We had a progressive activity day today.

Early this morning I suggested Maisy draw a picture and I'll write her story about it.  This is what she wrote:

It says:  Once there was a floor, and I wasn't sure if I liked cake yet.  There was a light, but I wasn't sure about the light, but I cracked the light open with a little sword that's really hard and tan and if you tap it on something, it will break, but I wasn't standing on it.  I was standing on the rug.  I like my warm warm warm my own bed and I sleep in it every night and the morning and even out of sight.

So the picture is of Maisy with her hands behind her back looking side eye at the cake with a candle on it on the table.  On the floor she's drawn her bed and a rug and above her head is a light.

She then, was so proud that she wanted to make sure her byline was in there.

Our next activity was inspired by pinterest.  I decided we would start out by going for a walk in Tilden park down to Jewel lake, have a picnic and look for rocks for our end result project of painted heart rocks.  

Maisy digging.

We turned looking for rocks into a pretend game of us being paleontologists going on a dig for dinosaur bones.  So we dug and dug for the perfect dino bones with sticks.

Maren even enjoyed the digging.

Sister fun!

Maren "sticky fingers" borrowed my sunglasses to help her hunt for the perfect dinosaur bones.

We came home and I put Maren down for a nap while Maisy scrubbed all the rocks in the sink. When she was done, she went for a nap. 

I woke Maisy a bit later and the rocks were ready for painting!

Happy Maisy painter.

Maisy painted all of the rocks their solid colors.  Later she chose which color heart went on each rock, but I painted the hearts.

We made these to give as Valentine's Day bits of love to our friends and family, but Maisy really gets attached to her projects, so I'm not so sure she'll actually let us part with them!

Here are just two pictures from an amazing birthday party we went to for our friend and neighbor 1 yr old Sage!  It was at the Bay Area Discovery Museum on the most perfectly warm and beautiful January day EVER!

Maren, wearing her party tutu, in the playground.  Yes, that is the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.  It was one of those days where you think, jeez, if I saw this in a picture, or if I was just visiting- I would say, Wow, I really want to live HERE!

Maisy loves the face paint!  She personally requested one large rainbow with big clouds and rain.

We've had a great start to the year!  Maren is now a total walker and is very determined to WALK. She really no longer wants to be held or in a stroller or a grocery cart.  It makes outings adventures.  She sure has spunk- that Maren!

Maisy is surprising us daily with her talents, her compassion and how in tune and alerted she is to everything!  

Both girls are such joys!  I'm a very lucky mom.

Next week we'll be heading to LA for my step brother's wedding and we'll also make another trip to Disneyland with family and friends! Yay- for LA!

 

 

 

For some reason today, I got out a lot of clothespins.  I didn't have a plan, I just decided to start clipping them on the kids toys, clothes, and such.  Boy did they get into it!  We were building all sorts of strange things and clothespinning odd things to normal things!  All in all, it was about 45 minutes of entertainment.  Not bad for something invented in the mid 1800's.

Our stock of clothespins

Attaching them to pegs, taking them off of pegs and re-attaching them to a heart shaped silicone baking pan.

Attaching them to the cord of our blinds.

Maren took a few off of the pan, but then spotted me with my camera and decided that photography was a better activity.

Clothespin tower thingy we (okay, mostly I) built.

Still super fun- who knew?!

 

 

 

A lot has happened in the last week or so!  So much celebration.

I'm a Christmas Eve baby, so we celebrated my birthday with friends last Monday with dinner out. It was a nice gathering.  I really appreciated all who came to help celebrate with this time of year being so busy! We did a small family celebration on my actual birthday.  It was a fun pre-quel to Christmas.

It's a gravy seperator!  Yay!  (I'm serious- ever tried to make real gravy without one!?)

This night was also Mo's last night with us.  Boy did he throw a bash!  That crazy Elf on the Shelf knows how to have a good time.

"Smow" as they are known in the celebrity doll circle.

The next day was Christmas.  The girls were great and slept in until 8.  It was me who kept waking up hoping it was time to get up!

The girls and me heading downstairs to see what Santa brought.

We must have all been amazingly good this year because......

The girls got a nice new red wagon!

Todd got some ski boots he was drooling over.

And I got a very nice bag I'd been lusting after.

It was a special year!  All the gifts were so thoughtful and wonderful.

Papa J made Maisy her own purple cradle for her dolls.

Maren also got a custom Papa J pink cradle.  

The girls LOVE them!

Maren is really into books right now. She loves to mock read them.  It's hilarious to listen to her jumble on in nonsense words while pointing to pictures and flipping pages.

Maren reading a Christmas book.

Maisy got a princess game that involves lots of jewels, rings and crowns.  She loved playing this game with Todd.  It was funny to see Todd all blinged out!

I got Dance Central 2 for Christmas and Maisy happily joined in.  She actually did pretty well keeping up!

Maisy and Me feeling so fly like a g6.

We had a few days of trying to get back to normal at home.  There was a lot of stuff to organize!

We celebrated New Year's Eve at our house with friends.  We did the east coast version and celebrated at 9.  It was perfect!  I made the most super yummy carnitas, if I do say so myself. You HAVE to make it!

Getting ready for the count down!

Cheers!  Happy New Year!!

We spent New Year's Day completey ridding our house of anything Christmas and took a walk from a book that details the hidden public stairways in Berkeley.  We only got through about a quarter of what the walk should have been, with the girls, but we completely enjoyed looking at all the fancy houses and walking off some carnitas!

Maisy, Me and Maren descend our second staircase.

Maisy, Maren and Todd walking down the path to the stairs.

Maisy being silly.

Todd and Maren walk hand in hand.

Here is to a happy and healthy 2012. The last year has gone by so quickly, we have been so fortunate in many ways and for that we are very thankful.  We look forward to spending the next year making more memories, living, loving and laughing with all!

Happy New Year!

Love,

Todd, Becky, Maisy and Maren

 

 

 

Just a quick wrap up before the big day!  All the shopping is done, most of the presents are wrapped under the tree and now we are just waiting for the big guy.

We are all so excited.  The older the girls get the more exciting it is all becoming.

Maisy and I have been baking up a storm and we are now done with that as well.  Maisy was a very good helper.  She was the master counter of scoops, pourer and egg cracker.  

All of our baking needs set out and we are ready to bake!

Maren hanging out and happily drinking a yogurt smoothie.

Maren had her 16 month well baby visit and is perfectly healthy.  She is able to walk and will sometimes.  She walked all the way down the hall at the doctor's office toward her vaccines.  She is now 21 pounds and 4.7 ounces and is 31 and 1/4 inches tall.  She is saying lots of words! Some of her favorite words are "raspberry and blueberry".  She says them quite clearly.

Maren holding up her stats.

Maren stepping down the hall.

We made our annual trip with our friends down to Thompson St. in Alameda to see all of the pretty lights. 

Maisy blending in with the lawn decorations.

The walk was cold, but dry and fun.  Santa was even there!

Maisy was super excited to visit Santa this year. Maren, on the other hand, immediately signed "all done" the second I perched her on Santa's lap.  She kept her eyes glued to this strange man the whole time we were visiting with him.

The only thing I heard Maisy ask for was a beard like Santa's but pink.

So, I found this cut out on Pinterest, that I cut out and let her color.  She seemed quite happy with it.

"Ho, Ho, Ho to no one's house."

Maisy's really into jokes that usually are not jokes at all, but she loves telling them and having us laugh at them.

We are on a 2 week break from school and are looking forward to relaxing around the house with nowhere in particular to go.  The girls have kindly started sleeping in until 8.  It's been lovely!

Merry Christmas!!!

Love, 

Todd, Becky, Maisy and Maren

 

 

We got our tree last weekend, the inside of the house is all decked out.  I'm lagging a bit on the outside lights, but we'll get there.  The point is- that we are in the holiday spirit!  Our newly adopted elf, Mo, arrived yesterday.  We love our Elf on the Shelf!  Maren named him Mo. I think she actually just wanted to see "more" of him, but it sounded like she was calling him Mo, so Mo it is!  After reading our Elf on the Shelf story and getting our elf comfortable on our windowsill, Daddy and Maisy decided to make a card for Santa that Mo could take to him on his nightly reporting to the North Pole.  This is what Maisy came up with at 3 and a half years old.

"Dear Santa"

"Merry Christmas"

She drew many presents below.  Most of them are for Maisy, a couple are for Mom and one is for Maren.  Dad doesn't get any.  Poor dad.

Instead of writing out the words to her wishlist, Maisy drew pictures.  The items are:

1.  Pink headband

2.  Necklace

3.  Pink beard.  Todd actually found one on Etsy. We are having a difference of opinion on whether we should make this happen.  Not really sure why she wants a beard, but it's pretty funny.

4.  Sparkly dress

5.  A really really big big big bathing suit with big arms and legs so nothing can bite her.

She allowed the elf to borrow the card to show Santa, but she wants to keep the card in her possession.  So, Mo showed Santa last night and this is where we found Mo after his first expedition back to the North Pole.

Mo suggling up.

Maisy investigating the Elf on the Shelf.  

He ended up in a shoe box Maisy decorated the other day into a nice winter scene with cotton balls, tissue paper, odds and ends and, of course, Santa.  I guess Mo missed the North Pole. Super excited to see where our Elf on the Shelf, Mo, will end up each morning!

Hope your holidays are off to a jolly start!

 

Maisy often asks to do activities.  There are so many kids activites on Pinterest I've been eyeing, that I was happy to try a few of them out.  Most of these activites below are my version of other people's fancy crafts.  

1.  Christmas Button Tree

I had some green felt that was already cut out in circles.  I just drew  the outline of a tree and glued some ribbon to the outline and had Maisy fill in the middle with buttons.  

She really liked this activity.  When it was all dry, I stuck it in a frame from Target.  Now we will have a piece of Maisy art for years to come.  It will be fun to bring out each year.

2.  Make your own Snow Globe

I used a cleaned out small little mustard jar.  

I hot glued a plastic little zebra to the top and Maisy filled the globe with glitter, fuzzy balls and water.  Maren goes crazy watching the glitter settle.

3.  Make an Airplane out of popsicle sticks and a clothes pin

Maisy painted all the parts and we sprinkled glitter on them.  

Then I hot glued it together.  

We decided it was missing a pilot, so we glued a giraffe to the top.

4.  An I-spy water bottle

I had a clear 1 liter bottle.  I found a bunch of items that could fit in the bottle and put them out on a plate for Maisy to put into the bottle.  Maisy put in lots of things, feathers, a straw, sequins, beads, fuzzy balls, rubber bands, a penny, a clothes pin etc.

Maisy fit those all in the bottle and poured in the glitter.  

We added water and I super glued the top on.  Both Maisy and Maren LOVE looking and playing with this. 

5.  Gel Sensory Bag

I got a cheap bottle of hair gel.  Maisy and I sqeezed the gel into a large ziplock bag.  We added some glitter and a few drops of red food coloring to the blue hair gel.  Maisy then got to see the colors mix as she played with the gel.  I took clear packing tape and taped all edges of the bag to reinforce it a bit.  

Both Maren and Maisy really enjoy playing with this.  I had them play with it on a white background so they could see the imprints their hands make when they stamp or make lines in the gel.  We are going to play with this with flashlights when the girls wake up from their nap.  

On a side note, we did an interesting study with UC Berkeley, where a researcher came to our house to video us for 3 hrs.  They wanted to watch second children in their second year of life, with their siblings in their normal environment.  It was a bit difficult at first to act normally, but then after a while, we just got into our thing and forgot the researcher was there.  They want to do a follow up taping about three months from now.  I'm very curious to ask the researcher more infomration about what they hope to learn after our next session.

Just a quick update on Maren at 15 mos, she's still not walking but has taken as many as 8 steps several times, she's just not ready to go for it yet!

A pretty picture I took of Maren yesterday at the park.  Just too sweet not to share.

More later!

Todd, Becky, Maisy and Maren

We had one of the best Thanksgiving holidays and breaks that we can remember.

Kim, Rigo, Elijah and Evan made the very long drive from LA.  The drive was made worse by 5 hours extra traffic coming and going, but I think it was worth it!

So we had a very sibling Thanksgiving complete with Steven too!

We deep fried our turkey again this year and it turned out as delicious as ever.  Everything was just perfect!

The boys were the turkey masters, with Todd being top bird watcher.

Todd dropping the turkey in the pot.

Steven and Todd bringing in the turkey.

The turkey.  We are thankful!

Chatting in the kitchen letting the bird rest.

Steven getting the yams ready.

Happy Kim awaiting dinner.

Proud Todd after bringing the turkey in.

Evan and Maren sharing snacks before dinner.

Uncle Steven entertaining the kiddos.

Maisy enjoyed dinner.

The next day we were even luckier to have Perla, Marc and Luke come and join our group for brunch.  It was so fun to see the kids together and get to catch up a bit.

Perla and me.

Maren and Luke playing.

Auntie and Maisy playing.

The next day we took Elijah to see the Golden Gate bridge.  He's been talking up a storm about it!

Cousins by the bridge.

Kim, Elijah, Evan and Rigo on Golden Gate Bridge.

Sisters on the Golden Gate.

Kim and Rigo on the bridge.

Bundled up Evan on the bridge.

The next day we headed out into the City to take in the sights of downtown.

Heading to BART.

Elijah on BART.

Sisters on BART.

Maren pointing out birds at Gott's at the Ferry Building.

Todd took this amazingly beautiful picture of the Bay Bridge.

Can't wait to all get together again.  We are very thankful this year for all the wonderful family and friends we have in our lives!

To you all- we love you.  Hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

Love,

Todd, Becky, Maisy and Maren

Just a quick post prior to Thanksgiving.

Lots of preparing for Thanksgiving has been going on here, so activities to keep Maisy busy have been helpful!

I saw the idea on Pinterest.com to give a preschooler a strainer with pipe cleaners to thread through the holes. I gave Maisy these items and she made "boquets" with them.  She was very proud of her creation.  It also kept her occupied and quiet for over 40 minutes!

Making flowers

Glowing boquet

Happy threading florist

Todd and Maisy went out on a nature walk not too long ago.  They pressed the flowers they collected.  Maisy found them and wanted to play with them, so I came up with a way she could use them.  I decided to have her help me frame it for art for her room.  She brings home so much art from school, so I thought we could use a little piece of her art for the background and then put the flower on top - and pop it into an unused frame we had.  Maisy was so proud to be able to display her work in her room!

Showing love

Letting me peek at her art

Finished project

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and if you are traveling, hope all arrive safely.

 

 

Here is a little hodge podge post prior to Thanksgiving.

We've been doing lots of fun little projects and outings and just thought we'd share our updates.

Maren is 14 mos old and getting closer and closer to walking.  She's taken a few steps here and there and she's stood for a bit quite a few times.  She is starting to say full words, "Baby, doggie, bird, dada, mama, cat, night night, hi, bye, all done". Maren is getting so much older.  I can tell she understands pretty much everything we tell her. She loves trying to do the things that Maisy does. 

Maren signing "all done" meaning drawing time is over.

Maisy continues to make friends at school and apparently makes quite an impression on others. Parents have told me several times, "Oh, so and so comes home talking all about Maisy!"  

Maisy loves her friend Juna, who we continue to have regular play dates with.

Maisy and Juna making smoothies.  I clean the fruit, they put it in the blender, they spoon in the yogurt, then they take turns blending it.  They love it!

We've been having some fun with our camera and chalk.

Maisy with pink hair and princess crown made at school.

Maisy with fairy wings.

Unhappy princess Maren.  She didn't get the point of being put down in the middle of the driveway on cold cement.

Todd got the point.

Maren and Maisy have been playing more and more together and it's so cute to see them interact. Maren is doing very well with her stacking skills.

I saw a skirt like this on Etsy and did some searches on how to make them.  It's a no-sew cute skirt project.  I used Adelyn Stone's blog for insight into how to make them.

Maisy, Maren and I headed to the fabric store to gather materials.  Reminants (Maisy picked blue to my surprise), pinking shears, and a 1 inch elastic band.

It actually ended up being a bit more costly than I expected.  The best way to acquire scraps is to actually sew and actually have scraps!

Next, I cut the fabric into 3 inch wide, 22 inch strips.  This took a bit of time, but I didn't waste time making sure the cuts were perfect, because you can't tell when it's all done anyway.  My hand was quite achy by the time I was done cutting.

Now, I should have ironed the whole piece of fabric first, then cut them, but I didn't, so I had to iron them all individually, which was a bit of time too.

Next I measured Maisy and cut the elastic about 3/4 of an inch bigger than the size of her waist. I then sewed the elastic end together with a needle and thread.  

After that was done, it was time to tie the cloth around the elastic.  I double knotted it around the waistband, sure not to tie it too tightly to where it bunches the band.  I used about 40 strips of fabric.  

I shopped and made this all in one day over the course of a few hours.