Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Heat (August 18-24)

It was a rare warm week in San Francisco, with lots of days where you could wear shorts and short sleeved shirts.  Fogust is almost over!  We took advantage and were outside a lot.


August 18:  It was a warm, sunny day so we headed to the playground at Dolores Park.


Brenna explored a lot of the playground.  And both kids love the big slides.


Liam mostly wanted to dig sand (no surprise).  We forgot sand toys and he was coveting some trucks and scoops another kid brought.  He finally got a turn to play with them and was so happy he didn't want to leave.



Both kids even did a little scooping together.  Liam is much happier about sharing with his sister these days.  He no longer "shares" by giving her a rock or something he finds uninteresting.  She actually gets a scoop!


August 19:  Monday night dinner at our favorite Mexican spot.  A watermelon agua fresca is perfect for the unusual San Francisco heat.


Despite her expression, Brenna enjoyed a chicken taco and lots of black beans.  How does she get beans on her forehead?


August 20:  The weather was so nice again on Monday that Brian and the kids went back to Dolores Park.


And we got lucky again with fun toys to share, since Brian forgot the sand toys.



In the evening, we had our second swim lesson.  Afterwards, both kids really love to play with the toys in the waiting area.
 

Then we hit up a local San Bruno diner for dinner, since swimming makes everyone hungry.


August 21:  The weather quickly changed.  But a morning donut run kept everyone's spirits up.  Ravioli was super happy because she got a walk and a bacon flavored doggie donut.


Then Liam made snacks in his play house while Brenna played with the toy kitchen.


After work, we had another evening adventure.  
 


August 22:  Fun in the bath tub!  



Brenna would take a bath multiple times a day, if she could. 


And look how long that hair is getting!


August 23:  Our day started with a mixer delivering concrete to our house (for our new retaining wall).  

We knew Liam would be excited, but Brenna seemed equally excited.
 

The only way we managed to get Liam away from the truck was to ask him if he wanted to go get donuts for the guys.


In the evening, he wanted to dig dirt in the backyard. 


Brenna's hair is pretty funny.  It is curly and flips out on one side and is more straight on the other.  But as it gets longer, it gets more curl al over.


August 24:  We decided to spend Saturday morning at the zoo.  Liam layed down with the elephant statute and said, "I love you, Elephant."  We don't have any elephants at our zoo, so this is the closest he gets.


Brenna was pretty interested in the penguins (left) and rhino (right).


And she took a little breather as we watched the penguin feeding. 


But the real reason we went to the zoo was to meet Curious George!  Liam went right up and gave him a big, long hug. Then he agreed to pose for a picture.  As we walked away, Liam said, "It was very nice to meet you!"  And the man with the yellow hat shouted the same thing back.  Day made! 



On the way out of the zoo, we had a quick run in the grass.  Liam really wanted to roll down the hill, but the peacock poop and creek at the bottom convinced him otherwise.


In the afternoon, neither kid wanted to nap.  So, we went out to a big food and music festival a few blocks from our house.  It was quite warm and Liam wanted ice cream.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Critters (August 11-17)

Lemurs, horses, a peacock, zebras, kangaroos, an elephant, a monkey, a dog, and a caterpillar.  This week was full of lots of creatures and critters.  The week started out with two trips to the zoo (one was a do over).  And it ended with a home made caterpillar.  In between were lots of laughs and memories.



August 11:  We headed to the San Francisco zoo in the morning to meet up with some friends.  We waited for them at the lemurs, and blew off a bit of steam.


Brenna is always happy to get out of the stroller and walk around. 


One of the first things we did with our friends was ride the carousel.  Everyone loved it.


Liam had such a blast with his friend, Lucas.   


He was in a great mood, too.  Until we were close to the exit.  Things went south, quickly.  And he screamed the entire way home.  Somehow Brenna fell asleep sitting next to him and slept the entire way.


August 12:  Monday morning Liam really wanted a zoo do over.  So, while I headed to work, the rest of the crew headed back to the zoo.  The zebras and giraffes at the entrance are always a hit.


We skipped the Australian animals on Sunday, so they went to see them on Monday.  The kangaroos were sleeping, as usual.


And Liam spent some time greeting the only elephant at our zoo.


When I got home from work, we checked on the work "the guys" (our construction crew) did during the day.  The giant dirt pile in our garage was a dream come true for Liam.


Both kids are starting swim classes tomorrow, so I picked up a towel for Brenna (Liam already has a shark towel) and she loved it.  She pranced up and down the hall for quite a while wearing it.


August 13:  It finally warmed up in San Francisco.  It was warm enough for Brenna to be dressed like this at dinner time, after swim class.


Both Liam and Brenna did great at swim class and were in a great mood at bed time.


We've started doing half of bedtime with both kids, in Brenna's room, since she is now going to bed just before Liam does.  They both really love reading stories all together in bed.  We all do, actually.


August 14:  Another day, another snack cup that Brenna shared with Ravioli.


And then we got all three toy guitars out for a little play along to some music.


We also did a little "hard work" in the dirt pile in our backyard before dinner.


And practiced our balance on the extra wood boards.


August 15:  I picked up some storage boxes at Target today, and a new bubble machine.  The bubble machine was a huge hit with Liam and Brenna.


They also got some new flip flops for swim class, which Liam immediately wanted to try on.


Every time we go into the garage now, Brenna looks for the bubble machine and points excitedly. 


Bubbles are toddler heaven.


August 16:  I rearranged some of our arts and crafts supplies today, which mean they were suddenly interesting to Liam.  He wanted to do a little painting on his easel.


He likes to paint his hand and make prints on the paper.  He used to hate getting messy, but now he'll cover his hands in paint, roll in sand, and do lots of other things that used to really dislike.  Funny how a toddler's personality can change.



Brenna did some drawing with markers and crayons while Liam painted.  



And then they did a little art together.


August 17:  I used the last of the eggs this morning and felt inspired to create a caterpillar.  Liam was really excited to do it, too. 


The result was pretty cute.


After some art, we went on an "adventure" to the donut shop.  Liam likes to use a spoon to scoop the filling out of the strawberry and cream filled donut.


Brenna likes to eat on the move.  She likes to do everything on the move.


When we got home, we set up the bubbles.  Brenna found a little puddle and really enjoyed splashing in it.


Water is fun!


Then it was inside to play a bit.


In the late morning, the SF Food Fest kicked off a few blocks from our house.  We met up with a friend of mine and walked around sampling food from the different vendors.  Brenna tried a fancy quesadilla and crepe.  Liam really liked the kettle corn and ice cream.


When we got to the front of the ice cream line, we looked down at Brenna to see whether she might want some.  And we found this.  She fell asleep on the walk to find ice cream without us noticing.  I cannot believe she just fell asleep in the middle of the crowd!