T is for Train

We met up with Hop and Mop at the steam trains in Tilden Park on Saturday morning, for a "choo choo" ride and a picnic. While Joey and Megan liked the ride, they politely declined an encore, and preferred to watch the train from a safe distance for the rest of the morning.

Here's the whole group, except for Tim who was behind the camera:





Clara and Bridget tested out Shawna's double stroller. They had a ball playing footsie!

Sweetness

"Swim Shades" and Underpants

I really wouldn't be fulfilling one of my major responsibilities as a parent if I didn't take shots like these.





He looks kind of like an amphibious super hero Potty Boy! Or just a giant dork ;)

First: No, Joey is not potty trained, or even close to being potty trained, but this morning he wanted to wear his new underpants, and he peed in his potty about 6 or 7 times. He followed that up by peeing through the underpants and then ceremoniously peeing in his crib, which marks about the twelfth time I've changed his sheets in as many days.

Second: Why, you ask, is Joey wearing swim goggles on land? We're hoping to acclimate him to the goggles so we don't have a repeat performance next week of what may possibly be the most disastrous swim lesson ever in the history of swim lessons. We thought swim lessons would be a fantastic treat for a little boy who happily lays on his stomach and splashes in the bath for 45 minutes at a time, runs through the sprinkler like a maniac, and adores any chance he gets to be in a pool! Instead, he flipped out when the (evil) instructor didn't even introduce herself, just jammed fins on his feet and tried to ram too-small goggles over his too-large head. It all went downhill from there, especially once the group singing started. He just clung to me like a hysterical monkey, creating a giant scene, while Daddy and Clara pretended they didn't know us (although Tim does regret that fact that his hands were too full to take a picture for the blog and for posterity).

We're going in better armed next week. For starters, goggles are now "swim shades," and he now (mysteriously) associates them with being fed M&Ms. It's a trick straight out of Dog Training for Dummies.

The Easiest Baby in the World

Clara was laughing and giggling earlier this morning, and offered me a glimpse into her mouth, where I was astonished to see two brand new teeth... her first!!! What baby cuts her first teeth with such little fuss??

No teeth to view here, but you can see how happy she is:

Unicorn Head

Joey experienced his first big fall since he was a newborn (when he took a couple of dives off the kitchen counter, bed, and living room chair... I know, we were rookies). In a classic "horseplay gone bad" moment (Tim actually was filming said horseplay just seconds earlier), Joey was diving off the family room couch into a pile of pillows, precisely when Davis chose to amble by. Joey's forehead met Davis' tooth, and it was instant bedlam.

I'll leave it up to you to guess who christened Joey "Unicorn Head," and who frantically ran for a bag of frozen veggies and a pacifier.

Thankfully, all was well within a half hour, and the alarming horn that sprouted on his forehead was reduced to a bruise by bedtime. Davis, in case you're wondering, was a little stunned, but shook off his injury, and forgot about the whole episode immediately.

Advanced Reading Material Within

I'm strangely proud of this. Maybe my mommy brain isn't mush after all!

Strike a Pose

I think Joey may have a future in modelling... here he is with his new backpack, looking for all the world like he's headed off to kindergarten!



At this moment in time, he's using the backpack to safely stow away his Thomas trains, his baby doll, and his cars.

Happy Daddy Day!

Tim celebrated his first Fathers' Day as a father of two! We experimented with waffles, ate yummy sausage, tore open presents (with help from Joey), and then dispatched the kids to Grandma and Grandpa C's house for several relaxing, kid-free hours! We even enjoyed a baby-free prime rib dinner at the Corral in Pacifica, pitying the poor couple next to us who were actually dining with their infant and their two year-old ;)

Joey in the middle of saying "Happy Daddy Day!"



Reading H is For Homerun



Clara and Daddy

Future Olympian

There has to be an Olympic sport where thighs like these would come in handy. Anyone?



We celebrated Meredith's birthday and the fact that Great Grandma Stimac and Mike were both in town, and had brunch in style at the Olympic Club on Sunday morning. Clara definitely dressed the part. She hit the tennis courts afterward, but before that, she fit in some photos with Great Grandma and Grandma:





Rare family shot!


Clara and Tommy are now old enough to duke it out over Puffs.

Blog Repeats

T and Carrie will be THRILLED to discover that they once again made the blog. Unfortunately for T, he's being mocked below by a mere 8 month-old:




He's apparently a swim club novice and got into the pool for the second time with his wallet in the pocket of his trunks. Clara had to help him dry things off. We're happy to lend a hand any time, as long as we keep getting invites to the fabulous 'Campo Cabana.'

Fantastic Foursome

It's rare that Joey, Megan, Bridget and Clara will all cooperate for photo shoots, but we caught them at a relatively docile moment at the park on Friday. One teaser shot is below... all interested parties (probably just Hop and Mop!) can go to this link for many more pictures of our two little pairs.

Little Swedes

Shawna and I discovered a new playground on Friday... Ikea! We headed there to check out toy storage ideas, and came away with two tuckered toddlers, and one big bookcase. Mission accomplished!

Joey and Megan had a ball chasing each other around all of the assorted furniture arrangements, and aside from one horrifying moment when we thought we we lost the pair of them in the glassware department (NOT the place to lose two two-year-olds), fun was had by all!







Stay tuned for pictures of our new play storage. Joey's really handy with a screwdriver, but assembly is a little slow-going. We need Uncle Kyle to come up for a visit!

Overheard

Anyone who addresses Joey as "Joe," "Joseph," "Mister," or even an innocent "Honey" will receive this indignant, unfailing reply: "No, I Joey!!" One of his electronic talking toys told him yesterday, "You're my friend!" which Joey apparently felt was a mighty big assumption. He held the talking puppy a full arm's length away, and sternly replied, "No, I Joey!"

Back-to-Back Birthday Bashes

Oh, the crazy life we lead... we spent our weekend attending back-to-back birthday bashes for two one year-olds. Lucas Sills and Lily Miller celebrated their big days in style! I can't believe that the year has flown by so fast! Tim and I were enjoying a weekend away in Los Angeles (and Joey spent his first weekend away from us with 'Hop' and 'Mop') one year ago, when we heard the news about Lucas, Lily and Nikos entering the world, all on the same day!

Joey and Clara sported coordinating duds before Lucas' party (oh yes, I'm one of those moms).

Lily's party the next day was worth the drive to Yuba City for the splash pool and the bounce house!

Joey camped out in Lorelai's car for a good chunk of the party... studiously avoiding the bouncehouse. Meanwhile, Clara had a ridiculously good time by herself in the Pack n' Play that was set up in a shady part of the yard. See? She's so easy to neglect.





Well, she did have a ball on Daddy's shoulders briefly!





Lily was anxious for the party to get underway:

'Awake!'

When Joey was a newborn, Tim bought him a onesie that proclaimed, "Sleep is for the weak!" Which pretty much summed up Joey's thoughts about sleep at the time. Fortunately, he outgrew both the onesie and the bedtime battles... until now.

We suddenly have an escape artist on our hands. He learned how to climb out of his crib several months ago, but had stayed put for the most part. Our trip to Spokane, however, allowed him to hone his climbing skills on the much shorter Pack n' Play. It turned into quite the game.

So what happened our first night home? After putting him to sleep (or so we thought), we heard the unmistakable sound of his bedroom door opening, and walked up the stairs to find him standing in his doorway looking both smug and defiant. It was a silent faceoff for a few seconds, while we struggled to keep from laughing, and then Joey burst out with one willful word: "Awake!"

I think we need to move him into a bed, and, to celebrate the transition, buy new sleep-related apparel. This one will have to be size 3T, though.

Life was so much easier when we had a cage.