Putting the Art in Party

Clara is officially six.

Well, she has been for over a month, but despite celebrating with lots of cousins and grandparents during her birthday weekend in September, it didn't feel truly like an honest-to-goodness milestone (to her) until she celebrated with her friends last weekend.

Her favorite thing to do at home is to take a seat at the "art desk" in the family room and get creative with paper, glue, staples, tape, paint, chalk, and crayons, so it was fitting that she requested an "art party" for her crew of girlfriends both old and new -- family friends, some cousins, and all of the girls in her new kindergarten class. We headed to a local place that specializes in letting little people make giant messes. Our only job was to bring balloons, cake, decorations, and one very excited little girl!

 

 

Happy birthday (at long last!) to our favorite little butterfly-loving artist!

The Wedding Before the Wedding

Last week we were treated to a preview of our coming weekend. On Friday night, Tim's brother Mike and his fiancé Mariesa officially got hitched in a Nuptial Mass in Burlingame. We'll get to see the vows again on Saturday during their outdoor wedding ceremony and reception in Sebastapol this Saturday, and couldn't be more excited about this awesome pair.

 

The smallfolk were pretty jazzed about the occasion, too.

 

 

They have some jobs to do this weekend, so let's hope they got their sillies out!

 

Disneyland Do's and Don'ts

 

It's been a year and a half since we braved The Happiest Place on Earth, and with two little girls who are currently obsessed with princesses and Minnie Mouse, and a little boy who loves rollercoasters, we knew we were due for a return trip.

 

So we braced ourselves for crowds and flew down for Veteran's Day weekend in mid-October, and learned a few things about Disneyland in the process that we thought we'd pass along... some do's and don'ts for families like ours who are outnumbered, out manned and outmaneuvered by their kids.   

  

1. Do travel with grandparents. Need I elaborate? But I will. The kind that are good at walking around the park and securing FastPasses for your group are especially awesome.

 

 

 

 

2. Do rent a stroller. No grandparents available? Then this rule is even more important, with fewer shoulders to sit on.

 

 

 

3. Do make sure naps happen in that stroller.

 

4. Do purchase a post-nap "lolly-cop." It would be very unwise to not have one of these in your possession.

 

 

5. Divide and conquer. Even better, employ a big brother to escort his little sister on rides.

 

6. Definitely do make time for the Dumbo ride. It's not really a trip to Disneyland if you don't do this.

 

 

7. If you have an opportunity to buy absurdly large glittery mouse ears, absolutely do so.

 

8. Take as many family pictures as possible, preferably featuring said glittery ears.

 

 

 

 

 

9. Take frequent rest stops to fuel your troops. Otherwise, they just might wither up and die right there in Frontierland.

 

 

 

10. Last, but certainly not least, do everything within your power to elicit this reaction from your child. It makes the ticket price for a family of five seem almost worth it.

 

Superhero Eyes

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's....

a handsome little guy in glasses!

After two years of being told by our eye doctor that Joey's vision was just on the bubble for needing glasses, his day of reckoning finally came a couple of weeks ago when, seated in the back row of his class, he had to ask the teacher if he could sit closer to the board. He spent two weeks sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the board, using a big book on his lap as a desk, while we waited for his new glasses to be made.

When they finally arrived -- in the hipster black and red frames he picked out from the men's section thanks to his huge head -- he could not have been more excited to debut his new Clark Kent look!

 

For now, all of his friends think the four eyes look is pretty awesome. Let's just hope he keeps looks like this to a minimum, and it stays that way ;)

Kicking It

It's fall, and that means our Saturday mornings are booked with soccer games: sipping coffee on the sidelines while our little kickers make their way down chilly, foggy fields in the wee hours of the morning.

Neither Joey or Clara seem destined for greatness in this sport -- unless kicking the ball into your own goal (Clara), touching the ball with your hands (Joey), pausing to get your shoelaces tied by your coach (Clara) or careening into your own teammate (Joey)qualifies kids for elite teams these days.

But they're not completely hopeless on the field; Joey is again making parents wince and kids flinch this year, proving to be the most aggressive defender on the team. He hasn't let a ball past him in the goal this year, and when he's playing fullback, he's been known to charge at anyone coming towards him with a ball. He's not allowed to play football, but it sure looks like it out there!

Here's hoping we survive the season with no injuries to our players or other players!