Sesame Street Live

Over the weekend we took the kids to see Sesame Street Live - When Elmo Grows Up. It was pretty cute with dancing muppets and songs. The show was based around what jobs we could do when we grow up. Some examples from the show included becoming a train engineer, teacher, policeman, and forest ranger. During intermission they try and sucker you in to buying an Elmo balloon, tshirt, program, and even cotton candy. We just stuck with the program. At least it's kind of like a book. Later that night, we talked about the show and how much fun we had. Then I asked Paige what she wanted to be when she grows up. She replied, "Elmo". Wait, what? Did we miss the point here?

Obstacle Course

One of my goals is to find ways to tucker Paige out. Here's why: she behaves better, she eats better, she sleeps better. So while Brian was out of town and the rest of the Unit was staying at my parents', I implemented one fun way to do just that. I developed a very simple, yet effective obstacle course.

This video footage was taken after Paige had run the course several times thus the tuckering out part at the end. I can't wait to create more intricate obstacle courses for her to run. We also did a lot of goofing around and hanging out. It's so nice being at my parents' house because I never have any chores looming over me. Well, with the exception of cleaning up after the kids and Nemo.

The goofing around part.I'm glad Papa didn't see this.Naw, no guilty faces here.

And I'd also like to thank Lisa for giving me this obstacle course idea. When I went to the park with her, Nate, and Courtney a few months back, the kids were creating crazy courses all around the play structure. At the time I just filed it in my cerebral rolodex not thinking that I'd be able to use it so soon. But sure enough, here we are.

Nine Month Stats

Took Nick to his nine month appointment today. Luckily, no shots only a prick on the toe for a quick blood test which came out just fine. I was very curious to see how much he weighed because he certainly is becoming a hefty load. Turns out he's 21 pounds, 12 ounces. The doctor noted, "so he likes to eat huh?" Paige was 21 pounds exactly at her one year appointment, so it just goes to show you how much Nick truly loves to eat. Still no crawling, but he definitely gets around. Some pictures I took this morning:

Yeah, don't mess with crabby.

On a different note, it said it was 88 degrees around noon. Normally June is so gloomy and not so great. Global warming anyone? We better get our ceiling fan installed asap. And on another different note, I'm learning that some of my best pictures of Paige are when she's not looking at the camera and when I'm not forcing her to "say cheese". Just looking at this picture of her makes me wish she was that sweet all day long. A mom can dream, right?

Unsupervision

This is what happens when you are not supervising your two year old with a stamp pad in hand.

Dad's Day at the Beach

We celebrated Father's Day at one of Brian's favorite playgrounds. Paige had no trouble running into and staying in the water even though it was way too cold for me to stick my toes in. And, even though Nick wasn't able to play in the water today, he still had a rompin' good time. Paige's enthusiasm and energy captivated him the entire time. Brian was the fun-loving dad that he always is. The kids can never get enough of him and quite frankly neither can I. Happy Father's Day!

Sitting Up: A How-To Guide

Get into a crawling position. Bounce up and down for a few seconds while contemplating your next move.

Balance carefully while getting to your knees.
Know your limits and when you need to readjust your position.
Pull your legs out from under you and Voila!
One step closer to crawling.

Dogs Gone Wild - Electrified

My neighbor called me this morning to inform me that she had an electric wire installed along the base of the fence to prevent Houdini from coming over. Yes, it's still be an issue. So, I was to give her a call if I saw little Houdini running around our yard because she supposedly will receive a shock during an escape attempt. In response I said, "so I guess we'll find out just how tough she really is." This received a little giggle from my neighbor. Apparently it's working because I haven't seen the little sh**, excuse me...poodle, at all. I'm crossing my fingers that Dogs Gone Wild has officially ended.
-Jen

First Unit Padre Game

Brian was kindly offered tickets to the Padre game today and despite our reservations in the past, we felt that the kids were ready to experience Petco Park. Paige is old enough now not to be freaked out by the crowd noise and Nick is so easy going we knew he wouldn't be bothered by it. And much to our surprise, we were right! We weren't able to stay the entire game, but managed to get in five innings. We were even featured on the jumbotron somewhere in the second inning. We look forward to more Padre games in our future. Oh, and the Pads swept the Mets today making our bleak season seem a little more hopeful.
-Jen

Nemo's Watermelon Eating Talent

There are not many foods that Nemo won't eat. One of his favorites, and my favorite to watch him eat, is watermelon. He nibbles the melon with his little front teeth and works in rows from side to side eating all of the red juicy flesh cleanly right down to the rind. Paige got a kick out of it too. Enjoy the show!

- Brian

Baby Talk

Paige's new desire is to be a baby all over again. She's become obsessed with the following:
climbing into Nick's crib and playing with his crib toys
sucking on his pacifier even though she hasn't used one since she was 8 months old
wants to be in diapers again - heck no, ain't gonna happen!
baby babble
I guess I thought we were done with the jealousy thing long ago, but I was obviously wrong. Now that Nick is getting more attention from strangers and then some, we are having these issues pop up. I figure I should just ignore this new way to seek attention and give her positive attention when she's acting like her normal two year old self. But, how long is this going to last? Tonight she's going to stay with my parents. I think this will be good for her. One on one attention from Papa and Tita can only be a positive experience.

Pizza Party

A couple of days ago it was my birthday. When Brian asked me what I wanted to do, I told him I wanted a pizza party. For some reason, pizza parties give me the feeling of when I was in grade school. Back then my brother and I used to love Shakey's pizza. The regulars would give us quarters so that we could feed the two player PacMan machine. Aw, those were the days. We could play for hours. Now, I'm happy with just a good slice of pizza pie and a glass of wine in celebration. I also made sure to thank my mom because she's the one who had all the hard work that day so long ago. Now, if I could just get her to turn off the date stamper on her camera. I always have to cut around those when I'm scrapbooking. Could you do that for me Mom?

Multicultural Food Night

Saturday night, we headed over to visit our good friends for some bbq. Nick got to see his good buddy Aidan while Paige got to play with Nate and Courtney. It was a good time had by all. I don't know which was better: the men drinking a bud light with calamato (ick), Chris' mixed cd of Great White Lion Snake, the chocolate mother lode cake, the frozen mango margaritas, or watching Nate take joy in burning his geometry book in the firepit (no worries, it was ok'd).

Alan, Aidan, Brian, & Nick

Courtney & Paige

Oh, and, Chris coined the term "multicultural food night" because their menu seemed to span the globe in flavors. Paige wore herself out that night that she actually slept in until 8am Sunday morning! So, who's house can she run around this weekend?