Another party weekend!

It turned out to be yet another eventful weekend for the little ones, and judging by the amount of sleep both kids got each night, it's safe to say that neither one of them minded all the activity! Saturday we took the kids to a Halloween party and they both had a blast! Isaiah did really well among all the commotion, and didn't have a problem crying when Mommy wasn't around. He seems to do better when festivities take place outdoors, and with this great weather we've been having, we've been pretty fortunate that things have been outside. I guess all kids need a change every now and then, and being indoors all the time can make anyone feel a bit loco. Makenna, obviously, found her groove without any problems, as she went around following the bigger kids. Even when she wasn't with them, she just happily played by herself with her nonchalant attitude.

Sunday was Nonno's birthday and the kids got to spend more time with their cousins and aunts and uncles. It's funny how Isaiah can be so calm and relaxed around strangers one day, then be the polar opposite around family the next day. For the most part, he was ok, but when there's too much fuss around him, and he can't see his Mommy or me, he gets a little anxious. When Mommy's around, his world is complete and he's at ease with everyone else. Strange how that works... And of course, Kennaroo fell into the groove with her cousins, and everyone else for that matter! She did have a couple of instances where her "terrible-twos" attitude reared it's ugly head, but we just dealt with it until she calmed down. I can't imagine what the little big man will be like when he gets to that stage, especially since he's been so different than Kenna. Hopefully God give us the strength and patience to deal with his outbursts too!!!

Makenna shows Isaiah some new dance moves, while Mommy enjoys the show...

Isaiah in his comfort zone

Makenna plays in the little house

Makenna give Nonno a special birthday kiss

More pumpkin patch fun...

Last night we surprised the kids with a visit to our local pumpkin patch. Even though it wasn't as eventful as the one we brought them to last week, they still had a great time. While Makenna was big enough to play on the giant slide, she ended up playing in the jumper. Since no parents were allowed in the jumper, we opted to keep Isaiah on the sidelines. It didn't matter anyway, he was too distracted by all the pumpkins scattered everywhere. He probably wouldn't have enjoyed himself in the jumper anyway since he's not walking yet, so maybe next year will be a better experience. Nevertheless, the kids enjoyed themselves, and there's only 1 week until they get to bust out their costumes. Happy Friday =)

Makenna explains the finer points in pumpkin selection to Isaiah...

Isaiah wants this one!!!

Don't let the gas face fool you, she still had fun!

Our silly kids...

Everyone who has been around the little big man, knows that he loves to move around. He's been fairly active for some time now, and has perfected his combat crawl to the point where he's coordinated enough to get from point A to point B in no time at all. Just by watching him, he looks as if he's ready to graduate to the hands and knees crawl soon, but we're not holding our breath. It seems that he'd rather skip the whole crawling nonsense and skip right on into walking! He loves standing up on his feet, assisted of course, and finds joy in being upright. This morning, while at home with Mommy, he pulled himself up to the standing position all on his own! I'm sure Enz tagged that milestone on the calendar! Can't believe that we'll have two little ones running around, literally "running" around...

And who can forget our little ham?! I've said it before & I'll keep saying how much we enjoy her personality and how she's able to entertain us with her antics. She continues to surprise us with her growing level of understanding, and she's beginning to associate people and things with their names more. Whenever I call home, she knows that it's Dada, or when she hears her brother, she automatically calls out "Shee-shee," which is her attempt at saying Zae-Zae! She knows Marino as puppy, and never ever forgets Mommy =) She's been very cautious of her little brother as of late, and loves to sit with him whenever he's crawling around. Of course there are times where she'll play the role, and just torment Isaiah just to make him cry. And by the time we get to them, she's already trying to make his stop crying! Oh the fun we're having!!! Happy Wednesday!

Fun @ the pumpkin patch!

What a great weekend to take the kids to the pumpkin patch! The weather was perfect, if not a bit on the warm side, and the kids had a ball! Even though Isaiah wasn't able to get up and enjoy all the stuff his sister & cousins did, he had a great time being out with his family in a new place with lots of new sights to see. Makenna had no problems taking in the scenery as she played happily with her cousins. We took both kids on a tractor ride, which we probably could've skipped out on since neither one of them were really into it. But I guess that was more for the experience anyway, and hopefully they'll understand it more next year. All in all it was a great day to take the kids to the pumpkin patch!

Posing at the entrance to the Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Patch

(there's no mistaking that these two are related!)

Isaiah & Mommy ham it up for the camera

Makenna & Daddy on the carousel
Makenna posing with her cousins Spiderman & Optimus Prime (Wesley & Elliott)

Early to bed, early to rise?

Happy Friday from the kids who have somehow transitioned into early birds. This past week the internal clocks have changed in both kids, and now they're both getting up earlier than normal. To be honest, it's nothing new with Isaiah since he's always been an early riser. With Makenna though, she's always been a really good sleeper, and sometimes we'll have to wake her to keep her from oversleeping! I guess it just makes a difference when both kids are up early. That's not to say that they're whiny & needy in the AM, we just need to be wary of having to make sure they're taken care of while getting ready ourselves. For me, it's not much of a hassle since I'm up & out of the house on the early side. For Enz, it's a whole different ball game when she's trying to get ready while having to handle both of the babies. We're hoping it's just a phase and that it'll work itself out soon. If it becomes more of a permanent thing, then we'll have to reassess & just roll with it. Happy Friday & have a great weekend!

Hump Day

Just wishing everyone a Happy Hump Day. Here are a couple of pics of the kids as they prepare for a change in weather. Little did they know that it would still be a bit on the warm side during the day! Nevertheless, they're getting prepared for when the temps drop. The little big man needs to get used to wearing something on his head. The only way we were able to keep his beanie on was to put it on him when he was almost asleep! That way, he'd be too tired to even mess with it! Makenna, on the other hand, just loves to model all her new stuff, even though that is Mommy's scarf she's wearing! Happy Wednesday!

Another fun weekend...

Even with the weather changing a bit, the kids still have that "happy go lucky" attitude (most of the time)! This weekend was no different with yet another birthday party as well as a bit of family bonding time. Friday night we brought the kids to Cole's 4th birthday party, and while it was more of an evening get-together, we went against the grain and allowed the kids to be out past their usual bedtime. Hey, we need to let up on the reigns every now and then, right? Isaiah did his best to not "act up" around others, and was pretty calm around aunts & uncles that he doesn't see quite as often. Makenna was her usual entertaining self, and had a great time with the big kids. We couldn't stretch the two out too much, as they both began winding down, letting us know exactly when it was time to pack up & get them home.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much family time, as we continued on our cleanup efforts at home. We sometimes dread the days where we can dedicate time to getting the house in order - we never know what we'll find! Makenna likes leaving things everywhere, and we've been fortunate not to find food or any other surprises hidden amongst the mess. There are still a few other projects we need to get on around the house, but that just means we'll turn it upside down again while we work on it, and who knows how long it'll take to get it back in order...

Yesterday, after the kids took their naps, we took advantage of the great weather and had a little outing. Nothing spectacular, just spent the afternoon people watching @ Santana Row. Both the kids were wide-eyed as they took in the tail end of the Farmer's Market, as well as all the hustle and bustle in the area. There were a lot of dogs out yesterday, and Makenna made sure to point out every one of them and shout "puppy" whenever she saw one. Isaiah had a blast crawling on the lawn outside Maggiano's. We still trip out that it's synthetic lawn, and the kids don't know the difference, nor do they care! The little guy was crawling all over the place, and was even bold enough to practice standing up on his own (while balancing against his stroller, of course). Makenna just ran around and around until she wore herself out. After that, we called it a day. The kids were spent after their little outing & both retired with relative ease.

Skye, Isaiah, Makenna & Cole

Isaiah when he's in a terrific mood...

Nonno would be proud!

TGIF!!!

We made it through another week, and from what we've seen, it was a good one! Isaiah has been most agreeable as of late, and was able to get over the pain hump of his latest teeth. On a daily basis, he's becoming easier to read when it comes to being hungry and/or tired. Since he's a bit more mobile now (he has really gotten into his combat crawl), he's all over the place. When I say all over the place, I mean just that! One second he's in the family room playing with Makenna, and in the blink of an eye, he's crawling through the kitchen, taking momentary breaks when he gets tired! It's time to rebuild our "gated community" again, the one that Makenna knows all too well!

extreme closeup...

Big sister Makenna has been equally as happy, especially now that Mommy has a lot of holiday decorations throughout the house. Right now, she's into the "helpful" stage where she wants to get her hands on everything just so she can help out. She knows where things go too. When I get home, I usually give her my wallet so she can put it on my nightstand. She knows that her shoes should go by the door. She knows that every night before bedtime, she needs to help out & put her toys away. It's hard to believe that she's rapidly approaching the two-year mark. Whew, where did all the time go? Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

trying on Daddy's shoes...

Hump Day...

The kids have fallen into semi-new routines as of late. Isaiah is down to only 2 naps during the day, and he's being fairly regular with them both. His two new teeth don't seem to be bothering him as much, but he's developed a little blood blister near the right tooth, and we're guessing that's the culprit to his recent bouts of pain. We were told to pop it, ouch, but Zae boy isn't letting us get in there to do so. Hopefully he pops it on his own, and he should with the constant gnawing & chewing on his toys. Nevertheless, he's been in a better mood.

Makenna has "graduated" to a single nap nowadays, and there are even times where she acts as if she doesn't need one at all. Her vocabulary has grown to the point where we stopped counting how many words she knows, although she still has her own language. She likes to "ask" questions in her language, and will wait patiently for an answer. If it's the right one, she'll smile, if it's the wrong one, she'll ask again. Where does she learn this stuff??

Isaiah practicing how to stand up on his own

Makenna enjoying herself at cousin Wesley's birthday party

Are the kids plotting against us???

Non-stop weekend...

What started off as an eventful weekend for the family, ended up exhausting everyone. From early morning Saturday, to Sunday evening, it felt like we were on the go with no stop in sight. And here it is, Monday once again, to begin yet another work week. *Sigh* I think we need a vacation!

Aside from the chores and errands we normally do on our days off, this weekend we took the kids to two family birthday parties. While neither party was overwhelming, there was just enough action and excitement to tire our two little ones out. Isaiah has been a bit on the touchy side this weekend, and it's mainly due to the new teeth that are cutting in. Although they're not molars, he's letting us know that he's uncomfortable, and it seems that he can only find real comfort in either mommy or me. The bad part is that he'll wake up early (or should I say, earlier than normal) and he'll fuss around in his crib as he tries to soothe himself back to sleep. He's getting better at calming himself down, but it's a lot harder when he's in pain. The discomfort will pass soon enough, so for now, we'll just have to hold our breath until it does.

Makenna was in her own little world at both birthday parties, enjoying anything and everything she could get her hands on. She's at a great age where she's becoming more observant of her surroundings, and learning lots of new words in the process. She's also started her own version of "people watching," and it's so funny to watch her as she watches others. It's as if you can see her brain at work as she tries to make sense of what she sees. Her personality is coming out more and we've gotten many compliments on how outgoing she appears to be. When we hear stuff like that, we're both in a state of shock at how quickly our daughter is growing. It won't be too long before Isaiah gets to this point!

the little moody guy...

the outgoing one & her "earthy-bohemian look" Mommy & Makenna are all smiles =)
Isaiah putting the bite down on one of his favorite teething toys...
Daddy & the happy kids...

Happy October

Now that we've gotten the house back into a state of semi-order, and the kids are back to normal, we can rest easy, if only for a little while. We've still got lots to work on, and a couple of birthday parties to attend to this weekend. As always, the weekends are never long enough, but I guess it's safe to say that particular statement becomes clearer when you have children!

The little big man is having a ball on his own, especially now that he can breathe freely again. We noticed that he's got another set of teeth coming in right beside his top two front teeth (which aren't fully out yet). His entire look is already starting to change with the addition of all the white in his mouth. He loves to happily gnaw on anything and everything he gets his hands on, and now that he's more mobile, we really have to be on our toes. It doesn't help that Makenna just hands everything over to him, but what can we do?! We just need to be extra wary of what Isaiah's doing and what he has in his hands.


Makenna has learned to let us know of her "bodily functions," and we're pretty jazzed about that. It looks like she's getting ready to go into the potty training phase of her development, and we hope that she picks up on that easily. She's been into "helping" out around the house, especially since she's gotten over her fear of the vacuum! I guess she just got used to the sound of it because we've had a lot of cleanup work to do around the house with the recent fireplace project. She's not much into the regular vacuum cleaner, but she likes messing with the shop-vac. What's the difference??? It's all good, we can hand this chore off to her since she likes it so much! Happy October!