princess shoes

At a friend's playdate this morning, Meredith's eyes grew large and a grin spread from ear to ear across her little face when I showed her these princess shoes. She had to try them on.

the kids

left - Meredith got new shoes today and she's been tap-tap-tapping all over the house in them. I didn't realize all her shoes have soft soles until we got these. They aren't loud, just a fun little tapping sound that she loves to hear herself make. I signed her up for a tumbling class this morning, but maybe we need to find her some dance (tap!) classes next year? Thomas says Meredith is able to run faster in her new shoes.
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right - One day last week we spent an entire afternoon and evening in the kitchen. We baked muffins, made dinner, assembled kabobs for a preschool classroom snack and tried a new recipe for black and white striped cookies. Thomas really enjoys this time with me in the kitchen and is such a great helper. The next morning he gave a small bag of the cookies to his friend's mom saying, "I made these for you!"

just because he's cute

17 months

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Seventeen things about my favorite little girl...

1. ...and I do say "little girl" because she's thinning. Her chubby baby body is quickly being replaced by a much leaner body. I miss the fat legs and arms already!
2. I put Meredith in a dress almost every day. She'll soon (I fear very soon) be wanting to choose what she wears so I've got to get in as many dress days as I can. There is nothing cuter than a little girl in a dress.
3. This girl loves shoes. It's fun to take her shoe shopping with me because she tries on every shoe she can get her foot into. She often clomps around the bathroom in my shoes while I'm showering.
4. She cries every single time we put her to bed. It doesn't matter if it's for a nap or for the night. Lately she'll even ask to be put into her crib, but the second you lay her down she'll pout and cry. Even if only for 2 seconds, she always cries. Always.
5. Hearing the word "dance" or "your moves" or "your trick" will nearly always get her to stand up and move. She loves to dance!
6. When her upper body is exposed, she rubs her baby-soft tummy until it's covered again.
7. She copies everything that Thomas does. Everything.
8. She doesn't like her "girl" hats, but will wear Thomas' old Nike baseball cap all day long without complaints. She wants to wear it.
9. Those grocery carts with the cars in front make her so happy. If she drives the way she pretends to drive in 15 years, you may want to stay off the road when she's on it. There is much honking and waving and the steering wheel is always wildly moving.
10. She'll munch on raw carrots, but doesn't swallow them. After chewing them up she spits them out. And then she'll ask for another.
11. I once gave her a drop of my coffee because she wouldn't stop asking for it. I figured once she tasted it she'd stop... nope. She wanted more.
12. Tickling is a new interest and she'll tickle everyone. Neither dog laughs when she's tickling them.
13. Meredith is a pretty good eater and enjoys most foods. She prefers to feed herself, even if it's yogurt. She comes from a line of women who enjoy eating.
14. I've told M we are NOT cutting her hair. Ever. It pokes her eyes and she rips out her hairclips once she's noticed them, but we are NOT cutting her hair. Ever. (Well, not for several more years at least!)
15. She has a special twinkle in her eye when she sees her daddy. He has one for her, too.
16. Her lower molars appeared last week (finally!). She now has 10 teeth.
17. I often feel like I am raising my mother. I love who this little girl is and all the facets of her wonderful personality. Since the day she was born, she's always reminded me (and M) of my mom. Lucky for us, my mom is pretty amazing.

swim lessons

Two weeks ago a friend sat out the swim lessons so her husband could do it with their daughter. It gave her a great opportunity to take some photos of the two of them and many of us, too! Here is Meredith during her swim lessons with girlfriends Grace and Felicity.

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Oktoberfest dancing

oktoberfest dancing from c on Vimeo.
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These two love to dance. This evening they danced themselves silly at a nearby Oktoberfest celebration. Not quite the Munich celebration M and I enjoyed years ago or even the Mt. Angel, Oregon celebration from last year, but it was a beautiful day and fairs are always fun, esp. for dancing to live bands.
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Thomas has a new interest! A week ago, he couldn't be bothered with dressing or undressing himself, but now he has very strong opinions about what he wears, when these activities happen and this afternoon he told me needed a shirt to match his shorts. Today's ensemble is of his own choosing. Funny how quickly he picked this up from his cousin!

cousins

What a fun week we've had!! M's oldest brother and his family visited from Oregon and we all had such a great time. Visits to San Diego Zoo, Legoland, Sea Life Aquarium, breakfasts out to fun local restaurants, day trips to La Jolla and Mission Beach, playing at the park, beach and ocean play at sunset... The families had a great time together and the adults even enjoyed some nights out, too. The men spent an evening at a favorite local brewery and the women enjoyed one night out shopping the local outlets and another night out at a new spa in town. Mix in playing indoors and outdoors at our house and the older cousins sharing a bedroom and it all adds up to a very memorable and exciting week. They were already missed just hours after leaving this morning!

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on the pier

Day 5 with cousins: This morning we enjoyed breakfast on the pier and a visit to the new aquarium at Legoland. At the rate we are going with non-stop fun activities, I know two kids who will be really missing their cousins when they leave this weekend. It's beginning to feel like one continuous playdate! Thank goodness for short, direct flights between us.

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Psst. Thomas says he wishes GoGo would come visit him just like his cousin is doing. You know who you are. Maybe a long weekend after the first of the year?

we're still here!

Have you missed the daily blog posts? We've been busy! First we were getting things in order before family came to visit and now we're enjoying having our family here and staying with us. Today we spent the day at the San Diego Zoo and had a great time. We've been playing at the beach and showing them around. The kids are really enjoying having their cousins here with them 24/7. We're looking forward to more adventures and explorations this whole week!

some things only get better with age...

Thomas was so excited to celebrate his dad's birthday last night -- one would almost think it was his birthday instead. Several times we heard him say "Happy Birthday, Daddy. I love you." Meredith isn't one for words, but she's always grinning from ear to ear when she sees their dad, too. And so does their mama!

Date Night

Several times this morning Thomas has said he had a great time last night with Amy. Who is Amy? My friend who, through an online babysitting co-op a group of us are in, stayed with the kids last night so we could have a Date Night.

Sitters can be expensive and when you are new to town, it's hard to trust a total stranger. We have found a great sitter who has stayed with the kids a few times, but at $15/hour it can really make our Date Night expensive. Which is why I'm in love with this new babysitting co-op idea.

Last night was our first Date Night with this co-op. Amy played with the kids, put them to bed and then cuddled with our dogs while M and I enjoyed drinks at a bar and a fantastic meal out. After dinner we strolled the streets and gazed at the moon as it shone on the ocean... It was wonderful. And only made better knowing the kids were having fun with another mom they know. Our Date Night was also $60 less expensive because we didn't have to pay a sitter. And what does Amy get for her time spent with our kids? More credits to spend when she needs a sitter for her own daughter. Everyone wins and it's all done equally without the guilt associated with asking someone to sit for you.

If you've got friends with kids, you've got to check this out...
www.babysitterexchange.com

settling

We've been busy settling into our new home and first on the list of rooms to tackle is Thomas' bedroom. He's been in a toddler bed for over a year and a half and was long overdue for a bigger bed. Not knowing our living situation, we were hesitant to purchase a new bed until now. After closing on the house a few weeks ago, we ordered his bed and purchased all new bedding. So last night we began the challenging task of assembling the bunk bed while entertaining two kids. We only managed to get the top bed assembled (no surprises there!). Last night Thomas got to sleep in his new top bunk bed. He told us both this morning that he had a great night's sleep and was very comfortable. He's loving his new bunk bed already!
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The cute part though is what he calls this new bed... "It's Franny's bed. She can sleep here when she comes home." His cousin may prefer to sleep on the bottom bunk or in the guest room with her parents, but we'll see when she arrives. Nine days to go and we're all excitedly waiting!

weekend in the desert

hills outside Rancho Mirage ~ downtown Palm Springs

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This weekend we enjoyed a last minute getaway to the desert. We rented a great mid-century Modern vacation home with a pool in Cathedral City. You won't find celebrities here, but they have a Starbucks and the location is perfect -- exactly halfway between the two places you want to be, Palm Springs and Palm Desert.
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What did we do? We rode the Palm Springs rotating aerial tram to the top of a mountain and hiked around. There were clouds so we weren't treated to the fantastic views of the desert floor below, but the scenery at the top was just as good. Absolutely beautiful and with temperatures near 65, it was a wonderful break from the heat down below (100-105 degrees every day). I enjoyed shopping on El Paseo (said to be the "Rodeo Drive" of the desert). M played golf one very warm afternoon for next to nothing. We dined on yummy BBQ and cool microbrews from a local brewery. We picked limes and other citrus fruits from the trees in the backyard and ate them. We woke to thunderstorms one morning. And we swam in our pool every chance we got.
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When we go on vacation, Thomas talks about the place where we stayed as "our place". We have that great little beach cabin in Oregon, a vacation home or two in Central Oregon and now we have a house in Palm Springs. He already wants to go back to "our Palm Springs house". And so do we because it's just a short 2 hour drive and there are some fun things to do there, many of which we didn't do but will next time!

the mid-century Modern we rented

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inside the house ~ swimming in the pool

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hiking at the top of the tram
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star walk in Palm Springs

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lots and lots of windmills