Shopping, Swimming, Playing….Crash!!

We had a fun, busy day today and there was just far too many exciting things to do to nap so we just skipped that!  A girl has to have priorities and today napping was not a priority.

The morning was spent taking a quick trip to Lowes to pick up a few things.  The girls all enjoyed riding in the special cart and looking at some Princess books.  Who knew you could find princess books at Lowes?

Lunch is an exciting time as each of the girls gets to choose a portion of the meal.  Today Ro chose the protein, Ree the starch and Hannah was given the responsibility of choosing a fruit or veggie.  M3 has these neat little menu sheets that the girls look at (one for each of the categories above) and the girls choose their lunch from that.  It’s neat to see what they each choose and how the meal goes together with little fuss that it’s not what they want.  Ro and Ree are amazing little girls and get along SO WELL together!! 

Two things Hannah and Mommy have discovered this trip:

1. Food is always more fun when cut into shapes
2. Little picks make eating anything a wonderful adventure!

When the girls eat soup Mommy puts their hair into ‘noodle hair’ formation.  Hannah was only too happy to have noodle hair too and M3 and I giggled as we saw this teeny tiny noodle head that she created on Hannah!

Ro’s noodle slurped right up the straw!

After this yummy lunch it was time to go swimming!  The temp was a balmy 93o which felt much cooler than the 99o temps we’d been receiving the past number of days. 

This adorable little bathing suit was little Ro’s when she was just a baby!

Today I took along some floaties and water wings that were in M3’s garage and they were a wonderful help!  Hannah loves to swim and has more confidence then is probably good for her, but today her swimming skills mixed with floaties for assistance gave her the freedom and independence she wanted – even though Mommy knew she had to be within arms reach of her little fish!

I think Ro and Ree would swim all day given the opportunity!

Here’s a little movie made up of Hannah’s amazing swimming today!  Way to go Hannah!!

When we arrived home the girls were ready for a cool treat so M3 pulled out some yummy lemonade popsicles she’d made.   A fun treat on a hot summer’s night. The girls were still in full play mode so we decided to make some sidewalk chalk paint and let them get creative in the back yard.  What a fun little craft that was enjoyed by all!

By this point it was shortly after 7:00 and very quickly Hannah hit her wall.  An afternoon of swimming + no nap = early bed time.  I got her dressed for bed and then went down to heat her bottle.  I was gone only a couple of minutes but this is what I returned to

Sweet dreams baby girl!  Mommy loves you.

Sun, Fun, the Beach and Friends!

(A long overdue post of a day of fun late in our California trip)

Friday was a day we had been looking forward to.  M3 and I packed the girls into the van along with everything we’d need for a day of fun at the beach!   We hit the road and made our way to Santa Cruz.  I’m fascinated by how much the weather can change in a short distance.  Around home it might change by a few degrees but in CA the changes seem to be much greater.  At one point we crossed over a mountain top and the temperature dropped 9 degrees in a moment of seconds!  We could also see the infamous Santa Cruz fog that covers the beach much of the summer.

I anticipated a day of fog since that’s what we had last year but this year the sun eventually came out and it was beautiful!

The best part about our beach visit was that Kayce and Cricket joined us for the day!

I met Kayce 2 years ago when we were both just months away from our referrals and our friendship has grown from there.  She’s the kind of friend where we just take up where we left off last year.  Love ya friend! 
It was wonderful to see how her little Cricket has grown and how much fun she and Hannah had together this year!

2010

We brought a picnic lunch which was fun! 
I had to laugh though at the amount of sand that the toddlers consumed.  There was no question that we’d be taking some of California home with us.  Heh!

The waves were calmer this year so we were able to enjoy dipping our toes in the ocean.  It’s kinda fun to think that Hannah and I will have opportunities to visit both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans again this year.

Last year Hannah didn’t enjoy the sand and this year she couldn’t enjoy it more!

Practising her gymnastics

She was tuckered out by the end of the day but wouldn’t give in and nap.  I can’t say that I blame her!

2010

Ro and Ree were so patient with Hannah.  Here they let her pile on top of them with nary a whimper!

All too soon it was time to say good-bye for now.  We had shared a wonderful day of fun together watching our kiddos play and sharing our hearts with one another.  Friendships that can slip seamlessly between laughter and deep, heart-to-heart talks are few and far between.  I’m so thankful that this is the type of friendship that the 3 of us share.

Treasured friends – both mommies and daughters.

It Was Just Too Tempting!

As M3 and I were finishing breakfast yesterday the girls headed outside for some fun in the sun before it got too hot.  As I looked outside to check on them I gently asked, ‘Um M3, Is the palm tree supposed to look like that?’  The girls were gently holding one of the frawns which was partially laying on the ground.  Being a palm tree newbie, I just figured palm trees did that.  Umm….nope.  Unfortunately this little frawn that was drooping down over the path proved a little too temping and when it was tugged it broke.

We contemplated cutting it at the break but decided to Google it and see if we could find a way to fix it.  We couldn’t find anything a bout large palm trees but we did find instructions for small, indoor palm trees so decided to use the same recommended solution, just on a larger scale.

We got the ladder from the garage as well as some electrical tape and the surgery began.  My job was to lift the limb with a broom (sorry – still in nightgown)  so that M3 could secure it in place using the electrical tape.

After securing it we gave it a good water and we’ll see what happens when M3 and TubaDad remove the electrical tape in a few weeks.  We’re hoping it survives but if it doesn’t, it sure won’t be for lack of trying!

Before we went inside, M3 gave another branch a little trim to help discourage the same thing from happening.

Here’s hoping for a great recovery!

Toddlers and Time Changes–Part II

Hannah’s little time clock was still out of whack Sunday morning but she slept in….a little.  Rather than waking up at 5:30am she slept until **drumroll** 5:42!  Wheee…an extra 12 mins!  Thankfully Mommy’s clock was on the same schedule so it wasn’t too difficult for me to wake up with her.

Knowing it would still be a few hours before the rest of the house woke up we hopped in the van and set out on another early morning adventure.  Deciding coffee for mommy and apple juice for Hannah were in order we stopped at McDonald’s and picked those up along with a couple of hash browns and took them to the park.  Yum!

I should say now that the weather this week has been unlike any other time I’ve ever been to CA!  Normally it’s a beautiful 70-80o and can be a little chilly in the early mornings and later in the evenings.  Not this time!!  We’re hitting high 90s most days and even the early mornings (like 5:42am early mornings) it’s already reaching into the high 70s and low 80s which works wonderfully for enjoying outdoor time before many are awake.  I’ve just been changing Hannah’s diaper and then taking her out in her cute little pj’s when we go on our adventures.

This ‘little’ slide has a story behind it.  The day before the kiddos had been watering down the little slide in M3’s backyard and when they did they whooshed quickly down the slide.  Hannah thought it was a hoot as she landed on her little butt about a foot from the end of the slide.  I thought it might freak her a bit but nope, she just wanted more!  On this sunny morning we were at a beautiful park that M3 had recommended.  I noticed that the slide was wet from the night’s dew but I didn’t put 2 and 2 together and down she went….fast!!  She flew off the end and although a little startled by the distance she travelled she wanted to go again….with the instructions that Mommy catch her at the bottom.  I was only too happy to oblige!  Oh how I love my sweetie’s outgoing personality!

There were a number of cool toys for the kiddos to play on and Hannah tried almost every one of them.  She loves the adventure of pushing herself to climb a little higher than Mommy may be comfortable with but I don’t want to hold her back so I try to let her go.  This isn’t at the park but it gives you an idea of what she’s up to…literally!  Here she is in Ro and Ree’s playhouse!  I love this pic!!

Back to the park….a fun little swing

Spinning

Rocking

Balancing

As we were driving home we passed through an area with a significant Asian population.  It gave me goose bumps to drive by a park that had people doing Tai Chi in it as well as ballroom dancing!  It reminded me so much of our time in China when we were blessed to see these things there!

China – A park in Changsha, Hunan - November 2009

As we were driving home Sunday morning it warmed my heart to hear Hannah say from the back seat, ‘Park fun Mommy!  Again!’  Yes sweetie, if you’re awake tomorrow morning we may just head back to that park.  Or….you could sleep! 

Fast forward 24 hours to Mon, July 4th.  Sunday had been a fun, busy day filled with a 4th of July party at M3’s and fireworks afterwards which meant the girls didn’t get to bed until after 11pm!!  I was sure this would be the morning that Hannah was fully switched and would sleep in….Not!  I’ll give her credit that she did sleep until 7:30 so I really can’t complain at all. 

Since it was later I decided to forego taking the van someplace and instead we gathered our stuff and headed to the back yard.  There is so much for Hannah to do out there although I’ve found her favourite thing by far is the sand box!  We don’t have one at home but I’m seriously considering purchasing one as Hannah has spent literally hours playing in Ro and Ree’s sandbox.

This morning (Tues) Hannah slept in until 8:20.  Yay!  I think the time change is behind us and we have a number of days left to enjoy being together.  If she wakes up early?  Oh well!  We’ll head out on another adventure and see what fun we can find!!