preschool-bound

It's official! The deposit has been made, the agreement form signed, and the remaining registration papers were submitted today. Meredith will start preschool in September!

bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles

his first book club

It's fun to learn new things about your children. This morning I learned that Thomas has more confidence than I thought he did, he offers answers quickly and is also a bit of a class clown. A preschool friend recently invited him to join his newly-formed Book Club. I knew it'd be a good thing for Thomas since he loves books and talking about things he knows. This morning's meeting was the first for this Book Club made up of 4 year olds. There were 5 children and each brought a book of their choice and a presentation of some sort to tie in with the book. Thomas was the first one to present. He was quiet for about 20 seconds and I began to feel a bit concerned, but then he dove right into the presentation. The kids were all laughing almost the whole time and really enjoyed his presentation and book. During the other presentations he spoke up (when appropriate) and shared what he knew about their books and/or the book's contents. I was really quite impressed by my little guy!

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A week ago I worried about Thomas entering Kindergarten in the Fall and all those changes that will then occur. He'll be moving from his preschool class of 14 kids to the elementary school with probably 32 kids in his class. It'll be an adjustment, for sure, but after seeing him this morning and watching him on the field yesterday at preschool I'm not as concerned. He's going to be just fine. I'm looking forward to the new things he'll experience in Kindergarten, the new friends he'll make and listening to him tell us about his day.

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healthy hearts

At preschool this week they are having a Healthy Heart Challenge. All the students are participating and during p.e. class it means the kids are doing very specific physical movements at different stations in the field. Around their neck is a tag that gets a "heart" added each time a station is completed. Thomas has been talking about the challenge on and off for weeks and has a keen interest in keeping his body healthy. Meredith and I walked over to watch his class move through the stations today. Thomas was happy to see us watching him and waved several times. Two of his pals also smiled and waved at us. It was fun to watch!

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Tonight's dessert? Homemade mini doughnuts. They are baked so "heart healthy" again and with just a little glaze and some sprinkles, they are pretty yummy!

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the bear hunt

Last weekend Mike went on a trail run with some friends at Mt. Calavera. It's called a mountain, but it's really a 513-foot high hill with a lake and trails here in Carlsbad. During their run, one of the guys pointed out the "bear cave" on Calavera. All week the kids have been excited to hear about the bear cave and wanted to see it for themselves. After dinner this evening we took the whole family out for a twilight hike to see the bear cave and watch the sunset. Tracks on the trail added to the bear story and both kids were full of questions regarding the bears who lived here, their size, etc. Meredith told us she was going to hug the bear if it turned out to be a girl bear. Good thing we didn't actually see a bear in the "bear cave" today!

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LPGA Kia Classic

Just 3 miles from our house is the legendary La Costa Resort & Spa. It was the first destination spa in America when it originally opened in 1965 and several years ago it was completely renovated. The resort is gorgeous and really a self-contained village with shops, restaurants, spa, fitness center, water parks, two golf courses, countless tennis courts and residences of every size. I've been there for drinks with friends, Mike has played golf there and Thomas has been to a birthday party there. It's a special place and a real treat to simply go there.

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Today was the final day in the LPGA Kia Classic held at La Costa Resort & Spa. Mike picked us up some tickets from work and we made it a family outing (gotta start them young, right?). The kids did great! They were quiet and still while the golfers were hitting and really well-behaved all morning and afternoon. That isn't easy to do on 400 park-like acres on an 80* day for four hours. We were so pleased we stopped for frozen yogurt on our way home!

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Michelle Wie, one of many top players we watched today

SD Science Expo

kids pet a python

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kids as astronauts

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Our afternoon was spent at the San Diego Science Expo and seeing some other sights downtown. The Expo is wildly popular because it's free and one day only. It is held at Petco Park (or Pesto Park if you ask our kids) and there are many vendors and organizations represented. All of them are in the math and science fields and have fun (and challenging) things for kids of all ages to get their hands on. The kids got to see some different animals up close, watch some demonstrations involving atomic energy, make their own marine habitats, get shocked by static electricity, touch (and hold) different animals' hearts, participate in a taste test, and more! We barely made a dent in all the activities offered because it was so busy and a very warm afternoon.

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Afterwards we walked down Harbor Drive to Seaport Village and back. Along the way we found a fun fountain, some fun things to play on at the Children's Museum's park, a hedge maze honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a man balancing rocks at the bay. What a fun day we had!

playgroup Easter party

Bunny helps Meredith find eggs ~ Bunny love

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This morning our playgroup had its annual Easter party. It was a potluck brunch complete with an Easter bunny, crafts and an Easter egg hunt. The morning was warm and the park beautiful. All in all, a really great way to start off the weekend!

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Meredith has never been a fan of costumed characters of any kind. She likes to look at them, but refuses to go within 10 feet of them. I was able to get a Christmas photo with Santa but it was totally spontaneous or it would never have worked. Today, she willingly walked up to the Easter bunny and gave her a hug. It was really sweet and such a bold move for Meredith!

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the hunt is on! ~ she's a big girl, but still a yummy little baby to me
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Easter crafts ~ checking out the treats in their eggs
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I love this family of mine!

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Caroline waits for Thomas to greet her

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Thomas has a little friend in our playgroup who has the biggest crush on him. Caroline adores Thomas. She searches him out at playgroup meetups. It's really the sweetest thing. Today I saw her arrive, find Thomas and approach him. She must have stood there for several minutes waiting for Thomas to say something. Finally I had to say, "Thomas, say HI to your friend Caroline." She was all smiles when he did. I know she isn't the only one smitten with our little guy and I have feeling there will be many others over the years.

bowl-a-rama! M bowled a 73, T a 66

her happy dance ~ a happy girl ~ bowling!

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pizza was the worst I'd ever had, but the kids didn't mind

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going! ~ going! - hooray for ramps!
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This afternoon we went bowling! It was the first time for both of our kids and they loved it. Our playgroup descended upon this bowling alley and pretty much took over half the place. Kids were running all over the place, bowling when it was their turn, chowing down on pizza and just having a really fun time with their friends. It was great fun and definitely something we'll do again soon. One game for Meredith was plenty, but Thomas bowled a few extra frames and could have done two games but we ran out of time. Next time!
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Note: The first 3 frames were bowling without a ramp. It was excruciating to watch the balls make their way down the lanes. The kids' balls went from 1.2 mph without a ramp to 5.4 mph with the ramp. Bowling in 2010 is nothing like it was when I was a kid!

the ice cream dessert at El Torito

countdown to Easter

two Easter bunnies were spotted earlier this week

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assembling eggs for a playgroup party & hunt

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we have Easter eggs (and leftover tattoos - hooray!)

quiet time to herself

After a busy morning hosting Meredith's playgroup, Thomas went off to preschool and Meredith wanted to sit quietly by herself. She began in her bedroom but then came downstairs for a snack and to draw. She's been drawing quietly under the kitchen table for probably 30 minutes. For weeks now she's been curious about writing letters. Just the other day Thomas was verbally describing to her how to draw some letters in her name. Today, she was able to write all the letters herself. I like the E with four arms and the R that looks like a stick figure. She likes her "crazy looking D".

we made play-doh!

The kids were excited when I suggested we make some play-doh this afternoon. They had fun deciding how many squirts of each color they wanted in their piece and then kneading it to see the resulting color. Afterwards they pulled out some of other play-doh to come up with these sculptures.

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Meredith's on the left ~ Thomas' on the right

preppy hits the driving range

Mike and Thomas had a date this afternoon to hit some balls at the driving range. I love this kind of daddy-son time. Both had a really fun time hitting balls, stopping for a treat and picking up some items at an auto parts store. Very fun!