Photo Friday-Pool Time

These photos were taken a couple weeks ago, but since I'm currently sitting in a conference room in a hotel near LAX, many many many miles away from my girlies, I had to use what I already had on this laptop.

Padyn has taken off in her swimming this summer. She can mostly do freestyle, but still doesn't understand breathing by turning her head to the side. She loves playing underwater and experimenting with holding her breath for extended periods of time. She still doesn't want to go into the deep end by herself, but I'd prefer she didn't anyway.

Tomorrow I get to return to Oregon where the girls are at my mom's. Hopefully, by Monday, I'll have a few more pics of the girls (well, Padyn) swimming in the river. Kate pretty much just wants to throw rocks in. Who knew she'd be so timid about water?



Happy Friday!

Photo Friday-Horses, Flappers and Gymnasts

Here is a brief review of our week...

Last Saturday we went to a birthday party at a ranch in the foothills. Each child had the opportunity to ride a pony around the corral. Padyn was extremely excited about it. She might not look excited in her ride around the enclosure, but trust me...she was excited. Kate, on the other hand, was not interested AT ALL. In fact, the day before when we had been at Daddy's company picnic, she had freaked out over the horse pulling the train we rode. And she wasn't anywhere near it. So, she stayed far away from little Spirit the Pony.
We are limited in our selection of dress-up clothes. It's probably due to the fact that I don't go for the Disney Princess stuff. Well, usually our selection is fine for the girls, but on days when we have friends over and everyone wants to dress up, it's gets a bit thin. This occurred on Tuesday during a playdate, but I managed to save the day by pulling one of Aunt Christie's old dance costumes out of the closet. It amazingly fit Padyn. Doesn't see look adorable? Do you remember this one, Christie?I asked her to pose. This is what I got. I love the look Kate is giving her.Kate got a bit tired of playing with other kids that afternoon. I found her on Padyn's bed, comforting herself with Paci Boo Boo and a good book.Padyn went to gymnastics camp this week at the Little Gym. It was "Fantasy Castle" week, so all the games and crafts had something to do with princesses, castles, trolls, and magic spells. She had a fantastic time. I didn't manage to get any pictures of her actually doing gymnasticy things, but I have one of her after class yesterday in her super cute gymnastics leotard.Here's what I got when I asked her to do a gymnastics pose for me. I had no idea this is what all the latest gymnasts where doing.Happy Friday.

Out of the Mouth of Daddy

Padyn, do not tie your sister to the foam log.

The Little Mermaids

We went to Daddy's company picnic last Friday. Like last year, the Disney Princess Facepainters were there decorating all the kids, big and little. (That's not really the name of their company, but they come all dressed up fun and one lady wears a hat with all the princess figurines glued to it.) Though, unlike last year, this year the ladies were so popular, we had to wait 30 minutes before it was our turn at the paints. It was quite a wait, but Padyn was SOOOO wanting to get a body part painted that she waited super patiently until it was finally her turn for the chair.

At first, she wanted to get her entire face painted in some sort of butterfly or cat mask. (I'm telling you, these ladies are TALENTED. You should have seen the designs...no wonder even the adults were vying for a spot in their chairs.) But when we had been in line about 5 minutes, one of the little girls who had made it to the chair requested an Ariel. That was it. Padyn wanted Ariel. Then of course, Kate did, too. Here's what we ended up with...

The mermaid for an impatient two year old...The mermaid for a VERY patient and still 4 year old...

Too bad they washed off as soon as we went swimming. But that's what cameras are for, right?

The Things You Can Learn From a Fisher Price Computer

Just now, Kate picked up my orange tote bag that has my tutoring materials in it, swung it over her shoulder and said, "Mommy, I got my email!"

Mommy: Oh, you have your email?

Kate: Ya! In my pocket!

She may not understand what email is yet, but isn't it a bit frightening that she's already acquiring a tech vocabulary?

Photo Friday-Museum Time

Remember how on Wednesday I said we had been to the Bay Area Discovery Museum? Well, since those are the only pictures I managed to take this week, those are the ones I'm posting for your viewing pleasure this Photo Friday.


We met at the museum in Sausalito because it was a somewhat central point for the three of us traveling from different parts of northern state. (If Juls and Jack post any additional pics, can can find them here and here). Here are the kiddos who joined us on our adventure...


Connor-he's looking pretty serious in his construction gear.
Sean-Connor's little bro. He loved playing in the water.Lulu (aka Emily)-this is the only picture I got of the little miss. She was always on the go and not interested in looking at me. Maybe her mommy or Auntie Juls got a better one.And you know these two...

Kate-she loved digging in the gravel, but she kept taking her shoes off. I'm sure it was just to annoy Mommy. Padyn-here she is posing on a replica of the bridge her daddy built her.The two big kid trying to plant their "seeds" on the computer-Padyn never did figure out the optimal conditions for growing watermelon (neither did Mommy, and I swear I tried all the different possibilities.) Connor managed to grow very luscious tomatoes. Working on the bridge-maybe she really will be an engineer one day.Examining the starfish-she loved taking them in and out of the water. Watching themselves on the TV-This was a green screen. On the TV monitor they could see themselves with a video of fish swimming behind them. It was pretty cool. Kissing the turtle puppet. The view from the Wave Building. A bit hazy from all the fires, and warm by SF standards.No, no pictures of the mommies. Somehow we managed to stay out of the way of the camera. Fortunately, the roomies don't change as frequently as the kiddos, so we don't need as many pictures of each other. Well, except for that pregnant one. But trust me, she looks pregnant. You don't need to see a picture from me to prove it.

Happy Friday!

Move Over Venus...

...your competition is coming.

Padyn has discovered a new sport she loves. Tennis.

I know, I know. Tennis seems so, well, snooty, with all the short skirts and country clubs. But Papa signed her up (hence, the country club) and she's doing surprisingly well. And she likes it. A lot. I'm a bit surprised. I mean, I would think that tennis would get boring for a 4 and a half year old. It's not like she's old enough to rally. They do drills for the entire hour of the lesson.
She doesn't get to hit the ball that much and she spends a lot of time waiting for her turn at the net. You'd think she be done with that after 15 minutes.

But she really is surprisingly good. She hits that ball on average more than her 4-6 year old counterparts. And she's having a great time doing it.

Who knew she'd actually turn out to be an athlete?

Where Does She Come Up With This Stuff?

Today we were driving over the Golden Gate Bridge to visit the Bay Area Discovery Museum with a couple of my old roomies and their kids (pictures to come). After much discussion of "Is the bridge just as beautiful as its name?" Padyn asked the following as we were crossing over:


Mommy! Did my daddy build this bridge just for me?

I mean, I know Daddy can do lots of things, but this one might be a bit outside of his abilities.

Of course, for the rest of the trip (read-5 minutes) Kate keeps saying, "My Daddy bulled duh bidge for me!"

I'm so glad they think so highly of their Daddy. I know I do.

Photo Friday-Independence Day Edition

This morning I managed to get a few pictures of the girls in their 4th of July garb. Truth me told, I didn't get that many good pics and a tantrum ensued shortly after the photo session (you can see beginning evidence of it in the picture at the end.) But, I still feel good about getting this done first thing this morning. Enjoy. Kate asked for her hair to be this way. First, she wanted one ponytail on top. After I put it in the first time, so she no, it wasn't on top enough. I had to take it out and put it in directly on top of her head. Next, she said she wanted two ponytails right on the side. So, this is what came out. When it was done, she looked in the mirror and said, "I wook ike Laney!" (I look like Delaney (one of her friends from church).

Oh look...it's starting... Happy Independence Day. May you and your family be grateful for the freedoms that entitles us.

It Looks Better in Person...

...but here are a few pictures of my new kitchen.

Did you notice a lack of refrigerator? J has to do some handiwork to get the water line hooked up so I can have my icemaker again. Hopefully that will happen this weekend.

The layout is essentially the same as before, but my cabinets, counter, sink, oven/stove and microwave are new. Eventually the floor and wall color will also be new, but for now, I'll settle for this.

BandAids Make Everything Better...

...especially if they are Dora bandaids.

Today I brought Kate in for her wart treatment. (Officially, she has Molluscum Contagiosum and if you watch this newstory about it, it might make you sick to your stomach like it did to me.) Anyway, they are warts that have been rapidly spreading down the back of her leg. Excuse me...legs. Today we saw some on her other leg. They are contagious only in children and there is no solid "cure" for this virus.

So, the dermatologist put this ointment on them that is from a blister beetle (yes, a beetle) that will probably get rid of them. They will literally blister up and eventually fall off. They might leave a pox-like scar, but it's the back of her legs, so it won't keep her from looking beautiful from the front. No leg modeling for her, I guess.

The poor girl made her way through two lollipops while lying on her stomach across my lap as the doctor put the ointment on. Then we came home and took a bath to wash it off. They are supposed to start blistering in a day or two. They looked the same as before the treatment when Kate got out of the bath, so I thought it would be a while before they bothered her.

Nope. Twenty minutes later she was scratching at her legs and getting grouchy. Great. So, I took a look, and sure enough, the little warts are starting to blister. Poor thing. All we can do is follow the doctor's orders-neosporin and BandAids.

Thank goodness we just got a new supply of Dora BandAids or I think Kate would be having a hissy fit until next Tuesday. She didn't want me to touch her at all, but once I showed her the Dora bandaids, she immediately calmed down and let me cover the back of her leg with them.

I'll have to take a picture because it is a sight too amusing to let pass by. Kate's chubby little let covered with at least 12 Dora BandAids. But hey...she isn't complaining anymore.