Morgan & Zach

Favorite Family Picture

2011-04-21T12:23:00.003-04:00

I love this picture because it captures Zachary's personality so well. That kid cracks me up.

New Cousin!

2010-11-20T19:57:00.004-05:00

Morgan & Zachary have a new cousin! Isn't Charlotte cute? We get to meet her at Thanksgiving.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-19T16:24:00.005-05:00

Leading up to Halloween, I swore that I would never make the kids costumes again. That from now on we would be at Party City buying something off the rack. But when Halloween night came and the kids looked so awesome in their costumes, my resolve started weakening. I went to bed thinking: That Coraline costume Morgan was talking about wouldn't be too hard to make. And: If I start early enough we could probably put together a cat costume for Zachary. Next fall, PLEASE REMIND ME that I don't want to do this again. :-)

Here is Jedi Morgan (or [M]Obi-Wan Kenobi):

Zachary wanted to be a robot so Jon designed and built the very coolest robot costume EVER for him. And when Zachary saw it he.....decided he didn't want to be a robot anymore. Of course. Luckily he changed his mind at the last minute and looked pretty great!

New School Year

2010-11-19T16:15:00.005-05:00

This August, Morgan started first grade. She has a great class and a great teacher who she loves! This group will be together through second grade so its a good thing she likes everyone. She is doing fantastic in school and is learning so many new things. Her reading is really taking off, but her favorite subject is math.
Zachary started Pre-Kindergarten this fall as well. We were a little apprehensive because we found out just before school started that he wouldn't have the teacher we thought he would. But as soon as Zachary saw the new teacher he said "Mom! I think her is a princess!" So he's fine with the change. :-) He is also learning a lot and making tons of friends.

Fourth Birthday

2010-07-12T12:07:00.001-04:00

Zachary turns 4 today.

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Improvements.

2010-06-23T12:25:00.005-04:00

We've been working hard(ish) updating our new house.

Painted the living room!

Curtains!

Master Bedroom.

Bathroom!

Kids room!

2010-06-22T18:35:00.004-04:00

Morgan was in the school play this spring. They did Willy Wonka and the Kindergartners got to be "kids in a candy shop" and sing "Lollipop" and "Sugar, Sugar" during the preshow. It was totally cute and, of course, Morgan had a blast. Never mind that she could only remember about half of the words to the songs and about none of the dance steps! She can't wait until next year's play.

And Zach already can't wait until the 2012 play so he can be in it. HE knew almost all of the words to all of the songs. Here is his rendition of "Candyman".

Keeping busy!

2010-02-20T11:28:00.006-05:00

What have we been doing lately? LOTS!
We went to Disneyland for Morgan's birthday.We spent 2 days there and had tons of fun!
Morgan got to go to "Jedi Training Academy" and learn some lightsaber skills.
We ate lots of junk food,
met some favorite characters,

and rode the rides!

We've also been busy buying a house! We've been house hunting since July and have been outbid 8-10 times already. But finally, last month, we had an offer accepted. We close escrow next week. Here is our house:

It has 3 bedrooms, one tiiiiiny bathroom (which will be remodeled before we move in),

a good sized, but outdated kitchen (which will be remodeled eventually),
and a nice big backyard.
The house is in a really nice neighborhood and we're pretty excited. We plan to spend most of March fixing the place up (bathroom, floors, painting) and move in at the end of the month.

This week the kids were on "February Break" so we decided to use the time to try out some new recipes. Here are our homemade granola bars:
They were really delicious and even though I made about 30 bars, they disappeared in 3 days!
Then we made some crackers. These taste just like Wheat Thins and were super easy to make.
Finally we tried to make bagels. This was a little bit harder - or "challenging", as Morgan would say. These are the three best-looking bagels from the batch we made and they are not pretty!
But the kids didn't mind. They still tasted good!

Morgan's 6th Birthday

2010-01-24T23:29:00.002-05:00

This month has been so busy that I never got a chance to put together Morgan's birthday video.
Here it is. I promise an exciting update coming soon.

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Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T18:20:00.005-05:00

See? They do love eachother!

Really!

Zach met Santa 4 times this year. Santa even came to the preschool!

Morgan got the roller skates she's been asking for.

And Zachary has not put down his Buzz Lightyear for 3 days!

This was our Christmas dessert!

Frosted coconut lime cookies --hard to make but worth the effort.

Chocolate Walnut Squares.

Orange Rosemary Cornmeal Cookies - my favorites!

A Thanksgiving Poem - by Morgan

2009-11-26T20:13:00.004-05:00

Translation: I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my friends. I am most thankful for my family.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T17:59:00.003-05:00

Pumpkin carving. Zach wouldn't touch the pumpkin "guts".

Our jack-o-lantern. Morgan designed it, Jon carved it. If you look closely you will see that it is missing one bottom tooth - just like Mo!

The witch and the scarecrow. All ready for 3 days of Halloween celebration. Preschool party, elementary school carnival, and a long night of trick-or-treating!

This is one tired witch!

October update.

2009-10-28T13:05:00.004-04:00

Taking a quick break to update. Managing 3 school schedules has been really crazy.
I just finished my first aid class and am halfway through Chemistry. And I really need to get cracking on my keyboarding class. Its hard to get motivated to take a completely useless TYPING class, but there is no way around the requirement. Next week, I'll register for Winter quarter where I'll be taking 3 more classes.

Morgan is still doing great in Kindergarten. She loves her teacher and is only a little disappointed that she doesn't have homework yet. :) I think she's finally adjusted to the long school day (8:30-2:30) and she's had far fewer afternoon meltdowns this month than last. We've already gone on 2 field trips and have 2 more scheduled next month. Morgan is making tons of new friends and really learning a lot too. She is excited for the upcoming Halloween carnival and wants to be in the school play (Willy Wonka) in the Spring. I work in her classroom every Monday and it is so much fun. I really didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I do. The kids are all great and I love to watch their interactions during school. Kindergartners are soooo funny!

Zachary is adjusting well to preschool. He goes just two days a week and is (almost) always happy to go. His two best buddies, Kaden & Michael, are in his class so that helps. He's learning lots of new songs and games and brings home cute crafts every day. He teacher really focuses on teaching the kids to cut with scissors and Zach wants to practice all the time. Our living room is covered in tiny scraps of paper from all of Zach's cutting! I work in his class about twice a month too and it is a LOT harder than Kindergarten or even the 4-year-old class last year. Its only 2.5 hours but I come home exhausted and covered in glue and/or paint. Those kids have so much energy and so little attention span!

Our Saturdays are soccer days. Zach & Jon play in the morning and Morgan and the Soccer Superstars play in the afternoon. Under-6 Girls soccer is pretty hilarious. Morgan is having a lot of fun. Its a good thing that they don't keep score at this level, because she's probably be upset if she knew how many goals her team has scored for the other side. :) But they short games (5 minute quarters) of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 so everyone gets a lot of playing time. There are 3 more games this season.

In our spare (ha ha) time we have been trying to buy a house. We've looked at tons of places, made offers on at least 8 (I've lost count) and come up empty. Just last night we got some potentially good news on our latest offer so keep your fingers crossed. Because I don't want to get my hopes up, I will list all of the bad things about the house: it is only 1000 sq ft, it has no central heat or air, it has only 1 bathroom, it has only a 1 car garage, it has a very small kitchen in need of updating and has no dishwasher. But that's what you get for a half-million dollars here. :)

Halloween in 3 days! Morgan is going to be a wicked witch (complete with green face) and Zachary will be a scarecrow. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them before Thanksgiving!

Morgan fell in love with this goat at the zoo. Now she wants a pet goat.

Zachary loves chocolate.

And playing dress-up.

So does Morgan.

Busy!

2009-09-29T11:10:00.004-04:00

We are really really busy these days. Here are a few pics until I have time to write a proper update.

Morgan is on her first real soccer team - the Purple Soccer Superstars!

She's lucky number 13!

It was Pirate Day at kindergarten!

Zach doing his thing. He's started soccer too, but we don't have pictures yet!

Toothless

2009-09-24T11:29:00.002-04:00

First Day of Preschool!

2009-09-12T21:52:00.004-04:00

Zach had his first day of preschool on Thursday! He is such big boy! It was only an hour and the parents got to stay the whole time, so all the kids did pretty well. Zach got a little upset after he got into an argument with another (very large, very loud) boy and didn't want to sit in circle time without me. But once it was snacktime he did much better. I think he'll do great next week when he'll start going every Tuesday and Thursday for 2 1/2 hours!

Swimmer

2009-08-31T01:01:00.005-04:00

First Day of Kindergarten!

2009-08-24T17:01:00.003-04:00

Today was the big day! Morgan did great. School was only 2 hours today. She'll go 3 hours/day the rest of the week and then start the full 8:30-2:30 days next week. Morgan was only sad that she couldn't stay longer today.Today was the big day! Morgan did great. School was only 2 hours today. She'll go 3 hours/day the rest of the week and then start the full 8:30-2:30 days next week. Morgan was only sad that she couldn't stay longer today.

Zach's Self Portrait

2009-08-18T16:45:00.000-04:00

Like a fish!

2009-08-09T01:28:00.004-04:00

IF we had a working camera right now, this post would be accompanied by a video of something which just a few months ago I was worried that I would never see. MORGAN SWIMMING!

At the beginning of last summer, Morgan would cling to the steps of the pool for dear life. She didn't even want to go out any further in our arms or with a floatation device! But around mid-July, she started wearing her arm "floaties" and by the end of the summer was even jumping into the pool with them. This was a huge development.

So I hoped that this summer she would be able to learn to swim on her own - maybe even take swimming lessons. But no. She refused to take off the floaties or even consider lessons. Which is fine. I know better than to push Mo into something before she's ready.

About a month ago, though, we were in the pool and Morgan was bobbing around like usual when she looked me in the eye and said very very seriously

"Mom. I have a feeling that I can swim without my floaties."

I started to ask her to wait until the weekend when Jon could come to the pool with us - I was worried about having both Zach and a non-buoyant Morgan in the pool at the same time. But something about Morgan's tone of voice made me think that this was a now-or-never opportunity. She might not "have a feeling" the next time we made it to the pool. I also remembered that she used the exact same phrase when she asked me to take her training wheels off her bike. And she was right about that, if you remember.

So off came the floaties and - guess what? Morgan started swimming! Just a few feet at a time, at first. And certainly not gracefully. But she was definitely getting from point A to point B under her own power and without drowning! She was so proud of herself!

And in typical Mo fashion she kept on practicing. Back and forth from the rail to the wall over and over and over again. Then she would swim along the wall - slowly going further and further. Then she started jumping in and swimming back to the wall. Now she is at the point where she can lift her head up to breathe and continue swimming. And she's trying to teach herself the backstroke!

What Zachary wants to be when he grows up.

2009-07-29T01:26:00.006-04:00

No kidding. He wants to be a dancing tree. We took the kids to a womens' basketball game at Stanford last fall. Morgan, of course, wanted to be out on the court but Zach couldn't keep his eyes off the mascot. Its really not a bad goal - it means he'll go to Stanford after all. And its unique! I'll bet he'll be the only kid in the preschool yearbook who wants to be a dancing tree. He does have a back-up career, though. He also wants to be a "stop sign man" - school crossing guard - because he "gets to hold a stop sign on a stick like a lollipop!" What could be better?

Bunk!

2009-07-14T20:17:00.007-04:00

M & Z got a bedroom upgrade this month. They were so excited when they got their new bunk beds. . Check it out:

Morgan, especially, loves her new sky-high digs. It really is her own private space because Zach is not allowed up the ladder and the proximity to the ceiling makes it very uncomfortable for Jon & I so we avoid being up there if we can.

Zach, too, is quite a way off the ground as you can see here. He's only fallen out once so far and that was feet first. We build a nice landing pad out of pillows for him at night just in case.

We also got a matching dresser and finally have more than enough space for all of the kids clothes.
And there is still room for toys and books!

Happy Happy Birthday!

2009-07-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

Today, Zachary is three years old. I am sure that this next year will bring even more fun with our little guy. He is the funniest kid I have every met. He talks all the time and the most hilarious things come out of his mouth.

One day, his uncle Todd complimented Zach on his good climbing at the playground. Zach turns to him and says in his most serious voice "I'm just doin' my job".

Even though he generally has an amazing vocabulary, Zach has some very quirky speech patterns. For example, he confuses "something" with "nothing". So he will say things like "Help! Ouch! I have nothing in my shoe!" or "I am hungry! I want nothing to eat." Or I don't like this game, I want to do nothing else."

And just the other day, we woke up to a classic "Zach-ism". During the night I noticed he had a soaked diaper (he's dry over 50% of nights but I don't like to take chances) so I changed him but didn't bother to put on new pajama bottoms. In the morning when he realized his pants were gone he called out from his room "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! My pants is MAGIC! They disappeared! My pants is MAGIC!"

Gotta love this kid!

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Wow!

2009-06-21T21:24:00.003-04:00

We planted a small vegetable garden in our backyard a few months ago. So far we've gotten 2 zucchinis. This is the second one. Its gigantic and it is becoming a zucchini quiche! Soon we should have tomatoes too!

Vacation

2009-06-13T12:17:00.004-04:00

Just got back from a week in San Diego. Exhausting trip, but we had some fun. Visited all the grandparents and did the New Children's Museum, Balboa Park, SeaWorld, and the Zoo. The new elephant exhibit at the zoo is fantastic!!! Jon & I also got to go out and see a show and eat delicious food without the kiddos! Nice! Unfortunately, I managed to lose the camera somewhere in San Diego so I have no new pictures.

Now that it is summer, things are going to get busy. Morgan is out of school right now, but I will be taking two classes this summer and in the fall, Morgan, Zachary and I will all be in school. We'll also have classroom work in both kids' schools and I am on the preschool board. So this may have been our last vacation for a while!

Here are a couple of old pictures. These were taken by a friend of ours at a cookie-decorating playdate in May:

This pretty much sums up their relationship.

2009-05-13T11:36:00.004-04:00

Morgan and Zach split their time together pretty evenly between being best friends, tolerating eachother's existance, and hating eachother's guts. Now if you want to look at the cup half full that means that 2/3 of the time they are not fighting. But things can turn from happy and calm to terror and chaos in a split second. And sometimes they seem simply incabable of understanding eachother.

A few days ago M & Z were playing happily in the living room while I was making dinner. Suddenly the screaming started and Morgan ran into the kitchen holding a wooden spoon.

"Zachary - " she hissed, full of outrage and waving the spoon in my face. I figured he must have hit her with it.

"That BOY!!!," she continued. "He thinks this is a telephone! It is not a phone and when I told him it is a spoon NOT a phone he still thought it was a phone and called grandma on it!"

"Morgan", I told her not for the first time, "you cannot argue with Zachary's imagination. If he wants to pretend the spoon is a phone then it is a phone for him."

"Well, then he is wrong!" and she stomped off.

Its not that Morgan has no imagination. She has a great imagination. But she is completely intolerant of Zachary's imagination because it is so different from her own. Zach will play happily by himself using whatever he can find to serve as what he needs for his game. A bag can serve as a garage for his cars or a spoon can be a phone. Morgan's imaginary play, on the other hand, requires her to create. If she needed a phone she would construct it out of Legos. Many of her games result in elaborate pillow-and-blanket forts. The shows she puts on are not just singing and dancing, but have costumes and props and, unfortunately, lots of frustration over not being able to make the exact right costume or prop.

And this seems to be the source of much of their conflict. Morgan doesn't get Zachary's games. Because the details are inside his head, to Morgan they are too simplistic or just plain wrong. And Zachary doesn't have the patience for the extensive preparation that Morgan's games require. Maybe that will change as he gets older. Hopefully so, because Morgan does have some great ideas. But for now, the fighting continues.

And thank goodness for board games because that seems to be a place of common ground!

ABCs and stuff.

2009-04-15T17:24:00.004-04:00

Zach is really doing well on his ABCs! We started doing one letter a week a few months ago but he recognizes so many letters already that we do 3 or 4 at a time now!

Also, Morgan is cool.

Spring!

2009-04-11T22:29:00.005-04:00

This spring we feel a little bit guilty about enjoying the warm weather because we need rain so badly, but it is so nice to get out of the house and enjoy nature!

A few weeks ago we went to Hidden Villa which is a farm and wilderness preserve. We got to explore the vegetable garden, pet a baby goat, and take a hike in the hills. The kids were most excited about the hike (probably because they can't read so the signs warning that mountain lions like to eat small children didn't bother them) and we got to see two deer grazing in a meadow. It was really cool.

Cute kids.

Oh deer!

Bridge!

Little kids on the prairie.

We also finally made it over to the California Academy of Sciences which was every bit as excellent and I had hoped. Morgan & Zach call it the "grass-on-top museum" because it has a living roof . Theres also a huge aquarium and a rainforest inside a big glass dome!

Zach on the roof.

And then, of course, Easter. The bunny was good to M & Z again this year bringing them bathing suits and lots of treats!

Morgan has spring break this week and then she only has 6 weeks until the end of school! We had a nice conference with her teacher last month and of course she said Morgan is wonderful and brilliant and well-behaved and more than ready for kindergarten. Morgan knows she is too. She thinks kindergarten should start right now!

YUM!

2009-03-19T23:08:00.002-04:00

This recipe. From this blog.

Good stuff.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T16:20:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the light blogging recently. Things haven't been too exciting around here lately. And its hard to find computer time since Zachary rarely naps and if he even suspects that I want to turn on the computer he starts shrieking and demanding to watch a video of himself.

We did get some good news recently - Morgan & Zachary both will be attending our first-choice schools next year. Zachary will be in the Early Childhood (3-year-old) class at the same place Morgan is in Pre-K now. His good friend - the little brother of one of Morgan's classmates - will be in his class which hopefully will make the transition easier for him. Its hard to imagine little Zach going to preschool but I'm confident that he will (eventually) like it.

And Morgan will be going to one of the magnet schools in our local school district. Its a really neat parent-participation school and we think Morgan is really going to do well there. There are several families in our neighborhood who go there and her best friend also got in (enrollment is by lottery) so she is very excited. She says she wasts to skip the end of preschool and go straight to kindergarten.

With both kids in parent participation schools, Jon & I will be pretty busy come September!

For Grandpa Airplanes

2009-03-05T15:13:00.003-05:00

ETA: Although it appears otherwise in this video, I really do know my alphabet. Morgan was reciting a different abc book in my ear which was very distracting.

So cute it hurts

2009-02-28T22:32:00.003-05:00

Poor Zach

2009-02-24T14:57:00.002-05:00

Zachary has been sick with a cold for weeks. Nothing major - just the runny nose/cough thing. Then late last week he started acting like he couldn't hear us. "Huh?" and "What?" all the time. We weren't too concerned (as 2-year-olds are rather famous for their selective hearing) until this weekend he started turing the volume up on his music and movies saying he couldn't hear them, was shouting constantly (even more constantly than usual), and started mishearing things frequently.

"Zachary, I think we need to take you to the doctor."

"I not hungry! I don't want a cracker!"

So we paid Dr. Zhu a visit (it's been over 2 months since we've seen her - I think thats close to our record) and the poor guy has raging ear infections in both ears. He's so tough. He never ever complained about his ear or acted like they were hurting him. So now he's on antibiotics and hopefully will be back to normal soon.

The sun will come out....

2009-02-09T11:57:00.002-05:00

Me and my llamas

2009-02-02T12:05:00.012-05:00

These are M & Z's new favorite books. Llama, Llama Mad at Mama and Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. And whats not to love about a little llama (who's prone to drama) and his mama?

In Llama, Llama Mad at Mama, Mama takes little llama to the Shop-a-rama where he is subjected to "yucky music, great big feet" and "ladies smelling way to sweet". Poor little llama has to "look at knees and stand in line". So, of course, "little llama starts to whine". And the whining escalates into a massive cart-crashing, sign-smashing tantrum until Mama Llama puts and end to the "llama drama" assuring her little one that she "thinks shopping's boring too, but at least I'm here with you".

Llama, Llama Red Pajama follows a similar pattern except that little llama thinks that Mama's being much to slow getting him his late-night drink of water and starts to worry "what if Mama Llama's GONE?" Mama Llama has to "run, run, RUN" to stop the weeping ,wailing llama drama and remind little llama that he needs to be "patient for his mama"

We've read both books so many times that M & Z have them mostly memorized. And the laugh and laugh every time - probably because they see themselves in little llama.

Can't imagine why.

And here is some great news! A new Llama, Llama is due out just in time for Zachary's birthday! Llama, Llama Misses Mama! It looks like little llama will be starting preschool soon - just like Zachary! Hopefully, Llama Llama adjusts well because poor Z already misses his mama!

Sporty

2009-01-22T12:51:00.008-05:00

Morgan started gymnastics a few weeks ago. She really likes it and her best friend Marcus is in her class which is nice. It looks like lots of fun!

Morgan also got to go ice skating for the first time with school recently. I thought that was a pretty ambitious field trip for a bunch of 4 and 5-year olds! Jon went with Morgan and said she did pretty good. She definitely liked it. Maybe we should put her in hockey!

Morgan's basketball class finished up last week. She LOVES basketball. On the last class, they did a little game. Or "game" might be a better way to put it. The "game" finished with the unlikely score of 6-0 and Morgan scored all of the points. She is very agressive and competitive on the court. If she gets a little taller and learns not to steal the ball from her teammates she could be a superstar!

Party!

2009-01-20T23:22:00.003-05:00

Forget the inauguration; the party to be at this month was Morgan's dragon-and-basketball themed 5th birthday party! Eight of her closest friends came to celebrate with her and the party went very smoothly. Thank goodness for Round Table Pizza and their free (with $50 food purchase, of course) party rooms and indoor playground! Also, hooray for Safeway and their cupcake dragon cake! (Although, boo to them for running out of white cupcakes!!!) The kids all seemed to have a wonderful time. Jon & I were exhausted by the end and think we'll have recovered enough for another party by the time Morgan is 10!

FIVE!

2009-01-10T01:30:00.003-05:00

Morgan's basketball coach asked all the kids to name their favorite superhero. Superman was a popular answer. So were Batman and Spiderman. Morgan's favorite superhero?

Super Morgan!

Super Morgan's superpowers are riding a two-wheeler, snorkeling, playing basketball and soccer, singing, making friends, annoying her brother, reading (almost), and being the greatest FIVE-year-old we know.

Happy Birthday, Supergirl!

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So much for my new years resolution to blog more...

2009-01-05T11:37:00.007-05:00

Its January 5 and I'm just getting the Christmas pictures up. We had a great Christmas visiting all the grandparents! Zachary was articulary cute this year and helped everyone open their presents. And the kids must have been very good last year because Santa came through big-time!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T16:02:00.003-05:00

We are off to San Diego today.
Morgan & Zachary wish everyone a very merry christmas!

Scary Words

2008-12-03T16:15:00.004-05:00

Zachary (coming out of the bathroom after demanding privacy): It's all better, Daddy! I cleaned up the mess!

****************************

Morgan: Look at me, Mom! I can run with my eyes closed!

A Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T13:59:00.008-05:00

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! Morgan & Zachary did. They were both happier than they'd been all week, having just recovered from the Hand, Foot and Mouth virus. Aunt Beth, Uncle Todd and Aunt Tess were here to help us celebrate and eat lots of food. Here are some pictures.

We did lots of baking...

and made lots of pinecone turkeys.

We pouted some....

and smiled some.

We had delicious snacks....and a beautifully decorated dining room.

We hung out with the family....

and now we're ready for Christmas!

Cruise Review - Part 2 (finally!)

2008-11-20T00:02:00.010-05:00

Day 7 – October 30
The worst thing about our next port – Zihuatenejo – was that we were only there 5 hours! It was an absolutely beautiful, tropical place and apparently a lovely little town – quieter than some of our other ports – with interesting shops, galleries and sights. But the kids aren’t really into sightseeing yet, so once again we decided to hit the beach. The ship has to dock in the harbor so we took a tender to the pier where we hired a water taxi who’s driver promised us “the best beach for kids” which turned out to be Playa Las Gatas. The water was warm, calm and clear so we decided to rent snorkels and see what we could see. Morgan wanted to try snorkeling too. We’d forgotten her floaties so weren’t sure if she’d be able to do much. But the water was sooooo salty that she discovered that she could float easily. She figured out how to use the snorkel in no time and swam all over the place seeing lots of colorful fish. Zachary was also able to see fish splashing around by the rocks. We spent hours, not just at the beach, but in the water. This was the one place that we’d really like to go back to someday!
After dinner, we took Morgan to the Kids Club and took Zach out for another show and dancing. Zachary was always happiest at the disco. By the end of the cruise all of the bands knew him by name. Many people commented on how both he and Morgan have a natural sense of rhythm. Sure didn’t get it from their parents!

Playa las Gatas

Ship from shore!

Snorkel girl!

Day 8 - October 31
After the natural beauty of Zihuatenejo, it was a bit of a letdown to see that the pier in Puerto Vallerta is basically in Wal-Mart’s parking lot. So we were glad that we chose this port to do our one ship sponsored (meaning: expensive!) shore excursion. We’d booked the “pirate boat adventure” where we would get breakfast, lunch and a show on a pirate ship as well as snorkeling, beach time, and an open bar. When we got off the ship we were greeted by Lucas our “personal pirate” and were escorted to the pirate boat for breakfast. Morgan was a little bit nervous at first, but soon got into it mugging and “Arrrrrrr-ing” with all the pirates. She was so enthusiastic that she was chosen to participate in one of the games. She went up on stage – by herself – and said her name and where she was from and then danced for everyone. Unfortunately, next thing I knew was that I had to join her on stage while she fed me baby food with us both in blindfolds. At least we got t-shirts out of it!
The pirate show itself was pretty silly and hard for Morgan to follow because it was bilingual and I don’t think she could keep track of when they switched between English and Spanish. But there was enough yelling and sword fighting and cannonballs (“candy-balls” as Zach says) to keep the kids entertained until we reached our snorkeling area. We snorkeled right from the boat and had to wear lifeboats so it was a little disappointing for Morgan & Zach. Their vests didn’t fit well and Morgan’s snorkel wasn’t the right size either. (We should have got Morgan some snorkel gear at home and brought it with us.) But Jon saw some great fish including a puffer fish!
After snorkeling we went to the beach and spent some time there. Zach & I splashed in the tide pools and Morgan & Jon took a banana boat ride. Then we went back to the pirate ship for lunch. Poor Zachary was sooo hungry because we didn’t bring any snacks to the beach and lunch wasn’t until after 1. But then he feel asleep before the food was served. Luckily, the pirates were nice enough to pack up his hot dog so he could have it as soon as he woke up.
Once back on the cruise ship it was time to get ready for HALLOWEEN! The kids club was going trick or treating and Morgan was so excited. She refused all week to tell anyone what her costume was because she wanted it to be a surprise. We got her a pink eye patch at the pirate gift shop to complete her “Princess Pirate” look. And Zach wore my old Oshkosh overalls with a matching hat to be a train engineer. He had no idea what he was supposed to be, but it was still cute. The kids club paraded all over the ship collecting candy. Morgan was very good about making sure she got some for Zachary who wouldn’t carry a bag. Zachary decided that he does not like Halloween. Even now almost a month later he tells us every day “Halloween SCAAAARY! No like Halloween!”. But Morgan loves it and was even brave enough to go through the haunted house that the teen club (there were maybe 4 or 5 teenagers on board) put together. Personally, I’m with Zach on the whole Halloween thing and was quite happy not to have to deal with school parties and trick-or-treating. I think I’d like to go on vacation every Halloween!

Morgan and her personal pirate.

Dancing on stage.

Tired little matey.

Princess Pirate Morgan.

Engineer Zachary.

Day 9 – November 1
Our last port was Cabo San Lucas. It was easy to tell we were no longer in the tropical part of Mexico because the view from our stateroom looked a lot like San Diego! But in the other direction was the dramatic looking landscape of Land’s End, so that is where we decided to go. The water taxi drivers were skeptical because the beach over there has no facilities or restaurants or Burger Kings, but we insisted. We found one with a glass bottomed boat and negotiated a deal for a sightseeing tour, snorkel gear and a few hours at Lover’s Beach. He even directed us to a truck where we could get tacos to bring with us for lunch. (Though he, too, was surprised that we didn’t want hamburgers.) We saw the rock formation “el arco” and lots of fish and sea lions. Land’s End is where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean and as you get close to the pacific side, the water gets really rough! The Sea of Cortez side (that’s where the beach is) is better, but it was still too strong for Morgan to snorkel. But she had fun “body surfing” with her floaties on. Even Zachary figured out a way to body surf. He’d hold my hand and then when a wave hit us he’d lift up his feet and let his lower body get tossed around by the surf. It was a bit rough on my shoulder, but fun. Even the couple of times when the waves were stronger than I expected and we both went tumbling up the beach.
The kids both love the beach now. I don’t think we’ll be able to get away with not taking them to the beach for another summer. Morgan was so inexperienced in the ocean at first that her only point of reference was The Little Mermaid. She referred to the beach and the ocean as the “surface” and the “sea”. As in, when she was tired she’d say “I’m ready to go to the surface now” and after she’d rested she would say “now I want to return to the sea.” Morgan & Zachary were both so sad that this was their last day at the beach.
Back on the ship, the kids had another dinner with their kids club so Jon & I had a nice meal in the “fancy” dining room. The meals are long and leisurely with several courses and very nice service. Of course, that means that with the kids the meals were very stressful, so it was nice to go by ourselves and really enjoy it.
Late that night was something they were calling their “white hot ice ice” party or something like that. I guess you were supposed to wear white and have a party. Obviously we did not attend because as the parents of 2 kids under 5 we do not own anything white. I think it was all just a ploy to sell white clothes in the duty free. By this time we knew that NCL doesn’t miss an opportunity to sell you things. From the pictures in the photo gallery the next day it looked like about 30 people were at the party! It didn’t help that it was at 10:30 and I don’t think many of the passengers stay up that late. It wasn’t a very party oriented crowd. Every day the schedule would advertise DJ Tony “rocking the house” from 11:30 on. I think DJ Tony probably has the easiest job on the ship.

Land's End

El Arco

Morgan and the sea lions!

Zach on the beach!

Day 10 & 11 – November 2 & 3
Our last two days at sea were mostly uneventful. On the 2nd we took the kids for one last time in the pool since it was starting to get cooler as we sailed north. It was so windy that even sitting in the hot tub was uncomfortable because of the water being blown into your face. Then there was the family pizza making party which provided one of the better meals on the ship! The show that night was called “Cirque Pan” – a music/dancing/acrobatics extravaganza inspired by Peter Pan. Morgan went with the kids club and Jon & I took Zach who we knew would like it. He really did like it – except when some of the pirates ran through the aisles right past us. I think he’d had enough pirates on the trip already! The show itself was pretty good, except that I can’t remember the part in Peter Pan where Wendy sings “Lady Marmalade”. This was also the night of the midnight chocolate buffet, but we were too tired to check it out. By the time we went to bed, the ship was starting to rock pretty strongly and early the next morning we were woken up by a message from the Captain saying that they were helicoptoring a sick passenger off the ship so to stay inside. Too much excitement at the chocolate buffet, I guess.
By our last day onboard, we were ready to get home. Ten days was a good length of time, but I don’t think we would have lasted any longer. The ship was rocking like crazy all day. We took Morgan to Kids Club for an hour before lunch and she spent the rest of the day in bed totally seasick. I don’t think she was the only one because the ship was so quiet – very few people out and about. Zach felt fine, though, so we just took turns trying to entertain him and keep him out of the room so poor Morgan could rest. Unfortunately, on one of his outings he got his fingers caught in the elevator!!! It didn’t close on his hand, he just got it stuck on the side where the door slid open. So we almost went the whole trip without a visit to the medical center! Luckily, his hand was not broken, the doc did not charge us and Zachary got a latex glove blown up like a balloon. What a way to end a vacation!
Tuesday morning we sailed into San Francisco bay around 6am. We had chosen to disembark at 9:20 using the color-coded system that they had set up. They were supposed to call our color “orange” at 9:20 and then we would be able to get our luggage from the pier. Of course, they skipped orange (at this point we thought they were just trying to make us mad) but we left anyway and our bags were easy to find and we were on our way home. The kids both cried as we drove away, but once we got home I think they were glad to be back. Zachary kept shouting “Zach play with toys?!? Zach play with TOYS?!?” I think the boy thought he would never see his toys again.
So we survived. We even had a lot of fun. I think we’d definitely do a cruise again someday – probably when the kids are a little older. If Zachary were at least 4 I think it would be much easier. And next time we have to bring grandparents with us. (And aunts/uncles too!) It would be nice to spread the kids around a little more. We probably wouldn’t sail NCL again, though. Nothing major went wrong, but there were a whole bunch of little irritating incidents which, when put together, don’t point to a very well-run company and certainly not one with a customer-service focus. But we didn’t let that run our good time!

Towel bunny!

Sick Morgan

Back home in the bay!

Cruise Review - Part 1

2008-11-07T22:26:00.012-05:00

Norweigan Sun

11-Day Mexican Riviera Cruise

October 24, 2008-November 4, 2008

Day 1, Friday Oct 24:
One of the main reasons we chose this particular cruise was that it embarked from San Francisco meaning a minimum of travel for us. We were even able to send Morgan on her field trip Friday morning and drive up to SF afterwards. The check-in process was hugely frustrating (and over the next several days we found out that almost everything - from taking our ID photos to processing our credit card - was done incorrectly), but we made it on the ship with plenty of time to explore and start to unpack before the boat drill and sail away.
We had a balcony stateroom on the 9th deck with a queen sized bed and a double sofa bed (more like a futon) for the kids. It was small, but we all fit. I think without a balcony it would have been a more claustrophobic experience!
Around 4pm the ship left the pier and we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful, clear (!), warm (!!) day in San Francisco and the view was amazing.
Once we were out on the ocean it was cold and windy so we changed into warmer clothes and decided to have a casual dinner in the buffet. Worst. Buffet. Ever. It was so poorly laid out that the line stretched all the way back to San Francisco and the food wasn't all that great either. It took so long to get through the line that we never got to eat together in the buffet. Jon or I would go through first to get the kids' food (it was too tall even for Morgan to do it herself) and then by the time we had our plates the kids were done and starting to get restless so we've have to shovel it down before they went crazy. Not a good dining experience and after the first couple of days we only used the buffet under extraordinary circumstances.
After dinner we got the kids ready for their first visit to the Kids Club. Morgan loved it right away, but Zachary wasn't too enthusiastic. He only cried a bit at the begining, though.

Our balcony, at the pier.

Sailing under the Golden Gate.

Day 2 - Saturday, October 25:

This was our first full day at sea. Unfortunately, it was still too cold most of the day to use the pool, but we spent our time exploring the ship in more detail and just relaxing. Since the dining options on board hadn’t wowed us yet, we decided to try one of the "specialty" restaurants (these have a cover charge). We made a 1pm reservation in the Teppanyakki room (think Benihana). The kids were in kids club so it was just Jon & I. It was very disappointing. We usually love this kind of food, but not this time. We got the shrimp & steak and it all tasted the same. Even the vegetables and rice. We were also the only ones there so it wasn’t as fun as it is with a full table. We were starting to think we’d actually lose weight on the cruise! That night we dropped by the show in the Stardust Lounge. It was a songs from various musicals. It was pretty cheesy, but Zachary absolutely LOVED it! He sat quietly and watched the whole thing completely mesmerized. Morgan wasn't so sure about it. During the Les Miserables section she seemed pretty confused about why anyone would want to watch such sad songs!

All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream!

Waiting for it to warm up!Enjoying the view from the balcony.

Our first towel animal gets a kiss.
Day 3 - Sunday, October 26:
Finally it was warm enough to go to the pool. The ship has 2 large pools (one is adults-only) but never even went in them. We stuck to the kids pool which is very small, but Morgan & Zach thought it was great. There is also a kids "hot tub" adjacent which was nice for Jon & I to hang out it while the kids played on the little slide. Morgan had already made friends so she really liked splashing around with all the kids.
Unfortunately, the kids pool was also a bit dangerous. It was clearly an afterthought on the ship. The surface around the pool structure was slick – more so than around the regular pools, and the grate surrounding the hot tub had several gaps just large enough to trap a small foot. Jon also found a drain cover left open in the middle of the pool. If it had been more crowded and harder to keep a close eye on the kids there very likely could have been an accident. Once again, we were not impressed with NCL.

Wheee!

Basking in the sun on the Sun.

She's not really strangling him.

Too tired to finish his hot dog.
Day 4 - Monday, October 27:
We got to our first port - Mazatlan - around 1pm. I'd heard from many people that the city was kind of dumpy, but I thought it was very pleasant. We took a "pulmonia" - an open-air golf-cartish taxi - to the beach in the Zona Dorado. We asked our taxi driver about places to eat and he kept pointing out Burger King, McDonalds, El Pollo Loco, etc. He seemed surprised that we wanted to eat Mexican food in Mexico! But we ended up not eating there at all because we had so little time.
The beach was great. Morgan & Zach haven't been to the beach since 2006 (Z was just 7 weeks old at the time) so it was a completely new experience for them. We couldn't have picked a better beach. It was not crowded - maybe 3 or 4 other families - and we got drinks and nachos from the nearby hotel so we could use their tables and umbrellas. The water was so warm it hardly even felt refreshing and the waves were gentle. The kids jumped in the waves, collected shells and built sandcastles until they were worn out.
Zachary fell asleep on the way back to the ship. Even though we'd been on board for 4 days, he still didn't realize that we were on a ship. I think its because he was asleep when we boarded in SF too. He would still ask "Go on boat today?" all the time. It wasn't until the next day that he actually experienced walking onto the ship. Poor kid thought we were on a 6 day cruise!

Day 5 – October 28:
Another sea day. This night the kids club took the kids to dinner so Jon & I made reservations at the steakhouse (another specialty restaurant) still in search of a great meal. We got what we were looking for here. The steak was great and the desserts were excellent (we ordered 3). It cost us about $100 including a bottle of wine, but we left full and satisfied! This was also the ships “monte carlo night” with optional formal night. It was fun to dress up and we got some good family pictures taken. Morgan particularly liked taking a picture with the Captain. After he explained to her that there was still a reliable person driving the ship while he was out meeting the passengers. She was a bit worried for a minute.

Day 6 – October 29:
We pulled into Acapulco early in the morning for our longest port visit. We were the 2nd cruise ship on the pier and a 3rd docked out in the harbor. “What happened?” Morgan asked. “Did their captain just give up?”
We waited long enough to get off the ship that we were able to avoid having our picture taken with fake Mexicans. In each port, crew members from the photography department dressed up in costumes and tried to get everyone to pose for a picture. In Mazatlan they were a parrot and a bald eagle. Here they were in stereotypical Mexican garb. One was in a full plush costume with a giant plastic head. Kind of like a bobble head doll. Very, very strange. And irritating because it made the line slow down getting off the ship.
Acapulco is a big city so I’m sure it is always pretty crowded, but 3 cruise ships in port just made it worse. It was also blazing hot. First we went to visit the fort (Fuerte de San Diego) which is right across the street from the pier. It was slightly more interesting the Sutter’s Fort for the kids (this one had pirates) and the exhibit rooms were air conditioned.
After that we hired a taxi to take us to lunch, and the market and the cliff divers. We had a good Mexican lunch and then browses the Mercado and managed to only buy 2 sets of maracas for Morgan & Zachary. The cliff divers put on a good shoe, but Zach had fallen asleep so I tried to keep him in the shade and it was hard to see. I did get to see several senior citizens get into fights over who was standing where first so at least I got some entertainment for my money.
We went back to the ship to rest and change and then found our way to the beach. The waves were quite rough here so we didn’t go in the water much. Luckily, a vendor selling sand toys came by so we made some great sand castles.
We went back to the ship around dinnertime although we did not leave the pier until after midnight.
This was definitely our busiest port day of the trip.

Fort.

Boom!

Run away!
Beach Bum.

More to come!

We're Back!

2008-11-04T21:08:00.005-05:00

A long post complete with pictures will be up soon, but here is the short version:

We had a great time (though with some mixed feelings about the ship and cruiseline). The kids were troopers. Mexico was beautiful. We're glad to be home.

Happy Early Halloween!

2008-10-23T18:14:00.003-04:00

We'll be in Puerto Vallarta on Halloween so we took the kids to Gilroy Gardens this weekend for a Halloween treasure hunt. Zach had no costume. We're bringing his train engineer overalls and hat on the trip with us. Morgan is a Princess-Pirate-Knight. The knight part doesn't work out so well because its not very convenient to carry a 24 inch bejewled plastic sword around everywhere. If you look closely you can see her pirate medalion.

Gil (aka Mr. Garlic-Man) dresses up as a pirate too!

ARRRRRR, Matey!

Trick or Treat!

A pumpkin for my pumpkin!

We leave on our cruise tomorrow and won't be back until Nov 4. As Zach says: "Bye-bye, Alligators!"

Two Zachary videos

2008-10-22T16:17:00.004-04:00

Zach is such a party animal!

Zach does know the whole alphabet, however he rarely has the attention span to get through the whole thing in one sitting.

Ready, Set....POTTY!

2008-10-12T00:05:00.003-04:00

Less than two weeks ago, we decided it was time to try potty training Zachary. I wasn't optimistic, but I had to give it a shot. I have come to HATE changing diapers. And also, we booked a cruise for the end of the month and I'd love not to have to deal with diapers all day.

The first day Zach peed an equal number of times on the floor as in the potty.

The second day, he peed in the potty twice as many times as on the floor.

The third day he only peed on the floor once, pooped in the potty, and even used the toilet at the grocery store.

The fourth day he told us when he had to poo.

By the fifth day he was telling us every time he needed to go and he hasn't had an accident since. (Other than accidents caused by poor aim, but what can you do.)

So we are down to just diapers at night! YAY!!!!!! We even broke down our changing table set-up today. There is so much more space in our bedroom now! And I feel like I have so much free time now that I don't have to wash diapers every 3rd day!

Zachary is very proud of himself and loves his new big boy pants.

Hoop Dreams

2008-10-01T23:20:00.004-04:00

Zachary, right now

2008-09-25T17:23:00.004-04:00

Zachary's favorite toy is his doctor kit - which he calls his "doctor kids". He pokes and prods his patients with his instruments shouting "THAT HURT?" until he gets a postitive response. Then he turns all sympathetic and says "Awww, okay. All better now!"

Zachary likes to wake up around 5am. This has been going on for months. We tried everything to get him to sleep later. Dark room, warm jammies, cool jammies, later bedtime, earlier bedtime, earlier nap, later nap, shorter nap. No luck. We finally realized that this was not a sleeping problem, but an eating problem. Zachary doesn't like to eat dinner -at least not outside of a very narrow range of foods. He even rejects food - chicken, for example - that he will happily eat at other meals. So he's been waking up early in the morning because he his HUNGRY. (His exploding verbal ability helped us figure this out - instead of calling for "mommy" when he wakes up, he calls for "snacks, please, now, please".) As much as I hate making special meals for a picky eater, I hate waking up almost 2 hours before sunrise even more. So when we just can't take the early mornings and Zach turns up his nose at our exotic meal of BBQ chicken and oven fries, we go ahead and let him fill up on pasta, rice and fruit.

Zachary finally knows most of his colors! There was a time there where I was actually wondering if he was color blind. He never even got his colors right on accident! But now he's making progress. He's got yellow, orange, green, blue and red down and is working on purple, pink, brown and black.

Zachary loves animals. His favorites are elephants and giraffes. We took him to the aquarium last week and he really enjoyed the fish, but kept waiting to see the "on-a-phonts" and "t'raffs". He was a little disappointed.

Zachary misses Morgan so much when she is at school. He asks about 100 times "where Morgan at?", "what Morgan doin'?". And he runs to the classroom when we pick her up. He really wants to go to school too. "Yak, too? Yak go to school too? Yak go school now?" I'm hoping that I can use this to motivate him to potty train since he can't go to school in diapers. But so far he politely refuses. "Time to sit on the potty, Zachary?" No, thank you!"

Zachary likes to do things by himself - or "by the delf". He likes to read his own books, climb into his carseat on his own, brush his own teeth, etc. These things take a very long time. But there are other things he likes to do "together". These include jumping on the bed, climbing the monkey bars and sliding down the slides. This is how Jon & I get our exersize.

Zach as a pearl.

Square peg, round hole

Love.

Music Appreciation

2008-09-15T23:22:00.002-04:00

Jon has been taking guitar lessons (he's very good) and M & Z wanted in on the fun. We got them little guitars so they can "jam" with Daddy. Morgan had to have the pink sparkly one, of course! They both love strumming along when Jon practices and they make up words to sing along with the music. Morgan especially likes it and wants to take lessons too. She'll have to wait at least until her basketball season ends!

Morgan's Big Day!

2008-09-05T23:14:00.009-04:00

Today was Morgan's first day of preschool!

She is in the afternoon class and doesn't start until 11:45, but she was ready to go from the moment she got up at 7 this morning. She wore her backpack for 2 hours before it was even time to leave the house. She could hardly stand still and blamed it on the butterflies in her tummy. She was excited, to say the least.

While we were waiting outside her classroom she started to get a little nervous and cried a bit, but once she looked in the window and saw all of the FUN she felt better. I signed her in and helped her get her nametag and she never even looked back.

(Zachary cried when we left, though. "Me too! Me too! Me too, school!")

She had a great time. Her favorite subject is "snack" and she was only a little sad that it was too hot (near 100) to play on the playground. In typical Morgan fashion, she made lots of new friends and was so excited that "everyone had new shoes"!

Its going to be a long wait until Monday for Morgan.

We've got cousins!

2008-08-11T16:37:00.002-04:00

Congratulations Aunt Susie and Uncle Jeff!!! Happy Birthday and welcome, Cash & Cooper! We are are so excited for all you of you and can't wait to meet the sweet little boys!
M & Z wanted to make a movie for their new cousins.

Just....WOW!

2008-08-06T20:08:00.001-04:00

This week Morgan also floated in the pool with floaties and started sounding out words. She is going to RULE the preschool next month!

Morgan Loves Soccer!

2008-08-04T00:12:00.004-04:00

Morgan is taking her first "real" (as in not with mom & dad) soccer class this summer. Its through a great non-competitive program called "Kids Love Soccer". And Morgan does, indeed, Love Soccer. She's learning to pass, and dribble, and steal, and kick the ball where she wants it to go. So she's already a much better soccer player than I ever was! The classes are only 30 minutes long - 20 minutes practicing skills and 10 minutes playing a mini match. Of course, everyone's favorite part is playing the actual game and this weekend Morgan scored two goals! (Her coach told her that if she scored another he'd have to give her his job.) While her ball-handling skills are pretty average, the fact that she actually understands the rules gives her a huge advantage. Only about half the kids seem to get the parts about keeping the ball in bounds and kicking it towards your goal not the other side's goal. The ones who have mastered the rules are the ones who dominate the matches. KLS might not believe in keeping score, but Morgan does - and she was very proud of herself this weekend.

Bumpy ride

2008-07-31T17:21:00.004-04:00

I was worried the kids would be scared of the big elephant, but they were very brave and thought it was sooo fun. Even two weeks later, ask Zachary what he wants to do today and he will often tell you "RIDE AN ON-A-PONT!"

Also, check out the tongue on this thing!

Haircut time again!

2008-07-30T18:07:00.002-04:00

Before
After And with style!

Catching up again

2008-07-30T17:58:00.003-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posting. I've got the stupid Still's Disease again and the kids keep me really busy.

We took the kids a couple of weeks ago to Six Flags. The trip was not one of our better adventures(car broke down, hotel room was falling apart, I started getting sick) but the park was tons of fun. The kids rode rides, watched whale and dolphin shows, Morgan fed a giraffe and we all got to ride an elephant! Here are some pictures. (I'll try to get the elephant (or as Zach says "on-a-pont") picture scanned soon.)

Guess Who's Two!

2008-07-12T14:49:00.001-04:00

If you ask Zachary how old he is today, he will very proudly tell you "five!". I guess he wants to be older than Morgan.

Zachary is two years old today.

This has been quite a year for Zach. He learned to talk and to sing, to walk and to dance, to play hide & seek and to torment his big sister, to fall asleep without nursing and to (sometimes) sleep through the night, to throw tantrums and to give hugs and kisses. Zachary is a busy boy.

Zachary is Mr. Personality. How we got two outgoing, social kids is a mystery. Zach may not know his colors yet, but he knows the name of every kid in the neighborhood. And he greets them all with full speed running hugs every time. He is so expressive. When he is excited about something he literally shakes with anticipation. He dances when he is happy and shrieks when he is angry. Zach gets sad when he sees someone cry. He is very compassionate, but he is not a pushover. His persistance will serve him well eventually, though right now it challenges our limit-setting. Zachary also has a great sense of humor. He loves putting funny things on his head and making up silly songs. You can't help but feel happy when you hear Zachary laugh.

Zachary loves to ride his bike, play with his dolls and his trucks, he would be entertained all day at a train station. He loves hide & seek, ring around the rosy, 5 little monkeys, baseball, and chasing. He stars in singing and dancing extravaganzas with Morgan. They love splasing together in the pool or bathtub. If he's only gained a few pounds this year, its because he never stops moving. Even when watching his beloved Blue's Clues, he jumps and dances along with the characters. Zachary is also a pretty brave kid - only afraid of farm animals, trucks in reverse, and golf carts.

Zachary at two years old is just amazing - and getting better all the time!

Happy Birthday, Z!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Morgan-isms!

2008-07-07T17:56:00.004-04:00

Allergies have not affected Morgan's way with words.

M: How old are you going to be on your birthday, Mommy?" [she asks me this about 15 times a day.]
Me: 30.
M: WOW! Thats so old you're almost dead

"I'm not tired! I was just stretching my mouth"

"T is my best friend who I met at the pool. He is my pool-boy!"

Another Adventure

2008-07-04T12:44:00.003-04:00

Wednesday night , Morgan ate a piece of shrimp.

Within 5 minutes she was complaining of ear pain, then itchy eyes, then her face got bumpy and red and started swelling up. By the time we got her to Urgent Care her left eye was nearly swollen shut. But by the time we saw a doctor (maybe 20 minutes from when we walked in) the swelling was already going down. The doctor confirmed that it looked like a shellfish allergy. She got a dose of benadryl which helped the itching and redness although her eyes stayed somewhat swollen and were still a little puffy the next morning.

We were told to keep her on benadryl for at least 24 hrs or longer if she is still puffy and to follow up with her ped next week. We are also the proud new owners of an Epi-pen. And, obviously, we are to avoid shellfish. (Morgan will be quite pleased about this since she thought the shrimp was the most disgusting thing she'd ever tasted. )

She's all better now. But it sure was scary. We've never had any allergy issues before so this was all new too us. Luckily, her reaction wasn't too severe this time and hopefully we can keep her away from shellfish and avoid any future issues.

I don't want to have to see this again:

The Performers

2008-06-29T14:45:00.001-04:00

Adventures in Public Transportation

2008-06-27T01:08:00.004-04:00

In an effort to save money and the earth we've been trying not to use the car as much. This means a lot more walking. But I've also worked up the nerve to try the public transportation system. Turns out, the light-rail is very easy to use (as long as you are going somewhere that the train goes), cheap (the kids ride free), and tons of fun for a couple of kids who love trains. There is a stop about a mile from our house, which is very convenient. We've taken the train a couple of times to the Children's Museum and once to the farmers' market. The only casualty so far has been a bag of peaches that Zachary jumped off his seat onto while riding home from the market.

Here are some pictures:

Waiting for the train. (Yes, Morgan has an "I Love Hooters" sticker. Zach wouldn't wear his.)

On board.

Taking the big train to San Francisco.

Flying Monkeys

2008-06-11T01:29:00.005-04:00

If you ask Morgan what she did last Friday, she will tell you that she "played a drum and made the monkeys spin around". And she would be telling the truth! We went to see the exhibit Homouroboros which is part of the digital arts festival that was going on downtown.

Its kind of hard to explain, but it is a huge metal "tree" with monkey-like figures hanging from the "branches". All around the base of the tree are drums. Each one makes a different sound and when you start playing a rhythm on the drums the monkeys start spinning around. Once they get going, you can look through strobe-light goggles and it looks like a single monkey swinging through trees.

The kids thought it was so cool! They spent well over an hour playing the drums and watching the monkeys.

Here are some pictures and a video.

Book Review: Eat Healthy, Feel Great

2008-06-01T19:04:00.003-04:00

Morgan's been a pretty good eater lately, but like many 4 year olds, she preferred junk to health food. Well, I read this book to Morgan last week and now she is the family nutrition police.

The book puts food in three categories: Green-light foods help you grow and GO so you can eat as much of them as you like. Yellow light foods will make you SLOW DOWN if you eat to much. And red-light foods do not help you feel good so you should STOP eating them.

After I read Morgan the book she ate all her pasta and chicken for dinner and then had three helpings of salad! And then she went around and sweet-talked all 4 adults at the table into giving her the broccoli out of their salads! When she was out with Daddy for some weekend fun, she wouldn't let him take her to McDonalds, Burger King, Carl's Jr., etc. She finally agreed to a turkey sandwich , but apparently spent the whole meal scolding Jon for drinking a coke.

She won't eat anything anymore without knowing what light it is.

I know that Morgan won't maintain her hard-line nutritional stance forever, but I love how this book helped her to think about food in ways other than just what tastes good. She's also been interested in how the body works, the senses, and the digestive, circulatory and immune systems so this nutrition book is a great compliment to those sorts of books!

Its also a plus that the little girl in the book looks very much like Mo!

Baby's First Stitches

2008-05-25T19:20:00.003-04:00

Poor Zachary.

Saturday morning, he found a pair of scissors and tried to give himself a manicure. But instead he sliced through good chunk of fingertip. There was much blood. We wrapped up the finger as best we could and sped off to the urgent care center.

Zach got three stitches. He was most unhappy about it. And an angry Zach is a strong Zach. He kept kicking the doctor's instruments on the floor. I was restraining his body while the nurse kept his hand still, but he managed to wiggle quite a bit anyway. I think the nurse had to change her clothes when it was over she was so sweaty. The doctor said "I think I can skip the gym today." It was quite a workout.

But once he had a lollipop, Zach was happy again. Thankfully it doesn't seem to hurt him too badly as long as no one touches it. And we figured out we can change his bandages while he sleeps without resistance.

We get to go back to have the stitches out in about a week.

And we're locking all the scissors in a vault.

Catching up!

2008-05-14T16:48:00.012-04:00

Lots of catching up to do.

Here's the short version.

Vacation.

Sick Morgan

Exhausted Zachary

I'm getting tired of changing diapers.

It only took me 18 months to figure out that they do have strawberry picking in California!

And strawberry eating.

M & Z stopped fighting long enough for a few pictures.

Morgan likes dressing up like "Phoebe" from the Magic School Bus series.

Morgan

Phoebe

A beatiful spring day at the Japanese Friendship Garden.

Happy Mothers' Day

2008-05-11T12:52:00.002-04:00

For your reading pleasure

2008-04-16T01:17:00.001-04:00

Click Here.
Morgan made up this story all by herself. I just wrote down what she told me to.

How to blow Zach's little mind.

2008-04-15T00:54:00.002-04:00

Big Boy

2008-04-06T13:47:00.003-04:00

Zachary graduated from the high chair to the big-boy booster seat last night. By this age, Morgan was sitting in a regular chair, but Zach definitely still needs to be strapped down! He did great and even ate all his dinner! He also said his longest phrase yet: "Yuck! No like chicken." But it was a lie. He had 2 helpings of chicken.

Also, Morgan has a silly hat.

Moving to the Music

2008-04-02T11:41:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

2008-03-23T18:43:00.004-04:00

Enough

2008-03-14T01:11:00.004-04:00

Zachary's new favorite part of the playground is the drinking fountain. Forget about the slide, the swings, the jungle gym, even the sand! The drinking fountain is where its at. He spent half an hour the other day dragging back to the drinking fountain so I could lift him up and let him splash water all over himself. Eventually I had to get firm and tell him that was enough. "That is enough, Zachary! Enough!"

So now he calls a drinking fountain a 'nuff.

"Mommy! 'Nuff, please! More 'nuff!"

Also, new haircut!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Cars!

2008-03-11T17:54:00.002-04:00

Morgan vs. The Volcano

2008-03-03T21:53:00.003-05:00

Morgan has been learning about volcanos this week. Its a nice change from her interest in earthquakes because we can assure her very sincerely that there are no volcanos where we live and that there will be no eruptions near our house. So far she's only had a couple of volcano nightmares (as opposed to countless earthquake nightmares). Even though its kind of scary to her, she wants to keep reading her volcano books and looking at volcano pictures, so we decided to make our own volcano!

Roadtrip!

2008-03-01T18:50:00.003-05:00

We decide to take advantage of some great weather and spend the weekend sightseeing in Sacramento!
The kids were most excited about staying in a hotel. Because they found notebooks in the room!

And Zachary wasted no time ordering room service.

They also had a great time at the train museum. This was a really cool museum - just as fun and interesting for grown ups as it was for the kids. Zachary didn't stop running the whole time we were there. He would dart from engine to engine yelling "Choo-choo! Choo-choo!".

And Fairytale Town was great too!

Sutter's Fort was pretty dull for the kids, but at least they had a chance to get dirty!

Bouncing Baby Boy

2008-02-21T00:51:00.002-05:00

Our playgroup had a great gymnastics playdate this week. Zachary and Morgan both LOVED the trampoline. It was Zach's first trampoline experience and he spent most of the hour jumping. Unfortunately, that meant I had to spend the hour on the trampoline too - trying to prevent him from launching himself off of it. The next morning I could hardly bend my knees. Apparently, trampolines and joint problems don't mix. Learn something every day.

If you're happy and you know it...

2008-02-19T22:12:00.001-05:00

If you're going to San Francisco...

2008-02-16T13:38:00.003-05:00

Be sure to dress warm because no matter how warm the temperature claims it is, it will be COLD!

But that didn't stop us from having a great time yesterday!

We went to the Exploratorium in the morning which is a great big science museum. Its definitely geared towards school-aged kids rather than preschoolers, but Morgan had a blast anyway. She just loves museums!

Then we headed over to Pier 39 for lunch, a carousel ride, and to see the sea lions. Zach was very excited to be in the city. "Bus!" Wah! [that means train in Z-speak] Bus! Wah! Bird! Bus! Bus! Wah!" Zachary was pretty fascinated by the sea lions too. "Dog?" he asked. "Sea lion", I told him. "No" he told me. Like, I may be a baby, but I know that's not a LION! C'mon, Mom!

Kids are healthy!

2008-02-12T16:59:00.000-05:00

Morgan & Zach had their check-ups last week. They are both growing and developing perfectly. Morgan was such a pro for the doctor. She stood on the big-girl scale and let the doctor do the exam without any fussing. Go Morgan! Zach, on the other hand, screamed through the whole thing - even the parts where nothing was happening to him.

Morgan has gained over 4 lbs in the last year and she has grown 3.5 inches. She's in the 30th percentile for weight and in the 50th for height! We knew she was getting tall - none of her pants fit anymore!

Zachary only gained a little over 2lbs since August which is not surprising at all considering that he never stops moving! He's grown 3 inches though, putting him in the 65th percentile for height and the 15th for weight. Tall and skinny!

Sick of being sick

2008-02-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

I have been sick for a month now and I am completely and totally TIRED of it! I'm ready to get back to normal. Good news is that I am feeling better all the time so at least things are moving in the right direction.
I have spent more time in the doctor's office in the last 4 weeks than in the entire rest of my life. My primary care doctor says that I am "very interesting, medically". I'm sure she'd find me very interesting otherwise if she got to know me, but that's not her job. :)
My diagnosis (still tentative, but looking better every day) is Adult Still's Disease. They put me in the hospital initially because they thought I had an infection but gallons of bloodwork showed no such thing and 2 days of antibiotics had no effect on my symptoms (although it cleared up my acne nicely). So they put me on the steriod Prednisone and within a couple of hours I could bend my fingers again, my rash improved and I my fever never spiked again. So whatever I have, it is nicely controled by the medication.
So I still have lingering joint pain and stiffness - especially in the mornings - but I am doing better. My next step is to get OFF the Prednisone. Its wonderful that it makes me feel better, but it also stops me from sleeping, makes me eat A LOT, makes me depressed, anxious and occasionally MEAN. I'm also very puffy-looking which I don't like. My doctor has me reducing the dosage by 10 mg a week since I guess this isn't a drug you want to stop suddenly. I'm down from 60 to 50 mg and still feeling okay physically but not seeing any change otherwise. I've read that a lot of people feel less 'roid rage-y once they get under 40 mg so I'm looking forward to feeling like myself again in a couple more weeks.
So that why I haven't been posting much lately. Hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2008-02-08T14:47:00.001-05:00

Eighteen Months Old

2008-01-12T17:56:00.000-05:00

There is a curly-haired, brown-eyed, handsome little boy where my baby used to be.

The Adventure Continues

2008-01-10T00:29:00.000-05:00

Morgan is the most social, outgoing child you will meet. Where most people see a playground full of kids, Morgan sees a playground full of friends. She can organize friends of all ages into games of bug collecting, mud pies or chase. She has a special knack for finding the shy friends and making sure they are having fun too. And Morgan is full of contradictions. But she won't attend a ballet or gymnastics class without Mommy or Daddy. Morgan keeps us guessing. Morgan’s favorite real animal is a ladybug and her favorite imaginary animal is a dragon and her favorite extinct animal is a “dinosaurus rex”. Her favorite color is pink and she wants to be a firefighter when she grows up. Or maybe a chef. Morgan can make Zachary laugh harder and cry harder than anyone else can. And she is his most loyal defender if anyone else tries to mess with him. Morgan loves to be read to. She loves books about science and space and nature and about a family of bears who live in a treehouse in Bear Country who are always learning important life lessons. Morgan has a fierce temper, a goofy sense of humor, a passion for argument, and boundless energy. Morgan loves to cuddle and run and climb and jump in puddles. This year Morgan wants to learn how to read, and ride her two-wheeler and jump rope.
Morgan is four years old today. The adventure continues.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday, Morgan!!!

Christmas Recap

2007-12-26T16:55:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!!!!

2007-12-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

The popcorn chain is a little bit shorter today...

2007-12-22T11:56:00.000-05:00

But I guess if Zachary had to eat anything from the christmas tree, I'm glad that was it! He's also only shattered one ornament and only unwrapped one present so far. Not bad, but he still has 3 more days to wreak havoc.

Chirstmas Countdown

2007-12-20T11:12:00.001-05:00

Less than a week to go and Morgan is getting excited. She's been getting ready all month.

We made a chain to count down the days.

She and Daddy decorated a beautiful (and yummy) gingerbread house.

And a wreath! Morgan visited Santa Claus at the mall. She told him that she wanted "a horn for [her] bike and a jump rope". I think he'll come through.

Last weekend Morgan helped decorate our Christmas tree!

And she became a Christmas tree.

I made these!

2007-12-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Faux babylegs!

And big-girl legs!

Speed Demon

2007-11-26T12:18:00.001-05:00

Turn up the volume to hear Zach say "Five Minutes" and "Cheeeeeeese!".

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

Career Counseling

2007-11-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

Morgan: Maybe I won't be a firefighter when I grow up. Maybe I will be a police officer!

Me: Like Uncle Todd!

Morgan: Yes. Except I won't be a man! What do police officers do?

Me: Well, they help keep people safe. And they make sure everyone follows the rules.

Morgan: The.......rules?

Me: Yes. Are you good at following rules?

Morgan: ummmmmmmm.......maybe I won't be a police officer!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T18:09:00.000-04:00

Exciting night!

2007-10-31T18:02:00.000-04:00

Morgan & Zach got to experience their first big-ish earthquake last night. I don't think Zach would have noticed if I had not moved to get in the doorway. Morgan on the other hand was very scared. She thought it was a "big, scary monster". Poor girl. Luckily, there was no damage here - except for bedtime which was completely demolished!

Two little monkeys...

2007-10-13T22:19:00.000-04:00

Firefighter Mo

2007-10-09T16:42:00.000-04:00

Morgan wants to be a firefighter when she grows up. She thinks firefighting is a good job because she would get to be on a team and she could save people when dragons start fires. Dragons figure a lot in her world view these days. This weekend we went to the fire station open house which was a blast. We saw a "jaws of life" demonstration, learned about home fire safety, and went to "firefighter school" where they showed a video about fighting fires. Morgan is also going to be a firefighter for Halloween. Which is appropriate, since Zach will be a dragon.

Zach talks, we listen.

2007-09-17T23:09:00.000-04:00

Zach has words now! And his favorite one is "No!". Its the word he uses the most consistantly in the proper context. Think we say that a lot around here? Ha ha. He also seems to just like the way it sounds as he frequently walks around the house singing "No! Noooo! Nooooooo! No! Nooooooo!" He also says "wa-wa" for water, "ball", "bike", "bye" and "Hi!"- which was also Morgan's first word. I guess we say that one a lot too! He also has a lot of half-words and semi-specific grunts. And he babbles all the time. It is rarely quiet around here!

Bug Girl

2007-09-08T21:49:00.000-04:00

Morgan: Mommy, can I h ave a 'tainer?
Me: Ummm, a tainer?
Morgan: Yeah! I need a 'tainer! With a lid!
Me: Ooooh. A CON-tainer.
Morgan: Right! A 'tainer. For my 'lection.
Me: Your lection?
Morgan: Yes, Mommy. I need a 'tainer for my 'lection!
Me: What is a lection, exactly?
Morgan: My BUG 'lection, Mom! I'm a bug 'lector and I need a 'tainer for all the bugs that I 'lect!

Of course. Morgan is now the best bug collector at the park. She and her friend Hannah hunt for snails, "roly-polies", and ladybugs every morning and then take them on adventures. They take their bugs out onto the soccer field, let them climb up trees, take them on the slides.. They even gave a roly-poly a ride on the swings! Then they put their bugs back where they found them so they can "be with their brothers and sisters". Such good little bug 'lectors!

Zach plays baseball.

2007-09-07T10:51:00.000-04:00