Holiday Wrap-up

From Thanksgiving until mid-January, we are crazy crazy busy.
Thanksgiving, Luc's birthday, Luc's birthday party all right before December starts.
This year, as if we weren't busy enough, we added some other things onto our to-do list.

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Decorating Our Tree

The day after Thanksgiving we put up our tree. If we didn't do it then, I really don't know when else we would have time. Like with the outdoor lights, they're still not up- don't know when that'll happen this year...

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Christmas Card Picture Outtakes

Before you see the picture-perfect Christmas card we sent out, this is a real behind-the-scenes of what taking pictures with kids entails. It's not picture perfect. It takes a really long time. And in order to get that great one or two to actually use, you have to take about 100 that get deleted.

Picking of the nose:

Aria decided a bright yellow flashlight was a great prop:

No one sitting/laying still:

 Aria inspecting her belly button with said flashlight:

Luc getting slapped in the face for laughing at Aria:

Daddy blinking, Luc making a funny face, Aria not looking:

Me trying to figure out how to use my new camera phone remote (Aria playing dead on the bed):

The winning photos in our Christmas Card (looks like a perfect, easy shoot, right?):

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New York City, December 2-4

Since the kids are obsessed with everything Christmas, we thought they would like going to go to NYC to see the decorations and the tree in Rockefeller. And since Matt and Jackie always come down to see us, we would make the trip up to them, and stay with them for the weekend. To make it easier on us, we left for NY Friday night. The kids passed out in the car around 8-8:30pm and we made it to Matt's by 11:30pm. Aria woke up an hour before we got there, but stayed quiet and patient. But she caught her second wind and didn't come to bed with me until 2:30am. Yawn.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at my aunt & uncle's house since they weren't coming into the city with us. We took the hour train ride to Penn Station. We walked to see the Macy's windows, which I thought were a huge disappointment. The story windows were boring and the other side had no theme or continuity at all. The kids seemed unimpressed as well.

Not cool, Mommy. What were you thinking?

Off to get some waffles from a truck run by native Belgians- which Frederic was ecstatic to find. He's been following them on Facebook for a few years now.

Then we walked to Bryant Park where they had little shops, the ice rink (where Luc saw his first Zamboni), and their own tree- decorated in red, white, and blue.

Afterwards we decided to head to Rockefeller since it was going to start getting dark soon. The crowds were insane! But it was worth it. Luc couldn't believe how big it was. Aria wanted to touch it and then kept insisting we take the tree home. hahaha! After almost getting split up trying to leave, we just headed back to the train station, via Times Square which lit up the kids' eyes, to get the kids some food before heading back to Long Island. I think the kids enjoyed the train rides more than anything else that day.

Of course Aria wanted to touch everything that was lite up in NY. And asked with every lighted thing we passed. She also loved the Empire State building that was lite up blue that night.
They passed out in the car ride home from the train station and slept all night.

The next morning we had a big breakfast compliments of Chef Matt. After Jackie left for an appointment, we smushed into the car to go to my grandparent's graves. I knew I would regret not visiting if we didn't go since it's only 30 minutes from my cousin's house. And I had yet to go there and see my grandma's headstone since she passed 2.5 years ago. We found it, and stood in the cold wind. Luc got too cold, so Frederic took him back to the car. Aria nearly broke my heart in two. I squatted down to clean off the dead leaves that were stuck around my grandma's headstone. When I stood up, Aria laid down in front of it, on her belly. And started gracefully outlining all the letters and numbers on the headstone. And talking quietly. My grandma passed away when I was 13 weeks pregnant with Aria. And I've always felt that she became Aria's guardian angel. Aria just seemed so at ease and calm laying there. Like she knew who was there and her connection to her.

Aria, entertaining herself on the drive home to Maryland: 

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School Christmas Program, December 9th

 It was so nice to see Luc healthy and singing along during his Christmas program at school this year. Last year he was so sick, he was out of school a lot and he made it to the program, but was just getting over the flu and looked so sickly on stage.
And once again, he refuses to the arm/hand motions that go along with the song.

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Voltaggio Christmas Party, December 10th

My parents hosted their annual Christmas party. Lots of family from different states made it to Maryland. It was so great seeing everyone and spending time together. It was fun to watch our kids play together too.

After we eat dinner, we bundled up the kids and took them outside to walk around the two courts and see the Christmas lights up on people's houses. Aria was the most excited screaming "Lights!! Lights!!" "Look, guys!"

Cousins, the next generation.

Matt and Jackie stayed over our house Saturday night, and we stayed up til 2am talking. Most of that was sitting on beach chairs in the garage smoking cigars and drinking- the After Party. Aria was up at 3:30am (since she didn't fall asleep for the night until almost 11pm). So I got about 2 hours total of sleep that night.
Sunday morning we went back to my parent's house where Matt and Jackie were riding back to NY with my aunt and uncle. We had a big breakfast. The plan was to go back home as I needed to go grocery shopping and we were hoping to get our outdoor Christmas lights up. But Luc started playing a game with Frederic and Aria got cranky. So we put her up for a nap and I took a nap on the couch. We ended up staying for dinner.
With the cold weather coming in and the kids not going outside to play any, I can already see the pent up energy exploding in other ways. There's a lot of No and Time Outs at the moment. sigh. Yay, winter...

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Voltaggio Christmas Tree Decorating, December 18th

This weekend was just as full.
We woke up Saturday to find everything covered in ice outside.

Thankfully the ice began to melt by lunchtime and we went to Frederic's parent's house for dinner. After we ate we followed my father in law in his car to see some crazy-decorated houses nearby. Their neighborhoods got more freezing rain than we did Friday night, so it was still very slippery on the roads. Unfortunately, these crazy houses are on busy streets so we couldn't pull off and take any pictures, and the kids had to see them from their car seats.

Our own street is pretty decorated and I kept feeling bad because we still hadn't gotten a chance to put up our own lights. Sunday morning, Frederic decided he would do it. Of course, just as he starts (Luc outside with him helping), it starts to rain. But since we were having a freak weather day and the temperature was 60 degrees, they stayed and got the job done. Luckily the rain stopped after I put Aria down for a nap and could help do the final touches.

After Aria woke up, we went to my parent's house for our annual tree decorating and dinner.

Luc taking a selfie with Aria and Cali.

And if the weekend was exciting enough and tiresome...Sunday evening at home Frederic's stomach started to hurt. We thought it was just gas from some of the food we ate this weekend. We went to bed. 11:30pm the pain woke Frederic up from his sleep. He was complaining and I could see he was in a lot of pain. I looked up appendicitis and freaked him out enough that he could have that, that we decided to go to the hospital. I reluctantly called my mom around 11:45pm. I hated having to wake her and ask her to come watch the kids, but I didn't know what else to do and I didn't want to drag the kids with us in the middle of the night. We got to ER at around midnight. When Frederic was in triage, he told the nurse the pain just sitting down was a 3, but an 8 when standing/walking. So since the pain wasn't severe, we waited in the waiting room. And waited. And waited. Then around 2am-something, Frederic's pain sitting became an 8 and we got moved up the list to be seen by the PA. IV fluids, a CT scan, and another hour later, we learned he had diverticulitis. Two antibiotics in IV form, and another hour and half later, plus some percocet, and we were discharged.
Just as we walked in the door at 6am, Aria wakes up. Another night with no sleep...I honestly wonder how I function at all with the little sleep I've been getting the last two years.

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Since my mother-in-law is having surgery on her hand on the 23rd, we're hosting Christmas Eve dinner with them. There's a lot of prep work to do on Friday, plus wrapping presents, cleaning, etc etc.
Christmas is always one of my favorite times of the year. I still look on Christmas and gain a feeling of excitement, family, and love. Surprisingly, I also feel peace. Unfortunately, we, I, get so wrapped up (pun intended) in decorating, finding the perfect gifts, shopping, and everything else we did this month, that I'm left feeling exhausted. And yet I still don't wish for Christmas to be over. I dread the morning after Christmas when all the music fades, lights are turned off, excitement worn off, and clean up gleaming to be done.

~May the Joy and the Peace of the Season stay with you all the year long!~

Luc's 5th Birthday Party

Everything is Awesome! 

Luc's birthday fell on the actual day of the week he was born and on the day of his party. Besides the usual family that comes, Luc invited Vasna, Blake and Briley, and some kids from his class: Kira, Ryan, and Emma.

I found some decorating ideas on Pinterest since Lego doesn't give away the rights for party supplies to be made. I bought 60 yellow cups and drew different Lego faces on each cup. And I'm proud of myself for letting go and getting the cake made at Wegmans instead of killing myself to do it myself and make it look nice and Frederic having to save my butt.

The Birthday Boy!

I also found a party game on Pinterest for his Lego-themed party, freeze a Lego guy minifig in ice. The kids had to use warm water, salt, chopsticks, and metal forks to excavate the guys. They had a lot of fun racing to see who could do it first.

As party favors, I gave Lego sets. I bought a large container that came with instructions to make about 9-10 different things. Frederic and I made them a few nights before, printed off instructions, and put them in bags. There was a dinosaur, a submarine, a shark, a pirate ship, etc.
I also borrowed a Lego guy silicon mold from my brother. My intention was to make gummie candies, but the reality of the situation is I didn't have the time or the energy, and would definitely need another mold. So instead, I took some old RoseArt crappy crayons, smashed them up, put different colors shavings in each mold and melted them into Lego guy crayons.

I was pretty busy keeping the flow of the party going and not letting the kids get too distracted with playing with toys or hide n seek, that I forgot to take a lot of pictures of the actual party.
I did get some cake pics (thank you, Frederic, for decorating the cake with the Legos)!

 Happy Birthday, Monkey!

Luc is 5!

Our little monkey is 5 years old today. 5 Years! Technically no longer a preschooler, he is now a little boy. I see how much taller he is when he's reaching into the fridge, looking in the cabinets, sitting on the couch, and grabbing off the kitchen counter.
I just don't know where to begin...

Height: 39.5 inches
Weight: 32.6 lbs
Shoe size: 10.5
Clothes sizing: 4T-5T

Best Friends: Kira, Vasna, Ryan

Loves: School, his bike, racing cars, being outside, swimming, the beach, playing in the snow, the playground, helping garden the flowers and herbs on the deck, one-on-one time, jumping on Daddy & Mommy's bed, board games

Dislikes: Sharing with Aria (99% of the time), veggies, sleeping by himself ("I get lonely at night in my bed."), the dark, when Aria gets into his box of treasures, dressing himself

Luc is such a wonderful child. Though he has more bouts of jealousy with Aria, he's kind, smart, funny, observant, and fun. He's still shy and takes awhile to warm up to some things and people. He proceeds with caution, knows when he's hit his limit, and is overall still pretty obedient. He doesn't like to say goodbye to people. He doesn't like to give or get kisses when he's pressured into it.
I love to see him shower his sister with attention and affection. I beam with pride when he takes care of her and watches out for her too.

Luc's favorite thing he did each day (during the week) is "go to school." On the weekends, he's constantly asking us when he goes back to school again, how many more days.
Luc is getting more and more curious and takes in everything he learns. And he also loves to see how things work. My parents had their front door redone and Luc was so fascinated how it got fixed. In the evening, if we play a game with Luc before his bedtime, I turn off the kid TV show and put on HGTV. That same day, I did that. Luc usually isn't interested and will ignore the TV (hence why I do it). But this night, he started watching Property Brothers and how one of the guys was installing a new window in the house. Luc finally turned around and told me, "I'm interested in that kinda stuff now. I saw Grandma's door get fixed today. So now I want to see, you know, grown up stuff. ... it looks like hard work."

He loves music, especially singing, though sometimes he's even too shy in front of just me to sing a new song. When Luc learned the Veggie Tale's 'The B-I-B-L-E" song, he couldn't stop singing it all night long. And he was singing it a little too loudly. But how can you tell him to stop when it's a church song? It was just too cute too.

Luc craves to go outside every day, sometimes more than once or twice a day.
He also asks "How can I help?" or "What can I do?" whenever we're cooking, making something, fixing something, etc. We're taking advantage, even if it means a little mess.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Astronaut or a Helicopter Delivery Pilot
Favorite color? purple and blue
Favorite thing to do? play in the tent with Aria
Favorite song? "The B-I-B-L-E", "Who Built the Ark," "Go Tell it on the Mountain"
Favorite movie? The Lego Movie
Favorite TV show? "I can only pick two: Maya the Bee and Blaze."
Favorite food? brownies
Favorite toy? remote-controlled cars
Favorite part of school? Besides playing with Kira outside- Music Class.


Luc,
You're entering a new phase and one in which I haven't prepared myself for at all. I feel as though I'm entering a new phase as well and facing the fact that as you age, so do I. Yes, that's logical (as you will say) but it's something more than that too.
You're growing, you're coming more into your own, you're more helpful, smarter, more curious, more emotional, and more a lot of other things. Your opinions and ideas are mostly all your own, though I can guide them a little sometimes. I love to see how your head works. I love to listen to you when you come up with a solution to something (even a world problem). I'm fascinated to see how you came up with that reasoning. And usually, in small scale, it does makes sense and would work.
I'm more proud of you too.
You can do so much more for/by yourself now too. I don't fear as much when you're climbing on the playground, I don't watch you when you run to make sure you don't fall. I'm confident to let you play on the deck with your remote-controlled car, by yourself or watching Aria when I have to turn my eyes away.
My favorite memories of you this year is repeating things you've learned in school, strengthening your belief and understanding of Jesus, and taking care of your sister. Even though you've also gotten more jealous of Aria and Mommy not spending enough one-on-one time with you, you take care of Aria like a big brother should. I love when you stop teasing and dance with Aria in the kitchen, or start brushing her hair for her when you get out of the bath. You're such a good brother when you make sure she doesn't fall down the steps, or needs help climbing onto a chair. When Mommy's hands are busy, you will help her with a toy she cannot open or get untangled. I pray your relationship will only strengthen and the love between you will grow. She is the only one in the whole world who will understand where you come from and how you were really raised. You'll have a bond no one else can come between. She is your lifetime friend.

You're my first born and we're connected by a bond of entering this family life together, not knowing what to expect, not knowing how to handle new phases, and figuring it all out together.
You're such an amazing kid, with a personality and character to match. You're gonna go so far in this life. I just know it.
I love you, Monkey.
-Mommy

My lil Soccer Player

Frederic and I aren't football and baseball lovers. We love soccer. So we're biased and yes, we are "steering" Luc to love soccer as well.
I want to be a Soccer Mom. I want to sit and watch soccer games where I enjoy the sport, not football where they stand around half the time, or God forbid, baseball where it's slow and could run over hours and hours. Yawn.

Since Luc was enjoying kicking a soccer ball around with Frederic this summer, and was actually doing pretty well, we decided to sign him up to be on a team. Luc was on board.
Unfortunately, the first practice was also during a heat wave in September. The first practice, everyone was dying. I was sitting in the shade with Aria sweating my butt off. We all bathed when we got home.
But then we missed two weeks being in Belgium, and Luc only had negative memories about soccer (not to mention his jersey is like a dress and he hates that. I have to use my hair tie to tie it back). So it's been pulling tooth and nail getting him to go back each week. Even Frederic being the assistant coach wasn't helping. Finally, I took notice.
The first hour of practice is technical. Luc does great, smiles, and seems to like that part. The last half hour is a scrimmage. Either our team cuts in half, or we group with the other boys of the same age from another team. That's when it goes downhill. Luc stands at the goal, will break down in tears with one look from me and a "Go get the ball, Luc!". He eventually comes over to me, begging to stay out, that he's tired and done. I let him. But I observed (difficult while chasing after Aria the whole time).
First, Luc didn't want me to take Aria to the playground while he was practicing. So I started staying. This helped. I've made sure to cheer him on, etc. Then I changed from the "we paid lots of money for you to do this, you have to go!" To "Do the first hour, that you enjoy, and you can sit out of the scrimmage after you try a little." That was the compromise of success. And I noticed, Luc doesn't like the scrimmage because he's the smallest (and youngest) on his team. There are a few huge kids and a few really aggressive kids who go after the ball all the time. Since the kids are 5, there are no rules in the scrimmage, which I explained to Luc is not a real soccer game. In real soccer, there are rules, positions on the field, yellow cards, red cards. That helped him understand. One day he even got punched in the chest.
Luc is just not aggressive. He won't go after the ball when all these big kids are beating him to it and fighting over it. I told Frederic, watching the scrimmages it like watching a rugby match. I don't blame Luc for not wanting to be there, standing off to the side, and not wanting to get hurt. I wouldn't think that was fun either. And he's not the only boy to do this.
But of course, as we have one more practice left, the second to last practice, all the kids were getting better and Luc actually stayed on the field the whole time during the scrimmage. Now we'll have the winter break and start up again in Spring, and start all over learning the skills and getting brave enough to stay in the action.

But at least he's trying new things.

The end of Fall season

Lots of Tricks! Lots of Treats!

Saturday Luc's school did a Trunk or Treat event. We decided to attend this year and got there at the same time as Luc's bestie, Kira. Total coincidence.
After picking up Aria's Minnie Mouse costume at a consignment shop for $6, Luc decided he didn't want to be a ghost anymore. He wanted to match Aria and be Pluto. Then all the sudden he wasn't interested in that anymore and wanted to be a spider. Even though he doesn't like spiders at all!
One Pinterest search later, and ...

Luc ended up with little candy because he wouldn't take more than one piece from people. Aria only took 2 pieces from people because she was being shy. The school had a table set up where you could decorate a paperbag and donate some of your candy to the local policemen and firemen. So we did that, because honestly, we don't need all this candy in the house.

Kira & Luc

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Halloween day was a rush of getting home, dinner precooked for Frederic and I to eat after the kids went to bed after trick or treating, getting dinner made and making the kids eat theirs, putting costumes on, and get some pictures before we ran off.

Aria was super excited about Halloween. She kept twirling her dress, running around, saying Hi to everyone, and shouting "How-a-WeeN!"

Super excited face

The Loot!