Hugo Turns 5!

                              Three...                                                   Four...                                                  Five!                                

Today was Hugo's 5th birthday and I'm not sure who was more excited, Hugo or myself.  He is sooo happy to finally be 5.  Hugo has also been telling me that when we have his kid party, he'll then be 6!  Hold on there slugger!!  We are having a drawn out birthday celebration for him.  Party with Papa today, party with Vovo next weekend, Easter weekend is next, and then we'll host Hugo's kid party the following weekend, or so...  Cesar suggested having the friend party at the Little Gym, but I really want to have it here at the house.  To do it up with a knight and princess theme for both Hugo's boy and girl friends.  Work will be involved, but I just wanna.

We decided to lean toward the simple with gifts this year, Hugo hasn't been so hot about cleaning his room.  I bought him a board game from Papa, a Hawk Man and Flash Imaginext figurines from the girls, and a 1.5 gallon fish tank from me.  Cesar had said no to the fish.  I said that fish could be flushed down the toilet if need be.  I had really wanted to get a parakeet.  Cesar really, really said no.  So, I settled for this nice, small tank with 2 black spotted mole, 1 blue (Because blue is Hugo's favorite color.  I had originally wanted to get all blue fish but they only had two blue guppy's at our PetSmart so in the end, I decided to mix fish colors up.) guppy, 1 orange guppy, and 1 African frog who happens to live underwater all the time.  Hugo spied the tank set up on the kitchen counter the night before his birthday and threw his arms around me and hugged me tight and said I was the best Momma ever.

Two nights ago I asked Hugo what kind of cake he'd like for his birthday, his answer was a superhero cake.  The rest of our conversation went a little something like:

Me:  No, no, no silly.  Do you want a chocolate cake or a strawberry cake or a carrot cake?  You name it and I'll try it.

Hugo:  While scratching his chin and starring up at the ceiling with his head cocked for added drama... I think... I want... aaaaaaa... a Loooove cake!  Yeah!!  A Loooove cake Mom!

Me:  A love cake?

Hugo:  Yeah!  A Loooove cake and you can make whatever frosting you want.  I just want a love cake!

So I put on my thinking cap and remembered a forgotten heart shaped pan tucked away in the pantry.  It was perfect for my little boys Loooove cake!  Oh, and it had to be blue, because blue is Hugo's favorite color.

Hugo was happy morning till night.

Rainy Day

A steady drizzle of rain and fog surrounded our village this morning causing our family to sleep in, or really, to over sleep.  When the girls finally woke me, and I rolled to look at the clock, it was 8:17 am!  Hugo's school starts at 9 am, yikes!  We hustled and hustled and... we made it on time.  Hugo didn't have the best of breakfasts, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich it was, but we made it.   We had a small argument over whether or not his new Ironman mask would be his show and tell item or not.  Hugo said yes, I said no, thinking it was too big for school.  By the time I was stuffing all four of us into rain gear, he had forgotten all about arguing over an item for show and tell.  I'll bet he reminds me in the van on our way home.  He has a memory like an elephant, or should I say, like his Momma. 

17 Months

Look who turned 17 months old today!  Our girls are doing so great.  Sabine "awakens" a bit more every day.  She finally will allow herself to full on belly laugh while being tickled and she will bend and tilt her head, with a big smile on her pretty face, as she makes eye contact with me.  She is awakening and it is wonderful.  Marlo is a full on smarty pants.  This morning as I was unbuckling everyone from their car seats out front of Hugo's preschool, Marlo tried again and again to push the button for her top latch.  Both girls will climb into their own seats.  She watches and then copies everything I do.  She wipes the table with a napkin, Kleenex, or a sock.  She loves trying to dress herself and she'll follow me around the kitchen and close the cupboard drawers for me.  Marlo also pulled about out about 15 hairs from the back of Sabine's head in the midst of a toddler fight.  She then wanted to kiss Sabine on the lips to make it better. 

I've found that the word "out" is more effective with the girls than the word "no".  Now Marlo walks around saying "out" with authority in her baby voice.  And for the life of me, I can't get the girls to call me Mama.  They both holler out "Ma" whenever they want to find me.  Lovely.  I keep patting my chest and saying Mama and they smile and say "Ma"!