Friday, October 17, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Weekend Update
We did finally sleep in our bed last night. Colin woke Danica up around midnight, and she woke him up around 4:00 a.m. Fun for Mom.
Being that we’re not really apple eaters in our family (with the exception of pre-sliced apples we get a Costco because they’re convenient), we didn’t pick or buy any apples when we went to the farm. Lame, I know. Maybe next time. We did pick up some apple butter and an apple pie, though.
Being that we’re not really apple eaters in our family (with the exception of pre-sliced apples we get a Costco because they’re convenient), we didn’t pick or buy any apples when we went to the farm. Lame, I know. Maybe next time. We did pick up some apple butter and an apple pie, though.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Family Outing
Kindra told me a couple weeks ago that she had a surprise for me for my birthday. She wanted us to go somewhere fun, which I thought would mean we would be without the kiddies (um… just kidding?), but it turned out it was a family outing.
I’ll take this opportunity to mention that going places with the kids has become easier lately. We’re a little better a preparing to head out, and the kids have become a lot better about being in the car. Danica’s pretty content most of the time to sit in her car seat (we often let her choose a book or doll to bring that she plays with), and Colin’s outgrowing his newborn aversion to being in his car seat.
Anyway, it turns out that Kindra had decided that we were going to the apple orchards in Yucaipa, which is about seventy-five miles away from us. She’d taken her classes there when she taught second grade, and we’ve always wanted to go to orchards, so it seemed like a decent early-fall activity (yes, it’s been autumn-like weather the past few days – that would be low-70’s in California). The drive ended up taking about an hour and twenty minutes, most of which The Boy slept, and The Girl almost ended up sleeping until I had to call my parents.
We had a good time walking around. I took Danica to a little petting zoo area they had there, where she just stared at the goats, chickens, pig, and llama… The little wuss wouldn’t pet any of them, and she didn’t want to play on the haystacks they had set up, either. I suppose to be fair, she was still quite a bit younger than a lot of the kids there, but that didn’t seem to stop her when we were in Iowa and she tore around a playground they had set up at the mall…
It was a fun time for our little family, but I think it’ll be more fun if we convince another family to head up there with us so that Danica has somebody to run around with. It did open my eyes to the possibilities for family outings ahead of us. We’re getting closer and closer to the whole “family vacation” thing, which is kinda scary...
I know I mentioned that Danica loves to dance, but she was really having fun today when we stopped to have lunch. We were at a little shopping village waiting in line at a food stand which had a patio and a guy singing along to music. She really wanted to hold hands and “dance” (i.e., jump) around. You have to keep in mind that The Girl hadn’t had her nap, so she was a little wired. She ended up dancing solo for a bit off to the side. I have some footage, so I’ll have to get around to posting it.
Oh, in addition to twirling, jumping, and lifting her leg up, Danica’s recently added straddle splits to her routine. Her mom was egging her on a couple of days ago after (I think) she accidentally did the splits at home. I haven’t seen it since, but I’m sure if I ask at the right time…
FYI, we’re trying something new tonight – Colin will be sleeping in his crib in Danica’s room. See, we’ve been weak and let our kids take over. Neither of us has slept in our bed in a couple of weeks, because Colin used to wake up within thirty minutes of his mom getting into bed and I got tired of trying to lay absolutely still during the night. So… we’re putting the two together. I suppose it might work, but I have a feeling they’re going to wake each other up, which should be fun.
I’ll take this opportunity to mention that going places with the kids has become easier lately. We’re a little better a preparing to head out, and the kids have become a lot better about being in the car. Danica’s pretty content most of the time to sit in her car seat (we often let her choose a book or doll to bring that she plays with), and Colin’s outgrowing his newborn aversion to being in his car seat.
Anyway, it turns out that Kindra had decided that we were going to the apple orchards in Yucaipa, which is about seventy-five miles away from us. She’d taken her classes there when she taught second grade, and we’ve always wanted to go to orchards, so it seemed like a decent early-fall activity (yes, it’s been autumn-like weather the past few days – that would be low-70’s in California). The drive ended up taking about an hour and twenty minutes, most of which The Boy slept, and The Girl almost ended up sleeping until I had to call my parents.
We had a good time walking around. I took Danica to a little petting zoo area they had there, where she just stared at the goats, chickens, pig, and llama… The little wuss wouldn’t pet any of them, and she didn’t want to play on the haystacks they had set up, either. I suppose to be fair, she was still quite a bit younger than a lot of the kids there, but that didn’t seem to stop her when we were in Iowa and she tore around a playground they had set up at the mall…
It was a fun time for our little family, but I think it’ll be more fun if we convince another family to head up there with us so that Danica has somebody to run around with. It did open my eyes to the possibilities for family outings ahead of us. We’re getting closer and closer to the whole “family vacation” thing, which is kinda scary...
* * *
I know I mentioned that Danica loves to dance, but she was really having fun today when we stopped to have lunch. We were at a little shopping village waiting in line at a food stand which had a patio and a guy singing along to music. She really wanted to hold hands and “dance” (i.e., jump) around. You have to keep in mind that The Girl hadn’t had her nap, so she was a little wired. She ended up dancing solo for a bit off to the side. I have some footage, so I’ll have to get around to posting it.
Oh, in addition to twirling, jumping, and lifting her leg up, Danica’s recently added straddle splits to her routine. Her mom was egging her on a couple of days ago after (I think) she accidentally did the splits at home. I haven’t seen it since, but I’m sure if I ask at the right time…
* * *
FYI, we’re trying something new tonight – Colin will be sleeping in his crib in Danica’s room. See, we’ve been weak and let our kids take over. Neither of us has slept in our bed in a couple of weeks, because Colin used to wake up within thirty minutes of his mom getting into bed and I got tired of trying to lay absolutely still during the night. So… we’re putting the two together. I suppose it might work, but I have a feeling they’re going to wake each other up, which should be fun.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
At Least We Know Where We Stand
Um… I just prayed (said grace) with my daughter, which if you know me, is very unusual. It went something like this:
The Girl: “Daddy, les pway.”
Daddy: “Huh? You’re going to pray?”
TG: “Yah. I pway and Daddy, too.” **clasps hands**
D: “Okay, who should we pray for?”
TG: “Ah-Mah.”
D: “Who else?”
TG: “Ah-Gong.”
D: “Okay, who else?”
TG: “And Mommy and Daddy.”
D: “Awww…”
TG: “And my kay-sah-dee-ya (quesadilla).”
D: “…”
Did I mention that Aunt Steph used to be at the top of the list? But only when she was in medical school.
The Girl: “Daddy, les pway.”
Daddy: “Huh? You’re going to pray?”
TG: “Yah. I pway and Daddy, too.” **clasps hands**
D: “Okay, who should we pray for?”
TG: “Ah-Mah.”
D: “Who else?”
TG: “Ah-Gong.”
D: “Okay, who else?”
TG: “And Mommy and Daddy.”
D: “Awww…”
TG: “And my kay-sah-dee-ya (quesadilla).”
D: “…”
Did I mention that Aunt Steph used to be at the top of the list? But only when she was in medical school.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Explanation Needed, I Guess
09-27-08_1801
Originally uploaded by shc32
There's been some question about this picture of Danica with this random neighborhood cat, so I thought I'd explain...
This was taken in my uncle's backyard where I used to live a few years ago (they let me in the house, not just in the backyard). We were playing around out there when this cat wanders into the yard, which, now that I think about it, I saw back when I lived there.
It didn't seem too afraid of anybody, least of all Danica, so I didn't think it was that big a deal when she started to go near it. I figured if it wasn't comfortable, it would take off running. It just wandered around and let Danica wander around after it for a while.
I'll throw in the fact that Danica's been around dogs and cats in a domestic setting for a while - our daycare provider just got a kitten not too long ago (named "Chicken," but I'll explain that some other day), our old daycare provider had a dog, and she played around with her great-grandma's dog when we were back in Iowa. Consequently, The Girl's been taught how to be gentle around animals, so naturally, she wanted to pet this cat.
He actually laid down and let her approach him, so she started by petting his back a little bit and touching his front paws. Of course, as soon as she did that with success, she decided to get down on all fours and get in his face. I was a little worried about that (I had my own incident when I was younger with a cat - again, I'll explain some other time), but he sat there and took it while I talked to her about not being up in his business.
Regardless, things were fine for both... This picture is probably the third or fourth time he laid down and let her pet him.
Yay for cat lovers. Boo to the rest of you all.
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