Habitot

Today we went to Habitot in Berkley. Daniel & Caytlyn had a great time.

Both the kids played on the giant Fire Truck & Daniel dressed completely in a Firefighter uniform while climbing on the truck. Caytlyn found ride on fire trucks & climbed on board & scooted around.

There was a place where the kids could use face painting crayons, so I drew a lion face on Daniel. He loved it!!! All day long he talked about being a lion and wanted to know where his lion face was.

Then we moved into the water room. There were naked dolls there that the kids could practice bathing (which Daniel decide to point out their anatomy). They could also splash & pour water in the troughs. My Daniel decided to pour water on another kid. After apologies he moved rooms to play with trains for a while.

Meanwhile, Caytlyn is crawling around & taking a few steps here and there & changing from the baby's padded room to the cars and other toys she can play with.

Daniel decides to paint on the amazing wall they have that kids can just paint on. He's doing a great job, but at one point, he turns to look at me & walks square into the kid he poured water on. This time, he accidentally paints the little boy's hair with the paint brush he's holding. Again we apologize to the mom. Did it really have to be the same boy :) The poor mom, about 2 minutes later, takes the boy & says it's time to leave.

Daniel had a great time painting & Alex joined him while Caytlyn & I watched & played near by. By the end of it, Daniel's pants looked tie-dyed - a sign of an amazing time. We played throughout the museum and had a great time overall.

When it was time to go, we walked across the street & ate at a Louisiana cafe with great food & headed back. Ran a couple of errands, played at the gym nursery & ended the eventful day with "Dollar Scoop Tuesdays" at Baskin Robbins. Caytlyn loves ice cream & thinks it's just for her. She did very well at gym nursery until she saw another child leave & realized that her parents weren't there. Good thing we were done & came right at that time.

When he got in bed tonight, he asked for his baby bed back, so I put his crib back together (which I've become a pro at) and he didn't get out of bed once. I have two beautiful sleeping children.

Discovery Kingdom

Today we worked on building memories. Alex has taken a mini vacation, just 5 days off where we are going to spend special time together as a family without worrying about his stores. We kicked off our vacation last night by going to the Ward Council dinner and then to a movie.

Today, after we had an amazing breakfast, we went to Discovery Kingdom, and did all the fun things we could think of. Daniel & Alex played the steel drums they had on a traveling tour. They had the best time & Caytlyn & I watched and danced.

We fed the giraffes vegetables, but Daniel thought they might want to have a snack of him. Daniel wasn't too keen on feeding them, he didn't like the fact that their 18 inch tongues were almost as big as him. He selected the vegetables to feed the giraffes & fed them a few times, but overall, he wanted me to feed them. Caytlyn was interested in watching these huge mammals.

We went to the elephant ride because we've been waiting until the end of the year to pay for him to ride the elephants. They told us that Caytlyn couldn't go on the ride because she couldn't walk (dumb rule because we are RIDING, not walking on the elephants). We explained that she could stand & take a few steps, but the cashier wouldn't budge. We walked up to the platform with the kids, because Alex was going to ride with Daniel & Caytlyn and I wait, but I wanted to get a family picture. Since they were slow, I explained our situation, and asked if we could all just sit there for a picture. The guide explained it to the guy walking the elephant and he said for our entire family to just get on. I tried to pay for us, but they said not to worry about it. So, I spent the money we would have used for Caytlyn & I to ride on the pictures they took! The kids loved it - what an experience, to feel the 10,000 lb mammal move underneath you as it walks around.

Daniel loves the lions, tigers, cougars, cheetahs and all of the other animals. We stopped and watched them all and Caytlyn talked to them too. We went to the tiger show, and after it was over, we asked Daniel what he wanted to do. He turned down all the suggestions, until we realized he wasn't ready to go yet. He could still see the tigers swimming and wanted to stay there until the last minute possible.

We ended up not going on any motorized rides (just the live elephant ride) as he was enjoying the animals so much. I am so grateful that we have this mini zoo so close to our house and that we have passes where we can take our children to enjoy the beautiful animals that Heavenly Father created for us.

Daniel & Caytlyn ended their evenings with a play date while Alex & I went to a birthday party - were home early & looking forward to 4 more amazing days together as a family. I love my family! Pictures to follow

Halloween Party

So, I'm not a stay at home mom to clean my house or to do laundry. I'm here to teach my children & to help them to learn and grow and create memories. Today we started a tradition that I'm hoping will help create wonderful memories for my children.

We had a Halloween Party. He was so excited last night about his friends coming over that he didn't get to bed until 11. But today he was surprisingly amicable given the circumstances. We had about a dozen little 2 & 3 year olds and it was great.

We started out in the play room while people started getting here, and after about 15 minutes, there were about 5 or 6 kids here, so we moved to the craft (foam stickers, crayons & foam pumpkins). It went well! I couldn't believe the kids liked it & did a good job. Then we moved to decorating cookies, and more kids came. This was great, because the kids that had moved from the craft made room for the new arrivals.

The cookie decorating was great & the kids enjoyed the snacks inside too. Then all went out to play on the play structure and with the bean bags & ride on toys. The weather was perfect, the kids had a great time & my little host shared so well!

I love my kids & am grateful I can give them these opportunities to interact and have fun with others. Thanks to the kids and moms who came to have a good time too.

Caytlyn

She is 10 months old now, and full of opinions and ideas. She is sweet and funny and knows her boundaries and how she wants to push them. She is also full of DRAMA! She thinks her brother is entertaining, and cracks up at his jokes and when he tries to help her. She has really become Daddy's girl.




One night Alex walked in the door after work, and Daniel wanted him to go back out so he could open the door for him. Alex complied with the little man's request, and walked back out. But Caytlyn had caught a glimpse of her daddy, and he hadn't said hi or bye before leaving. Alex walked out the door, and she howled as if she were in pain. For a second I thought there was something wrong with her and ran over to her, only to realize that she was crying for Daddy. Alex walked back in the door, scooped her up, and the tears subsided.




Last week, we were reading the kids their story before bed. Daniel had his sippy cup of milk and she doesn't drink milk yet, so she did not have a cup. She grabs his cup from him and starts sucking like mad from the cup. He pulls it away from her, and she holds on for dear life so he can't take it. She's so strong willed :)

She waves now & it's the most adorable wave that goes across her whole body. When she sees someone or something she likes, she waves.

Preschool

Last week my little man started his pre-preschool. It wasn't exactly what I had anticipated, but it was okay. It gave him the opportunity to meet new children and interact in a different environment, and hopefully it gave us the in we need for him to start preschool at the school when he turns three.

This week was better than okay. It was amazing. The child I took to preschool was well behaved, shared, did not complain when he did not get the toy he wanted. He sang all the songs for circle time, climbed up the play structure, and went down the fire-men pole all by himself (a feat another mom said she had never seen accomplished by a child in that age class). He was patient, he remembered his manners and was helpful to other children. Overall, he was the child I am trying to raise all on his own.

Talk about being proud of your children... he truly brings me joy.

Bedtime

Tonight was a monumental night at the Frumusanu household. Bedtimes are usually somewhat of a struggle. But tonight, my little man was amazingly independent.

He was playing upstairs (nicely) with sister, and I told him I would go get him his milk. He said, "Thank you. I'll wait here and play with sister." I went and got his sippy cup of milk, and brought it back. I got out his warm "jammies" and told him that because it was going to be cold tonight, he needed to wear them. (the past few weeks have been a struggle to get pajamas on him). He said okay, asked for his diaper to be changed, and requested help unbuckling his belt. We got his jammies on without any discussion.

I asked him to select a story, which he promptly did, and we read. He did not get upset when his sister sat on the book, but rather interacted very kindly with her. We finished the story, and usually he requests another story. But tonight (this is the best part of the story), he said, "The story is over, it's time to pray." He got up on his knees, and prayed all by himself, remembering to bless Daddy's managers, grandma & grandpa, Caytlyn, and a variety of other things.

After he ended his prayer, he went and laid down. I asked him if he was going to brush his teeth, he said "No, thank you." I didn't want to push the angel, so I said okay (deciding that if he got out of bed I would have him brush them). I kissed him good night, his sister kissed him goodnight, I tucked him in and we went out so I could lay Caytlyn down.

This was an hour ago. He is sleeping like an angel. Wow! That guy is amazing! I'll post pics soon.

Daniel's opinion about Giraffes

Today we went to Discovery Kingdom and were watching the animals. Outside the Giraffes, there was a worker that Daniel said "hi" to. This is an excerpt of their conversation:

Worker: Do you like the giraffes?
Daniel: Yes, those are giraffes.
Worker: Are the giraffes pretty?
Daniel: No, my mommy is pretty
Worker: Really (laughing).
Daniel: My mommy is pretty, and I am Daniel. I am Daniel and I am handsome.
Worker: You are Daniel.
Daniel: Yes, and my daddy is handsome.

At this point I jumped in, laughed, and told the worker that vanity is alive and well at our house. We told her thank you and left the area.

I am pleased he is secure with himself, and that his daddy has taught him that mommy is pretty, however, maybe we should move away from it.

At least we all got a good laugh, and my self esteem was pushed up a little. My how I love that guy!

A Brother's blessing

So, today was another amazing day in the life of the 2 year old. We had friends come over to play, which he loves & then after his nap, he was playing great with his sister. He got off his bus & invited his sister to ride around on it.

Then, we stopped pushing her & he laid his hands on her head & started saying the same words his dad said when he gave him a blessing two nights before. Then he ended his "brother's blessing" the same way he ends all his prayers: "In the name of...".

I cried.

This was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. My child pays attention to & remembers more than I will ever know. I'm so grateful to have a home where love is spoken & he learns the blessings the gospel brings.

So, I've finally taken the time to create a blog. Now, the blog ideas I have had in my head can come to fruition. As my children grow, I find more and more amazing things that I want to remember. Since I don't do well at writing them down, I decided I would create a blog so I can remember them.

Last week we had the most amazing day... it was exactly as I imagined being a stay at home mom would be. We went to story time at the library in the morning - where the small child sang and jumped and actually listened to some of the stories. Then we went to lunch with some friends from story time - he loves going out to eat. After we had a fun lunch we went over to Patty's house and had the most amazing play date ever! Patty lives on the greatest farm ever, and the small child absolutely loves her house and her kids. They played outside for about 3 hours, doing everything from hitting a baseball to feeding the chickens. Just before it was time to go home, he and Megan went inside and were hiding from a ball. The sound of a 2 & 3 year old giggling is the best. We went home for dinner and Alex was there and he got to play outside with his dad for a couple more hours and then went to bed. It was a satisfying day for all.

It's amazing how just enjoying the beautiful weather can make for such a fun day.

This week we went to Randall's Museum in San Francisco, which turned out to be another great day. We went with some friends from church - so of course he had a good time. The museum turned out to be pretty decent, and the small child and the small baby loved the birds.

The small baby has started rolling over. She is not going to be the small baby much longer - she has started to outgrow her newborn clothes and is on her way to the 3-6 month clothes. She is not yet aware that she can roll over. It is usually only when she is very angry, and she's not aware that she does it, so she doesn't do it regularly - maybe only every other day. She is very verbal, and enjoys cooing and giggling at her dad. Every time she makes noise, her big brother says "Uh huh, sister," and looks at her and nods. He loves her very much.