Aunt Jan's Visit

Aunt Jan's visit started out well enough with a really nice adults-only evening out for dinner at a local restaurant. We ordered a variety of appetizers and all shared them instead of individual entrees. Unfortunately the next day both kids were in rare form and everything fell apart. We attempted to take a walk at Rancho San Antonio County Park but every little thing turned into a struggle and it was an extremely unpleasant outing for all involved. We did make it to the farm and ate lunch in the barn, though the best part of the day was that it ended. I still have bad feelings about the day and feel horribly that Aunt Jan had to live through it with us. I know she's visited a lot of places in the world, so thankfully I know she's witnessed much worse. ;)

Cutest Garbage Taker-Outer Ever/Talia's Photo Shoot!

Loving the new tu-tu/skirt from Grandma Sharon, Talia decided she wanted to wear it while we took out the trash cans. It quickly turned into a photo shoot, with Talia happily posing wherever I asked. She eventually suggested her own poses and asked me to snap shots. Here are just a few.

May 5

To celebrate Talia's actual birthday, we bought an annual pass to Happy Hollow and visited the park and zoo for the first time since its renovation. We rode rides, watched a puppet show, ran into friends, and enjoyed a really fun day. (The weekend before Jason & Andrea got to go out to a fancy dinner to celebrate their anniversary, while Grandma & Grandpa babysat.)

Swimming Lessons

In the spring, Talia took her first session of swimming lessons (a mommy & me class). Eric continued to perfect his skills in a big kid class.

Joke

At the dinner table.

E: Want to hear a joke?
J & A: Ok.
E: How does a tiger take a bath in a human bathtub?
J & A: How?
E: I don't know.

Talia's Shoe Party Extravaganza

Thanks to a lot of help from grandparents, Talia's 2nd birthday party went very smoothly. We had friends meet us at the park for a pizza lunch, followed by cupcakes and plenty of playing. We asked our guests to donate new or gently used shoes for us to donate to two organizations - Soles 4 Souls and My New Red Shoes. We collected over thirty pairs and sent them off!

Prepping for Talia's Birthday Party

Before Talia's birthday party, we had to sample some of the cupcake batter to be sure it was good enough for our guests!

Yum! Yum!

Thanks to Tio Adam and Tia Carla, Talia and Eric have been making themselves (and everyone around them) ice cream cones. They're such a treat!

Spring Break LA Trip

It's hard to even know where to start - our trip was filled with so many great activities. We started by visiting Grandma Sharon & Grandpa Harley. Talia slept in late each morning so Andrea & Eric took advantage of the time by starting the day with a walk down to the water to throw rocks. We had lunch one day on Grandma & Grandpa's boat and ate dinner at their Club one night. We visited cousins Melissa & Isabel at their house and had a Grandparents Dinner too. Before we went off to stay with the Carrolls for a couple nights, we picked up Janet at her place, then headed to the park for a picnic lunch with takeout from Portos in Glendale. The Skirball Museum for a special Noah's Ark exhibit, the park for kite-flying and more picnicking and finally a short fun-run rounded out our visit with Blair, Damian & Molly. There was also plenty more playing, eating and nighttime antics thrown in there as well. Our trip culminated with Aunt Faye's 85th birthday party where we got to see tons of family and enjoy decorating our own cupcakes!

Fun Run!

At the beginning of April, Eric participated in the annual Fun Run at his school. In preparation for the big run, I encouraged him to wear sneakers so he'd have good shoes for running. After not more than ten minutes into the school day, his shoes, socks and clothes were soaked after he waded through the swamp (aka sandbox) on the play yard. Luckily he had back up clothes in his backpack and a pair of flip flops in my car (I was a working parent on that day). So instead of wearing his tie-dyed shirt and sneakers, he zoomed around the track 13 (!) times in back up clothes and flip flops. He loved trying to catch up to his 4th grade buddy Joe and was very proud of completing as many laps as he did. He was a focused runner and it was clear he had a goal to finish as many laps as he could. Popsicles and a tally sheet at the end were a perfect finish to a truly fun run!

Talia's First Real Haircut

At the end of April we decided Talia was due to visit the "hair salon" for the first time. As with most things, Talia jumped right in to the seat, let the stylist put a cape on her and sat patiently while she got her haircut.

March for Babies

For the third year in a row I participated in the March for Babies. Though there was very little marching involved on our parts, Eric and I had a fun time hanging out with friends.