Day 30: park party

One of hazel's best friends here had his 4th birthday party yesterday and we all came along. It was a beautiful park and desi had a nice swing with his girlfriend.

Day 31: Desmond does sign language!

Just a few days ago I noticed Desmond doing the sign for "food" and now he is doing the sign for "more". It's really cute and hazel loves to do the signs too. It has actually been a really good outlet for her to express herself when she feels overwhelmed or frustrated. Here he is doing the sign:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX92PhQ6aWE

Desi is also exactly 10 months today, even though I've been telling people that for a month now.

Day 29: battered baked zucchini rounds

Just made this awesome treat tonight. After intensely dieting for 3 weeks it is a treat. Just slice the zucchini dip in a beaten egg, dip in bread crumbs (I added season salt, dried basil, and garlic powder to mine) and place on a cookie sheet covered with Pam. Bake at 425deg for 8-10 min each side. The result was delicious! Serve with marinara or ranch or make your own dip.

Day 28: I am so in love with my little Desi!

Desi Q was cracking me up today. He is such a little ham. I think he saw the big kids playing with this toy and just had to give it a try. It looks like he got a little tired as he was pulling himself up and took a little rest. I've also noticed how often my two kids both stick their tongue out to concentrate, a bit like a certain husband of mine. I guess I can't tease him anymore, it must be genetic. I wonder which of my in laws does that, perhaps I just haven't noticed :).

I also am losing my voice. I couldn't talk for over an hour after waking up this morning. I'm glad I felt better this afternoon because Sarah was sweet to watch our kids and Brandon and I got to go out to dinner and a movie. It was a great break. The movie was silly and fun especially with the half price tickets (thank you groupon) and we ate Greek food that was heavenly! yum!

Day 27: Happy Birthday Harrison!!

My nephew, Harrison, turned 8 today! He got spoiled with custom meals all day and both sets of grandparents in town. I loved getting to be here and see how sweet he was about his birthday. He shared his fancy helium balloon and let the little kids help him open his presents (they still get a little jealous and confused that it isn't their party). Here he is with his angel food cake. He also insisted on lighting his own candles which was a big deal!

Day 26: Halloween Catch Up

So last year and the many years before, I have been a terrible blogger. I feel like I'd like to document Halloween and my cute kids getting all dressed up though, so i'm just going for it. Hazel was really insistent that she dress as a butterfly and we thought it was only fitting that Desmond dress as a caterpillar. After dressing up for two trunk or treat occasions, Hazel actually ended up being a ballerina to go trick or treating on the actual day. She only made it a few blocks and couldn't muster the energy to go much farther, even when bribed with candy. It was so cute seeing her all dressed up and really enjoying the whole holiday. She still talks about it all the time "I be a butterfly, you be a ladybug mommy!"

Day 25: my tiny dancer

I took hazel to her second ballet class this morning and it was just as cute as the first! Here is my attempt at a video:



Most of the class the door is closed and privacy glass is covering most of the window, so we can't take pictures for long, but I snuck this one quickly at the beginning.

When we went to get Desmond this morning, he was standing. He is officially pulling up on everything! Here he is at Sterling and Harrison's pine wood derby tonight.

Day 24: lions and lizards and Blythes oh my!

We like to picnic in style over here. Just another sunny day in January and a picnic shortly after a morning round of dress up. This lion costume alternates about twice a week with Hazel's many ballet leos.

Desi officially has 2 more teeth. Poor little guy has had a few rough days, but seems to be doing better now that they've broken through.

Day 23: Tea Party!

This is the girls' idea of "quiet time". It was adorable, a little apple juice and a few crackers and cookies and they were good to go. Blythe got the table all set on her own and kept pouring Hazel drinks.

Day 22: plushies for kids at the hospital

A couple days ago Ezra (my 2 year old nephew) split open his lip and they took him to the hospital just to make sure he didn't need stitches or anything. While there the nurse have him a little handmade teddy bear. Since then, Sarah and I have decides we should make some little plushie animals and send them to the local hospital. Ezra loves the little bear made from scrap fabric, we could tell it really made the experience less frightening. Here is a plushie owl I found in a boutique the other day that I want to try out. I would probably simplify it a bit. Cute right?!

Day 21: disco baby!

You may think I am referring to a dance from the seventies, but no, I am talking to Brandon's new baby, today he got a Land Rover DISCOvery. He got it for a steal at the local auto auction right after a massive downpour and half the people left. I sent him off this morning and suggested that it might be nice to have 7 seats in our next car (for carpool purposes, don't get any ideas). I will admit I had the Acura MDX and the Volvo XC90 in mind, but considering they each went for about four times how much this one did (pre rainy downpour) I feel fantastic. I love the heated seats and double sunroof and it droves so very smooth with the V8. Don't talk to me about the gas mileage though. We figure Brandon never has a long cummute though. About 10 min at our last place. We went for a little outing to the Del Taco play area to let the kids go for a ride and get some energy out.

Brief update on my getting in pre baby shape, we're going strong on our healthy eating and can report I am down 14 lbs. About 3-5 more and I will hit my pre desi weight! Woot woot!

Day 20: miso soup and a 30 year supply of chili paste

I ventured to our local Asian grocery today on a hunt for yellow miso paste and dashi granules. I wandered and felt like a foreigner trying to read the labels and find my ingredients. We have been trying to find a good use for some tofu I bought and decided to make miso soup. I eventually had to ask the guy and quickly found them, who knew miso paste is refrigerated? Now i can make miso soup with only 4 ingredients (granted ingredients that will send you into your local Asian grocery) and takes only 20 min.

Here is the link to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/miso-soup/

I also found another jackpot, I found out where to get my 30 year supply of chili paste.

Day 19: lemons and night terrors

I had des on my lap at the end of dinner and we had fish for dinner, so naturally there were a few half used lemon wedges on the table. I finished y plate and went to sit him down so I could help with dishes only to see him slurping on a lemon wedge. Yes, he really is his mother's son! If you didn't know before now, I am obsessed with citrus; lemon pepper, sunshine carrts, key lime pie, orange juice, straight lemons and the list goes on, they are all some of my favorite things! So glad my little man will be able to share in my love of citrus!

I had heard of night terrors before, but no one told me how horrifying they are. I mean the name implies that, but I thought it would terrify child, not the parent too. It is so sad and scary. Hazel just screams at the top of her lungs but it totally asleep. I tried to cuddle her and she ran away in the pitch black to hide behind a couch...for almost 10 minutes. She screamed then whimpered especially if we ever tried to talk to her, then I just forced myself in and held her in a big hug and she calmed down. She is now on the floor of our room and we are working on getting Desmond back to sleep. I thought we were in the clear when I got her to laugh at her monsters last night and imagine them doing silly things. Apparently "the sandwich monster" standing on his head is a pretty hilarious mental image. Oh the joys of parenting....

Day 18: h-a-z-e-l

I mentioned in a previous post that Hazel up and wrote her own name one day, my proof is attached. Look carefully and you can see her artistic interpretation of each letter.

On a side note, hazel had her first ballet class today, but the pictures are on a different camera that I can't get to at the moment, so you will have to wait until tomorrow. It was adorable!!

Day 17: one step at a time

Last night was a version of success. Brandon and I were both blessed to be really patient all evening and night and just talk through Hazel's fear with her. When she woke up and came down she wasn't hysterical like past nights, but intead we could give her a hug and talk her through what was going on and what her options were. She ended up going back to her room on her own, closing the door and going to sleep. In contrast to attempting to sleep in our bed the last two nights and throwing a royal fit if I tried to lie her on the bed we made for her on the floor next to me, going back to her room calmly on her own was HUGE. It was wonderful and she slept until 8:45, which used to be really normal. Crossing my fingers we can help her get over her fears, loss of binkie, and hopefully get in our own place soon so she can have a little more structure. Des slept OK last night and didn't need a bottle until 7am, which is better than 5am which has been common for the last 5 months.

Here is our happy girl at the McDonald's Playplace.

They went right after breakfast and Brandon is dieting with me, so I don't even know if they got anything, but I'm hoping getting a little extra energy out will help with sleeping today too.
Hazel with her cousins, Blythe and Ezra. It's been so sweet to see their relationship improve and get more grown up to enjoy make believe. Hazel is Lady Bug Girl today, if you aren't familiar with the Lady Bug Girl books, you should be. The books are clever and encourage active playing outside and a lot of imagination. Blythe owns a few of them and they have become some of Hazel's favorite bedtime books along with anything to do with Clifford which is sentimental to me. I think sketching Clifford is one of my youngest artistic memories.

Day 16: bribery through Daddy Daughter Dates

Hazel has been an amazing sleeper since she was like 3 months old. Good 12 hours at night no problem. Over the past year she has gradually given up her nap a few days a week and since moving to California she has started to have night terrors and wanders the house at like 3 am. It's terrible. This week she has refused to sleep in her room along with every other excuse you could think of (hungry, room is broken, monsters, thirsty, more stories, etc). It is exhausting. I spent an hour reading parenting boards today trying to find some tips and several mentioned helping her talk through her day, which gives her some time to vent and get attention before bed. They also talk about rewards of stickers on a chart or small things of they make it all night in their own bed or letting them help pick the plan. So far we have talked it out, she thought of a nice pink monster friend that can scare the mean ones away, and she gets an outing with Brandon to the McDonald's play place if she stays in her room all night. I'll get back to you with how it goes...

On a separate happy note, Des slep try rudely through the night for the first time I can remember, like a full 8-8. Making it from 8-5, bottle, then back til 7:30 was really normal, but I couldn't always go back to sleep. If he keeps this up I will be ecstatic! Hazel Slept at night so much better than he does, but he naps better. Oh well, I guess it changes with each kid.

This pic is from a daddy daughter ride on her birthday back in December, a place here gives an unlimited 4 hour pass on your birthday, awesome!

Day 15: most amazing diet food EVER!

Just had amazing lettuce wraps. A loose interpretation of all recipes chicken PF Changs plus like 6 other veggies. They were heavenly and didn't feel like diet food at all. Yum!

Day 14: Up to Roseville

We spent most of the day in Roseville today started with a delicious healthy lunch to keep with our health kick then off to the temple with my parents, Sarah, and the hubs. It is always sweet to go back to the temple where we were married especially surrounded by family. Here I am just outside the temple with a gorgeous sunset that iPhone pics can 't truly capture.

Then we went and picked up the kids to head to my dad's art exhibit. I had no idea it would be such a hit with Hazel! She loved the food, music, and art. She loved to explore all the rooms and was in such a good mood the whole time. My dad's piece was beautifully and lovingly done for my brother in laws brother who fought in the war. It is huge, life full scale life sized. I forgot to get a good pic with my dad next to it tonight, but i've included one of the finished price. There was a live band and the kids couldn't help but dance. Here's desi cuddling with my mama.

Day 13: matinee date

We haven't really been out in about a month with family in town over the holidays and being sick, so this afternoon we asked Sarah if she could watch Hazel and Des and we snuck out for a matinee. We had the theater to ourselves for 15 min, then two couples came to join us. we saw Sherlock Holmes which was interesting and confusing and well done. We tried to go out to dinner then realized we didn't know where to go and stick to our diet and just enjoyed dinner at home. It was a great mini date and perfect way to end the week!

We also went to the car auction this morning and I saw an Acura MDX, Volvo XC90, and a Toyota Sequoia that all caught my eye. A 7 seater would be nice, especially if I can find one that doesn't look like a total mom car. Hazel is totally we father's daughter and had to sit in each and pretend to drive. She loved it!

Day 12: Mini Family Outings

Brandon has mostly been working and working out the last few days and finally was like, "Can we get out of the house somewhere BESIDES the gym?" So we went to the mall this morning for a bit mostly to exchange two things from christmas for the right size. Hazel's new favorite game anytime we go shopping is Hide and Ghost seek. We played it a few times over the holidays and she was fantastic and quiet in the pitch black. Except this version is mostly her hiding fairly obviously among clothing, me counting to ten, and her popping out. So perhaps it would more accurately be called peek a boo, but whatever.

She really wanted to try on some sparkly shoes from H & M and that ...um...darling hat. I told her she needed to put her shoes back on and here she is insisting that she can do it herself. The little zipper in the back was giving her some issues, but she took her time and got it to work.

We also headed to the park to meet up with some friends. I have only sat Desmond in a swing a few times and pushed him really gently. He is seeming so solid these days that he loved the full swinging action, perhaps because he got to share the swing with his girlfriend Hailey. Despite Hazel being massively tall, she still wants to swing in the baby swing and has me do underdog as often as possible.

Day 11: love my family!

Hazel has gotten really into dancing especially with her papa. I couldn't get over how cute it was to watch Hazel and Brandon spin while Desmond is desperately trying to keep track of them.

Day 10: the QuickStart Challenge

All 4 adults in the house are doing a QuickStart challenge to drop some weight and kick start a year of eating healthy. This program is great because it's less of a diet and more a way to get rid of sugar in your daily diet. It keeps you full and you have a ton of small meals all day to keep your metabolism going. Between this and watching what I've been eating for the last few weeks I'm already down 8 pounds and my jeans fit so much better! I'm way excited. Oh, and you drink water like a camel (1 oz for every pound) and In turn use the bathroom a zillion times a day. Apparently you can drop 5 pounds just by being better hydrated, who knew?

Day 9: success!!

We sent hazel's binkies off last Thursday and we had a few longer nights trying to get her to bed where we would trade off and do extra stories, but tonight, success!! She took a nice nap and went right to sleep tonight without any mention of her binkie. It was fabulous! I did take her bike riding and to the park which always helps. Except she is still figuring out her bike, hence the less than enthusiastic expression.

To update another goal, we are doing a kick start diet for the next three weeks. Lots of veggies, low carb, high protein and an insane amount of water. It's fantastic because it is a diet where you can actually feel full. I'll report back at the end of each week, but feeling really good about it right now.