Santa Monica Pier

After playing in the ocean, we made our way up to the pier for more fun. (And more crowds, what else would you expect?) Sam wanted to ride the ferris wheel, but settled for a couple of the kiddie rides, and the carousel, even riding a horse that moved up and down (last year he wanted to ride the non moving bench).

California Vacation Day 3, Sunday July 15

Santa Monica Beach. Beautiful!!! Everyone got their pants wet except for Mom and Ben.

California Vacation Day 2, Saturday July 14

After a very tasty lunch at Sharky (wood fired mexican grill), we visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. We visited here last year, and Sam couldn't wait to point out the whale hanging from the ceiling to Ben. He talked about it for weeks before our vacation. In fine California fashion, the place was packed with people (even though I had everyone convinced that if we went later in the day it wouldn't be as crowded.) Sam touched one of the devil rays (with his first 2 fingers only, as they constantly reminded us), a couple of times. I told him he was very brave.

After a brief stop at a Toys r Us that we saw from the highway, we dropped off Uncle Kevin at his place and returned to the Comfort Inn for some awesome swimming.

California Here we Come! Day 1

Sam packed his own carry on backpack with everything he needed to keep himself occupied on the plane. He had to show us that it wasn't too heavy to carry, even though he never carried it after this picture was taken.
Sam enjoyed the complimentary headphones, listening to the kind of music mom plays (classical) or to the tower conversations between the pilots and the air traffic controllers. Ben slept through most of the flights, and Sam had a good time watching out the windows, eating snacks, and visiting the cockpits (before takeoff that is.) All of our flights were on time and we landed in Los Angeles about 4:20. Our stroller that was supposed to meet us on the jetway, didn't show up. The boys and I went to the terminal and Doug waited on the Jetway until everyone was off and the pilot had checked with the ground crew to double check for our stroller. It was not on our plane. Bummer # 1. The upside of this was that by the time we made it down to the luggage area, there was no wait to pick up our luggage. We did have to wait for several minutes at the United desk to talk with someone about our lost stroller. We found out that they would deliver it when they found it, and then let us borrow another stroller from the "lost but never found" area. We made it to the Enterprise waiting area, and after about 10 minutes of waiting for a bus to arrive, they loaded our luggage/carseats/backpacks on the bus for our trip to the Enterprise Rent a Car. Originally at the end of Day 1, Sam said his favorite part of the trip was the bus ride because he didn't have to sit in his carseat, or wear a seatbelt (nevermind that he had just flown on a plane). We got our rental car, and directions and were off to find our way to Uncle Kevin's place. By the time we left Enterprise it was about 5:45, just in time for some really fun traffic on the highways. We eventually made it to Pasadena about 6:30. Unfortunately, Ben's patience had run out and his tummy was quite empty beginning about 6:00, so not only were we in incredibly slow moving traffic, we had a screaming infant in the back for the last 30 minutes of the ride. Kevin's first impressions of Ben were not the best, but after he had a little food in his tummy, he was a bit friendlier to his Uncle Kevin. We ate at Soup Plantation, a buffet/salad bar restaurant that Sam enjoys, and that hit the spot for all of us. Then off to the Target right across the street from Kevin's apartment. We loaded up on apple juice and applesauce and fruit chews to keep on hand at the hotel. We said our goodbyes to Kevin and headed down the street to the best hotel we have ever stayed at, the Comfort Inn. Our room was awesome, with a microwave and refrigerator (excellent for Sharkys Chips and Salsa). But Sam will tell you the best part was the swimming pool. More on that later. We all slept well.

Day 1: No that-that

I just had to write this down before I forgot it. Originally Sam was going to give up his that-that (pacifier) when Ben was born, but with everything going on, Sam didn't volunteer, and we didn't enforce it. The next d-day was when he turned 4. We kept telling him that it was only a few more days until he was 4, and we would give up the that-that. His response was "I'm not 4 yet!" So last night, I took the that-that out of his room. There were a few sobs and tears. I put a sippy cup of apple juice on his headboard with the explaination that if he missed his that-that, he could just take a sip from his cup. I ended up laying with Sam in his bed for about 30 minutes before he fell asleep. He became concerned that I threw the that-that in the trash. Then that maybe he could "borrow" one of Ben's that-thats. There were moments that he was fine, then moments that he didn't think he could do it. I came close to caving in a couple of times, but figured that if we didn't do it when we said we would (when he turned 4) he would use it for the rest of his life. He kept saying,"I miss it." then would take a sip from the cup. I suggested that he just take a sip from his cup, so he wouldn't run out of juice. "Just enough to wet your whistle." Sam then responded, "Is whistle spanish for sip?"

I was expecting several visits in the middle of the night as he would wake up and not find the that-that, but I just got one visit and there was no mention of a that-that. I just took him potty and laid in bed with him for a couple of minutes and he was asleep!

Our boy is growing up!

Mrs. Bowlby

We have been visiting Mrs. Ethel Bowlby off and on ever since Sam was a baby, but over the last year, we have been going once a week. A visit to Mrs. Bowlby was actually Ben's first outing. Sam has brought books that I have read, or we get ice cream, or we just watch Sam be funny. Mrs. Bowlby was crucial to Sam's potty training. She always has a bowl of candy, and whenever Sam arrives, he "has to go potty," because he gets a piece of candy if he does. This has been going on for about a year now. It's always funny to see how long it takes once we arrive for Sam to magically have to go potty. Sometimes he has to go potty several times, and sometime he has "pretend potty." His candy of choice: Hershey Miniature Chocolate Bars.


On Wednesday's visit, Sam actually read 2 books to Mrs. Bowlby. He even turned the book around a couple of times so he could show her the pictures. He follows the words with his fingers. I think he is really enjoying the satisfaction of reading a whole book by himself. He knows several words by sight, some I think he had memorized from when we read the book to him. But the times that we had to tell him what a word was, he has remembered it the next time he reads it. The two books Sam read were, See Pip Point, and I Will Fly Today.

Independence Day 2007

If you recall last year, Sam enjoyed the "fireworks" from the front porch step. He started out in his lawn chair, then moved to the porch, then all the way to the front door. This year started out the same way. Since it was raining a little, we moved the car out of the driveway, then set up our chairs in the garage. Once the first firework went off, Sam immediately got up and said that he was going inside. It took me promising that he could sit in my lap for the other fireworks, and I would protect him. Gradually (after the smoke bombs) Sam decided it would be ok to hold a sparkler. There were a couple of other times that Sam tried to escape inside, but by the end of our stash of fireworks (actually leftovers from last year) we popped some popcorn and sat in the garage and watched the neighbors light all of their fireworks. (they apparently spent more on fireworks than we did, because their show lasted about 3 hours- and actually since it did rain last night, the city is allowing fireworks to be shot off until midnight tonight, and so they are STILL shooting off things over there.) There were several kids across the street, playing on their scooters and running up and down our street (which is usually a very busy street). At one point Sam said "Hey boys and girls, do you have a mom and dad? A very interesting observation from a boy whose parents do most everything with him, made about kids who are obviously not supervised.

Sam took these action shots with the camera. I told him tonight that he should be a photographer. He said he didn't want to be a photographer. Ben "enjoyed" the fireworks from his stroller in the garage.

Ben turns 6 months old!!!

It is incredibly hard to believe that it has been 6 months since Ben arrived in our family. It has gone by so quickly. Ben visited his doctor today for a check-up and shots. He tipped the scales at 15 lbs. 14 oz. and is 25 1/4" long, both of which are in the 20% for his age. He babbles, and if you listen hard enough every once in awhile you might hear a "da-de". He has sampled sweet potatoes, squash, and green beans, and seems to appreciate all of them. I asked Sam tonight if he wanted broccoli for supper. He immediately replied "NO." I told him that when he was little he loved it. That didn't change his mind at all.

Ben is really getting into playing with his toys now. He will lay on the rug/blanket for several minutes at a time and reach for and grab his toys. We've been working on sitting up, but he isn't quite there yet. Tonight he was "sitting up" but with both hands on the floor to keep his body up. ( I think the dr. called it tripoding.) Sam is very eager to tell Ben how each toy works, after all, they were his toys first. I don't think Sam taught Ben how to play the drums with his feet though.