Countdown to Preschool

I just got off the phone with Paige's preschool. She officially starts on Tuesday, August 26th. I can't believe that the time has come to send her off. I'm so nervous and excited at the same time. Next week, I'll actually go with her and shadow her for an hour or two. They suggested that I do that as often as I can before the big first day. I'll be praying for as smooth as a transition as possible, yippee!

Rockin' and A-Rollin'

Sometime before noon today, I was sitting on the couch feeding Nick his bottle watching Paige play on the floor. I heard the sliding glass door rattle and thought, "Oh no, is there about to be an earthquake?" As soon as my thought finished, the ground began to roll and Paige jumped into my lap so fast. I was amazed that she could be that quick. As soon as I started to get up and make my way under the doorway with two kids in tow, the shaking stopped. Thank God! Paige was pretty nervous and wanted to be held and told that it was all okay. So I told her, "You finally experienced your first California earthquake love." Then, I couldn't help but wonder where Nemo was through all of it. He slept through the entire thing on the stairs, his favorite spot. Aren't dogs supposed to sense these natural phenomenons? Apparently, not mine.

Sun Day

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Running amok in the sand and finding time for a snooze. These are the times that make me want to be a kid again.

Desert Heat

We got our pictures from the water camera plus a few more of the kids. We had such a fun time on our quick getaway that we can't wait to return next year.

Nick and I at Las Consuelas Nuevas

Our "must eat" everytime we visit Palm Desert

The Unit at "The Beach"Paigey goes flying And she couldn't stop saying, "I want to do it again!"Nick and Paige play together on the sand"What is this interesting substance?"Ooh, water time.
Perfecting the art of blowing bubbles underwater
I guess breakfast in bed just isn't good enough.

We're back home and ready to enjoy the rest of our summer. Look out beach, here we come!

In the Meantime

The Unit had a grand ol' time in Palm Desert earlier this week. I'm planning to post pictures soon, but am currently waiting for the photos from our water camera to be developed. Yep, the old fashioned way. At least they put them on cd now, that's pretty cool. Brian and I celebrated our seven year anniversary while we were there. We reflected on all that we have accomplished these past years while watching the kids tear up the hotel room. Our second night (on our actual anniversary), we wore out the kids so much that we were able to enjoy a take out meal from Fleming's, our favorite steakhouse, outside on the patio while the kiddos were zonked out for the night. Admittedly, it was one of our most romantic dinners yet. I consider this one to be our "lucky 7" anniversary.

Swim Lessons

Yesterday was our last day of swim lessons. Paige learned so much this time around and had a ball in the water. Now, she will get to advance to the next level which means it'll just be her, a small group of kids, and an instructor. That means I get to sit back, with a book, and keep an eye out like all the other moms I see now. Uh, yea right...who am I kidding? I'll be chasing Nick around. Speaking of which, Nick also participated in swim classes this summer, but for him it was just exposure to the pool and feeling comfortable in the water. Overall, a very positive experience for all.

Attempted Self-feeding

I love the book First Meals by Annabel Karmel. I've not only used it as a cookbook, but also as an informational tool on when to feed certain foods and whatnot. Recently, I read for Nick's age group, "The more you allow your baby to experiment, the quicker he will learn to feed himself. It may be a messy procedure, but you should not discourage attempts, or worry that his table manners are less than perfect." The result:

Rude Awakening

Paige's latest craze is to go in Nick's room and be the first one to greet him after he awakes from his nap. She loves to hop in his crib to play with him and I think it's so sweet of her. Not so sure how Nick feels about it though. But, judging on these photos, I think he likes it too.

Wolfgang's Future Protégé

Now that Nick is crawling, he has finally found the two cabinets that actually open. Luckily for him, it's all stuff that he can toss, bang, and create loud noises with. If he could only learn how to put it all back neatly. Now that would be something.

Best Buddies

Watching these two together makes having a dog all worth it.

Concert in the Park

Now that the baby powder dust has settled, I was finally able to upload our pictures from the concert in the park on Sunday. We have been enjoying the outdoors, live music, and picnic food. I didn't realize how much fun we'd have attending a local community event, but when you're surrounded by family, friends, and even a glass of wine, who wouldn't?

Nick attempts to swipe Aidan's food.

Brian and Paige boogie down.
The Unit
Aidan sits like royalty with his dad, Alan, & mom, Shayne
Trying on Dad's hat.

Naptime Mischief

This afternoon, I entered Paige's room to get up her up from her nap to get her ready to go to the concert in park. Unbeknownst to me did I ever think I was going to stumble across the scene that I did, a puff of baby powder. It took me a good ten seconds to realize what had happened. As I surveyed the room, Paige continued to sleep happily in her bed. Obviously, she had worn herself out the minutes leading up to her nap. All around was a film of baby powder. The baby powder managed to land in every crevice, on every stuffed animal, and on every strand of Paigey hair. While trying to process my reaction, I swiftly walked downstairs and told Brian that he needed to go in the room to see the devastation in his own eyes without any description from me. He brought along the video camera while I brought our point and shoot, so that we could capture this moment in time.

As I write this and hear the roar of the vacuum upstairs in her room, I think I'm still in shock. If only I could have seen the look on her face as she spewed that baby powder everywhere. What was going through her mind? I know I'll never know. I'll only have the pictures to show her one day.

The Fourth

This Fourth of July ranked up there as one of the best ever. A list of highlights:

• swimming all day in a fabulous pool
• Carol's brownies - holy cow those were good
• Nicole's chocolate chip cookies - mmm...yum
• watching Ben who's 19 months old play air guitar
• searching everywhere for Brian only to find him upstairs playing Rock Band on Wii - now he's determined to get one
• mudslides - had to occupy myself while Brian was Wii-ing
• watching Lily, Joey, and Paige play & talk to one another
• Pete trying to splash every bit of water out of the pool
• Nick playing contently in Pete's playpen
• the view of fireworks from the driveway
• meeting James, Kristen's boyfriend; they are way too cute together
• Bob's bbq, bartending, and dj skills
• sharing a shot of bourbon with Linda, what were we thinking?
• spending time with two of my best friends, Nicole & Linda

Who can resist that cute face Pete's making?
Our Little Fish
Happy as can be. Mike and Joey find time to play trac-ball. Yep, we're clearly enjoying ourselves.
She would have eaten the whole batch if we weren't watching.
Nick thought he could reach out and touch the fireworks.

Thank you Bob & Melody for a fantastic party! I seriously could add another dozen things to the list. The company and good time will forever be in our memory.

Fingerpainting

As part of my "Ways to Keep My Toddler Busy" series, I've included today's activity: fingerpainting. No two year old will say no to this one. Just put on the apron, set the ground rules, and away she'll go. If you're curious on the ground rules, here it goes:

No painting on your body, face, windows, furniture, your baby brother, or Nemo.

PAPER ONLY!

The flag was my creation. I have to fingerpaint too you know. And in the spirit of the fourth, well you get the picture.