Team Taseff : Game On

Yes, I broke down and bought Sophie the Giraffe, for Mather (but seriously, I have made him CIO the past few nights!). And he LOVES her! Photos coming soon – in the mean time google Sophie the Giraffe and see why all the celebrities have her for their kids. He is adorable and a must have for all babies.

(and thanks to Alli for finally making me feel guilty enough that I haven’t gone and bought one yet! Mather thanks you!)

I have been waiting for a rainy week to start potty training Alta but today went and bought her a cute potty book from Target – too funny because when I got home and started to read it to her I noticed the age group is 5+. Seriously, I am HOPING Alta is potty trained before she is 5!! She is showing signs of being ready, and I think both Damon and I are done buying diapers for two kids!

Anyone have any good tips before I start?

The Taseff household is in the midst of a CIO week with Mather – so far so good!! Last night our little nocturnal son slept from 8pm-4:30am, then 4:45am till 7am, and the night before he slept from 9:30pm-5:30am. I know that I have enjoyed a few extra hours of sleep, although I am still down around 180 hours from the past 5 months. All worth it though when he wakes up smiling, laughing and singing in his room.

The first night he cried for a long hour and I broke down and cried too but last night he only cried for 8 minutes, yes 8 minutes then slept soundly for 8 hours. This is huge in our house as we have only been getting a few hours here and there of continuos sleep from him. We have tried everything too – the PU/PD method, rocking him, shhhing him, swaddling him, etc.

We will keep you updated! Oh, and in light of the crying we have decided to enjoy some Christmas Ale – yummy!

I had such a fun day today watching Alana and Kayson (Meagan was a school!) even though both of my kiddos are a little under the weather! Alta had so much fun laughing with Kayson, chasing him around, cooking in the kitchen for each other, watching Sesame Street and just being silly. And little Alana and Mather sat and played with toys and smiled at each other. So fun!

It’s a lot of work watching four kids under 3 years old. Cute photos below taken with my camera phone.

The Taseff’s had a wonderful halloween celebrating with friends, family and neighbors! The kids dressed up as pumpkins (we were a pumpkin patch!) and enjoyed an afternoon of trick or treating at Crocker Park. Alta especially enjoyed carrying around her pumpkin basket (thanks Grandma T!) and asking for candy. By the time we went out trick or treating in Ohio City she was a pro at saying “Trick or Treat!” and had a pumpkin full of candy by 8pm. Our street was lit up paper luminaries, Damon had a great bonfire going, and the weather was a perfect fall night. How cute are the pumpkins? So fun, can’t wait for next year when both kids will be walking and talking.

And after trick or treating my parents babysat!! Damon and I met up with Amanda and Nick (dressed up as H1N1) and Brandon and Kate (Goth dude and Angel) and went to a party before going to the ABC Tavern and SpeakEasy. Thanks Mom and Dad for babysitting the kiddos, and for letting us stay out for “one more beer!”.

Lots more photos on the flickr site!

It was another fun-filled weekend for the Taseffs! Aside from building a fence, going to Nora’s 2nd birthday party, having some friends over for dinner on Saturday and watching one long 3 hour movie (wait – I didn’t watch it!) we continued the craziness into Sunday with a visit to Pattersons Apple Orchard. It was a brisk morning but we enjoyed picking a few apples, visiting the store for donuts and cider, playing on the train and playground and picking out pumpkins. And despite only a few meltdowns from the kids – mostly because Alta didn’t want to leave! – the morning was perfect. Lots of fun photos on the flickr site.

And Sunday night the Taseffs hosted a fun party in our side lot for some of our Ohio City friends complete with a bonfire, dressed up kids and a few adults, pumpkin carving, two movies on the big screen (thanks Adam for the screen and AV equipment!), lots of food and plenty of alcohol! Our dinner club has since fizzled out over the past year or two with all the families having babies, or two in our case, so we reunited the 20 of us and invited a few more families for a wonderful evening of friends. I think total there were 25 adults and 20 kids enjoying a beautiful Sunday evening full of laughs and goodtimes. We had such a wonderful evening and look forward to hosting another “movie night” in our side lot! I didn’t take too many photos but did post a few on the flickr site.

The kids and I have been watching the house around the corner being “flipped”. This afternoon on our walk we were able to actually watch them cut the front of the house out at turn in around – Alta especially like the big crane and loud noises! Below is the information on the project and a few photos I too this afternoon. This neighborhood is so fun, you never know what is happening just around the corner!

Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative hosts Martin Papcun (Prague, Czech Republic) as he presents his newest large-scale, site-specific installation at 3601 Siam Road in Ohio City. The artist, along with construction partners American Tank Fabricating and Affordable Demolition & Hauling Inc., has sliced into the walls of a house and turned them inside out to reveal the interior of the home. The installation, House, turned inside out, is a massive, yet intricate deconstruction. The installation will be open to the public for one month. The project is funded by a grant from CEC ArtsLink New York.

3601 Siam Road in Ohio City
Opening Tuesday October 27th from 4:00 until 9:00 pm

How awesome is this fence Damon built? He took the day off Friday and put most of the pickets up in the rain, and finished the two gates on Saturday and Sunday. Just in time for the party on Sunday night (post coming shortly about the kick butt party we threw!). Lincoln has already enjoyed running free in our side lot, running after soccer balls and chasing sticks! And I feel a sense of security now having Alta play in the “South Lawn”. Thanks Damon!

Don’t tell Lincoln but I told him the fence was for his 4th birthday!! Funny huh!?

Mather and I took advantage of the great fall weather this afternoon to do a photoshoot. I posted some really cute ones (although I’m bias because I’m his mom and I think he is just adorable!) on the flickr site. I love my Nikon camera and am hoping to convince Damon to get me a new lens for Christmas, but in the meantime I have two of the cutest subjects to shoot with a great camera!