Veggies ~ Not so much

So I made some veggie soup and Marco was "asking" for some. Gave it to him and thought I might have some success. He attempted to taste it...and then the "bleh" face. Too funny. As you can see, it ended up being more fun to play with it. Hopefully better luck next time!

Breaking out of Cabin Fever!

So it's been super cold, and foggy on our side of the hill. Sun hasn't come out too often and we've been hanging out inside and staying warm. Honestly, I kind of like it, but the little ones get some serious cabin fever!
Mateo has been talking about the zoo everyday since we last went....months ago...lol.
So knowing that we had a free Saturday (and need to get good use out of our membership) and the weather in Oalkand was going to be nice, we got up early and headed out! It turned out to be such a great day. Mateo was in animal heaven, and Marco was such a trooper. Didn't squirm "too" much in the stroller.
The weather was perfect and best of all, we saw every animal (except for the Hyena, still yet to see on a visit). The good and bad of the Oakland zoo, they try to keep the animals in natural surroundings that can be quite large areas and they can hide really well. But not today. We even saw the bears up close and personal. So cool!!
And we ended our day with a stop to ride the train! The boys loved it! It turned out to be such a great day!!
And even better, we got home, I got ready and headed out for dinner and a movie with the girls! Pretty much a perfect day!!

My little zoo keeper, so excited for our day at the Zoo!

This little guy LOVES looking at the map!

Monkey came straight up to pose for us
1st time we saw the Toucans! So cool!



Still getting used to the new big boy haircut

My own little monkey


On the go...little guy never wants to sit still!

Marco's 1st Haircut!

So, it's no secret, we've been putting off Marco's 1st haircut for a long time (although he did all ready have a "trim". (Mateo kept hearing us talk about Marco needing a haicut, so one day he thought he would help out. He snipped off a little from the front and a little on top. Found out when I found the hair on the floor.)
It was time, I finally made the appointment. Being that his poor hair was in his eyes. Super sad for me. (funny tho, Mateo had his 1st haircut at 6 months and again at 10 months). We got to hold out a little longer with the little man.
We took him to the same place we took Mateo too. Cute little cars, movies to watch and a super cute certificate with a lock of his hair on it. And only $10.
He did such a good job. For a little guy who never sits still. He didn't move AT ALL. Actually almost looked like he was gonna fall asleep. Probably felt good having his hair combed.
Well we no longer have a baby, but a second "Little Man"! Sniff, Sniff.

Before

He did so good, he practically fell asleep




Big brother ~ sitting close by for moral support

And the reward...a lollipop

been doing this since the day we brought Marco home from the hospital

After
No longer a baby, my big boy...sniff, sniff

Fun times with my BOYS!

The best times, the simple ones!! Love, Love, Love my BOYS!!!! Especially all the silliness that comes with them!!




My little climber!




Just adding in the piece of bread Mateo pulled out of the bag the other day. And of course he immediately noticed the happy face!!

Daddy's Show

This weekend was Daddy's annual Bonsai show. He's been prepping for it for awhile and I think it went pretty well. He made the stand his tree is on. Super cool! And the tress of course, they're pretty cool too!!

My One Frame a Day/365 Project!

So far so good. Just have to clean it up a little bit but this has been fun. Thank goodness for the good old iphone and being able to "capture" a quik picture!!

Here's the link to the blog. If you're a regular follower don't forget to add yourself!

365 Days of Our Lives

Thankful for Great Grandmother's and for special Yummy treats!

My boys are so lucky! They get to visit and spend time with their Great Grandmother! She does not like the term "great" though. To my boys and their cousin, she is known as Pastitsi Nanna. Basically I call her Nanna, she's my grandmother. The boys call my mom, Nanna. Well a long time ago, my cousins little guy needed a way to differentiate his grandmothers so he came up with calling her "pastitsi Nanna". If you have ever been to one of our parties or celebrations, you've tasted them. Their called, Pastitsi's. They are an old Maltese pastry of sort that my Grandma has been making since I can remember. And in turn my little guys are lucky enough to be able to eat the real thing too. And they LOVE them!! Even my picky guy!! Everyone that eats them loves them. So, now it is our job to learn. So one day my grandkids can experience the same tradition and history that my guys do!!









Pure Yum!!

Happy 2011 ~

Happy 2011!!

Happy New Year to all our family and friends! It's hard to believe how fast 2010 came and went. So many 1sts, milestones and happy memories to treasure!! Looking forward to another year full of fun, laughter, and enjoying watching our little guys grow!! Can't wait for the adventures to come~

So with that said, of course I have to make some resolutions. There are some that go without mentioning...blah, blah, blah (including filling in all the blanks in my blog....hahahahha still laughing as that seems to drag on and on and on) but I have some new ones that I am excited about!

The 1st is my biggest challenge ~ to complete a "one frame a day" also known as "365 project".

(I know there are a lot of these "ideas" out there, like 'embrace the camera' and '52 week photo challenge' (which I tried and only made it thru 8 months and failed (52 week photo challenge)
but still LOVE going back to look at it!

I love taking pictures, always have my camera with me and want to capture everything. I want my boys to be able to truly see themselves as babies, little boys, and growing into young men thru these pictures one day!

I can't wait to have my own set of coffee table books filled with all our adventures. My biggest challenge ~ uploading the pictures timely. But here goes. My plan again is to create a site just for this to make it easier and more "organized" when I make my book.

Another challenge ~ getting organized.
IN GENERAL. In all aspects of my life. The house, our schedules, blogging..lol.

And, of course - to get us all healthier!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!!

Our Elf on the Shelf

Do you have an "elf on the shelf"? Well ours just joined our family and he couldn't have come at a better time. The days have been LONG around here! Listening and behaving have become a challenge in our home! So our little elf on the shelf has made his appearance and has now become a part of our family, and a new tradition. We started a little bit late... but I think he came just in time! As of yet we have named him "Pepper". Mateo is in awe of him.

We have a little advent box with collection drawers. The little "elf" has come every night and leaves a small treat (a little piece of candy left over from Halloween :-)) or a message. (Mateo has been asking where he lives and what he looks like). Today on the way home I told Mateo that the elf had come to live in our house and would stay until Christmas. I told him he was waiting for him somewhere inside. Well he couldn't wait to "see" him. He found him sitting on our mantle along with his little story book. Mateo's face was in awe. He wanted to know if he was alive and if he could move. We looked at him, read the book and learned the "rules". You cannot touch him but you can talk to him. If you touch him he will lose his magic. We read the story, talked about him, talked about behaving and where the elf might be when he wakes up tomorrow. You see, he goes back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa and let him know if the boys have been naughty or nice. I think it might work cuz the elf has only been here a few hours and when Mateo does something he shouldn't be doing, he looks straight to the shelf to see if the elf is looking. And of course, in big brother fashion, he has all ready reminded Marco that he could be put on the "naughty" list.

*update. It's been 4 days. Pepper has returned every night in a new location. The morning excitement starts with running downstairs to find him........and is it really "magic". Mateo has been trying really hard to be on his best behavior!! ANd that makes for one happy Mama!!

Where we found him this morning!

Portable North Pole

Came across this super cool idea and site and wanted to share!

Register at Portable North Pole, and you can send a message from Santa Claus to a toddler, older child, or even an adult. After navigating an extensive online questionnaire that even mentions siblings, chores, and the most coveted gift on your child's list, PNP creates a high quality video of Santa speaking directly to your child. You'll get a quick tour of the North Pole hot spots, hear a little about your child's strengths and areas for improvement, and even see your child's name, right there in Santa's book. And if your kid's name isn't exotic, Santa even says it. Neato. The best part of all? Sending messages through Portable North Pole is free. If you want a DVD keepsake, they'll make one for a small charge.

It's super cute, super easy and so much fun for the little ones!!

A Reminder to Be Thankful!

One of our traditions that we have decided to keep is having a real LIVE Christmas Tree. Even if it only means a trip to Home Depot, usually in the rain. Borrowing the scissors to keep removing twine off each wrapped tree in search of the "perfect" tree. Only to drive Jeff bananas and still wonder all the way home if we picked the "right" one. This year we have been putting it off due to timing and wanting to make sure the tree stays fresh thru the holidays..or was that the real reason? Poor little Marco is sick, yet again. Unfortunately he is easily affected by colds and the allergens in the air. His poor little lungs are affected so quickly and wheezing is not our friend!!

Well our plan had been to get our tree on Tuesday. Come Tuesday mommy had a horrible stomach flu...YuCK!! So no trip to get our tree. Also the start of Marco's cold. So on Wednesday it led us on yet another trip to see Dr Novesteras. And what were her friendly words? "you dont have a LIVE tree do you?" My response, "No, not yet, we're going to get that tomorrow." Sadly, plans have changed. Basically she said if we want Marco to keep Marco healthy and breathing normally, or breathing at all...no LIVE tree for us. Her suggestion, put a live tree on your porch, but no way inside your house.

It's horrible to say but I did go thru a moment of being sad and wondering what we were going to do. No offense, but I am NOT a fan of fake trees. I did ask if this was permanent or if there was hope for next year and it may be a temporary thing. Yes, it may be temporary. Yipee....but until then, we have to decide, do we "borrow" a tree to get us thru this year and make it a Charlie Brown Christmas, or do we go shopping, find the "perfect" fake tree and go from there?

But in the end, I am left with the true reminder! That we have two beautiful, healthy, active, incredible boys!! And in the end, neither of them will even take a second to wonder if our tree is real or not!! They will just revel in the excitement and joy of Christmas! And it's our job to make that happen!!

Woo Hoo! Now the Search for the Perfect Christmas Card!

Yay! I qualified for the free Shutterfly cards! Now I can't wait to find the perfect pictures and perfect card! We are taking family pictures next week. Let's all keep our fingers crossed. I am sure they will be our life in motion as our boys never sit still together for more than 1/2 a second!

Fear Factor, No Fear, What?

These boys are so darn funny!
Right now, Mateo's favorite thing to watch on TV ~ Fear Factor~! What? I was working one day last week, Jeff text me and told me "our son is addicted to Fear Factor". And now he can't get enough. Kinda cute, kinda freakish? But then again, Mateo plays to his own drum! I mean while most boys would rather be playing with Hot Wheels and Super Hero's (yes he does play with these things too), my guy is still into his Animals. They rule his world and I LOVE it!!

And Marco. He is nothing like Mateo was. He has no FEAR!! He will climb anything, I mean anything. If he sees a step stool, it's an invitation to climb. When I left the dining room chair pulled out, I found him on top of the table. Most of the time Mateo's little play tables are turned upside down. Yes he climbs to the top of the bunk, so now I have something to block him from going up more then two steps. (I think this is my payback from when Mateo was small and I made a comment about how he was too chicken to jump or climb...lol on me!). And he LOVES the park and slides. I mean why not...its all about climbing. But the cutest thing right now. He climbs on a chair, or Mateo's bed. And when he tries to get down, he slides half way down and calls our for help. Just hanging there. And usually waiting for Mateo to come to the rescue. So darn cute. Hoping his limbs stay intact!!

A new way of blogging!

Ok, So I have decided. This blog needs a new look. Well not a new "look" really but a different kind of approach. Of course, it is and will be primarily dedicated to our family ( and tons of pictures) , but I want to include all kinds of other fun stuff too. Including all the crazy fun stuff our little guys do that definitely keep us on our toes, the things that make my mind swirl and crazy things that make me happy that probably only other moms who blog will understand. (I think that's why I haven't done it this way before, because it's mostly family and friends reading this and unfortunately, I have tried and tried and cannot get most of them to blog!).

All lot of my ideas will probably be taken from other fun blogs, but then that's what it's all about right? Sharing and passing it on. So here's to something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Let's just see how well I can do!

Time to start thinking about Christmas Cards

I realize I did this wrong. Here goes again..

We love Christmas and love sending Christmas Cards. So much thought goes into them year after year! I know a lot of people no longer send cards and some do the e-card thing as their way of saving $$. But for us, sending cards is a must. It's a way to keep in touch with those you rarely talk to, and it's so much fun to receive them and watch families grow over the years!! And I love how for the most part, most of the cards we get now are full of fun family pictures.
Each year it seems like I have plenty of time to choose the perfect card and then time gets away from me and I stand searching for the perfect pictures and perfect card with days to spare!! Hopefully this year will be different.

Shutterfly is having a promotion for their holiday cards! YAY! Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010

With the selection of cards that Shutterfly has I can't wait to get started! Here are a few of my faves! Peppermint Bliss and With Love Chartreuse. I'm sure I'll change my mind a million times before it's time to order and send out!


I have used Shutterfly for everything from photo books, to gifts, prints and thankyou cards.
My absolute favorite thing about Shutterfly though - is their great customer service and the great offers for their products!! Not to mention the quality of their products. And even better, they are local in the bay area, so I always receive my order super fast!!

I have A LOT of catching up to do. But until then a short note that will only stay up temporarily.

This blog is intended for people who have been invited to read it or who stumble upon it and find it fun to look at. If you are not one of these, then WHY are you looking??? If you don't care to take part in mine or my childrens lives, then you have no need to know what is going on in our lives thru our blog!! I am debating on making it private, that is to be determined....have a nice day!

Last Basketball Practice!

Unfortunately Basketball is over until the Spring. It's only 4 weeks but it was fun! It's too bad the don't keep it running through the winter since it's an inside sport. Mateo has gotten pretty good at it too! Guess we'll be practicing a lot at home

My little blocker

And of couse, Marco getting in on the action too! He loves basketball!!