Santa Came to Town

Christmas was so fun and the kids make it magical. It was exactly how I imagined it with shrieks of excitement and all. We were in Philadelphia where Charlie had fun playing with his cousins Wallis and Eli. On Christmas morning we kept them in the kitchen until everyone came downstairs and then they ran into the living room.

They dove at a model train set and a house that my mom made; Eli let out a scream that was almost youtube worthy. The house was all home made and came with people, furniture and 2 cars and it looked a lot like our rowhouse actually except that it had a 2 car garage....:)

The kids had so much fun opening and playing with presents. And there were even more toys to play with at my dad's house. Surprisingly there was no meltdown despite delayed naps and over stimulus.

Abuela is fostering my dreams of a boy band by getting Charlie a guitar and drums sticks. Check out charlie's unplugged version of B-I-N-G-O! He is a virtual one man band now. He has finger drums, regular drums, a guitar that plays songs, a regular guitar, a keyboard and he goes back and forth.

Unfortunately Charlie has been refusing his nap and given that he is no longer in a crib he paces around his room. The worst is that he can now open his door so he walks into the hallway and declares "I'M AWAKE!!!" He says it with so much joy as if we should be proud of him. Ugh - I can't give up his naptime.

Charlie and Diego Elves

I couldn't resist 'elving' my children: http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/G279mo0WMD4RtcOj1v08

Cars for Everyone

Charlie enjoying a candle-lit dinner at his table

Diego at his 4 month doctor's visit

Charlie in Diego's crib!

Charlie is definitely ready for Christmas. Apparently Santa is getting him a car present. And when I asked Charlie what presents we should get for other people he did not hesitate one bit: "cars and trains." Cousin Wallis gets a "little car", tia Veronika gets a "train", tio Seth gets a "car" and Abuela and Grandma get a "huge car" and so on. I guess that makes Christmas shopping easy!

It seems that my sweet Charlie may have come back though he still often refuses his nap, is bossy and when tired he takes irrational behavior to a new level. But he is very affectionate and demands a kiss and a hug anytime we even climb the stairs. When I come down to visit on work days and then have to go back upstairs I need to ask his permission and reluctantly he'll say: "ok -mommy - you go work - you go have a call 'hello,hello, hello.'" I guess that's how he perceives my work - I spend the day on the phone saying hello....

Diego continues to be my bag of sugar. He had his 4 month appointment this week and is exactly average - he weighs 15 lbs 2 oz which is the 50th percentile. His height and head are also exactly 50th percentile! So much for my fat babies! Even though he is smaller than Charlie was he seems to be supporting my theory that 2nd babies are tougher than their first born siblings. He got 2 shots at his 4 month visit and didn't even cry. He did cry however when he got hit in the head by a flying bottle (which Charlie may have thrown....). His sleep seems to have regressed - he used to be waking up at 4:30-5:30am, but recently he is up and ready to cuddle at 1:30am. And he certainly needs to be put to sleep at 7-8pm. We found that out the hard way when we brought him to a Christmas party. He screamed bloody murder for 20 minutes out of exhaustion before collapsing asleep. Other than that he has taken to his index finger and finds peek-a-boo increasingly funny. He has no interest in rolling over or crawling. Here he is at his doctor's appointment.

I've been having flashes of life with Charlie in 10-15 years- it's like I can already imagine him as a teenager. Last weekend he went to his first CD "release party" - literally it was a release party for kids music in a black box theater - and I could imagine him going to concerts as a teenager. He wanted to get up and dance but wouldn't let loose so just swayed his hips - like he didn't think it was cool to dance too much. And then there is the way he wears his hats - he pulls them almost entirely over his eyes so he can barely see. What is that? Sounds like an obnoxious frat boy in math class! Here he is at the CD party

"I love you Diego"

It took Charlie 4 months but this weekend he finally said "I love you Diego!!"

Last weekend was our first ever Holiday party which helped us celebrate our first ever Christmas tree and our newly tiled fireplace! Carlos tiled the day before and morning of the party which reminded me of how we were putting door knobs on minutes before our inauguration party 2 years ago. Some things never change. Luckily my mom and aunt Mary saved the day by helping to cook and decorate. My mom made all the kids gingerbread houses and Mary cooked 2 hams. I didn't have my camera for the party, but here is the gingerbread house that grandma helped Charlie decorate. He loves this activity (including dismantling it) so we spent much of today decorating cookies.

To find our perfect Christmas tree we ventured to a tree farm in Middleburg. It is a great tree and I appreciated the process, but Home Depot probably has just as good trees for half the price....

I left for the airport at 5:30am after our holiday party and spent the next 3 days in Atlanta. It was my first trip since having Diego. Let's just say that as soon as I got off the plane I sprinted to get a taxi. Three days is a long time! Carlos stepped up and took care of 2 babies!!!! At least for part of the time...