Merediff

That's what Thomas calls her: Merediff. So silly, but it's the sweetest sound for this mama's ears... I just love it.

all in a day's work

Our days are always busy. Even when I ink in nothing for the day, things always pop up and we find ourselves keeping busy all day long. Today began with a tea party for two. Grandma brought this for Meredith and she loves it. Afterwards we zipped down to the Botanical Gardens to meet friends for crafts, painting, water play, bubbles and plant potting. After a picnic lunch at the garden, we returned home for naps. A friend and his baby brother came over after naps to play until dinner. They rode bikes, scooters, tricycles... played with the water table... collected roly poly bugs... painted rocks... raced cars... ate a snack outdoors... played with Bela and Greta... turned the playroom upside down... After dinner we raced more cars, built a house, crawled around in the pop-up tunnel, played several rounds of hide-n-seek (that's Meredith "hiding" in the corner), wished the sun a good night's sleep and read books before bedtime. Whew! For a day that started out with nothing planned, it sure was a busy one.

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post-playdate

Meredith hosted a fun playdate this morning for five of her one-year-old friends. They all had such a good time; no one wanted to leave. She was seriously wiped out by the time everyone did leave. Thomas, of course, had many questions upon arriving home after preschool: did Bela use napkins in the playroom? where did this pink bear come from? whose wipes are these? what happened to the playroom? and on and on and on... Meredith had so much fun that I think we'll start inviting friends over to play regularly (bi-weekly?). I'm anticipating a long nap today for both the playdate hostess and the busy preschooler!

* For the curious ones out there: Meredith and I didn't feel the earthquake since we were busy playing with friends, M didn't feel it at his office, but Thomas says he felt it at preschool. He said he was eating lunch and the preschool building started shaking. Knowing how three-year-olds are, he may or may not have actually felt it.

sibling love

People ask me all the time if the two year age difference is a good one. Though it was tough initially and some days even now are tough, I think it's a great spacing for the two kids. They truly have a great time together and enjoy being siblings. They have ups and downs but generally play together very well. Thomas is always asking for her when they are apart and I know she's wondering the same thing about him. A few weeks ago she scrambled up the stairs and sat outside his bedroom door while he was napping. Moments like that make my heart sing.

Thomas & Grandma

Before taking Grandma to the airport today, we walked the San Diego harbor and met a pirate. Thomas wasn't very sure of this strangely-dressed man, even with the protection of his gun-toting Grandma. All afternoon and evening he's been telling us how nice it was to have Grandma visit us. It sure was!

Meredith & Grandma

M-dances from c on Vimeo.
Meredith is one heck of a dancer. So is her Grandma.

Grandma's here!!

grins from ear to ear

screaming loudly - did you hear?

their grandma is here!

15 months

Meredith with friend "Baby Kara"
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length: 30.75" (60th percentile)
weight: 21lbs, 8ozs (27h percentile)
head: 18-3/4 inches (90th percentile)

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The weight seems to have been off since today's weight is less than her 12 month checkup. She'll go back in a month for some additional shots and we'll have her weight checked again then. I sometimes wonder just how accurate all those numbers are anyway. I mean, really, have you seen how they "measure" the baby's length?

smiles like these...

Smiles like these can only come from two things:
1.) Hanging out with your buddy all morning. Thomas and his pal always have such a great time together. It was fun to meet up with them for breakfast and a kids' activity at the outlet mall.
~ and ~
2.) Seeing Grandma. Thomas has been talking about his "regular" Grandma and how we should go see her sometime soon. He doesn't know that she's flying in tonight to spend a few days with us!

sunset

When we first moved here, our little family would sit outside and watch the sun sink into the ocean almost every evening. We would sit on the sidewalk in the front of the house. Several months ago, we started viewing it from the backyard and/or the deck. I never noticed just how much the sun moves throughout the year until we moved here. Funny, isn't it? But when you watch it go down every evening from the same viewing spot(s), you clearly see the movement. Photos don't do it justice, but the sunsets are really beautiful...

Legoland: on a Monday?

Yes! This morning we upgraded our membership (we are all "Resort Members" now, baby!), caught up with a friend from Portland and her children and enjoyed old favorites and new favorites at Legoland. Thomas finally got to see LegoMan Johnny, our friend Emily was mesmerized by the Princess (as was Meredith), and Thomas actually wanted his photo taken with R2D2 as we were leaving. I still couldn't convince him to pose with Darth Vader ~ "Come on! We can send the photo to the GoGo Family!" ~ but he refused to get within 10 feet of him. He just doesn't like that one, but "the white guy" (what he calls R2D2) was okay today...

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[So fun to hang out with you guys today, Kelly! On the drive home, Thomas said he wanted to go back to Legoland and stay "all day long". Meredith slept. But we all crashed as soon as we got home!]

summer eatin'

Today's purchase: the picnic table with umbrella. The kids love it and enjoyed dinner outside this evening. It's one of those things we should have purchased a long time ago. My only question though is why the heck is this faux wood green?!?!

flying high

Wild Animal Park & San Pasqual Valley
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view straight down from the hot air balloon ~

we're tethered, but still swaying (!!)
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400' above the earth?? no worries...

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Today we made a trip out to the Wild Animal Park. We've been before but this time made a bee line for two of the more popular things to do since we've skipped them before -- the tram ride and the hot air balloon ride. This park is unique because almost all the larger animals are in one huge area together just as they are in the wild. The only way to see many of them is to take the tram ride so we were thrilled to do that one. The driver was very informative and we got up close to giraffes, wildebeests, cheetahs, all sorts of birds... After the tram, Thomas and I rode in the hot air balloon. It doesn't seem very high when you are viewing it from the ground, but 400' in the air is actually pretty high. At one point I nervously asked the pilot if we were at the top yet and he told me we still had another 30' to go. Wow! There was a little wind, too, so the balloon was swaying. None of this phased Thomas and he enjoyed the ride and the views from way up there. I enjoyed the views but was also happy to be back on solid ground.

Thomas Romas plays soccer

meeting everyone and reviewing the day's game plan

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Thomas wows the coaches with his mad soccer skilz

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Thomas is going for it!

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another goal!

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Thomas waits for the others ~ "Soccer is fun!!" they chant

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There are very few things as much fun as watching preschoolers play sports, esp. when they are your own preschooler. Today Thomas started soccer camp. They don't play actual games, but instead work on soccer skills, following directions, teamwork, etc. He had so much fun! Afterwards he told me that the coaches were calling him Thomas Romas... "They call me Thomas Romas at soccer camp. Isn't that silly? I've never heard of such a thing!" as he laughs and then repeats it over and over. Meredith and I had a blast, too. She wanted to join in and was very curious about these blue cones used to mark the playing field. And this mama? Yes, I'm one of those annoying parents who cheers very loudly and almost nonstop (hey, at least I cheer for all the kids!) while also snapping photos left and right and chasing after a toddler who was determined to play soccer, too. It was quite the morning!

rods & woodies

Thomas has loved everything and anything automotive since the day he was born. His first word was "car" (remember how he left out the "r" and sounded like he was from Boston?). We really should have known from the beginning that we'd be going to many, many classic car shows. Of course, M enjoys cars, too, so the two are a great pair.

Tonight we went to the classic car "Rods and Woodies" show in Encinitas. You really can't get more SoCal than walking up and down Hwy 101 on a summer evening and looking at classic rods and woodies. Thomas was in heaven. Nearly every car (and there were a lot!) received the same response... "Oh, WOW! Look at that car! What is that car?" Usually with one finger pointing at the car, but sometimes with both pointer fingers as he jumped up and down. And when we'd come across any of the cars that resembled those from the movie CARS, he was beside him with excitement. Yes, there was a Lizzy, a Fillmore and a Snot Rod. He loved it and we loved taking him to this show.

A Tale of Two Artists

BOY ARTIST

Boy Artist is very neat and clean when it comes to art projects. At three years old, Boy Artist has developed his fine motor skills and drawing is a great activity that he really enjoys. Boy Artist has been tracing things over the last few weeks -- letters, words, objects, etc... Freehand drawing and tracing are activities that can occupy him for quite a long time. Boy Artist's mama also loves to draw so watching him in this activity makes her very happy.

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GIRL ARTIST

Girl Artist loves to experiment with her art media. Today's project is a good example of a Great Idea Gone Wrong. Girl Artist's mama thought painting rocks would be a fun, easy painting activity for Girl Artist. It started out well, but then Girl Artist accidentally (this is still questionable) touched her foot with the paint brush...

...and then the hand touched the painted foot...

...the paint brush was transferred to the other hand and painting of own body continued... [or, as she might put it "Rock? What rock?"]

Girl Artist was really enjoying this project!

After much painting of own body, Girl Artist's mama decided to exchange the yellow paint for a cup of clear water. Girl Artist was not fooled and immediately dumped out the water. That was the end of today's painting project for Girl Artist.

Legoland with Meredith

Today's visitors to Legoland were greeted by Meredith wearing goggles. Thomas was not interested at all in dressing himself at her age, but she's really started to show some interest. While waiting outside Legoland this morning for friends, she went through my bag trying on a couple hats and Thomas' swim goggles. The goggles must have been comfortable because she left them on for about 10 minutes -- or maybe she forgot she had put them on her head...

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Since we moved here, Thomas has talked about "Lego Man" off and on. During our three day drive down from Oregon he talked about Lego Man constantly. He really wanted to go visit him. Well, we've been to Legoland about two dozen times and have never seen anything resembling a man of Legos. Yet today, since Meredith and I went while Thomas was in preschool, we saw TWO Lego men. No kidding. Now I know exactly where to go and when that show starts so next time Thomas can meet and greet actual Lego Men and Women. Finally!

hair

After looking again at the last photo I posted of the kids this morning, I decided we need to come up with some new looks for Meredith's hair. It's super cute au naturale with large curls all over the back and straighter hair on top/front, but it is getting longer. I usually manage to get in one clip on the side and I love the "pigtails" but it isn't quite long enough for that. Tomorrow we will do the single pony tail on the top of her little head. Cute!

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Top: "pigtails" & a single pony tail on top

Bottom: a clip on each side & one clip on the side (our usual)

pool play + long naps = happy mama

the kids snack and dry off after playing in the pool

Of all the different kinds of playdates we do, by far my favorites are the pool playdates. Spending two hours in the sun and water (I love salt water pools!) and snacking on the pool's deck afterwards always adds up to wonderful, long afternoon naps. The kids have just gone down and I can already tell it's going to be a good one today! The pool is also relaxing and good for me, too. We came home to find one dog has diarrhea (...ooh, always a treat to find that in the house...) and it didn't phase me. Even with all that to clean up, life is still good...

super reader

Thomas' love for reading is perfect for the summer reading programs that libraries organize. Every summer he has participated and earned prizes, including great t-shirts. This afternoon I asked him if he wanted to go to the library to give his 7th book report. I told him I thought there might be a special prize for this report. He asked what it would be and when I told him a t-shirt his response was, "...the prize is a t-shirt??" He said he'd rather have another plastic bug like he's been earning. We were both pleasantly surprised when we learned that he'd be receiving both a bug and a t-shirt today!

Carlsbad Tri

I love the energy at race events. Usually it's me out there at a running event, but being a spectator is an entirely different experience and so much fun. So when a friend said she was competing in the local triathlon this morning, I knew we had to go support her and watch the event. From where we stood we were able to see the swim and caught the run twice. The bike portion of the event was further south so we missed that one. We made a sign for her and the kids each had a noise maker. It was fun to cheer on the participants, esp. our friend.

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The triathlon was a sprint -- 1K swim, 25K bike and a 5K run. The distances aren't difficult by themselves, but all three back to back and swimming way out there in the ocean and all the biking and running on hot Hwy 101 and the uphill finish at the very end of the run...? For someone who will never experience a tri (the swimming kills it for me), it all looked impressive. Helen did great and this guy with one leg made it all look easy... Wow!

chocolate covered strawberries

Meredith and I whipped up some chocolate covered strawberries this afternoon. She loved the strawberry I gave her to taste test and when she looked up at me, pointed to the counter and signed "more"...? Look at that sweet, little chocolate face -- of course I gave her another (okay, and a third!). Even after she was all cleaned up, she still smelled like chocolate the rest of the day. Mmmmm.