Halloween

Parker opted to be a dragon again this year.  What he really wanted to be was a Ninja Turtle (which I find hilarious because he doesn't even know what that is), but we couldn't find a costume his size and after searching two stores I decided that was all the effort I was willing to expend.  We have a dress up box full of Halloween attire and I thought Parker might choose a costume more fitted to his stature, but I was wrong.  We made him sag the pants, otherwise they came to about three inches above his ankles.  I was a pirate, Kate was my parrot.  Paul dressed up as Clark Kent (Superman shirt under his white dress shirt), but we don't have a picture.   

The Air Show

While my dad was here we went to an air show at the naval base here in San Diego.  There were some acrobatic plane and helicopter performances that were really fun to watch.  Parker loved watching the helicopter fly backwards.  They also had a bunch of planes and helicopters on display that you could sit in and walk through.  Even though it was hotter than Hades, both Parker and Kate kept it together pretty well and we were able to stay a long time, but not quite long enough to see the Blue Angels, which flew later in the afternoon.  We're planning on going next year though, and this time we'll plan our trip around their flying time.

This is a V-22 Osprey.  It's a helicopter/plane hybrid.  In situations where there isn't a runway for takeoff, it can takeoff as a helicopter and then in mid flight the propellers can rotate and then it flies like a plane.

Inside the Osprey:

The Osprey cockpit:

Notice Parker's appropriate shirt choice:

This is a Vought F4U Corsair.  It was flown primarily in WWII and the Korean War.  From my understanding, there aren't any other planes that have this signature wing shape.  It's also the plane Skipper, from the movie Planes, was modeled after.  

 

Chula Vista House

Our move to San Diego was a rather rushed one.  Remember how I toured and submit an application for our condo on Tuesday, we were told that it was ours on Wednesday night, then started packing on Thursday and moved on Saturday?  (And then Kate was born on Monday.)  Well, because it all happened so quickly we had talked about possibly moving again after our lease was up a year later if we could find something better/cheaper/bigger.  Our lease was up in August and we didn't find anything that would make a move worthwhile, so we decided that we'd just stay here for another two years.  We're hoping that in two years from now we'll know where we'll be permanently and then maybe we can buy a house.  Well, a few weeks ago I got an email from our property manager saying that the owner of our condo was selling and we would have to move out.  I nearly cried.  Moving is the worst!  Apparently I'm okay with it if it's on my terms, but when I get caught unaware and thrown out on my keister, I change my tune.

Before we start packing and turning our home into a disaster area, I wanted to make a movie to remember this condo.  This is Kate's first home!  I wish we would have done this for our Tustin apartment, but again, we moved like it was going out of style.

My 28th Birthday

We had a great celebration this year.  First, my dad was here!  And thank goodness he was.  That morning my back spasmed and I was utterly useless for the next several hours and pretty useless for several days.  The same thing happened to me when Parker was a little younger than Kate.  I guess babies just don't mix well with my weak back.  On the up side though, I remembered that even though the pain was excruciating initially, Tylenol and Advil did wonders.  So while I was tempted to have Paul call in a prescription of Oxycontin (he later reminded me that back pain is out of the scope of dentistry, which I would have argued is debatable), I made do with the OTC stuff, remained immobile and let Grandpa take care of stinky diapers and hungry children.
I had been looking forward to dinner at an Indian restaurant that our Indians friends recommended and I wasn't going to let a little paralysis get in the way, so off we went.  While we were there, we realized that Parker was not his usual happy self.  He came and sat on my lap and was burning up.  Poor kid finally got the fever that Kate had a week earlier and he was pretty subdued during dinner.  Kate, on the other hand, had a great time.  She loved the food and ate like a champ.

After dinner we went home and had cake.  My request this year was a pumpkin roll.  I was getting over a cold, so Paul blew out the candles for me.

I really felt the love- lots of calls, texts, cards and gifts.  Paul got me tickets to see Wicked in December!  I'm so excited I could squeal!!!
So while it was perhaps not exactly the way I would have chosen for the day to play out, it really was a nice day.

Happy Birthday Kate!

*Written awhile ago, not posted until now.  Also, I have awesome videos, but can't figure out how to post them... I think it's something to do with our geriatric computer... Hoping to figure things out this week when Grandpa Bob comes to visit!*

My little darling turned one on August 26th, but the festivities began long before that date.  We had a celebration in Idaho at the beginning of the month while we were there  for my high school reunion, then Paul's parents flew in for a visit the week before her birthday where we had another party, and then on her actual birthday we partied even more. It was so fun to celebrate with so many people and for such an extended period of time and I have therefore declared that I too shall have not just a birthday, but a birthmonth.  The celebration will begin on Monday! ;)

Do you remember how Parker just sort of picked at his birthday cupcake and wasn't really into it?  I thought Kate would feel the same way about her chocolate cake, but no sirree, she loved it and double-fisted her way through the entire slice.

Eating the remains from her trough:

Modeling her outfit from Grandma and Grandpa:

Here are a few characteristics about Kate from my totally unbiased viewpoint that make her the best baby ever.  She:

* is not a picky eater.  She'll eat anything that's put in front of her and a lot of it- in addition to finger snacks, she eats almost three pounds of baby food a day!

* gives hugs- real ones with both arms and a squeeze!

* loves playing with Parker.  They giggle together all the time.

* always wakes up happy with a big smile on her face.

* has eight teeth!

* loves taking baths

* dances to music

* claps when she's excited.

* can walk while holding onto furniture

* hardly ever cries except for when you take something away from her that she's playing with (like toys, trash cans, toilet bowls, etc.).

* loves being held by other people.  I'll walk up to someone else and she'll open her arms and throw herself at them.

* takes two 1.5-2 hour naps each day and sleeps through the night

* loves to snuggle soft things.  

* has stood unassisted a few times

* mimics noises.  It's really funny to watch her talk louder when Parker starts talking loudly.  

* cleans up any food messes she's made at mealtimes by crawling under her highchair and eating what's fallen to the floor.

* can play by herself for long periods of time.

* rests her head on my shoulder while I'm putting her to bed.

See what I mean?  She really is the best baby ever.  I was telling my visiting teaching companion about Kate's awesomeness and she said that every mom deserves an easy baby.  Her's came first and then the next three were... less than easy.  So, I'm living up having an easy baby and knowing full well that the next babies may not be as easygoing.  Speaking of other babies, Kate makes me want to have lots more of them!  Paul and I aren't in agreement about how many more, so our subsequent children might end up being "accidents."  (wink!)

Ice Cream and a Dancing Babe

The heat has finally lessened, but last week we were feeling the affects of Hurricane Odile and it was hot, hot, hot and humid.  Like 90+ degrees and 80% humidity. Yuck.  On the hottest day we went in search of ice cream.  I thought McDonalds would be a great place to eat a cone and for Parker to play on the indoor PlayPlace, but they were OUT OF ICE CREAM!  What the?  How is that even possible?  Lucky for us there's a RiteAid on the other side of the parking lot so we were able to get our fix.  It was hilarious watching Parker eat his ice cream (he chose Pistachio).  This may have been his first ice cream cone... at least it's the first one I can remember him having, but that's not saying much.  I had to explain to him that the cone is edible and he didn't even want to eat the very bottom of the cone.  I considered telling him that's the best part, but instead I ate it for him.

We discovered that Kate likes to dance.  Lately we've been listening to the Taylor Swift song "Shake It Off" and every time it comes on Kate's face lights up and she just has to wiggle her booty.  We just listen to it on YouTube, but this poor computer can hardly keep up, so you'll hear that the music kind of starts and stops.

Viva Las Vegas

Paul took a Continuing Education course in Las Vegas a few weeks ago so The Crew and I decided to tag along.  We left San Diego on Wednesday after work and got to Las Vegas late that evening.  Upon entering the hotel/casino Parker was a little delirious with it being so late and when he saw all the slot machines (which I believe were designed with toddlers in mind- all those buttons and flashing lights!) he went nuts.  He literally started running around in circles.  It was better than Christmas.

The next day we met up with Paul's cousin, Deneigh, and her daughter at an indoor bounce house center.  They had bouncy castles and slides to entertain the kids while Deneigh and I got to chat.  It was so fun to see how brave Parker is.  He went right up the ladders and down the slides without hesitation.

The next day we met up with some friends from USC that now live in Las Vegas and went to see La Reve.  It was incredible!  It's a water show and the "stage" is basically a pool, but it has platforms that can be raised above the water, so the show ended up being a compilation of diving, acrobatics, dancing, synchronized swimming and gymnastics.  We were all entranced!

On our last day there we saw the Daniels again, but this time the kiddos got to play together.  We went to a splash pad and Parker and Willa hit it right off.  I hope we get to visit them again soon (Blue Man Group is next on the list).  I so miss having friends like them.  When we moved into the USC ward, we hit it off almost immediately and I was soooo sad when they moved.  I'm pretty sure I cried.  Luckily, they live much closer now and we can see them more often.

First Day of Preschool

Parker started preschool this week.  A friend in our ward runs it out of her home and it's just twice a week for two hours, but before he went for the first time I was really doubting if it was something I wanted to do.  Since he won't start kindergarten until 2016, that means he'll be in preschool for two years.  I don't have much experience with this whole kids in school thing, but that seems like a long time.  And he's only three, he can't be learning that much right? So it seemed like I would just be paying for him to go have a play date, which I'm not necessarily against, but I wasn't sure if I was really all for it either.  Well, he's been twice and I'm a believer!  It's been great!  During that time Kate takes a nap and it's been so nice not having to remind Parker to be quiet because she's sleeping.  Plus, I've had time to tidy up without having two small people follow me around untidying everything I've just cleaned up.

Here he is on the second day of preschool.  This series of pictures cracks me up.  He wanted his picture taken so badly and really tried to hold still so the picture wouldn't be blurry, but he was just too excited, he couldn't stop moving.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

For a kid, what can be better than your grandparents coming to visit?  You get spoiled and loved on for days on end.  I mean, sure, parents are fun, but grandparents are where it's at.  We were lucky to have John and Trudy stay with us for a long weekend and we had a blast.  

Our first stop: The Potty Train.  Apparently this is somewhat of a tradition in Paul's family.  Once you get potty trained, you get rewarded by going for a ride on the "potty train."  At this point, I am confident in saying that Parker is potty trained.  Right from the start he had no issue going #1 in the potty (there were a few accidents at sleeping times, but that was short lived).  #2 however, was a different story.  From the day we started potty training to his next bowel movement was four days.  You're probably okay without the details, but let's just say that there were several similar instances over the course of the following month.  And during those times, he was sooooo cranky.  I can't say I blame him, if I were that uncomfortable I would be cranky too.  We decided that something had to change and so we instituted a consequence.  A week ago, he had been holding his #2 for several days, and it finally came out in his undies.  So, I took away seven of his favorite toys and put them on top of the kitchen cupboards where he can see them every day.  The rule is that he has to go doodoo in the toilet everyday and if he does, then he gets one toy back, but if he doesn't, I have to take two toys away.  So far this has worked and we've avoided the nasty attitude that accompanies his constipation.  (That was kind of a long aside, but I do want to remember this first experience with potty training when we're in the throws of it with our other children.  It didn't happen overnight, which I was really hoping it would, but it is happening.)

Anyway, back to the potty train.  We rode the train in Balboa Park and Parker loved it!  

While we were at Balboa Park we also went to the train museum, the botanical building, rode the carousel, listened to the band practice in the amphitheater and went to a marionette puppet show.  It was a full day!

While we were looking through these photos, Paul was sort of in awe at this one.  When I asked why he said, "You don't see anything unusual in this picture?!  You and Kate look like the same person!"  I'm still not sure I see it quite like that, but I can see the family resemblance.

We had this bit of deliciousness one night:

As always, we had a great time with John and Trudy.  

Fourth of July

When we lived in Tustin we had a storage closet at the back of our covered parking spot, but a lot of things (like our bikes) that would normally be stored in a garage ended up on our patio.  We learned that even in paradisaical Southern California, some things are just not meant to be stored outdoors.  Like for instance, our bike trailer.  After being outside for a year, the safety traps and buckles disintegrated.  I spent several hours on the 4th sewing on new straps. After the trailer was done, we had a barbecue with friends and then came home to put Kate to bed.  Paul and Parker headed out to a park (with bike and trailer) to watch the big show and I stayed home with my babe.  Surprisingly, I actually had a great view of the fireworks from our living room.  Parker loved the fireworks (unlike last year) and he loved waving his American flag all day long.  Since then he has told me nearly every day that he lives in the United States of America and then he asks me where I live.    

Beach Day

We let Kate loose on the sand awhile ago.  We'd been with her to the beach before, but never let her get out of the stroller.  I set out a towel for her to sit on, but she was off it and crawling on the sand in no time.  She also loved eating the sand.  Parker did a great job building sand castles.  I think his favorite part was smashing them at the end.

First Bath Together

Parker was pretty uninterested in Kate until she started crawling around and taking his toys, then he was less than thrilled with her presence.  I don't know what did it, but he's actually learning to play with her and I love it!  It's so fun to hear them giggling together from the other room.  They don't always take baths together, but when they do they have a fun time splashing and being silly.