'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.

Cassanego Bed and Breakfast, Spokane, Washington

Conveniently located just 20 minutes from the Spokane airport, this lovely bed and breakfast is situated on a picturesque 2.5 acres, with views of mountain ranges, rolling hills, and horse pastures. Recently remodeled, the property boasts six (six!) bedrooms, and can accommodate guests of all ages, including stubborn two year-olds prone to escaping from their cribs, and infants with explosive diapers. Accommodations were top-notch, and the food was excellent, promising to be even better in the summer when guests can enjoy homegrown produce. While adults warm themselves around an outdoor fire pit and drink grown-up beverages, children can entertain themselves with the property's five animals (two dogs, one cat, and two fish!). Best of all, the proprietors, John and Methea, pass no judgement if guests simply plop their children in front of the TV while they play yet another round of Settlers of Cataan (the board game of choice at this B&B). When you've lost your appetite for board games, Spokane and the surrounding area has much to offer those from out of town, including fine dining, and Coeur d'Alene is only a half hour drive away!

Book your tickets now!

Joey and John bonded while they both rocked out -- John on the guitar, Joey on the dance floor.




Joey gives Pearl a kiss.


Methea, Pongo, and Clara during a Settlers break

Joey and John got along swimmingly.



John and Methea at Coeur d'Alene

Rare family photo!

On the boat cruise around Couer d'Alene

Back at the homestead, the victor photographing her spoils (yes, Sara won 3 out of 6 games)

The babies don't appear to mind the neglect.

Joey shows off his new trick... thumbs up!

Thanks again, John and Methea, for a fantastic, relaxing weekend!

8 months old!

Clara Jane is 8 months old today! We thought time flew by with Joey, but it's going at warp speed with this little girl. The milestones are coming fast and furious (although the biggest one in my book -- consistently sleeping through the night -- is still elusive). Still a calm, content, and quiet baby, she's starting to assert herself a little bit more, and make a few more (small) demands. She's eased us very slowly into truly feeling like a family of four because she's so easy. We sometimes forget she's here! But during the last month, it feels like she's finally coming to the party. Fun tidbits about Clara at eight months old that we don't want to forget:

She's eating solid foods most meals, so our kitchen nook is now crowded with two highchairs.

Her sitting skills have improved, and she's now taking baths with Joey, too (under close supervision, since Joey can create a tsunami in the tub during his "swim practice").

Weighing in at 18.5 pounds, she's nowhere near as round as Joey was, but her thigh rolls put his to shame.

Her blue eyes are here to stay, we think!

She has a love affair with books, just like mommy. She literally devours them :)

Even when we insist on dressing her in her big brother's hand-me-downs, she looks unmistakably feminine.

She never fails to grimace *every single time* we feed her the first spoonful of solid food at a meal. Her face just crumples, as if what we just spooned into her mouth was disgusting beyond description.

And finally, she saves her biggest and brightest smiles for Joey. Seeing her face light up when she sees him is priceless.

Going green

Ok, ignore the fact that we just bought an (even bigger) gas-guzzling SUV than the one we had (hey, two babies and two dogs take up a lot of room!). I'm totally going green just so every Tuesday is like yesterday.

We headed out bright and early for Joey's Music Together class, which is not as fun as it's cracked up to be, at least not if you're Joey. Despite his love of dancing and music at home, when the pressure is on in front of other toddlers, he prefers to flop stomach-first on the ground and roar like a monster. Needless to say, the end of this 10-week session can't come soon enough!

So after that weekly debacle, we decided to meet Daddy for lunch at his office, or "wok," according to Joey.




It was a beautiful day, and Tuesdays are when farmers from across Northern California converge at the Ferry Building and hawk their organic fruits and veggies. There's even strawberry growers from Fresno! I snatched up three cartons of those berries! Then, the stroller loaded down with our bounty, we headed to the park across the street from the Ferry Building to play, eat snap peas, and chase "tweet tweets" (birds).







Don't tell any of those farmers that we drive a Yukon XL. I want to be welcomed back! Maybe I'll even get a green tote next time!

Cheers to Weekends

Although Tim would say that weekdays and weekends are one and the same for me, they're really not. It's nice to have him at home, and especially nice when we can get away together without kids for a few hours! We had a great time at the Tiburon Wine Festival on Saturday... word to the wise, if you want to go next year, book your tickets about six months in advance! Thanks to Stacey, we beat the crowd, although we were tempted to scalp ours at the last minute for the $200 going rate on craigslist. We're glad we went, although we both consumed way too much wine, and sampled goods from far too many food vendors (including, randomly, Panda Express). Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Cecchin for taking on the challenge of babysitting both Joey and Clara!






Sunday, we still hadn't had enough heat, so we headed out to the East Bay (the far east bay, according to the Oakland crowd ;), and met up with T, Carrie and Grace to drive by their fabulous new house in Moraga, peek at their awesome swim club, and then grab lunch in downtown Walnut Creek and support ARF's annual Animals on Broadway event.

Davis was not thrilled about the temperature outside. He's been spoiled by our Sunset fog.

A typical image of Joey now... he never wants to pose for the camera! Grace was more cooperative (and very cute!).

Summer in the City

Temperatures were in the 90s today in the city, so to celebrate the summer weather, Shawna and I headed to Crissy Field to let the babies play in the sand and water. They loved it, but Shawna and I needed a nap by the end of the day! After slathering four babies with sunscreen, pushing a weighted-down double stroller through the sand, and juggling Bridget and Clara while making sure Joey and Megan didn't go too far into the surf, we're (almost) thankful that it only gets this hot once a year!

We're Live!

We finally joined the blogosphere, and we're looking forward to sharing photos, videos, and "crib notes" with family and friends! We hope you enjoy following along!