Today's Firsts

Eerika skipped a nap for the very first time. I should say that she has skipped a nap here and there if we were traveling, but this was the first "we are home and you are not napping today" scenario.  She is almost 2 & 1/2 and has loved nap time. This past week, she has started saying "I dont want to take a nap", but she would take it anyway without problems. Today, she climbed out of her bed twice and it was about 1:30 pm and I didnt feel like fighting it or having her nap way late. She was very happy for the rest of the day. But I do not want to give up naps. 

Eerika also got her first helmet today. We are slacker parents and didnt get her one until now. She doesnt really like biking so it wasn't really an issue before. She is a fast runner, actually very fast and loves to climb and jump and do tricks but she struggling with biking. Or I should say she bikes for two minutes and then decides that it is not worth her time. 

All pink in Hello Kitty. I am not a fan of pink when it comes to girl stuff but sometimes you just get some pink stuff for your girl.

Saku upgraded from a toddler helmet to a big boy Spiderman helmet.

Saku learned to ride a bike without training wheels two weeks ago. We were visiting Troy's childhood friend Matt and his family and we were impressed how their son knew how to ride a bike. Someone decided to see how Saku would do on Westin's bike and he learned to ride the bike within minutes. It is a much smaller bike than Saku's and I think the fact that he could put his feet down while sitting on the saddle made a huge difference.  We came home from our trip and took Saku's training wheels off and he did well. His bike is bigger and heavier which makes it more challenging but the boy is biking on his own. Today he learned to stop on his own without crashing. We still need to figure out how to get him started on his own. 

I am very proud of his biking. Mostly I am proud of the fact that he had few crashes and few scares and it didnt stop him from getting back on the saddle and trying again. 

Poop Free Day

I am grateful for today for many reasons. And I am not gonna lie, one of the top reasons is the fact that I didn't have to clean up any poop today.

Eerika has been potty trained for a month and a half and she has done so well. Because of the way she transitioned to underwear so well and barely ever had accidents, I have really struggled in the last week or so when she has started to poop in her underwear. Poop in the underwear is just gross. So we have been throwing bunch of them away. But today we are accident free and I am grateful for that!

A friend, who lives about 100 yards away from us, is moving and she has been so generous as she is minimizing clutter and reducing the amount of stuff that she is taking with her. Her trash has been my treasure as we now have nice patio chairs and recliners, random storage boxes that have helped me to get more organized and many stylish shirts that I love.  Not only has our family been blessed because of her, but I was able to bless another family because of Alisha's generosity. She brought over a huge box of pantry type food. I happen to visit teach a family who struggles financially and I was able to take the box over to them.  It has been a good reminder to be generous with our things when we get new things and want to get rid off our old ones. 

My body is back on track. I am working out again and I feel great. Yesterday I ran for 30 minutes and today I had a date with Jillian Michaels as she is trying to help me to say bye to my "trouble zones". 

I am packing up to go to Finland. In one week we will be flying over the atlantic. I am not looking forward to being away from Troy but I am ecstatic about our travel plans and being with my family. 

Cousins

Saku is the first grandchild on my side and the third youngest on Troy's side, so our kids are sort of in a cousin limbo because they are the oldest or youngest by several years. We are also far away from cousins, so we haven't gotten too much time with them. 

This summer has been different. While Troy was at scout camp during the first week of June, I escaped the Tucson heat and spent five days in Utah. This was the first time that Cambree and Eerika were old enough to play together and they played so well. I couldnt get over it. It was such a nice thing to witness and a relief that I didn't have to worry about breaking up fights every few minutes.  Eerika is exactly four weeks older than Cambree, so their ages match perfectly for a play mate.

They would sit on this pile of toys and play for hours. Eerika seemed to be a bit of a ring leader and boss Cambree around, but they both seemed okay with the arrangement t. 

Nothing like playing in some cold and dirty water

When we went to San Diego, Troy's parents were there and Cambree and Makayla as well. So the cousins got to play together on the beach for five days. Once we got home from San Diego, it was girls' camp week for me and grandma and the girls came down to Tucson to help Troy while I was gone. Yes grandma wrestled four kids on her own while Troy was at work. 

Fortunately, Makayla (almost 8) is very generous with her friendship and patient with Saku and they play very well together. They both love pretending so there was no limits to their imagination when they started to play. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of them. 

Cute girls in matching dresses after church.

Eerika and Cambree at the gym playing with parachute. Isi was very kind to take all the kids there.

Somehow the girls climbed over the fence while playing on the patio. I wonder who instigated this act of rebellion.

Play dough is always fun

Nothing like playing in the Tucson monsoon rain and then the sprinklers going off. They also decided to go and play in the sand after getting wet, which meant that they were filthy dirty. 

While we were in San Diego, Anna's baby girl was born. She is our newest cousin and I cannot wait to snuggle her. In few years, Eerika can teach her all sorts of tricks:) 

Destination: San Diego

Since we are going to Finland for six weeks, we didn't do much of "vacationing" this summer. However, we did take a five day trip to San Diego.

We had Grandpa's truck after a trip to Phoenix to pick up a new washer and dryer so we were driving that to San Diego while Grandma and Grandpa drove our car there and we swapped back. 

This truck was not the most convenient road trip car. It was so so great for hauling our washer and dryer and getting some more sand for our backyard, but it was a bit tight inside the car for us and our stuff. 

This road trip was also different since the truck didn't have a DVD player like our car. I embraced it and the kids did fabulous job entertaining themselves. OK, I entertained them by reading to them, singing to them and they got to play some games on our iPhones. We did watch about an hour of Curious George when we were an hour away from the beach house.

High lights of the road trip to San Diego

-Trying to have Eerika go pee in a disgusting porta-potty. She would not do it, so we ended up squatting behind it.

-Discovering that reading in the car does not make me car sick. This was huge for my entertainment and for the kids' entertainment. Saku loved the fact that I could read books to him.

Meeting isi at work so we could start our adventure.

Snacks are a must!

Bringing your own pillow is a must!

Wow an actual picture of Troy and I!

We got to San Diego around 7 pm and headed out to get some food. Pei Wei seemed like a good and fast choice. It was good. The kids enjoyed it, which was great but it was not fast.

Chop sticks and fortune cookies make a great entertainment while waiting for food.

Saku ate about 7 fortune cookies. 

We were "cool" parents, though our kids dont even recognize that yet and let them go for an evening swim at 9 pm at the hotel pool.  I did not get in. The 75 degree weather was awesome but did not entice  me to get into the pool. So I watched Eerika while Saku and isi did cool tricks in the water.

This is a blurry picture, but it shows what a strong swimmer Saku is. I am very proud of how hard he has work and practice and how well he swims. 

Eerika loved hanging out on the first step and putting her face in the water. And then she would go and warm up in the hot tub. 

It was about 10:30 pm when we finally got the kids to sleep. Yes, not ideal but I tried very hard to be a relaxed mom and be on a "vacation mode".

Saku Aleksanteri on June 27th, 2013

Likes to:  swim, play with his legos, do tricks such as cartwheels and summersaults, reading books, watching Secret Agent Oso, Super Why or Transformers, go to the gym

Plays: pretends to be superhero, builds on his legos,  cars and play dough

Does not like: the fact that isi has to go to work every day

Has learned: to hit a baseball and throw a frisbee

Needs: lots of love and encouragement

Friends: James, Curtis, Ethan and Will. We play with other friends as well, but I think these are the friends that Saku mostly thinks about. Cameron is also on the list, but not available for hanging out anymore. 

What are we working on: using our words instead of crying over things, checking on Eerika and friends when he accidentally hurts them, not being sneaky, but asking for permission because most of the time we say "yes". 

Miss Eerika on June 27th 2013

Likes: to climb into her crib to lay down and suck on her tutti when she gets upset, sad or feels like the world is just unfair.  Bug Saku. Wrestling with Saku. Read books. Swing at the park. Jump into the swimming pool and doest mind going underwater even when she tells you "no underwater" right before she jumps. 

Does not like: when anyone tells her what to do. Going to potty can be a struggle if she doesnt want to.  That is when I have to use bribery.

Wears: big girl underwear during the day and a night underwear (pull up) at night. Some days she chooses what she wears but mostly she doesnt really care. 

Plays: with her play kitchen and has cupcake parties, Saku's legos and her babies/stuffed animals.

She has a great imagination and will often by independently very well. 

Needs: a story before nap and bed time, a song and a prayer before bed time, her kitty cat and 10,000 tuttis, okay it is only 4 but she can still make a scene if she doesnt have a multiple ones in the bed with her. Also she now requests her door to be left open when she goes to bed. 

Has learned: to put her head completely underwater when we swim. Sings "ABCs".  To count to 10. 

Friends: Ella and Julia, Carter and Amber 

What we are working on: using kind voice and words. She is quite bossy.  Getting 100% potty trained. She does very well but we still have accidents here and there. 

Morning routine:

Eerika's morning routine is breakfast, getting her clothes on, brushing her teeth, going potty and doing her hair. Once she has done all those things, and if we are staying home for the morning, she gets to watch one episode of Super Why.

Typical Eerika. Showing her pouty face just because she wants to.

Then I tease her "dont you dare to smile or laugh or have fun. Just keep showing me a pouty and angry face"

"Hey sweetheart"

"I am not sweetheart, I am Eerika"

Eerika "that's my binky"

Isi: "whats a binky?"

Eerika: "binky is tutti"

Little Moments Worth Remembering

After a world wide broadcast from our church leaders, Troy sincerely said "I need to be a better home teacher, a better missionary, a better husband and a better isi"

Saku just as sincerely answered: "you are a better is".

On Tuesday morning, I slept past my alarm and finally go out of bed when I heard some stirring upstairs. When I walked up the stairs, I saw Saku and Eerika both hanging out. This was the first time that both kids have woke up at the same time and Eerika climbed out of her on her own.

Eerika is capable of climbing out of her crib. She demonstrates this skill more often at night than in the morning. If she does get out of bed in the morning by herself, she usually brings her blanket, her kitty cat, and variety of other stuffed animals with her. She is a bit of a hoarder. 

Saku: "Eerika can speak Spanish"

"Eerika just twist your tongue and make weird noises, that's Spanish".

When I tried diplomatically say something about that, he said "oh she is just pretending".

Saku eating a breakfast. "äiti, thank you for this delicious breakfast" with a huge smile on his face. Yeah it was a good start for the day.