Skiing...finally!

Last weekend we went for our first and last ski trip of the year.  Despite a lot snow and cold this winter we didn't get motivated to ski - in part because my knee is still rehabing and Carlos thinks he broke his toe or tendon or...something.  And also we are still a couple of years away from being able to go as a family which puts a damper on ski plans.  But now I'm sad we didn't go more especially after seeing how much fun the kids had when we met the cousins in the Poconos last weekend.  In the 5 minutes before passing out on the car ride home Charlie pleaded that he wanted to come back to Blue Mountain every year. I'm guessing it was the fun of being with cousins and a house with an air hockey table rather than the radical vertical drop and pristine powder of the Poconos. The adults all vowed to go some place nice next year, or at least tolerable.

The kids did well by the end and Diego went from adamantly refusing to go skiing to skiing (somewhat) on his own. I was really proud of both of them.  It was a rocky start though. Carlos took both of them up a green run on Friday evening when we first arrived. Bad decision. Charlie hadn't skied in a year and Diego has always hated skiing.  Once off the chairlift Charlie decided he had forgotten how to ski and wanted Carlos to hold his hand while Diego skied in between Carlos' legs. The top of the green run turned out to be steep so everyone was miserable. All three were tethered together and, inevitably, all three fell down on top of each other. Charlie and Diego yelled at Carlos that this was all his fault.  I kindof agree. Who goes to the top of the mountain (even if it is in the Poconos) with two novice skiers and only 1 adult?! Nevertheless by the end of the weekend, neither Charlie nor Diego wanted to leave. Sofia and I shuffled people and things back and forth and watched everyone from a distance....Needless to say I'm looking forward to a healthy knee and when we can all go down the mountain together.

Here is Diego skiing towards the end of the weekend: 

I'm finally facing the weaning issue with Sofia....then again I'm also kindof backing down from my hard stop this month. Sofia turns two in April and I have a work trip coming up in a couple of weeks so it seemed like a good time to force the issue. Of course, I've only just now started to actually do anything to facilitate weaning...and it is not going well.  All the blogs tell me that I should be doing this over a matter of months and that a hard stop from a work trip is traumatic and mean to my child. I feel guilty and Sofia is miserable with out getting "mama."  Not a winning combination. As of now we are down to three times a day, but  weekends are especially hard because I'm around her all day so naturally she wants to nurse more. At one point she definitely tried to manipulate me with hugs and kisses before she dove for my chest requesting to nurse.  We'll see what happens after my trip!

Sofia has a favorite tune that gets altered slightly, but not by much. It goes like this:

Engineering Day

I find that the kids behavioral orbits seem to balance each other out - when one is trending in a frustrating way, the other makes up for it by being sweet. Charlie has been more defiant recently.  I think he is testing his independence and how much he actually needs to heed my directions. He seems to be that way mainly with family because his teacher says he is exceedingly well-behaved and helpful in class. Of course it is probably all relative given the behavior of some of the others in the class. The school recently decided to hire a behavioral tech.  It may not be 100% attributable to his class, but I think they may be forcing the issue!  It is strange how certain grades click to do well or terrible all together. Whereas Diego's grade is full of mellow characters, the 1st grade class has proven to be the toughest grade in site! Nevertheless, one nice thing is that Charlie has two very good friends at school - Tate and Ian.  They call themselves the triplets and love spending time together:

Charlie and Tate bowling on a snowy day

Ian, Tate and Charlie on a recent field trip

Diego, on the other hand, has been so sweet. He is very tender, wanting to cuddle up and dole out hugs.  He is also happy to entertain himself independently for hours with legos and action figures. Almost every week we have his friend Noah come over for a playdate - they run upstairs to play a combination of magna-tiles and legos and we don't hear from them for 2 hours.  They never fight, never yell, never hurt each other - just cooperative imaginative play.  Diego has really been into the loft bed project - he "helped" my mom and Carlos work all day last week.

Diego loves his share day - which is when he gets to talk about a toy/object - last week he brought in a favorite truck for his share day : http://youtu.be/Ic3HdfRY05o

Sofia is...well Sofia...tough as nails but sparkling with personality.  She is talking more and finally says "yesssss," but mostly she puts sentences into a single word.  "Iwannagotoo" - it took me awhile to understand that it was actually a sentence.  There are a few words I don't understand, but she generally gets her point across pretty well or just resorts to screaming if you don't obey her. She still refuses to put her hair up so she usually saunters around with a wild mane. It is all part of the persona.

This weekend I took the kids to engineering day at the building museum which was so awesome.  There were probably 50 stations with interactive displays.  Charlie and I thought the catapult one was the most fun, but Diego liked the "dissect a device" the best.  The device was a VHS tape and both Charlie and Diego were bewildered by the bizarre idea that movies played on VHS and not just on netflix.  For the catapult we were given a spool, two paint mixing sticks, a dixie cup, a ping-pong ball and some duct tape.  Why didn't I think of this?! We formed it into a catapult and then tried to shoot the ball into a castle.

It's COLD outside!

It's been a month! A month of cold weather and computer woes.  So let's see...

Tia Veronika was in town in January and the kids had a blast with her.  She barely recovered from her red-eye before they made her drive to the climbing wall.  On Saturday they suffered through dental day with her in exchange for another trip to a different climbing wall.  The next day they made her sit through hours of watching their sports practice. 2 hours of soccer and 2.5 hours of baseball. That's a lot of watching!

The big Taft family news is that Seth and Kristen had twin baby boys.  Their twins were the same size of Charlie and Diego combined. WOW.  I'm so amazed.  They are super cute, burrito brothers:

Carlos spent a weekend away and came back much more zen.  I'm not sure that sleeping on the floor in a house full of 15 guys was very restful, but he still seemed better rested. The kids and I actually had a great time while he was gone as there were a handful of other moms with husbands gone so we banded together with playdates, dinners and fun activities.  We went to a trampoline place in the suburbs which the kids loved and was way better than I anticipated.  Charlie and Ian played dodgeball while Sofia showed no fear in sliding and jumping on the trampoline.  At one point I dove to try to catch and prevent her from doing flips down a trampoline slide, but failed miserably ending up belly flopping unceremoniously among 4 year olds as she did do flips.  She just giggled as I picked my various pulled muscles up off the trampoline.

To combat the cold we have been frequenting museums, trying to sled and enjoying fires which the boys seem to enjoy as much as me.  They line up every pillow, cushion, blanket and other cozy item they can find along in the living room and we huddle up. Another favorite winter activity is having a dance party. Here is Charlie dancing to Uptown Funk: http://youtu.be/mY8doC1HpEw

 
Of course we also have a construction project going on! Carlos and the boys are building loft beds.  Charlie and Diego have been fascinated by the project and insist on helping.

Carlos might not be the most proactive Valentines person, but Charlie makes up for it.  When I woke up I found him working hard on cards to both of us and a message made from playdoh, along with my coffee and oatmeal.

Tio Charlie comes to visit

Sofia's version of dress-up:

This past weekend tio Charlie came to visit and the kids were beyond happy.  Sofia only wanted him to hold her and wouldn't let me even get close.  I need to teach her the word "TIO" because she kept referring to Charlie as 'daddy.'  The boys definitely liked wrestling and climbing on him, but their favorite was the marble maze structure he built.  Diego got QB Maze for Christmas and we've all been a little annoyed at how easily it falls down - especially when you have a little person at table height constantly swiping her hands in search of something she can destroy.  The box has a picture of a terrific structure, but when I took one look at the directions to build it I closed it immediately.  It looked worse than Ikea instructions.  The next thing I knew tio Charlie was halfway through building it.  Check it out:

The kids were uber-impressed and quite taken with it.  That of course meant their little hands frequently touching it and fighting over it, which meant that pieces started getting knocked off and within a couple of days the whole thing came crashing down and a lot of tears were shed.  Charlie's friend was over and decided he wanted to switch one of the pieces....that piece happened to be a bottom piece and that was the end of the maze.  Looks like we need to get tio Charlie back here to build it again.

We've been having a lot of conversations about the future - mainly because of all the news of restructuring at Coke and because of the kids' education.  You mix the fact that it has been about 2 months of not knowing if I would have a job with Carlos' recent appointment to the PTA board and you get a whole lot of "strategic planning!"  I can't say we have gotten very far.  Some one sent me their life plan template which was interesting, but seemed to make more sense to use when you are just starting a life together...not three kids into marriage....

The conversation seems even more tangible given that some friends are leaving the Hill this week to move to southern California.  The movers took all their stuff last week so they have been staying in our apartment downstairs and we love having them here.  It made me realize how nice it would be to live next door to people we actually like!  We've been sharing child care and taking the kids to/from school - and having a built in playdate is priceless.  Charlie told me that we were SO lucky to have Luca and Mila living downstairs and I totally agree!

Ode to Sofia...and Thanks to Diego

Carlos says I spoil Sofia too much.  I'm pretty sure he said that about Charlie and Diego too, but Sofia is likely my last little baby and my only girl so I do spend a lot of time admiring her.  She is by far the most feisty baby we have had and the most strong-willed.  90% of the time I love that about her and admire what a strong person she will be.  The other 10% of the time I want to jump out a window.  The percentages may be reversed for Carlos.  I think Diego deserves some credit, because if he were not my bag of sugar- if he were as challenging as Sofia - I think we might have stopped at two kids.  But Diego was the sweetest baby.  It is hard for me to think that this summer he will turn 5 because he is still my little baby.

Sofia loves to sing and dance.  She sings constantly (usually no real words - just sounds she puts together) and loves to dance.  She especially likes to lead everyone in a dance routine.  She'll put the phone on the floor and gather everyone she can into a circle and make everyone dance. No one is allowed to stand on the sidelines.

Sofia also really likes dress up.  She likes to put on everyone's shoes - the bigger the better.  She likes to put on the boys' clothes and even non-clothing items like dish towels.  She tries to put on her own clothes but usually ends up with both legs in one leg hole or shirts pulled over her legs and up to her waist.  The most uncomfortable is when she puts on her underwear with both legs go in one leg hole. It looks like a terrible mini-skirt.  Doesn't matter how uncomfortable it is - she won't let you help her fix it.  Stubborn for sure.

Although she still doesn't talk that much (mainly just screams to get her point across), she catches onto other things quickly.  She basically potty trained herself and likes to show off about it.  She makes visitors come watch her go pee.

And finally, she basically rules the household. It may be because we are trying to avoid her screeching, but what she wants is what happens.  She'll run up to the boys and wag her finger at them, rambling nonsense and then finish with "k?" - as if to ensure they understood her orders.  She'll then march off confidently, sure that they are following her directions.  Poor Diego gets the brunt of her physical attacks; if she feels someone is not listening to her, not following her orders or not giving her what she wants - she goes in for her lethal grab.  I guess Diego isn't too big to intimidate her so she'll grab him so hard and he can't get her to release him.  He just whimpers until we get her to let go.  Mark came over recently and nicknamed her Hurricane Sofia which seems very apt.  We are often left reeling in her wake....Nevertheless, I think she is so amazing and I admire her so much...at least 90% of the time...

Holiday Catch-up

It feels like it was just Thanksgiving!  We had a wonderful Christmas in Philadelphia - full of fun cousin time, yummy food, gingerbread and cookie decorating and lots of presents.  Although there were no tears on Christmas day, there were plenty when we left Philly to head home on Friday. The emotional high of Christmas left an emotional low in its wake.  Charlie and Diego were both so sad to leave. Sofia was also screaming and crying as we rolled out of town - but I think that was due to three days of no naps!

In addition to some little gingerbread houses for Charlie and Diego, we made a big gingerbread house for all the cousins to decorate.  I think they must have used about 5 lbs of candy decorating the thing.  It was an impressive collective effort.   I'm glad Christmas was fun because our attempt at holiday spirit events didn't seem to work well. Twice we went to the National Christmas tree in search of Santa in his workshop and twice we were told that an emergency at the North Pole has caused them to close shop.  I was so annoyed and the kids were so disappointed that it really got us out of the Christmas spirit.  Then we battled traffic to go see the two million Holiday Lights in a nearby park.  The kids were not impressed.  Then we went to Zoo Lights but it was so crowded you could barely move and the kids totally melted down.  Strike Three!

Diego hard at work on his house

The little gingerbread houses on display

The large gingerbread house featured a sleigh, a reindeer, santa head first down the chimney and about 5 lbs of candy

In Philadelphia, we must have been a pretty funny sight collectively.  I got knee surgery on the 23rd so I was hobbling around, Tio Charlie had all four wisdom teeth so he was like a chipmunk eating mush and Kristen looks like she should have popped a month ago.   The car ride to Philly was the most comical. I got knee surgery at 9am that morning and then we packed the car crazy full, shoved me in some how in the back with my leg propped up and took off for Philly.  No one could move.

It turned out that the knee pain I was having was a torn meniscus, not runner's knee and I had wasted two months in physical therapy for a wrong diagnosis.  Finally an MRI showed a bad tear which I had suspected from the beginning.  Unfortunately I found out on December 15th so I didn't have time for a 2nd opinion if I wanted to get surgery done in 2014 (deductible!).  Double unfortunately that week there was a big article on the front of the metro section of the Post about surgery centers as unregulated money making ventures and it featured the place I was heading. I was so paranoid I could barely sleep the night before and told the anesthesiologist that what I was most worried about was not my knee, but rather waking up to see my children.  She looked at me like I was crazy and that was about the last thing I remember until a nurse was helping me in post-op and told me how I kept mumbling on about the Washington Post article and how Joan Rivers died at a surgery center...oh dear. They must get some funny information from people going under...

The kids wait patiently on the stairs before going into open presents

Santa brought Diego pickles from Brooklyn! his favorite!!

Santa outfitted Charlie with LOTS of Nats gear

Sofia wasted no time in learning how to enjoy opening presents

Before Christmas, Charlie and his friend Ian caught 50 catches!  Their goal is 100, at which point I promised to have a big baseball themed party to celebrate.  We decided to have a mini-celebration for 50 catches and so I planned a fun afternoon, including a trip to the movies.  I hadn't been to the movies in so long that I had sticker shock and was equally shocked by the number of previews.  Nevertheless they enjoyed Big Hero 6 and I thought it was actually a fun encouragement for Charlie's interest in robotics.  That's an overstatement, but he asked Santa for only one thing this year: a DRONE!  First he asked me to get it, but I said I didn't have enough money so he turned to Santa instead.  Santa opted for a toy quadcopter, but cool nonetheless!

And finally - our belated Holiday Card!  http://bit.ly/taftvazquezhappyholidays2014

Thanksgiving

The holidays mean trains at the Botanic Garden!

A little late here...We had a super nice Thanksgiving.  Carlos' mom and sister were here as well as a very important extra guest: Quita!  Quita is about a 1.5 feet long and probably weighs less than Sofia.  Yes - she is a dog and the kids couldn't get enough of her.  They chased her around the house, poking, prodding, hugging and pulling at her.  Poor dog.  At one point I was in the kitchen cooking and Sofia was quietly playing at the train table in the living room when Quita walked in.  Sofia erupted into squeals of "doggie, doggie, doggie," her arms flailed wildly and she ran as fast as she could towards Quita.  Luckily Quita is bit faster and could escape her grasps.  The entire visit was like that!    They didn't tire of Quita at all, but the poor dog was certainly tired of them.

Quita wasn't the only excitement.  The kids loved having Veronika and Abuela here and they seem to have as much energy as the kids. They took the kids rock climbing which was a highlight especially for Charlie.  And Tia Mary came in for Thanksgiving dinner which was lucky because without her expertise, I think the turkey and I would have just spent most of the day staring at each other.  It was a delicious meal and just nice to be together.

Of course there were a few mishaps.  Like when I fed Carlos something that gave him his worst allergic reaction to date.  His eyes were so swollen he could barely see and his whole mid-section was covered in hives.  It was terrible and the swelling lasted more than 24 hours.  Or how we went on our annual pilgrimage to the Middleburg Christmas tree farm and spent an hour roaming the farm in the bitter cold only to decide that there was no tree for us there.  As if in revenge, our car died and needed a jump.  Carlos went down the road to a tree stand and found a great looking tree in about 2 minutes!  On top of all that we gave Veronika and Abuela whatever terrible illness we've been passing around. Despite all that, it was a nice Thanksgiving.