San Diego here we come

Now that Christmas is over we decided to take a break and go out of town. After talking with the Tims we decided it would be fun to do a group trip down to San Diego for a few days. We woke up early this morning and headed to the airport. Cameron loves flying and now Riley is liking it too. We had to wake up early so we kept him in his jammies for the flight.

The Tims actually drove down and toured around LA for the weekend. We met up for an afternoon as Sea World. Cameron was sure about one thing, she wanted to see the Baby Belugas. Its all she talked about on the flight and as soon as we got in the gate she said "Lets go guys, Baby Beluga is here."

She was not disappointed by the Arctic exhibit. She loved all the animals, especially the Walrus. She went back to see him several times. He was eating a fish right next to the window. Its really amazing how big they actually are. The Polar Bear was cool, she asked him "What do you see?" and sang Baby Beluga at the Beluga tank. They weren't actually babies but it really didn't matter to her. So she was very pleased after that exhibit and we didn't think we would be able to top that, but then she found out there were horses. She ran with Tim and Daddy to see the Clydesdale Horses.

We also saw the pet show, where rescued animals perform including: dogs, cats, birds, pigs, ducks, and rats. Riley also liked this show. He actually liked anything that made Cameron laugh. We then went to the dolphin show. We luckily got there early enough to not have to sit in the SPLASH ZONE. That seating is probably much more popular when its warm out. The fog came in when the sun went down and it got really, really cold. We decided to not see Shamu since it was already late. We would come back on Friday if we had time.

Christmas Morning 2008

What a great Christmas we had! Although the kids both woke up at 5:30am we got them back to sleep before they discovered their gifts. At a reasonable hour we brought them downstairs. The Uncle Tims came over and got to experience Riley's first Christmas and Cameron's expertise. Cameron really liked all her toys and presents but she did take time to hand out gifts to everyone.

It might be hard to believe but PJ was the most excited. He had been awake a lot longer than everyone and when I first came downstairs I noticed everything was slightly nudged. When PJ saw me he ran around and around in circles and went straight for his stocking, as if he had been waiting all morning. When we finally gave it to him he tore into it. Cameron helped him get everything out of the stocking and then he took all his toys into the den and played by himself while we opened our presents.

Riley didn't need any help at all. He had a great time opening all of his presents. Of course he liked the wrapping more than anything else but after we removed all the wrapping he also played with his toys. He is getting so strong, he pulled himself up on anything with some height and his crawling is so advanced that he just moved around the room to whatever sparked his interest.

Cameron got lots of good stuff. She loved her giant elephant but her doll houses were also a hit. She loved all the furniture and rearranged the houses multiple times. She played doctor with her medical kit, requiring each of us to have a checkup. She also got a backpack for her baby filled with new clothes. She ran to get her bitty baby, changed her clothes and then packed her up and carried her around.

The house is still a mess no matter how often I try to clean it up. Hopefully it will all get put away before we leave on our New Years trip. To see all the pictures from Christmas morning check Picasa.

San Jose Museum of Art

I've been wanting to take the kids to the Santa Clara Triton Museum for awhile and thought today would be the perfect day. There was no school, I had the day off, and daddy was working. Although I called ahead the museum was actually closed but given that we were ready to see a museum we headed to the San Jose Museum of Art instead.

The lobby of the museum had a great set of cardboard monkeys called the "The Great Monkey Project". The monkeys were hanging from the ceiling, from the banister, above the doors, and there was a family on the floor. Cameron was very excited about the monkeys. She wanted to pet them but we told her they might bite and from then on she didn't try to touch any of the pieces. Riley wasn't quite sure about the monkeys. He was really tired but he stayed awake so that he wouldn't miss anything.

The museum was really setup nicely for kids. Each gallery had an interactive piece for the kids and there were art bags that you could borrow in case you were feeling inspired. While in the San Francisco Abstract Expressionist gallery Cameron decided she would sketch. She did some pencil sketches with Uncle Turtle who came along with us, and then they did some colors pieces. Turtle talked to her about one of the pieces and then they picked out matching colors and did a drawing together.

After walking through most of the exhibits we visited the gift shop. Cameron actually picked out a gift for Aunt Juliet. I thought it was nice that she wanted to get something for Juliet but we actually took her second choice, a scarf with musical notes. The first choice was a very bright red beaded belt. She also picked out a gift for herself. She got a mini-Magna Doodle since she had to return the art bag she used. I actually loved the art bag idea and maybe I'll put one together for her to take to all the museums she visits.

Since it was Christmas Eve we had to head home and wrap all the presents. I only left the room for a few minutes but returned to find Cameron wrapping herself and Riley. He is actually under that pile somewhere. He loved it and tried to eat his way out. This will be an interesting Christmas, we will have to stay close to Riley who can't help but taste every piece of paper he gets close to...

Grandma's Christmas Visit

We visted Grandma Cindy this weekend in order to celebrate Christmas early. It was fun for the kids to get to explore the nutcracker collection. Riley especially liked the feathers in the largest nutcracker's hat.
We had a great dinner and then Cameron and Grandma made a dessert for everyone. We had chocolate cupcakes, icing, icecream, chocolate snowman, and festive sugar. Cameron took everyone's order, put together each plate with Grandma, and then delivered to everyone. She was very particular about her own dessert. She didn't want any icing or ice cream no matter how much you asked her.

It was a pretty festive day and we all dressed for the occasion. Even Daddy wore red. Cameron was very happy to see Uncle Greg and Aunt Juliet. Riley also enjoyed visiting with Uncle Greg. Uncle Greg was helping Riley practice standing and taking steps. We can already tell that Riley would rather walk than crawl or sit up.

After dinner it was time for presents. Cameron received lots of gifts including books, a teddy bear, and a ballerina snow globe. She loves ballerinas and Grandma promised to take her to the nutcracker when she was older.
You can see more pictures from the visit on our Picasa and also Grandma Cindy's Picasa.

The Reluctant Christmas Tree

We've learned some lessons about cutting your own Christmas Tree. First, they don't all wish to be a Christmas tree afterall. We put up our tree and first, it didn't want to stand up straight. No matter what we did, it would lean to one side, then the other, then back. We left it for a few days to get comfortable in its new place. After it settled a bit we unwrapped it and it immediately started dropping its needles. Apparently when you cut your own tree, they are filled with dead needles. Note to everyone that you should have your tree thoroughly shaken before wrapping it up.

After a few days of battling the needles, which clogged the vacuum several, several times, we started to decorate. Unfortunately the tree refused to hold any ornaments. We had to start using hooks and bending the hooks so that they were practically bolted to the tree. Cameron enjoyed decorating the tree. Well actually she enjoyed unpacking the ornaments and giving them to mommy to hang on the tree. She said the tree "poked me mommy! you do it." Every ornament came with an excited shriek along with Cameron calling out what it was. "A Snowman Mommy! A Santa Claus! Oh A Star!! A horse! (aka a reindeer) Hang it, Hang it!" She was really excited when she found the Sesame Street Characters and insisted on those being at her eye level.

After the ornament boxes were empty she went to the decorations. She found a little Santa Clause house and searched the tree for just the right Santa to live there. Her decoration wouldn't fit in the door so she decided it needed to go in the chimney. It was really precious to see her try and pick just the right Santa.

Finally we were done. It actually took more than two days and the house was a wreck when we were done. But it looked pretty and Riley enjoyed watching the lights twinkle. Then the next morning I awoke to the sound of the vacuum cleaner. I was shocked that Jeff was up at 5am cleaning up and thought to myself that this was the best xmas gift. I fed Riley, picked out the kids clothes, got Riley ready for school, and then realized Jeff was still vacuuming. I knew there were a lot of needles but whew! So I headed downstairs to help and to my surprise the tree was laying down on top of the vacuum, decorations everywhere, the tree water soaking the carpet. Every single ornament and all the lights were off the tree. I didn't know how that was possible. Jeff and I spent the next 3.5 hours cleaning up the mess and redecorating the tree. It looks great, but I don't think its very happy :-(

Week of discoveries for Riley

Well RIley was not the first baby to crawl. This week the oldest baby in the class began crawling. Riley did crawl at home, rushing to get to his favorite chew toy. He went about 4 moves on all fours but hasn't done so since. He gets up and lunges forward but still likes the security of his belly. This week he played outside with his friends with different kinds of balls. He was very interested in the balls with things inside.

Also this week the class discovered kitchen tools. The teachers brought out various metal kitchen tools including measuring spoons, colanders, pie pans, and cups. They were all a big hit because of the clanging noises they make. Also this week the light table arrived. Riley was very interested in it. He liked moving the color blocks around and would even army crawl to it if it was turned on.
But the best part of the week occurred on Friday. Riley finally got some time with the studio teacher, Shannon. Shannon came into the infant class to help the babies paint for the first time. Of course Riley has painted at home but this was his first formal art class. He dove in. He frantically spread out all the paint and mixed the colors. Once that was done he ripped up the paper and tried to get it all in his mouth. Shannon was a quick thinker and replaced the paper with his pacifier. Once his oral senses were busy he was able to focus and finish his work.

To catch up what is happening with Cameron, check out her class blog.

New Family Tradition???

So this year we thought it would be fun to go to Santa Cruz and cut our own Christmas tree. We went to Crest Ranch to find the perfect tree. Cameron immediately took charge. She pulled the cart up the hill and set off on her search.

Riley touched all the different types of trees. He enjoyed smelling the trees but didn't like getting sticky with sap. It was a really great day, sunny and pretty warm. It was also not too crowded. We saw lots of families who obviously do this every year and picked up some tips for finding the best trees. We didn't know it, but they allow dogs so next year we will have to make sure to include PJ. We walked a lot, the farm is about 100 acres, and finally I found a tree I thought we should choose. Cameron had other ideas.

After about 15 minutes of asking Cameron to pick a tree, I finally decided to pick one out myself. I announced that I had found the tree and Cameron immediately responded with, "No, not that one, this one!" It was the tree right behind me and I have to say it was actually a better tree. She watched Daddy cut it down, directing him the whole time. There was no doubt about who was in charge today.

When the tree was on the cart, she told daddy he was going to have to pull the cart back to the car, it was "Too Heavy Daddy! You get it."

Although Riley was still recovering from being sick, he was in a very good mood. He did a great impression of Daddy that had me laughing. What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving together. It was quiet for us, no other family or friends, and it was good to have a low-key dinner together. Cameron sat at the head of the table and we went around and said what we were each thankful for.

Daddy was thankful that his Peter Lik picture finally arrived (you can kinda see it behind Cameron). Mommy was thankful for her happy kids, and supportive husband. Riley was thankful for his plastic book that didn't get soggy as he chewed on it during dinner. And Cameron was thankful for "Mommy!" We of course did not forget about PJ. He enjoyed the week hanging out with Ellie, but he was most thankful for his share of the turkey!

During our holiday break, Riley practiced his crawling. Although he is one of the youngest babies in the class, the teachers believe he is likely to be the first to crawl. He gets up and seems to know he needs to move forward but hasn't figured out the hands need to move. Here is a video of him trying to get around.

Sick Kids for the holidays...

It figures that the kids would get sick as we go into the holiday week. Luckily I've already taken the week off. Both Riley and Cameron have a virus that seems to be going around. There is no fever just lots of congestion and nausea. Cameron seems to be handling it much better than Riley with just a cough and runny nose. Riley is struggling to breathe through his mouth and get any rest.

Having an extra day home was a great idea to Cameron. She let Riley play in her room and with her toys. It was especially fun when she realized she could dress him up. In return for allowing her to put him in pink, she let Riley play with her Curious George books. This was a really big deal, because those are her favorite books.

Classroom Karaoke

So I stopped by the school for lunch and found the Tiger Beetles (Cameron's class - not sure about the name, its a pretty bug but the bugs are actually predators...) in the community room doing some Karaoke. The VC camera was on and the kids were happy to dance and see themselves on the two big screen TVs. When Ms Jessica turned on the microphone, David and Cameron sang "ABCs". David was a complete natural, but Cameron got a little shy while singing. On camera though, she was a complete natural.

Riley was also enjoying a musical day at school. Ms Ana was in his class today. He was loving it! He kicked his feet and was very vocal during the songs as if he was singing along. Ms Ana was very impressed with his energy and excitement. He discovered a new song he really likes, Skidmarink! Ms Marie did the hand motions during the song and he was extremely responsive. He is learning his signs and is much more interested in signing then Cameron was at this age.

Riley has a tooth!!

This has been a big weekend for Riley. He has a tooth coming through the gums. Mommy was really excited but then got sad because he is growing up too fast. Since he now has a tooth, we decided to start him on rice cereal. His reaction to this was really funny. He was excited until it was put in his mouth. He made a really funny face each time it was put in his mouth, but got happy again when he was able to push it out. We think at least some was swallowed.

Cameron celebrated the tooth with Riley. She danced around him and he got really excited. He loves to watch Cameron and she is loving his attention. She had him laughing for more than 10 minutes. We had to put a stop to it so he could breath.

Cameron had a big weekend too. She got to hang out with the big girls. We rode bikes with Stephanie and Dana. We rode up to the neighborhood school and played on the playgrounds and rode our bikes around the campus. Cameron was so grown up and you could see her trying really hard to keep up with them. When Dana fell off her bike Cameron went to her and said "Are you okay Dana?" She was so sweet.

Halloween!!!

Well the big plan to have Lil'Bo Peep and her sheep didn't quite work out. Riley cooperated but Cameron decided she didn't want to wear the costume after all. Sometimes its not so cool that they have preferences. Its probably my own fault. I put on her ballerina undershirt and then she decided she should be a ballerina instead of a Bo-Peep.


I can't really complain. She looked really cute, especially from the back because her diaper poked out of the tutu. Her school had a big party and Grandpa and I setup a spooky room which was a big hit with the kids.


Of course we decorated our house again. We lit up the trees this year so when the sun went down the entire house glowed green. Jeff got dry ice again this year and he refused to give the kids candy unless they came up the driveway. The witch was flying over the driveway and we had a really cool mummy hanging out the window so with the bubbling cauldron several kids refused.

Bringing out the decorations means of course we had record crowds. The sidewalk was packed and we had given away 20lbs of candy by 7:30. Luckily Uncle Turtle had reserves and we made it through the night without having to close down. We estimate that we had more than 300 trick-or-treaters this year.