Splish Splash

Last time we were down in San Diego, the kids got some nice pool-time in. It's no secret that Dylan loves his grandparent's pool - he asks nearly everyday when we are going back to Football Nama's house. But now the cats out of the bag... Addie loves it too!
I love her little bathing suits (she has two of them). She wasn't too keen on the matching hat, but I was able to keep it on long enough for a picture or two.
Dylan in his own little heaven Football Nama's pool!

Silly Dilly

At Karissa's house last week. He sported a dinosaur mask for most of the afternoon. Then he found the rain boots and added them to the ensemble. And finally, I added the fire hat at the last minute to cover what would have made this post a shade beyond our usual PG-rating.

Nand-ma and Papa

For those of you who know, my mom had surgery on her jaw this month for a tumor, which needed to be removed and biopsied. Thankfully the results of the biopsy were favorable and all looks good (except for significant post-op pain and numbness).

The upside of all her appointments down here in LA was that her and my dad came to visit us enroute back home and we got a day or so each time they did to soak up some time with them.

Dylan enjoyed soaking up some quality time with them too!

And I finally got the chance to take them to see the Huntington Gardens, which is one of my favorite places in LA. Thanks mom and dad for coming with me to share this little LA treasure with you!

Camping

This past weekend we got brave and headed up north to Lake Lopez for a family reunion of sorts with my side of the family. We stayed with my parents in their tent, on very nice air mattresses (thanks guys for sharing!)
It proved to be a fun time for all. And there's nothing like a couple days without a shower to make you REALLY appreciate the comforts of home!

Here is our view of the lake from our tent.
Another pretty view of the lake.
Dylan and his Papa (my dad) over at the picnic table. I'm sure Dylan was VERY helpful!
p.s. That tent is the same tent we camped in when I was a kid! Crawling in it brought back a sea of memories of backyard campouts and Sequoia camping trips.
Dylan loved my cousin Tevin, following him around and playing in his shaddow as much as he could. And Tevin was the most wonderful role model for him, being sweet, helpful, and patient with him. (Thank you Tevin! We love you!!!)
My cousin Hayley, my mom, and I down by the lake.
Hayley, Dylan, and I hiking back up the hill to the campsite after an afternoon down at the lake with the kids.

Tub Time

There's nothing like a game of peek a boo with daddy over the side of the tub!
Dylan still loves his baths. And at times demands that mommy or daddy still gets in with him for the event. When I ran out of indoor things to do last week when Dylan was fussy and needed a nap, but didn't want to yet, I thought of bathtime... and it was a surefire hit. All you need is some bubbles and squirt toys and you're set.

He's a Cowboy!

Dylan on his first pony ride at the Monrovia Street Fair (which is so fun, we are definitely going to go back):

Kick, Kick, Kick

Dylan took swim lessons the past two weeks with his best friend, Rocco. The first day consisted of him clinging to me like we were surrounded by sharks, declaring "all done" throughout. That night the three of us piled along our bed, stretched our arms out and practiced our "kicking" - which seemed to help Dylan grasp what the goal of swimming was. The next day he narrated the entire class with "kick, kick, kick, kick" as he and I puttered around the pool with kickboards, pool noodles, and the like. All in all it was a successful swim class experience for us, minus a few days he declared "all done" following attempts to get him to float on his back.



And on the last day he even went underwater with a round of Ring Around the Rosie, which was an accomplishment!

A Toddler in the Mist

Fun times, courtesy of the Children's Garden at The Huntington.

Can I just say that I'm an IDIOT?

For starters, Dylan's swim lesson was so much better today. I guess practicing our "kick, kick, kicking" at the edge of the bed, arms stretched out like superman WORKED.
And we even squeezed in a quick lunch date with Ryan with some Taco Bell (yeah, nutritious little meal for the fam...) before heading home to wait for the plumber all afternoon.

Wanna hear how much of an idiot I truly am?
Ok. So here goes: I came home after meeting ryan with Taco Bell, exhausted, but managed to read about 5 books to dylan and put him to bed. Then I decided that since I didn't know what time the plumber actually would come, being that they gave me a 3 hour window and I was exhausted (apparently!), I could lay down and wake up when they rang or knocked on the door. Here's the tool part: I never woke up. They apparently knocked and rang the bell, called me, etc. for 20 minutes!

I'm now sitting here waiting for them to call me back, wondering what I'm going to say. How lame to have to admit that I'm such a slug that I missed their appointment because I took a nap?

Jam Packed Day with a Bloody Toe to Boot!

8:00am: wake up and give free Legoland ticket to friend before appointment

8:45-9:45am: appointment

10:00am: pickup Dylan from Caltech from Ryan and head over to run errands

10:15-11:15am: errands including grocery shopping

11:15am: race home, change Dylan and I both into swimsuits, head out to swimclass

11:45-12:15: swim class where Dylan clung to me, scared of doing anything the instructor encouraged him to try, but enjoyed being in the water.

12:30pm: undress wet self and toddler, attempt to pee with said toddler while attempting with all my might to convince him that it is DISGUSTING to touch ANYTHING in the stall!

1:00pm: call and make plans with friend to go to the zoo while sitting in parking lot at pool, eat packed PB&J sandwich lunch with Dylan in car before running home again.

1:15-1:30pm: rush home, pack snacks and bag for zoo

1:30pm: as I use the bathroom, Dylan pulls fan (it was off, but still heavy) onto himself and cuts big toe open, requiring many kisses and band aids after fight to clean out with alcohol because mommy doesn't have peroxide on-hand for some lame reason.

1:50pm: arrive at zoo

2:00-5:00pm: walk around zoo until legs ache

5:15pm: Dylan sacks out in car (finally a nap for at least one of us!)

5:30pm: Call Ryan and tell him we are home, crawl upstairs and put Dylan to lay down until daddy gets home, crash on bed.

Tomorrow our day is only slightly less packed, but hey, it's summertime!