I [Heart] My Life

A Movie, An Aunt & An Uncle, and an Aztec Garden

Ah, summer weekends... We lived this last one to the fullest: We look Nia to see "Cars 2" -- her very first movie (movie wasn't so great, but watching Nia soak it up was priceless!). Afterward, we dinned outside with George, Dale & Angela, one of my very favorite summer things. The next day, after swimming lessons, we spent the afternoon on Skyline planting a garden, and later playing in the pool & hottub. On Sunday, we hit up the Live Oak Farmers' Market and then did even more swimming at Simpkins. Ah, now that's a summer weekend!

At the movie theater... in a tutu. 

Dinner at Kianti's downtown. Did you know they give the kid's pizza dough to play with? Brilliant.

Walking through the Rose Garden at City Hall after a scoop of Strawberry Sorbet at Penny Ice Creamery. Hmmm, tasted just like a strawberry daiquiri. 

On Skyline, we planted an Aztec-inspired companion garden: Corn, beans and squash. For fun, we planted it in a spiral, with a few sun flowers around the outside.

Best buds.

Skating

Looks like she's almost ready for Derby Groms, doesn't she?

"Cooler With a Few P.M Showers"....

As I type this, the rain gutter on the other side of my wall is beating a steady drum beat as the rain comes down. Rain... in late May.... in Santa Cruz. What is up with this weather?! I'm ready for the warm days of summer already! At least yesterday Nia and I got to soak up some sunshine on the deck at Granddaddy's. Nia did some swimming too. The pool was only just above freezing at 62 degrees so only a few toes went in, but the hottub was nice and comfortable.

(Yes, sometimes she does get tired of me taking pictures of her!)

Birthday Weekend

Our sweet girl turned 3 on Friday. Three! 

We celebrated all weekend long. Friday was just Joe, Nia and I. We all slept till 9, and then kicked off the day with almond waffles (with candles, of course). Later we went to the Boardwalk to go on a few rides and to stop by a photo booth for a picture strip of the three of us, something we've done each year on Nia's birthday (once I scan it, I'll post it).

Saturday was Nia's party. Anna & Zomina, George & Dale, and Phil & Pam joined us to celebrate. It was a simple, relaxed party. On the menu: Rye Soda Bread to be topped with olives & brie, or herbed butter, or roasted strawberries; Mixed Green Salad with almonds and strawberries; Tortilla Soup; and Carrot Cake. And I incorporated my latest sewing project. Note the banner. I used a bleach pen to write "Celebrate!" on it, too. My first banner project & my first time using a bleach pen = fun! (Seriously. I'm really happy with the banner and look forward to using it for lots of different types of celebrations. Nia kept saying, "Preeeeeety!" which is gratifying!)

And Sunday we continued to celebrate at Zoe's birthday party (Zoe is two days older than Nia). Karah was so sweet to put a "3" candle on Zoe's garden/bug cake for Nia!

Super 3!

Happy birthday to you!

Birthday Countdown: Day 5

Getting in Touch With Our Mammalian Roots

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. As it turns out, Mother's Day is the day to go to the SF Zoo if you want to avoid hordes of people (and who wouldn't?!). It was deserted! While Joe worked,my friend Victoria joined Nia and I for a really fun day. We decided it was the first time any of us had been there. I really enjoyed it. I haven't been to many zoos, but I think this was my favorite so far. It was just really beautiful and peaceful (reference the above comment about it being deserted!). The highlights for me: 2 1/2 year old gorilla baby who was summersaulting his way around the grown-ups ("He's just like our kids!!" exclaimed a dad), Grizzly Bear sisters who were wrestling and having fun in their pool, and a polar bear looking for treats in a big blue tube. Nia loved the carousel, steam train, the petting zoo, and the fact that there were real animals everywhere! A side note: This was Nia & I's longest solo car ride together. We've gone on longer solo trips, but not by car (by train). We both handled the hour and a half really well. If you are snickering at us, you'll recall that Nia is not the biggest fan of the car. 

When we got home, Nia got a nice surprise: Her cousin Zomina and aunty Anna were here for the afternoon & dinner. 

Lovely, lovely Mother's Day.

 

And finally, Nia and Z doing a little pre-dinner painting together:

 

Girl in a Bucket

When you play in the mud, you gotta get clean before you can run inside. And when you are teeny, a bucket works as well as any bathtub!

Easter '11, in Which the Easter Bunny is Introduced

For a few days now, every morning the first words Nia says to me are, "Did the Easter Bunny come?" How fun this morning to finally say, "Yes!" We've been reading a little German folktale about a village that was very poor, and one Easter the mothers in the village worried that they didn't have enough money for the sweets they normally suprised their children with. Although they had many eggs, they knew the children would not be excited about the chicken eggs they saw all the time. But then one mother had an idea and soon all the mothers knew the idea but none of the children knew about it. On Easter morning, the mothers went into the woods with baskets, but no one knew what was in the baskets because they had colored cloths covering them. When the women emerged from the woods, their baskets were filled with wild flowers and the cloths were tied in their hair. After church, the children were sent into the woods to play until dinner. Before long, one children cried out, "Hey, I see a RED egg!" Another child said, "I see a BLUE one!" "Who laid these eggs?" "They are the size of chicken eggs, but chickens don't lay colored eggs..." The children ran all over collecting the colored eggs. Just then, they spotted a rabbit hopping out from a bush. "They are bunny eggs!" they cried. "Hooray for the Easter Bunny!"

So we've been doing some Easter Bunny-ing in our house this week. 

The dyes we used for the eggs came from Eco-Kids, and were made from plant & vegetable extracts. 

Here's where the Easter Bunny part comes in. Last night, after Nia went to bed, Joe and I decorated and set out her Easter Basket. Some of the colored eggs were hard boiled, and some were fresh. So we blew the fresh eggs and I tied them to this blooming pear branch from my dad's tree. When Nia saw it all this morning, she had just the delighted reaction I was going for. :)

Of course there was some chocolate, too -- this is my kid, we're talking about! At McKenzie's the other day Nia selected a chocolate sow, filled with chocolate piglets.

And we did an egg hunt, too, around the living room. It's been a long time since the Easter Bunny has visited my home. So fun!!

Farmin'

This afternoon Nia & I went to an event at Live Earth Farm in Watsonville called "Sheep to Shawl," which was all about wool: sheering, spinning, weaving, carding, felting, dying. Nia did some of her own felting and dying, which was really cool. But she told me her favorite part of the day was feeding the goat, and I think my favorite part was the strawberries. All in all, a fun spring-feeling day in an beautiful environment.