More pictures of trees and stuff.

Here are more photos from our family trip to Calaveras Big Trees State Park...

Big Trees

I hope to post more pictures from yesterday's trip to the snow tonight. But for now, here's a great picture of Amelia among some of the biggest trees in the world.

Mr. E. Bunny, himself (or itself?)

Here is the much maligned portrait of Mr. E. Bunny with my darling daughters Amelia and Diana. As you can see, the picture isn't terrible, it just isn't all that great. (Of course, this version of the picture has been touched up a bit and cropped.)

Regardless of their mediocrity, I really like getting Christmas and Easter portraits with the girls every year and will probably continue to do so until one or both of the girls feel they have become too cool to participate. And one day I'm going to look back at my stack (or electronic files) of cheesy portraits and smile and get that warm, sentimental feeling that only comes from goofy photos of people you love.

Sunshine and bunnies

After Diana's first nap I took the girls to our local mall to see the Easter bunny. Fearless Diana sat on the giant rabbit's lap and played with his furry hands while Amelia sat grinning next to him. As usual, my holiday pictures turned out "okay." It isn't easy to get both girls to look in the same direction and smile at the same time.

(Really, the main problem is that the people working the cameras at these mall shoots do a terrible job. It's enough to make me want to get a holiday job doing the work myself. I would spend at least a few seconds trying to properly frame the shot instead of just snapping a photo where I stood...but I digress.)

Things are fine here at home. We all miss daddy. I have been trying to do some "move-in" chores around the house. In the process of emptying boxes I found my copy of What to Expect the First Year. I'm quite relieved I've found the book, since I only very recently began to realize that Diana is actually growing up and changing in important ways. For example, all I remembered from when Amelia was a baby was that you couldn't give babies water until they had reached a certain age in months that's later than one might guess. That month has come and gone for Diana, who is now doing MUCH better since we've added a touch of water to drink alongside her solid food. She's also old enough to start using a sippy cup - amazing. And rumor has it she'll soon be able to pull herself up to a standing position.

I can't help but feel a little sad that my baby is growing into a big girl, but she's a good girl and we love her very much.

Lisa

Amazing feats of skill and strength

Tonight, before I go to sleep, I would like to share some of my daughters' talents with you.

First, check out the incredible tower of blocks Amelia and I built together. It's almost as tall as she is. In fact, she had mommy place the last blocks on the tower, since it was difficult for her to reach the top.

And I finally got a fairly good movie of Diana crawling (click here). I had hoped, when I started "rolling" that Diana would crawl toward mommy, but she was much more interested in what her dad and big sister were doing.

But maybe more exciting than all of this, and certainly the best trick of all, is that both girls went to bed without much fuss and at a reasonable time tonight. I only hope Amelia and Diana can repeat this feat over and over again throughout the week ahead.

Lisa

Duck, duck, goose

Last Tuesday I dropped Amelia off to play at her gymnastics class while I went to get a permanent crown. Diana watched mommy in the dentist's chair and was a very good girl, despite the fact that she had been feeling a little peaked and had a slight fever.

After another exciting trip to Target and a quickie stop at Home Depot I went to retrieve Amelia. Drop off hours are normally from noon to three and I arrived to pick up Amelia around 2:45. When I reached class I was surprised to see a large number of other children playing. Amelia wanted to join there group, though they were all older than she and this seemed okay since it wasn't quite three anyway.

The kids, about 15 in all, joined hands and formed a circle. Then they proceeded to play, "duck, duck, goose." Well, Amelia has no idea how to play duck, duck, goose; but she likes both ducks and geese and she loves running around and having a good time. Let me tell you, watching Amelia was exhausting. The way Amelia understands duck, duck, goose someone walks around the circle tapping children on the head saying, "duck" until at some point they say, "goose." Once the child says, "goose" that kid jumps up and chases the one tapping the other children's heads. This is also when Amelia jumps up and runs around the circle. Regardless of who is actually "it" Amelia always runs around the circle. Sometimes the older children would try to keep Amelia seated, but it was no use. She had such a terrific time that afternoon, it was hard to get her to come home.

The following day was Amelia's regularly scheduled class. However, her small class of three didn't look anywhere near as much fun as the spring break group of 12 or so older students who were jumping and playing on trampolines. Again, it was all I could do to keep her with her class. She cried a couple of times when I told her to stay with our group and focus on the teacher's instructions.

I worry that Amelia doesn't have enough discipline. She just seems wilder than the other girls (and some of the boys). As I was thinking aloud about a "time out" chair my mother-in-law reminded me that the last time I tried using a time out chair Amelia rolled the chair down the hall and told me to sit on it. So, what do you do? I guess I'll just continue to be as firm and patient as I can possibly be.

Lisa

Photos from San Diego

Here are a few photos of the family in San Diego.

But where are the photos?

I realize it's been a while since I've posted any photographs here. Believe me, it isn't because we don't have any new pictures to share. In fact, Amelia took some of her first photographs on this trip (with a little help from daddy).

Allow me to share one of Amelia's first pictures with all of you. She may need to work on framing her photographs a bit better, but she's trying and getting the hang of things.

Speaking of trying, on our way back up from San Diego all of us stopped at Panda Express for a quick bite to eat. When Mike went through the food service line he was given two plates of food and two forks. After Amelia commandeered my fork we realized that forks were not available anywhere else in the restaurant; however, we could grab a pair of chopsticks.

I know how to use chopsticks, but I normally use them only when I eat Japanese food (not Chinese - even I don't know why this is). I gave up control of my fork to Amelia and started eating off our community plate with the chopsticks. After a couple of bites Amelia said, "Chopsticks!" and reached for the sticks in my hand. I tried to show her how to hold them properly, but she was too eager to eat.

Amelia actually did a pretty decent job with the chopsticks. Daddy and I were very impressed with her willingness to try a new thing and her patience when she dropped food, etc. I couldn't get Amelia to trade the chopsticks for a fork, but she still had a good meal and learned something new.

What can I say? She's a good and adventurous little girl.

Lisa

Wrath of the Coffee gods

I enjoy my daily mochas. If you didn't know this, allow me to introduce myself...

I usually get my mochas from Starbucks. I like the fact that I can count on getting soy milk there (almost consistantly) and I really like being able to get drive-through coffee when I have the girls in the car. I buy so many mochas from Starbucks that my daughter, upon seeing the white and green cup, will whine, "Decaf soy mocha...Decaf soy mocha." (It seems she's developing a bad coffee habit, too.)

I have been in the San Diego area all week working for the Navy. I assumed, erroneously, that it would be easy to find a drive-through Starbucks somewhere between my hotel and duty station. But despite the fact that I did not see a Starbucks on the road, I was told on Monday that one could be found on Orange Street in Coronado.

On Tuesday, I spotted the Starbucks, but I was running late and couldn't get my mocha.

I set my alarm forward to ensure I would have plenty of time to stop Wednesday morning. However, my alarm did not go off and though I made it to class on time I had to miss my shower and my mocha.

Wednesday evening Mike and I decided to drive out to La Mesa. This was partly so I could see SDSU and my old stomping grounds. This was also because I knew there was a Starbucks at Grossmont Center. We went to Barnes & Noble and bought Amelia and Diana new books. We followed this with dinner at Rubio's Baja Grill. As dinner was winding down I told Mike, "I'm going to slip next door and get a mocha." Well, the girls were getting cranky, so Mike suggested we get everyone in the car and go to a drive through coffee stop instead. I wasn't certain this would work, but I made up my mind that nothing would deter me from eventually getting my mocha.

The drive through Starbucks I had seen next to I-8 was, essentially, inaccessible. It was located at that spot in San Diego where I-15, I-8 and the 805 all meet. I wasn't willing to deal with that mess when I knew there was a Starbucks on Miramar Drive down the street from the base where my family was staying.

Cruising down Miramar Drive I kept my eyes peeled for Starbucks. I finally spotted it to my left and felt a flicker of joy in my heart. As I sat in the left turn lane, waiting for my green light, I had little daydreams about my coming treat. I watched the Starbucks drive through with envy as a car passed the service window.

Boy was this a long red light.

I sat and sat and watched as the lit Starbucks menu board turned dark. I was a tiny bit concerned until I looked down at my watch and saw that it was 7:30. Nothing closes at 7:30. I also saw a car in the drive through lane throw on its back-up lights just before I got my green arrow. Again, I was still happily thinking that nothing could keep me from my mocha.

When I reached the speaker where I would space my order I heard a recorded voice say, "Thank you for visiting Starbucks. We are now closed. Please return during our normal business hours." Continuing to the pick-up window I read the paper sign that stated, "This Starbucks will close at 7:30 on March 14."

Unbelievable.

Mike had a very hard time not laughing. I was very irritated, but it still struck me as funny. And yes, I did eventually get my mocha. Still I have to wonder if my planets were misalligned or what I had done to have this much trouble getting my drink.

Lisa

Sand dollars

I miss being able to caption my photographs. The program I had been using to do so isn't working properly on my home computer and I don't like the idea of reinstalling it.

But let's pretend we can caption our photos. This top photo is a picture of daddy and Amelia at the beach. Daddy is building a sand castle while Amelia is collecting sand dollars, shells and rocks to give to grandma. (Who wouldn't want a pail full of sandy rocks?)

Diana did not join us on the beach. The truth is that she was taking a nap. And once we felt how cold and windy it was near the water I was a bit relieved Diana didn't come along.

A funnier story based on the second photograph might be told with the caption: "Diana, embarassed by her increasing weight (she now weighs almost 18 pounds) refuses to be seen in a bathing suit and chooses to sit out the family trip to the beach."

Lisa

Jack fell down and broke his crown

I had a very nice birthday that included chocolate cheesecake. The weather was beautiful. I did not get a crown put on my tooth on Monday. However, the day after my birthday (March 6) I was scheduled for a crown and a filling.

The procedure involved an awful lot of drilling. In fact I was starting to believe that my entire tooth was being drilled away to make room for my temporary crown. Still, my new crown and filling looked better than the old silver fillings. As I got up from the chair I was told to avoid hard, brittle or sticky food. I was also advised not to floss...THAT I can do!

The next morning we had plans to start off on the first leg of our trip to San Diego. Of course, I also wanted Amelia to be able to attend her gymnastics class, so she could run around and burn some energy before having to sit in the car all afternoon. I was having a lovely morning with Diana listening to Mozart and eating toast with Nutella when I heard an ominous crunching sound. I had never heard toast crunch quite like this before and became suspicious. Sure enough my temporary crown was in pieces in my mouth. I collected the pieces of my crown and put them in a Ziploc bag and headed upstairs with the bad news.

Replacing my crown wasn't difficult or time-consuming at all. I was worried Amelia would have to miss her class, but I only spent five minutes in the dentist's office. The dental assistant suggested I be more careful in the future (more careful than eating toast?). The receptionist hinted that I might not want to chew on that side of my mouth at all. I am following the receptionist's advice.

The weather was beautiful and the girls played outside while Mike and I took turns packing. I had forgotten how difficult it is to pack for a hotel stay with a baby and we didn't actually head down highway 101 until nearly four o'clock. But now we're in Morro Bay having a lovely and relaxing time.

I will try to get on the blog when I can to keep everyone informed of our excellent adventures.

Lisa

It's not ALL work

Mommy had to work this past weekend - leaving daddy in charge of Amelia and Diana. Watching the two of them is a lot of work, as you can imagine; but it isn't all work. In fact, spending the day with the little ones can be fun.


It's especially fun to watch Diana and Amelia play together. Daddy doesn't get to see this as often as I do, and I think he really had a wonderful time with the girls based on all of the home movies he made while I was away.


(Watch Amelia and Diana playing by clicking here.)


Though I wind up doing the lion's share of the chores around the house, I sometimes feel that daddy gets cheated a bit by not being able to spend more time with his daughters. I hope that during our upcoming two week "vacation" Mike gets to have fun with the girls as they impress him with their growing skills and talents.


Lisa

Oh, the drama!

It seems obvious that although Amelia does not want to share all of her toys with her baby sister (sometimes this is a good thing) she does love her and likes having her around. A couple of nights ago I was holding the baby while Amelia was in the bathtub and she started saying, "Maybe baby want[s to] take a bath." I said that Diana didn't need to take a bath every night and Amelia repeated her request. Amelia enjoys having Diana in the bathtub with her - and I was sure that having the baby's tub in the bigger tub along with all of Amelia's toys would make it so crowded that Amelia would hate it.

Amelia also noticed her sister's absence when I drove her to an afternoon play group today. As I started the car Amelia asked, "Where's baby?" I told her that play time was only for bigger girls like Amelia and she started to whimper. I think she's used to Diana going with us whenever we leave the house.

Because Mike was going to work for a bit I decided to try the kids' play session where Amelia takes gymnastics class while I got my hair cut for work. (After all, I had a free coupon.) I was worried that Amelia would be sad that I was leaving her alone, but just as she does at department stores Amelia pointed at me and told me to "Go...Go." When I showed up to collect Amelia after almost three hours of play time I wasn't sure what I would see. It took a few minutes to find Amelia in the large space, but I finally saw her pulling on a large, red plastic bucket. It seemed that an older girl was trying to move the bucket to the front of the building, but Amelia kept grabbing it and dragging it back. Amelia was also clearly upset because she wanted to play with some batons that had brightly colored ribbon streamers on them and the older girls were taking them away. Amelia started to cry and said, "I want to see it! I want to see it!" The play supervisor picked Amelia up and she continued to cry, "No! No! No!" and dropped into her famous "dead weight" position.

This seemed like a good time for me to intervene. I took off my shoes and walked over to my daughter. The instructor seemed happy to see me and even happier to hand Amelia over to her mommy. Amelia cried on my shoulder for a bit while the instructor explained that the other girls had been helping to clean up and put the toys away at the end of the session. That made perfect sense. Amelia hates to stop playing and hated to put away the huge pile of new toys she had access to at the gym.

No one seemed upset by Amelia's behavior, and I was only a tiny bit embarrassed. I thought it might help if I could get Amelia to say, "Thank you" to the staff as we left. I asked Amelia, "Would you like to say 'thank you'?" to which she replied, "I would like to say 'no, thank you'."

I had to laugh at that one. Funny as all get-out. Even funnier than the last time we were at Safeway and the girl behind the "flower-and-balloon" counter asked us, "Can I help you?" and Amelia replied strongly, "I want a balloon!"

The other bit of drama I had today came while Mike was still home (thank goodness) but in the shower. (Diana was safely sleeping in her crib.) I stepped out into the garage to throw away some trash when Amelia wiggled the door lock and locked me outside. The door was not totally locked, the deadbolt was just cocked a bit, so Amelia couldn't seem to figure out what she needed to do to help me get back in the house. After a few minutes of trying to get Amelia to unlock the door I opened the garage door and told Amelia to look out of the window. It took a long time for her to understand what I was saying, but when she finally saw me next to the breakfast nook she seemed relieved. I pointed at the front door and asked her to go there and open it. Eventually, Amelia opened the front door and I made it back in the house.

Everything was fine and no one panicked. Still, if Mike had not been home I would have felt pretty anxious. All kids accidentally lock doors at some point. I'm glad Amelia and I worked together and figured out how to get me back in the house, but I think it's time to hide a key outside in case of emergency.

Lisa

Amelia might say "Me Tube"

We take a number of cute movies of the girls on a day-by-day basis. Though we try to keep these movies under 30 seconds long (so that we can send them out via e-mail) sometimes the movies are longish and cannot be sent.

Enter You Tube.

This is my first attempt to use You Tube, but it looks easy enough. Click here and you should be able to see a short Diana film in its dark entirety.

I would very much like feedback if you enjoy (or don't enjoy) seeing movies in this format.

Okay, I'm a-gonna hit publish. Cross your fingers this will work...

Lisa