Ode to Opa

This past Friday we were treated to a short but very sweet visit from my dad, also known as "Opa."  We looked forward to this little visit for two weeks and made the most of our time with him. The day started out with Opa helping out in Emmy's classroom.  He loved seeing her classroom, watching her awesome teacher in action, and meeting all of Emmy's classmates.  Emmy was so proud to show him off to everyone.  When he got home from Emmy's school, he spent some one-on-one time with Sophie, in the rain, looking for bugs.  This is Sophie's favorite thing to do, and she loves it even more on a rainy day.

After lunch, we all headed to San Francisco, where we sampled Ghiradelli chocolate and rode the cable cars through the city.  When we got back, we went out to eat at one of my favorite places, Howie's Artisan Pizza, and then came home and had a mini celebration for Opa's birthday, which was earlier in March.  At this point, I normally would have put my kids to bed.  But they were just so happy to be with him, that I let them stay up late, playing games and reading stories.  They didn't go to bed until almost ten, but it was totally worth it.

The next morning, he had to leave at 5:30 in the morning, so when Emmy woke up, he was already gone.  She told me that when she looked down and saw his empty bed (he slept on the bottom bunk of her bunk bed), she cried a little bit.  So sweet!  Opa, we all love you!  (And we love the longer hair style too!)

Opa and Sophie are off to find bugs

Emmy and Sophie look at the long line of people waiting to ride the trolley

A proud Opa with Baby Ryan

Opa and Sophie on the cable car

Opa with his three grandbabies

so tired after such a journey

Fun times playing the new Fairytale Spinner Game, courtesy of Nannie and Opa

Emmy's gift to Opa

I love how she put the picture of herself and Opa holding the picture of themselves

Happy Birthday to the best dad and grandpa ever!

Sophie laughing sooo hard because the candles were tricks

Emmy showing off her reading abilities before bedtime

Sophie's Haircut

You've all seen those little girls who took scissors to their own hair.  Now I have one of my very own.  This past week when Heather and I took our girls to the Academy of Sciences, I didn't really think twice when the girls brought scissors in the car.  We had about an hour's drive and the girls seemed so happy in the back cutting out little shapes and coloring.  It was a happy car ride with little to no complaining.  Heather and I chatted the whole time.


There was one moment when I peeked at the girls through my rearview mirror and noticed little Sophie holding the scissors.  She was slowly opening and closing the scissors and she looked a little bit like she was in a trance.  I had the passing thought to ask her to give them to me, but quickly forgot since I was concentrating on the tricky roads of San Francisco and also enjoying my conversation with Heather.

When we arrived at the museum, I went to get Sophie out of her carseat, when she announced with great satisfaction, "Mommy, I LOVE cutting my hair!"  She had the biggest grin and was so proud of herself.  I took one look at her and gasped.  She had been sitting back there just snipping away at her bangs.  When she saw that my reaction was not a happy one, she burst into tears.  And then I felt awful, since I imagined it would be a letdown to think you've done something really fun only to find out that you've done something naughty.

Oh well - she's three, right?  I'm already laughing about it.

I went on vacation and didn't even have to go anywhere

This past weekend Heather and her cute little five-year-old Chloe came to visit us. We had an amazing time! Luckily, she already blogged about it here, but I'll add a few more fun pictures! 

 Emmy and Chloe loved playing in the rain!  I had to explain to Heather that since we don't get any snow here, we make the most of a rainy day and love to let the kids splash around outside.

 The kids took these pictures of themselves.  They were laughing HYSTERICALLY. 

 Little models posing at Stanford's fountain

 The beach at Fisherman's Wharf.  Suddenly, the weather was warm, the water was clear, and the kids were perfectly content to dink around in the sand.  Ryan took his first taste of it!

 Sophie wanted to buy this giraffe at the California Academy of Sciences SOOOO bad. 

 The girls loving their candy at the Sugar Shack - when I asked Emmy where we needed to take Chloe, this was her request.

Friends Forever!!  Isn't Heather so cute?  After they left our house felt so quiet and boring.  Even tonight (two nights later) Emmy was being grumpy and Sophie said, "She wishes Chloe was still here!"

My Little Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day

Whew! What a morning! Somehow I managed to scrape together a happy valentine's breakfast for the kiddos (thanks to frozen abelskiver's from Trader Joe's which taste pretty much as good as homemade ones!) and now I'm taking a breather before I attack the dishes - we still have some left over from last night's dinner.

Matt takes Emmy to school in the mornings and about thirty minutes after he'd left, he realized he'd forgotten something, so he came home to get it. And this is the scene he came upon:

Me still in pajamas, using the restroom, getting a bath ready for Sophie while she stood at my feet peeling her clothes off, while also holding Ryan in my lap trying to grab anything he can.

Not the most romantic picture for your sweetheart to stumble upon, but he smiled and said something about how amazing it was that I could be doing three things at once. "This is motherhood," I said and was even a teensy bit sad that it would be too weird to take a picture of myself in that moment.

Romance takes on a new meaning when your life is full of baby food and finding bugs and learning to read. Romance to me was when last night I was too exhausted to do anything but sit in bed and Matt brought me an ice cream sundae, then brought me my tooth brush, a cup to spit in, a glass of water, my contact lens case, and then tucked me in for the night at 9:30.

So there you go - a sink full of dishes, a five year old who threw a tantrum this morning because I put the powdered sugar on her plate before she could do it herself, and a lot of laundry. But I'm happy and in love with my very own valentine.

It's going to be a great day.

First Snow. Ever.

 

 

 

 

Babies Grow Up Too Fast

I can't believe Ryan is five months old. I LOVE that little boy soooooooo much! I decided tonight as I was rocking him that baby boys are every bit as sweet as baby girls. Their clothes may not have ruffles, but boys are just as cute.

I think when I was a mother of two girls, I secretly thought girls were more adorable. Of course I was wrong.

My little Ryan found his toes this week and it is delightful to see him holding on to his feet, completely entertained. I've got to get a picture.

I have been in love with all of my babies - but I feel like I can appreciate my third a little more than the others because I realize that someday, he'll get bigger and have BIGGER opinions and BIGGER mood swings. He'll start to do naughty things, even on purpose sometimes. Someday, he'll probably whine and complain and not want to go to bed. He might hit the other kids in nursery or throw his food off his plate in disgust. The possibilities are endless. So for now, I'll just soak in the pure sweetness of this baby boy who is always ready with a grin and who sees me as the center of his world.