happy birthday to kai

around the house

Nina's going to "work" in this picture; Kai is working on his magic tree house passport booklet.

"Hey, dad! It's our lucky day! Men are stronger than women!"
"Dad, you're the best dad in the world. Mom is the worst...juggler." (Very angry yesterday for getting several timeouts)
Nina reaches up to Kai in the morning in the crib and says clearly, "Squeezer!"
Kai passed into the next swim class at the Y - from an eel to a ray. You should see him move those arms in the water, he's really working on his stroke and loves passing everybody when they do laps. He always wants everything to be a race, and he always, always wants to win.
Yesterday we went swimming at Tahoe pool with Gin and the kids. Kai and Rachel dove for sticks for an hour while Nina toddled around the edge of the pool and jumped into my arms enough so that they're sore today.

July weekend

We had another busy weekend. The three of us went to the state fair on Friday, we had a lot of fun despite the 3-digit temp. Kai and Nina loved the trashy fair rides; Nina was really scared of the dinosaur exhibit (it was loud, so was I); Kai couldn't wait to get to the animation expo because he saw pictures of Tom and Jerry on the posters. Here's a picture of Kai, it was too hot to take any more! On the way home we rented Kung Fu Panda at Blockbuster and Kai watched the whole thing, quite a treat.
Saturday was my day to pack up some things around the house; Nate took the kids to the park, he took Kai to a play in Fair Oaks, The Frog Prince, while Nina napped; then he took the kids to play with Zane and Lilly for several hours in the late afternoon. It was a great for both of us: for me to have a whole day in the house, for Nate and the kids to have an entire day with each other. I couldn't wait for them to get home.
Sunday was Nate's day to pack up our spidery garage. I took the kids in stroller and bike to Bertha Henschel - for maybe the last time?! We got Kai Subway on the way home - that's twice now, we've got to stop. He loves it. The bun tastes like metal. Yuck. While Nina napped I took Kai to Borders to pick out MTH books for his bday goodie bags. Yet another treat, spending a few hours in a bookstore with Kai without having to chase after Nina. He even asked me to read to him, we found some new and some old. Kai just lost it over the David books. He was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. We reread Maurice Sendek's The Night Kitchen, and some Gerald and Piggy books.
Nate and the kids played in the sprinkler last night while I went to the store; AJ, George, and Rachel came over and they all went crazy with water balloons, then went to George and Rachel's backyard to swim in the little pool. Kids swim in the sun, parents chat (or not, they kind of just sit there while Nate and I anxiously look for things to talk about) in the shade of the cherry tree. It's nice.
Ended the night with Nina's favorite - burgers! And green beans. And nectarines from Zane's neighbor's tree that are so good and fresh they taste like candy.
Kai taught Nina how to draw a circle this morning. He's really into her lately, less aggressive and more sweet and she loves the attention. He couldn't wait for her to wake up this morning, he didn't know what to do with himself while she slept in. When we heard her cry, Kai burst into her room to find the biggest smile on her face, a smile just for him.
Nina's talking so much, stringing 2-3-4 words together. She's pretty demanding of our attention, patting the floor and saying "sit" and "play" if we're not already doing so. Asking for "Mik!" (Music) as soon as we get in the car. "Mama help?" is one of my favorites.
Two weeks left.

nate's bday present

getting ready for nola

What makes the tantrums worth it

fourth of july

Bassi falls

More from yesterday: Kai playing in the pools at the waterfall and Nina catching up with the family.

tahoe

The zinnia is FINALLY blooming. The first flower appeared yesterday after several months.

Took the kids to the California museum on Friday. We all loved it, and I hope to return someday with Nate.
Before I forget:
Nina's most frequent expressions, "No tanks!" in a very singsongy voice.
And "O-Tay!" Same. Singsongy. "OTay, Buttwheat!"
We had such a perfect California day. Left for Tahoe at 8:30, great nature hike, braved crowds, left after ice cream, found an incredible waterfall on the way home that made the Tahoe crowds worthwhile. Kids were great, all this stuff is so bittersweet.

Happy birthday, Nate

Morning kisses, Nina in stars and stripes, and Kai in the spot he's most likely to be in the past several weeks.

We're so hot.

Sunday was a busy and very, very hot day, reaching over 100 degrees by the time we left for the concert in the park at 6 PM last night. We played in Collin and Elise's backyard pool in the morning, then while Nina napped Kai and I found a new pool to rival Ann Arbor's Vet's pool. We met Zane and Shaun there and had a great time. We joined Zane's family, Sam's family, and other friends and family for a picnic/concert in the evening, and although fun it was disastrous. Kids were tired, kept running away, I seriously thought we'd lost each kid twice and was sure I lost the camera again. Took years off our lives. Not sure I'll do that anytime again soon without leashes.

making the most of our time

Davis farmer's market this morning...might it be our last? Raspberry nectarine popsicle for Kai and apricot lavendar for Nate and Nina, a juicy hot dog and fresh squeezed lemonade for Kai and Nina too. Rushed home for the Ghana-US world cup soccer match, boo hoo, during which the kids drove us nuts with their incessant motion and noise making. We drowned our sorrows in Lake Folsom, where Kai swam and explored with life jacket and goggles, and Nina was quite content to play in the sand and "sleep" in her homemade puddles. They both had a blast.
Got home and the kids were so overtired. Shazam didn't work tonight.
Happy birthday, Grandpa Hud. Kai was the first one to remember your bday this morning.

pigtails

Nina's hairstyle, courtesy of Lydia!

The week

So far this week, we've discovered a new spray ground, had our first swim of the summer at the pool with George and Rachel, and Nina painted on the front porch with Lydia this morning. Today is Nate's last exam of the year...no more tests, no more presentations before fellowship ends! Kids have been quite silly lately. Kai's been inquiring about his new school; practicing ode to joy over and over again on the keyboard (we need a new song!); Nina's been chattering away and spending lots of time playing with the water and toothbrushes and toothpaste and my contact case in the bathroom. Carries the kitchen stool around the kitchen trying to get up onto countertops. Kai's been wanting to race his bigwheel every night, tuesday night we happened to go outside with a plan of staying out only 5 min before bedtime...but we ventured out just as Collin was riding by. Kai got lucky, 5 min turned into quite a bit longer.

Our shared holiday

Another wonderful day. Kai wished us happy birthday and happy father's day with hugs all day long. Nina ended the day singing "hap b'day da you" in her crib. Had delicious burgers on the grill, corn on the cob, and chocolate cake with vanilla frosting for dessert...all preceded by a pisco sour, a yummy cocktail. Nate got a UC Davis Aggies shirt for FDay and I got beautiful framed pictures of the kids for my bday.
This morning, after the kids played for quite a while with the kids in the 'hood, we took the 50 over to Placerville, the 49 north past Coloma, where we had gone with Meecie and Fud, parked the car near Auburn at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers, and spent a few hours walking the rocky beach, watching the rapids, letting the kids dip their feet in the water. Bought cherries, blueberries, blackberries, and peaches at an orchard on the way. 38's been good to me so far.

It was a beautiful summer evening, and so chilly here in Sac that we all had to grab long sleeves. The 'hood gathered in our front yard, kids raced big wheels and bikes and the pied piper entertained the kids with the stomp rocket. The evening ended with some tears after the older kids got in a wrestling match, trying to yank each other's helmets off! I had a wonderful afternoon with Kai, we found a new park in Fair Oaks, the town of the chickens and it feels like Ecuador, and Kai played tag with some other little buddies for a few hours while we waited for the Vibe's windows to be tinted. Now the kids won't suffer so much in that hot, bright back seat. Nate got some time alone with Nina, a rare occurrence.

Yikes

We found this when the kids tipped over the slide in the front yard. Hello black widow.

We got a call Friday night: Zane's mom, Shaun (man, I will miss her) called to ask if Kai would please take care of Zane's fish, Blue, while they were in Tahoe for the weekend. So they delivered the fish and feeding instructions this morning. Kai and Nina were adamant about eating dinner with Blue. Kai is really digging having a fish around. When they were gearing up to leave our house for Tahoe, the kids snuck in the car, shared cookies, and it was really hard for Nina to get out of the car.
Had fun today. Listened to music, rode bike to La Bou for a treat, spent some quality time with Kai during Nina's long nap , sudoko and workbooks and for some reason the magic-mellow-Kai formula worked today. He was a joy. Hardly any of the abundant sass we've had lately. Very affectionate and sweet. Here the kids are making cards for special grandpas that they miss so much. Fridays have been my favorite day in Sac. I think I'll always keep Kai home from school on fridays, even when he's 16.