Game Faces.

GO BRUINS!

We had quite the busy, fun weekend. We've been talking for awhile now about taking Ellie to see UCLA play football. She's gotten the 8 clap down pretty well, and she often asks me to play the fight song in the car (she calls it the Bruin Song.) On Friday morning a mom-friend of mine sent out an email trying to unload her four tickets to the game against Cal, and we jumped on them. I wasn't totally enthused about it being a 7:30pm game, but I figured we'd stay as long as we could, and better to be at a night game than frying in the sun at an afternoon game. So we let Ellie nap as long as she wanted, got loaded up with plenty of snacks and hit the road.

Our biggest miscalculation was arriving too late. We were pulling into the Rose Bowl right before kick off, but still had to park. I ended up getting out of the car with both kids while Tim finished parking, waaaaaaay out on the outer edges of the golf course (I think he actually parked back the city of Los Angeles.) Let me tell you, it's fun to have a baby on your front and a toddler riding piggy back! But we made it to our seats, which were great, and shortly thereafter Tim arrived with snacks in hand.

Ellie did a great job. She loved cheering and yelling for the Bruins. She did her touch down dance and was generally pretty well behaved. It was funny though - she kept asking to go see "the Bruin," as in either the bear statue (which she remembers from when we visited UCLA last fall) or the people in costume. I kept trying to explain to her that we WERE seeing the Bruins, down on the field. She liked the bands doing their field shows too. Adam hung out with us for a bit in his fleecy, bear-print jammies and then (surprise!) fell asleep in the ergo. He was so tired that I could actually feel him snoring.

The only downside was then the 20 minute walk back to the car. I seriously thought Tim was just taking us out to a hillside to murder us but we finally made it to our car at 10:30, Ellie yammering all the while (I was a little exhausted by the 15 hours of talking from her - I do better when it's closer to 12 hours of nonstop chatter a day.) Both kids fell asleep on the car ride home (even when Tim and I stopped at Bottega for me to run out and get snacks) but they were up early this morning. Poor babies!

It ended up working out okay because we were slated to head to the Valley for Lucas's second birthday party right at the beginning of nap time. I'd originally planned that we'd just make Ellie go without a nap, but she instead took a snoozer on the drive up, which was good for everyone. The party was lovely, and filled with all of our favorite Bruin friends. Adam got to hang out with baby Mila, my college roommate's daughte who is five days older, and Ellie was enamored with both Mila and Lucas. So many sweet little baby Bruins! And Ellie took another short nap on the way home, after our bonus detour to go and see the Bruin statue. She's no longer scared of him - she loves him and even gave him a kiss.

Friday Night Antics.

(Sorry this is so blurry at the beginning.)

Full Day!

Man, it's been a good one. It rained over night, but was clear enough this morning that we got out for a run, and ran into our neighbor who has two kids the same ages and genders of my kids. Nicole and I keep trying to meet up, but her daughter keeps coming down with various sniffles. Still, Ellie and Alexa were happy to talk the entire way home.

Then we got ready for a big fun trip to the petting zoo!

Yes everyone, climb into the recliner with me. We were only missing Thor.

Bunnies!

Binny pigs! And a birthday girl! Lexi is officially three, and Ellie is right behind her. I can't believe how big they are, and how quickly they've both grown. Seems like only yesterday Kristen and I were at our first Mommy Matters class with our lumpy little newborns, scared out of our minds. And now these two girls are besties, occasionally frenemies, and about the funniest little nuts there could be. They spent a lot of time petting these two particular binny pigs, then took a trip through the corn box and a ride on the train. And then, a new fun experience at the petting zoo:

PONY RIDE! I half expected Ellie to melt down about it, but she hopped on the bigger of the two horses and enjoyed every minute.

Afterwards we went up the street to Ruby's to have some lunch. Everyone was starving and Ellie plowed straight through her grilled cheese. And since it was birthday time, we also got milk shakes. It was fun and loud and crazy. Adam and Judd were both awake and hooting really loud (Adam more than Judd) and the girls had clipped the belts of the booster chairs together and were using them to play tug of war and I'm sure everyone else in the restaurant was incredibly happy to see us finally pick up and leave. To think we used to sometimes be overwhelmed taking a half asleep baby out to lunch, back in 2010.

Ellie took a subpar nap, but was cheered after I woke her up when I let her go outside and run around in the rain.

She is a girl after my own heart.

And lastly, speaking of girls from my heart, here's me and my ladies (and Adam) at the wedding this weekend.

Frequent Fliers.

We made it back and forth to North Carolina with very few hiccups. Really, the only problem is that as we pulled up to the airport, I realized I had forgotten to pack extra diapers. I mean, three diapers should have been enough for two days, what was I thinking? The good news is that they have stores in NC, so we were able to get Adam some new pants for his butt. The bad news is I bought a brand I normally don't buy, and he ended up being three for three for blowing out his shorts, including going as soon as we were airborne on the first leg of the trip home.

I am so glad we went. Penny's wedding was small and intimate and beautiful, and it was such a fun weekend with my girls. We don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, so I'm glad everyone made the haul out to Greensboro, and I definitely appreciate them being willing to share a hotel and a rental car with Adam and I. He was a trouper through all the festivities, falling asleep in the ergo, keeping the fussing to a minimum, and generally being the cutest ever. One of the sweetest moments was when I'd gone to hit the dessert table and from across the courtyard I could hear Adam screaming with laughter as Anne loved on him.

He was a wonderful, handsome date.

Here he is at DFW, getting his wiggles out. He was really good until about the last hour of our last flight. He was full, his ears were popped but he was so, so tired. I think, like most of us, he was just tired of being cramped like a sardine. I'm willing to bet money that if I'd been able to lay him in a crib, he would have rolled over, sucked his thumb and fallen asleep (which he did as soon as we got home.)

Meanwhile, Tim and Ellie survived well together, despite her telling me Friday night that she didn't love me, and telling me on Sunday morning that I wasn't her mother (!) Saturday they went to Lexi's birthday party and reports were that it was fun and the cupcakes were delicious.

Then on Sunday she had QUITE the day - Mimi and Pa took her to Disneyland for her very first visit. Three trips on Small World, several trips on the tea cups, and a good review from all attendees. I am a little sad to have missed it, but I'm glad everyone had such a great time. And that they didn't miss me too very much.

Skinny Bones Jones.

Yesterday was Adam's six month well baby check up. The past few weeks, I've been thinking how different he is from Ellie at this age - his stubborn refusal to sit up, his love of rolling everywhere, and how thin he is in comparison. At six months, Ellie was like a bunch of tires stacked together. Bathing her meant making sure we soaped and dried in between every roll. Even though she wore sunscreen in the pool, her fat little arms got tan, and she had stripes of white in the center of each roll where the sun couldn't reach. She was so cute and chunky and delicious. Adam is delicious too, but in a different way. He's got chubby thighs but that's about it. Well, turns out that at six months, he is over an inch taller than Ellie was, AND over a pound and a half smaller. No wonder he doesn't look as roly poly! I guess we know for sure that he's Tim's kid.

The doctor pronounced him perfect, and so we're just going to continue doing what we're doing. Eating people food continues to disgust him, but we'll keep offering. I think he'll enjoy it more when he does a better job of sitting up in his high chair. And I'm not worried - Ellie was also a better eater once she could feed herself bits of things.

Tomorrow morning Adam and I are off to North Carolina for a wedding. One of my college girlfriends is getting hitched and a couple of us are going and sharing a hotel room (well, a suite. No one wants to share a room with a baby) and a rental car. When I told Tim I was thinking of going without him, he said "that's fine, enjoy your Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." Sadly though, I have to take ol' Skinny-kins with me. At first I thought I'd leave him at home, but as much hassle as it is to travel with a baby, it'd be worse to try and leave him. I'd have to leave so much milk behind and/or hope he'd take formula, I'd have to pump while I was gone, and he doesn't take a bottle or a sippy cup that well. Not to mention two small kids are a lot to deal with by yourself if you're not used to doing it. Tim's a great dad, but it's always easier for me because I can nurse Adam with one hand and entertain Ellie with the other. Or go to my parents house and hide in the closet while they entertain the kids! So we'll see how it all shakes out. Adam and I have a lay over, which will actually be good because he can be awake for awhile and get some energy out and then maybe sleep both flights. Ellie has a birthday party to go to and Great Lisa is in town, so she should be good. She and Tim can work on playing video games together - she calls the controller the "butterfly."

Meanwhile, this morning we went for a run and then went to "teeter totter park" by Gigi's house and had a picnic, which was a blast. Ellie was so cute in her hat and sunglasses, and so excited to be on an adventure. When we got there, she said sadly "oh, we don't have a picnic blanket!" You should have seen her face when I showed her the blanket I keep in my car for just such an emergency! Not that she sat on it long - long enough to eat half a sandwich and then run to the teeter totter.

Sibling Love.

I started making this video just to capture how cute and imaginative Ellie is. It ended with Adam waking up from his nap. I'm so glad I caught the look of love he gives his sister. They are darling together.

And this happened this morning. Who doesn't love a little patty cake and getting squashed?

We had a busy day yesterday. Ellie helped me make pancakes in the morning after an early wake up, and then before nap time we made some lemon cupcakes to bring down to see my friend Maree. Maree lives outside of Washington DC, but her dad and stepmom live in Carlsbad. Maree, her sister Renee, and her nephew Langdon (and her parents) have welcomed us to dinner in the past, and since she was in town again, we took them up on their invite yet again. Ellie and Langdon are a month apart, and they got on like a house on fire. There was sand scooping, dining al fresco at the kiddie table, chasing each other around the house, roaring like dinosaurs and a sweet dance party. We didn't leave until late, and Ellie didn't fall asleep until later. And then of course, was up early again this AM.

So it's no surprise that this is what happened during our family walk this morning:

This is the first stroller nap she's taken in probably over a year. Now she's fighting her regular nap, which should make her a huge treat when we bring her out and about to a classmate's birthday party. Hooray!

Best Laid Plans.

Oh the children, sometime I don't know why I try. Probably because I love them like crazy.

This week we started solids with Adam. We're going the hippy-fied "baby led weaning" route, which basically means you put small chunks of vegetables and fruit in front of your kid and let them have at it. If they eat, they eat, if they don't, they don't. But they eat what you're eating as appropriate, and in small enough chunks, and they learn how to feed themselves at the same time. We didn't do cereal for very long with Ellie - she didn't like it, and it caused some bad back ups in her system, so I'm skipping it completely with Adam. On Wednesday night we gave him some small pieces of avocado. He enjoyed squishing them and pushing them around, and then we helped him get a bite in his mouth.

As you can see, he's not that into it. Oh well. We will try another time, and then move on to other foods to see how he does. Starting solids is a funny thing - it seems like it should be so fun, but it's mostly a lot of work and extra clean up, and it's more for taste and experience and less about nutrition. So we'll see how he does.

Meanwhile, today was Ellie's first dance class. We decided to take a break from music class and see if the girls would like to learn some sweet dance moves, and thankfully there was a class at the community center. Both Ellie and Lexi missed the first class last week, but we hoped they'd be willing to jump in. Yeah... not so much. First off, Ellie fell in the parking lot and busted her lip, so there was a ton of screaming about that. I got her calmed down and into the right shoes (tap shoes) but she was only in with the teacher for a few minutes before she got sent out for being hysterical. It's about ten little girls and this week they weren't having the parents sit in. I tried reasoning with Ellie, bribing her, showing her the classroom through the window, pointing out what a big girl Lexi was being, but it was all for naught. She just sobbed and sobbed about how she didn't want to do it. She wanted to go home. I even pulled over half way home and held her for awhile to see if she would consent to going back, and she just begged to go home. I ended up calling and unenrolling her so I can get the class fee back, because I figure it's better to wait and maybe try again in a few months than spend the next eight weeks having her freak out every Friday morning.

She looks so cute though!

Maybe she can be a tap dancing bunny for Halloween.