Lelu's first Christmas

Experiencing Christmas with Luka and Lelu this year was so special and fun. Luka was definitely more into Santa and really seemed to believe in the whole thing. He asked Santa for a crane, transformer and a police car. Santa got him a 4 foot crane that he loves playing with. He especially loves the long rope and hook! Even though Lelu is only 5 months old she seemed to enjoy watching her older brother open all of the presents as quickly as he could and she also liked playing with the wrapping paper.

The kids' school was closed for a 1 1/2 weeks. Tajalli took off work to take care of the kids and Tim worked every day except Christmas and New Year's with busy year end. It was nice spending so much time with the kids. Lelu really changed a lot in that short amount of time. She found her voice and now likes to scream to get attention; she can roll over multiple times in a row from one corner of the room to the next; she can sit up on her own; she loves loves her jumper! She still smiles a lot and loves to meet new people. She got her first tea set for Hannukah and Luka and her love to play tea party together.

The weekend after Christmas, Tajalli & Lelu flew down to LA so Lelu could meet the rest of our family. She met Uncle Dario, Grandpa Pablo, Great Aunt Sue, Great Uncle Matt, and cousin's Colette & Sammy for the first time and got some more special time with Gogo Anna and Great Aunt Carol. Luka and Daddy had a special boys weekend at home.

We feel very blessed this holiday season for all of our family and friends in our lives. Here's to a great 2013! Sending lots of love your way. xxxooo

Lelu is 5 months old!

Yikes, it's been a while since I've posted something. Life has been extremely busy! Lelu is now 5 months old and at her four month check up she weighed 14.5 pounds. Tim and I think she's definitely gotten bigger given how much more chunky her legs look these days and how she's growing out of her clothes. Her new tricks involve, rolling over from both sides, spitting, and throwing her toys. She is a social butterfly and loves to smile all of the time. Sleep is still rough though since she's waking up 5-6 times a night. We're going to transition her to her own bedroom and crib next week once Tajalli is off work and will start some sleep training. Hopefully, that will go well and we'll all get more sleep!

We had a great Thanksgiving in Shreveport, LA. Lelu had a chance to meet so many of her cousins and her Great Grandma Shirley for the first time. Luka had a blast playing with all of his cousins too.

Things with Luka are getting better at school. There are no more melt downs at drop off and less behavioral issues during the day. Things are still rough at home, but we are trying lots of things to improve things for all of us. We're starting to plan his fourth birthday party which is just around the corner after the holidays. There are more lovely moments these days of seeing how Luka & Lelu interact. She just thinks he is the funniest person on earth and laughs and smiles at him constantly.

Wishing you a happy holidays! xxxooo

Halloween

Lelu just experienced her first Halloween in her super cute elephant costume. Luka was Spiderman of course, although he originally wanted to be Iron Man and changed his mind at the last minute. Luka's Preschool did their annual parade (see pics here) and it was great. If you haven't heard our horror story of what happened the night of Halloween, do call.

Lelu just started at Luka's Preschool yesterday and so far she is doing great. She is still fighting the bottle---only drinking one ounce/day, but I know it will get better. My Mom leaves to go back home tomorrow already! It is going to be hard not having her here, but we are so grateful for the time she's been able to give these last three weeks.

Adorable

Lelu is 3 months old

Lelu is now three months old. She is so interactive---constantly smiling and talking. She even recently slept 5 hours straight a couple nights. We're still working on that happening every night. :)

Mommy got to get her hair done after 6 months, thanks to Auntie Johannah watching Lelu. Both Johannah and Tim have been trying to give her the bottle and each time she is closer to latching on, but hasn't quite figured it out yet. Gogo Anna arrives this Saturday and will be taking care of her full-time until 11/1 since I go back to work on 10/15. On 11/1, Lelu will start going to Luka's Preschool full-time. I can't believe this is my last week home with Lelu. It has gone by so quickly and I'm trying to savor every last minute.

Lelu went to her first wedding this past weekend: Maggie & Taylor's. It was a beautiful celebration and Lelu was super cute in her dress.

Luka has consistently been doing well at school, especially with drop offs. He no longer is crying when we say good bye. We also just started not wearing pull ups at night time. So far he is 2 for 4. Off to a pretty good start.

Even with work starting, I'm hoping to still blog. We'll see how it goes...

Wisconsin Trip

We had such a great time visiting family & friends in Wisconsin. Lelu traveled like a champ and easily adjusted to the new time zone and sleep arrangements. Luka did great considering how long the traveling days were.

Some highlights: Having everyone meet Lelu for the first time; spending time with family & close friends; Tim going hunting for 4 days with his brother on his land; witnessing the coming of Fall; and Luka getting a personal tour of a fire station with Ma'ani and Jena. Here are some pics. I recently sent a bunch out via snapfish. I'm working on some video too.

I now just have two weeks at home with Lelu before I go back to work. It's going to be a hard adjustment, but having my Mom (Gogo Anna) come out for three weeks to care for Lelu before she starts at Luka's preschool 11/1 will be a great help.

Looks like Mommy?

Lelu seems to resemble me quite a bit when I was a baby. Check out these photos of when I was 6 weeks old!

I still see a lot of Tim in her too. So far her eyes are a beautiful blue. Luka's were blue/grey until they turned brown. Tim and I both have green eyes, so we'll see what happens.

Lelu and I went to Monterey for the night with Auntie Johannah for a short ladies road trip. It was nice and relaxing and Lelu did great in the car and at the hotel. It will be good preparation for our big Wisconsin trip next week. We can't wait to see everyone!

The other night she slept for 5 hours straight! That was the longest evening stretch to date. Usually when she first goes down its for 3-4 hours, then 2-3, etc. She is doing pretty great sleep wise for her age.

Here is a cute picture of Luka playing outside at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.