The Life Of My Girls

1st Communion

2011-05-16T13:07:00.001-07:00

As you can see above- we celebrated Bella's 1st Communion yesterday. She and my other two ladies looked their best as we took part in this special moment in Bella's life. One of the best things I'll remember from this day was a comment that Father Dick made at the end of this service. Since he is still recovering from surgery that he had on his knee, he had to sit down to administer the 'bread' for each child. He commented what a joy that was because he was now down on their level, which brought him a lot closer to their face and allowed him to really look into the eyes of each person. "Love and purity" where the words I remember him using to describe the look each kid had in their eyes and I'm sure it was a beautiful thing for him to see. Although he went on to discuss the importance of 'keeping that feeling/emotion growing by coming back to church every Sunday', I knew more that it was a love and peace that only a child not yet jaded by life would have.

None the less- I could also see a love and peace in Bella's eyes that only a young person can have. Unfortunately Church, Friends, Family Drama, life stresses, and the rest of the world will all play a part in trying to remove that peace-but I will do my best to help her keep it for as long as possible.

Above is Vivi being her normal funny self- we keep trying to get her to show that cute - beautiful smile she has in pictures, but she winds up closing her eyes to avoid the flash- silly monkey!

It was wonderful having the Powers come for a visit and it was great to have them there for this event. They have been so wonderful to our girls and I'm so happy to have them a part of our lives.

CUUUTE! Bella and her good friend Declan struggle to get any closer for this picture just before the ceremony. I hope they'll be friends for their entire school journey together. We really like his family and like the friendship that has developed.

Thank you Lolo and Lola

2011-04-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

The girls wanted to say thanks in a special way:) VIDEO!!!!

some happenings

2010-12-13T00:37:00.000-08:00

WOW- What luck- I guess since I'm here at Jury Duty- I can actually take some time to fill in a bit to our blog. YAY!

Below is a picture form our last trip to Disneyland. This 1st photo was a first for us as a family. Seeing as the park was somewhat full and we didn't really have much on our agenda, we decided to visit Tom Saywer island for the first time. It started with a little river raft ride over to the island. We hoped off and explored the island which was filled with secret tunnels, pumping stations to keep kids active pumping water, and we even discovered a pirates treasure. All in all not a really fun place to go, but we're glad we did it. If you've got adventurous kids or ones that need to burn off some energy, than this might be a fun place to let them run wild. For me, it was a little uninspired and boring. Wish there was a scavenger hunt or something to give us something to do that would also let us explore the island. But... either way, I'm glad we checked it out.

Next is a great picture of the girls just before seeing BUGS' LIFE 3d- it's tough to be a bug!

This was the first time Bella and Vivi had ever seen this fun attraction. Even though it does have older 3D technology, the show really does hold up. It's mix of film, plus actual prop 3D effects are a blast. You get sprayed by a sting bug, sprayed with a giant can of bug spray that covers the room with fog long enough to distract you from the giant black widows as they descend over head. Then, at one point you even get 'stung' in the back by a bee. It all ends with a cute bit where the 'guest' bugs are asked to leave the theatre first... this is represented by something rolling under your but to feel as though some bugs have crawled under you. Pretty fun over all, and I think the girls really enjoyed it.

Oh the Vieves-

Below is a picture of Vivi just after her performance at Preschool. They all spoke a little poem, then sang Jingle Bell Rock.

Vivi was as cute as always and of course did a wonderful job. Maybe I'll even be able to post some film from here sometime soon. On a side note, I'm proud of Vivi for learning so many spelling words lately. We've been working on a few words at the same time that Bella has been studying her words. One of the few things we worked on was how to spell "Jingle Bell Rock"... so go ahead, ask her how to spell that and she'll say "Alright... " and then start spelling. She's so darn cute and very proud of herself that she can spell with such ease. Good job, Vieves.

NExt we have a picture of Bella with her choir teacher.
This teacher started a new program at Bella's school this year and I think the results have been great. They decided to put on a performance to show off the work they've been doing, and I gotta say, I was impressed. She is great with the students and I hope this is something Bella continues to pursue for a while.

This next photo is just a cute one of the girls from the day Vivi performed at her preschool.

And last- a quick photo of Bella's try-it patches she's gained in brownies so far this year. Not sure how "into" brownies she really is, but she'll at least continue throughout the end of this school year.

Oh wait, there's more....

OH BABY MELIA!

These photos (above and below) were taken at the Bob's Big Boy in Burbank (near Toluca Lake and Mom's Retirement home). We met there for Auntie Anings birthday, and had the pleasure of playing with Koa and baby Melia. For some reason, Melia just can't take her eyes off of me whenever I'm around. It's pretty cute. No matter who's holding her, she's usually looking right at me, and then will start to reach or lean for me as I get close. She's very cute and as long as I don't get too warm, I'll hold her all day. Sooooo Cuuuuuute!

ok- that's all for now. The girls DID put their letters for Santa out last night, and I do believe the birds took them while we were in the other side of the house putting the girls to sleep.

Can't wait to hear what Santa says in his reply back.

Oh yeah- here's some images from the cousins pics on Sunday

2010-11-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

Some photos of good times

2010-11-22T21:10:00.000-08:00

Below are some random photos from this past week.

SO SORRY I'VE BEEN SO ABSENT ON HERE LATELY!

This 1st pic is from last Friday night when I had a little date night with Mama... She's so cute:)

You'll see below that Mama spent a long night setting your hair for this awesome curling action ... FUN!

Somebody's making PIZZA!

After having a fun dinner over at Eric and Michelle Bryans' house, we HAD to go get ourselves a Pizza stone to make some Pizza's here at the house with the girls.

YUMMM!

NEXT...

a fun meetin' with Santa.

I gotta say, I love this tradition of getting your picture with Santa in your cute Christmas PJ's.

You guys are so cute!

and you're growing up way to fast... slow down, will ya!

Of course- with busy week and weekend ahead,

I HAD to start decorating the Sunday night before Thanksgiving.

I just started with some lights...

annnnnd....

since there aren't too many photos of me up here, I figured I'd better put one up.

This was me at work during the roll out of a new version of a storyboard program we use at Disney Television. I'm currently working on Phineas and Ferb and we're in the middle of the 3rd season:)

Pretty normal pic, huh?

1st test record of Gilrs ichatting with Oppie

2010-11-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

Just a 1st little test of the girls Ichat with Oppie. Maybe we'll grab more of these and put them up over time.

Inutil

2010-07-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

(Who knows how long this link will survive in the internet world, but here's a link to the song this entry was inspired by)

Useless-
Although there were many songs from “In The Heights” that really affected me, one of them had to be “inutil” (translation… Useless).
At this point in the Musical, the Father character struggles with feeling that he’s failed his daughter. You see, in this story, the daughter character had so much promise… So much going for her… a way to change their family dynamic forever. She was going to a topnotch college, earned most of her way there on scholarships, yet because the family still struggled financially, she had to work 2 jobs to try and pay for her schooling. Unfortunately this was too much on her and thus she failed out of school.

The father’s song talks about how his father worked hard each day just to keep a roof over their heads… and that when he was a little boy, he said to his father he’d do more and actually make it.
His father slapped his face and called him , Inutil…USELESS…

This boy grew to be a strong, smart man and moved away. He actually did make something of himself. Started a business, raised a family, and raised a wonderful daughter… but… even with all these triumphs, his father was right… with his daughter coming home, he failed… Inuti…Useless.

This hit me hard…

It scared me a bit… I don’t want to fail my daughters.

It doesn’t really matter anymore where I make it in my life, all that matters is it if helps to make THEIR dreams come true.

I know one thing, and I hope my girls know this once they are older…

I will not fail you.

I will continue to strive to give you all you need to make your lives and dreams a reality…

I’ll give you the support…
The time...
The education…
The Belief…

And more than anything…
The Love to make anything you truly want, happen…

I will not be Useless…

oooops- It's been a while (4-02-2010)

2010-04-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

It may have been a while.. but this was worth the wait!
Last FRiday (good Friday) I decided to take Bella to the nearby school yard to see if we could get her to learn to ride her bike without training wheels.

It was the start of the 3 day weekend, so I was prepared to spend a few hours each day until she got the hang of it. I wasn't going to give up and couldn't wait to cross this milestone with her.

SO... I take the training wheels off and we headed off to the playground. This area was the perfect place to practace. A lot of room, smooth concrete everywhere, and no one around to get in her way.

When we got there, I could feel the tension building in Bella. I knew she was nervous, but ... more than anything...

(the coolest part)

I could tell she trusted me.

She accepted that I would be right there and do all that I could to make sure she wouldn't get hurt, and that helped calm her down.

So, she hopped on immediately, and began to try and push herself along with out me.
"Slow down, kiddo!" I told her, as I ran up and explained that I would be holding her seat and guide her along as she began to try and use her own ability to find a balance.

I ran with her, letting go a little bit so she could feel what the bike would do, she shifted the weight back to center. Then stopped quicker than we began.

I explained to her that she was doing great, better than I had expected, and to let's try again.
She took a deep breathe "I can do this" she muttered under her breathe, and off we ran for a second time.

Almost immediately, I let go and she had her balance... I told her I was going to let her go, and off she went to 2 more peddling cycles before she stopped. She turned back and said "I think i got it." So I said "Jjust a second...", got out my iphone, and... well.. here ya go.

I had no idea this was going to happen so quick! Within 5 minutes after getting to this playground, she was off riding. I asked her how she was doing so well and she just replyed.

"I told myself I could do it, just believe in yourself, and I just DID!"

Great job, bunks.

I'm so PROUD of you!

letters to and from santa

2009-12-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to record the letters between Santa and the girls. 12-01-2009
click on images to see them larger.
Enjoy!

My Special Vieves!

2009-12-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was treated to a very special treat by Genevieve.

Let me start by saying that a few months ago, we were finally able to move Genevieve to a preschool closer to home, and one that is really known for it academic curriculum. Tonight was our first little treat as to just how special this great school is.

In Vivi's class, there is a student that has a hearing impairment. To help all the kids to communicate with each other better, all the kids in her pre-school have begun to learn some basic sign language. The other night at the dinner table, Vivi surprised us with a special song. She started singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", but was doing some hand gestures. Immediately, we realized that this was some of the sign language Vivi was learning. We were pretty impressed, and just continued to encourage her to do it again. Her shyness was so charming and endearing, we just wanted to see the realness of it over again.

Well, tonight after we had dinner and walked over to Ben and Jerry's to treat the girls to a little ice cream, we bumped into a fun group of people. I guess this group of people studying sign language and others who actually have hearing challenges, meet at this ice cream parlor for a fun gathering every Tues. night. One of the Girls came over and began conversing with Vivi in sign language and she kinda understood what this girl was saying. We then asked her to try out her song, and after a little encouragement (some of the strongest from her big sister Bella) she began to perform the song. It was so cute and the girl got a big kick out of it. THEN... Vivi stepped it up...

She got up the courage enough to go with her Mom in front of this big group of people there for this weekly gathering and perform it for them.

It was very cute and very special. She still had a little bit of that shyness which really added to the charm of the performance.

Congrats Vivi- that was a great job.

I am very proud of my girls for so many reasons, and this one fits in to some of the top examples. Thanks for making me a happy Dad.

Turkey Day's a coming-

2009-11-25T21:13:00.000-08:00

The Girls are awesome troopers helping out with making the place setting markers AND helping cook up the brine.
YOU'RE THE BEST IN THE WORLD, GIRLS!

You make you Papa proud!

christmas stuff ALREADY!

2009-11-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

1 1/2 weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff is already going up around the house.

Bella and Vivi got these at Michaels this weekend, so we thought, what the heck, let's put them up already.

I ALSO went outside and put up some hanging ornaments from the front tree- took too long, but that's why I started it already- have too much to do before Thanksgiving, and would really like to start off the day after Thanksgiving enjoying the Christmas season right away.

I'll load up more photos once I take them.

Some Halloween pics and Bellas KARATE TEST

2009-11-06T21:07:00.001-08:00

Sorry- gonna keep this shorter than I'd like to- but at least it's something :0

Halloween was Fun... Awesome... Spoooooteeeee!

I wish I had taken night time pics of the house- hope to next year. Girls look cute though.

Vivi and Bella Strikin' a pose

Declan, Aubrey, Gemma, Bella

Josie and Vivi

Spooooteeee, Spooooteee

Josie, Vivi, Erin, Declan, Gemma, Bella, Cooper, and Ryan

Karate- Bella tested for her Purple belt tonight and passed with flying colors(no pun intended)
'CONGRATS BELLA'

Lolo was there to offer his never ending support for Bella.

"Strike!-Strike!-Strike!"

Bowing and getting their Belts with PRIDE.

Proud Bella with Sensei Marcello.

YAY! Vivi and Bella with their proud Lolo.

Rent

2009-10-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

After a long wait we finally took Bella to see her first REAL musical... RENT.

Although we knew it would be too adult in it's subject matter for her, I think she really enjoyed hearing some of her favorite tunes LIVE!

Here's a pic

Oh yeah- and here's a quick pic of the backyard set up for halloween- Hopefully Lynn will blog about that a little more in the next few days.

Alphabet Adventure

2009-09-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, while Lynn was swamped with work, I tried a fun adventure with the girls that required a check list of the alphabet, our cameras and some imagination. Our goal was to go for a long walk through our neighborhood and see if we could spot the letters of the alphabet in ordinary things we pass everyday. Although we began to find some pretty easy cheats here and there, we really tried to challenge ourselves (ok... after about 1/2 an hour... MYSELF) to look for clever ways to find these letters. Our goal was to make them pretty obvious to the viewer, and we even hope to make a fun little book for Bella and Vivi's cousin Koa when we're all done. Well, we still have a few letters left to find, but I had so much fun I felt I had to share the first results.

Enjoy 'em:)

bella's 1st day of first grade:)

2009-09-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Sisters

2009-07-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hi All -- It's Charlene,

Today, Bella decided to do something really wonderful for her sister. She decided to write her a card. I won't even begin to try and describe it, I'll just post what she made for her:

Just to officially translate, it says:

Dear Vivi

You are such a great sister

I love my great sister

I love, Vivi

Bella did this all on her own, with absolutely no help from me whatsoever. To say that I'm a very proud mama right now would be a huge understatement. Bella was so excited to give Vieves her card. Here's a photo of that moment too:

Sometimes, the girls really can just totally blow me away by how loving and thoughtful they both can be. Now the trick is making sure they behave this way more often, and fight less!

Movie night is back :)

2009-07-12T21:07:00.001-07:00

It's been too long... WAYYYY too long since we've done a movie night. So- last Friday night I decided to get us all geared up for movie night. Lynn picked the movie, we ordered the Pizza, I made our movie tickets at work, and collected them using my normal- cheesey french accent- and we all sat down to watch....

Happy Feet

I guess no one in the world has seen this movie or else I'm POSITIVE I would have been warned about the nightmare I was about to experience.

The movie started out with some crazy-assed singing from a deep in outer space shot that eventually made it's way into to a bunch of penguins signing. After seeing one big star name after another in the opening credits, I had hoped that this confusing opening sequence would eventually pay off and we'd settle into some comfy warm penguin cuteness.

Well after explaining wtf was going on to my girls every 2 minutes, there FINALLY was a little bit of cuteness 15 minutes into the movie when the little Happy Feet guy was born. But within minutes, that was destroyed by BS story telling with characters and plot that I had NO attachment to what so ever. Within minutes, my girls and I were like all WTF again as the movie continued to piss us off and hurt our brains for the next 2 hours.

You can tell by the photos that this movie night went from wonderful anticipation

to complete hatred and disgust.

(Vivi's so out of it, she didn't even sit up for the picture... poor thing)

Sorry girls- we owe you big time:)

SO watch out everyone- this movie does nothing but tell you what you SHOULDN'T do while making a film.

Luckily I've figured out how to make it up to them.

In MY household, I save all Christmas movie watching for Christmas time only.

That way- I can continue to keep the special magic of those films alive for me and our family and hopefully we'll never really get too tired of watching them.

Well- that rule is being broken on Saturday night!

I'm pulling out the big guns to make up for that horrible film and we're doing Christmas in July. Christmas themed PJ's, Food, and snacks are required for this special viewing of one of our favorites...

That's right

ELF!

Who else can make us forget that horrible penguin movie than Santa's funniest helper EVER. Laughter and songs will fill this house next Saturday and I truly can't wait.

Hopefully the pics from that night will blow the ones posted here out of the water.

Sorry again girls, but look at it this way- If we didn't have these crappy films to watch, how would we know how great the great ones really are:)

Till then...

Crazy Day!

2009-07-03T20:22:00.001-07:00

It's Charlene again...

Just thought I would write about our crazy day. A few weeks ago, Bella and Vivi got invited to a birthday party for their friend, Erin, who takes karate with Bella. We RSVP'd that we'd be there happily at 2:00 to help her celebrate. Then we found out that Papa had the day off today. Bonus! A relaxing morning with Daddy, then off to the party, then relaxing at home for the rest of the day. But then we found out that Vivi's favorite show, "Brother Bear," at Disney's California Adventure Park was closing. We found this out from one of Bella's karate teachers, Mr. Thurmon, who happens to be the lead in the show, and today was going to be his last day performing it! We knew Vivi would totally get a kick out of seeing Bella's teachers in the show so we decided to head out really early, drive down to Anaheim, catch the show, and high tail it back to Burbank to get to the party in time. Bella loved the show and was called on stage to 'assist' Mr. Thurmon, Vivi on the other hand suddenly got totally freaked out by the Kenai bear character that joined them on stage and begged to be taken out of the show area by Daddy. (And yes, that's right, Vivi was the one we drove all the way down there for.)

After sitting in traffic for 1 1/2 hours, we made it to the party which was fun. The girls tired themselves out on Erin's water slide and bounce house. But then we remembered that we promised to also take the girls to the grand opening of this new candy store that opened up a block away from us. They sell sodas from all around the world and tons of different kinds of candy. (I know, Zac's version heaven, right?) So after a sugar filled morning, and afternoon, it was time for more sugar from the candy store.

Oh, and then Bella got the bubble gum that we bought from the candy store stuck in her hair. Note to self: peanut butter actually does work in getting that stuff out.

So, it was a crazy, fun filled day of sugar, traffic, bears, more sugar, bounce houses, and peanut butter. And it's only Friday!

Here are a few pics from our nutty day :)

Getting ready to start our day!

Bella with Mr. Thurmon AKA Shaman Assistant

Vivi had to leave in the middle of the show because she was so scared of Kenai. Mr. Thurmon was nice enough to see Vivi after the show, take some pictures...

And give her a consolation hug :)

At least Bella wasn't scared of Kenai!

The Vieves

2009-06-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hi all.... it's Charlene.

It seems as though the last few months, it's been all about Bella and all the wonderful accomplishments and adventures she's been on. It was starting to feel as though Vivi was getting lost in the shuffle, so I wanted to take a minute to write about her.

Vivi has been through an amazing journey these past few months. She seems to have gone from my toddler, to a little girl. Her vocabulary is outstanding. I forget that I'm speaking to a three year old sometimes. A typical conversation will go something like this:

VIVI: Mom, I don't know why Bella doesn't like chocolate. I know it's not healthy, but it's so tasty. I love it. I don't know why Bella doesn't like chocolate.

Her musings really are priceless.

Today, when I picked her up from preschool, there was a Development Assessment waiting for me. Her school does one every few months for every child. It's basically a form which observes a child's progress with her cognitive, language, social, emotional and physical development based on her age. The observations range from 'O', meaning observed regularly, 'E' which means emerging/occasionally, and 'N' meaning needs more time.

Vivi got 'O's all the way down.

I kind of knew all of this as I've always felt that Vivi was way advanced for her age (and that's not just me being a proud parent.) She did everything so much earlier than Bella, it was no surprise that she was doing so well at her preschool.

But here was my favorite part of the evaluation. There's a section for teacher's comments. Her observations described Vivi PERFECTLY. Here's what she said:

Vivi is very independent.

She adjusted quickly when she went up to Rainbow Fish. (Vivi's class). To her, it was just like going up one step higher, and that was that. She instantly made new friends.

She is also firm in doing things on her own. If Vivi does not agree with what you are saying, she will give you her signature 'stare' - a long penetrating one that speaks.

Vivi is very smart. Her knowledge of letters and numbers is a plus. She is able to match similar letters or numbers and recognizes each of the them. In doing her art, she quickly follows directions. If she does not understand, she will always ask help from the teacher. She does not need to be told twice. It will be a pleasure watching her progress more and more in the months to come.

I am so proud of Vivi and the young lady she's becoming. It's hard to believe (and to accept), but I don't have babies anymore. The days of baby talk, baby smells and baby food are long behind me. Now my little ones speak (and argue) like adults, smell like sunshine and play and order from the big kids menu when we go out.

Everyday the two of them just grow smarter and more independent. I only hope that I can continue to instill in them kindness, empathy, responsibility to themselves and others, and openness to new ideas along with all that wonderful intelligence they already possess. If I can manage half of all of that, then I think I would have done my job.

Judging from what I'm seeing from Vivi, I think she's well on her way...

Just don't want to lose this one

2009-06-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

I helped her with the spelling (even though she forgot a letter or two... takes after me), but she figured out what to say.
Pretty cute- pretty cool. I'm sure the reply is posted on here somewhere (scroll through the achieves).

Other than that- The girls are great! Bella has been enjoying some summer activities, and is loving her enrichment classes at St. Francis with Mrs. Wargo and Mrs. Vitali.
Vivi is excited for her swim lessons towards the end of summer and is getting ready to go back to 3 days a week at SWCC for preschool:)

All is good...

Here's Bella's first written letter to Santa (from12/2008)

KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION???

2009-06-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten Graduation, huh?

REALLY???
Really.

So after kids finish a year of playing with blocks and coloring, we need to have a "Cap and Gown" ceremony for them?

Really.

Well, that's what I thought at the beginning of Bella's school year. I was actually kinda secretly mad about it.

"Oh great- I'm gonna have to go and waste my time celebrating a minor milestone in my child's life just because some yahoo decided we should."

Then the school year began.

Bella was one of the youngest to enter kindergarten, and boy did it show. She was wonderfully polite, quite eager, and very smart for an almost 5 year old (yeah.. she technically started kindergarten at age 4), she just wasn't developmentaly up to the speed of her classmates.

Although preschool introduced writing letters that year prior, she really had just been introduced to the process. But, her kindergarten class began learning how to write each letter of the alphabet properly (upper and lowercase) while also practicing the sound they make. Their homework (yes homework: 3-6 pages per night) had them practicing their numbers, finding words that started with the the sound of whatever letter they were working on that week, and learning to cut paper with surgeon like precision, (ok.. a little exaggerated, but it sure seemed that way at first). They also worked on listening skills and learned how to stay in control and in their seats when told. I'm sure they also played with crayons and paste, ran on the playground, etc. etc., but they did A LOT more work than I could have ever imagined.

Concerned that the class might be too advanced for Bella, we did some research, asked our friend Dr. Dousette, and met with Bella's teacher, Mrs. Wargo. They reminded us she was almost the youngest in her class and assured us that Bella was going to click in, and just work a little harder with her a long the way. and to just give it time.

I began doing flash cards of sight words, and made up letter and sound flash cards, too. We would practice on STARFALL.com nightly and I'd draw pictures to have her color and cut out gluing to other papers to make fields of flowers, all just to try and help things along. Plus, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Lynn continued to guide her with her homework and helped instill the right kind of approach needed to excel in that department.

Then, in what seemed like over nght, it happened: she popped through into the next level of development.

And in true Bella fashion, better than anyone else her age (even better than some of the older students.)

You see- Bella is VERY intelligent.

Besides having her wonderful disposition, her beauty and her miles of charm, she is SO very smart.

I was so proud of all the hard work she put in, and it blew me away to see all the efforts pay off.

So, when we came around to her kindergarten graduation actually happening, I had to cave.

She DID accomplish a pretty hard task, and put in great efforts to reach this goal.

So yes, on the day of her ceremony, I stood there on the sidelines, taking picture after picture.

Being as proud as I could possibly be of my graduating kindergartener.

Way to go, Bella! I'm so proud of you and I'm certain this is just one of the thousands of times I'll be saying that.

Hi girls, it's me, Mama...

2009-04-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

First off, let me start by apologizing because I don't post on here nearly as much as I should. Papa is so good about keeping up with this -- I'm going to try and be better and make more attempts to blog on here.

It's about 10:00 in the evening and you are both fast asleep. It was sort of a rough night for you both... you were doing your nightly routine of taking a bath together, and then you got into yet ANOTHER fight. This by far has been the most challenging aspect of raising the two of you. I tell everyone that you girls are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. Right before bath, you both were playing so beautifully and sharing your toys and having no problems. 10 minutes later you get into the bath and it's WWIII. I had had it. The fighting has been an ongoing issue with you two. I was tired of constantly stopping the arguing and feeling like I had to yell at you both to get it to stop.

I told you both very calmly (which I think unnerved the hell out of you both, since I tend to yell when it gets that crazy) - 'Ok, it's obvious you both are done with bath time. Since you can't play nicely, it's time for bed.' I proceeded to take you both out, skipping books and went right to dressing you in pajamas and tucking you in. The crying that came from your bedrooms was unreal! You both went from being angry, to pleading that I change my mind, and then being overly apologetic to me.

But here's the beautiful part of this story (trust me, there is one): you both started calling out to each other from your beds and apologizing to one another. "Bella, I'm so sorry, I don't want to fight!" "Vivi, I'm sorry, please forgive me!"

I sat back in the living room and couldn't believe what I was hearing. There are so many times that I look at the two of you and think that I am probably the proudest parent in the world, but this one really took me being proud of you both to a whole new level. It was like my little 5 & 3 year old FINALLY got it -- I don't like the two of you fighting because you both love eachother and you should be eachother's best friends. It was like all the lessons of 'Stop that, that's your sister!' or 'Be nice, she's your sister!' or 'Don't pinch her, she's your sister!', finally came together. I was so proud of you both because you realized that when the two of you fight, you're really only hurting yourselves because you two are one half of the other.

So of course, I did what any mother would do, which was run right back to each of your bedrooms, give you lots of hugs and kisses, and telling you both that I was proud of you for apologizing. You each made promises that you would try your hardest to not fight anymore and then gave each other big hugs.

So for now, there is peace in the Moncrief house... let's hope that the lessons learned tonight make it past breakfast tomorrow.

I love you both so much and goodnight, sleep tight, to my sweet little girls,

Mama

Prouder than hell

2009-04-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

Although this blog entry is mostly to cover Bella getting her Orange Belt, I really want to share about how proud I am of her over all.

Like most kids going through the terrible 2's/3's, Bella was quite a handful. Tantrums, frustrations, and an overall sense of entitlement seemed to be what she was all about. I had many talks with Lynn sharing my fears of Bella for her "teen years" if we didn't do something about it now. We tried a few tricks here and there to motivate her away from the "Dark Side" but I truly was afraid we were just headed for a long struggle.

Then all of a sudden, one day I turned around and noticed something was different.

Bella was no longer a little toddler that needed to be dealt with on a constant basis, she had changed. She had become this little girl with control, and politeness, possessing a kindness I had only dreamed my girls would same day possess.

This entry is really for me to let everyone know just how proud and impressed I am with her. She tries so hard to be good and I think her true nature is really shining through.

So Bella, hopefully some day when you're down or upset, feeling unsure of yourself, or just need to hear how I really feel, you'll see this blog and it can help pick you up. You are wonderfully smart, kind hearted, good natured, funny, creative, talented and one of the most beautiful little girls I've ever met. Your inner being strives to make those around you enjoy life by the light you spread on all of us. Genevieve is so lucky that she has you as her Ate (Big sister for those non Filipinos out there) and I know l she'll continue on her path of growing and hit her own stride when it's time. With you as her role model, there's no doubt she'll reach any dream she chases.

Maybe Grace, Martin or Lynn will add a comment about how they've seen you grow and what they think of you on here, too. I know they are just as impressed as I am.

Vivi- I also wanted to take a quick moment to write something about you.

1st of all, its Sunday morning, and I'm able to write this because Lynn is still sleeping and Bella is watching Phineas and Ferb. Where's Vivi? Well, she's in her little kitchen right now. She just came out here and asked if I wanted her to "Took" for me. (quick note... Vivi is still struggling with the "c" sound.. she she really wanted to "Cook for me"). For the next ten minutes she clanked around, mixed things in her bowl, and cooked items in her little fake microwave. Minutes later, sportin' her apron, she arrived with a plate full of different plastic food, and a cup of "toffee". I took a few bites, and sipped the too hot coffee ( oh yeah, she blew on that to make it cooler for me first.) She did all this while ALSO putting her baby to sleep out here on the futon (covered by a blanket and all.) It's this part of Vivi's personality that let's me know she's headed down the right path herself. She's going through her own stage of "the 3's" but I know in the end, she too will be that little girl we are all so impressed with.

So Vivi- in case you are ever in need of some encouragement, or are not sure how we feel, hopefully you'll find some comfort in these words. You are quick witted, with a sharp sense of humor that's evident already. You're smile is infectious, and you too are one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen. Bella has a lot to learn from you as you have no fear in trying new things and meeting new people. You have the same desire to spread your light on everyone around you, and you do it in a big-brassy way. I'm very proud of the little girl you're turning out to be, too.

Ok

Enough of that sappy stuff...

Onto the main point of this blog (wow, I went off on a tangent... me, of all people, couldn't stay focused...hmmm, go figure)

YAY FOR BELLA!!!!

Bella has been studying KENPO for a short time now and has picked it up very fast. For this latest test (White, Yellow now Orange), she had to show her discipline as well as her ability to do a few of the key "basic" skills. Kicks , punches, blocks, combinations, as well as being able to stand at attention were all things she needed to demonstrate. PLUS, remembering her 3 rules... 1) Hands up - 2) Get Low, bend those knees - and 3) WARRIOR FACE!!

Ok, I know she's MY daughter, but she was THE BEST in her class. (maybe even better than some of the kids in the levels above her.) She was so focused, always the quickest to do what she was told, and yelled her KEEEYAA's (the kids respond with "DICE!") louder than anyone. Made us all very proud.

I have no idea how long she'll pursue this art, but I do know it's helped her with self discipline and taught her that she's in control of her body.

Congratulations Bella- we're so proud of you:)

Big Bear before Vieves was born

2009-03-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

This video was just found on one of my HD's. The best part is approximately half way through. You see, Bella was HOOKED on The Wiggles.. yes.. THE WIGGLES, but it was a great introduction to having her love to sing and dance- so PROPS to them. ANyway.. I was able to capture her singing a song and it's so cute being able to witness her mess-ups. I had a little fun adding in her actual words, so- keep in eye out for it. If you watch this for anything, at least look for that part, it's cute.

Vivi was in Lynn's tummy, and we were anxiously awaiting her arrival:)

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR MAKING THIS SUCH A MEMORABLE TRIP!

Bella's loose tooth and Vivi's cute dialogue

2009-02-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

check it- sorry it's been a while

oter will be up here shortly:)

Santa's letter arrives

2008-12-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

Bella and Vivi wrote their letter to Santa last night, and sure enough- that little bird flew it's wings off to get it to Santa just in time. They'll wake tomorrow morning to see his reply-(see below)
I'll try and catch it on video if possible, then post it here.
Merry Christmas everyone:)

Oh yeah- and for those that didn't get one of these- here's our Christmas card for this year!

CHOCOLATE KISSING!

2008-11-11T23:43:00.001-08:00

check it!

2008-11-08T15:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Lynn!

2008-11-07T18:34:00.001-08:00

So- My wife has been like COMPLETELY ADDICTED to the book series Twilight and has been forgetting to feed our children because she's been reading them over and over and over... and over.. did I say over?!?!

Anyway...

When asked what she'd want for a Birthday gift- she requested the impossible.

"REally?" she said, "You'd be the best Husband in the world if you could get me to see the premiere of 'Twilight'."

I was like "ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Yeah... like me, some Director at Disney can just CALL and GET US some Tickets."

I was actually hurt tha my wife would give me such an impossible task, especially when she KNOWS I'll do anything to make her happy if I can.

Well, I'll fill in the story more later, but with the help of Rob Friedman, I was able to pull off the impossible...

Happy Birthday Lynn!

here's a few...

2008-08-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last year, we had heard about Little Tokyo having a festival/celebration called Nisei week. We promised ourselves we wouldn't miss it this year, and although there really wasn't much information as to WHAT exactly to do there, nor WHERE exactly to go, we headed down and had a great lunch and a lot of fun. Bella bought a cute HEllo Kitty purse, and we took in some fun people. Two of the fun events we were able to participate in were kite making, and the art of flower arrangement. The girls had a blast... (sorry, no pics of their flower arrangements)

ALSO... We've had a slew of Movie nights since it's inception, but last Friday we watched one of my favorites:)

YEP-

The Incredibles

Brad Bird and the awesome story team of Pixar just continue to blow my mind with each and every viewing of this film. Oh... not to mention the Art Direction, CHaracter Design, Animation, Music, Sound Effects, etc., etc., etc. I really love this movie and find something new and wonderful about it upon each screening. Luckily for me, it's Bella's favorite, too. So, It was her turn for movie night, and she picked a winner.

I'm not sure WHY- But.. Blogger.com is being a buttface right now, and I'm having problems uploading some images.
I'll try to add/update again later. I hope you enjoyed the pics ANYWAY!

OOOh Wait... FINALLY!

When the movie was over, I asked her what her favorite part was. She said "The part when all the Incredibles do this... and Elasta Girl does this... and Mr. Incredible is 'uh-uh' and Dash does this, and Violet is ... this". So, I asked her to draw it for me, but she said she was very afraid. She said she thought it would look silly. After a wierd beat, she asked if I could help her draw it. I tried to have fun and make my drawing 'silly' so that she could enjoy drawing hers.. I think it kinda worked.

The last thing I'll share a tiny bit about, and then let Lynn edit this later, was the get together that happened yesterday afternoon. Some of Lynn's past childhood friends (made because of Lynn's parents friends) continued to bump into each other and finally decided to do a "get together'. Not only for their sake, but to allow the torch to be passed along to another generation.

So, 5 girls total (2 others at Bella's age, and 1 Vivi's) spent the afternoon together while their parents hung out and talked. I'm sure it was VERY similar to what Charlene and her "Cousins" experienced when they were little.

Luckily Bella had 10 million Princess dresses, and crowns, and jewelry, and shoes and, (Deep Breath) a kickass Princess Tent, to keep them busy. Oh yeah- the popcicles and cake and snacks didn't hurt the fun either.

They all seemed to get along SO well that I'm sure it was a very special treat for my wife and other Mom's to see.

Just Because They're So Damn Cute!!

2008-07-22T21:49:00.001-07:00

Cool Drawings

2008-07-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hi btw, this is Charlene blogging... I know I need to do this more often. I have to admit, Zac is much better at keeping this up to date than I am.

Anyway, cool story to share. When I was pregnant with Bella, I was working at Disney Feature Animation and had the amazing honor of working with some of the most talented artists in our industry. One such man was Mr. Glen Keane. In case some of you didn't know who he is, he was the lead animator on Ariel, Beast, Aladdin... basically the main character in most Disney movies. Not only is he incredibly talented, he's also INCREDIBLY nice, which makes him even cooler. Long story short, we became friendly and would always say hi to each other in the hallways. He even jumped in on my baby pool that was started at work as to when Bella would be born. I had Bella and was home on maternity leave, when his assistant at the time, who was also my good friend, came by with a drawing for Bella from Glen. It was of Ariel swimming with Baby Bella. Now, just so everyone understands, Glen Keane drawings are a prized possession. Rumor had it that at one point, he had a paper shredder underneath his animation desk for his unused drawings, as per the company, because his drawings were just that valuable. We of course immediately framed it and it had been hanging in the girls room that they shared. Here's Bella below holding it:

So then of course we moved. Each girl got her own room, which was awesome for so many reasons. But one of the few negatives was that Vivi had to part with seeing the beautiful Ariel drawing every day. Glen was so kind to me in the past, and although I hadn't worked with him in almost 4 years, I decided to do something crazy and email him a very special request. If he at all had the time, could he please do a drawing for Vivi too so she could hang it in her room? I didn't hear back from him at all, which was understandable considering what I was asking. But then, out of the blue, I got an email from his assistant saying that she had a drawing from Glen for me and where should she send it. (!) I was totally floored. This just goes to show that you can be an amazingly talented, legendary, iconic man, but still be a very good person. Anyway, thanks Glen for continuing to keep my girls' spaces always surrounded by beauty (and the Beast).

2nd Movie night - WALL-E screening

2008-06-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

Last Friday (6-27-08) I had the girls swing by my work to celebrate the release of WALL-E. We hoped the actual wandering WALL-E robot that had made an appearance a few weeks back was going to make be there for photo opportunities, but... no such luck. At least the girls got some toy give-aways, and some stickers. We DID take a photo with this fun cardboard standee, but it wasn't the same.

Later that night we had our second movie night and watched "Beauty And The Beast". I gotta say, still LOVE that movie. Wonderful music, classy animation, great art direction... what more could I ask for. That night did, however, warn us that VIVI was still not probably ready to sit through a movie at the Theatre. We found out for sure that next morning. We went to see WALL-E at an employee screening, and at approximately 10 minutes into the film , Vivi stood up and said "No more WALL-E". Well, I had promised taht I would miss this showing, and would see the back up screening I had signed up for later that afternoon.

Vivi and I played in the arcade at the movie theatre for the next hour and thirty minutes while we waited for Lynn and Bella to finish. We had so much fun even though the first 20 minutes we played, none of the games were actually even turned on yet. Vivi danced and sang, making up steps and funny songs as she moved around on the Dance Dance Revolution game. She was a blast:)

So.. I may have missed the movie the first time through, but the fun memory I'll have of that crazy DDR VIVI queen will hopefully live in my head forever:)

1st movie night

2008-06-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

We finally made it! The first official Moncrief movie night went off without any problems last Friday night, and I couldn't have been happier. I've wanted to start this little tradition for a long time and now that we have the house we've dreamed of and the TV set-up to do it with, we gave it a try. It was wonderful. We all laughed out loud, and sung each song. What are we, the bRady Bunch??? Anyway- As you can see from the photo, we watched "The Little Mermaid". I made fun little tickets, each with the movie poster, along with their names and their snacks ( a pretzel and sippy for the girls, 2 pretzels and 2 diet cokes for me... Mama just wanted her water, she WAS allowed to have a pretzel, but decided against it at the last minute.. more for me..WOOHOO) We all enjoyed the movie as we have many times before, but this time we all cuddled up on the couch as one big family. YAY! I hope we can continue this for years to come. Next week is Bella's choice, I can't wait to do it all over again:)

It's been a while, but here's some pics

2008-06-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry... A LOT HAS HAPPENED LATELY! Here's some photos- you figure it out:)

may be a bit of a break

2008-03-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry there hasn't been a post up in a few weeks, but trust me, it's for a good reason. GIRLS- WE ARE BUYING OUR FIRST HOME. Who knows, it could be the ONLY home we ever own, but it's going to be ours! I'll upload a few photos here so that we can all look back and see just what it looked like before we bought it, and hopefully you'll see a pretty big change as you grow older and as we begin to make our life long family memories there.

Here it is in all it's BROWN-Ness.

sorry- gotta go- pics to come later:)

Vivi's 2nd Birthday

2008-03-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

As you can already see by the glimpse of photos below, we decided to make Vivi's second birthday one to remember by taking everyone to Disneyland to celebrate. Unfortunately, Lolo and Lola are in the Philipines on business, but they were greatly missed by us all. I made up t-shirts for everyone sporting the "Happy 2nd Birthday Vivi" wordage and a fun photo image of Vivi smack dab in the middle. The shirts worked out better than I could have imagined. Everyone, including cast members AND random guests at the park, continuously gave Vivi birthday wishes throughout the day. Half the time she gave them the funniest look of shock as we could tell she was wondering "Hey... Wait a minute... How do YOU know it's my Birthday???"

Lynn did a WONDERFUL thing by making a special ONE-OF-A-KIND heart shaped birthday cake with lots-o-chocolate. As you can see below- it hit just the right cord with Vivi.

We were lucky to have Auntie Claring and Auntie Aning come along with us, so it made the day just that much more wonderful.

Below are a few photos to share the day... enjoy:)

Bella, Ninang Grace, and Mama waitin' for the tram

Ninang Grace, Ninang Janet holdin' the Vieves, and uncle Kristian ridin to happiest place on earth.

Ahh... da Vieves

Group shot!

CUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!

"You can fly, you can fly, you can Flyyyyyyyyyy"

Toontown posse, yo!

Bella's tall enough for her 1st rollercoaster, YAY!

Mama's special cake just for the Vieves!

Dini givin' tons of Kisses!

A Great Day...

2008-03-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all - it's Charlene. I wanted to chime in and take a second to record a great day I had with Vivi today. I'm going through a bit of a hiatus right now, so I'm trying to spend as much time as possible with my girls as I possibly can before the storm of another job hits me. Today was my one on one day with Vivi. Bella was in preschool till 3, so I had most of the day alone with my Vieves. I try and really enjoy all the time I spend with my girls, but I won't lie and say that having the two of them together can drive me crazy. I almost go into survival mode where I'm just trying to stop another fight over a toy or take care of one while the other needs me for something else... the last thing I'm doing is 'enjoying' them, if you know what I mean. So today was awesome. We started out at our favorite mom and pop donut shop, 'Donut Prince' where Vivi picked out a chocolate glaze and proceeded to ONLY eat the chocolate glaze off the top. Then we went to Auntie Aning & Claring's house (my mom's sisters) where we visited for a while. Then we visited Auntie Grace at her work where Vivi then picked out and ate 3 Easter chocolates from her Auntie's desk (did I mention that Vivi was a sugar fiend?). We came home, napped for an hour and a half and then picked up Bella. Overall, it was just a really great day. I was reminded of all the cool, funny, adorable little quirks Vivi has because it was just she and I. I kind of fell in love all over again with being a mother ... I can't wait to be able to spend my 'day' with Bella!

BTW - this pic was from Vivi's 2nd birthday on March 2nd - a homemade CHOCOLATE cake just for my Vieves!

See- Bella loves you!

2008-03-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Ok- This is one of those pre-emtive "See VIVI, I TOLD YOU - Your sister loves you!"

This was one of those cute moments that we had to share in the "history" of these girls.

One night, when it got really quiet back in their room, we got worried (as any parent would when the kids get too quiet for too long) so we went back to "spy" on them. What a wonderful surprise when we turned the corner to see Bella tucking Vivi into "bed" and then began reading her a nighttime story. Not only was this sweet to see Bella taking care of her little sister, but it was nice to see that our kindness and parenting was rubbing off... Enjoy the pics.

Ohhhh The Powers...

2008-03-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

The Who??? No, not "The Who"... the "Powers". Otherwise known as "Gram and Gramps" or as we also call 'em "Grandma and Grandpa Powers". Still confused? Well, I don't blame ya, but let me fill you in, 'cause they are pretty amazing.

You see, back in the 80's, after my parents (Jack and Beth) had seperated and got divorced, my father remarried to a special girl named Tammy. Now, not only did her parents (the Powers) have to accept this new man into their life, but this new guy came along with 2 teenage kids. But ya know what? They couldn't have been more open and accepting of my brother and I if we had wanted them to and they always tried their best to show that we were accepted and loved as part of their family. From gifts, to showing interest in our passions, to family dinners around the holidays', to an open door with a smile each time we saw them. They lived in a beautiful house in my home town of Montvale along the brook (stream) that ran through part of town, and it was pretty tranquil in that backyard.

Unfortunately, my Father and Tammy divorced. Although my Dad couldn't have found a better mate (Peggy, you're pretty amazing... REALLY!), he really did get lucky with that second set of in-laws. You see, The Powers could have moved on, and left my brother and I alone, and it would have been completely understood. I moved out to California, and they moved down south to North Carolina. Yet, remarkably, they haven't loss touch with me.. and even more amazing, they have embraced my 2 daughters as if they were 2 grandchildren of their own. There has not been a Birthday, or Christmas, or Valentine's day, or even just a random "day" that has gone by without us hearing, or believe it or not, "receiving" a package from them to celebrate the moment. The mail is always filled with little stories from Grams about how she and "Gramps" are doing, or where they've been, or what they've done to their new house, etc. etc. It is always a pleasant surprise each time we receive the package on our front door.

This little Blog is just to acknowledge the love they have for all of us and to share with you how touched we are and how special it is to have people like this in our world. Bella and Vivi, you are surrounded by love from all ends of this continent, and I'm glad to see you both constantly embracing it.

Below is a series of photos (sorry, from at least 1 month ago) from one of the latest packages Gram and Gramps sent.

She had been saving up a bunch of SPECIAL (quite expensive I might add) stuffed animals, and she sent them along for the girls to have at it... and boy did they ever. THANKS GRAM AND GRAMPS- WE'RE SOOO THANKFUL TO HAVE YOU IN OUR LIVES!

school work

2008-02-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

Bella is experiencing the wonderful developmental stage of learning how to write and pronounce her letters. It's a fun and exciting thing for me to watch as she practices her sounds, and how to write each letter. We were given a great website to help open this world for her called starfall.com. This site has allowed Bella to get her first use of the mouse and learn what it's like to navigate around a computer desktop, as well as teaching her some of the sounds she will continue to learn once in Kindergarden. Below is just a small sample of some of the school work Bella has done. I found this one particularly interesting because of how she's been using her colors. She has developed this love for coloring everything "rainbow" lately. I find it so fascinating and am really enjoying the journey of art and learning she's had so far.

Gitchi-Gitchi-Goo

2008-02-11T21:09:00.000-08:00

When I first got into animation, my dream was to be able to reach as many people as possible with my entertaining talents, and hopefully be able to give them the escape that I sought when looking to cartoons. I saw this happen immediately as worked on different films, and TV shows in the industry and was very thankful to be able to contribute in small ways. Then one day it hit me, some of the people I'd hope to reach might someday be my very own children.
Now, although I might get some raised eyebrows, my first experience with this came while working on Family Guy. Yeah, yeah... my kids are a little young for that demographic, but, I felt that Bella was WAY too young to get the adult humor in the show, and she really seemed to enjoy the "silly" character. I also had some subtle excitement from this as she enjoyed the few "Dora The Explorer" cartoons i worked on, but the show I'm currently working on, "Phineas and Ferb" has hit a home run. Both of my girls love to watch the show, and are hopping off the couch when I put on a new episode. Although I joined the team after the first few shows had shipped, I've been involved in every show since then and believe this is the best show I've ever worked on. It's entertaining, intelligent, funny, heart warming, and family friendly. I hope you get to see a few episodes, and if you have little ones, make sure they see it, you'll enjoy it, too... TRUST ME.

Below is a video of Bella and Vivi singing one of the gaziilion songs written for the show- I hope you enjoy seeing how much this show has obviously effected them.

Vivi Shuffle

2008-02-08T20:38:00.001-08:00

Ok... This little clip below is just another one of those moments when one of our girls added that little "Moncrief" touch to an ordinary situation. Well, ok... not too ordinary, we had just finished having dinner and Bella had to come tell me about Vivi farting in her room. I tried to turn on the camera and get her to repeat her story, but it didn't really work. BUT... Vivi steals the show here, from almost gagging in the beginning, to her awesome little shuffle. So.. All you peeps out there that are in the know, look for the cute little Vivi' moments.

One other quick note. I'm sure you noticed Bella's hair in this video. Well, when I came home Bella and her Mama decided to beautify their hair by putting almost EVRY hair clip that they had into each others hair. This made me so happy because those are the kinds of moments I can't wait to see happen. The fun little playtimes that Bella and her Mom can share that will be a lasting memory living in my wife's heart for ever. See.... look how cute:)

We miss you NANAY

2008-01-26T22:11:00.000-08:00

Ok... tears for real this time Lynn's family members. I came across this little gem in one of my buried folders on my hard drive. I'm so glad I was able to catch this meeting and I hope you all enjoy it, too. Plus... OMG!!! Look how small Bella was :)

Life Lessons From My 4 Year Old

2008-01-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone - it's Charlene, aka 'Mama to the Moncrief Girls.' Today was a really tough day. The only thing harder than being a mother is being a working mother, and working I mean, working the work force. As if you're not already feeling like you don't have enough hands to cook meals, do laundry, kiss boo boos, break up fights, teach your girls the difference between right and wrong, and most importantly, make sure they always know they're loved no matter what. Add to that having to deal with all the craziness that a work environment can add, and it can get really overwhelming. REALLY overwhelming. Zac mentioned that I'm a checker, and that's an awesome job. But it's also an awesome responsibility and me being the uber-perfectionist that I can be, it's hard to do everything perfect all the time. (Although I certainly do try.)

Anyway, after having one of the hardest days in my life at work (trust me, it was), you know what finally, FINALLY made it better? When Bella came up to me, handed me an Ariel sticker and said, 'Here mama, this one is for love.' Kids are intuitive; they know when something is amiss. Her 4 year old little brain just knew that I needed a pick me up, someone to tell ME that I'm loved too, no matter what. And that's when it hit me... it's all about this. Whatever b.s. is happening in the world, in that moment, Bella, Vivi and Zac were all that mattered. And really, that's what living is all about. Thank God Bella was there to teach it to me.

Can't believe it

2008-01-19T21:47:00.000-08:00

Wow - I feel pretty lucky right now. My lovely wife had to work tonight (checking for a Disney channel show "The Replacements") so I get the fun task of putting Bella to sleep. The great part about this chore is it allowed me time to put this together.We are currently in the final stages of getting the girls to sleep through the night, in their own beds. Vivi has been a trooper since the begining, but we are still have some tough transitions with Bella. So, while Vivi is at a place where we can lay her down and pretty much say "night-night" and leave the room... Bella still needs one of us to sit here and be in the room until she falls asleep. Once we have Vivi sleeping straight through the night, we can then remove her from the room and help Bella transition into putting herself to sleep, AND staying in her bed the whole night. She's pretty darn ready, it's just that at this moment, Vivi wakes up 2-3 times a night crying, thus waking Bella. Then we have 2 babies screaming and crying in the same room... and the nightmare begins there. I have a feeling that within the next month or so, it will all be worked out. Our game plan looks pretty good, and honestly, it's the only choice we have. I'm sure I'll fill in more about it later.

Bella-
She has been pretty amazing this week. It seems like every time I turn around, she is becoming more and more aware of her position in this family as Vivi's bigger sister, or Ate (pronounced "Ot-tay"- Filipino family tradition title given to the oldest daughter). She realized that she holds a special place in Vivi's life and that she has this little shadow that thinks the world of Bella. I've found her on multiple occasions sharing a hug, a kiss, telling her "Good Job Vieves.. Good Job" and just being a joy to watch as the two of them interact. Of course, Bella still needs to learn to give some space and is frequently reminded when Vivi just stands up and WHACKS her one. All I know from the "so far" is that Bella loves her little sister, and it puts a little smirk on my face everyday.

Vivi-
She's a trip... she's totally going through this crazy phase where all day long it's "Papa Terry...Papa Terry" She wants to be in my arms at all moments of every day. Cooking- "Papa Terry", making the bed- "Papa Terry", going to the bathroom- "Papa Terry", putting on shoes- "Papa Terry", making out with my wife- "Papa Terry"... no matter what I'm trying to do "Papa Terry! PAPA TERRY!" It can be very hard at times, but I unfortunately know that this will only last for so long so I'd better enjoy it while I can. The other thing she's doing right now that just makes us laugh EVERY time she does it is say "yeah." It's her answer to just about everything, and approximately a month ago she was saying it in Armenian. Now Ani, don't correct me too much here, but.... Everytime we'd ask Vivi "Do you want ?" she's always answer with "Ha. :) " It was done with smiles and also eyes flowing with tears, frustrated by our inability to understand something she wanted, and when we would finally guess the right thing, we'd get this answer with complete broken spirit "ha...". Well, I'm sure you'll eventually find it in some video somewhere on here.. but she's still pretty damn cute with her "yeah"s. Hope it last for quite a bit longer:) "Vivi, you want some juice????"

Ok- Here's a short clip from Christmas Eve 2007. There's plenty of footage from this night, and I hope to attach more to this post later, but enjoy this one for now. This is one of the few songs Vivi kinda knows all the way through. Of course, Bella's rendition is a little creative, but SO DAMN CLOSE:) Enjoy

Can you blame me?

2008-01-16T22:44:00.000-08:00

Ok... I just couldn't resist! I loaded these pics in from my camera today and haven't stopped smiling after seeing these pics. ENJOY!

Bella's Christmas Pageant Contribution

2008-01-16T01:24:00.000-08:00

I had to stay up a little later tonight just so I could add this little clip, too. This was so much fun for all of us to watch Bella practice for many weeks prior - We were so proud of her:)

I hope to post another video of the girls singing- that one has another "solo" version of this poem.

Wish Me Luck

2008-01-16T00:38:00.000-08:00

Oh boy- I've done it now. Yep, I've decided to start a blog featuring my lovely daughters and our family. I'm kinda trying to treat this as "My Family Photo Album/Scrapbook/Journal/Etc.". We'll see how it goes.

Here's a link of my youngest at her first Christmas Pageant. Oh yeah.. and wish me luck with this blog... it could be a really cool thing for them if I can keep it up:)