Karate Kid

Parker has been wanting to try a karate class for a while now, and I found a karate school really close to us in Carlsbad Village that looked great (near the Coyote Grill for you local Carlsbad peeps--mom and dad). They have a special try-two-classes-and-get-a-karate-uniform deal, so I figured Parker could try it out and see if it's really something that he wants to do. He was able to take his first class today, and when I asked him what he liked best about it afterwards, he told me, "everything." I was so proud of him for going in there and trying it out without having any idea of what to expect. He did a great job. Of course, he loves the uniform, and I'm pretty sure he loves imagining that he is a ninja (thank you, Lego Ninjago). Of course, as a parent, I love the idea of him learning confidence, focus, self-discipline, and having a positive way to channel some rogue aggressive behavior. I'm pretty sure he's going to want to continue with the classes after the two-time trial period is up. I love that the school is so close to us--and it's a perfect location for grandparents to sit in on classes, too :) You know, after watching his class today, even I want to do karate!

Swimming at Grammy and Grampy's Pool

We are so thankful and lucky that we can pop over to my mom and dad's place to take a quick dip in the pool now that the weather has warmed up! I think it will really help Parker progress in his water-comfort-quotient this summer to get in the water as often as possible. He was happy to put his lifejacket on and swim around, which is a big step from a year ago even though it's still with a lifejacket on. Levi is a little unsure about the whole pool/water/swimming thing at first, but after we've been there for about 20 minutes or so he gets this look in his eye like he's going to just start jumping in with out announcing himself first (or making sure that there's anyone there to catch him). We always end up warming up in the jacuzzi, and Levi absolutely loves the "bubbles!!!" there.

Thanks to Dee and Niki, Parker will be taking swim lessons for the next month at a nice swim school in Carlsbad. I'm so excited to try out a new place for him this summer, especially since I really feel like he's at a tipping point with his ability and willingness and confidence to swim. I don't want to harass him with my camera during his lessons yet, as I'm afraid it might stress him out or distract him, so I'll have to post about that once he's had a few lessons under his belt!

A Trip to Home Depot

A Summer Saturday on the Boat

Beach Boys

We've definitely been having beach weather lately...both boys absolutely love going to the beach to play. It's perfect when the tide is low and we can play chase in the shallow water and run in the waves and collect rocks. Parker is getting much more comfortable in the water, and Levi is rather too brave for his own good. Once the tide starts to come up and the water gets deeper and the waves get a little stronger I tend to be in over my head a bit with the two of them on my hands, and it's time to head home! Timing is everything, must arrive at the beach just before or at low tide, then by the time everyone's tired out and cold we can head home!

It was hysterical watching Levi try to negotiate his big old towel as we dried off to head home. He wanted to put it over his head like the hooded towel he uses at home after his bath, but just couldn't figure out how to make it happen. He played a little peek-a-boo, and then I just took pictures and giggled as he tried to make his way to the car. Then I gracefully fell into a hole that someone had dug in the sand as I walked along backwards while taking pictures of him, so there you go.

Father's Day 2012

Jared went fishing in Mission Bay on the morning of Father's Day (he said the fishin' was good), and then the boys and I hopped aboard with a bag of sandwiches and snacks at lunchtime and we boated over to a cove that was perfectly sheltered from the wind. I know that deep down inside Parker really wants to swim, and I can tell that he's opening up to the idea of it and overcoming his fears more and more each day this summer. He was excited to put on his life jacket after lunch and start splashing and "jumping" in the water with Jared--they even swam back to the boat together from the little sand spit we were playing on. The wind made things kind of chilly, but we sure appreciated a sunny afternoon in June!! 

On a side note, Parker got bitten by a mosquito that Friday evening above his eyebrow, and by Saturday mid-morning his eye was hugely swollen--by Sunday morning it was nearly swollen shut. It was so hard to see him like that (he literally looked like a boxer after a fight), although it was some consolation that he really seemed unbothered by it and that the swelling went down almost entirely by Monday evening. It seems like he's just particularly sensitive to bug bites (he got so many bites on his head on our trip to Zion that I truly worried that he had lice), hopefully it's something that he grows out of. So, you might notice that his (left) eye looks a little funny in these pice.

Veggie Garden

We finally have begun paying attention to the veggie garden again after letting it spend some "quality time" alone...Jared built new boxes, we added a bench for hanging out, the hanging baskets were freshened up, and we've planted a bunch of veggies. The weather was typically cold and grey for about the whole month of June, so things grew slowly, but we're finally enjoying lots of sunshine so hopefully we'll get some ripe veggies to use soon. Parker and Levi each planted their own crops recently--Parker has a watermelon, and Levi has a pumpkin. I must say, it has been interesting in the garden this year, since Levi is still in a stage where he wreaks havoc on plants sometimes--he's learning what it means when I tell him that the berries/tomatoes/apples aren't "ripe" yet (i.e. please don't pick them!)! And he's learning to leave the plants planted once they have found nice homes in the soil. Oh, and he's learning the difference between weeds, which shall be pulled, and plants, which shall not.

Beep Beep Honk Honk

We heard Levi say "beep beep honk honk" to himself one night as he rolled around in his crib talking to himself while trying to fall asleep. It sounded so cute and funny, and now he knows that all he has to do is say "beep beep honk honk" (or some variation thereof), and we will find him the funniest little baby in the whole world. Something about the way he says "honk honk," the way that it lacks most of the actual sounds of the word, is just hilarious every time.

Messy Marvin

"I'm a Slugga!"

Here's Parker showing off his batting skills (with a glorified stick)--he hit me twice (once more after the episode in the first clip), and thought he was just hilarious. The second clip nicely shows off his pro skilllz.

But, of course, Parker is a natural...his Grandpa Mark ain't a member of the Western New York Baseball Hall of Fame for nothing, ya know??!

Swinging Solo

I'm so proud of Parker! We can now add to his list of accomplishments learning to swing by himself. Now he's really ready for kindergarten, cause you know those big kids don't have baby swings on their playground!!

Fishing with Jared

Jared sent me this photo in an email with the subject "Cabazon." I wondered why he was writing to me about the Outlet Mall out in the desert on the way to Palm Springs...then I realized that no, this wasn't bizarro world, he was sending me a photo of himself with a great big Cabazon fish that he caught off the Long  Beach breakwater recently while fishing with John. 

 

Dinosaurs

Levi Today

Some of the last of our Spring wildflowers...he absolutely refused to let these out of his clutches until he was eventually distracted by crackers.

Nap time. He found Daddy's hat before we went on our daily stroller ride around the neighborhood to put him to sleep, and asked me to put it on him. He left it on for his entire nap.

Pillow Covers

So, this post was supposed to be about the new pillow covers that I'm sewing...but then Levi had to get his cuteness all up in the pillow photo shoot :) Seriously, as soon as he saw me taking pictures of the new pillow, he climbed right up on the bench and started modeling for me. So now you get to see just how darling Levi looks while snuggling on the new pillow cover. I ordered this fabric online from a seller on Etsy, and I swear it was the last half yard of it left for sale on the whole internets. I fell in love with it and am really happy that I got it...the seller is based in Japan (it's a Japanese linen/cotton blend fabric), and it felt so exotic to me to have a package arrive in the mailbox all the way from Japan...until Jared tried to remind me that I buy things from China every (well, certainly hopefully not every) day. Oh well, I still think it's really cool. I've made one of two pillow covers so far, and it was by far the easiest thing I've sewn to date. I don't feel up for learning how to sew zippers yet, so I just went with the envelope style closure on the back and it's just fine. For reasons that still remain unclear to even me, I made this for an 18-inch size pillow although the nice feather pillow inserts that we have are 20-inch sizes (actually, the half-yard wasn't going to be quite wide enough for a 20-inch pattern). So the cover is kind of bursting at the seams and the pillow has a bit of a funny shape (no doubt helped along by my less-than-straight seams), but I'm learning to embrace imperfection (ha). Some day I will replace them with 18-inch pillows and make new covers for the 20-inchers to use on the couch. I'm feeling very turquoise-ish (or perhaps aqua-y) in a retro way lately, and I've been daydreaming about adding some color to the house. I spend a lot of time in here these days, you see :)

Last Day of Preschool

Today was Parker's last day of preschool--well, he will be off for a month and then will go back for a three-week summer school. Then he'll have a month off until he starts kindergarten! I really loved his teachers this year, and he made his first best friend :) Reece gave him this picture frame today with a picture of them together in it, Parker loves it so much that he carried it (along with Rainbow Fish) around the neighborhood today while we took Levi for a walk, and held it up in the air like he was showing it to people. Crazy kid. But it's cute. I really loved Parker's preschool, and once again find myself saying how thankful I am that he was able to go there for the last two years. He has grown and blossomed so much, and I just always felt so happy and comfortable taking him there every day. He was always happy to be there, too, which is just as important. Now we need to figure out how to fill our days with activities so that we don't drive each other bananas!! 

Finally a Sunny Day

Not to sound spoiled...but it sure has been gray here lately. We finally were blessed by a day of sunshine today. I also managed to give Levi a bit of a much-needed "haircut" (quote unquote) while he stood on a chair at the kitchen sink playing with water. I only managed, however, to really get one side and the back pretty good, since I couldn't really properly reach the front and the other side. The photos here were thus taken kind of mid-cut while his bangs were still looking a little wonky...to be honest, I think they're actually still kind of wonky, but he's certainly not taking too kindly to my coming at him with scissors anymore!