Carousel

I have been trying to keep the babies (and myself) entertained and busy this week.  Today I thought about going to the zoo. But I decided that wouldn't be a good idea with Bob being away.  So my next idea was to take the babies to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose. 

We rode the carousel over and over.  Why?  Because that is what Bode wanted to do!  I thought, "Why not?"

I finally persuaded him to go see some animals.  First stop was the goats.  Bode didn't like them.   Inside, I was very, very happy. I didn't want him petting the goats or any other animal.  In fact, he was pretty much off visiting any animals after the goats. So we washed our hands and then went to lunch. 

In keeping with this week's  healthy eating campaign (see yesterday's post), Gianna and Bode both ate cheeseburgers and French fries for lunch.  I also gave Bode an "alligator drink" (Gatorade) because it was hot out.

After lunch, we went to a small park where Bode rode the see-saw and swing.  Then we went back to -- can you guess?  -- the carousel.  Why not?

Happy Friday! 
xo

I scream, you scream

We went for ice cream today.  It was one of those spur-of-the-moment, "We're really doing this," spontaneous, outrageous (read: desperate) things you do when you're a parent.  Okay, maybe not "outrageous" to most parents. I admit that Bob and I are a little conservative on the sweets.

Bode and Gianna have never had ice cream.  I thought it was time!!! 

Oh, who am I kidding? I wanted ice cream. 

Actually, I feel the tiniest bit bad that Bob wasn't there with us.  But then, I wouldn't be doing this if Bob were here.

Bode was first. I picked him up and let him study the ice cream case. We talked about the flavors and the colors.  He picked "blue"  which was cotton-candy flavored.  I put him down and asked for a sugar cone with one small scoop.   Then I presented the ice cream cone to Bode with a flourish.  He turned away.  He had no interest.  I talked about how ice cream is yummy, how it is made with milk, etc.  But he didn't even want to try it.  "Fine," I said and went to ask for a cup to hold his unwanted cone.

Then I ordered a vanilla cone for Gianna.  She grabbed that cone and knew exactly what to do with it.  She took a bite. And then another. And then another.  And then another. And on and on. 

She practically GROWLED at me when I tried to take the ice cream cone away from her.

And then she washed it all down with a bottle of milk.  Bode eventually tried his ice cream.  I  think watching Gianna chow down on her cone got him a little bit curious.  But he wasn't an instant fan.  This is probably the one and only time that I will have to 'force' ice cream on Bode.

Hope your Thursday is sweet!

xo

Bedhead

Check out the new girly Fall pjs!  Yum!

Her hair is getting longer and more curly!

Gianna sez, "Enough of the camera already. Where's my milk?"

There is one thing that Gianna got from her mother:  bedhead.  My crazy hair, the frazzle-curl that follows after a night's sleep, the bedhead that Bob (politely) ignores, and has grown used to seeing, in the mornings. 

But this morning, Bob noticed that Gianna has it, and he had to comment that Gianna has my hair!  We both laughed over her morning hair.  Then I set her in the glider and immediately snapped photos.  She looks glum in the above photos because she is wondering why her mother did not give her a bottle of milk immediately!

It has been hot here this week.  Bah! It makes me crazy.  We have to go to Gymboree for some air-conditioned fun.  I don't want Bode and Gianna outside in this heat. The sun exposure is too intense, and I don't like to think of their precious baby skin being fried (even with sunscreen on). They still have fun inside, and I think it wears them out, too.

Baby legs...nom, nom.

Bode had me push/roll him in this tube all around the room! Work out!

Bode sez,"Why isn't she rolling me around?"

She is so tired that she had to lay down. She let me rub her back and didn't move until I picked her up.

Have a happy Wednesday, stay cool, and get some rest!
xo

Start your engines

This morning, Bob went out on a long bike ride. It is the one and only thing that he does for himself on the weekends. While Gianna napped, Bode rode his bike up and down the driveway.  Then he and I branched out, rolling down our neighborhood street. When he is on his bike, his whole being just exudes happiness and confidence. 

Then Bob rode up. Bode absolutely loved that he and Bob met up on their bikes in the street.  They bumped front tires in greeting, talked about their helmets, and then "raced" home together.

Later, Bode and I drove downtown for a Starbucks run.  As we pulled into our square, I noticed that the main street was blocked off to traffic.  I parked, and we went to investigate why the street was cordoned off.  To Bode's good fortune, it was a car show!  And not just any car show, but a Corvette car show.  We delayed our Starbucks order. We walked up and down the street, admiring the cars and listening to a live band sing about a brown eyed girl.

Three long blocks, lined up and down with Corvettes!

Dancing to the "mooosic"



Mommy's fav in "jewel blue"



My favorite car in the show was an old convertible Corvette. I think it was a 1961 model.  It had original paint, which was called, "jewel  blue."  Isn't that a great name?  Did I mention it is for sale?  My birthday is near.

In the afternoon,  I decided that we would go to our little ice cream shop for a treat.  We drove downtown, and  we arrived to find that the car show was still going on.  So we trekked up and down three blocks again, looking at the Corvettes on display. We decided that it was too close to dinnertime for ice cream. We opted to go to the park instead.

My iPhone is super slow.  Bob told me that I need to dump all 1,874 photos stored on my iPhone in order to free up some memory.  The idea of deleting the photos off my iPhone makes me sad.  It is a source of comfort to me. I usually look through my photos several times a day, and always once before I go to sleep. It tells me a happy story of my little family, starting with Bode around 18 months, Gianna's birth, and the present day. It is the perfect fairy tale to put me to sleep.

xo

T.G.I.D.

Gianna wearing new Fall pjs. Not her brother's hand-me-downs!

This is my word play on T.G.I.F. Can you guess what T.G.I.D. means?
Thank God, It's Daddy!
Bob returned home late this afternoon.  We picked him up from the airport.  I thought it would be sweet to pick him up, in a Hallmark card kind of way.  We'd pull up to the curbside pick-up right as Bob was looking for us, and he'd give a little wave. The children would be all smiles greeting Bob.
I'm joking. Sort of.  It wasn't like that at all.


We got there 15 minutes before his scheduled arrival.  That should have been my first clue that things were not going to be like a sweet greeting card. I parked in the "Cell Phone Waiting Area" (a parking lot just outside the airport) and eagerly waited for my phone to ring, for Bob to say, "I'm here, come pick me up at Terminal B."  Instead, I waited 5 minutes and then called him. No answer.  I waited another 5 minutes and called him again.  After several more minutes, Bob finally picked up, and told me, in his Public Speaking Voice (the phone voice he uses at work and with acquaintances) that they had just landed. He added, probably exactly like the pilot just told him, that it would be a few minutes for them to taxi to the gate.  While we waited for his damn plane to park at the gate, Gianna and Bode were both super fussy.  Gianna was crying, to the tune of, "Why am I in this stupid car seat, anyway?" Bode was whining about some car that he dropped on the floor and couldn't reach, thanks to being locked into his car seat.  After a few minutes, I got out and gave it to him.  Bode dropped another car and started whining again. I was whining, too.  Inside, I mean.  Internally, I was whining, "WHY IS THAT DAMN AIRPLANE STILL ON THE TARMAC?  WHY DOESN'T BOB JUST JUMP OUT OF THE DAMN PLANE AND RUN TO OUR CAR ALREADY?"

I guess I was a little anxious for Bob to be home. It had been a long week.  The travel this month has been crazy. Anyway. Once he got in the car, we drove home in better spirits.

After dinner, instead of my strict adherence to The Schedule, we went outside so that Bode could ride his bike.   Bode and Gianna both enjoyed a little "daddy time" before bed time.

Swinging Gianna

Wheeee!

Gianna loves following Bode when he is on the bike.

Bode loves riding his bike these days! He is so confident.

Bode enjoying a bedtime story with Bob.

Right now, Bob is annoyed with me because, while he was traveling, I (inadvertently) filled up our DVR with my tv shows.  He says he is annoyed because I hit the button that says, "Record Everything." Ooops! Welcome home, Bob.  Enjoy spending the weekend deleting all my shows off the DVR. That is, when you are not busy entertaining your children!

xo

I need a Sherpa

This morning,  I couldn't find my car keys so I  used our spare key to drive us to the park. First, we went into Starbucks. I placed my order and then I searched frantically through my bag for my wallet for 5 minutes, only to discover I had already put it on the counter.  The guy behind me was laughing at me.  I told him about my lost keys, and said, "It is amazing I can even leave the house!"  He was sympathetic, and thanked me for the laughs.  So happy to be of service.

This is why I need a Sherpa: two huge bags, one stroller loaded with a lunch box and other stuff (oh, and a 20 lb baby) and a 35 lb toddler who likes to act as a weight by pulling on the back of the stroller.

The play date was going great, until Gianna fell backwards on the play structure. She is fine. I'm just a bad mommy. Usually, I follow close behind her. But today, she was getting mad and swiping her hand at me, like, "GO AWAY! I DO MYSELF!" (a la Bode) So, like an idiot, I decided to giver her space. I was snapping a picture of her climbing up the stairs, and she smiled at me, sat down and immediately fell backwards. I won't even think about how much worse the fall could have been. Lesson learned.  Oh, and this happened minutes after another mother asked me about Bode's banged up face, and  I had explained that the baby sitter was negligent!

I have heard some moms talking about how age three is much worse than two.  And I'm beginning to worry that they may be right.  Bode is suddenly more obstinate.  And he is getting more feisty.  Today I had to pull him off a swing, his fingers interlaced in the swing's chain links tightly, screaming and trying his hardest to not be removed, while three other mothers with babies looked on in horror (I really don't care).  He is starting to lock his little fists onto things that I tell him to let go of. He may run in the opposite direction that I am headed.  He screams, or shrieks, all the time now. If I tell him not to do something, it is guaranteed that he is going to continue doing it. What is going on?  I hope that this is just a (quick) phase, and not the start of Bode being a three year old terror.

Photo taken this morning...should this have been a clue as to what was in store at the park?

What is going on?!?!

I am looking at myself, too:  Does he think that I am giving too much time and attention to Gianna?   Am I too hard on him, expecting too much of him, because he is an almost three-year-old who can walk and talk (and Gianna is still a "baby")? Am I too impatient, because my time and energy is divided between children to entertain, errands to run, and meals to prepare? I spend all day with Bode, but how much of that time is actually spent with him?

While I ponder these questions, I really must find my keys!  I hope I find them before I lose the spare pair.

Happy Friday, everyone.

xo