Mister Crazy Smiles

Levi is a happy kid. He smiles and laughs all the time, and seems to be developing quite the sense of humor. He loves smiling at strangers, and the more they smile back at him, the more he smiles and smiles and smiles. He's got this one particular smile, though, that he likes to do at dinner time...he looks back and forth from Jared to me and grins the hugest, goofiest grin that he can manage with his whole face. The more we laugh at him, the bigger his smile gets (if that's possible) and the longer he stares at us with his squinty eyes and scrunched-up nose and crooked mouth. He just seems so pleased with himself, and loves all of the attention...


Let's go to the tape:

Yogurt Face

This is why yogurt should be eaten with a spoon, not a hand...fyi.

Somersault!

Parker took a break from bike riding in Dana Point a couple of weekends ago to shake some somersaults out...

A Cousins Trip to Quail (Bamboo! Bamboo!)

Parker! Forest! Levi! Bamboo! 

Sailing with the Sandersons!

We were able to take Ian, Krista, and Forest out for a quick jaunt on Prudence this weekend. Luckily, we had clear skies and beautiful late-afternoon winter light. We had just about no wind by the time we headed out, although the water was a bit sloppy still from a breeze that had briefly kicked up a couple hours before. But we motored around a little bit, making sure to say hello to the seals snoozing on the "seal buoy," until we found a little patch of wind that we could sail in for about twenty minutes or so. I'm really glad that Ian, Krista, and Forest were able to check out Prudence a little bit and that we were able to share some of the things that we love with them. Now next time we need to make sure to spot some dolphins! Forest was anxious to take the helm, and he made a fine Captain indeed.


On a side note, Levi annihilated an entire package of Trader Joe's seaweed snacks along the journey. It was kind of disturbing yet intriguing. I suppose they must be good for him, and they were certainly a fitting snack for the occasion.

Fabric!!

Thanks to my wonderful husband for the Christmas gift of being able to treat myself to lots of impractical and indulgent shopping for sewing supplies! I have a whole list of projects that I want to make, and I've stocked up on fabric for about four or five of those projects. I'm pretty sure that no one recommends buying fabric for so many projects before you've even started them, but it was so much fun. I was so excited when the postman delivered two of my orders from fabric shops on Etsy today! It was so much fun to see the fabric in person after choosing it online, and I love each one as much as I thought I would. I'm totally hooked on the fabric-collecting (not to mention vintage button-collecting) side of sewing so far, now lets see if I can follow through on my big plans and bigger aspirations and actually accomplish these projects! I've already washed, dried, and folded my new fabrics, now it's time to start cutting patterns and getting the machine a-sewing. Wish me luck!

Yosemite 2011

After unwrapping all of our presents on Christmas morning, we started packing amidst all of the chaos for a quick three-day trip to Yosemite. We stayed in the tent cabins in Curry Village again, knowing that we would at least be warm thanks to the heater that we can crank as high as we want as long as we want. Although it was cold there, alas, all of my snow-play preparations were in vain, as it apparently has been a very dry winter in the Sierras so far. Oops. So, not much snow for us to play in this year, but at least the kids were warm! We're definitely not used to walking to breakfast in 29 degree mornings! All in all, we had a nice, easy trip, with a few walks in the woods here and there, lots of Lego building in the cabin, a drive out to Glacier Point for a great view of the Valley (access to this area is usually closed by November, but not this year...), a short bike ride in the Valley along the river and through the meadow, and lots of picnics in the back of the truck. We keep saying that we'll have to try camping on our next trip to Yosemite, as it will be much easier be able to cook our own food, and camping is just fun all-around. We'll definitely have to bring our bikes again next time.

I of course am incapable of choosing just a "few" representative photos from our trip, so you'll have to accept my thirty pics instead...