Our Taji Can Read!

Our Taji Love is a real bookworm these days, especially if the books have anything to do with, yup, you guessed it.... Thomas the Train!  He loves these books, and memorizes all of them!  Its incredible how well developed his memory is, he enjoys being read to for the first few days, then boom!, he memorizes what happens on each page of the book and can even read to himself verbatim!

Here is a video I took of Taj (almost a month ago), as he becomes the reader during story time.  He loves to read to us :)

(its a 9 minute video, but too good not to post!)

Christmas Time in Canada

Merry Christmas time from Canada!!!!  Last weekend, we popped the kids in the car and jet off to Toronto, Ontario for some Christmasy fun in the city!  It was both of the boys' first time out of the country! :) 

Between Brad's US passport, my Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) and Czech citizenship, the boys' California birth certificates, and our residence in Bemus Point, NY..... we are all over the map!  No wonder Border Patrol gave us a funny look! hee hee

 Toronto Christmas Market

 Choo Choo!

The boys really enjoyed meeting Canadian Santa Claus.... he spoke English and French!

This was as close to North Pole as we could get.... Taj was super excited to finally get to chat with the old man in red, and remind him of the Wish List he wrote to him!

 Taji to Santa: "Please don't forget to bring me Gordon, Salty, and Cranky"  (ahhh, of course all Thomas the Train related!  That's ALL Taj wished for this Christmas, everything and anything Thomas related!!!)

Jax's first Santa photo!!!

We even saw an angel! :)

A Different World

I just have to.  I just have to put my 2 cents in after such an incredibly sad weekend hearing the details of the horrific Connecticut school (kindergarten) massacre.  I have decided to turn off all social media and TV news reports because I can not bear to hear any more about this very sad tragedy.  I am grieving for those poor innocent angels and their brave teachers, principal, and school psychologist.  For most, including me, it hits home on so many levels.  What has happened really jolted me and made feel so emotionally defeated and vulnerable.  For one, I'm a mom petrified over my own children's safety, that one day they too will be in school most of the day, 5 days a week, and the control is out of my hands.  I won't be there to protect them if school violence strikes again.  I will never feel secure and relaxed again when my children are somewhere else, and not with me or with their daddy.  We live in a different world than what we once thought. The Newtown, Connecticut elementary school could be any school in the world, but the fact that it was in a small, quaint town (a town described as ideal for raising families) and then one of its residents' son did this is.....unspeakable.  Is there no place that is safe anymore these days?!!  We live in a different world than we once imagined and hopelessly long for.  Lastly, just like the devoted school psychologist who risked her life for the safety of her students (who we just recently found out went to Brad's old college), I was that school psychologist at my middle school desperately trying to convince parents that their Apsergers, OCD, behavioral son was showing signs of depression and needed outside mental health services.  It sickened me and made me feel scared for everyone's safety when the parents just brushed it off, declined the services, and denied there was anything "dark" brewing in the head of his.  How socially irresponsible!!! I can count that student, and probably 3 others, in my four-year school psychologist career at ONE school that can potentially act and turn into the Connecticut shooter.  I shuddered when I heard details that the shooter had Aspergers and was socially awkward....... just like the student shooter in Columbine school shooting.  How many other mentally/ socially disabled students will we allow to commit such atrocious acts against our children before we admit that this country has a HUGE problem with mental health services?!!!!  We need to intervene and shake some of these parents!!! There are many crazies, but there is a lot more dysfunctional parenting out there!  In many cases, the apple does not fall far from the tree, and the parents of mentally disabled children need incredible amount of support and therapy themselves.  The media and the general public will debate about gun control and all this other political BS when the real problem, the precursor, is always MENTAL HEALTH.

I have personally counseled and worked with students (all males) in the home and at schools that threatened to harm themselves, threatened to hurt or kill their parents (they were not shy about yelling this out either), and who play the most violent video games all involving, you guessed it.... shooting guns.  WOW Some of the parents will do anything to help manage their mentally sick children, while others are physically and psychologically drained and just don't care anymore... they don't want it to be their problem.  I worked with kids who ended up getting locked up in a mental hospitals, and kids I referred and sent to camps specifically designed to treat and rehabilitate kids with behavioral issues.  This is a problem that will never be solved, because there is never enough money in education, specifically in special education, and more specifically, mental health.  The worst part of all this is that some of these parents of behaviorally disabled kids are allowed to own a gun.  Let me say this only once, GUNS KILL.   Yes to gun control, yes to stricter and harsh gun laws and legislation, yes to psychological testing along with criminal background checks.  And a hell YES to making it illegal for any person to own a gun if she/he has a medical or FAMILY history of depression, disabilities, drug use... what have you, and anyone this person associates with (obviously if they have family members or friends with these issues.)  But in this country that will never happen, because the small-minded people will protest that this is a breach of confidentiality and they have a right to bear arms.  For gods sake, its easier to purchase and register a gun than it is to get a driver's license or health insurance!!!!!

Speaking of the G word, GOD.  I'm very disgusted that people are now turning this unfortunate school massacre into a religious platform.  Ughhhh, we need to leave religion and God out of this.  Do these crazy religious people really believe that if schools had prayer or the bible that this wouldn't happen?  How ignorant.  I bet you that the shooter and his mother were religious themselves, so how do you swallow that?  Religion goes hand-in-hand with mental issues and violence.  Religion in some very sad cases is used as a cop-out, an excuse. Think cult, think child sex crimes committed by priests, think suicide bombers....  The older I get, the more Athiest I become.
For. those. exact. reasons.

It doesn't matter what zip code you live in, how much money you have, whether you believe in God or not, or how good of a person you are..... tragedies happen.   They happen when we least expect it.  Its all about being at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Maybe its fate.  Maybe its not.  I can't wrap my mind around why some of the very young are not entitled to live a full life while those evil effed up ones are....... Nothing makes sense anymore.  Nothing will save us anymore.

Well, I think I have used up about a cent and a half now of my TWO CENTS, so I will stop here with a promise to my babies:
1)  I vow to hug you tight, smother you with kisses, tell you I love you, show you I love you, and protect you from harm each and every day, as if it were our last.
2) I vow to focus on the NOW but prepare you for the future
3) I vow to show you incredible things, and take you to amazing places, share in those experiences with you, and document EVERYTHING
4)  I vow to be heavily involved in your school, volunteer in school, be on the PTA, cheer you on at your sport events, and be there EVERY step of the way.
5)  I vow to teach you stranger danger, self- defense, and what to do in emergencies as early on as I can
6)  I vow to keep you away from video games and violent movies as long as I can, and instead, keep you busy with sports, music, creative hobbies, and travel

I am grateful to be able to hug and kiss my precious little boys.  I am thankful they are healthy and happy.  I feel so lucky I  get to go to bed knowing they are safe in their beds and that I get to dream about their future.  I will NEVER take this for granted.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We went to Abers Acres Tree Farm, to find this year's perfect Christmas tree, and cut it down ourselves!

Jax was petrified of the trees for some reason.... it could be because he got woken up from his car slumber with the sound of the tree being put on the car so maybe that's why he seemed a bit uneasy about all these giant green creatures!

He warmed up a little for me to capture this photo with a newborn tree..... I say a little, only because seconds later his smile turned into an upside down smile with tears :(

"This is the one, Mommy and Daddy!"

Taj knows his tree, and this one was calling for him..... we gave him a choice between this one and the other fatter one when next to it.

Time to cut 'em down!  Daddy showed Taji how to saw the tree trunk, he even let Taj do a little sawing himself!  That a boy!  I captured the tree falling on video....

While daddy fastened the tree on the roof of the car, Taji and I counted the rings on the tree stump to determine how old our Christmas tree is..... 8 years old!

Going home to decorate!

And a couple days later........ here is our first NY Christmas tree decorated:

The holidays are here! The holidays are here!

Never thought I would be this excited to announce that Christmas is coming!!!  But when you have TWO little pipsqueaks to share in the holiday magic, it makes it that much more special!  Plus, since Jax was the best Christmas gift we have EVER received, its like last year he brought all the jolliness with him when he arrived.  The holidays will never be the same again, thats for sure!  No grinches here!  No stressful frantic mall shopping, nightmare parking lots, and no road rage here!  Just like this year's Thanksgiving, Christmas is turning out to be relaxing and enjoyable..... LOTS to celebrate and enjoy this year!

We kicked off the holiday season with Jamestown's annual Christmas Parade the first weekend of December.  The weather is wintery and so delightful..... a little cold for an evening parade, but we made the best of it and bundled up real well.  

 Taj got a lightsaver or "sky writer" as he likes to call it.

 The rockin'  Christmas tree..... oh yes, it was rocking..... back and forth, back and forth.  You would never believe, this was a huge REAL tree sitting atop an ATV and every time the driver put on the gas the tree would sway back and forth!  Only in Chautauqua County, NY, you would see that, right?HILARIOUS

Mrs. Claus, riding into town on her horse....

 Jax's first Christmas parade :)

We ran into our friend's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, 

so we hung out with them all evening and watched the parade together.

 Well, this ain't the Newport Beach Boat Parade..... but they did ride in on a boat!  LOL

So you can see, Taj was in tractor/ snowplow heaven here with the long parade of snowplows.... delivering presents!  Just look at his face, he was in awe!

By the time we got back to our car, my fingers were frozen (i forgot my gloves!), and we quickly warmed ourselves up by picking up some fresh baked donuts and a Christmasy hazelnut latte for the ride home!

Santa's Lil Helper

Jax is one special little boy.  Since he was born on Christmas morning last year, Santa chose him as his little helper this year, and boy, does he fit the role perfectly or what?!!!

Jax's first STEPS!!!!

He's a walking.... a few steps at a time!  Last Thursday, Jax decided to just stroll into Taj's room from the hallway.... completely spontaneous!  First it stunned me, then I cheered so loud I couldn't believe it! I grabbed my phone to video what I could at the second go- around.  He must have taken 6+ steps, and was so giddy and excited that when I had him walk more he kept falling because he was going too fast!


 Since last week, he has taken the same number of steps here and there, and then plops down to his knees.  He's not in a rush to walk just yet... and you know what, I'm not in a rush to have him walk either.  I want to enjoy him crawling and him wanting to be a held just a tiny bit longer.  I think we'll have plenty of time to watch him walk and run all over the place :)

Jax turns 11 months old!

Happy 11 months sweet sweet baby Jax!!!  You will always be our baby, even though that 'baby"  title will diminish a wee bit in just a matter of weeks when you turn the big ONE years old!!!  You are an incredible son, and daddy, Taji, and I love you to pieces!  Taji even wanted to help you hold your 11 month sign up this time!

Big bro sneaking into the photo shoot!

Time sure is flying, but we are living each day and each of Jax's developmental stages to the fullest!  I can't get over the cuteness factor in how much Jax likes to keep up with his older brother, and copies him constantly!  Jax can also be the trouble initiator too..... and Taji will just follow along and act like him for the fun of it!  Such as in shaking our baby gate (its practically hanging by one side now since Jax has shook it, pulled on it,  and even hangs on it!).....

He's adventurous..... loves to open drawers, cabinets, and make lots of messes!  

For some reason, he LOVES the fridge.  He quickly races over to it when anyone opens it so he can stand there and stare at all the food.   He tries to pull things off the shelves, and gets super excited when he recognizes his yogurt and other foods.

 I couldn't resist throwing in a baby bum shot!!!!  Jax's bottom is the cutest, I just want to kiss it and squeeze it all day long!!!!  I think baby bottoms are so incredibly cute!!!

 This is at the YMCA gymnastics class..... both Jax and Taj love to jump on the trampolines and into the foam pit!  They love it sooo much that we had to talk Santa into bringing an indoor bounce house trampoline for them.  Good thing we have space for that sucker in our game room.... its a perfect rainy day indoor winter activity! Oh, and that lady in the center of the photo is my friend Brianna and her son Benny.

Jax is now running behind his truck, loves to walk the perimeter of the room, and we even taught Taj how to take him "out for a walk"  with it downstairs..... that video coming soon!

Jax has mastered not only climbing all 4 flights of stairs in our house, but he can crawl backwards now down the stairs... all four flights of stairs!  And we have PLATFORM stairs.... yes, the open kind.  A little freaky for mommies, but there isn't a challenge that Jax can pass up!

 This was Jax sitting in the big patient chair at the eye doctor's office!  Under NY state law, there is a new program that allows all infants 6-12 months to get a free vision evaluation.  Since I had such horrific vision issues growing up, and diagnosed at a young age, I really wanted Jax to get checked out so we were on the safe side.  He had his eyes dilated and passed all the eye tests!  Relieved that his eyesight is on track!

 More stair climbing photos... this was taken at the Ashville Library where we like to play, check out books, and attend our weekly Musikgarten class.

 Jax saw snow for the first time this past month, and he really loved playing in it!  I'm glad he doesn't mind the cold, although he doesn't necessarily like being bundled up!

 A few favorite pics of Jax's cuddle time with his monkey lovie.  He loves giving his monkey (and now Taj's stuffed animal "dog")  sweet nose kisses.  He will lay on his belly and bury his head into his lovie.  He will also sit and hug and rock his lovie while making cute squeaky noises!  I love how cuddly Jax is!

In developmental Jax news, he blows kisses, gives high fives, makes silly faces, cracks up and starts laughing to get Taj's attention.... he also gives open mouth kisses when you ask him to give you a kiss and lean in!!! He does the hand sign for "all done", says "haaa" for hi, waves hi and bye, puts his hand up when greeting others,  and frequently yells out "ball", "car", "cracker", "cookie", and "ta ta" (this is how he refers to his monkey lovie)..... all these must be his favorites!  I swear there have even been times where Jax sounds like he says "yeah", and has copied me saying "let's go" really fast!  I know, not possible, but it sounds SO much like it!  He is our trash compactor.... he will eat everything and anything you give him and stuff it in his mouth, and Poof!  it disappears!! We don't know where he puts all of it, but I can tell you he means business when its time to eat!  He has even started drinking out of the same sippy cups that Taj drinks from, and loves drinking kefir just as much as Taj!  Jax eats practically everything Taj and we eat (the homemade dinners and such), he loves different rice, couscous, quinoa mixed meals.  He also eats quesadillas, pitas, waffles, and grilled cheese sandwiches.    Anything he doesn't like (or when he gets full), he throws on the ground!  And remember when as a newborn, Jax initially had trouble latching during breastfeeding and didn't actually breastfeed until after a month?  Well, who would have thought he would be nursing this long!  I have been nursing him once in the morning, right before his lunch nap, after his nap, then at bedtime, and once more around midnight when he typically wakes in the night.  That's five times a day, and he still eats 3 big meals and snacks throughout the day!  Again, we have no idea where all this is going because he does not look like a big baby!  I have tried offering him cow's milk but he doesn't want it, and like Taj, I have a feeling he's going to get most of his calcium and vitamin D from leafy greens, yogurt, and kefir.  In time for his 12 month bday (and because I have a 2 night girls trip planned in the Big Apple next month), I am beginning to wean him from nursing.  I am slowly cutting back on the feedings and Brad is putting the boys to bed solo once a week.