Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Harvest Time

Our garden has been producing an incredible amount of zucchini's and tomatoes. Our basil has also taken off, and we are reaping the benefits!! Check out the 44 tomatoes and huge zucchini that I just picked from our garden. Now, what to do with a huge zucchini that rivals the size of Kate and 44 tomatoes?

Monday, July 26, 2010

Shaver Lake

My extended family on my dad's side takes a trip every July to Shaver Lake, and this year we were able to join in the fun! The last time Jeff and I went on this family trip was 9 years ago, just weeks after we were married. The girls were so excited to camp again and we had a great time boating, swimming, kayaking, eating, talking, and playing.

Hannah showed her fearlessness by inner tubing and rock jumping into the lake. She especially loved driving the boat.


Kate loved watching everyone on the tube and enjoyed the boat ride. She loved kayaking and Smores!

Jeff was able to wake board for the first time and was able to get up on the third try!
We also had a talent show on Saturday night and although Hannah and Kate did not win the trophy (which is returned and passed on every year) they really stole the show. I should know, I was a judge this year (which is not an easy job...just listen to the tough crowd).

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Post Nap Blues

Both girls happened to nap today, and they both woke up grumpy.
So we decided to beat our blues away with Otter Pops!

Do you see Kate smiling...I think it worked! This may be repeated a lot this summer!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

23 Months

Next month my baby girl will turn 2. I thought she could tell you all what she likes to do these days.


And now for her mama's account for who my Tatters is at 23 months:

Kate is such a toddler. She wants to be held, cuddled and taken care of like a baby, and then she will turn around and show her independence in the most surprising ways. The other day she was eating her oatmeal for breakfast and she reached out to give me her spoon and said, "Feed me, mama." But, if you try to help her get dressed or buckle her in the car she will tell you, "No, I do, I do!!" What a mix of baby and little girl she is right now!

She works hard to do anything her fearless sister does, and will spend time watching and learning from other kids in social settings or on the playground. Although she can out scream her sister and talk just as much as Hannah at home, she remains reserved around new people and new settings. After spending 4 months in her MOPs class the teachers said, "You must be so excited that she is talking now!" I smiled knowing that my sweet girl was finally comfortable in her class.

She is the most ticklish little girl ever, which makes for a really fun family time together. Her laugh is infectious and fills our house with such joy. She loves playing games with me and her sister like Memory, Candyland, and ABC lottery but she quickly loses attention span and will say, "Hannah you take my turn" which Hannah happily accommodates. She also loves dancing, being chased, hide-and-go seek, red light/green light, and DOLLS. This girl take care of her dolls like they are real babies. I love seeing her care for them so tenderly!

She still has a plethora of nicknames: Kate, Kay-Kay, Cakes, Sweet Cakes, Tatters, Tatter-Tot, Grace, Gracie, and one of my favorites Catherine Grace, which is really not a nickname, but her actual name. Jeff has started singing a "bonus" song to the girls at night and when he sings Amazing Grace she will say, "Me, daddy. That me!"

Kate has two jobs in our house: setting cloth napkins on the table before dinner and then after dinner taking them to the dirty clothes. When I ask her to do her job she jubilantly responds, "Ooo-kayyy!" then she runs to get the napkins and run to do her job. She also puts her clothes away in her draws after I fold the laundry. The only down side to giving her this job is that sometimes the clothes end up under the sink, in the draw with her shoes, or in the dirty basket. I am relieved that her clothes have never been in the trash can! Kate has so much enthusiasm for her tasks that I think I can learn a lot from her!

One of Kate's favorite things is to look at or listen to books. Her attention span is incredible too. She can sit by herself for 30 minutes (or longer!) just looking at a stack of books. Usually for book time Kate sits on my lap, but the other day Hannah sat down on my lap and asked me to read her a book. Kate fell to the ground crying, "I your baby, mama. I sit there!" Hannah graciously gave her my lap which Kate instantly took and said, "Thank you, Hannah" with the happiest voice ever.

Mommy, Daddy, and Hannah love you very much dear Kate!! You are such a joy in our family and a light in my life.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Beach

It was such a pleasant weekend we hit the beach with Roger and Cindy. Hannah has a buggy board now, which she loves using, racing in and out of the waves and riding on as well.


Kate sill loves her tent, playing in the sand, and will put her feet in the water if she is holding your hand.


Picnic Day

It's heated up here in San Diego. We went from June gloom overcast weather with temperatures in the 60 to heat all day and temps on the 90-100's. And living in a place with no AC has been rough.

Kate is not napping well since she is so hot. Instead of her awesome 3 hour nap she has been taking 30-45 minute naps, and then spending the afternoon fussy. Poor baby. This is how she woke up from her nap the other day. She clearly wants to sleep but is simply too hot.

So we headed to the library to enjoy some AC and cool off.

Then we set out for Picnic Day at Jeff's work, which was actually quite a bit cooler being right on the coast. It was a hit with all the essential "B's"
...bounce houses...
...beach balls...
...bubbles...
...balloon toss and BBQ. Hannah quickly realize that the balloon was going to break if she tossed it and refused to be in the toss with Jeff. She didn't even want to hold the balloon but said she was too scared!
The happy family headed home. What a great day, and a great way to beat the heat!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

High School Flashback

It was a total flashback weekend. A getaway filled with walking and talking, eating and laughing and sleeping in my home town, Torrance. Jeff planned this great trip without the kiddos and it was so, so fun!

It started with the ultimate high school moment when we borrowed my parents car (it was a practical way to accommodate the carseats rather than switching the seats to my parents car but it was totally reminiscent).
We then headed to burnout beach for a coffee and a walk. In the early years of our relationship, Jeff and I would call each other to meet up and hang out. We would often ask, "Your beach or mine," referring to either Burnout or Cabrillo. This was a highlight because Jeff and I were able to have uninterrupted conversation for the entire morning. He even posed for a picture for me. What a man!
After a while we headed to El Paseo Cantina, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants where the salsa is so good you want to eat it with a spoon. Such good salsa. YUM!

We then watched a matinee, Knight and Day, the new Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz movie. As high schoolers with curfew matinees were a huge part of our dating life, so it was fun to see a movie in the middle of the day again.

We then checked into our hotel which overlooked the marina in San Pedro and got ready for a nice dinner at Ports O' Cal Restaurant, where Jeff and I went for our third date together (our first date restaurant closed years ago, and second date was a picnic on the beach).
Overall it was a fantastic, relaxing weekend spent doing things that we enjoy together. We missed the girls, but know that they were well loved and cared for this weekend. It's a blessing to have each other and to have spent 9 years together being married.