The Life and Times of Both Sprogs 1 and 2

The Kids Love The Black Eyed Peas

2009-11-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

The kids love music and this is the best dance movie they have made so far. Pay special attention to Lorenzo, he is super cute.

Lorenzo's First Professional Haircut

2009-11-11T21:05:00.000-08:00

Lorenzo was looking scruffy after about 5 mommy haircuts. I have tried to cut his hair in the bathtub, in the highchair, while he is having a bottle and in a few other strange places. Today we finally decided to get him in a hair chair.

The little guy did really well, I had to bribe him to stay still with mints but all in all they were quick and the process was painless.

He looks very handsome and more like a little man than a baby.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is little Lorenzo dresses as a monkey. We went to the local mall where there were tons of activities for the kids, music, balloons, etc... it was a crazy zoo. We decided never again.

Thank you Francesca for taking this photo of Veronica and I. Most of the time I am behind he camera and not in front of it.

Here are are as a family, both kids were happy to dress up in their costumes. On the downside, today we found out Veronica has a phobia of masks and painted faces. She was very nervous the entire night until we got to the kids' play area, then she relaxed.

This is Veronica with her good friend Matilda. They are both going skiing this winter together.

2 and 3 year old Check-ups

2009-10-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today the kids went to the pediatrician for their 2 and 3 year check ups. Both were fully vaccinated but still needed flu shots for this season. Lorenzo saw the needle coming and looked straight at it while saying 'pokey, pokey'. The nurses assistant was super quick and all he did was take a breath and it was over. I turned Veronica's face away from the injection but she felt the prick and cried a bit but was quick to compose herself after a hug and kiss.

After the shots, we got the kids dressed and Lorenzo had to have his finger pricked and bled for a small blood sample to test his platelets. When they pricked his finger with the lancet, he said 'pokey, pokey' again but did not complain at all when they bled is finger, which took about 2 minutes. I wonder if he is the type of kid who will end up walking around with broken bones from sports accidents and not even know it.

My strange son, has a total obsession with scrub brushes, pine cones, leaves, brooms and mops. Either he loves the rough texture of these items or he will grow up to be one helluva great maintenance man.

Whenever Demetrio comes home early he puts Lorenzo to bed. The little guy is getting so tall, 34 inches, 86 cm, that he is almost too long for the changing table and our laps. He is 30 pounds and 13.6 kilos.

Veronica weighed in at 35 pounds, 16 kilos, and 39 inches, 99 cm. She is growing well and above average in height and weight. No wonder I have to go to the chiropractor every week.

Lorenzo as a Chicken Little

2009-10-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

No, this is not Lorenzo's Halloween costume. It is much too small for him. We were graciously invited to to Karen's and Sophia's house for a play date last week and Karen happened to have some costumes for the kids to try on. Lorenzo loved this one and makes a very fine chicken if I do say so myself. The kids played, danced around and had a great time. His real costume will be that of a monkey, more photos to follow in a week or so.

I guess this is the little guy being a shy or coy chicken, too cute for words!

Indie's Birthday

2009-10-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Veronica and Lorenzo were invited to a friends' birthday this past w-e. Indie is an old friend of Veronica, she just adores him. They had a race car themed party with all the works. Both kids painted race cars and got to race them on a real hobby track.

Here Veronica is waiting to see if her car finishes first.

Just look at those cars go!!!!

Of all the fun things Lorenzo could have been doing at the party, he fixated himself on a piece of sandpaper that we used to sand the toy cars. He carried it around with him for two hours before taking it home. Such a boy.

I adore this photo of Veronica, she is having so much fun with the balloons that is oblivious to me taking her photo. She is too cute for words here!

Crib Tent

2009-10-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Lorenzo has crawled out of this bed two times in the past two days. I was not about to let him do it again the third time and so I ran, not walked, to a local kids' store to pick up this crib tent. It has a very sturdy and intelligent design. Lorenzo took to it right away with no fussing at all. He calls his bed his 'tent' and heads right to bed at night. Naps however are becoming more and more scarce.

Lorenzo's Art

2009-10-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Lorenzo is an artsy type of guy. He sings, he dances and loves to draw. When we are stuck inside, I tape a large piece of paper to the floor and let the kids draw, stamp and color away.

Lorenzo is ambidextrous like his mamma and can draw and color with both hands.

He loves copying Veronica and plays with her big girl color pencils when he can.

These triangular crayons are great for chubby little fingers. So far the little guy only scribbles but they are beautiful nonetheless.

V's Birthday!!!

2009-10-08T19:51:00.001-07:00

Veronica woke up on October 8th and was very excited. She knew it was her birthday. We decorated the house with Elmo streamers, balloons and "Happy Birthday" banner.

She got a new Elmo helmet and a little cooking set from mom and dad. All her aunties called her to say "Happy Birthday" as well.

Lorenzo got a baking set too and he started to use it right away. He placed little scoops of his breakfast (oatmeal) into the little mini muffin cups.

Deme came home extra early so we could all have dinner together. Vero was super excited to sit at the table with mom and dad. I prepared all her favorite foods ala carte.

Yummy, a primi of spaghetti!

Secondi was steamed broccoli, sauteed mushrooms and rib eye steak.

We ended the night with cupcakes and candles. yummy!

Lorenzo clearly likes his cupcake.

Veronica loved her birthday and got a free book at school too. I really cannot believe I have a 3 year old! Time really flies.

Kids on Cell Phones

2009-10-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is a super cute 2 minute video of the kids. Veronica and Lorenzo love chatting on the cell phone. Listen closely and for these gems:
Veronica says "I don't want to talk about that." when asked what she wants for her birthday meal. Lorenzo can't say Lorenzo but he can say "D'Ambrosi bye." I think he is just imitating Veronica when she says "This is Veronica Chiu D'Ambrosi, bye." They crack me up, ha ha.

Little Monkeys

2009-10-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

Both kids now freely crawl in and out of one another's beds. They actually love to play in there and hang out by themselves once in a while.

Little Man

2009-10-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Lorenzo is such a little man now. He looks like a 3 or 4 year old.

Yucky Things I do now that I am a Mother

2009-09-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

For about 3 months, since summer began and has now gone, I began to think about all the yucky and gross things I do since becoming a mother of two. Even having been a nanny for 14 years, having taken care of 9 families with over 19 kids (and their friends too), being a mom now has caused me to sink to new lows.

I pride myself on being ready, prepared and having thought of all and any disaster that might occur while my children and I are out and about town. Mostly this necessary ability comes from my experience as a big sister of 5, a mentor in schools, a teacher’s assistant and of course as a nanny.

Partly, I find myself needing to be altogether equipped for everything under the sun because of the low level of anxiety that rules my life. My station wagon is filled to the brim with ‘just in case’ items like umbrellas, potty toppers, and extra clothes as well as must have items like a portable toilet, first aid kit and hand sanitizer. (Don’t make me list everything, you will be appalled.) The lows I spoke of earlier usually happen when for some reason I am in a hurry and not adequately prepared or through no fault of my own.

Oftentimes as I am getting ready to do laundry I check my pockets, because that is what you do before you do laundry. Before kids, I would regularly find lost lipstick, lip gloss, money, coins, pens or to-do notes; after kids my pockets are filled with such a potpourri of junk you cannot imagine. I personally despise having to accumulate all this crap, most of the time my butt looks bigger as things collect in my back pockets.

Why do I stockpile garbage in my pocket?

I habitually gather junk to keep in my pockets because I have toddler who loves to put nasty things into his mouth. I try very, very hard to keep crap away from his little hands and mouth but most of the time, I just cannot. He is the sort of child who will find a lollipop stick in a sandbox and place it in his mouth, if I bury it I am sure to turn around 3 minutes later to him having found it. Today he found an old hair tie and almost licked it. Yesterday it was a used Popsicle stick; tomorrow it might be a cigarette butt. For now my pockets are gross repositories for stuff I did not get a chance to throw out.

This summer I actually found myself drinking from the kids’ water bottle. 99 percent of the time I am prepared as we head outdoors. This summer the weather was picture perfect from June to September. Always pensive about whether the kids are hydrated I often forget to think about myself. Getting out of our house in a timely fashion has always been a challenge; once in a while I find myself forgetting this and that. This summer I forgot water for myself more times that I can imagine and have had to resort to drinking, Starbucks-Madeleine-enhanced icky-water bottles. What is super gross is that I longer think twice about it.

There is no doubt that being a mother has changed my molecular structure. It seems as if my genetic code has been revamped. I can get by with much less sleep than before, interrupted sleep too. My ears have become almost bat-like in that I can hear a pin drop in the kids’ room. (Mostly I am listening for strange breathing sounds or coughs.) I can fix a meal, with all the food groups incorporated, in less than 10 minutes. Multi-tasking is not an ability it is a full-blown, hard-wired instinct now.

There is not a day that goes by in which I am not thinking about:

-how to get the kids some exercise
-am I giving them enough protein and veggies vs. fruit and dairy
-have I read at least 5 books to both kids today
-did they have a bath last night
-did I give both kids special time alone with me and special attention
-did I tell both kids they were wonderful and I love them
-what new park can we visit this week
-are tic tacs really candy?
-and the list goes on and on …

Good Friends

2009-09-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Veronica and Lorenzo have so many good friends. I love how they play together, laugh, share, argue then work it out. Last night we (all 6 families and 8 kids) went out to play at a park then to dinner. The kids did wonderfully, they were all so well behaved. What fun!

Veronica is growing out of the double stroller, she prefers to walk most of the time. Whenever we go out with friends, she is more than willing to share her stroller seat. What a generous girl.

New Photos for September

2009-09-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had lunch with auntie Kentra and auntie Gia and Paul. We went to eat dim sum which is one of Veronica's favorite things to eat, after sushi. She loves the sticky rice and all the other little delicious tidbits. When I gave Lorenzo a shrimp and chive dumpling, he went mad for it.

Veronica got her haircut this past weekend so she could look spiffy for her first day at school on Thursday. She was a great little sport about it and behaved really well.

Auntie Gia came over the next night and helped Lorenzo get into his pajamas. This is the aftermath of her help.

No we did not let him go to bed with his Speedo on.

Veronica sings the ABC's

2009-08-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

She has known her ABC's for about a year and loves to sing this song whenever she gets the chance.

Lorenzo Shows off his Manly Side

2009-08-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is Lorenzo with one of his favorite things in the whole world, his broom. We have to prop it up next to his bed at night so we can see it when he goes to bed. Here he is modeling his fire engine bathrobe.

Here our little guy is showing off is physique, a side view, just look at those pecs!

Blueberry Picking and Eating

2009-08-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

We went to the blueberry farm yesterday located at the Mercer Slough. It was hot and muggy outside but it was not raining. When no rain falls then we head outside to do all the fun things there are to do in the greater Seattle area. This was a cute blueberry farm, organic and with its own vegetable stand too. We picked about 1.5 pound of blueberries at $1.25 a pound, the kids and I plan to make some muffins soon.

Veronica finds a yummy berry and offers it to her brother.

I could not tear this guy away from the bushes, he ate a ton of berries but also had a great time looking at spiders, leaves and smelling just cut grass.

Veronica is showing off the fresh raspberries from our garden. I planted 4 raspberry plants and 2 blackberry. The golden raspberries are wonderful with a hint of pineapple and mango while the red berries are sweet and full flavored. I have picked 2 pints so far and that's about $10 worth. My plants will produce their worth this year and next year we will have enough to share with friends.

Veronica and Lorenzo go to the Dentist

2009-08-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

Veronica and Lorenzo went to the dentist yesterday. Both have great teeth and healthy gums. Lorenzo grinds his teeth and night and has chipped 4 of his front teeth this way but it is nothing serious. He should outgrow this habit when his permanent teeth come in. Veronica sat in the 'big girl' teeth cleaning chair. She got a bib, sunglasses and her choice of toothpaste. She chose bubblegum. She did great and was not afraid at all, the next time we come to see Dr. Wong, Veronica has to have X-rays taken of her teeth.

Our Stroller Collection

2009-08-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

Most people that know us somewhat intimately know we have a two car garage. We park no cars in our garage; instead it houses our stroller collection. This is not something we are proud of since it costs us money to rent 2 parking spaces from other tenants in our building. We leave our cars out in the open which has resulted in 2 break ins, in 14 months. No, I would not say filling your garage up to capacity, leaving no room for cars, is a bright idea.

You might be interested a play-by-play account of how our stroller collection came to be, so here it is. When Veronica was born we got her the French version of a Bugaboo. It is a multi-stage, multi-purpose stroller with three attachments, shock absorbers, and all the bells and whistles that are supposed to grow with you r child from ages 0 to 5 years. We placed all our money on this “Rolls Royce” of strollers and thought we were done. Shortly after our little princess was born, we relocated back to the US and found out I was pregnant with another baby so we picked up an umbrella stroller because it was lighter and easier to move in and out of the car and did not hit me in the belly all the time.

Stroller count 2.

My husband is someone who likes to have “things” he needs on hand. Much too much of his time is spent looking for said ‘things’ so to curb the time spent, he purchases multiples. Did I mention we have 14 hammers? Demetrio decided he also wants an umbrella stroller and car seat for his car ‘in case’.

Kid count 1, Car seat count 2, stroller count 3.

When little Lorenzo arrived we bought an infant car seat and it came with one of those car seat snap-in “you-never-have-to-wake-baby-up-to-take-him-out-of-the-car-seat-when-you-go-out” frame strollers. This invention is absolute genius. Since my mom was here for 4 months to help with the new baby, she pushed Veronica in a single stroller and I pushed Lorenzo in the snap-in stroller. All is well for a while.

Kid count 2, car seat count 3, stroller count 4.

After mom leaves, I have no one to push Veronica is the single and have to buy a front to back double stroller that allows the little guy to lie down flat since he cannot sit upright yet. I poured over Craigslist ads until I found an ugly (a nautical themed) stroller in good condition for $25. I went to take a look at it and bought it immediately.

Stroller count 5.

We used the double on vacation to Guam for 6 weeks and when we got back Lorenzo could sit up. This is when we decided to spend some money on a super light side-by-side umbrella stroller. This stroller is a Godsend and still with us today, 1.5 years later I use it 24/7 and keep in my car at all times. I would say it is the best stroller purchase we made.

Stroller count 6.

Now comes the really sick, sick part of the story. We live in a hilly city and the light umbrella stroller does not do well on hills and rough terrain. We bought a double side-by-side all terrain stroller and 1 year later on a whim Demetrio got a double jogging stroller, second hand, thinking he was going to go jogging with the kids.

Stroller count 8.

Yes this sounds unwarranted and extreme, we know. We agree with you and can see you shaking your heads and clasping your hand over your mouths. We are consumers in the worst sense of the word. You might be happy to know though that we have donated the double front to back stroller, given the car seat and snap in frame stroller as well as a single umbrella stroller to my sister who had a baby 5 months ago, and loaned a single umbrella to a friend.

Stroller count down to 4 now. We use the double umbrella constantly and we use the double all terrain weekly, I have begun to use the double jogger 1-2 times a week and plan to use the ‘Rolls Royce’ single stroller with Lorenzo when Veronica is at school. Now that is my story and I am sticking to it.

Fun Photos From August '09

2009-08-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Lorenzo loves being roughly handled. He likes being hugged, cuddles, grabbed, tickled, thrown up in the air, tugged on, wrestled with, all in all he likes it rough.

Veronica is ready for school and she begs everyday to try on her new school clothes. She can't wait to go to school and pick out her outfits for Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Lorenzo has a great time at the Imagine Childrens' Museum in Everett. They have a construction room that he just loves.

Veronica sits on a vintage tractor.

This the the last photo we have of the Lorenzo and our Italian family. Lorenzo and Veronica had a great time with them and we cannot wait to see them again.

Lorenzo Runs

2009-08-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Lorenzo is really getting good on his feet. He is walking and running very well. His balance and composure really have matured. Our little man is growing up. If only he will stop putting peas up his nose.

She Usually Lands on Her Feet 1

2009-08-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

We went for a really nice walk today in Juanita, the kids ate blackberries, we saw 2 herons and played hide and seek in the branches of willow tree. Veronica did a lot of jumping today, we are considering getting her a trampoline for Christmas.

She Usually Lands on Her Feet 2

2009-08-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

More Veronica jumping, great form don't you think?