Pre-Holiday Wrap Up

Living in the desert has it's benefits. And a day so hot a jump in the pool sounds good in the middle of November is one of them. All the cousins were over to play this really fun game where they ride around a tennis court on their bikes, and Lindsay and I try to hit them with tennis balls. They got hot, and wanted to jump in the pool so I rounded up swim ware and they went running and jumped in without testing the water. Their screaming and Khloe's near-drowning experience due to being too cold to swim deterred Gabe. But he jumped in later and came out crying from the cold. Remember I said jumping in the pool sounded nice, not that it actually was a nice idea. Gabe continues to ADORE his cousins, and talks about them non-stop. Or maybe it's just that the talking is so non-stop I sometimes don't know if it's about the cousins or not. Seriously. non-stop talker this one. Just tonight they were trying to play a game with him but he wouldn't stop talking long enough for them to explain how it works.

Lucia is hilarious and I enjoy her so much. She's getting quite verbal. About two months ago she delighted us with her first word: tickuh = tickle. Yes, that was her first word. Her next words in order of arrival are: gieb (Gabe - she calls him non-stop throughout the day), no, and finally, ma. Yes, "ma" was her FORTH word. I'm only mildly insulted. Now she comes up to me and pats my legs and calls "ma" and expects to be picked up immediately. If not, she lets out a shriek. Not a yell, not a cry, a true glass-breaking shriek. I don't really know what to do about it, so I just pick her up. I'm creating a monster here, I know.

But she's funny and adorable and generally content and good-natured most of the time. She likes to suck on toothbrushes, pull all the toilet paper off the role, climb up the stairs but not down, and will eat anything, including the German cabbage dish that my family makes for Thanksgiving. She goes to bed easily but doesn't stay asleep so well. She pulls the bows/flowers out of her hair and then looks at me and says "no no no no". Does she think the flower is called "no no no no" Is she confused that it is supposed to stay in as adornment?

Misty, Ashley and I took the kids to Bass Pro Shop where they had free pictures with Santa and Christmas crafts. Fun afternoon, and we didn't have to buy anything (nor was I tempted!)

Gabe goes to a Lutheran preschool. At first, Mario and I were a little worried about indoctrination taking place that was not inline with our beliefs. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I love that at shool he talks about doing what Jesus wants him to do every single day, that he learns new bible stories, that he prays before snack time, and that their Christmas pageant was not about Santa or snow, or reindeer or anything secular, but was a Christmas party for Jesus, where they learned the cutest songs to go with the theme: "Jesus is my Best-est Friend". The program was adorable and surprisingly, Gabe stood on stage and sang every word to every song and was great. We totally thought he would see us and come running off the stage, as he remains VERY attached to us and afraid of new people/situations. But he didn't, and we were thrilled.

Gabe, as part of his complete adoration of his cousins, is obsessed with being a cowboy. He plays with horses and cows all day long and makes them corrals our of whatever is available. He tells me "mom, be nice to me because I'm a cowboy." I respond, "Gabe, I'll be nice to you because I love you." His English is amazing - he's totally caught up with other kids his age, and now we're worried about reinforcing Spanish at home. A few funny things he says: Mom, I wanna "moshu" something, instead of "show you" something. I'm not sure if it's just like dyslexia, or if he's confusing show and monstrar, the Spanish equivalent. But I don't correct him because I think it's cute. Also, when we finish a book instead of saying "the end" he says "bien" hey, it almost sounds the same, easy to confuse.

Lucia looooooooooooves her blankie. When she first gets it after not having it she shoves it in her mouth and does a little dance of joy. Then she grabs it with her right hand while her left thumb gets popped into her mouth. I'm sure there are a thousand other little things I want to remember about my kids right now, but of course I don't remember them when I have time to sit down and blog. But they are funny and smart and totally challenge me every single day.

Mario continues to win all of his tennis league games, study a ton, and sneak in a golf game when he can. I participated in my first Black Friday shopping spree and loved it. I got pretty much all my holiday shopping done and now am free to enjoy the month of Christmas parties, concerts, lights, etc. Saturday we hiked to "hole in the rock" and are excited to enjoy the outdoors beforethe heat drives us in again. We're thinking a trip to Havasupi in the Grand Canyon is in order in May. Want to join us?