Post-Holiday Chillout Time

This is what Calvin looks like when he roars.

Thankfully, we were able to enjoy some downtime this holiday. Some hours at home doing nothing were sorely needed by the whole family while we got back into our respective routines.

Aivy and Calvin's routines had been blissfully interrupted by their grandparents.

Here's their A Cung and their A Pho giving them some biking lessons.

It took awhile for them to get used to NOT being constantly showered with affection.

Now don't get me wrong, we both like to spend lavish amounts of time with our kids, but we also like it when they play quietly with one another.



Here they are playing with the light-up ball that was my signing bonus for my new job at ERCOT.

And we also like to have a little one-on-one time. Resetting the children's internal programs took a few days, but it looks like the temper tantrums have started to subside. We are all back to our normal sleep patterns more or less.

And we were able to get back to our normal play patterns-- Aivy invited her best friend Monica over on New Year's Day.



Here you get to see both little monkeys in their natural habitat.

Monica's dad brought tamales from their office and we had sloppy joes and greens. Aivy and her dad had already eaten all the blackeyed peas. Here we are burning off the excess calories on the neighbor's fort.

Monica is one year older than Aivy but is definitely a good friend for her. She has a gentle disposition and laughs at my jokes.

And we would like for her to learn good handwriting and drawing skills as well.

Here they are learning how to tag the house.



You can hear Mr. Garcia muttering "taggers" at the end of the video...

Aivy is a seasoned tagger. Here she is showing how to properly brace the wrist in order to keep the chalk steady when tagging. It's the same grip that she uses for a Glock or a Tec-9.

But she also has a gentle side. Aivy likes to carry around her babies in the Baby Bjorn.

We just hope she doesn't learn to stuff her little brother into the baby carrier.



And let us not forget that loveable little nearly-nine-month-old moppet that we saw at the beginning of this post.

The end.