heart polka dots

They make bikinis for babies. Did you know this? There will be no "itsy bitsy teenie weenie..." anything for our baby girl for a very long time. Plus, I don't have the kind of energy that would be required for one to wrestle this little girl into a bikini. I thought this one from Target would be a good second suit but it's too small and I'm not crazy about it. However, once it was on her I couldn't resist snapping some photos. I love all the chubby baby sweetness!

the maze

I've been asked what we do with all the space in this house we are renting. Moving from a less than 1600sf house to a nearly 3500sf house and having gotten rid of many of our things prior to moving means we have lots of open space to do things like build mazes with our moving boxes...

monkey see, monkey do

Meredith has stepped into the fun phase of imitating things we do and sounds we make. I've been trying some sign language with her but she hadn't signed anything until this evening. We were talking about our trip to the Wild Animal Park this afternoon and when we signed giraffe, she copied our gestures! Who knows if she even understood what she was doing, but it was still fun to see.

T vs. the jungle gym

A jungle gym any child (or adult!) could love. Three stories high with ropes to climb, swaying bridges to cross, long tunnel slides to whiz down and loads of fun around every bend. We got to this one just after the park opened (hooray! we avoided the crowds). It's enough work for me to run up and down three flights of stairs and run around the maze "supervising" Thomas while carrying Meredith on my back in the Ergo -- I didn't need crowds of little people to work my way around, too! Talk about a workout for this mama. This was a fun one!

Thomas' fashion statement

Thomas has little interest in the actual physical act of dressing himself, but he does love to pick out what he wears. Here we are on our way to the park this morning. Breaking down the look from top to bottom...

1. my old hat - he wore it to Legoland last week and has been wearing it off and on for the last week - he doesn't mind that it's a little big - or that it's a little bright

2. silly grin - he has started pushing his lower jaw out and smiling when he's being silly or I'm taking photos of him - I don't like it

3. yellow polo under his green dinosaur shirt - he will tell you the yellow shirt is behind his dinosaur shirt

4. wagon - he's a great helper and has really taken to caring for his sister - today he wanted to pull her to the park (which he did until we hit the long descent to the road that then climbs back up to the park - it's a workout walking around here!)

5. CARS swim trunks - today is day 3 wearing these - he prefers them backwards so he can see the tractor when he studies them in the mirror

6. flip flops - he wears these pretty much every single day - they've become standard dress for Thomas

marketing aimed at Thomas

Thomas spotted these Cars swim trunks on a boy over the weekend at the beach and quickly said, "I wish I could have some of these sometime." That's his new phrase - "I wish I could..." We hadn't bought him much with any sort of licensed character on it until just recently. The marketing targeted at kids is so strong and it's on everything. A few weeks ago I bought "cowboy cheese" (character from the movie Toy Story is on the packaging), "Curious George snacks" and "Dora cereal" (on the Kix packaging) at the grocery store. It feels like a losing battle, esp. when I hear myself say to Thomas, "Eat your cereal. Dora likes that cereal, too." And yesterday, I bought him these swim trunks when he spotted them at Target. He loves them. I hate to admit it, but they are growing on me... (it's the darn graphics!)

Thomas is beginning to look like an island boy. All of us are getting pretty tan down here. I've been religiously applying sunblock on myself and the kids but there's no getting away from the sun. My brothers both get pretty dark by the end of an Oregon summer and it sort of looks like Thomas may also tan very easily and quickly.

eleven months

Meredith is eleven months old today (though I can't help but think she really shouldn't even be 10 months old for another week!). She is quickly changing from a little baby to an active and fun toddler who will be giving Thomas a run for his money very, very soon...

How we spent Easter Sunday...

loving soft bunnies left by the Easter bunny

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eating all the candy in our Easter baskets

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washing our rides

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okay, so the boys washed while the girls watched

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walking and playing on the beach

Easter Egg Hunt in Temecula

Today we ventured east to check out the nearby wine country. There are nearly two dozen wineries in Temecula so we knew we would be in for a treat. However, little did we know there would be so many other fun things to do in Temecula. We didn't get to a single winery today (!!!) but instead took in the fun things around Old Town Temecula. We'll have to do the wine tour next time.
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Temecula is a really fun town for the whole family. Wineries aside, there is also Old Town which totally caters to tourists with an Old West theme complete with a gunfight at high noon. It's a step back in time visually but the street is lined with interesting boutiques and yummy looking restaurants behind all the Old West facades.

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We met the Easter Bunny upon entering the town and participated in an Easter egg hunt at a local park. Today's egg hunt was a completely different experience from last year's egg hunt. Last year it was cool, definitely wet and I was extremely pregnant. This year's egg hunt? Warm (mid-80s by the afternoon!) and sunny with two very cute children enjoying the day...

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Thomas loves bunnies and this bunny was no exception

Thomas and Meredith before the egg hunt ~ T is eyeing the competition

Thomas hunts for goodies to fill his basket

Thomas checks out his loot

Meredith sucks on a rubber duck T got for her

M is having a great time watching all the activity

Post-egg hunt, we enjoyed a walk through Old Town Temecula's shops, lunch at a very good Mexican restaurant and the local farmer's market's smells, sights and sounds. The gouda samples were fantastic, the lamb for gyros yummy and the pirate band was... well, who doesn't love a pirate band? It was a great family outing!

air mattresses are fun

air mattress from c on Vimeo.

"Want to be my best friend?"

At the park this afternoon, a little boy approached Thomas and asked if he wanted to be the boy's best friend. Thomas' response was "no", but the two quickly became friends, sharing their rides and playing with his trucks. Trey showed Thomas how to ride his Razor scooter and how to make it turn. But in the end, Thomas really preferred to just ride his bicycle over and over and over again. When it came time to leave the park, he didn't want to go. "But I want to ride my bike!!" The beauty of living in Southern California, my dear boy, is that you will be able to ride it every single day...


bicycle from c on Vimeo.

drawers are fun

"Mom, watch me climb into this drawer."

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"What do you mean 'no'...??"

"I'm going for it anyway."

And she did. Once inside the drawer, she stood up and clapped. Good grief.

Newport Beach

Today the kids and I drove north to Newport Beach to meet up with a friend of mine from college days. It was great seeing a familiar face (thanks, Sofie!) and meeting her sweet little guy. Those late nights in the architecture studios, weekend college football games and St. Patrick's Day celebrations at Kell's have long been replaced with spouses, children and "adult" lives. But I wouldn't trade today for anything. Yesterday Thomas and I made a special dinner for St. Patrick's Day (all green foods) and today we rode the carousel several times, danced with water fountains, walked on water around Koi and enjoyed a visit with an old friend. It was a great day!

Balboa Peninsula beaches - miles of sand!

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Newport Beach from the bridge exiting Balboa Island (yes, those are residences - wow!)

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T looks for Koi and dances with the fountain as M watches

...and so it begins!

first steps from c on Vimeo.

San Diego Zoo

Today we enjoyed a trip to the San Diego Zoo. My family went when I was a teenager some 20-plus years ago but M had never been. He says he's wanted to go ever since the television show Three's Company started using video footage from the zoo in its opening shots. Too funny. And Thomas and Meredith? They are always up for a trip to the zoo.
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The San Diego Zoo is much larger than the Oregon Zoo and home to a greater number of animals, some of which neither of us had even heard of. It was fun to see flamingos in all colors and sizes, sweet koala bears, camels chowing on food, New Guinea Singing Dogs (really!), baby/young animals in nearly all the exhibits and, of course, our favorites -- the monkeys and the meerkats. We rode the aerial tram and were treated to views across Balboa Park and over to downtown San Diego as well as the zoo grounds below. Next time we'll have to take the double decker bus tour, dine at the Treehouse restaurant, ride the carousel and small train that circles Balboa Park, etc., etc., etc... So much to see and do!


Thomas and his mama check out the orangutans (no, I wasn't tapping on the glass)


Meredith never hides her enthusiasm for her favorite animals


the Treehouse restaurant seen from the aerial tram


Thomas in the aerial tram (yes, he loved it)


Thomas wanted to do every single one of these today


T gets up close and personal with a gorilla ~ "Look! He has a thumb on his foot."


the meerkat is loving life in Southern California

One thing that really surprised us was the availability of alcohol for purchase inside the zoo. Seriously! Visitors are free to purchase ice cold Corona and margaritas from food/drink stands just as one would a hot dog or cotton candy. And you can walk around with it, too. Weird!

"I'm three!"

Okay, so we all know Thomas isn't quite three years old yet (exactly two more months to go!), but the rides at Legoland have height and age restrictions. For many of the rides the child must be over 48" to ride without an adult. This limits what Thomas can ride and for many of the remaining rides you must be 3 years old. He really wanted to drive these cars today and I saw the operator was asking each child how old they are so I told Thomas he'd have to tell her he is 3 years old when she asks. Knowing what a strict rule abider Thomas is, I didn't think he would do it but he did and was able to drive the cars today. He loved it. Afterwards each child is given a driver's license, but we spent the $ to get a real laminated card with his photo, date and name. He was on cloud nine.

new dress

Wild Animal Park

We are beginning to obtain memberships to the area's attractions just as we did while living in Portland. It was nice to be able to go to the Oregon Zoo, OMSI, etc. on a whim and stay for as long (or as short!) as we desired. We have many options here, but so far we've become members at Legoland and now the Wild Animal Park/San Diego Zoo. The two-for-one dual membership is extra nice! This weekend we're planning to check out the Zoo, but today we went to the Wild Animal Park.

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The Wild Animal Park is sort of like a zoo, but also sort of like a safari. What is nice about the animal exhibits is that you can get up close and personal with just about all the animals. The safari tour is just that -- a tour by open-air Jeep around a savannah-type environment where different animals live. Photos of the tour show giraffes and other animals approaching the Jeep of visitors. They also have a hot air balloon ride that is tethered to the ground so it really just goes up and down, but that's another way to see the "safari". Some really fun offerings!

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Today our favorites were the petting zoo and the jungle gym...

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the petting zoo, where the deer and the gazelles play

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Thomas enjoyed petting the gazelles -- Meredith shrieked with excitement, wanting to jump out of my arms and touch the animals (she's kind of silly that way)

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Meredith makes friends everywhere we go. Today it was a sweet 4 year old girl named Logan at the play area.

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Thomas and some pals go for a ride