Simon in the Park

Our friend Mandi took this photo of Simon at a BBQ in the park on Saturday. Couldn't you just eat him up?

Adventures in Oral Surgery

This week, Joey had to get teeth pulled as part of the preparation for his getting braces. He had to have his two bottom cuspids (or canine) teeth removed so that his permanent teeth that have already come in wouldn't be so crowded. In theory, if we can give the teeth that are there more room and work to straighten them out, by the time the other permanent teeth come in it won't be as much work (or as traumatic) to straighten them out because he will have grown and would therefore have more space in his jaw. Or...something like that. When the orthodontist talks, I pretty much just hear that cash register sound in my head. Check out the teeth they removed. Those are some serious roots!
Both Joey and the dentist said they looked more like shark teeth. Joey was an excellent patient. The dentist said the he actually did better than most adult patients who've had the same procedure. Joey was very proud of that fact. And, of course he was excited to leave the teeth for the Tooth Fairy. She was extra generous when it came to these teeth, since it was such a big deal to have them taken out. And, as usual, she left a little note reminding him to brush and floss every day! In this bottom photo, (such a pretty face!) Joey shows off the missing spaces - but it also shows how crowded his bottom teeth are.

Auntie-to-be

I've already started buying baby stuff for my niece. The theory is that I'll buy a little bit here and there, rather than one big purchase. My problem is that I'll buy something and it'll be so cute, I can't wait to give it to Tandy. Take this set of monogrammed stuff for example:I ordered it last week from a seller on Etsy. The set included a burp cloth, bib, long sleeved onesie and a hooded towel. The set arrived in the mail on Saturday, which was also the day Tandy was at our house to help dye Easter eggs. I couldn't help myself and gave it to her. At least I was able to keep myself from giving her anything from the stash I have in my closet! I can't wait for the baby shower!

Tie Dye Easter Eggs

Dying Easter Eggs has always been one of our favorite traditions. Normally we color eggs at my mom's house, but since she was in Minnesota this year visiting her sister, we dyed eggs at home. In addition to the usual plain dyes, we tried a new "tie dye" system. It was really fun to try a new way of coloring eggs. It involved wrapping the egg in damp cloth and snapping it inside a plastic case (called the "tie dye press" - though there really isn't any pressing involved). Then we used this little dropper to squirt dye through tiny holes in the plastic onto the wrapped egg.

After applying the dye, you then unwrap the egg. They really turned out pretty!

Simon, of course, had no interest in dying eggs - though he would have loved to get his hands in the dye if we would have let him! Instead, he mostly just played on the floor, content to play with his toys while we had our Easter Eggstravaganza. He's such a happy, smiley baby! And that's saying something, since he's teething right now. One of his top teeth finally broke through, and I'm sure the next one is sure to follow very soon.
Hope you all had a very happy Easter!!

Summers Past Farms

This past weekend we went to Summers Past Farms. It's this great place off Old Highway 80. They have gorgeous gardens, a nursery, and a cute shop in an old barn where they sell seeds, stuff for the garden, handmade soaps, and all kinds of neat things. My original reason for going to the farm was to attend a composting class. I missed most of it, because (as I should have guessed) Joey and Kristin weren't that interested in learning about composting and I had to keep an eye on them. What the kids were interested in was the sweet pea maze. Every year, Summers Past has Sweet Pea days. They build a maze with sweet peas, and then on "Sweet Pea Day" you can go enjoy the maze and cut your own bouquet of sweet peas. Most of the sweet peas had been cut by the time we made our way over there, but the kids loved the maze just the same. And we had a great time just exploring the farm. There was a tree near the entrance that had Easter Eggs hanging from it, and at the base of the tree was a little enclosure with two rabbits hopping around. Seemed perfect for Easter weekend!The flowers growing around the gardens were just beautiful. It had been raining earlier in the day, and many of the blossoms still had raindrops on them. This flowering hedge in particular caught my eye. I have no idea what type of flower it is, but I just had to get a close up:
There's lots of other fun stuff to check out at the farm, like this little bridge that goes over a small stream. Both kids insisted on making wishes from the bridge.
Another tradition Summers Past has is the creation of "fairy gardens." They're basically just tiny areas of the garden that are supposed to be inviting to fairies. In the shop, they also sell fairy wings, tiaras, and wands. Kristin had her heart set on a pair of fairy wings - and was excited to wear them as she visited the fairy garden in the middle of the sweet pea maze.
Here's a view of the fairy wings from the back. Kristin wore these all day!
If you live in the San Diego area, I highly recommend visiting Summers Past Farms. I used to go there fairly often back when I was in high school and the first few years of college. I don't know why I stopped going, because it's such a beautiful and amazing place. It certainly inspires me to do more with my own yard and garden! I plan to bring the kids there more often.

Simon's 10 months old!

About a month ago, I was starting to get concerned that Simon wasn't crawling yet. He'd sit up, and make half-hearted attempts to reach out for stuff, but other than rolling from place to place, he wasn't very mobile. And he didn't seem to show much of an interest in becoming so, either. But about two weeks ago, he finally got the "army crawl" down, where he used his elbows to propel himself across the floor. And then he got the full crawling on all fours down. This week, he's pulling himself up on furniture and "cruising." I wouldn't be surprised if he starts walking in the next week or so. For now, he just loves to stand up. Look how triumphant he looks in this photo!He also really loves to gesture with his hand. He does it all the time. He's always reaching out with it like he is in this photo:He's also learned how to squish up his nose when he smiles, which cracks me up.This is Simon's tough face. "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?"
And, last but not least, a photo of Kristin and her baby brother. She loves making him laugh.

Kristin's Day Out with Mom

Kristin's been wanting and needing some extra attention lately. And since I'm worried about middle child syndrome (I've seen what it's done to my sister Tandy - hee!), I decided to take her out for some Mommy-Daughter time this past weekend. I let Kristin plan our day. First, she wanted to get her hair cut. The girl just loves going to the salon. Well, I guess I use the term "salon" pretty loosely since it's just The Haircut Store. But, whatever. Kristin obviously feels like a princess when she gets her hair cut. So she got her hair trimmed. Then she wanted to get her toes done. She was very excited about getting flowers on her toes like Mommy!After that she wanted to go shoe shopping, and then to Target. A girl after my own heart. After shopping, she wanted to go to Jamba Juice to get smoothies, and she insisted on bringing some home for Joey and Daddy. On the way home, she announced that she'd had "a WONDERFUL day!" So I guess Mommy-Daughter day was a success!