Summer 2014

Summer has been flying by since Lev was released from school in early June. Between trips to the beach, playgrounds, pool, and their favorite indoor playground Under The Sea as well as good times spent with friends I have been able to keep them busy. Lev is eager to start Kindergarten at his new school, Ocean Charter, and that was the plan all along. They love watching tales of Tinker Bell together, Bob's Burgers with Alec, and Ilana has committed each Disney Princess to memory.

The other plan was to get the two kids really tight. They had their own daily schedules all year and I wanted them to spend more time with each other and lean on each other for company. I think its been successful. They have their own inside jokes and special games now and do miss each other when the other is not around for whatever reason. But they still squabble more than I would like as siblings do, over the dumbest things like the last cheese puff or the green ball.

Ilana has developed astonishingly since her second birthday. She is fiercely independent, to her own determent. Insisting on doing EVERYTHING for herself, things that could take 2 minutes take 20. Clothes are on backwards and inside out, shoes are on the wrong feet.

But its not worth the tantrum of making her ask for help so I let her assert herself. She knows her letters, completely self taught, which came as a happy surprise. And she just finished potty training and is in underwear, after less than a week. Amazing.

Cute things she says:
"What the heck?!"
"Oh man"
"You are a good mommy" when I am being stern. Smart girl.
"I'll do it"
"Get out of my room"
"Never ever" when its bedtime
"Cut my pickle"
And when I ask her why she is so smart she answers" Cuz I want to"

Dressing herself. Sassy.

She loves to be naked. And barefoot. Everywhere.

Lev is very observant and asks interesting questions like how you die, how do oil rigs work, how do bums become bums, and such. You know, typical things you would notice living in LA. Sometimes I know how to answer him, sometimes I don't. But I like that he asks the questions. His drawing and design sense is also getting really impressive. He likes going to show rooms with me and picking out his own samples.

Frozen Birthday Party

As Lev turned 5 and Ilana 2 we decided to have Frozen themed birthday party. They both sing the theme songs obsessively, have seen the movie numerous times, and its just a crowd pleaser for boys and girls alike. This may be the last year we are able to coax them into a joint affair so we hired "Elsa" to come and entertain the children.

 Homemade cakes.

 The Boose girls know how to dress for the occassion.

 Elsa kept the kids engaged.

 It was a beautiful day for being outside on the grass.

 A snowball fight at the end of the party.

Ilana at 23 Months

Alec has been giving me a hard time about not updating the blog, even though it makes sense to check in at an even 2 years, but its been a while so here we go ;)

Ilana is quite the little lady now with clear ideas about where to go, what to eat, what to watch, and how to dress. She says "I'll do it" for everything to the point of taking off shoes I just put them back on herself. If I pick a shirt for her she will reject it and pick her own shirt out. Things take extra long but when she gets stuck she knows how to ask for help.

Another thing she says all the time now is "OK, I WILL" when I ask her to do anything. Its adorable. She is obsessed with Frozen, like all of America's children, and sings the songs to herself all day and believes her Cinderella doll is actually Elsa. She calls herself a Princess and talks about Elsa all the time. Lev likes the sound track too so that's one thing they can agree on.

Also, green is her favorite color so every spoon and fork she eats with must be green, her clothes, her food. Green food part is good actually. She ends up chowing down on Kale and green juice to my delight.

On a typical day we will drop off Lev at school where she hangs with Mila, Liam's younger sister. Her friends are also Mia, Dylan, and Harper - Lev's friends' baby sisters. She meets them at the playground or parties and always looks forward to girl time.

Then we may stop at Starbuck's for a latte and cookie break. One of her favorite things to do with me (and mine too). We will people watch and chat.

Followed by the playground to tire her out. With so many sunny mornings in LA, who can refuse.

We may do another activity in the afternoon after her nap and picking Lev up school. The two of them are really into crafts and art lately. Lev is getting quite good. And Ilana likes to express herself through messy paint and markers.

Followed by a bath. Its a charmed life, for sure.

The two of them get along very well. They squabble over equal measures of TV time or toys, but overall they are eachothers best friend and seek each other out which is endearing. Ilana will gladly take directions from Lev and participate in whatever game he has planned for them. He will tenderly protect her from rough kids, wake her up from naps, and teach her games on the ipad.

Lev continues to excel at PreK. He is doing simple math, learning his letters and itching to read, and dominating freeze dance. We recently filled some cavities for him. 4 so far, 4 more to go. he was very brave and mature about it. If only we could get him to stop eating so much candy.