Good Night Sweetheart

My kids are creative sleepers. We quietly tiptoe into their room every night before we go to sleep to check on them and cover them one more time before Brian and I go to sleep. Most nights we choke back chuckles at the positions we find them in.

Here's some pictures we've been accumulating...ENJOY!

That chubby hand...those lips!

She's oh-so flexible

Stuffed animals everywhere!

When Judah was sleeping in our room in the pack-n-play. That's gonna hurt in the morning!

Free as a bird

My bald boy testing the sturdiness of his toddler rail. Stuffed animals strewn everywhere!

How he got his lion on his back I'll never understand.

Huggin' the leopard and hurtin' the breathing!

Wide open! Sleeping in the exact opposite end of the crib she started in.

Going for a run with daddy is very boring

Little Things I Want to Remember: Addise.

The days pass too slowly sometime and turbo speed others. I fear forgetting all the things that makes Addise who she is today at 19 months. Here are some of my most favorite things these days about my mini-me...

ADDISE ASTER TARIKE.

She really does loves her peas, but she's drama for this mama!

• In the past week she has started exclaiming"MINE!" and a sweet"thank you" in the right contexts [she exclaims everything, really]. A blessing and a curse, not in that order.
• She has a temper in the making [read: character development needed!]. When Addise gets mad, she turns into the Hulk. Her rage starts deep within, building until she screams/growls, shakes all spare appendages, and may even throw whatever object is in her hand or within her grasp. The rest of us run for cover and pray for God to intervene.
• She runs like Frankenstein with locked knees, swinging her legs back and forth at a mach speed that'll get her in trouble if she trips.
• At 19 months Addise still only has 6 teeth - her front 4 and 2 top molars. I often ask her where her teeth are, and she proudly points to the half dozen she's cut.

• She's an Illini fan. Just like a Getz!

  Addise can regularly be found running through our house giggling hysterically...with her eyes closed! She finds it quite exhilarating to see how far she can get running blindly. As you can imagine, these adventures can end in tears.

• Addise would rather kiss her daddy any day over me. She's in love with him. I understand why.
• She's recently discovered that her eyes and eyebrows together make a 100 more expressions than she previously realized. She uses this charm to her advantage by making us laugh all the more. 
• Testing her boundaries is what she does best. She looks over her shoulder countless times a day to see if we'll notice her getting shoes out of the shoe basket or stealing Judah's water for a drink. Madness.
• Every day when I get home from work, Addise runs toward the door - Frankenstein style - squealing with delight. She nearly shimmies up my leg to get a few cuddles in.

There are too many reasons I love this picture. Time for bigger PJs?!?

I never want to forget those thighs!!!

It's not all fun and games at the Diaz Casa [did you read my recent post?!]. This was after a L.O.N.G afternoon of errands. I think they communicated their emotions efficiently.

Little Things I Want to Remember: Judah.

We've been a forever family for over 9 months and our kids are cuter than ever. Since I don't keep a baby book for either kid, this is my version of capturing the moments and milestones of our Judah Abebayehu.

Here are some of my most favorite things about Judah's exploding personhood...

JUDAH ABEBAYEHU.

• He's recently learned the difference  between a boy and a girl [though not anatomically], and he correctly assigns the gender to each member of our family. However, when I told Judah that daddy is actually a "man", he immediately pointed to himself and said "Judah, man!" He's convinced of it!
  
• As the story above proves, he speaks of himself in the third person quite often.
  
• Judah and I have a special connection. It's unexplainable but this photo booth picture provides a snapshot into our daily life.
• He's my little bookworm. The first thing he does every morning is pull several books off the bookshelf to read. He studies those books with a passion.
  
• When he's trying to get my attention and I don't answer the first couple times, he'll follow with "Mommy! Oooohhhh, mom-my!!" Where did he learn that!?! 
• Judah is my snuggler. He burrows into to my shoulder anytime of day and loves to give me kisses upon request.
• Judah would be a couch potato if we let him. His current favorite show is Yo Gabba Gabba, and his favorite movie is "The Lion King". That's my Ethiopian son!
• Winking is one of his prized tricks. He can only contort his right eye which requires his mouth to move toward the wink, as well. His entire face works overtime to wink that big eye. But he's oh-so good at it and it's always followed by a laugh.
• One of Judah's first phrases was "I'm sorry", primarily because of offenses to his sister. Since then, he says "sorry sissy" almost every time Addise cries even if it's not his fault. Pavlov response.
• We've been teaching our kids about their emotions. Judah is quick to let us know if he or someone else is happy, sad, mad, or tired. I'm determined to raise emotionally aware and healthy kids!
  

My bucket is actually a hat!

Judah's molluscum got infected, thus the Cookie Monster bandaid. While he was being treated for the infection he was a broken record, "Mommy. My Owie. Doctor. Medicine." I'm crazy about this kid. He's growing leaps and bounds and after 9 months together, he is solidly a Diaz.