Weekly Diary – January 28 2012

This was another hectic week but I am grateful that everything went smoothly in the end. David had a trip to the San Francisco Symphony with his class which he enjoyed very much. He had no school Friday (and none Monday this coming week either) due to conferences. His report card came and he’s doing wonderfully. Reading at a third/fourth grade level in first grade. Overall everything was great and we’re so proud of him and grateful that he’s settling in ok to his new school. Nathaniel’s school did colors and shapes all week but he’s still not so great on his colors. He is however enjoying every minute of school for which I am very grateful. Jake had a fantastic week with new clients, meetings, social events, etc. I went to class on Monday and a parenting speech on Tuesday. Work and David’s school on Friday and had to do a bunch of prep for work as well as my trip to Orange County. I am at the Craft and Hobby Association Convention as you read this. If you’re coming there, make sure to visit me at the Maya Road booth.

I will say that I am grateful this week is over. And I look forward to a less hectic (but also stressful) week next week.

Anyhow, here are some highlights from last week:

Nathaniel loves this truck.

And gets in on it and pushes himself when there’s no one to do it for him.

I was trying to take a photo of David reading but each time Nathaniel sees me taking a photo of anyone but him, he runs right over and poses. So he interrupted this one, too.

but I squeezed a photo anyway.

Jake got the kids some footballs.

I love this photo because this is such a typical “I didn’t get my way” look for Nathaniel.

he’s still really into the fireman hat.

I got so few photos of David this week that I was sad.

but I did get a few of them together.

I love this one.

Nathaniel surrounds himself with his toys as he plays. He’s so much like me.

though much happier than I was as a kid.

showing me the funny faces and laughing and laughing.

love this boy.

he plays with david’s didj when david’s at school. he likes to invent his own sounds.

we just put batteries in this old train. He doesn’t like it to move but he does love the music it makes.

another one of my big boy.

showing some toys to daddy.

nathaniel loves playing peek-a-boo with my mom and dad over skype.

boy one.

and boy two.

david had to bring a teddy to school on Thursday and when he came home he wanted to sleep with it. At night I caught him reading to his teddy.

and here we go. Another wonderful week gone. So grateful for my family. Here’s to a great week next week!

Weekly Diary is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here.

January 28, 2012 | Family, Weekly Diary 2012 | 2 comments

Weekly Diary – January 21 2012

A lot of photos this week and they don’t even cover all the craziness of this week. I am guessing it’s more than usual because Monday was a holiday. Each week I fret I am not taking enough photos and then I end up with too many!! Nathaniel’s school is covering colors and shapes this week but he still doesn’t have them down much. I would worry but I am determined to worry less this year. He’s been a joy to have around. He loves wearing his fireman hat and making “bad guys” out of legos and shooting other legos or people. He’s been playing by himself and entertaining himself quite a bit. Still demanding and getting more and more vocal. David’s also doing great. He’s got a really good best friend at school who came over for a playdate this week and it was wonderful seeing how much they like each other. I am so grateful he adjusted to his school wonderfully. Besides reading and writing and chores, he likes to spend time on the lego gallery so he can look at the kinds of things other people built with legos.

Jake’s work is going well, too and I he is maybe finally recovering from being sick for so long. And I’ve had a busy but great week. I had book club (The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet) and I got to go to Cirque de Soleil Michael Jackson. Both were awesome. I also had to move the site over which sucked but now it’s so so much better.

This weekend is going to be a quiet one. I just plan to be with the kids and work on my savor project and maybe art journal a bit. I’ve been not so great at keeping up with the art journaling lately so I want to see if I can change things up a bit.

Anyhow, here are some highlights from last week:

Nathaniel glueing our letters down.

David working on his book of good memories.

David got this circuit set for Christmas and loves playing with it.

And I love those blue eyes.

Nathaniel found this old old minibook I made and went through all the pages, naming all the letters.

Big boy building cool things.

little boy watching.

nathaniel coloring his letters.

my funny boy.

who always makes me laugh.

more circuit fun.

nathaniel invented his own game with them too.

And then they played together.

when it was time to put stuff away nathaniel was not happy.

but as he always does, he got over it.

and then we took some shots with the hat.

i just love these.

and couldn’t pick one favorite.

cause i love them all.

here is the bad guy lego shooting me.

playing with daddy.

who loves him so so much.

we now take photos right after Nathaniel wakes up from a nap. so we get some of these.

but we still do tickle time!

here’s david and his friend playing and Nathaniel playing with them. they we very kind to nathaniel.

they all made art. when i took a photo of the two boys, nathaniel wanted a photo with his photo too!

and here we go. Another wonderful week gone. Here’s to a great week next week!

Weekly Diary is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here.

January 21, 2012 | Family, Us Right Now, Weekly Diary 2012 | 2 comments

Weekly Diary – January 14 2012

This was a crazy week. I had five appointments on top of my crazy work and assignments for CHA. But it all worked out. I dyed my roots, got my teeth cleaned, went to book club, etc. etc. I still managed to get all my CHA work done and did a lot of work at work, too. Jake helped out a lot so I could run around like crazy and get stuff done and I am grateful for that. The kids were doing great, too. David had a full week at school and is loving his afterschool lego class and his swimming class. He seems to be doing great socially too and I am very proud of him for being a kind boy. Nathaniel’s loving being back at school, too. He decided (or David told him) one of the lego man is “bad guy” so we call him that, now. And he’ll occasionally shoot the bad guy and bad guy will be dead. They both like shooting each other and playing dead (especially the falling to the ground part.) He’s also working on going to the bathroom, now. He likes to sit there for a long time but today we actually made progress which was great. All in all, quite a busy but lovely week for us.

Anyhow, here are some highlights from last week:

Nathaniel’s been really enjoying playing with legos lately. Building things and making noises. I love how he smiles when he knows I’m taking a photo.

David watching Harry Potter.

Nathaniel “driving” his creation.

And, of course, wanting to watch the movie with David.

I can never have enough of those eyes.

even when he makes the faces.

little boy posing for me.

and this is what he looks like most of the time.

i told him no blankie in the photo. he smiled.

he’s been loving the binoculars too.

even when he uses them the wrong way.

I love this photo. He loves being able to put his hands in his pockets.

he thinks it’s so super fun.

And I especially love when they conspire and play together.

more of my blue-eyed boy.

Nathaniel still loves getting inside this box.

more playing together. Legos are just the best toys ever.

and some fun family photos. a lot of laughter.

So very very grateful for my family.

and here we go. Another wonderful week gone. Here’s to a great week next week!

Weekly Diary is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here.

January 14, 2012 | Family, Weekly Diary 2012 | 2 comments

Weekly Diary – January 7 2012

Our first week of the year was relatively hectic. David went back to school and Jake went back to work. I hit the ground running on work, too. Nathaniel was home for one more week. The boys are growing up so fast. Nathaniel is becoming more and more vocal and insistent and difficult. He likes to put a teen after all the numbers. So it’s not four but fourteen (even if it’s 4) and then fiveteen. Even if we correct him, he insists it’s not 4 but fourteen. He also likes to whine and whine until he gets his way. The drama level has doubled or so. David’s growing up too and getting bored more quickly. But I am working with him to try and adjust his attitude. He’s still kind and generous and caring in his heart and I just hope that never goes away. Next week we all go back to routine but I have 4 appointments so it promises to be another hectic and full week.

Anyhow, here are some highlights from the first week of the year:

New Year’s Day, David made some awesome lego creations:

This one says “you are nice” and the lego men are building the letters. Isn’t it awesome?

then, around sunset, we went to a bird pond and watched the ducks, and the birds.

it was a lovely time to take some soft photos.

the boys held hands. I love it when they hold hands.

to the right of the pond was a muddy section with some black little birds and some sandpipers.

Nathaniel insisted on holding both Daddy’s and David’s hands.

It was also right by a small airport so the boys watched the planes take off and land.

the next day was the last day of our vacation so we got out the stamps:

and the markers

and just had fun

the boys loved it and I made an art journal page sitting there with them.

after david went back to school and jake, to work, Nathaniel hung out with me and colored while I worked.

when I stopped for a minute to take his photo, he smirked but wouldn’t look up.

but I kept insisting so finally he gave up.

and laughed and laughed.

he also played with stickers to entertain himself.

I snapped this rare shot of David smiling at me that day when he came home from school.

Nathaniel also grabbed the ipod and watched some movies (with no sound) to entertain himself while I worked.

On Friday we took our family shot. but no matter how hard we tried the boys wouldn’t both look at the camera at the same time.

Then Nathaniel got into this tiny box and asked Daddy to push him around.

which thrilled him to bits.

there was much joy

and jubilation

until it was David’s turn and you can see Nathaniel crying there in the background.

he wouldn’t stop weeping until he was back in the box.

despite his brother’s joy, he got up and let Nathaniel have one more turn. Then, this morning while I exercised, the boys decided to take out all their cars and trains and line them up. It was a long, long line.

when David was in swimming class, Nathaniel and I worked on his book so when David came home, he immediately wanted to share it.

and here we go. Another wonderful week gone. Here’s to a great week next week!

Weekly Diary is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here.

January 7, 2012 | Family, Weekly Diary 2012 | 6 comments

2012 Projects – Weekly Diary

If you’ve been reading Karenika with any regularity, you know that I like to post photos of my family. I used to do these daily but have recently moved to a Weekly format. I like this format better because it gives me the space to write more reflective posts daily. I plan to continue with this project in 2012 as well.

Here’s my plan for each week:

1. A photo of the four of us
2. Quick updates for each family member from that week
3. Photos + words of highlights from that week
4. A few lines on how my healthy for life journey is going

I’ve moved the daily gratitudes to a column on the left side of the blog. I know this means you can’t read them over RSS/email anymore and I apologize.

I love doing these weekly updates and I really enjoy taking the family photos. So I am looking forward to another year of wonderful photos of all of us and a collection of fantastic memories.

Here’s to hoping 2012 is a year to savor for all of us.

December 22, 2011 | Weekly Diary 2012, Yearly Projects | 20 comments

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