county fair

Above: Kiddieland from the ferris wheel (main fair is behind the grandstands on the left) ~ ocean is beyond ~ what a view!

It's fair season and the San Diego County Fair is in full swing! Held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, this fair is huge (largest annual event in San Diego County and one of the largest fairs in the country for attendance) and, as with all fairs, so much fun. I love the smells, the sights, the foods and fair people - both the workers and the visitors! It's all fun...

Thomas enjoys the rides
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...especially this one with daddy!

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Meredith is bummed she isn't tall enough for rides

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mmmm... fair foods

future lifeguards?

This morning we enjoyed some beach play time with friends and about 100 kids (8 to 16 years old) training to be Junior Lifeguards. What a great opportunity for kids to stay active and enjoy hours at the beach every single day for weeks. I love this program and would love to see our two participate in this. But for today, we were onlookers of the program and sandcastle builders and pool diggers and explorers of aquatic wildlife and rock gatherers...

That pickup in the photo is the lifeguard. The ocean was a little rough right in front of us so they pulled up, the guy jumped out with his life preserver gear and he ran out into the ocean to warn boogie boarders and swimmers to move down shore and to not go out beyond waist deep. It was no Bay Watch moment (no, I didn't watch this show), but an older, not quite as in shape, guy who ran rather slow. It was not spectacular in any way.

preschool

Upon arriving at home after picking him up from preschool today...

Thomas: "I don't want to get out [of the car seat]. I wish I could stay at preschool. All. Day. Long."

Really? We could look into making that happen...

no "training" necessary

You know when you really dread something and you just put it off hoping that one day it'll go away or the problem will solve itself...? Potty training is one of those things. I sort of hoped that if I dragged my feet long enough then maybe Thomas would just potty train himself. It wouldn't surprise me given his personality.
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Interest has been on and off again for the past year, but during our trip to Oregon recently he became interested again after watching his dad pee. Starting preschool this month has also helped. So, last Tuesday we put all the pull-ups away and brought out the underwear. A couple chants of "Underwear is fun to wear!", a little dancing around and lots of show & tell one afternoon ("Mommy, look! My penis is out.") and he's been doing great! I initially thought we'd continue with pull-ups during naps and bedtime, but he didn't want to wear them during naps. And he's woken up every morning (but one, and I know it's because he had a tall glass of milk right before bed) dry so we could probably do away with them at night, too. Only one accident early on and he's been using the toilet like a champ -- at our house, at a friend's house, public toilets and urinals... He's done it all and is doing fantastic! I knew if I waited long enough he'd figure it out himself. :)

SeaWorld

Our family skipped our usual Tuesday activities of work, preschool, etc. It was our 8th anniversary, some friends from Portland were in town, the weather was perfect... all were great excuses to visit SeaWorld for a day of fun! A new area, Sesame Street Bay, had opened since our last visit so we spent a lot of time in there and Thomas loved it. The rides and activities were all perfect for him. We also caught the dolphin and whale shows and rode the SkyTower. On a clear day, the view at the top is amazing!

fourteen months

Some days she's 14 months going on 4 years.

atelier

Our living and formal dining spaces where we dance (hence the often used term Dance Party Room), read books, scoot around on scooters and ride-on toys, host arts & crafts playdates, etc. has become our atelier. I love that term. That's what they call the art studio at Thomas' preschool. Atelier. Doesn't that just sound like a place you'd like to hang out in? (Me, too!) After hosting this morning's crafty playdate, we continued with art projects in this space all afternoon that eventually evolved into lettering projects. Thomas has taken an interest in writing letters (he says "drawing" letters) so this evening we practiced writing them and spelling short words. He's so serious when he does it! I love watching him draw the individual letters. The letter T takes three strokes, X takes four...

this is getting ridiculous

friends

Both Thomas and Meredith had a great time at their friend's birthday party this afternoon. Sweet little Melania (I could hug her all day!) celebrated her 2nd birthday with many friends and an afternoon of fun games and good food. Meredith loved hanging out with the "big girls" (3 and 4 years), smiling and laughing with the three under 6 months and doing all she could to avoid Jacob (pictured above with her). This little guy adores her and is constantly trying to kiss her cheek, hold her hand, feed her food... It's the sweetest thing, but she doesn't want any of it. However, she did enjoy jumping around in the bounce house with him. Thomas, on the other hand, has a great time with everyone and Melania's almost-4-year-old sister, Tiana, is no exception. She was teasing him, trying to get him to chase her. He loved it.

a good night's sleep?

Thomas has taken to falling asleep on the stair's landings at night. I know he needs a new bed, but is this really a better option than his toddler bed? Over the past week, he's been found sleeping on the stairs 6 of the 7 evenings. Silly boy.

book report

We signed up for the local library's summer reading program and were thrilled to learn it's very similar to the one we've done in Portland the last two summers. The difference? The child must be 3 years old and instead of simply noting that you've read a book the child has to give a "report" to a library volunteer. Sounds like a lot of pressure for some 3 year olds, right? I wasn't sure how it'd play out with Thomas, but today we visited the library so he could "report" his first book and he did very well.
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The reporting process is all very organized and terribly cute. The volunteers are junior high kids and the girl he talked with thought he was the cutest thing ever [would it have been wrong of me to inquire about having her babysit them sometime...??]. He answered some of her questions with replies other than yes, no or I don't know, but in the end she only asked him yes or no questions. My hope is that by the end of the summer when asked a question by anyone and everyone his first response will not be I don't know. Maybe I should just be satisfied that he gives a response at all at this age since many don't? Who knows, but that's my goal in this exercise. His goal, I'm sure, is to earn all the fun rewards along the way.

easy morning

I walked around the corner this morning to see this beautiful sight. Soft music in the background, the warm sun streaming in the window, Thomas comfortably lounging in his underwear and the two of them laying on the floor and looking at a book. Together. Quietly. I treasure moments like these.

playground ~ sprayground

All the kids enjoyed the sprayground. Meredith didn't care for the "surprise attacks" of the fountains, but Thomas and his pal loved it. Michael will be joining him at preschool this fall.

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Today we joined friends for some play and a picnic at a park that has something for everyone - sand pits, small and large play structures (covered!), a sprayground, playing fields... you name it, they have it. Of course, this park isn't located just anywhere, but inside a nearby community that is eerily familiar. Have you see The Truman Show? Yes, it reminds me of that community. It's all very nice, clean, new, etc., but also a little weird... However, the park was totally fun!

Before heading out this morning we made a small birthday gift for a friend. Thomas enjoyed breaking up the crayons and putting them into the little molds for baking. Such an easy and fun activity and they make a great gift (when in a cute container) for those birthday parties that you are asked to not bring anything to. I mean, really, how can one go and not bring something??

Happy Father's Day

Torrey Pines Golf Course ~ Del Mar, Calif.

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Our favorite man (that would be M) enjoyed the entire afternoon on this beautiful golf course today watching the 2008 U.S. Open Championship. It has been U.S. Open fever around here this past week. Everyone is talking about it, many are volunteering at it, a few actually go to it, and it is televised everywhere you go. One of the perks of working for a golf company is that M gets to go at another's expense. His day included a chauffered ride to and from the golf course, unlimited food and drinks at the Hospitality Tent, and up close views of all the professionals playing today including everyone's favorite, Tiger Woods.

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M had a great time and really enjoyed being a spectator at such a huge sporting event. The kids and I watched the last few minutes on television as Woods rolled in a birdie putt to force a playoff tomorrow with Mediate. It was pretty exciting to watch that particular moment on television so I can only imagine what it must have been like to be there! I'm just happy he had such a fantastic and memorable Father's Day. He is, afterall, our favorite man!

the joy of (being) three

left to right:

is this a new superhero or Thomas with goggles drinking milk?

zipping down a super fast slide at the indoor playground

trying out the bouncing "horses"

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We love all the outdoor activities around here, but sometimes we need a break from the sun. Lucky for us, a new indoor playground opened nearby earlier this month so we joined some friends there this morning to check it out. Endless physical activity for the kids; Thomas loved it! Meredith would have preferred to be at home taking a nap, but was a good sport.

did you believe me?

m rides quad from c on Vimeo.

red button = GO!

Meredith has learned that she can easily get on Thomas' quad. She enjoys watching him zip around on it and now she's thinking that she'd like to try it, too. Initially she'd just sit on it and rock back and forth in hopes of it moving for her. She was perfectly content with that, but then Thomas showed her the red button you push to make it GO! And now she can get on this thing and actually hold the button down to make it move forward. Without steering she can't really go far, but the fact that she can actually GO is enough to make me consider moving this to the garage. I have to wonder what will be next. She's always keeping us on our toes!

comfy ride

A new car seat for Thomas finally arrived yesterday! Seeing him in the new seat makes me realize just how much he had outgrown his old one. This new one is definitely a much safer seat for him. He says he loves sitting lower in the car because now he can reach things on the seat between he and Meredith. He also loves the arm rests that he can raise and lower at his leisure. I'm sure the cup holder will be a hit soon, too. It's a good thing he's so fond of it because he'll be in this one for a long, long time...

pool playdates

This afternoon we enjoyed our second pool playdate in three days. The beauty of living in Southern California is that if you don't have a pool of your own, your friends probably do. It was a very fun afternoon for all of us. Thomas didn't want to leave but instead wanted to hang out and copy all the things Grant was doing -- like retrieving things from the bottom of the jacuzzi, wearing swim goggles, playing with a swim board, kicking the water hard to splash everyone, jumping into the pool... He's really enjoying water play these days which is fun to see. Meredith also really enjoys the pool!

[Almost 4 months into our California adventure and last weekend we purchased our 4th bottle of sunscreen for the kids. Really! In Oregon we'd buy a new bottle every year -- not because we were out, but because we'd throw out the 85% full bottle from the year before for fresh stuff. It's crazy how fast we're going through it here.]

in lieu of a nap today...

...pull-up arranging!

bubbles

Today I picked up a bubble making machine at Target exactly like the one we played with yesterday at a friend's house. I knew the kids would love one at our house and sure enough, all four loved the bubble machine. There was much squealing, jumping, dancing, clapping and biting of the bubbles. Fun stuff!