Comparo: Halloween Costume

Comparison of our kiddos at the same age, same place.

Snow White and the 2 Dwarves. With special guest,"Lion."

"Really. When she looks back on the effort you spent in making her the Snow White costume, she'll be so thankful that you did. You will, too."

I'd like to think my words of encouragement helped motivate her into finishing the Snow White costume, but really, it was Tracy's desire to see her little girl in a hand crafted princess outfit. Thus far Anna has been a Lady Bug, a Bee, and now a fictitious Disney princess with an affinity for small woodland man-creatures. With each, we have distinct memories, but this year would be different because of how aware she is of things, and (lets be frank) this year she'll actually eat the candy.

"As for Russell, just throw him in whatever fits. He wont care. He's a boy."

The first of the weekend's activities was going to our church's Harvest Party. If you haven't been to one or would like to attend our's some time, you should! A Trick-or-Treat alternative with lots of games, activities, bounce houses, food, and candy. Russell preferred riding on mommy's back instead of being in his warm Lion outfit.

Anna with some friends. (Love the matching black eye with the boxing outfit)

Snow White and the 2 Dwarves + Russell

By far, one of Anna's favorite carnival activities: The Bounce House!

Cruisin...

Snow White taking part in one of the games.

Snow White meets up with 2 Bee friends

Her first cotton candy......and her last for a while.

Surprisingly, she didn't eat the whole thing.

The Lion emerges and is on the prowl! (with some help)

Snow White meets up with a fairy (good friend Abby)

The Lion and Snow White

Running on empty

We went for a run today and the kiddos managed to be nice to each other. We were pleasantly surprised to find they were asleep when we got home!

Daddy Daughter Date

Momma and R-man went to some boring craft festival so A-bug and I had nearly the entire day to ourselves. While, a trip to Costco for her favorite samples and then 20 laps at the local train park would've satisfied the same, I thought it'd be fun to do something we don't usually do. After saying goodbye to the rest of the fam, Anna and I went to Mission Bay Park where we managed to nab the #1 spot at Belmont Park's parking lot. Get out!

From there we assembled the bike stroller and went for a 20 min ride around the boardwalk and parts of Mission Bay. We found a nice spot the two of us could enjoy our lunch while overlooking a cove within the bay.

The view

Lunch time!

Our bird-brained, lunch 'guest'

Our guest stood and watched us eat our food. For some reason he inched closer and closer to us, but would leap away when I stood up and bared my savage predatorial teeth. My celebration ended, when bird brain settled back into the viewing position moments after I sat back down. Alas, he really wanted that fallen piece of bread. Witness Anna feeding the birds.

After some good bird rousing (and a challenging feat to use the wasteland they call a restroom), we went to the park and played.

..that's me...

A quick 20 min bike ride back to the beach to play on the beach...

The beach was quite windy and cold, so we left a bit earlier then we wanted, but not without a quick stop on the merry-go-round!

On the way home, we stopped by Ranch 99 for a special treat (custard pancake thing) which Anna happily gobbled down. So quickly, in fact, I didn't have time to take a picture. We had a wonderful day together and began a ritual to be continued into the years to come!

Bro Sis Comparo

Russell now and Annalise (2 years ago). Same equivalent age. Interesting to see their similarities and differences.

Are you ever going to post again?

Are we ever going to have time to?....

Catchup posts coming soon to a screen near you. It has just been a bit busy.

Ready for Summer

Maiden Voyage as Pilot and Co-Pilot

Anna and Russell took their first ride as pilot and co-pilot today in the stroller. Russell did better than expected and managed a 20 min jaunt. He's rather large (we think) so there was plenty of him to strap in. Surprisingly, both kiddos behaved and didn't irritate the other.

4th Trimester is over!

Can you believe 4 months have passed since our Russell was born? We're officially through the 4th trimester and our little guy is such a joy. His first months have been very contrasting to Annalise's. She cried, he sleeps. She squeaked, he stares. She gurgled, he coos. She pooped, he REALLY poops.

Here are a few things about him (more a record for T & I to remember)

-He loves to ride in Tracy's wraps

-Desires attention and will cry if you leave his sight

-Loves when Annalise plays with him

-Is starting to laugh (when you tickle his tummy or bounce him up/down)

-Drools....a.....TON.

-Doesn't eat very long

-Has a short temper (goes from calm to upset very quickly)

-Gets a lot of zits

-LOVES, LOVES, LOVES baths

-Is getting too fat for his bathtub

-Likes to suck on his hands

-Very smiley and likes to cuddle

-Likes sleeping with us

-Goes to bed at 7:30-8. Wakes at 9 and Midnight to feed.

-Still waking up a few times at night.

-Doesn't use the baby swing at all.

Here are some stats & pics from his 4 month checkup:

-25" tall (55%)

-17lb 0.2oz (87%)

-43.2 cm head circumference (76%)

Here are some statthings he's doing now.

Dancing Fairy

Annalise has always liked dancing, though in recent days she's really developed a real interest in it. She often refines her craft while listening to music from her toy keyboard. Here she is strutting her stuff while in her fairy costume (thanks Kristine), another thing she has really grown fond of lately.

Her "slow dance" is really funny, but we have yet to capture a good vid of it. Maybe soon!

(The goods are within the first half.)

Disneyland

Annalise and Russell took their first trip to Disneyland trip recently. We stayed for a majority of the day and are proud of how well they did. Annalise, was just potty trained the week earlier, so we were excited about not having to carry the extra diapers; however, in its stead we hauled a little potty around with us. The security guard at the gate said that lots of people bring them. She didn't believe me when I told her it was for me (Dave).



We were also at Disneyland to meet up with old college friends down from Oregon for the week. They have two adorable girls, ages 3 and 5, who were great company. We often felt like party poopers because we soured some rides due to their scariness (read below) and because our children needed regular pit stops. Thanks, Smiths, for your patience.





The self proclaimed "Happiest Place on Earth" was probably having an off day because the first set of rides we took Annalise on were much too terrifying for her. You know, the Winnie the Pooh ride. Where he appears fat and happy with big smiles saying pleasant things like, "I need some honey", and, uh, that scary boy Christopher Robin, in his alarming, er, shirt and shorts, with his big cheeky smile. If you thought that was hair raising, we were met with death defying peril when traveling at break-neck speeds around the, ahem, Disney Train around the park. Maybe Annalise was having an off day. In the end, she and the Smith girls got to meet up with the Sultans of Terror, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, for a pleasant photo-op where, surprisingly, no tears were shed.

Actually, we also did the Jungle Cruise, some big boat thing, and the Lady Bug teacups without any worries or tears. We're not sure yet if Annalise has the same affinity Tracy has for round & round, dizzying types of rides. She seemed to like it. What Annalise REALLY liked was the little water area, a haven of shooting water jets and sprinklers fueling the nearly frenetic group of soaked children. We didn't plan for water, but ended up letting her soak herself silly.

You might be wondering where our 3 month old, second child has been during all of this? He basically hung out contentedly in a wrap or the Ergo. We are very blessed to have a placid boy who likes to be carried, otherwise, this trip would've been futile.

Before we left, we had a chance to stroll the stores down Main St where we chose obligatory "1st Disneyland trip" gifts for the kiddos. Annalise got a purple fairy Minnie Mouse and Russell got a smashed-faced Eeyore doll. Little momentos to remind us of our first Disneyland trip with Annalise and Russell.

The day wasn't done. We drove a few minutes to see another set of old, college friends, the Barbers, who were extremely gracious to have us over for dinner. While we weren't there long, it was nice to reconnect with them and the Smith further. It was interesting to see us all with kiddos, now nearly a decade removed from college (!!).

Thankfully the drive back was easy. We buckled them into their carseats, with PJs on, and cruised home in silence. Praise the Lord! What a great day.