Summer of Fun 2013

The Wondertwins had a whirlwind of a summer this year and I was happy to be a part of it.
Being forced into unemployment helped give me some time to spend with them and do some traveling and exploring.  They weren't static for more than several hours - which was a good thing.  I have to admit they did more in 3 months than I have done in my lifetime - or at least it seemed that way...

For posterity here is compilation of all the events starting with their Kindergarten graduation and ending with their first day of 1st grade.

June:

Kindergarten Graduation

• Wondertwins graduate Kindergarten
• Trip to Pittsburgh & Ohio:
• Kindergarten Graduation Party
• Kennywood
• Storybook Forest
• Church Fair
• Miniature Golfing
• Cousin Anthony's H.S. Graduation Party
• Great Aunt Vi visit

July:

• July 4th Parade
• Evening Street 4th of July Celebration

• Movies, Movies, Movies
• Nature Center
• John Lennon Concert
• Beach Days
• Grammy Museum
• 7-11 Day

Swarm of Bees!
Out of nowhere a swarm of Bees infested the pot outside our back window.
It turned into an educational moment for us and our neighbors.

• Yearly Trip to San Clemente!
• Beaches
• Great friends
• Legoland
• Nature Farm ("sand box" of corn kernels)

• Pool Days
• Beach Playdates
• Hurricane Harbor
• Magic Mountain
• Birthday Parties
• Bowling
• Scooter's Jungle
• Ice Skating

August:

• More Pool Days
• 1st Camping Trip
• More Bowling
• More Beach Days
• More Magic Mountain
• More Hurricane Harbor
• Found a Dog
• Returned a Dog
• Pool Playdates
• Visit to Dreamworks Studio
• Jump 5150
• Pool Party
• Visit to Disney Studios

September:

• AEA Summer Camp
• Skating
• More Magic Mountain
• Sky High Sports
• Visit to DisneyToon Studios
• More Ice Skating
• 
  

1st Day of 1st Grade

First and Last

The Wondertwins have completed their first full year of organized schooling!
It has been quite a year for them as well.  When we started in August we thought that this would be Pre-K at best.  After the first week at the Montessori they were placed in the full-on Kindergarten class.
Because of their birthdate, we still were contemplating putting them back into another year of Kindergarten starting this Fall 2013.   But their teacher and others convinced us that they would be bored and uninspired.  So after a bit of discussion and a lot of thought, we decided that they would indeed begin 1st grade in the Fall.  They will be the youngest in their class, but hopefully will be challenged, gaining new skills they haven't learned in Montessori.

We were so happy we chose the Montessori for their first year of schooling.  Their class size at the start was 5:1 and by the end of the school year stayed low at 12:1.  You can't get that in public schools.  And their progress is reflected in the numbers.  They are reading, writing short sentences, adding, subtracting and doing fractions!  We are so proud.  They have received a truly solid foundation that hopefully will keep them at an advantage throughout their school days.

Kindergarten Graduation!

The Wondertwins are officially Kindergarten Graduates!  Or at least as official as one can get seeing as according to California education, you don't have to go to Kindergarten at all to get into 1st grade.  But that is totally beside the point.  Audrey & Ben are Graduates and they had a very nice, official ceremony to celebrate their big accomplishment.  Many thanks to the Montessori of Valencia for an epic and enjoyable passage.

Our Kindergarten Graduates

Say What?

After our 5 year check up in October 2012 Audrey got some sinus infections which led to an ear infection.  She has always been stuffy since as long as I could remember, but never anything that caused for major concern.

At first they thought her constant sinus issues were the result of allergies and recommended allergy medicine.  We later found out from the ENT specialist that this was a misdiagnosis and counter productive.  Lesson learned.

Audrey enjoying the ear test booth

 In November her teacher started complaining that she was zoning out and Audrey began to miss words on her spelling test.  She started pronouncing the word November with a W instead of a V.  We thought it was cute at the start, but after a while and in combination with poor class results, we headed back to the doctor for further evaluation.  Our pediatrician recommended going to a ENT specialist after a generic ear test came back with some minor hearing loss.

We ended up going to the ENT a couple times to get a baseline hearing test and follow up for what damage there was and what could be done to help clear it up.

She ended up having quite a bit of hearing loss in her left ear and some minor loss in her right due to fluid backing up in her ears.  The doctor presumed this was due to enlarged adenoids.

After our final follow up it was recommended that she have an adenoidectomy and tubes put in her ears.  Major surgery.  Ug.  They scheduled it for Valentines Day, Feb 14th 2013.  Double Ug.

Needless to say we were stressed and concerned.  But Audrey did her pre-blood test with no problems.  She actually thought it was cool to watch them take blood out of her arm and the next day wanted to do it again.  How did we luck out?!  This at least gave me some relief that she might make it through the surgery with out too much resistance and tears.

6 a.m. Preparing for surgery

Audrey was a trooper - had them IV her while awake!

recovery room - all went well.

When the time grew closer, we used all the parenting techniques we've learned to "prepare for success" to ensure as smooth a day of surgery as possible.  Audrey was quiet and calm the whole morning - listening to the nurses and being the greatest of patients.

The nurses and doctors were amazed when she agreed to not only have them put the IV in while she was awake, but not shedding a tear to boot - a first for a 5 year old in their book.    She made it through surgery fine and the recovery ended up being quite painless and quick.   After a long nap she was up and ready to play by dinner time.  So proud of her!

Yin~Yang - 5 year checkup

 Our Wondertwins from my perspective are truly Yin and Yang.  We are reminded of that on a daily basis.  Besides the obvious boy/girl differences, I am hard pressed to find much if anything that they totally agree on or share physically.

Our yearly checkup to the doctors and dentist has arrived and we have plenty of news for Our Wondertwins.  Their Yin and Yang showed up once again in most all of their results.

Audrey is continuing as normal gaining weight and height and sticking around the 60-70 percentile.  No surprises there. She has had what we believe is allergies for quite some time - stuffy nose, slight cough in morning.  As a result her ears were a bit clogged for her hearing test and she was unable to hear the lowest tones.  It was recommended that we give her Sudafed daily and follow up in a few months to make sure there is no permanent hearing loss.  The doctor wasn't too concerned as she speaks perfectly.  She certainly can zone out quite easily and now she has an excuse for it: she just can't hear us! :)

 Her Dentist checkup went well as she received a tooth score of 94 out of 100.  Good genes, good eating and good brushing habits are certainly reflecting in her teeth.  Given that though, the dentist feels, looking at her bite, that the orthodontist is in her future for sure.
Audrey
Weight: 40 lbs.
Height: 42.25"

Ben is a whole different story, and as our dentist reminds us, even though they are siblings, it is common to have a very different experience.  Yin and Yang.  Not sure who is which though!
He is gaining weight and height, but still at a very slow level- hovering around 20 percentile for height and 5 for weight.  Given his eating habits, this comes as no surprise.  We need to continue to encourage him to stuff his face and follow up again in a few months.  His hearing was perfect, so no excuses for him!

His Dentist checkup didn't fair as well, as he received a 74 out of 100.  Poor eating habits, bad genes, along with poor brushing habits are certainly reflecting in his teeth.  He also has 3 teeth loose that he'll be loosing shortly, one upper and two lower.  The tooth fairy will be working overtime for him this year!

Ben
Weight: 35 lbs.
Height:  41.25"

Wondertwins are 5!

Half a decade down for Audrey and Ben!

 This year we splurged and took them to a place called Sky City Bounce House and invited 18 of their closest buddies.  Needless to say they had a blast bouncing around on those giant inflatable bounce houses and slides.  Whom ever invented those should get the Nobel Peace Prize!

Now that they've begun school they are becoming social butterflies.  So we entered the birthday party bonanza.  Audrey and Ben started it off as they have an early October birthday and we suspect that this year will be filled with many more Birthday celebrations as their classmates and friends hit their milestones.

High Fiving Classmates

Of course we also celebrated their actual birthday at school.  Paco and I brought mini cupcakes to their classmates and we quickly became an instant hit.  They couldn't get enough of saying high five! 

As they enter the second half of their first decade we are looking forward to all the new firsts and milestones ahead.
 

The Start of School

1st day pic

Audrey and Ben took one of the biggest leaps of their childhood and began their School Days.

In August they started Pre-K at a local Montessori.  We had no idea how they would react and or interact - although they have been perfectly fine going up to the park and playing with the kids up there - making new friends quickly.

The thought of leaving your children to total strangers is as much of a stress point to the parents as it may be for the kids.  Fortunately for us we had no problems what so ever.  Audrey and Ben were actually excited to go and meet new kids and continue their education.  Lucky us!

After just a week the teachers informed us that they were being moved from Pre-K into the Kindergarten class.  They seem to enjoy the classwork and are having a blast making new friends.


So add one more milestone to the list - there's no stopping now!

Ben and Audrey Pre-K 2012

Audrey Pre-K

Ben Pre-K

4 1/2 Years Young

4 1/2 birthday Cakes

The Wonder Twins are 4 1/2 years young.  We celebrated their 1/2 birthday this year by baking a half cake - one for each of them.
It's become a bit of a tradition to celebrate the 6 month anniversary of their birth in addition to their annual event.  And why not.  They broadcast their age as if it were their proudest achievement (adding the half year as soon as possible).  They can teach us old fogies quite a bit in the art of enjoying age and life in general.  Celebrate early and often - or at least whenever possible.  Good motto.  Hopefully they will continue to embrace each year passing without any hesitation or cringing - well into their old age!

Walt Disney World  *  March 2012

Our trip to Florida went quite well.  Audrey & Ben have been on a plane trip every year of their lives and are continuing to be very good travelers.  Of course having a destination that entails visiting world renowned amusement parks almost every day of a 10 day trip kept them enjoying the ride.

We visited all 4 parks of DisneyWorld, Downtown Disney, Legoland  and Universal Studios.  The schedule was a bit grueling for Dave and I, but we managed to have a great time each day and got to see everything that was on the agenda and then some.  Their Uncle Joe and Aunt Annie recently moved down near Orlando so we stopped by their new digs and enjoyed some family time as well.

Looks like we'll be heading back East again in July this year, making it 4 years in a row that we've managed to travel back in the summer and see the rest of the family.

Party on...  

Leap Year Fun

This Year marked the very first Leap Year for the Wondertwins.  I wanted to make it a memorable one - or at least have some memories of the milestone.  So we headed to Scooter's Jungle - the nearest place where on can leap for joy without getting seriously injured*
*Adult results may vary!
Needless to say they had a blast... Thank you Groupon for allowing us an affordable and fun night out.
Four years in the making...

Happy New Year

4th Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all come and gone in a blink of an eye.  Time waits for no one, especially these days.  The space-time continuum certainly accelerates dramatically when you are working full time and juggling 2 rambunctious kids.

 As with any New Year it is always a time for reflection.  In 2011 we had many adventures and milestones and are gearing up for a few more big adventures in 2012.  Our Christmas Card reflected many events of the past Year:  Audrey's foray into Dance Class and Recitals, Ben trying out and bailing on gymnastics, yet still loving and having a knack for sports (he's looking forward to playing TBall and Soccer this year), the heartbreaking passing of both our beloved family cats, my continued teaching of international students and Dave's ever changing freelance gigs.

2011 Christmas Card

This past September I began work on what would be an epic undertaking into what I now refer to as "The Big Bed Transition of 2011."  The kids were getting a bit big for the toddler beds I made for them utilizing their crib mattresses.  We considered the notion of buying new beds/frames for them.  After searching several local, and not so local businesses and scouring the internet for anything that would remotely fit into their room and be approved by the kids, we (and by we, I eventually mean I) were left to construct the beds our(my) self.

Test Drive

Princess Castle Bed

I am proud of the end result, although it ended up taking A LOT longer than I had originally planned.  Turns out trying to build (2) fairly large and complex beds from scratch while having a full time job with two 4 year olds during the Holiday season takes a HUGE amount of time.  (Parents thinking of doing the same - You have been warned!)

Once the Magnum Creations were finished and installed, the kids seemed to enjoy them.  And they better - for they will be using them for the rest of their natural lives! :P

Finished Batmobile

Update on our Benjamin:
In December we returned to the doctors for a follow up on his weight gain.  Fortunately he gained a whole pound in two months and continued to grow a 1/4 inch.  So for now, all is well.  Unfortunately we are still struggling in getting him to eat a decent amount of food at a sitting.  We are all hoping that he grows out of this phase quickly. Prayers welcome.

Now that the Holidays are behind us, our next adventure will be a trip to Orlando/DisneyWorld come Spring.  Summer will be full of traveling, Fall will bring two big milestones: School and turning 5.  And maybe this Winter we can just chill out for once.  Here's to a smooth ride...