fun with friends

After dropping Grandma off at the Long Beach Airport this morning, we continued north to see a college friend who lives near LA. We hadn't seen Sofie and the kids since January so it was fun to hang out with them for a few hours. We enjoyed lunch at the Farmer's Market and some water play at a fountain in Manhattan Beach, along with some play at their house, before heading back home. Meredith napped the entire 1.5 hour drive home and Thomas was out for the last hour of it. It's nice to have little ones who so easily go along with my whims!

"Take a picture of my feet!!"

The Flower Fields

We had just moved here last year when the Flower Fields opened for the 2008 season. The flowers are only in bloom for a short period of time (6 to 8 weeks) and it wasn't high on our list of things to do in those first months of living here so we didn't go. But this year I had once again heard the hype and decided we would go and take Grandma with us.

We spent nearly three hours at the Flower Fields this afternoon. With over 50 acres of flowers (mostly Ranunculus flowers), views of the Pacific Ocean, tractor-wagon rides, a (living) Sweet Pea Maze, a rose garden filled with award-winning roses, playground, fun mining activity and more gardens and nurseries... well, there was definitely plenty to look at and do. The kids had a great time and Grandma enjoyed herself, too.

Giant Tecolote Ranunculus ~ Thomas and Grandma surf

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the kids mined for gems (they loved this!)
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looking down towards the ocean

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looking up towards the resort

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T test drives a tractor

Relay for Life

This weekend is the Relay for Life event in Oceanside, California. Many, many months ago I joined some moms from our playgroup to raise money for the American Cancer Society and to participate in this weekend's event. There are eight of us on the team so we are all covering a minimum of 3 hours during this 24-hour event. Our family (including Grandma!) walked for two hours this morning and late this evening M and I will return for another two hours. Of course, neither child nor Grandma nor M actually walked the full two hours (I did!), but everyone did what they were comfortable with and we did it together. Though the kids don't really understand what or why we're walking, it's a learning opportunity full of questions and that's a good thing.

A huge Thank You to those who've donated on my behalf. Cancer is something that touches all of us and your support is much appreciated.

Meredith's "Meow Party"

the tiara was perfect; she wore it for 5 seconds

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"Daddy, I can jump high!" ~ T loves the bouncers

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really, really yummy cake!

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cake? frosting? ice cream? it's all good.

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opening presents w/T ~ new purse (gift from friends)

TWO!

Happy Birthday, happy girl

improved drawing skills

portrait drawing exercise during art studio
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The ability (confidence!) to communicate through drawing is such a great skill to have. Most of Thomas' drawings are of vehicles these days, usually cars from the movie Cars. He'll hold the car in one hand to study while he draws with the other. It's fascinating to watch him learn and practice these new skills. I know from spending time in elementary classrooms that children at that age often become very concerned about the accuracy of their drawings. Representational drawings are "wrong" in their eyes and if their drawings don't look exactly like they think it should they become discouraged. It think this is what leads to many people believing they are unable to draw. I hope Thomas and Meredith both appreciate their drawing skills, however abstract they may be, and continue to use this form of communication throughout their lives.

our family

future golfers

M brought home a putter tonight for Thomas and the kids had a great time hitting some balls. Meredith will have to wait for lessons, but Thomas will start his in two weeks. They see their dad with his clubs and they're so excited to start playing, too! You've got to start them young, right?

fun with markers

Meredith is helping me prep for her birthday party. Today she had the job of coloring some stars. The markers got a little out of control when I wasn't paying attention...

birthday fun

One of our favorite little friends celebrated his 4th birthday today. I watched Meredith closely observe Michael blowing out his birthday candles, probably making mental notes for her own birthday party in six short days. Both of our kids had a great time jumping around in the bounce house (as did their mom and dad!), playing in the yard and sandbox, and eating with the other children. When it came time for the group photo our two quickly found their spots front and center, patiently waited for everyone and smiled on cue. They are very well versed in the whole taking of photos thing...

mommy mistake #2156 ~ buying a recorder

"toot. toot. tootie. toot. toot. toot..."
"Mommy, did you hear me play Jingle Bells?"
"toot. toot. tootie. toot. toot. toot..."
"Mommy, did you hear me play The Itsy Bitsy Spider?"
"toot. toot. tootie. toot. toot. toot... with an oink oink here and an oink oink there... toot. toot..."
"Mommy, did you hear me play Old McDonald had a Farm?"
"toot. toot. tootie. tootie. toot..."
"Mommy, did you hear me play Bam Bam Diddley? I can play so loud the whole neighborhood can hear me toot. They can even hear me in Portland!"
[followed my nonstop giggling and more tooting...]

I think the novelty will wear off in an hour, but the ringing in my ears may last all day. *sigh*

ballet & tap class

Meredith had a great time at dance class again this morning. Her pals were late and oh boy! was she excited to see Grace and Felicity arrive. She ran over to greet both the second they walked through the door; it was cute to watch. The three girls had a great time running through the ballet and tap moves, singing songs, working at the bar, playing with bubbles and then getting their hands stamped at the end of class. She has so much fun in this activity that I wish it were an every day thing!

tap

M- dance class from c on Vimeo.

sleep habits

Meredith's sleep habits have totally gone haywire these last three weeks. Prior to this time, she actually slept very well and napped regularly. Her afternoon naps had shortened to about 1.5 hours but everything else remained the same. Then we switched her back to a toddler bed since she was climbing out of her crib and now every night is a crap shoot. Naps are far and few and generally not happening. If there is a nap, even the teensiest little cat nap, then her bedtime ritual is completely thrown off. She's been wide awake at 10:30pm more than once.
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But this morning I woke up happy when I realized she had actually stayed in her bed all night long and neither M nor I had slept on the floor in her bedroom. Or so I thought. I walked into her room this morning to open the blinds and turn things off and expected to find her still asleep, but her bed was empty. I figured she had gone downstairs already so I did the few things I was in there to do and was looking in her closet for clothes when I heard some movement. I had just opened the window so I thought it might be a bird right outside but then I heard it again and it sounded closer. It sounded like it was coming from under her bed, but how could that be?? There is only about 6.5 to 7 inches of clearance between the springs and the carpet. Surely she couldn't be under there. But I peeked anyway and to my surprise there she was! And she was against the far wall so somehow she wiggled her way (on her back!) all the way under her bed. Amazing. It's incredible to think she got herself back there and incredible to know she didn't get herself pricked on the springs of her bed. Silly, silly girl...
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We hope her good sleep habits resume soon. We miss them. A lot.

sweet B

enjoying the sunset last night & resting tonight

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Despite some tough times, our Bela is always such a trooper. It was almost 4 years ago that Bela had a tumor removed from her back. It wasn't a good time at our house since it was right around Thomas' birth. I remember thinking I suddenly had three crying babies to deal with -- Thomas' newborn cries, Bela's cries because her activity post-surgery was so restricted and Greta's cries because Bela couldn't play with her. It made for a very long summer!

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Today, Bela once again proved that she's a trooper. This afternoon she had a tumor removed from her front right paw. She's home resting now and is doing fine. The drugs have her still a little woozy and we have pain medication to give her as needed. But it's going to be another long period of healing, followed by daily radiation treatments for three weeks (and at a clinic 20 miles away!). None of us are looking forward to that, but we're all relieved to have her home with us and we know that she'll be back to her sweet, smiling self again in no time.

spring

a beautiful spring day at the beach

+ her daddy's back

+ a sweet-smelling, strawberry-stained face

= a happy girl

Happy Easter!

Thomas and Meredith were pretty excited to wake up this morning to find the Easter bunny had been to their house! The Easter bunny ate two of their decorated eggs from last night, left a basket of goodies with a note on the counter for each of them and scattered a dozen filled eggs throughout the house for them to find. Fun!

Grape Grandma visits!

That's what Meredith calls their great-grandmother -- "Grape Grandma". M's grandma Margie and her husband George are visiting us for a few days all the way from the Seattle area! Talk about a long drive for a couple who are both 87 years old!! Amazing. The kids are loving having their great-grandparents here. They want to sit next to them or on their laps, hold their hands when we walk (or be carried by George in Meredith's case!), and this morning they waited outside the guest room door for "Grape Grandma" or "Grape Grandpa" to emerge. These two will be sorely missed when they do leave!
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This morning we went to the Easter Egg Hunt in Encinitas. The "hunts" are broken into very small age groups (under 2 years, 3 years only, 4 & 5 years, etc.) so we figured our two would stand a better shot at actually getting some eggs than at some of the other area hunts. Despite our practice hunts these last two weeks, Meredith wasn't sure what to make of the crowd and refused to pick up more than one egg. Thomas, on the other hand, understood the strategy of running to the far end of the field (away from the masses) to begin picking up eggs. He collected about a dozen before I suggested he had his share and he happily ran back to where our family was waiting. The candy kept the kids busy in the car until we parked in Coronado for some lunch and a look at the beach...

Thomas and Meredith show Grape Grandma around the Hotel del Coronado after lunching nearby. See their happy little faces??

Easter delivery

Our playgroup made cards again for the same assisted living facility last week (we did this for Valentine's Day, too) and this morning we delivered them to the residents. It's such a small, simple and quick activity that really brightens the day for these people. The kids and I spent a little extra time with a couple of the residents; my two enjoyed talking to them. Thomas said it made him feel happy to see all the grandmas and grandpas there happy.

Spring Break

Thomas has Spring Break this week so the three of us have been hanging out and doing fun things together. When I asked him last week what he wanted to do he answered "Go to Legoland!!" He never tires of this park. Of course, everyone wants to go there so the park is hopping these days but we did meet up with friends for some Legoland fun. His favorite today? Sitting on the concrete with Sophia watching the trains pull in and out of Grand Central in NYC (MiniLand USA). I think he could have been in that exact spot all day long.

one day, three shoes

It didn't occur to me until I was telling M about our day (and he pointed it out)... but today Meredith got three new pairs of shoes. Yes, three. I don't think I've ever purchased three pairs for myself in one day. But we were looking for some new clothings items and came across these cute little flip flops. She's always trying to wear Thomas' so I thought I should get her a pair of her own. Then later we were at the dance store looking for ballet slippers and they had tap shoes in her size... all the girls in her dance class this morning had both ballet and tap shoes so I had to get her both. And you should see how happy they make her. The girl loves shoes so to sit and be fitted by the woman at the dance store?? She was absolutely thrilled to try on several shoes and then tap all around the store in them. Maybe next week I'll snap a few photos of her in dance class. There really isn't anything cuter than half a dozen 22 to 26 month old girls in leotards, tights and ballet slippers!

waiting for daddy

Thomas and Meredith had such a good time sitting in the entry waiting for their dad to come home from work this evening. There were lots of laughs, smiles and a sweet hug from Thomas at the end. They have the best time just hanging out with each other.