Presidential Primaries

I finally decided that I am going to vote for John Edwards in the presidential primaries, which are in February in California. I really like how he supports environmental issues. I'm not an environmentalist, but it's important to me that my kids live in a healthy environment with plenty of natural resources and clean air. Living in Fresno, I can see how pollution can make a big impact. So many kids here have asthma and there are days when we can't go to the park. Also, every year there is less and less snow falling in the mountains, which means less water for us as well. I like his stand on other issues as well. His website is JohnEdwards.com.

Merry Christmas!

Last night was Christmas Eve. We went to church. We then came home and made sticky pecan rolls for breakfast the next morning. Costas helped knead the dough, punch it down, and sprinkle on the cinnamon and sugar. We then left out a cookie and milk for Santa, as well as food the for reindeer (oatmeal with colored sugar).




Now, it is Christmas! Costas loved all of his presents. He also enjoyed opening presents for Actaeos. Some of Costas' presents were a wooden car that can be reassembled, a skateboard, a Playmobil castle, and Spiderman toys. Once he opened one present, he was anxious to open another one. Actaeos obviously didn't care about anything.

Tom bought me an iPod Nano. I was really surprised because I never told Tom that I wanted one, but I always thought an iPod would be fun to have. Now that I have started working out at the gym again (just once), it will come in extra handy. I was practical like usual and bought Tom noise-cancelling headphones for when he travels. He liked them. The boys bought him a pop-up Star Wars book, which will be great for them to share.

Unfortunately, when I get caught up in the moment I forget to take pictures, so we don't have much from unwrapping, although I did videotape part of it.

Christmas Pictures

I like the dumb-founded look on Actaeos' face.

Cookies For Santa

Costas had a great time making cookies for Santa (and the rest of us)! The dough kept sticking to the counter top, so they are a little misshapen. The last cookies were made by squishing a big ball of dough onto the cookies sheet. Yummy! Costas took his time decorating the cookies all by himself. He choose a big cookie to give to Santa which we put on our special Santa plate. He said, "Do you think he'll like it?" with much sincerity. Afterwards, he kissed Actaeos as you can see by the icing on his cheek. We can't wait for Santa!

Fluffy Bunny

Costas loves to call Actaeos his fluffy bunny. I'm not sure if I said it before or if he came up with it on his own. Either way, Costas greets Actaeos with a "Hi, my fluffy bunny." This bear suit is the closest I have to a bunny.

2 Months

Actaeos had his 2 month checkup last week. The doctor confirmed it: Actaeos is big (OK, fat)! He is almost 14 pounds and over 2 feet long. Actaeos is lifting up his body with his arms. He is always happy and loves to sleep, although he is up for much longer periods now where he wants to play.

Las Vegas

Tom and Costas went to Las Vegas for a few days. While there they went to Red Rock, the Strip, and Mt. Charleston. Here are a few pictures from their trip.

Preschool

Costas loves going to preschool. He has lots of fun playing with all of his friends. They just had a little show where the kids sang two songs. One song was the Reindeer Hokey-Pokey which was really cute. During part of the song, the kids wiggled their "fluffy tails." Too cute. These are pictures from after the songs, with his teachers, Teacher Kelly and Teacher Deborah. He loves his teachers. Thank goodness he listens to them.

Brothers

Bell Ringing

This is our second year of ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. Costas enjoyed ringing the bell with gusto and handing out candy. He would look each person in the eyes as they walked by us. It is amazing how few people put in money while a little boy looked at them with pleading eyes. After an hour he became restless and wanted to go. The last half hour he played near me, but would occasionally ring the bell. Actaeos slept in the sling the whole time.

Christmas pictures

So, I took lots of pictures, then ended up taking more pictures another day. It's hard enough to get one kid looking good in a picure, let alone two. Here are some samples of what I took.

Warm Winter Day

It was such a nice day outside so we went outside to play. Actaeos is beginning to pay attention to his surroundings. He especially loves Costas.

Gingerbread House

Tom and Costas had too much fun making a gingerbread house. It's a tradition we started last year as a father/son activity. Costas ends up with more candy on him than on the house.

Thanksgiving Songs

The week before Thanksgiving Costas' class had a small performance at school. They sang a few songs. All of the songs had body movements to go along with it. Costas was the only one who was jumping around while singing the songs, but he did sing. It was very cute. This picture is from before the performance. Costas is second from the left. I videotaped so I couldn't get any action shots.

Millerton Lake

We took a day trip to Millerton Lake. It is a pretty lake, but very muddy at the water line. Costas thought we were at the beach. He had lots of fun playing in the mud and climbing on the rocks.

Professor of the Year

Tom received an award for Professor of the Year in the engineering department. Costas and I baked a coconut cake to celebrate. We are so proud of him!

Baby Face-Star Wars

Costas loves singing this song to Actaeos. It's his own version of Baby Face with a twist at the end. Costas has long conversations with Actaeos. On the way to school yesterday, Costas was pointing out the window and saying, "Look, trees. Wow. You like trees. They are very beautiful." It was very cute. He also likes to tell Actaeos that he likes being a big brother.

More pictures

We love having a baby at home! Here are some more pictures.

My Birthday

I turned 35. We went to dinner at Red Robin. Costas enjoyed eating my ice cream. Tom bought me a shirt that has the boys pictures on it. It was nice to get out the house and spend some time with my family.

Just Pics

Just some pictures of my boys.

One Week

Time goes by too quickly. I can't believe that Actaeos has already been with us for a week. Actaeos is an easy baby. He only nurses every four hours or so, and the rest of the time he sleeps. He isn't bothered by noise (which he have lots of at our house) or movement. Costas continues to be a great big brother. He always says, "Your baby is so special." He likes to cuddle with Actaeos and touch his face. He also likes to share his toys. Costas asked me why Actaeos doesn't play with the toys and I said that he doesn't know what a toy is yet. Costas looked at Actaeos and said, "It's to play with silly." We are so happy to have two boys now.

Actaeos Arrives!!!!!

On Thursday night, Costas, Tom, and I went out to dinner, then played a round of miniature golf. Costas and I went to bed at 9:30. I woke up at 1am having contractions and back pain. The next hour the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. Tom went to bed to get in a quick nap. By 2:45am the contractions were really close together so we headed for the hospital about a half hour later. We arrived around 3:30am and I was dilated to 7cm. The contractions were really close and the back labor very intense. At 5:45am I felt like pushing so the doctor came to the room. I pushed two times and Actaeos arrived at 5:54am. He weighed 7lb. 7oz. and was 19 1/2 in. long.

Tom went to get Costas at home. Costas was so cute around the baby. At first he acted shy, then he came over and gave the baby a present. Costas was so gentle. He kept touching and kissing the baby. Costas went to preschool and Tom went home to get some sleep. They came back after school. We left the hospital at 9pm that night.

Actaeos is a quiet baby so far. Costas has been great with him and doesn't show any signs of jealousy. So far everything has been wonderful!