Aidan wasn’t quite as brave as Brooke but his misery resulted in a full set of xrays. He is a member of the no cavities club and here he is enjoying the fluoride treatment (he chose strawberry banana but had chocolate toothpaste during the cleaning)

Big guy didn’t understand the water and spit it out at Dad. LOL

The kids had their first dental appointment around 2 years old. This would be our first official cleaning with x-rays and fluoride! Brooke was so brave. No tears at all. She couldn’t do the back xrays (weak gag reflexes like Mommy) but we got some cool photos of her giant permanent teeth under her baby teeth. They got to choose the flavor of toothpaste and flouride. Of course Brooke chose strawberry for both. Afterwards, she got to choose a sticker, a prize and get a balloon.

Brooke’s exam – Mommy getting in trouble for not flossing baby girl’s teeth.

Brooke’s cleaning. She was uncomfortable but pushed through it. I’m one proud Momma!

Changes, good or bad, feels like “change”. And I am for sure one of those people who does not like change. Maybe I’m just to content with the way things are, I’m afraid change will “rock the boat”. It’s weird because every change I can remember off the top of my head has resulted into something positive. But every time change comes, without fail, I am uncomfortable.

The kids started Primary at their school this week. I knew this was coming for months and have been uncomfortable ever since. I’m not sure what makes me uncomfortable. The fact that they have to go through the trials of a new teacher, new classroom, new routine. Or the fact that moving up to a real classroom environment means they are no longer “babies”. Maybe it’s both.

Of course, I am immediately proven wrong about my concerns. Aidan comes home every day asking for his new teacher. Brooke tells me about her “new work”. Aidan was singing the “So Long, Farewell” song from the Sound of Music over the winter break. This morning, Mike called me to tell me they are so happy at drop off – no struggles, racing to their new classrooms. He thinks they’re excited about the new material and this change was probably overdue.

As relieved as I am to hear all this, I have to admit I still have a little weight on my heart about this change. As I write this, I figured it out. It’s definitely because they’re not babies anymore. Haha – motherhood is so odd. :)

Aidan runs away with Brooke’s purse.

Brooke: “No Caucau! Purses are for girls. Laptops are for boys!”

Aidan immediately drops the purse.

This is clearly a reflection of what they see at home…Dad’s always on his laptop and only Mommy has a purse. :)

Kids are so quick to pick up on things.

This morning, Brooke told me she does not want her toy laptop on the couch. I asked her why?

Brooke: “It freaks me out”

BACKSTORY: She has this toy hamster, the beloved Zhu Zhu Pet, that she likes to point at my toes and let loose. I was cooking and did not pay attention and it seriously feels like a real rodent was nibbling my toes! I scared “OMG! That freaked me out.”

And this morning, we get Brooke’s version. :)

Kids are amazing. They are truly sponges. Here they are working the routine from the flash mob Dad learned a couple weeks ago for a proposal for our friend JonJon. We caught them singing and doing this a couple of days ago during their play time. LOL. Love these guys.

I came home from work today and Mah-mah showed off: “Aidan, what are you getting Mah-mah for Christmas?” Aidan: “A diamond!” Excited by this, I asked if I get one too! Aidan: “No, you have too much already!” (Obviously, Dad’s been coaching…)

Laguna Beach, CA

Congrats to the lovely couple! I teared up so badly at this. LOL. (Also note my slick husband dancing in this!)

With 2011 coming to an end, I started thinking about my life and all the things I have to be grateful for. And there’s a lot.

I am so blessed to be the mother of two beautiful, fun and loving children. I look back at the day they were born, in NICU, feeding tubes and all and then I look at them now…stuffing their faces where I have to remind them to chew. I’m blessed that they are healthy and happy.

I am blessed with an amazing man in my life. Not only is he a good father and husband (I learned this year a good man does not automatically make a good father and husband) but he’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers and very much grew up together – and I’m grateful for this. So easily we could have grown apart, but we somehow manage to grow to be the people we are today – as individuals and as partners. I can’t imagine going through this adventure with anybody else but him.

I’m grateful to grow up in a crazy and loving family. As I grew older, I realized my family isn’t perfect. But at the end of the day, I grew up happy. Mom, dad, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins…we have our differences and it’s normal. We’re all different people. But at the end of all the drama, I grew up with a lot of love and I’m grateful for that and hope my kids grow up w/ the same time of relationships I had with my extended family – my aunts/uncles were like additional parents…my cousins were more like siblings. Some of us have grown apart which is a shame. But I’m grateful for the ones still in my life and the ones that are not…I’m happy for their successes and hope they are also happy.

I’m grateful for my own sense of happiness. I don’t think there’s been a year that I ever felt so at peace with myself and my life. I’ve learned so much this year about what it takes to be happy – and at the end of the day, the only person who controls that is you.

And I can honestly say, I am happy.

Last night I was cutting the kids nails. I started with Brooke:

Brooke: “I want to do it.”
Me: “No, you’re too little to do it, Meimei.”
Aidan: “Yes. Only Mommy do it! Mommy and robots!”

(He was so sure of himself when he said this I didn’t have the heart to ask about these robots…wondering if the robots will bathe them and put them to bed too though…)