Y-M-C-A

On Friday morning the kids and I finally made it up to Kindergym at the Y. They have a great little room filled with fun things for toddlers and we also got to enjoy circle time where we sang the PC Berkeley kids songs. (You know the ones, where the children on the bus laugh AH HA HA and the parents on the bus say I LOVE YOU.) No crying or shushing on the Berkeley bus, that's for sure. Luckily I was already aware of these altered lyrics from swim class, so I didn't embarrass myself by...say...reciting the last part of the Lord's Prayer in the really loudly in a Catholic church. Come on, all you Lutherans know what I am talking about.

Anyway, back to the Y.

Nikos enjoys climbing in the train. "Look mama, I'm in the monorail train."

Yes, monorail train. Lately he's more into the Chuggington cartoon on the Disney channel than Thomas. Shh...don't tell anyone at the Y that I let my kid watch tv. While you're at it don't mention that I'm not breastfeeding my 2.5 year old or implementing the whole family bed thing...they might kick me out of Berkeley.

This is a horrible picture, but was a pretty cool gym toy thing. (What do you call these things? Apparatus?) You catapult your body through those two little cylindrical things that look like they are a part of a carwash and then down a slide. Looked super fun to me.

This class is supposed to be for "Crawlers through 36 months", well, my little Sitter (aka Non-Crawler) seemed to do just fine.

The kids sat on the parachute and we sang Twinkle Twinkle and a few others and towed them around. It was cute. I like how Nikos is paying attention to Olive to make sure she is okay. He kept telling the big kids to be careful because she was a baby. Which was good I think, since the other kids probably assumed she would just CRAWL out of the way, when in fact, not the case. Ha!

Nikos climbing the little jungle gym and Olive...well, you know...sitting.

I didn't get any shots of Nikos in the jumpy house since I was busy hovering on the side making sure he didn't clothesline the little girls that were daintily jumping while he was zooming around like a little cyclone. Mel - you will be happy to know that this time when I wanted to get him out of the jumpy house I did not yell "I'VE GOT RITZ" but instead very calmly said "Do you wanna go to Starbucks for hot chocolate?" You should have seen the look I got from the other Berkeley moms for that one. Ha!

Warning - Huge Dork Alert

Twice a year, thanks to our fabulous husbands who watch the kids, Mel and I sneak off to scrapbook for a weekend. I know, we're dorks. The way it works is we hole up in a hotel in luxurious Fremont (insert sarcasm here for those not familiar with the Bay Area) and we basically gossip, eat junk food and scrapbook from Friday until Sunday. The weekend is organized by a woman so we really don't have to do anything except eat the food and have fun. We have a fabulous time, staying up late, sleeping in, oh and actually scrapbooking too.

In order to prove that we did more than eat/sleep/get massages/go in the hot tub/enjoy (free) cooked breakfasts - here are a few of the pages I did. I'm working on Nikos' 1st year album while Mel is working on Kira's.

And here's a cute shot that Taki sent me of the kids while I was away. They went for a walk in the single stroller (we've been using the double) and Nikos got to try out the little step for the first time. Apparently it (the addition of the step to the stroller) was a little hard for Taki to maneuver...this could be the reason I bought it for such a reasonable price on Craigslist. Ha! I'll have to try it out and see how it works for me.

Post Plagurizing

Last night Method helped sponsor a free sneak preview of the new movie When in Rome. I was super excited to go since a) I LOVE going to the movies and b) it made me feel like I was still in college since we used to get free tix for screenings all the time. Anyway, since we are not still in college and in fact had two kids to ditch, we asked Sarah to babysit. Here's a fun little post of her night with three kids.

Couch Cuddles

Just some cute pics of the kids from a week or so ago. Obviously Taki dressed Nikos but I'm claiming Olive.

7 More Inches and She Can Ride the Matterhorn

I'm finally getting around to posting Olive's 9 month checkup results. First things first, she actually didn't get in there until she was 10 months (and 10 days old) - of course, Nikos was 10 months as well so at least we were consistent.

First for the photos.

That's it. What? I know. I'll give you one guess as to which parent took her to the doctor.

And now for the stats:
Weight: 17 lbs and 10%
Height: 28 inches and 50%

And now for the fun comparisons:

Nikos at 10 months. Weight: 15lbs 10.3oz and just below 5% Height: 27.5 inches and 10%.

And for more fun comparisons I cruised a couple of my friends' blogs that have children roughly around the same age and discovered:

At 9.5 months the Stecher twins weighed in at 19lbs for Tessa and 18lbs, 4oz for Annie.
At 6 months the Press (Slinger) twins weighed in at 16.5lbs for Trevor and 15lbs for Dylan.

Looks like I just make 'em small! (And apparently lazy too if you check out the Stecher twins - hee hee!)

Olive Scores a Pony

What? How did this happen? Did you think you were looking at Brookie for a second? I did.

I mean, I know it is still a little bootleg, but I totally got a kick out of it.

Sunday in Monterey

Last weekend we braved the rain and headed down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Taki's mom. Linda got us annual passes to the aquarium this year so we want to try and get in as many visits as possible!

While the jellyfish exhibit has officially ended, they still have some impressive displays.

Olive, looking suitably unimpressed.

Nikos in September 2008 - a little more impressed - of course, he was also 5 months older than Olive is now.

Back to the present - Nikos with a school of fish behind him (I really need to read the camera manual!)

Olive did enjoy the new seahorse exhibit. She kept following them around with her finger.

In one of the hands-on areas the kids play with whale tails.

Nikos practiced with one of those rubbing things (not sure what they are called?) of a humpback whale.

Nikos loooved this "inside the wave" vantagepoint while Olive wasn't so sure.

N&O in the clam shell.

Flashback - cousins in the clam shell in September '08. Kira is the same age in this shot as Olive is now. (Apparently the age is big is transfixed by the shell itself and unable to tear their gaze away for a photo.)

Nikos playing inside in the kids water section.

Family shot with Nikos giving the camera the stank eye. My arm is soaking wet from holding him - we let him go a little crazy in the water play area (figuring it was raining so he was bound to get wet anyway.) Luckily we had a change of clothes for both kids in the car. Next time I will bring one for me as well.

So people are always telling people that Olive looks exactly like me, which I don't really get that much. I basically think it is because Olive has dark hair, added to the fact that Nikos doesn't really look like me. But I see it in this shot - fun!

On the way to the car I saw this cute little stone bench and wanted to take the kids photos on it. First I took some of Nikos and then I plopped Olive down and asked Nikos to sit next to her and watch her in case she wanted to jump. Well - we are in swim lessons again where we are practicing Nikos jumping into the pool and he also jumps off his changing table ever time we change him (into our arms) and we catch him. So after I tell him that he should watch her in case she wants to jump he immediately jumps off the bench (the shot below catches him mid-action) and kneels in front of her with his arms out and says "Jump, jump. I'll catch you Olive. Don't be scared." SO CUTE!

It was much cuter than when, at the end of the two hour drive home, he smacked her in the head with one of the Yo Gabba characters that always seem to be littering the car.

A New Baby!

A few weeks ago the kids and I drove up to Sacramento with Sarah and Marco to meet Jack Woods new little brother, Stenn. It was so fun to get all of the kids together. Jack is a few weeks younger than Nikos. I only got a few photos...

Representing the girls.

Adorable Stenn!

Olive and Jack

The pathetic attempt at a group picture. Marco, Nikos and Olive, Jack and look in the corner for Stenn!

So fun. I'm hoping we can visit again soon and hit up the Art Beast place Gina has blogged about!

10 Months

January 11th marked Olive's 10 months! You'll have to forgive the fact that she is still sporting her Santa pjs - it seems like laundry is a full time job in this house (I can't begin to imagine the Stecher house!)

For the most part, Olive is a happy little bug. She is totally into her brother and loves to watch whatever he is doing. If she's ever crying she'll stop immediately if Nikos sings her the ABCD's (as he calls the song.) She is a great little eater and is a champ sleeping through the night. We put her down *awake* between 6:30-7:00 and she usually gets up around 5:00 and then back down again until around 8:00. She is still taking two long naps during the day as well. No progress yet on crawling or standing, she seems to be content just playing with the toys around her. I am perfectly fine with this pace as I think its a lot easier than what comes next!

I thought I'd throw in some shots of Nikos from the night of Olive's 10 month photo shoot. He was busy in his room playing with his train table.

Check out the upside down bridge - not quite sure how Shamu ended up in it.

Final Inspection... Passed

The city inspector came by today for our final inspection. We passed. That means the city of Berkeley says our remodel is complete. I'm sure Heather will see it differently.

...can't fight city hall. Is that a golf weekend I see on the horizon?

All About Olive ('s Hair)

Paparazzi and Resolutions

Last week Nikos walked into the room, spotted Olive playing on the carpet and yelled "Momma, I'm gonna hold Olive, take a picture." Ha!

And now, without further adieu, the Romios family Resolutions for Twenty Ten.

Taki
Finish the Greek cd - here he is referring to the Rosetta Stone software (I know you've seen it at the mall kiosks!) that my parents got us (at our request) a few Christmases ago. I am hoping this bodes well for the trip I want to take to Greece in 2012. Twenty Twelve people.

And that's all I got. What? He has to "think about it". And keep in mind, I am writing this post on January 18th, it's not like I am demanding a bunch of answers from him on the 1st day of the year. Hmph.

Heather
Exercise more - here's something original. Of course, keeping in mind that the last time I really exercised (besides walking) was Memorial Day weekend 2008 in Tahoe with the D'Angelo's, "more" should be a piece of cake. In fact, during the Memorial Day workout, I distinctly remember telling Katie "Before I get pregnant again I want to start working out so I can be back to my pre-baby weight with Nikos. In fact, I want to try and work out throughout the pregnancy since I didn't do that with Nikos." HA! For those keeping up, I was pregnant about 10 days later. Damn drinks in Aruba.

Have more date nights - we've resumed the babysitting swap with our neighbors and have already gone on one dinner and movie date on a weeknight. Wahoo! PS - I am sure this one dovetails with the "Save Money" one that Taki wanted to say out loud but didn't because he knows I would give him "the look".

Keep traveling (with and without the kids) - coming off a year that included a maternity leave (and especially this last one!) is going to be a tough act to follow. We drug those kids everywhere! While this year won't be as packed, we do still already have some plans in the works including Spring Training in AZ in March and Palm Springs for Thanksgiving. Also on the horizon is a five year anniversary trip (for just Taki and I) that is currently in the planning stages. Of course, my planning stage involves Costa Rica and Taki's planning stage probably involves somewhere MUCH more local, so you'll have to stay tuned to see how this one turns out.

Purge some of our stuff - I mean, even though our house grew a 207 square feet in 2007, it is still tiny. Enough said.

Run a marathon - did you just do a double take and think you accidentally popped over to Katie's blog? Yes, I am going to attempt to run the Rock n Roll Marathon in Seattle with Mel on June 26th. Yes, I've done my research. Apparently a few of the keys to accomplishing your resolutions is have a partner in them (check) and make them public (check.) We'll see.

That's all for now. I'll make sure to keep you posted (get it, posted, ha ha!) if Taki comes up with any more.

A Good Start to the New Year

On New Year's Day we took the kids to the park - at Niko's request we went to the "Two Thomas's Park" which is what he calls Totland since they have two Thomas the train toys - obviously.

Olive enjoyed the swings



Nikos monopolized one of the two Thomas's.

And Olive explored some other toys and the sandbox.