Well Photbucket.com, the site I use for uploading slideshows, has been recently making a bunch of website changes. The site has been unstable and crashing for a few days much to my frustration.
So thanks to that, I was unable to finish our vacation slideshows..., HOWEVER, I did post the details of the trip and directly put a handful of pics in the post. Slideshows will be coming ASAP! Scroll down to read about the trip and see a few sneak peek pics AND keep scrolling to read about a fun secret SURPRISE, I have in store for my family!! I'm so excited!!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Family Road Trip & Vacation!!
Well the highlight of our Summer was a jam packed vacation!! We took what some call "The Great American Road Trip" up to California's Central Coast to Paso Robles.
We stayed at the cutest Inn which was filled with amenities- many of which we were too busy to take advantage of. They even had a Miniature Golf Course, and even a cute Koi pond among lots of other things!! It was located right across the street from the Mid-State Fair Grounds where we had tickets and backstage passes to our SECOND Fresh Beat Band concert!
The concert:
This concert was a little different since it was outdoors in the Fairgrounds Stadium, unlike our first concert which was at the Arena, but they did have it set up nicely. The kids had fun singing and dancing- even Sariah who knows every word to all their songs- and all of the dance moves- and John and I had fun singing and dancing with them!! It was so hot for the first half, we were all sweating bullets, but the sun went down and it cooled off nicely for the second half- which was perfect! Twist spotted Maletch in the crowd again and he sure got a kick out of that!
Backstage:...
We were lucky to receive special treatment as the band and staff remembered us- don't ask me how.... they have been on a huge tour all year in full arenas meeting thousands of people-- as soon as they saw us, "We remember you guys- you were at..." and they greeted us with a warm round of hugs. They remembered a lot of details too, like how Sariah cried when Shout held her, and more!
They even said, "If you guys can hang around after everyone else leaves, we will all sign Maletch's poster!" They have a very strict "no-autograph policy" at the backstage party, since they are busy mingling and taking photos with all the VIP guests, there just isn't enough time to do autographs-- so that was super awesome they all signed his poster!!
At the backstage party were also the royal court of the event, with the titles of Miss California Mid-State Fair and the 2 runner ups. Maletch quickly noticed the princesses, and he was so charming and flirtatious- it was so cute! They just loved him and he gobbled up their attention!
Day 2: The Fair
The next day we went back to the Mid-State Fair to actually check out the Fair- it was the largest fair we have ever seen and a lot of fun! Of course the kids loved everything, and I really enjoyed the shopping! They had so many very unique booths with all kinds of fun and unusual stuff that had my name all over it! Funny thing was I bought some very large and unusual shaped items, and at one point John said, "I don't know how we are going to get this stuff home." LOL! He was right, all of the stuff fit fine in our hotel room, but when it was time to go home a few days later, along with our luggage, he had a HECK of a time packing the car. It was like a big game of Tetris, and although I was getting worried watching him pack it, unpack and rearrange, my awesome hubs had a plan B if it wouldn't fit, we would mail/ship it to us-- but luckily we didn't have to hassle with that- he finally got it to fit- although we did have an awkward drive home with stuff in between everybody, hehe!
This is how the car was packed on the way home- yikes! We were actually driving in this picture- and when I was turned around talking to Maletch and saw all of this stuff around him I had to take a picture. Crazy family vacation memories are always the best ones-- we can call this "The time mom bought too much stuff and we barely fit in the car and we had an almost 6 hour drive home like this!!" Haha! Actually we meant to throw away the beach stuff since we could always buy more next time- but when we didn't see a place to toss it- we hit the road! Good times, hehe!
Day 3: Hearst Castle
The next day we went up to Hearst Castle and took a tour of the Grand Rooms. I had been there once as a kid, and I remembered very little of that trip. A few things were just as I remembered and many things were very different. Once you check in with your tickets, you get on a bus and take a 20 minute bus ride up the mountains to the Castle. That bus ride was CRAZY- I should say our driver was crazy and it reminded me of a bus ride John and I were on in Acapulco, Mexico- with tires squealing from taking corners way too fast, and swerving from going too fast through mountains and feeling like we were going to plummet off the cliff-like embankments. I looked at John and we both had the same flashback- we laughed and freaked at the same time- and we sure held on to the kids very tight! I tried to focus on the narrative on the bus which was by Alex Trebek who provided almost a documentary/commentary during the drive up.
It was nice to get off that bus, and head with our guide (different person) to go through the Castle- it was such an educational and informative tour! The castle is very beautiful with details that are unbelievable! A few things that I DID remember were the ceilings! Every inch of the ceilings throughout the castle are exquisite: some mosaic tiled, some detailed in murals, and some carved wood! I also remembered some of the furnishings, tapestries and most of the main Dining Room details including the long table and the flags of the world hanging and also the built-in carved chairs around the room. I did not remember some things like sitting in Hearst's media room and watching Hearst's home movies- that was sure interesting!
Maletch was so excited to be in a real castle and he kept comparing it to Snow White and Cinderella's castles!
After the tour, we got to lounge by the pool where we played Fresh Beat Band music and had a nice time! The view was breathtaking, sitting poolside looking down the mountain at the ocean!
Once we decided to leave, we luckily boarded a different bus, and we got a nice smooth drive back!
Day 4: Pismo Beach
The next day we went down the coast to beautiful Pismo Beach for the day. We were lucky because it was perfect beach weather! We played in the water, built a very cool sand castle complete with moat, and had a lot of fun feeding the Sea Gulls! Maletch especially thought that was neat, he kept wanting to give the birds more food, well to the point of giving away ALL of our food just to keep them around, hehe! He loved that they were close enough it appeared we could just touch them- except of course they are too quick for that!
Maletch likes to tell the story about how a wave knocked him over, and I have some photos of that too.
I wish I could say that our moat was awesome, cuz we wanted it to be, hehe! Maletch had a toy boat and he was so excited when we told him, "We will build a moat around our castle and you can drive your boat in it." Well after we spent a lot of time building the huge sandcastle: mainly Maletch and I built while daddy dug the moat (cuz that was a harder job) -- finally, the exciting moment came- "Ok lets get some water and fill our moat.." Daddy kept bringing buckets of water back and it kept draining/seeping right through the sand- DOH- never had that happen before- but we were just a tad too far back from the water! So our moat wouldn't hold water, Haha! Oh well, Maletch thought it was cool anyway! He really got a kick out of other families that would stop by our sandcastle to check it out. There were a lot of friendly people there with really nice kids!
----We took MANY photos and videos on the trip- I am STILL working with Photbucket- and will be adding slideshows with lots more pics ASAP-------- I did make a slideshow below of Pismo Beach.... and keep scrolling to see the surprise too!!
We stayed at the cutest Inn which was filled with amenities- many of which we were too busy to take advantage of. They even had a Miniature Golf Course, and even a cute Koi pond among lots of other things!! It was located right across the street from the Mid-State Fair Grounds where we had tickets and backstage passes to our SECOND Fresh Beat Band concert!
Our hotel supplied a lot of restaurant recommendations and menus in a book in our room- so we decided to try Red Brick Pizza - and Maletch KEPT saying, "This is the best pizza I have ever had!" We have never seen him eat so much in one sitting! He kept asking, "Can I have another piece please?" John and I wondered how it all fit in his little belly! We ordered from there a LOT on the trip since he loved it so much! Even now, back at home, he has brought up that "best pizza" many times- I will have to see if there is one near us.
The concert:
This concert was a little different since it was outdoors in the Fairgrounds Stadium, unlike our first concert which was at the Arena, but they did have it set up nicely. The kids had fun singing and dancing- even Sariah who knows every word to all their songs- and all of the dance moves- and John and I had fun singing and dancing with them!! It was so hot for the first half, we were all sweating bullets, but the sun went down and it cooled off nicely for the second half- which was perfect! Twist spotted Maletch in the crowd again and he sure got a kick out of that!
Backstage:...
We were lucky to receive special treatment as the band and staff remembered us- don't ask me how.... they have been on a huge tour all year in full arenas meeting thousands of people-- as soon as they saw us, "We remember you guys- you were at..." and they greeted us with a warm round of hugs. They remembered a lot of details too, like how Sariah cried when Shout held her, and more!
They even said, "If you guys can hang around after everyone else leaves, we will all sign Maletch's poster!" They have a very strict "no-autograph policy" at the backstage party, since they are busy mingling and taking photos with all the VIP guests, there just isn't enough time to do autographs-- so that was super awesome they all signed his poster!!
At the backstage party were also the royal court of the event, with the titles of Miss California Mid-State Fair and the 2 runner ups. Maletch quickly noticed the princesses, and he was so charming and flirtatious- it was so cute! They just loved him and he gobbled up their attention!
The Fresh Beat Band with Our Fresh Beat Family!!
Maletch's Autographed Poster! They each signed it by their photos!
Maletch's Autographed Poster! They each signed it by their photos!
Maletch and the Princesses!
Maletch talking to Twist backstage! I have to say again- he is the nicest guy! He knelt down and had a long conversation with Maletch while the rest of us were all chatting about different things- every time I looked over, he was listening to Maletch so intently! I asked Maletch about this conversation because I didn't hear any of it- and I loved everything he said! Maletch and him are best buds!
Day 2: The Fair
There was a cute sign shop at the fair- that custom made this for me- it is so much more beautiful in person! It is a HUGE dark brown frame with a glass panel that has our last name in black vinyl -AND - it is hard to see in this pic- but going across that is all of our first names in white vinyl script- I love this!
This was one of the packing culprits being fragile and measuring 4 FEET long- told ya it is HUGE!!
I don't know why but all of these wall hangings look so much more beautiful in person.. this is another goodie that the sign shop customized for me- it is a beadboard photo holder! I wanted to use our blog name and I will put up my favorite current pics on this. Photos can slide into the slots either vertical or horizontal and can be 4x6 or 5x7- but yet again this being a large square amongst all the other things was hard to fit!
This is a metal scroll work Floor Lantern. It has a door that opens for a candle!! This thing caused all kinds of trouble on the ride home, and almost didn't fit! It is big and awkward- it's almost 4 1/2 FEET tall- but I think it was worth all the trouble- cuz I love it!
I really love this piece! It was the least expensive and the smallest in size- so John loved it too, haha! It was one of the few things I bought that didn't give him a hard time! :) I love wooden book boxes and I have a small collection of them- I was excited to find this because this is the only one I have that is 3 stacked books that opens to one compartment- so cool! This looks so nicely with the rest too! John actually really likes these too!
This was one of the packing culprits being fragile and measuring 4 FEET long- told ya it is HUGE!!
These are two more of my favs that I picked up at the Fair!! These look like wooden shelves with vintage books, and glass vases, BUT both entire pieces are metal art from a metal art shop! Love them! This is not how or where I have them arranged on my wall- just hung them quick for a pic! They are each 3 feet tall- which caused more packing problems.
I don't know why but all of these wall hangings look so much more beautiful in person.. this is another goodie that the sign shop customized for me- it is a beadboard photo holder! I wanted to use our blog name and I will put up my favorite current pics on this. Photos can slide into the slots either vertical or horizontal and can be 4x6 or 5x7- but yet again this being a large square amongst all the other things was hard to fit!
This is a metal scroll work Floor Lantern. It has a door that opens for a candle!! This thing caused all kinds of trouble on the ride home, and almost didn't fit! It is big and awkward- it's almost 4 1/2 FEET tall- but I think it was worth all the trouble- cuz I love it!
I really love this piece! It was the least expensive and the smallest in size- so John loved it too, haha! It was one of the few things I bought that didn't give him a hard time! :) I love wooden book boxes and I have a small collection of them- I was excited to find this because this is the only one I have that is 3 stacked books that opens to one compartment- so cool! This looks so nicely with the rest too! John actually really likes these too!
This is how the car was packed on the way home- yikes! We were actually driving in this picture- and when I was turned around talking to Maletch and saw all of this stuff around him I had to take a picture. Crazy family vacation memories are always the best ones-- we can call this "The time mom bought too much stuff and we barely fit in the car and we had an almost 6 hour drive home like this!!" Haha! Actually we meant to throw away the beach stuff since we could always buy more next time- but when we didn't see a place to toss it- we hit the road! Good times, hehe!
You can see the Floor Lantern in this pic- I had the large flared base by my legs, with the stand (pole) running across my side, it was laying backwards- with the top/lantern part between the kids- that thing was so on my nerves, hehe!
The next day we went up to Hearst Castle and took a tour of the Grand Rooms. I had been there once as a kid, and I remembered very little of that trip. A few things were just as I remembered and many things were very different. Once you check in with your tickets, you get on a bus and take a 20 minute bus ride up the mountains to the Castle. That bus ride was CRAZY- I should say our driver was crazy and it reminded me of a bus ride John and I were on in Acapulco, Mexico- with tires squealing from taking corners way too fast, and swerving from going too fast through mountains and feeling like we were going to plummet off the cliff-like embankments. I looked at John and we both had the same flashback- we laughed and freaked at the same time- and we sure held on to the kids very tight! I tried to focus on the narrative on the bus which was by Alex Trebek who provided almost a documentary/commentary during the drive up.
It was nice to get off that bus, and head with our guide (different person) to go through the Castle- it was such an educational and informative tour! The castle is very beautiful with details that are unbelievable! A few things that I DID remember were the ceilings! Every inch of the ceilings throughout the castle are exquisite: some mosaic tiled, some detailed in murals, and some carved wood! I also remembered some of the furnishings, tapestries and most of the main Dining Room details including the long table and the flags of the world hanging and also the built-in carved chairs around the room. I did not remember some things like sitting in Hearst's media room and watching Hearst's home movies- that was sure interesting!
Maletch was so excited to be in a real castle and he kept comparing it to Snow White and Cinderella's castles!
After the tour, we got to lounge by the pool where we played Fresh Beat Band music and had a nice time! The view was breathtaking, sitting poolside looking down the mountain at the ocean!
Once we decided to leave, we luckily boarded a different bus, and we got a nice smooth drive back!
Neptune Pool
Neptune Poolside: It was cute when Maletch asked so excitedly, "Mommy, can we go swimming?" He was ready to jump in, hehe! He was sure impressed with this pool!
Sitting Poolside at the Neptune Pool: You can see behind us the view of the ocean.
John said these pics look like post cards- we got so many neat photos at Hearst Castle! Since it was hard to take photos inside- no flash photography, we took a lot of video, which I will either upload some of those or try to extract some photos from the video.
Day 4: Pismo Beach
The next day we went down the coast to beautiful Pismo Beach for the day. We were lucky because it was perfect beach weather! We played in the water, built a very cool sand castle complete with moat, and had a lot of fun feeding the Sea Gulls! Maletch especially thought that was neat, he kept wanting to give the birds more food, well to the point of giving away ALL of our food just to keep them around, hehe! He loved that they were close enough it appeared we could just touch them- except of course they are too quick for that!
Maletch likes to tell the story about how a wave knocked him over, and I have some photos of that too.
I wish I could say that our moat was awesome, cuz we wanted it to be, hehe! Maletch had a toy boat and he was so excited when we told him, "We will build a moat around our castle and you can drive your boat in it." Well after we spent a lot of time building the huge sandcastle: mainly Maletch and I built while daddy dug the moat (cuz that was a harder job) -- finally, the exciting moment came- "Ok lets get some water and fill our moat.." Daddy kept bringing buckets of water back and it kept draining/seeping right through the sand- DOH- never had that happen before- but we were just a tad too far back from the water! So our moat wouldn't hold water, Haha! Oh well, Maletch thought it was cool anyway! He really got a kick out of other families that would stop by our sandcastle to check it out. There were a lot of friendly people there with really nice kids!
Wipeout!!
The 5 hour road trip (each way) was quite long but beautiful. We took two totally different routes on our way up and back which made the scenery very different. The way up we traveled a very remote and desolate mountainous way, and the way back we traveled the coast- the scenery was beautiful both ways- and the roads were wide open and the kids were talkative and enjoyed the drive! Maletch loved spotting cows and horses along the mountains.
----We took MANY photos and videos on the trip- I am STILL working with Photbucket- and will be adding slideshows with lots more pics ASAP-------- I did make a slideshow below of Pismo Beach.... and keep scrolling to see the surprise too!!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Big Surprise....
I am almost beside myself with excitement, looking forward at our calendar. We just have so many fun things we are looking forward to! I even have one BIG secret up my sleeve which I will share with you--- but if you are John, Maletch, or Sariah you are not allowed to read beyond this point, hehe!! I was able to get tickets before they went on sale to the public for a show that I have been wanting to go to- since I learned of it back in Jan, but they were not in California at the time. Yep, I just scored FRONT row, CENTER ice tickets to Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream!! The kids are going to FLIP out because the show is a montage of acts/short stories featuring almost ALL of their favorite characters from MANY of our favorite movies.
They will get to see Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Peter Pan/ Captain Hook, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Ariel, and SO Much MORE! To make it even more fun, I got tickets for the night of John's birthday (Dec 12th) - which will just make the night and the event so much more special!! I know he will love this gift!! But remember it is a surprise, so shhhh.....
And you know the front row has to 'represent' so I have already picked out- you guessed it-- our costumes, LOL! Although, I am not telling even John about this until we get all the way to the show- they will kind of know SOMETHING is up- when I give them their costumes to put on, hehe!
What costumes will we be wearing?? Well, Sariah will be Snow White, l will be Cinderella, and John and Maletch will be our handsome Prince Charmings- YAY! Gonna be SO fun!! Yeah, pretty sure when I hand John his Prince Charming costume and say, "Here honey wear this"- meanwhile it is the middle of December and not Halloween, I'm pretty sure he will ask questions, but I will just say, "It's a surprise, now could you please drive us to the Staples Center?" haha-- Then I know he'll be thinking, there isn't a Laker game tonight so what's up?? He'll never guess, cuz he doesn't even know about the show, plus it is at a different arena than we went to Toy Story on Ice- so he will never figure it out, and he will be super worried cuz of what he will be wearing, haha!! It's his birthday, so I gotta mess with him a little, right?
I hope we get to meet the cast and go backstage!
I LOVE the costume quality of all of them and can't wait to see everyone in them! My main concerns I have is that my costume has a SUPER full petticoat (it's more full than my wedding dress) - which I love but didn't think about and that might be impractical for sitting at the show and Sariahs gown might be a little big (I ordered a size larger for just in case)-- so might need to have it altered- we'll see how this goes, hehe- at least I know my gentlemen will look dapper! Here are pics of the exact costumes I ordered (although these all look better in person)...
Love the detail (in person): The gold design towards the bottom of the gown is actually a pattern in glitter and the dress is very full, and the sleeves are puffy and gorgeous. Even has a white stand up collar and red cape- just like Snow White! We will top this off with a tiara and wand!
I can already picture Maletch in this one!
I sneakily got John to try this on, told him it was for Halloween, he looked so handsome- oops I just changed my mind about Halloween, HAHA!
I couldn't love this one more, so full of details!
Below, I posted two videos from youtube that give some idea as to what the show is about, and a few sneak peeks at the scenes- if you watch the first until the end you will get an idea about how powerful the Disney on Ice stage/effects can be.
Note: Remember to pause the music player at the bottom of the blog before playing videos or the soundtracks will be battling. The pause button is toward the upper right corner of the player, and the same button will resume the music if you want.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Mickey and Minnie!
We like to dress up in costumes a lot at our house! Needless to say we are all ready and excited for Halloween just around the corner- YAY! We have had a lot of fun dressing up in theme for Halloween, and we plan to continue the tradition every year (we have a lot of themes already planned, haha). As a family we have "been" Romans, Germans, and Air Force, and outside of Halloween we were the Fresh Beat Band and Toy Story characters....
Since it is so close to Halloween, should I tell you what we are all going to be this year? Or do you just want to be surprised and see pics? Or do you want a hint? Haha!
Tonight the kids wanted to put back on their costumes from Sariah's birthday party (which was Minnie Mouse themed) and I took some pics just for fun! I threw a few in a slideshow below...
Since it is so close to Halloween, should I tell you what we are all going to be this year? Or do you just want to be surprised and see pics? Or do you want a hint? Haha!
Tonight the kids wanted to put back on their costumes from Sariah's birthday party (which was Minnie Mouse themed) and I took some pics just for fun! I threw a few in a slideshow below...
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
What Sariah is Talking About...
Well, Sariah is following in her big brother's footsteps on many things- including her speech development and crazy memorization abilities and much more...
She has a pretty large vocabulary already and it is growing daily! Just like her brother, once she learned the power of words, she decided she wants to try to learn them ALL, hehe! She of course knows plenty of basics, but she has been really focused on learning the names of toys- more specifically the names of characters because that is what Maletch is so in to.
I should also note: that all of the characters she knows- she knows very well- she can recognize the characters in all forms: whether they are on TV, or toy figures around the house, and also from photos in a book- when she spots ANY image of them, she will shout out the specific names with excitement, This is really true of all of her vocabulary though, I never count any word that she simply repeats- or even memorizes for singing- only the ones she speaks deliberately in context.
I am sure that I am forgetting plenty of her words, these are just off the top of my head right now- I will add more as I think of them.
Here are Some Words that She Says and their Translations:
"Metch" (Maletch)
"Dinaso" then "Roar" (Dinosaur)
"Danks" (Thanks) and "Dank you" (Thank you)
"Wecome" (Your Welcome)
"Peeze" (Please)
"Sowwy" (Sorry)
"Dow" (When she wants down)
"Here go" (Here you go)
"Juss" (Juice)
"Nana" (Banana)
"Cackas" (Crackers)
"Ice-cee" (Ice Cream)
"Num num" (when she wants to eat) and "Yummy" (after she takes a bite)
"Tar" (Star)
"Choo Choo Twain" (Train)
"Donna" (Donald Duck)
"Goooey" (Goofy)
“Puto” (Pluto) [from Mickey and Friends]
"Mo-Mo" (Nemo)
"Emmo" (Elmo)
"Sooby Doo" (Scooby Doo)
"Tomma" (Thomas the Train)
"Mickkey" (Mickey Mouse)
"Fesh Bee Ban" (Fresh Beat Band)
"Cack Cack" ('quack' pointing at a duck)
"Baman" (Batman)
"Shar" (shark)
"Muckey" (Monkey)
"Woo-ee" (Woody) [from Toy Story]
"Buzz-eye" (Bullseye) [from Toy Story]
"No White" (Snow White)
"Tinkabell" (Tinkerbell)
These Words She Pronounces Perfectly:
"Hi"
"Bye Bye"
"Wow" & "Oh Wow"
"Yay"
"Cool"
"Uh-Oh" and "Oh No" (Funny, I always know what happened even when I can't see her because "Uh-Oh: is when she drops something and "Oh No" is when she falls down- every single time- hehe)
"Daddy"
"Mommy"
"Hat"
"Shoes"
"Pants"
"Cup"
"Milk"
"I see"
"What?"
"Cars"
"Ball"
"Castle"
"Turtle"
"More"
"Poo poo"
"Pee pee"
"DVD" (videos)
"Can I?" (usually pointing to something she wants but either can't reach or open)
"Soda" (my diet Pepsi bottle)
"Minnie"
"Daisy" [from Mickey & Friends]
"Shaggy" [her FAVORITE from Scooby Doo & Friends]
"Buzz" [from Toy Story]
"Jessie"
"Shout" [from Fresh Beat Band]
"Twist" [from Fresh Beat Band]
"Abby" [Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street]
"Pooh" [Winnie the]
"Dora" [the Explorer]
"Scout" [a Leap Frog Character]
She Puts a Few Words Together Like:
"Where's daddy?"
"Daddy bye bye" (meaning daddy is gone, when he is at work)
"More juss" (when she wants more juice)
Here are Some of the Instructions She Understands:
"Clap your hands."
"Go get the ________" (fill in the name of object/toy)
"Come here"
"Do you need a diaper?" She will reply with "poo poo" or "uh-huh" when she needs one, OR "No" when she doesn't
"Get down."
"Sit down."
"Give mommy a kiss."
"Push the button"
"Pull it"
"Dance."
"Close the drawer/cabinet."
"Are you hungry?"
"Do you want to eat?" She will answer "num num" when she is hungry, or "no" when she isn't
It's so cute- anytime we bump into each other, she says "sowwy" as I say "Oh I'm sorry"
It is so funny that NEITHER of our kids had the "typical" first words, like: mamma, dadda, baba... Maletch's first 3 words were: juice "tuce", cracker "cwacka" and "Uh-Oh." I still remember his doctor's reaction, "He says juice?" then long pause, then, "Really?"
and Sariah's first 3 were: "Roar" when she saw dinosaurs (toys), thanks "danks" anytime you give her anything, and "Daisy" from Mickey & Friends. It is so funny that "mamma" and "dadda" came much later for both of them- seems like they didn't need to say our names since they could get our attention by just speaking to us- so they wanted to learn how to get things they wanted- like juice or a toy- hehe.
One of her favorite things to do is run around collecting toys to bring me, just so she can tell me what/who they are- this typically goes on for hours- until I have a huge mess and huge pile of toys.
She also likes to sit next to me and just talk- she wants eye contact and she just makes up her own language and talks and talks and then when I respond with a sentence in English, she stares at my mouth when I am talking, then she usually tries to repeat what I say.
Her Memory:
Like her brother, who at this age would memorize an entire 2 hour movie (even when he didn't know what the words meant)- he could narrate/ recite the entire dialogue after watching a movie only one or two times. When he wasn't familiar with the word, he would say something that sounded like the word... well she is that EXACT same way with song lyrics! She sings word for word- to every Fresh Beat Band song AND every song on TV shows, movies, and commercials. I love listening to her sing, plus she is fun to watch because she is always dancing too! Her memory is just amazing too- many times- I don't even know the words to the song- but she sure does!
She is also already trying to learn the alphabet on her own- EVERY time she sees written words she points and just starts naming "C", "D", "E"- although she is not usually correct, I have been so surprised at how many letter names she knows and that she even knows what letters are since I have NEVER taught her anything about that! Just recently I started responding with "Yeah,..." and then I point to whatever letters she was pointing to and then just name them (only once and quickly)- and to my surprise, she seems to be picking up a lot from just doing that a few times. I wasn't going to begin teaching her this early, but since she is interested, I plan to let her watch the Pre-K Hooked on Phonics videos. She loves the videos since they are all done in songs!
Another thing that surprised John and I was that we have heard her 'counting to 3' numerous times on her own and we have also heard her recite some ABC's in order, like she'll say, "A, B, C, D, E"-- we have no idea where she learned this stuff cuz it wasn't from us!
It is so fun that she is able to understand so much and that we are able to communicate with her- this is such a fun stage! Although she does get frustrated when we have to take things away, and she can't understand why yet- I know that will come soon- since she is sponging up everything so fast! Maletch totally understood logical explanations at around 18 months and I expect her to do the same. We were fortunate with him because he just completely skipped the "terrible two's" and I think that was because he had such a huge vocabulary/ great communication skills that he didn't need to release his frustration that way. I realize that every child is different, but I sure hope that Sariah will be able to skip that phase too since I see her communication skills progressing the same way- fingers crossed!
Since she is learning at least one (sometimes more) words everyday, I will keep adding to this post for the next couple of months. I will try to keep an updated list until she is 18 months (like I did for Maletch). I think that makes for a cute keepsake, and I know it is a special treat for the grandparents to keep up with what she is saying- PLUS it makes it easier for you to understand her too! :)
She has a pretty large vocabulary already and it is growing daily! Just like her brother, once she learned the power of words, she decided she wants to try to learn them ALL, hehe! She of course knows plenty of basics, but she has been really focused on learning the names of toys- more specifically the names of characters because that is what Maletch is so in to.
I should also note: that all of the characters she knows- she knows very well- she can recognize the characters in all forms: whether they are on TV, or toy figures around the house, and also from photos in a book- when she spots ANY image of them, she will shout out the specific names with excitement, This is really true of all of her vocabulary though, I never count any word that she simply repeats- or even memorizes for singing- only the ones she speaks deliberately in context.
I am sure that I am forgetting plenty of her words, these are just off the top of my head right now- I will add more as I think of them.
Here are Some Words that She Says and their Translations:
"Metch" (Maletch)
"Dinaso" then "Roar" (Dinosaur)
"Danks" (Thanks) and "Dank you" (Thank you)
"Wecome" (Your Welcome)
"Peeze" (Please)
"Sowwy" (Sorry)
"Dow" (When she wants down)
"Here go" (Here you go)
"Juss" (Juice)
"Nana" (Banana)
"Cackas" (Crackers)
"Ice-cee" (Ice Cream)
"Num num" (when she wants to eat) and "Yummy" (after she takes a bite)
"Tar" (Star)
"Choo Choo Twain" (Train)
"Donna" (Donald Duck)
"Goooey" (Goofy)
“Puto” (Pluto) [from Mickey and Friends]
"Mo-Mo" (Nemo)
"Emmo" (Elmo)
"Sooby Doo" (Scooby Doo)
"Tomma" (Thomas the Train)
"Mickkey" (Mickey Mouse)
"Fesh Bee Ban" (Fresh Beat Band)
"Cack Cack" ('quack' pointing at a duck)
"Baman" (Batman)
"Shar" (shark)
"Muckey" (Monkey)
"Woo-ee" (Woody) [from Toy Story]
"Buzz-eye" (Bullseye) [from Toy Story]
"No White" (Snow White)
"Tinkabell" (Tinkerbell)
These Words She Pronounces Perfectly:
"Hi"
"Bye Bye"
"Wow" & "Oh Wow"
"Yay"
"Cool"
"Uh-Oh" and "Oh No" (Funny, I always know what happened even when I can't see her because "Uh-Oh: is when she drops something and "Oh No" is when she falls down- every single time- hehe)
"Daddy"
"Mommy"
"Hat"
"Shoes"
"Pants"
"Cup"
"Milk"
"I see"
"What?"
"Cars"
"Ball"
"Castle"
"Turtle"
"More"
"Poo poo"
"Pee pee"
"DVD" (videos)
"Can I?" (usually pointing to something she wants but either can't reach or open)
"Soda" (my diet Pepsi bottle)
"Minnie"
"Daisy" [from Mickey & Friends]
"Shaggy" [her FAVORITE from Scooby Doo & Friends]
"Buzz" [from Toy Story]
"Jessie"
"Shout" [from Fresh Beat Band]
"Twist" [from Fresh Beat Band]
"Abby" [Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street]
"Pooh" [Winnie the]
"Dora" [the Explorer]
"Scout" [a Leap Frog Character]
She Puts a Few Words Together Like:
"Where's daddy?"
"Daddy bye bye" (meaning daddy is gone, when he is at work)
"More juss" (when she wants more juice)
Here are Some of the Instructions She Understands:
"Clap your hands."
"Go get the ________" (fill in the name of object/toy)
"Come here"
"Do you need a diaper?" She will reply with "poo poo" or "uh-huh" when she needs one, OR "No" when she doesn't
"Get down."
"Sit down."
"Give mommy a kiss."
"Push the button"
"Pull it"
"Dance."
"Close the drawer/cabinet."
"Are you hungry?"
"Do you want to eat?" She will answer "num num" when she is hungry, or "no" when she isn't
It's so cute- anytime we bump into each other, she says "sowwy" as I say "Oh I'm sorry"
It is so funny that NEITHER of our kids had the "typical" first words, like: mamma, dadda, baba... Maletch's first 3 words were: juice "tuce", cracker "cwacka" and "Uh-Oh." I still remember his doctor's reaction, "He says juice?" then long pause, then, "Really?"
and Sariah's first 3 were: "Roar" when she saw dinosaurs (toys), thanks "danks" anytime you give her anything, and "Daisy" from Mickey & Friends. It is so funny that "mamma" and "dadda" came much later for both of them- seems like they didn't need to say our names since they could get our attention by just speaking to us- so they wanted to learn how to get things they wanted- like juice or a toy- hehe.
One of her favorite things to do is run around collecting toys to bring me, just so she can tell me what/who they are- this typically goes on for hours- until I have a huge mess and huge pile of toys.
She also likes to sit next to me and just talk- she wants eye contact and she just makes up her own language and talks and talks and then when I respond with a sentence in English, she stares at my mouth when I am talking, then she usually tries to repeat what I say.
Her Memory:
Like her brother, who at this age would memorize an entire 2 hour movie (even when he didn't know what the words meant)- he could narrate/ recite the entire dialogue after watching a movie only one or two times. When he wasn't familiar with the word, he would say something that sounded like the word... well she is that EXACT same way with song lyrics! She sings word for word- to every Fresh Beat Band song AND every song on TV shows, movies, and commercials. I love listening to her sing, plus she is fun to watch because she is always dancing too! Her memory is just amazing too- many times- I don't even know the words to the song- but she sure does!
She is also already trying to learn the alphabet on her own- EVERY time she sees written words she points and just starts naming "C", "D", "E"- although she is not usually correct, I have been so surprised at how many letter names she knows and that she even knows what letters are since I have NEVER taught her anything about that! Just recently I started responding with "Yeah,..." and then I point to whatever letters she was pointing to and then just name them (only once and quickly)- and to my surprise, she seems to be picking up a lot from just doing that a few times. I wasn't going to begin teaching her this early, but since she is interested, I plan to let her watch the Pre-K Hooked on Phonics videos. She loves the videos since they are all done in songs!
Another thing that surprised John and I was that we have heard her 'counting to 3' numerous times on her own and we have also heard her recite some ABC's in order, like she'll say, "A, B, C, D, E"-- we have no idea where she learned this stuff cuz it wasn't from us!
It is so fun that she is able to understand so much and that we are able to communicate with her- this is such a fun stage! Although she does get frustrated when we have to take things away, and she can't understand why yet- I know that will come soon- since she is sponging up everything so fast! Maletch totally understood logical explanations at around 18 months and I expect her to do the same. We were fortunate with him because he just completely skipped the "terrible two's" and I think that was because he had such a huge vocabulary/ great communication skills that he didn't need to release his frustration that way. I realize that every child is different, but I sure hope that Sariah will be able to skip that phase too since I see her communication skills progressing the same way- fingers crossed!
Since she is learning at least one (sometimes more) words everyday, I will keep adding to this post for the next couple of months. I will try to keep an updated list until she is 18 months (like I did for Maletch). I think that makes for a cute keepsake, and I know it is a special treat for the grandparents to keep up with what she is saying- PLUS it makes it easier for you to understand her too! :)
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Fun Things On Our Calendar.....
Next Month (July):
I'm so excited for the fun things that we have marked on our calendar!!! We have a 4 day mini-vacation coming next month (July)! We are going on a 5 hour road trip up to Paso Robles, where we will be attending our second Fresh Beat Band concert with VIP backstage passes to their party (Woop woop)!! We have reservations at a cute Inn for 3 nights, and we will attend the famous Mid-State fair, and more! Even though we will be in the middle of beautiful Wine Country, we aren't planning on going wine tasting since this is a family trip, but we will be exploring the sites, going to the Children's Museum, and possibly will even go up to Hearst Castle (time permitting)!
The following weekend, I am going to a Scrapbook Workshop -many of the industries top artists will be there- I am really looking forward to meeting some of them for the first time, and getting to play and learn lots of new ideas!! Fun treat for mommy!!
Between our 4th of July festivities, our vacation with concert, and my scrapbook workshop, and most likely a squeezed in Disneyland trip- the month of July is definitely going to be a whirlwind of fun!
More This Summer:
We also have plans to take the family to a few of my favorite beaches this summer too! We are planning on making a few mini vacays at the beaches (staying for 3-4 days at a time). We will be going to Redondo Bch to the Seaside Lagoon (one of my favorite spots as a kid) as well as my favorite surfing beach County Line (which is a little secret of the 'locals'- I used to be one, hehe) and surfing beaches are way better than crowded 'family/tourist beaches'. We will also be going to Catalina Island for a few days too.
Later This Year (November):
Maletch is also looking forward to 2 events a little further out- in November: We already have tickets to what will then be our third Fresh Beat Band concert. We also have tickets to our third "Day Out with Thomas" (the train). Thomas only comes to So Cal once a year, so he counts down to this all year long!
It is interesting/ funny what has happened with the Fresh Beat Band tour. I heard that at first many venues were reluctant to 'book them' for fear that they wouldn't sell enough tickets to fill a large venue... but as soon as they announced their tour schedule, tickets sold out everywhere (some within minutes, some within just a few days)- it was quite the frenzy! Concert promoters immediately began contacting them begging them to add their venues to their tour schedule, and immediately their tour tripled in size (with added show times and cities). They kept expanding their tour trying to accommodate the demand, but every show has sold out almost instantly, and many national newspapers and magazines have covered the story that "Fresh Beat Band tickets are harder to get than Springsteen tickets." What is terrible is the price gouging that is happening on Stub Hub: for good seats like ours, they are getting about 2000 bucks a piece and regular tickets are running between 500-1000 bucks a piece- insanity! I have even heard that a few celebrities have tried using their Hollywood connections to try to get tickets for their kids, and after being made fun of (for that being how they wanted to use their connections) even they are complaining that their connections couldn't help! VIP tickets are practically all but impossible to get since they are so limited and sell out literally- in minutes!
Needless to say, we were very lucky to get any seats to our first concert (in Feb)- let alone front row with VIP backstage passes- (that really took pulling a lot of strings)- and we have been lucky with all of our good tickets for all 3 shows! You can't believe the number of upset parents complaining that they can't get tickets to all of the sold out shows, and also the number of parents getting hosed for thousands of dollars for scalped ones! I feel really bad for those parents, especially since I am so thankful to be able to share something so fun and exciting with my kids, and knowing that we are creating memories that will last a lifetime!
Maletch has not stopped talking about his interactions with the band, "Twist thanked me for going up on stage and high-fiving him, he said that it made the songs more cool"... "Remember when Sariah was crying when Shout was holding her, why was she crying mommy?".... and endless other stories... the experiences and memories are truly priceless!
I can't wait for July!We are coming back Fresh Beats, and this time Sariah will be singing along too!
I am especially excited to watch the kids interact with the band again backstage- you know Maletch considers them best friends, hehe! Although, I imagine that Maletch will manage to interact with them again before we even get backstage, lol-- like last time during the concert! This time Sariah will definitely recognize them and she can interact too- amazing how 5 months time makes such a difference with little ones!
How lucky are we- at the end of the year, we will have been to 3 Fresh Beat Band concerts in 2012: Feb, July, Nov
You know I will be posting LOTS of photos and videos from all of the fun places will be going!! Wish you could join us!
Let me know if any of you want to plan to go to a concert next year-- once the 2013 tour schedule is posted, we can plan it VIP of course. We need to get our tickets before they go on sale to the public though- so I have to know ahead of time!!
I'm so excited for the fun things that we have marked on our calendar!!! We have a 4 day mini-vacation coming next month (July)! We are going on a 5 hour road trip up to Paso Robles, where we will be attending our second Fresh Beat Band concert with VIP backstage passes to their party (Woop woop)!! We have reservations at a cute Inn for 3 nights, and we will attend the famous Mid-State fair, and more! Even though we will be in the middle of beautiful Wine Country, we aren't planning on going wine tasting since this is a family trip, but we will be exploring the sites, going to the Children's Museum, and possibly will even go up to Hearst Castle (time permitting)!
The following weekend, I am going to a Scrapbook Workshop -many of the industries top artists will be there- I am really looking forward to meeting some of them for the first time, and getting to play and learn lots of new ideas!! Fun treat for mommy!!
Between our 4th of July festivities, our vacation with concert, and my scrapbook workshop, and most likely a squeezed in Disneyland trip- the month of July is definitely going to be a whirlwind of fun!
More This Summer:
We also have plans to take the family to a few of my favorite beaches this summer too! We are planning on making a few mini vacays at the beaches (staying for 3-4 days at a time). We will be going to Redondo Bch to the Seaside Lagoon (one of my favorite spots as a kid) as well as my favorite surfing beach County Line (which is a little secret of the 'locals'- I used to be one, hehe) and surfing beaches are way better than crowded 'family/tourist beaches'. We will also be going to Catalina Island for a few days too.
Later This Year (November):
Maletch is also looking forward to 2 events a little further out- in November: We already have tickets to what will then be our third Fresh Beat Band concert. We also have tickets to our third "Day Out with Thomas" (the train). Thomas only comes to So Cal once a year, so he counts down to this all year long!
It is interesting/ funny what has happened with the Fresh Beat Band tour. I heard that at first many venues were reluctant to 'book them' for fear that they wouldn't sell enough tickets to fill a large venue... but as soon as they announced their tour schedule, tickets sold out everywhere (some within minutes, some within just a few days)- it was quite the frenzy! Concert promoters immediately began contacting them begging them to add their venues to their tour schedule, and immediately their tour tripled in size (with added show times and cities). They kept expanding their tour trying to accommodate the demand, but every show has sold out almost instantly, and many national newspapers and magazines have covered the story that "Fresh Beat Band tickets are harder to get than Springsteen tickets." What is terrible is the price gouging that is happening on Stub Hub: for good seats like ours, they are getting about 2000 bucks a piece and regular tickets are running between 500-1000 bucks a piece- insanity! I have even heard that a few celebrities have tried using their Hollywood connections to try to get tickets for their kids, and after being made fun of (for that being how they wanted to use their connections) even they are complaining that their connections couldn't help! VIP tickets are practically all but impossible to get since they are so limited and sell out literally- in minutes!
Needless to say, we were very lucky to get any seats to our first concert (in Feb)- let alone front row with VIP backstage passes- (that really took pulling a lot of strings)- and we have been lucky with all of our good tickets for all 3 shows! You can't believe the number of upset parents complaining that they can't get tickets to all of the sold out shows, and also the number of parents getting hosed for thousands of dollars for scalped ones! I feel really bad for those parents, especially since I am so thankful to be able to share something so fun and exciting with my kids, and knowing that we are creating memories that will last a lifetime!
Maletch has not stopped talking about his interactions with the band, "Twist thanked me for going up on stage and high-fiving him, he said that it made the songs more cool"... "Remember when Sariah was crying when Shout was holding her, why was she crying mommy?".... and endless other stories... the experiences and memories are truly priceless!
I can't wait for July!We are coming back Fresh Beats, and this time Sariah will be singing along too!
I am especially excited to watch the kids interact with the band again backstage- you know Maletch considers them best friends, hehe! Although, I imagine that Maletch will manage to interact with them again before we even get backstage, lol-- like last time during the concert! This time Sariah will definitely recognize them and she can interact too- amazing how 5 months time makes such a difference with little ones!
How lucky are we- at the end of the year, we will have been to 3 Fresh Beat Band concerts in 2012: Feb, July, Nov
You know I will be posting LOTS of photos and videos from all of the fun places will be going!! Wish you could join us!
Let me know if any of you want to plan to go to a concert next year-- once the 2013 tour schedule is posted, we can plan it VIP of course. We need to get our tickets before they go on sale to the public though- so I have to know ahead of time!!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
I Love My Boy!!
Ahh he just makes me so proud! He always knows how to behave like a perfect gentleman, even when other kids are acting out of control or just not being nice.
Today made me remember when we went to Toy Story On Ice and hundreds of kids were running around and acting crazy- kids were literally running through the halls of the arena, swinging swords, yelling, and I even had 2 kids crash (literally) ran into me so hard that they fell on the ground (and almost ripped my dress off)! Not one parent in the whole place was trying to stop the madness. I couldn't believe that nobody felt that they had to control their kids, it was almost as if, 'well if other kids are doing it, then it is ok for my kids'-- so crazy! It was to the point that all the children in the place had joined in, and you could not see a child anywhere in sight that was behaving... EXCEPT ours!
Maletch lit up when he saw a group of kids run by and he excitedly asked, "Mommy can I go run to?" I simply told him, "I know you see a lot of kids running around, but they are not supposed to be doing that. Their parents need to tell them to behave, and we are going to behave because we know what we are supposed to do." He did not complain, nor did he ask again, and just remained a perfect gentleman. When the next group of kids ran by, he said, "Mommy, they are not supposed to be doing that." He made John and I so proud because we know that took a lot of self control to not join in what looked like so much fun.
Well today we were in a store and a lady near us yelled, "Oh my God!" Maletch is very sensitive to this and he said very loudly and firmly, "Hey, she can't say that, she is supposed to say, 'Oh my GOSH! Mommy we need to tell her she can't say that!" He was so outraged, that he spun around looking at me like what are you going to do? I had to think quick on my feet because he WAS right, but of course I wasn't going to confront the lady. The funny thing was he said it so loud that I know she and everyone else around us heard him anyway. So, I told him he was right, nobody is supposed to say that. Later after we got home, he wanted to talk about it more so he asked, "Mommy, God said he doesn't want us to say that right? HE said we should say Oh my Gosh, right?" We had a long talk about it and at the end of the talk, Maletch was so happy when I told him that God was very proud of him. This is something that comes up almost daily in our house, I can't believe how many "family shows" will be on in the background where somebody says that, and Maletch has ALWAYS responded by saying, "Hey, he/she can't say that, mommy this is not a nice show, we need to change it." He also knows the shows we aren't allowed to watch like "Sponge Bob", "Phineas & Ferb" and many others... and if one of those come on after something else he comes to get me to say, "Uh oh mommy, this is not a nice show, we need to change it, hurry, quick, where is the remote?"
Later same day, we were at Jamba Juice and Maletch was leaned over the water fountain and this kid came over and climbed on Maletch's back and was trying to push Maletch in the water pool. I said, "Hey, what the heck?!" and the boy's mom came running over and made up an excuse or tried playing it off by telling her kid, "Oh Hayden, he is not going to fall in, you don't have to try to save him." So I was thinking, "What?!?!?!" Maletch just turned and gave me the same look, 'trying to save me-- what??' So we let that go, UNTIL the boy started swinging his arms (like punching) all crazy- aiming towards Maletch, but not really hitting him, but like stopping right in front of his face (like within an inch of punching him) and then just when I was about to say something to the boy AND his mom, Maletch asks in such a curious and innocent tone, "Mommy is that kid, (pause), is he kind of a brat?" To be clear, he wasn't name-calling, just asking an innocent question. Ahhhhh, I just love him!! I wanted to say, yep honey, that is exactly what he is, LOL! So I just said, "Well he is not being nice, and he certainly needs to behave."
I've got to hand it to Maletch, because it wasn't until immediately after his question, that the boy's mom finally pulled him aside for a 'talk'. Not that the talk was very effective because...
Then Sariah woke from her nap (she had been in the stroller for the first part of that kid's crap) BUT the boy came back for more once Sariah started toddling around. He came over and touched Sariah and acted like he was going to push her down-- Maletch got VERY protective and stood right by her staring that kid down, he made sure he was between her and the kid. I did eventually have to say something to the kid AND the parents, but I was proud of how Maletch was nice the whole time but also got very serious when she was concerned.
The boy's mom continued to shock me with how she reacted to her kid-- she even asked me how old Maletch was, when I told her, she said, "Oh yeah 4 year olds seem like such big kids, my kid is 3, and sometimes he does things like a baby, that one year (between 3-4) makes such a difference, ya know?" It took all I had NOT to say, "What? 3 year olds don't act like that, babies don't even act like that, your kid is a brat, hello, be a parent." Hahahaha! Since I couldn't say that, but I couldn't lie and agree with her, I gave her a raised eyebrow look and walked away- point taken? I'm not sure.
On the way home, he asked, "Mommy what is a brat?" A good question, and when I explained what a brat is, he asked again about that kid. So I told him, "Yes that boy was behaving like a brat, and his mommy and daddy need to tell him to be nice." Then he asked me, "Why was that boy acting like that?" He wasn't satisfied with, "I don't know," so I further explained, that "I think that his mommy and daddy aren't doing a good job teaching him to be a nice boy like you."
Then he said, "Only nice kids get to go to Disneyland, the train station, and the concert and fun places like that. He isn't allowed to go because he is not nice, huh?" Then he added 3 other not nice kids we encountered in the past week, and said 'they, and that boy' can't go, huh? He correlates this because we have always told him that he has to behave or we won't go to the places. Maletch is "The boy who loves rules" and I need to do another post about that, because it is so funny, but I won't get side-tracked from this post. So I told him, "You are exactly right, they can't go because they aren't nice, but you sure can because mommy and daddy love taking you places because you are a nice boy and you always know how to behave. We are proud of you!" Then he added, "Sariah is nice too, so she gets to go too, right mommy?" He just put the cherry on top with his sweetness always looking out for his sister!!
Today made me remember when we went to Toy Story On Ice and hundreds of kids were running around and acting crazy- kids were literally running through the halls of the arena, swinging swords, yelling, and I even had 2 kids crash (literally) ran into me so hard that they fell on the ground (and almost ripped my dress off)! Not one parent in the whole place was trying to stop the madness. I couldn't believe that nobody felt that they had to control their kids, it was almost as if, 'well if other kids are doing it, then it is ok for my kids'-- so crazy! It was to the point that all the children in the place had joined in, and you could not see a child anywhere in sight that was behaving... EXCEPT ours!
Maletch lit up when he saw a group of kids run by and he excitedly asked, "Mommy can I go run to?" I simply told him, "I know you see a lot of kids running around, but they are not supposed to be doing that. Their parents need to tell them to behave, and we are going to behave because we know what we are supposed to do." He did not complain, nor did he ask again, and just remained a perfect gentleman. When the next group of kids ran by, he said, "Mommy, they are not supposed to be doing that." He made John and I so proud because we know that took a lot of self control to not join in what looked like so much fun.
Well today we were in a store and a lady near us yelled, "Oh my God!" Maletch is very sensitive to this and he said very loudly and firmly, "Hey, she can't say that, she is supposed to say, 'Oh my GOSH! Mommy we need to tell her she can't say that!" He was so outraged, that he spun around looking at me like what are you going to do? I had to think quick on my feet because he WAS right, but of course I wasn't going to confront the lady. The funny thing was he said it so loud that I know she and everyone else around us heard him anyway. So, I told him he was right, nobody is supposed to say that. Later after we got home, he wanted to talk about it more so he asked, "Mommy, God said he doesn't want us to say that right? HE said we should say Oh my Gosh, right?" We had a long talk about it and at the end of the talk, Maletch was so happy when I told him that God was very proud of him. This is something that comes up almost daily in our house, I can't believe how many "family shows" will be on in the background where somebody says that, and Maletch has ALWAYS responded by saying, "Hey, he/she can't say that, mommy this is not a nice show, we need to change it." He also knows the shows we aren't allowed to watch like "Sponge Bob", "Phineas & Ferb" and many others... and if one of those come on after something else he comes to get me to say, "Uh oh mommy, this is not a nice show, we need to change it, hurry, quick, where is the remote?"
Later same day, we were at Jamba Juice and Maletch was leaned over the water fountain and this kid came over and climbed on Maletch's back and was trying to push Maletch in the water pool. I said, "Hey, what the heck?!" and the boy's mom came running over and made up an excuse or tried playing it off by telling her kid, "Oh Hayden, he is not going to fall in, you don't have to try to save him." So I was thinking, "What?!?!?!" Maletch just turned and gave me the same look, 'trying to save me-- what??' So we let that go, UNTIL the boy started swinging his arms (like punching) all crazy- aiming towards Maletch, but not really hitting him, but like stopping right in front of his face (like within an inch of punching him) and then just when I was about to say something to the boy AND his mom, Maletch asks in such a curious and innocent tone, "Mommy is that kid, (pause), is he kind of a brat?" To be clear, he wasn't name-calling, just asking an innocent question. Ahhhhh, I just love him!! I wanted to say, yep honey, that is exactly what he is, LOL! So I just said, "Well he is not being nice, and he certainly needs to behave."
I've got to hand it to Maletch, because it wasn't until immediately after his question, that the boy's mom finally pulled him aside for a 'talk'. Not that the talk was very effective because...
Then Sariah woke from her nap (she had been in the stroller for the first part of that kid's crap) BUT the boy came back for more once Sariah started toddling around. He came over and touched Sariah and acted like he was going to push her down-- Maletch got VERY protective and stood right by her staring that kid down, he made sure he was between her and the kid. I did eventually have to say something to the kid AND the parents, but I was proud of how Maletch was nice the whole time but also got very serious when she was concerned.
The boy's mom continued to shock me with how she reacted to her kid-- she even asked me how old Maletch was, when I told her, she said, "Oh yeah 4 year olds seem like such big kids, my kid is 3, and sometimes he does things like a baby, that one year (between 3-4) makes such a difference, ya know?" It took all I had NOT to say, "What? 3 year olds don't act like that, babies don't even act like that, your kid is a brat, hello, be a parent." Hahahaha! Since I couldn't say that, but I couldn't lie and agree with her, I gave her a raised eyebrow look and walked away- point taken? I'm not sure.
On the way home, he asked, "Mommy what is a brat?" A good question, and when I explained what a brat is, he asked again about that kid. So I told him, "Yes that boy was behaving like a brat, and his mommy and daddy need to tell him to be nice." Then he asked me, "Why was that boy acting like that?" He wasn't satisfied with, "I don't know," so I further explained, that "I think that his mommy and daddy aren't doing a good job teaching him to be a nice boy like you."
Then he said, "Only nice kids get to go to Disneyland, the train station, and the concert and fun places like that. He isn't allowed to go because he is not nice, huh?" Then he added 3 other not nice kids we encountered in the past week, and said 'they, and that boy' can't go, huh? He correlates this because we have always told him that he has to behave or we won't go to the places. Maletch is "The boy who loves rules" and I need to do another post about that, because it is so funny, but I won't get side-tracked from this post. So I told him, "You are exactly right, they can't go because they aren't nice, but you sure can because mommy and daddy love taking you places because you are a nice boy and you always know how to behave. We are proud of you!" Then he added, "Sariah is nice too, so she gets to go too, right mommy?" He just put the cherry on top with his sweetness always looking out for his sister!!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Happy Birthday Sariah!!
The baker told me that the "Dress Shop Sign" can be used as a stand-up picture frame on a future cake! I thought that was pretty cool!
Her First Cake:
We started off with her "Minnie Mouse Dress Shop" cake, and she dug right in before we could sing Happy Birthday or light the candle! She helped herself to the plenty of frosting and even pulled Minnie right off the cake- it was so cute and funny how fast she tore that cake up! Of course as soon as she started taste-testing it, Maletch came over to help! I busted up laughing when I saw him standing with his tongue out licking the corner of the cake!
Busted! HaHa!
"Green Light! Its OK kids, go nuts!"....
When we actually gave Sariah a piece she immediately got rid of the plate, haha, she just dumped the cake right onto her high chair tray- apparently she thought the plate was unnecessary :) Actually, we think she wanted to get the cake off the plate so she could look at the picture of Minnie (on the Minnie plate), hehe!
She had a few 'hat changes' (you know I love my hats)! She wore the tiara above...
... and although this princess one was my favorite on her, she did not care for it (at least while she was eating)- the veil was bothering her, I guess it was in the way!
The Second Cake:
I don't know if it is obvious in the photo, but we had a little mishap with Sariah's second cake- well daddy did- on the way home from the bakery. Apparently, he stopped too fast and that cake almost fell in the car, he caught it... but when he got home, I quickly found it was damaged. The top layer had slid off the cake and smashed against the side of the box. At least the main cake was unscathed and I just did a little repair job on this one (but I wasn't able to make it perfect- it was pretty jacked up, LOL).
Cake Photo Shoot:
She demolished the cake and had a lot of fun making a huge mess! She definitely wore more than she ate! Once the cake was obliterated, she began running around getting cake and chocolate frosting all over the place. The goal was to keep her in the "photo area" and 2 of us were running zone defense, but baby was smarter and quicker with her plays!
Of course big brother could hardly stand by watching all the fun, he was itching to get in and play with her! So we were also running brother defense. Even daddy and I were covered in frosting by the end of the shoot from having to pick her up and put her back, plus she flicked a lot of it, and chunks were flying everywhere! It will undoubtedly take me several days to find it and clean it all!
Yeah some people think I'm nuts for doing this, but the pictures are so worth it, and the crazier and messier it got, the funnier it got! John thought the photo shoot was over when her hat wouldn't stay on anymore (the string was all stretched out), and the cake was completely gone (well smashed completely to pieces), and she was basically running around- BUT that is when I thought it was getting good! He was at work when I did the same photo shoot for Maletch's first birthday. I told him, "I know its nuts, but we'll get some good shots." He said, "This is nuckin' futs!" Hahaha!
I'll admit, once it did get completely crazy, I was chasing her more than I was shooting since I had to TRY to protect my photo equipment: like the umbrella lights and other things. Despite my best efforts, almost everything did get attacked by "King Kong Chocolate Baby!"
I took some video clips in between pictures, and I will upload a few of those too!
Costumes:
You know I love costumes, so of course my baby girl just HAD to get decked out for her first birthday party! Minnie Mouse has a few different dresses she wears, and my favorite is the pink/white polka dot dress from the Disney Clubhouse show, so I found a BEAUTIFUL one at the Disney Store. I love their costumes, they are a bit pricey, but they are very nice quality and gorgeous in person! It is so bling, fluffy, and even has the cutest bloomers. Probably a lot of people don't care about costume quality, "its just a costume," but I can't stand poor quality/cheap costumes- one of my weird pet peeves I guess!
Of course Maletch wanted to wear a costume too (he LOVES costumes), so we found him a Mickey one and he couldn't wait for the party so he could wear it! Even though he has at least 20 costumes for dress up play, he asked everyday if he could 'try on' his Mickey costume :) He reminded me everyday, "I can't really wear my Mickey costume until the party because I don't want to get it dirty, but I can just try it on, right?"
Why TWO Minnie costumes you ask? Well I also got Sariah a traditional red/black Minnie dress (in addition to the pink/white one) so she would match her brother, you know me with my 'family should be color coordinated thing'- gosh- I am so weird, LOL!
Presents:
First off, we goofed that up! We had set the wrapped presents (from us) on top of the gift table a few days before. I had caught Sariah climbing up and pulling them down a few times, so I don't know why I thought they would be OK there?? Well, they weren't! The day before her party, daddy left for work while I was in the shower. He put her in her high chair so she couldn't get into mischief while I was upstairs (or so he thought).
I came downstairs to find her NOT in her high chair and all of the presents were opened- wrapping paper everywhere AND she was playing with the toys that were still in their boxes!!
I asked a few questions all at once, "What the heck happened?" "How did Sariah get out of her chair?" etc...
Maletch told me, "She was trying to climb out, so he helped her."
Me: "How did you do that when she was strapped in?"
Maletch: "She got out of the straps by herself, and she was like this (he imitated leaning out of the chair) so I gave her a hug and pulled her down."
Me: "Who opened all the presents?"
Maletch: "Well Sariah and I did."
Me: "Didn't you know that we were supposed to wait until her party?"
Maletch: "I'm sorry mommy, are you mad?"
Uggh, the little stinkers!! I do think that Sariah was the 'main culprit' because I found her 'stack of toys' she built as her 'step stool' to reach the presents (so at least it was pre-meditated by her, LOL) since Maletch could have reached without a stack of toys/ step stool. Based on the evidence (and statement by one of the perpetrators), I believe she pulled them down and started opening and he assisted in the opening. Plus, she was on a mission with her "Houdini move" with the straps haha!
She turned over her 'ride-on lion' on it's side as the base of her ladder. That is one of the things she does, she climbs basically as high as she wants and plans it out by stacking things to get to whatever/wherever she wants. It scares me because she has no fear, and a lot of strength- and we've seen her get up pretty dang high!! I am constantly having to pull her off of things, the problem is she is determined, quick, and so dang proud of herself when she gets up on things! She stands there and makes a big verbal announcement and gestures (like a look at me gesture) and beams the hugest smile of pride- and she gets so mad when I take her down from things too! She is so much like her brother was at this age- it is crazy! I will never forget when I caught him literally swinging from the chandelier (at 18 months)- remember that? As funny as that is to look back on now, it wasn't funny at the time- I really don't want a repeat of that- and she could do it too!!
OK, so even though the presents were already opened (and they already saw everything), we decided that we would re-wrap them and do it right! So I took away all the presents that were opened and re-wrapped everything! Hahahaha!
Funny thing is that Maletch was so excited for her to open her presents (before and after their little shin-dig)! I think he was more excited than when it was his birthday! Before it was time to open them, he took one over to her, "Here Sariah this is for you, open it!" and he was jumping around all excited, it was so cute! Then when it was time, he kept trying to help her, "Here Sariah you open it like this..." No matter how many times we said, "She can do it, let's let her open them"-- he just couldn't help himself, he was too excited, and he just had to help!
Sariah enjoyed playing with the paper just as much as her new toys, so she had all kinds of fun! She certainly likes all of her new toys, especially the ones her big brother got her!
Decorations:
I will also post a couple photos of the decorations- we had fun going all out for Sariah's FIRST birthday bash! Maletch helped me pick them out and helped arrange where they would go too, hehe- but we had daddy hang the ceiling stuff, since we are not tall enough (turns out, we got a LOT of ceiling stuff)!
*Note: Bare with me, as uploading and sorting photos and videos takes a LOT of time. I have only really played with the cake photos so far and I have a LOT more to go. I posted 2 slideshows and 3 videos below, so you can get a peek of what I've done so far, but all the photos of her opening presents and the kids' costumes will be coming next...
................Scroll down to see (be sure to pause the music player for the videos)- but I am adding lots more photos...
**SAVING the BEST for LAST**............ can't wait to post pics of the COSTUMES!!!
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