe and his flair for the dramatic instead of being overwhelmed by him like most of his past care providers.  They were at library the other week and she was giving him his lunch after storytime.  He didn't want to eat any of it because he wanted to play, so he kept saying no and she kept offering different things.  All of a sudden Roscoe looked around desperately and started shouting dramatically, "HELP! HELP!"  Yes, at the library.  Yes, because she offered him lunch.  Clearly a horrific offense.  This may or may not have been the time Nani had a couple of (thoroughly entertained) moms ask her if he watched a lot of cartoons because he is "very animated."  That's our boy!

* We went to our first baptism as a family the other day.  That was an amateur mistake.  If I have learned anything in the last 2-ish years, it is that you need to know your kids and make wise choices based on what you know.  What I know about my kids is that neither one of them will sit quietly for any amount of time.  So, why I thought it would be plausible to take them to a Catholic church to witness a special, sacred moment I have no idea.  Ray and I took turns walking Roscoe around in the hallways (where you could hear his every word from inside the church) and outside (it was freezing) and swinging Luka like a maniac in her car seat while desperately trying to get her to suck a paci, a pinkie, anything.  Roscoe was having a blast pointing at everything yelling "WHAT THAT?" and "MAN!" every time he was saw a statue.  We pointed out that a particular statue was Jesus so he pointed to it and repeatedly shouted "MAN JESUS?  MAN JESUS.  MAN JESUS?  MAN JESUS" for the whole sanctuary to hear.  Yup, Christian parents of the year right here.

* The toddler age is so... just, MUCH.  So much drama, so many tantrums and so much ridiculous cuteness.  Ray got Roscoe from bed the other morning and he came to find me (changing Luka in my room) and said "Mama, I missed you!"  Melt. My. Heart.

* Ray parents were watching Basi and Diwa the other weekend and we came over to hang out.  Ray and I both thought it was hilarious (and slightly embarrassing, I suppose) that as soon as they saw Roscoe coming they both went to hide their toys because Roscoe would want to play with them and he is, well, a little rough even when trying to be gentle.

* When you don't have siblings that are of playing age, you have to get creative.  Rocs definitely thinks the dogs are his playmates even though their ideas of fun are very different.  They have finally discovered a mutually enjoyable game.  Roscoe escapes from the table and, holding a pretzel, runs around the house.  The dogs, ever hopeful Roscoe will drop something, follow him.  This prompts Roscoe to shriek in delight and chant "coming! coming!"  Inevitably he will drop something and the dogs will get a bite of pretzel.  Repeat till all are tired and happy.

The Most Perfect Moment of My Life (So Far...)

Of course I love the big, happy moments like the day we were married and the births of our babies.  Sometimes, though, I feel like they are so over-the-top exciting and emotional that I can't quite put my head around the actual joy in the moment.  It is an omg-what-is-happening I-can't-keep-up kind of happy.  That is why sometimes the sweet spots in an ordinary day are easier for me to feel the complete contentment and profound gratitude for this life I live.

Who: all of us.

What: grocery shopping

When: Sunday afternoon.

Where: Trader Joe's

Why: hungry mouths to feed

We pretty much never grocery shop together anymore - it is all Divide And Conquer for the past couple years.  But we needed groceries and wanted to spend some time as a family and there you have it.

So, we are on our way home and Roscoe and Luka are talking, er, communicating in the back seat.  Roscoe faces forward on the end and Luka faces backward in the middle of the back seat.  They pretty much can't help but look at each other.  Luka thinks Roscoe is the Bees Knees and is smiling repeatedly at him for no other reason than sheer adoration.  Roscoe eats it up and keeps touching her hand gently saying "ah, funny" with a massive grin on his face.  Then THE MOMENT.  Roscoe (of his own volition) says,


"I love you, Luka."


I melt into a heap of warm fuzzies on the front seat and the water works start.  Ray looks at me because he knows I am dying of happiness inside (and he secretly wants to blubber away, too, I just know it).  Roscoe repeats himself and I forget every tantrum he has ever thrown.  Angels sing.

And, then, you know, real life resumes.

No matter what else happened this past week (ahem, back to work, food poisoning, job interview, flight to LA for meeting that got canceled...), that moment is the only one that matters.

2 Months!

That's it?  Seems like our little Lu-berry has been around forever.  See if you can resist her cuteness:

In the skirt Nani got her:

Her first stroller ride:

This is what her hair looks like straight out of the bath.  Then from turning side to side it quickly morphs into her signature faux-hawk:

Pop ya collar!  Showing off her uber-adorable jacket:

2 month photos:

The Sweet Bits

I could talk about the mundane - Ray's new job (he likes it quite a bit even though it is longer hours and longer commute), me starting back at work (let's just pretend that is not happening), the daily routines... or I could take a moment to jot down the sweet bits that make every whiny tantrum and every midnight cry worth it.

* Roscoe is perfecting his gentleman manners and teaching his little sister already.  He gave Luka one of his toys the other day and said "thanks" (on her behalf) and then responded (on his own behalf) with "welcome."

* For some reason Roscoe says "peekaboo" as "ugaboo" and I. love. it.

* Another Roscoe-ism I can't get enough of is when he likes something he exclaims with glee "yummy yummy good!"  I think that is the best compliment I have received on my cooking (he is a tough critic, let me tell you).

* Roscoe has also  been working on his hide-n-seek skills.  He can now count to two (as he is walking) while covering his eyes (and peeking).  His idea of hiding includes kneeling in front of the window or laying in front of the couch.  We'll work on that.

* Today Luka woke up before Roscoe and I got her dressed.  When Roscoe woke up and saw her he was so excited to see that she was wearing a skirt and (with a huge smile) yelled "rina!" (ballerina) and "I like!"  So cute.

* Luka has been practicing spending time out of our arms.  Although my back could use the break, I can't say I mind that much.  Time goes by so quickly and how can I resist this little angel face?

Siblings

I didn't think Roscoe and Luka looked that much alike until I ran across a couple of old photos of his.  Ray had a good point, though, when he observed that they look more like each other than they look like either one of us!  What do you think?

And just because they are too cute, here are a few more pics thrown in...