Insomnia and Rice Cereal

When it comes to sleeping Charlie out-smarts us everytime. For the last month he has been refusing his naptime 50% of the time and thus turning into a little gremlin by 5pm. When he couldn't open his door he would pace around looking for distractions. Then he realized that he could enter his little closet and turn the light on which made finding distractions easier. So we moved his toddler bed against the closet door (no door just a frame) and that lasted for about a day. He found that he could crawl under the bed to enter the closet and turn on the light and find something to play with. So we put up a barricade and moved the bed against the barricade which was against the closet. He figured out a way to push the bed over and push the barricade away and slip into the closet. Once we successfully blocked the closet he turned his attention to opening the door to his room. After days of flagarantly leaving his room and declaring himself awake he learned that he wasn't supposed to leave the room so he'd crack the door open and state some demand. He would peek out and say "I want to read a book" or "I did a poo and need to be changed" or "I want the blanket"....So we put something on his door handle so he couldn't open the door. With no where else to turn he got packages of diapers, stacked them on top of each other and climbed up to turn on the overhead light. MAN! Babies always win!

Despite his sleeping issues Charlie is 90% back to being a total delight. Unfortunately that 10% monster seems to come out anytime we want to get out the door or get back in the door. Yesterday we took him to a pool - he kicked and screamed when we tried to leave the house and then kicked and screamed even louder when we tried to leave the pool.

Here he is trying to use the breastpump with his belly button

And trying out Diego's toys.

My bag of sugar Diego remains as sweet as ever. Last night he was snuggled in my armpit in bed (where, to be honest, he ends up most nights) and I awoke to a little hand caressing my face and two beady eyes looking up at me. I'm guessing that he was actually just trying to grab my nose in search of something to eat, but it was a nice way to wake up.

This weekend I tried giving Diego rice cereal and he HATED it. His face puckered up and then he pursed his lips and refused any more. Here is his face after he tasted it and then not letting me get any more in....

Here are Charlie and me trying to get Diego to giggle.

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...

Thanksgiving!!

We had a full house as Carlos' family came to celebrate Thanksgiving here. It was super nice of them to come to DC, because traveling with both kids in the midst of holiday madness didn't seem like fun. Eric and Dorine were also here from Philly and San Francisco so we finally made use of the murphy bed upstairs as well as our air mattress. It was the first thanksgiving that we've hosted and everyone took on a task which was great because there was no way I was going to cook a turkey. I have no idea what to do with a bird of that size. The meal was delicious as was the mulled wine we drank by the fire aftewards. It was the first fire of the season which was so cozy that it ALMOST made up for the fact that winter has arrived.

On Friday we visited some friends who just bought a house on the Hill and Charlie played music with him. Actually the whole family ended up with an instrument, but Charlie was the only one who demonstrated much talent....







Charlie loved the company and the attention - especially because he is becoming very bossy. He made tia Veronika and Abuela sing and dance and march in a line. He also decided that he needed to change Abuela's diaper; she had to lie down and he would get the wipies and go through the entire routine. He is even bossy in his sleep. We tried to move him while sleeping into our bed to give Veronika his room. Unfortunately what ensued was a night of getting kicked in the head and stomach every 30 seconds. Carlos slept with his head on the other end of the bed and when I tried to do the same Charlie stood up indignant. I guess he missed his punching bag. By 5am he was up and doing dance moves.


At one point over the weekend I was changing Diego and realized that Charlie was being awfully quiet. I found him in the closet with my lipstick - as you can see he didn't quite find his lips...