Under Construction

Quite Literally. That describes our life right now. Our home has had construction and renovation going on 3 weeks, oh, and our neighbor's house down below as well. We are getting ready to list our house! (and so is our neighbor!) We are working nonstop to have everything ready by the 1st of April so the house can go on the market and then its Sell-time! Soooooo excited this time has finally come..... our family is VERY ready to upgrade, expand, and MOVE! Especially while the boys are so young. SO going back to the construction thing...... NOT FUN! Especially with 2 babies and lots of their stuff in tow. If you can imagine, while construction and paint fumes are flowing through our house, my little boys and I have been on-the-go..... going on all-day field trips, visiting family and friends.... so we can be out of the way. While Brad is holding down the fort at the office and the house, and supervising the work being done, Mama Jana is coordinating our weekly outings and the next place the boys and I will likely crash for the day. Its exhausting. I'm physically and psychologically worn. Poor Taji got the worst of it as well.... taking his naps at other's houses, and those annoying car rides. We even had to do a slumber party weekend at my sister's this past weekend. And now we are sick. Taj's nose is a leaky faucet, while Brad and I are fighting our own throat discomfort and physical exhaustion. There is an end in sight though. And I can't wait until the day we don't have neighbors right smack below us or just feet away from us.... counting down the days. Now I now why some people hurry to buy a detached house or a bigger house before they have kids. They are smart. Trust me, its double the work if you don't , and quadruple the work if you have 2 under the age of 2. Life is crazy right now so uploading and blogging is on hold until we attain a bit more normalcy around here. Peace out :)

CZECH him out!!!

Taj showing off some of his Czech language skills....

America's Next Bachelor!

America, meet your next Bachelor! He may only be 22 months old ----(It's Palindromic Month time again!) but he's almost 2 YEARS old, has the intelligence and physical ability of a preschooler, and the kind of good looks and heart of gold hard to come by! He's an adorable little package!

He's America's Sweetheart, has the wild and "terrible two" side to him ( "The Tajmanian" is his nickname), comedian and performer at-heart. Weighs almost 24 pounds, strawberry blond hair, blue/green eyes, and a million dollar smile to match his dimples! He speaks 2 languages, English + Czech (he counts to 10 in Czech, says 3 colors in Czech, says "Ahoj", sings 2 Czech songs [(Pacicky), (Sly Panenky)], and fills in Czech nursery rhymes [(Jedna Dve Honza De), etc.), and has an incredible memory! He recites and sings the ABCs, knows all his colors, shapes, and body parts, and knows opposites and adjectives! He is quite the commentator these days, instead of "bus", its "big yellow school bus"!

Likes: RC and regular Car racing, balls, watching & playing sports, "I Spy", Elmo, birthday parties, parks, the farm, guitar, and is the lead vocal in a band! Taking walks around the neighborhood, jumping on the bed, cruising in his blue car, swimming, hot showers, and his music/crafts class. Eating not one but TWO breakfasts, loves beets, cucumbers, fish, nuts, soup, Indian food, waffles, pita, muffins, CHEESE (cream cheese is still his favorite), kefir, and "juicing" with mom & dad. Holds an 8pm Variety Show in his crib every night (all his stuffed animal buddies are his audience), loves reading to himself, playing pretend with his baby doll, and "cooking" with mommy. He's a huge fan of CHLOE! He's also potty training with success (at least 1 poop or pee in the potty every day!)

Dislikes: Merry-go-Round, the cookie monster, kids who don't share, rice, sitting in his stroller, long car trips, when his little brother gets more attention than him!

But out of all of these descriptions, he's a true Mama's Boy and Daddy's Lil Shadow, who LOVES to cuddle, and likes to give hugs and kisses. :)

And just in case you can't get enough of him, here are some shots from the last couple of months Brad took with his I Phone :

LA Zoo

Last Wednesday, I packed up my boys and drove up to LA to go the zoo with our good friend Kristen and her two kiddos. It was Jax's first all-day field trip, and first time at a zoo. We hadn't been to the LA Zoo yet so it was a special treat for us! What a nice zoo it is, so big but not overwhelming, and had all of our favorite animals! After a quick lunch, first on the list were flamingos.....
Jax's first time facing out in his Baby Bjorn carrier, he was so excited to see the world... and what a sight it was seeing animals too!

Will, Taj, and Ella riding the lizards at the Zoo's new reptile exhibit:
It was like an aquarium but with lots of freaky reptiles, for instance they had all these snake-turtle babies (looks like a turtle with the freakish long snake head)

The crew:
Taj's favorite animal at the zoo: "BIG Gorilla!"


Taj prefers to walk these days instead of sitting in a stroller, but he LOVED riding in Will & Ella's double BOB stroller, much more comfy! We are planning to get one of these for our boys, so they can both sit side by side (Jax will soon get frustrated not being able to see past Taj's head.) These strollers are perfect for the outdoors and zoos/ amusement parks, not so much the sidewalks, malls, and indoor places.

Thanks Kristen for inviting us to the zoo and getting us in for free! We always love spending time with you and the kiddos! xo

Treasured Tuesdays

In the last couple of months, our Tuesdays have become a treasured part of our week. Every Tuesday we head down to Laguna Hills for Taj's "water safety" class, where he is learning to go underwater, and float. This class is important for every child. They teach the kids basically how to hold their breath under water and turn their bodies to float on their back, in the event they fall into the pool and such. A crucial skill for every child to know....preventing drowning. Its held at the indoor Atlantis Swim school, they offer multiple classes every day, for only a $25 monthly fee... best deal in town! I am amazed how quickly Taj has caught on and how comfortable he is in the pool. He's already going underwater! The teacher takes turns working with each student, dipping them underwater, teaching them to float for a certain length of time, etc. Its like a music circle-time in the water because the teacher combines the water exercises with songs the kids enjoy! I'm looking forward to enrolling Jax in the class next month when he is 4 months old. My goal is to have the boys know the safety basics just in time for a summer of pool and lake fun.






We either drive down to my sister's in Rancho Santa Margarita before the swim class and drop off Jax with my mom, or take our babysitter with us and she stays with Jax while Taj and I are in the water. If we go to RSM and leave Jax with my mom then we usually take her back home with us and spend time with her the following day! Last week, on that particular Tuesday, Sam drove down with us to the class, stayed with Jax and took pictures of Taj and I in the pool. Then after we showered and got dressed, I dropped Taj and Sam off at this local "dinosaur park" while Jax and I ran errands for an hour, picked them back up, and stopped off at Whole Foods on the way back home. Love these pics Sam took while playing with Taji at the dinosaur park, he was such a big boy going down the big slides, and swinging on the big swing and tire swing!

Sweet Dreams...

They sure are! The last 3 nights in a row, our little Jax has extended his night sleep! He's always been a good sleeper, averaging 5-6 hours. Then 3 nights ago, he went 7 hours! And last night, almost 9!!!! We had a doctor's appointment for the boys yesterday, they both got shots....Taj his usual boosters for Polio and Hep A, and Jax received his first series (Rotavirus and DTap... by the way he didn't even cry or flinch... what a brave baby huh?) Jax took a long nap in the morning before and during the appointment and then when we got home he was up and awake until 7pm when I last nursed him. He fell asleep at 7pm and didn't make a peep until 3:44am exactly! That's 8 hours and 45 minutes of sleep! After nursing him, he went down again and slept until 8:40am :) The shots and not napping the 2nd half of the day pooped him out! One more thing to add is that Brad and I moved his pack n'play to the guest room 3 nights ago, so him having his own room also had something to do with it! We couldn't be happier reclaiming our room back, and are on the road to transitioning Jax into Taj's room pretty soon (especially since he's almost on the same sleep schedule as him!) Yey for our marathon sleeper!!! We are about a week away from his 3rd month birthday and couldn't be more proud! I remember Taj doing the same at 11 weeks old, so the boys are definitely alike in their sleep habits! It's sweet dreams for the boys, sweet dreams for mommy & daddy, sweet dreams for all! What a well-rested household we are!

Born Lucky

Our two little leprechauns wishing everyone

a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Leprechaun #1:

Leprechaun #2:

These boys may have been born lucky, but we as the parents, feel even luckier!

We love you Taj & Jax!

Jax Jax Incredible!

Call me a goofball or what you may, but I can't help it that there are cartoon characters out there depicting our 2 little boys. We've introduced you to the "Taj"manian Devil.....so meet Jack-Jack from The Incredibles animated flick!:And now meet our very own Jax Jax Incredible (he looks so much like him, right?!):


Why is he so incredible like the character, you wonder? Because..... our Jax Jax is now rolling from BACK to BELLY at 10 weeks old!!!! THAT we think is very incredible, and yes, Jax has shown us it truly is possible for him to be this strong! Plus, we think the TV and his wacky older bro are his motivators.... he is constantly turning his head to get a better look. He is our super hero!!!!

Another super-hero skill he is working on is using his core belly to lift himself up to seated position! Whenever he is laying on his boppy, he raises his head and torso to pull himself up... he also balances well when you hold his hands like this:
Jax Jax Incredible has many fans, here are just a few of his fan club: