First Day of 1st Grade

Hudson started school back on August 23rd. He is positively in LOVE with being in 1st grade. He gets to eat lunch at school (what could be better?), takes a "secret snack" for energizing himself before the 1st of 3 recesses, and gets to be at school all day long.

Here's my boy all geared up and ready for the walk to the bus stop the 1st day of school:

Claire will have her 1st day of preschool next week....picture(s) to follow!

More Vacation Pics - June & July 2010

After our wonderful week on Balboa Island at the end of June, we headed up the coast to my hometown to spend a week with my parents. We couldn't make that drive without stopping in Santa Barbara for lunch at Brophy Bros. in the harbor. We arrived at a good time and were able to get a seat on the balcony where we watched boats come and go and the goings on along the docks. One delicious meal of clam chowder, house salad, cheeseburgers, and fries later (we didn't all have all of that...different combinations for each of us), we were on our way up north.

While staying at my parents' place (and in between Claire and Hudson's taking turns having some sort of flu), we spent our days doing all sort of fun things....

There were several trips to our favorite park in town, Oak Meadow. While they have some nice, newer play structures, there are things that haven't changed since I used to play there when I was a kid. There's the real airplane that they've gutted and cemented in, the old fire engine, and the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. As they were when I was little, those three things are still the biggest attractions there. Not only did we spend time at the playground and take a turn on the railroad, my mom and I took the kids with us when we went on walks between Oak Meadow and Vasona a couple of times.

One of our first days there, my mom and I took the kiddies downtown to the Town Plaza Fountain. Hudson had no problem soaking himself from head to toe in no time. Claire was a bit more timid but eventually got in there and had a grand time as well. It was the perfect activity for a hot day (great for the adults, too...we sat in the shade under the big redwood trees).

The first weekend we were there included the 4th of July. Claire was just starting on the upswing from being sick and we kept the day rather low-key. Even though we weren't going anywhere or seeing anyone, I got the kids dressed in their patriotic duds and we spent the late morning and early afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather.

One of our favorite activites out there is to go to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We went twice this trip, once with both of my parents and the other time with my mom. Claire wasn't old enough to really enjoy it last year so it was fun watching her as she "got it" when we went this time. We did go to Gayle's while we were over there the 1st time but alas, they were out of Princess Cake that evening so no pictures from that stop.

Another favorite day from our visit was when my dad and I took the kids to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo. It's an oldie but goodie that has been around forever. They recently overhauled the place, though, and the changes are amazing! While many of the attractions are the same (little zoo, petting zoo, rides, etc.), they added an incredibly enormous and amazing play structure and completely face-lifted the whole place. It was so fun to go there and watch my kids enjoy a place that I used to love.

Now, a trip to my hometown just wouldn't be right without a day trip to the city. Important note: Please don't call it San Fran, Frisco, or anything else like that. It's San Fransisco or the city. Period. Anything else makes us Bay Area natives cringe. Anyway...we started out with a trip to Golden Gate Park where we met up with my sister and her kids at the Academy of Sciences. This is another place that has been completely renovated in the past few years. I hadn't been since before we had Hudson and boy, was I ever impressed with the changes! They have an amazing multi-level rainforest exhibit with all sorts of rainforest creatures (ginormous orb weaver spiders included...yuck!), a T-Rex skeleton in the entry way, an incredible aquarium with species from all over the world, etc. After visiting the Academy, we went to Union Square and San Fransisco Center for our usual shopping and a great dinner at one of the best food courts ever.

Now, our trip didn't just consist of days spent away from home and out and about. Most days were spent close to home (which included the aforementioned trips to the park) and at home for the most part. The kids had the time of their lives riding in the John Deere truck, running in the sprinklers (or hose spray), eating ice cream, playing dress up, digging in the sandbox, reading with their grandparents, and washing my car (my favorite). We also took part of an afternoon and visited a very dear friend of ours, Inger, who lives in my hometown. She's an amazing lady who immigrated from Norway in her early 20's and I can never get enough of her Norweigan-New York accent, her smile, and her company.

Well folks, that's finally it. The last of the pictures and details that I'm posting on our month-long excursion to California. And it only took me just over a month to get it done!

Now to catch up on the 1st day of school, our weekend with Max's family, etc....

Ouch...and Happy Birthday, Claire!

A week ago tonight, we woke up at 1:30 in the morning to the sound of Claire screaming like she'd never screamed before. I ran into her room and was surprised to find her bed empty. With my darn deaf ear I couldn't tell what direction the crying was coming from so I turned on the lamp and was surprised to see her kneeling in the middle of the floor (glad I didn't trip over her as I came in!). She was grabbing at the neckline of her nightgown on the left side and assuming she was having a night terror, the first thing I did after picking her up was pull it off. We couldn't get her to settle down and after a few minutes, we realized that she was very much conscious and responsive and very much in pain. After watching her movements and reactions to them, I guessed that it might be a broken collarbone but at the same time thought it unlikely. But we just didn't know and being naturally worried with her behavior, screaming, etc., we soon called Max's brother and he came up and stayed with a sleeping Hudson while we took Claire to the ER. The doctor fairly quickly said that he thought it was indeed a broken collarbone based on her sensitivity to touch and movement on that side. They gave her a shot of morphine in the leg to help ease the pain. In reacting to the shot being administered, poor Claire managed to get her left arm out of my grip and reached for her leg, causing her collarbone to hurt horribly again (sobs, screaming, etc.). We waited for the morphine to kick in and then they took us off to radiology for a couple of x-rays. Claire was good as gold sitting upright on the little bench while they took the films but it was obvious that the morphine wasn't doing the trick as she trembled and quietly sobbed from the pain during much of the process. Sure enough, though, the pictures showed a nice clean break right through the center of the bone. They told us that it's the most commonly broken bone in the body and that they see it all the time. We ended up going home with her arm in a sling with an Ace bandage around her torso to keep it in place, a prescription for kiddie Lortab, and a note to call our doctor for a follow up in the next few days. The first couple of days were pretty rough for her but watching her now, you wouldn't guess that anything was up if it weren't for the sling and body wrap. It's amazing how quickly kids rebound!

Showing us all how to work the sling look (about 13-14 hours after the break).

After a few days of getting used to being less independent than normal, my baby turned the big "3" over the weekend. As my mom says, it goes from the terrible 2's to the tumultuous 3's to the ferocious 4's. Even though she's most definitely following that path, we still love our Claire and we'll keep her (at least for the time being).

For her birthday, Claire decided to forgo her normal daily manifesations of her age and was most pleasant the entire day. After we sang to her in the morning, she kept singing various renditions of Happy Birthday to herself all day long. She talked about it being her birthday, enjoyed repeating that she was 3 years old, and repeatedly asked to open her presents. That evening we had family members from both sides come and joing us for cake and ice cream. Everyone enjoyed dessert, the adults had a nice time visiting, the 5-and-up group took turns on the trampoline, and Claire and the other 3-year-old cousin present spent their time doing girly things. Claire was thrilled with her little party and was excited about all of her gifts. A couple of the things she really loves are her flowered pink sunglasses (lenses flip open to the side...so cute!) and a big pink birthday sign/card that she refers to as her "newsletter". However, the most popular present of the night - let me take a bow - was her shiny pink tutu, "jeweled" crown/tiara, and pink star wand. She has worn them regularly since and enjoys asking me to put them on her frequently (when I'm in the restroom, when we're leaving the house, right after she's taken them all off, when it's time for bed...you get the idea).

Happy 3rd Birthday, Claire!

P.S. Per our follow-up with the pediatrician, the body wrap comes off tomorrow and she'll just have to wear the sling for the remaining 4-5 weeks. Hooray!

Balboa Island - June 2010

At last, a promised vacation post with a plethora of pictures. They're all crunched into collages but that counts, right?

At the end of June, we met up with my immediate family and my extended family on my mom's side for a fabulous week on Balboa Island (some other folks were either at the Newport Coast Villas or in houses on the peninsula but we were fortunate to be on the island itself). The house that my parents rented for most of us to stay in was in the PERFECT location. Third house from the beachfront on a quiet street, a 5 minute walk from downtown, and a 5 minute walk from the ferry over to the peninsula. In addition to the great locale, we were fortunate to have the best weather EVER while we were there. Every day was in the low to mid 70's - far cooler than normal for the summer months. Forget this post...I'm going to pack my bags and go back!

We all had a most marvelous time, starting with a chunk of the 1st afternoon there spent on the little beach just down from the house. My kids initially went into the water up to their knees (Claire a little further) in their clothes so we took them back and suited them up. We have one niece who couldn't wait for her suit to arrive from the villas where their family was staying and she went in the water in her jeans and tee shirt. First up to her knees, then to her waist, and then up to the top of her shirt. I cringe thinking of how uncomfortable that must have been with those clingy wet, saltwatery clothes (though she sure didn't seem to mind!). The kids all had a blast making drip castles, digging in the sand, wading and/or swimming (or scooting around on body boards) in the water, and soaking up the sun.

One of our evenings there, we met up with my sister and her family (minus her eldest daughter who decided that girls' camp was more important - and fun - than hanging with us) at the Fun Zone. It's a great little stop just across Newport Bay (large waterway on that saide of the island) on the Newport Peninsula. No, it's not a coincidence that Claire and her cousin Becca are in the same outfit. The girls love dressing alike and considering that my sister and I like a lot of the same clothes for our girls, it's not too hard for us to pull off. We obviously failed in the hair department that evening, though, as Becca had pigtails and Claire's hair was mostly down. Poor communication on our parts. The girls were tickled to have pictures taken in their little outfits and we all enjoyed watching Ben on the big-bounce/stunt trampoline. Most of us went on the ferris wheel, and then we took the ferry back over to the island and walked back home.

On another day, we went and rented a boat with my sister and my baby bro and his family. My middle brother also came with his family but arrived later than we did and rented their own boat. It was a very exciting ride with maximum speeds reaching something like 10 mph. Wow...good thing I didn't wear a hat. It was actually a nice little thing with an iPod jack (thanks for the tunes, Jordan!) and a table with cup holders in the middle. We took off right around lunch time and having not eaten, the setup made me wish I'd brought snacks/lunch with us. It was a nice, relaxing cruise around the harbor and a couple of the little islands there. The kids had fun climbing around the boat and when Jordan and Steve weren't driving, Ben and Hudson each got a turn steering the boat. Hudson was all business when it was his turn...serious stuff. I'm bummed about the washed out picture of Hudson and Becca on the lower right but I just had to put it in. They're our two little peas in a pod...born exactly 2 months apart and the greatest of friends. Oh - and please note that we succeeded in having Claire and Becca match outfits and hairstyles that day. I'm so proud of us.

Towards the end of the trip, we spent another afternoon down on our little beach. This time my middle brother's five kids came over for the party so we got a picture of all the kids together (minus my eldest brother's kids...we were sad they couldn't come on the trip). This time they all worked together and made some sort of water city or sand city or something like that. It had drip castles all over with a few bridges and lots of streams running throughout. The best part? It kept them happily occupied for a solid hour or more. I'm all about my kids being self-entertained so that I can sit back and be lazy!

At the end of our afternoon in the sand, my dear friend Becky came to visit for a bit with her two darling little boys. Becky and I have known each other since the beginning of time (I think that's about accurate). She was one of my best friends when we were in early elementary school and then her family moved to another part of California. We kept in touch off-and-on throughout the years but she's always been a great friend. It was a short visit as she got caught in traffic on the way and we were headed to dinner shortly thereafter but it was SO good to see her for the 1st time since Hudson was a baby. Both of her boys are so very cute and I'm fairly certain that her baby loves me. I think I may steal him next time we get together. Thank you again, Becky, for coming out to see us!!

Our last night on the island, we made our final trip (of many) downtown to get Balboa Bars at Dad's - the best and ONLY place to get them - and then took a walk around the island. I love a good bar with everything and Max always goes for the rainbow sprinkles. Hudson started the trip out with bars like Max gets and then soon switched to rainbow sherbet cones instead. I love the shot of him and Becca with their cones...obviously happy kids! While on the walk, we stopped briefly at the place on North Bay Front where there is a dinosaur statue in the front yard (those of you who also vacation there know the place). A couple of the kids got pictures with the dino and while he was excited at the notion of doing so, Hudson changed his mind when it came to getting up close and personal with the beast. I just love his posture and the look on his face.

In addition to all of our morning and evening walks around the island, consuming of Balboa Bars, and visiting with my family, we had fun going to Corona del Mar (our favorite body boarding and body surfing spot), spending time with extended family, going shopping, swimming at the villas, and kicking back at the house. Oh - and one night, when Max and I took our kids and Becca to dinner, Hudson fell asleep while we were eating. Probably the 2nd time he's ever done that...guess he was a bit tired!

I don't think a single one of us was ready to pack up and go at the end of the week but all good things must come to an end. But we took that thought and decided that it didn't have to come to an end just yet. And we headed up the coast to my hometown...

Rewind: Spring Swimming Lessons

Approximately 2 1/2 months ago I was good enough to put together a collage (okay...Picasa did the dirty work) of pictures of my kids on the last day of their pre-summer swimming lessons. Then I let the collage sit and never did a post. Can you tell how fabulously organized and focused I am these days? Yeah. I amaze even myself.

So here I now sit, all geared up and ready to do vacations posts and I suddenly realized I never did get that one about swimming lessons done... I'm going to try to keep this short (HA!) so I can actually move forward and get some more recent stuff on here.

Starting back in the spring, I put Hudson back into swimming lessons and took one session of Parent & Tot lessons with Claire. Hudson has always been happy to get in the water with anyone who will go with him. On the other hand, shy Claire took some coaxing and even with me was a bit nervous about the whole lesson thing at first. Then she realized we were in the water, got comfy, and thought she could swim without my assistance. I tried letting her sink a few times to get the message through and apparently she thought it was some sort of joke because to this day, she still wants to go off on her own. Anyway...at the end of the Parent & Tot session with Claire, our instructor suggested that she be moved up to Preschool Level 1 in spite of her being under age by a few months. The aquatics director approved the move and with Hudson turning 6 around that time (and therefore graduating from the "preschool" aged classes), both kids made a jump into the next level of classes in mid-April.

On the first day of lessons, they were announcing the teachers for each class and, knowing that Claire was the only Preschool Level 1 student, I figured it wouldn't matter who we got because she would basically be getting private lessons. No such luck. As soon as Claire saw that her instructor was - wait for it - A GUY (named Mitch), she buried her head into my legs, begged to be held, and started crying. In spite of the fact that he was sweet as could be, obviously experienced with kids, and nothing more than a huge teddy bear, I'm sure it didn't help that Mitch is probably 6'3" (maybe taller?) and a sold 275+ pounds. It was a battle of epic proportions to get her in the pool that day and in the end, it took Hudson and a girl teacher getting in the water with her to do the trick. She only spent about 1/3 of the time in the water but cried for 3/4 of the time. Super. Supposedly it happens "all the time" but I was thoroughly embarrassed. At the end of the day, they offered to rearrange things a bit and when we came for the next lesson, they had combined two classes so that Claire would be in the water with a GIRL named Lauren (Claire lovingly referred to her as a "babysitter") and Mitch while they jointly taught her and two little boys. Starting that 1st day and all throughout the 5 or 6 week session, Claire would randomly tell me, "I don't want Mitch." Playing with her toys? She didn't want Mitch. Going to bed? She didn't want Mitch. Getting dressed? Going to the store? Eating dinner? She didn't want Mitch. You get the picture. While she never did warm up to poor Mitch (let alone allow him to hold or help her), by the end of the session she did get to the point where she'd actually talk to him or give him "knuckles" or "five". And I even managed to trick her into being in a picture with him. She's going to be repeating Preschool Level 1...precisely ZERO surprise there.

Hudson, on the other hand, was true and faithful to his outgoing nature and was totally thrilled with his two teachers (one of whom was Mitch...time block after Claire's lesson). Really nothing to tell here. He loves the water. He loves swimming. He loves people. He loves being in the water while swimming with people. He graduated to the next level class without batting an eye. The end.

The session ended in the middle of May and neither of my kids have been in lessons since. School was ending, we went on a "2 week" vacation (turned into 4 weeks as previously mentioned), and then when we had been home for 1 week, my sister and her kiddies came to visit. All very much fun and most fantastic but I'm eager to get my kids back in lessons. Hopefully going to get them (re)started next week. We'll see...

Let The Vacation Posting Begin

This is one of my all time favorite sights and it just so happens to be in one of my all time favorite places in the world.

Just sorted through hundreds of pictures from our trip to California. I have all of my pictures from the 1st week of the trip set aside and ready to play with in Picasa. Vacations posts coming soon with loads of pictures. I promise.