Cinco de Mayo Fiesta in Old Town

This afternoon we joined in the Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Old Town San Diego. It's such a fun place to visit and we love to bring out-of-town guests here. In some of the plazas, it feels like you've stepped into Mexico -- very colorful people, beautiful flowers, old village type paving, Mexican music and, of course, the awesome smell of Mexican food. For the Cinco celebration, street vendors and exhibitors took over the streets of Old Town. There was so much to see and do, the kids had a blast! Two interesting things to note: Mexican wrestling demonstrations (weird stuff!) and a car show that was unlike any we'd seen before. Every car had a hydraulic lift kit, was painted beautifully (so sparkly!) and was from the 70s -- the kids loved seeing these cars "hop". And the car owners were not the 60 year old retirees in their Tommy Bahama shirts we usually see sitting beside their woodies. No, these guys looked like Mexican gang members who could have just left the prison yard yesterday. Like I said, being in Old Town feels like you've stepped into Mexico. But it's always fun and today proved to be the same.

me and my girls

These two enjoyed an hour at the lagoon this morning with me. We played tag, they retrieved sticks, they swam, we all played with a 10 week old adorable puppy, and we simply enjoyed a beautiful morning of quiet. Sometimes one just needs to sit on the beach with their toes buried in the sand and the warmth of the sun on their face -- today, it was the perfect thing for all three of us!

Meredith, the rockstar

m-singing from c on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday, Meredith!

m-HB from c on Vimeo.

I haven't posted a video in awhile because of two reasons: 1) I forgot my login and password for my original "C" account and 2) I forgot my login and password for my second "cherlwil..." account. Oy. But, miraculously, last night I remembered the login for account #1 and was able to upload a couple of recent videos. Yay me!

opening birthday presents

Do you see a common theme in these photos? Yes, Thomas helped Meredith open her birthday presents. Her birthday party was late Saturday afternoon/early evening and the last guests didn't leave until after 7pm so we waited until the next morning to open gifts. She doesn't mind Thomas helping her. In fact, I think she probably prefers it that way. It was fun to watch her excitement which was a complete 180* from the holidays. This morning nearly every gift was opened with her exclaiming, "This is what I've been wanting!!" It was also fun to listen to Thomas because he's always so excited and happy for her. He'd also yell out things like, "Meredith, LOOK! This is what you've been wanting!!" He's so sweet to her, but I have to wonder what it'll be like in a few weeks when the birthday presents are for him. Will she be allowed to help him??

[Are you wondering where the birthday party photos are? Neither of us snapped a single photo. We were both just too busy with party prep and hosting to even remember to grab the camera. Fortunately, Mike did catch some stuff on video, like the pinata and birthday cake. One friend was taking photos so hopefully he took a few good ones we can share soon.]

Meredith is FOUR!

Today Meredith turned four years old. It's such a short period of time, yet it feels like she has been a part of our family for so much longer. Maybe because we had wanted her for so long? We had no idea this little person would become such an important and central part of our family. She definitely rocks our world- all of ours! Happy Birthday, Meredith!!

writing sample

Going through Thomas' school stuff I came across this piece of writing. He must have written it soon after Mike's half marathon race last month. I love seeing the "bigger" words that Thomas is writing!

the butterfly magnet

The San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park has their annual Butterfly Jungle exhibit happening now and for the next two weeks. Thomas was excited to go and specifically chose this outfit in hopes of attracting butterflies. He said the green pants were like a flower's stem, his shirt was like a flower and the clown hair was to add to the whole flower look he had created. He figured if he stood real still inside the Butterfly Jungle the butterflies would think he was a flower and would land all over him. I was beginning to think we might leave the park with a disappointed little boy after being inside the exhibit for what felt like a very long time. When Meredith decided she was done, she and I left the exhibit while Grandma stayed inside with Thomas. I was pleased to hear them report 10 minutes later that three butterflies had landed on Thomas!

first pedicures

Meredith has been asking me about pedicures and wanted me to take her with me sometime. At just three years old, she's a bit young so I've held off. However, this week Grandma is here and it's Meredith's birthday week so I thought it would be a good time for this special little girl to get her first pedicure. Grandma had to be convinced (she'd never had one!) and I'm glad she did. Meredith adores her Grandma and having experienced this with her makes it all that more special for her. And, of course, Meredith loved it. She's already talking about the colors she'll pick next time and how she'd like to have a manicure, too. Oy!

Carlsbad Flower Fields

Most of the year this hillside that overlooks the Pacific Ocean is barren. Well, not really, but that's how it appears. The Flower Fields actually continuously work the soil here so every March to May the flowers bloom beautifully for visitors. I take the kids every year because the ranunculus flowers are beautiful and there are some fun activities for the kids. However, the kids only remember and associate the Flower Fields with the visit when we took Grandma. We drive past this hillside often and they always point it out and ask something like, "Remember when we went there with Grandma?" So her visit this month was timed perfectly for this year's visit to the Flower Fields. We all enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon spent looking at flowers, running through a maze of sweet peas, mining for gems, riding the tractor-pulled trailer and checking out the special poinsettia and orchid exhibits.

sushi

Thomas has been going through a phase that has him eating just about anything and pretty much liking everything. It's a very good phase for a parent to experience with their five year old. This afternoon he was very happy to come home from school to find Grandma had picked up some sushi for them to share. You didn't know the kids' Grandma is here? She flew in Friday evening to spend a week with us!

Meredith, the painter

Meredith loves to paint so she was super excited to find a painting project at her good friend's birthday party this morning. It was the perfect activity for her and one that she spent quite a bit of time on, even after the others either finished or lost interest. And check out how clean she paints, esp. compared to the other two palettes pictured -- she's very serious when it comes to painting!

the faces of Meredith

All of Meredith's expressions are cute, esp. her "mad face" (far right, above).

teeth #6 thru 8

Today was the big day! Thomas had three - yes, three! - teeth extracted this afternoon. All have been loose and wiggly for several months (since the holidays?) so they really did need to come out. The problem was: none were too keen on leaving this poor kid's mouth so the dentist had to intervene. All three (top) teeth were successfully removed and a fourth tooth that hasn't broken thru yet has been encouraged by the dentist who cut a small slit for it. Thomas now has lost a total of eight teeth and only two have come in to replace them. Hopefully this kid will have some front teeth soon!

And, if you are interested, Thomas did great! I was a wreck, but that's just because I knew what was going to happen. That's the beauty of innocence and not knowing, he had nothing to fear. I held his hand the whole time with the exception of a few minutes during the rough part when he let go and rubbed my arm -- to comfort me! This kid is awesome.

spring nesting

It happens every Spring: I nest. Obviously it isn't pregnancy-related, but the change in seasons always makes me want to spruce things up a bit. I clean a little more, purge closets, do a little painting, buy some new things for the house. It's my Spring nesting. Last night we picked up this new rug. The kids were super-excited about the rug. I would not be far off to say their excitement rivals a day at Disneyland. Seems a little silly, but that's just how our kids are...

birthday season, part one

It's a busy time of year for our family which is why posts have been irregular and even fewer photos have been taken. It's birthday season in our house, with the kids' birthdays less than 3 weeks apart. Between the four of us there are birthdays twice a year -- the kids' in April/May and Mike and I in August/September (ours are just over 2 weeks apart). First up in the birthday line-up is Meredith's and, as usual, she's very excited and has been for weeks. It's going to be very fun Dora-inspired party!

school work

Every Friday Thomas comes home from school with a packet of things that he worked on during the week. This was my favorite sheet in the last packet.

nature collections at the lagoon

I love when the kids come up with an idea for something they really want to do. A few days ago Thomas said he wanted to do a new project that he called a Leaf Book. We talked about it some more and decided it should be a book of dried leaves and flowers that are found in our area. Doing this, we could research the leaf/flower and learn about the beautiful things growing around us. Yesterday we collected some things while playing at the park and today we spent some time on the lagoon trail collecting more specimens. The kids loved this and came home with all sorts of things that they immediately began sorting. I love how much they enjoy this kind of activity.

Meredith loves Greta

Some days the kids will sit on our bed and watch a little television while I'm taking a shower. And Greta always joins them. She, like Bela, thinks she's another kid and is always in the mix with them. This morning Meredith was giving Greta lots of love on our bed and Greta was in heaven. In this photo she looks like she's posing for the camera, but she's actually just really enjoying the scratches from Meredith. Both dogs go into a trance and adjust their bodies into weird angles when they are receiving some good love scratches.

NCM w/Thomas

When Meredith and I visited the New Children's Museum in San Diego recently with friends, I purchased an annual family membership. I loved how the museum was setup and knew I wanted to bring the kids back soon. Today we enjoyed an afternoon taking in the fun!

our new identification cards