Christmas Cards

I am dismayed as I am sure most mothers with a 3 year old and 1 year old are, trying to take a cute holiday photo.  Busy as we are, the thought of hauling them to the mall photographer sends chills up my spine.  So I tried and tried to take a photo that displays their wonderful smiles that melt my heart and make all the ladies' heads turn.  Instead, I am lucky to get a shot with both of them looking straight into the camera, smile, grimace or otherwise.

The other challenge is, no matter how cute the photo is, my mother will always comment that it isn't a cute photo and I should have used another one. Never mind that she has never ever tried to capture the both of them in one shot to use for distribution purposes.  So when you receive Crossett Family Holiday card this year, be kind and tell me they look adorable.

Samples....

Dumb and Doodle

We have been very fortunate that our day care provider is also a barber.  Every few months or so, she saves us the trouble of taking Scrumpy to get a haircut and saving us $20 bucks a pop!  The challenge is, Scrumpy has two very prominent cowlicks on the top of his noggin.  As such, when his hair is cut short, he has this weird Kate Gosselin thing on the back of his head.  Becca suggested we trying growing his hair long, so that it lay flat.  She also informed us, her area of expertise focuses solely on the buzz cut.

 Pre-haircut with the jagged, shaggy bangs

So we went on a adventure to Fanstasic Sam's.  At first he was a little nervous when Lou started clipping away, but soon started chatting it up.  He looks so much older with a hair style.  While I do think its adorable, because they had to trim his bangs ( the real impetus for going to get the cut in the first place), he does look a little like Jim Carrey.  If you don't believe me, take a look.

Here's hoping it will tame out in time for holiday photos!

Wax On, Wax Off

Scrumpy is enrolled in Jujitsu.  Watching him play with brother made me realize, I am looking forward to years of wrestling.  Not wanting to pay emergency room co-pays for broken bones, I figured the sooner they learned how to fall properly/safely, the better.

We tried Trampoline class last year, and that did not stick, so we were hoping that one more year of maturity would help with focus and coordination.  We were also a little more hesistant when on the first day of class he told us, "I can't do it.  I don't have a jacket."

Well armed with a jacket and the lure of milkshakes afterwards if he was a good boy, we are now enjoying the class.  Here's to the next Jackie Chan!

A Different Point of View

Scrumpy was eating M&Ms with Auntie Mitch and noticed that the one he was eating was a defect.

"Auntie Mitch, this one doesn't have an "E".


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Smart A@#...Alec

Scrumpy wanted tasty treat last night.  As we are wont to do, we give in fairly easily, however, he usually has to work for it. 

Last night I told him, "First you count 1 to 10". 
So Scrumpy said "1, 2, 10.  Now can I have treat?"

We made him do all the numbers in between but Patrick and I looked at each other, probably both thinking, "This one is going to be a challenge."

A Study of Time Out

Loopholes in Sharing

Scrumpy is learning much like the rest of us that sharing is a virtue. Alas, the challenge with a smart kid is at the tender age of three, he has learned to find the alternatives to sharing as often as possible.

We were at the mall and came across an abandoned mall stroller. Now the fact that it looked like Lightening McQueen was not lost on these boys and it became very apparent that both boys wanted to ride it. We tried the tandem riding and while it worked, Scrumpy was not pleased.


To quell his displeasure, we rode the esclators and I kid you not, from way across the length of the store he saw ANOTHER abandoned stroller! I have never seen him run so fast with such focused attention!
So you see not only did he get amazing vision skills from his parents, but he has also figured out where there is a will there is always an angle to get the will to bend your way. I cannot wait for the teenage years to begin!



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Genetically Hard Coded

In case you were wondering



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Handy Danny

You have to love a child's imagination. Scrumpy enjoys playing make believe and loves being a "fixer". He has a bright future being a mechanic and if so, I will encourage him to master "fixing" BMWs. I have it on good authority they make a very good living.



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Embracing his roots

I'm not sure why Filpinos have the penchant whenever they see a camera to group together for a photo, no matter who is taking the shot. Apparently Scrumpy has that gene. Chicago visitors came so it was family central for days'. Many a photo were taken and Scrumpy was there in the middle of all the action.







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Outtakes

I asked Becca to try and take a sad photo of Scrumpy to tease my sister but that proved to be a harder task than I thought.










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He's Got Game

Ever since Scrumpy was a little boy, he has had a penchant for attracting cougars. One day, talk to Patrick about the time we were in Costco and he was walking around looking at bikes, holding hands with some little girl he had just met.  I do not know what it is about the little guy, but he does seem to attract the older woman, and now that he is mobile, it has just gotten worse! Last week, we were at Gilroy Gardens enjoying a little family time.  As Scrumpy stood in line for the motorized cars, his super cool t-shirt caught the attention of a cute little 6 year old.  Andrea introduced herself and before you knew it they were holding hands in line!  Her mother claims that since she is an only child she is always been attracted to other kids, but I'm not so sure that is what is going on here.  For the first ride, they were able to ride together as Andrea's mom chaperoned in the back seat.

Getting off the ride, Scrumpy introduced her to me, " Hi Mamma, this is An Dor Ya, she's my friend, I love her!" YIKES!

Not wanting to part company, they stood in line for another car ride, however, the car they were given was a two-seater and while my big boy thinks he's a big boy, he is still too short to ride unaccompanied by an adult.  I have NEVER heard such screaming!  It sounded like I had killed Mater or Lightning McQueen in front of his very eyes. 

As a consolation, they were able to ride another ride together, once again chaperoned.  If you are wondering why Patrick nor I served as chaperone, well its because baby brother needed his own seat and I felt much safer with both of us in the boat watching the baby just in case he fell in the drink. 

Scrumpy and An Dor Ya

Do you see they are holding hands?!!

All smiles after the car meltdown

So bummed he was relegated to the loser boat.

A Stop at Flavor Town

Is it just me or if we died his hair blonde wouldn't he look like a Guy Fieri mini me?



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Hello Down There!

There is a new game playing in the Crossett household.  The boys stand at the top of the stairs and peer down and yell, "Hello down there!"

Of course, someone has to be at the bottom to yell, "Hello up there!"

I do not know why but this get giggles out of both of them every single time.  Thank goodness the slates in our bannister are close together to prevent the potential head stuck, need butter accident.

I'm Three!

Scrumpy turned the big 3!  Admist all the birthday celebrations, Aundie Mitch, Gramma, Possum, Nena Monks, and Papa, I think he had cake every week!  And yes, his favorite song now is "Happy Birthday."

On his actual birthday, we tried to make it just the family.  We woke up and he had some special time with Daddy.  They enjoyed donuts for breakfast before heading to the Target toy aisle where he proceeded to think he died and went to heaven.  Armed with two packages in his hand (I had told Patrick only one), they came home and we proceeded with the rest of the festivities.

Off to Fisherman's Wharf where we enjoyed lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.  Once again, we indulged Scrumpy by playing Cars on the DVD inside the car.  This is only the second time we've turned the thing on as we are trying to reserve it for emergencies or special occasions.  I am sure Possum would have been pissed to know it was on as he is still rear facing.  After another birthday song and another ice cream sundae, we walked around until Scrumpy stopped in front of a souvenier shop and could not stop staring at a Blue Angels die cast airplane.  I was a sucker and since it was his special day, wound up buying the darn plane like I was some silly tourist.

At this point, Mama and Daddy needed a coffee break, but where or where to go with the biggest car you own and a double stroller in San Francisco, BACK TO WHERE IT ALL STARTED!

Off to Laurel Heights, home of CPMC, the hospital where I had both my babies.  In a little strip mall a couple blocks from the hospital is a cafe that had three very key ingredients, a FREE parking lot (that was eerily empty), good coffee, and a whole children's play area.  Not only were we able to sit and enjoy coffee while the kids played, but I was able to get some quick shopping done next door!

Overall, an awesome birthday.  He was indugled to the fullest and kept telling us he was happy.  Happy Birthday Mr Scrumple Pants! 

Sharing is caring

We are in the process of learning how to share. Until then, there is a lot of tandem riding in our house. I can't wait until baby brother learns how to say " no".



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Huka Pelé

I don't about you guys, but when I look at this photo, I cannot help but think..."mischief".  And props to anyone who can figure out the Title reference.

All Good Things Come to an End

I have been fortunate enough to get through almost three years without the recognition that the store is where you get things, more importantly where new toys are.  Well those days are long gone.

I told Scrumpy I was going to the store and asked if he wanted to come with me.  He promptly replied, yes, because he needed to buy TOYS. I have never seen him put his shoes on so quickly, nor wave good-bye to Daddy and brother.  Now, I had originally planned to go to the grocery store, but feeling a little bad for the guy, took a detour to Target.  Driving down the aisles, all was good until we came across the toys, then the whole world went spinning!  Now I had a toddler in my hands going crazy trying to get out of the cart. 

Once he was free, he ping-ponged from section to section, claiming he needed to have it!  It was all too much for him as he selected one thing after another, placing it freverently in my cart as if this was an episode of Supermarket Sweep.  My cart filled quickly with anything he could grab. 

In the middle of all this chaos, the anthropologist in me took the opportunity to observe his developmental/social skills.  I could not help but wonder why in the bins of cars, he purposely selected all the green ones to put in the cart.  I also could not help but wonder if green is his favorite color, like his mother and father.  When you have the opportunity to observe kids, it can be fascinating!

Grabbing whatever he could reach!

Who would think to leave this on the floor?

Lining up all the green cars

While the bad news is that we can no longer go to the store without prepping for some serious negogiations, the good news is, you can still convince him that you don't have enough pennies for everything so he has to pick only one thing.  And because he is all crazed, you can give him the choices of what he gets to pick and thus ensuring you are out of target for less than $5.00!  Let's see how long this phase lasts us.  I can only pray, another 3 years.  I am not so optimistic.

Prince Charming

A transcript of a conversation with Becca:

Scrumpy: My head doesn't work
Becca: Really
Scrumpy: Yeah, My head is broken.
Becca: Why?
Scrumpy: It hurts.
Becca: Oh okay, will kisses help it?
Scrumpy: Yes! Kiss is all over Decca!  It's not broken anymore!  All better now!  Thanks Decca!

DANCE PARTY

I am going to ATTEMPT to relay an event that happened on vacation that truly left me speechless.  We were in Hard Rock Cafe and Scrumpy was climbing up the stairs.  He heard Black Eyed Peas through the speakers, looked at me and yelled, "DANCE PARTY".  He then proceeded to go down the stairs and start rocking out on his air guitar in front of the hostess.  The lobby was his stage and he was using every bit of it.  Once again, if only he wasn't so shy.

Possum wasn't sure what to make of it either.

Introducing Baby Julian!

Earlier this month, we travelled to Chicago (that is my excuse for being so delayed in blogging), to visit with family.  Lots of new additions to the brood, one being Baby Julian Che Cruz Wiley. We prepped Scrumpy for several weeks about meeting Baby Julian.  While Possum was non-plussed, Scrumpy had a real affinity for Baby Julian.  He always wanted to be near him and even penned a song about going to sleep.  Can't wait for them to grow up and be best of cousins!

Memorial Day Weekend

It was a beautiful Sunday in Livermore! We decided to head out to the local winery and picnic. Poor Scrumpy, while he knows what a park is, he can't seem to understand why this park has no slide. Thank goodness John was along for the ride to provide necessary entertainment. In fact, he did such a great job that when Scrumpy got over-tired we actually had to "birdcage" him in the stroller to get him to take a nap!