Sneaky Kids

I’d like to say that I have control over my kids and I know their every move, but alas this is not true. What is true about my kids is that they like to push their limits, they’re great at finding my hiding places for candy stashes, and they just like to be a little sneaky.

While the counter tops are not in Ava’s field of vision she is smart enough to track where we tend to stow the sweet stuff. Here she made her way to the top of the counter and found Ethan’s lollipop that he had saved from the morning. Ethan tends to savor his treats a few bites and licks at a time. Ava on the other hand is the deal closer; she seeks out his left over treats and polishes them off if we don’t beat her to them.

Here I found Ethan on the couch with the distinct sounds of gaming tunes coming from underneath his blanket. He had already been told that his Leapster time had met it’s limit but he told me he was going to take some “quiet time” on the couch underneath his blanket. Hmmm, I wonder what he’s doing under there?

Growing Kids

Just a quick update on the kids …

Ava is growing slowly but changing immensely. She is now 18 months old and continues to get into and climb everything. She is not one for words (she has only about 5 – and that might be an exaggeration) but she is able to make her needs and desires known. My cousin recently said that having her around is like a little Curious George. She gets into everything and points and makes little monkey sounds when she wants something. While she doesn’t use words, her little sounds let you know if you’re hot or cold in meeting her needs.

Her doctor’s check-up revealed that she’s still quite petite with the exception of her head. She’s in the 5^th percentile for weight, 15^th percentile for height and the 94^th percentile for head circumference. Love the Rubalcava cabeza!

Ava loves to get dressed up but has an interesting sense of style. One of her favorite things is to get into Ethan’s underwear drawer and put on his underwear. Here she is in 4 pairs of Ethan’s underwear (which are on backwards) that have been pulled over her pj’s (which are scrunched underneath). Then she went and put on her hoodie and found me to help her zip it up at which point she wanted her shoes and was ready to go. What style girl!

Ethan finally had his first full dental appointment with a complete cleaning and x-rays and he did great! Not only did he have no cavities, but also he went right and did the whole appointment like he was Mr. Independent and knew just what to do. I wish I could say the same for his blood draw that we had to do afterwards. After I told him of our next stop he cried all the way there, screamed when they called his name to go back to the lab, and whimpered for about an hour afterwards. It was a “Serenity Now!” morning after the dentist.

First Dental Visit

We finally got Ethan in for his first dental check-up & I’m happy to say it went smoothly! I’m sure I’m not the only parent to worry about their kid freckin’ out about getting teeth cleaned, x-rays, etc. Ethan was a bit hesitant at first when they called his name to go back and I said I would wait in the waiting area. Until now all appointments have been with mom so the idea of leaving me behind took him a minute to digest. I have to admit it was a bit unnerving for me too … makes him seem so much more grown up to go in by himself. Luckily he came out smiling with a fun certificate, a gift bag and I was happy to hear NO cavities! A great experience for everyone. 

Green Mohawk for Ethan

When I told Ethan that his preschool was going to have a crazy hair day he immediately stated that he wanted a Mohawk. I didn’t realize this hairstyle was just hanging at the tip of his tongue just waiting for an opportunity to give it a try. We discussed other ideas but he was sold on the Mohawk and later added the desire for green. So, a green Mohawk is what he got and he was happy to wear it all day. I have to say that getting it to stick up was a pain. I should have googled what products regular Mohawk wearers’ use. 

January Snow

Snow in the Pacific Northwest can be very frustrating because it seems there is one snow plow for the entire region and they refuse to use salt or de-icer. So when it snows life comes to a screeching halt because it is so difficult to get around on the icy, snowy roads. While the rest of the country rushes to clear streets so that schools, commerce, and life in general can move forward as usual, we here in the greater Seattle area sit and wait for nature to take its course and take life a little slower for a bit. Over time I have come to appreciate this somewhat abnormal approach to snow as it allows us to stay home from work and school, hang out together, play in the snow, enjoy hot cocoa and take a few much needed afternoon naps!

This year Martin Luther King weekend welcomed in a huge snow fall. We started with some snow on Saturday and then woke Sunday to several inches and continued to get more throughout the week. We even had church canceled because of a power outage at the ward building. School ended up being canceled for the entire week for Ethan and Jairo. While Ava has seen snow before, this was the first time she really got to experience and play in it which was a low of fun to watch. I still made my way into work a few times and Jairo became the neighborhood driveway and sidewalk shovel man. We even made friends with some of our more “mature” neighbors who needed help with a few grocery runs. Sometimes it’s nice to have time to take life a little slower, help our neighbors and have fun playing!