kids

 The kids have been amazingly cute and fun lately. They have also been a very frustrating. I can tell Jonathan is reaching a mental and emotion jump. He is starting to recognized some words when we read. I found the book "Hop on Pop" at the library store, and he loves it, almost as much as "green eggs and Ham". He also has become more friend, oriented and has started to recognize people's different personalities. He also seems to have had an extra kick of testosterone... which is kinda annoying because all he does is grabs stick and pretend they are guns and he has been a lot more emotional.
Claire, is sooo cute with how she plays lately. She also is starting to repeat and say words, but with her brother and her dad she mainly just communicates in dinosaur roars. She has always has been a momma's girl, but lately she has gone to the "I must have mommy or I will die of sorrow" which sounds nice, unless your me and want to sleep in on Saturday morning or if I just want alone time...
Good thing I love her so much.

Claire getting her toy frog to hop around the kitchen.

Jonathan being Batman

Being a great dad puts a lot of weight on your shoulders, really.

Claire has mastered climbing up to the top bunk

Birthday

So Last year, I had one of the greatest birthdays ever, and during a 'remembering how we've been blessed'  I brought it up because I considered that time a great blessing.
Unmeaning to, however, I stressed Jacob out about my birthday. Bless his heart, he really wanted to make this birthday special for me, but things just kept falling through.
First he bought tickets to the Opera, only to have me pester him to make sure there was no "naughty-bits" in it. Well he finds out it has a naked demon orgy scene, so he had to pay a lot more money to switch the tickets to another opera. (no returns)
Then, he was planing to cook a great meal, only to have me ask to go out for sandwiches instead.
Next, he thought he'd make me pineapple upside- down cake, only to have me tell him I really don't care as much for that cake and what I really wanted was him to make flan (which has to cool for several hours and is more time consuming to make)
Finally, he bought me shoes to replace my now stretched out crocs, to discover that his color blindness had led him to believe he was buying me brown shoes, when they were actually purple...
Poor guy. I, however, had an awesome birthday! Jacob took the kids to the dollar store so I got a wrapped present from each of them. 
Also, the Opera we ended up going to, was great! We went to Falstaff (base on the Merry Wives of Windsor) and there was no sex in it.
I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful husband.

great drop biscuit breakfast

I decided to wear all my birthday presents stickers included

Claire falling asleep on her own

Jonathan watching Magic School bus

flowers from my birthday twin sister-in-law

 Us at the SF Opera

Jonathan earned his Halloween Costume, Its Spyro from the skylander's game his dad worked on for a while. He wouldn't even let me finish sewing it before he wore it. (He was a very demanding costume task master.

kids

So Jacob made me Grits this morning while I and Claire slept-in (she decided to be awake crying for an hour + last night until I finally gave-up and nursed her.)
Anyways I was slow getting to it after he left, because of cramps. When I finally did go to breakfast, this is what I found

she ate/put on the floor all my cereal. Which actually made me happy because she was being cute, didn't break the ceramic bowl, and had fed herself. I decided to eat my son's leftover yogurt, but, no, she got in my lap and ate that too :-).
The big news this week is that Jonathan swam all by himself, with just flippers and goggles from a platform and back at swim class! This is a big achievement for him, because he has a borderline phobia of getting water in his eyes, ear and/or nose.
I am so happy with my children. They are very different in their temperaments and strengths, but are both so loving and kind. I am a very blessed mother.
 Oh, in other news, we have a squirrel that likes to sit outside the kids window, it is an ugly squirrel.

 Here is Jonathan singing in the bathroom

legacy

So last month my husband's grandmother died. She amazed me. She started out with parents that expected her to be great, and so she was. She worked as a Rockette on the ballet team, then she found the church, then married a navy officer, moved to AZ, raised 6 kids that all are extremely intelligent and talented, opened her home to prophets, took it upon herself to raise awareness of the arts, taught ballet, and encouraged talent to flourish in her grandchildren.
I have to say, hers is an intimidating family legacy to be married into. Luckily, when I think of her, instead of comparing myself to all her outstanding grandchildren, I see that loving look and tone which she addressed me with. although we never talked much, I felt that she approved of me and that coming from someone surrounded with amazingly talented children, grandchildren and in-laws, means the world to me.

Her preforming at the World's Fair

Jonathan with the tinker-toys he always played with at her house.