First soccer game

Miles had his first soccer game on Saturday and it was adorable and hilarious. The kids basically run themselves ragged for four 8 minute quarters. They all swarm the ball and I even witnessed a certain kid (uh hem, Miles) taking the ball from his own teammate! LOL Of course, most of them have no clue what they are doing and they are just out there having fun. I am pretty sure that the other team out scored us by at least 5 goals - but who is keeping track. ;)

At one point in the game, Miles ran over to me on the sideline and gave me a hug. So sweet, but I had to remind him that he was playing a game!

He seemed to love it and the best part was probably getting a fruit roll-up and a juice after the game! LOL

{Post game - some seriously red cheeks from all that running and the kid sweats like crazy - like his mommy and daddy!}

Fore!

Derek took Miles and Oliver to the golf range on Sunday to hit some balls. It was the first time for Oliver and they had a blast.

Here is the future Phil Mickelson -- left handed and all!

Kindergarten and soccer

I am so excited that fall is upon us... it's my favorite time of the year! I love the crisp, cool air... I love back to school time (especially shopping for new clothes)... I love Halloween! Oh, and let's not forget my birthday! LOL

Miles is on week # 3 of kindergarten and he's loving it. It was a bit of a transition after being at Layla's for 4 years, but it seems like he's enjoying his new routine. He practically runs to school in the morning while the rest of us try to keep up. And he seems to be making lots of new friends. I just laugh at the fact that he's made friends with almost all of the girls in his class. When I ask him who he's friends with - he always names off girls. He's just a sweet little boy who likes hanging out with sweet girls. LOL.

But, don't you worry that he's going to start being into fashion, etc. He could care less. Just last week, one of his girl friends ran up to him before school and said "Miles, Miles... look at my new shoes!!!" And he said "Oh."

He also started playing soccer on a team for the first time. He had his first practice on Friday night and it was a rocky start of him hiding behind me with his head practically buried inside of my butt. But, slowly he got over his shyness and did some drills and scrimmaged and he looked like he had a great time. It was comical watching 12 boys fighting each other for the ball. Go Tornadoes!

Oh Oliver...

Here's a funny Oliver story...

Last night I was laying in his bed with him and I said "Was Anya at school today?"
and he said "Yes"
and then he said "Actually, she wasn't" (I was impressed that he used the word actually).
He said "She is in Kentucky with her grandma Judy."
And I said "Do you want to go on a trip with your grandma?"
And he said "No, I want to go to Kentucky with Miles, and Daddy, and Mommy".
Then he said "Actually, you and Miles can stay here. I will go with daddy"

LOL

Mommy and Miles = chopped liver

Cherry picking in Morgan Hill

{All of the kids from Layla's}

We spent Saturday morning cherry picking in Morgan Hill at Andy's Farm with all of the kids from Miles and Oliver's school. The kids absolutely loved it -- we got to taste 20 different kinds of cherries, including chocolate covered cherries, and then we got to walk around the entire cherry orchard picking as many cherries as we wanted. Miles and Oliver were both enjoying filling up their buckets and we left with 10 pounds of cherries ($25!)

Amazing comeback...

Poor Oliver got hit with a bad stomach flu yesterday...

And when I say bad, I mean there was at least 5-6 bouts of vomiting and a fever. Not to mention he was super M-E-L-L-O-W, which is a rarity.

Well, after a quick doctor visit, a trip to the pharmacy to get some anti-nausea medicine, and a 2 hour power nap... he was eating Jello and back to his old self.
I couldn't believe how fast he bounced back.

See for yourself... back to his wild, hyper self.


(Special bonus: you can hear Miles "crying/whining" in the background... stubbed his toe while trying to climb on top of me with his knees first - OUCH to mommy!)

Outside pooping?

Oliver has been potty training for a few weeks and he's mastered keeping his diaper during the day, so he's wearing underwear... yay!

However, he's terrified of going poop in the toilet. Miles was the same way and I really don't understand it, but I know it will work itself out with time. When Oliver needs to poop he asks for a diaper.

The other day, Ollie kept asking for a diaper, but we were trying to encourage him to poop on his toilet. Oliver asked if he could bring his toilet outside and (of course) daddy happily agreed. I mean who wouldn't think that it would be a brilliant idea to bring his toilet outside to the front of our house and let him sit on it?!

ARE YOU #$%@! KIDDING ME?!?!

Our kid looks like trailer trash sitting in front of our house trying to poop. (And, ok... I guess I am trailer trash too for taking a picture. LOL!)

OMG - it was so wrong! And he sat there for about 10 minutes to no avail. Of course, he pooped in his underwear 5 minutes later! The joy!

Sweet sound

There is nothing sweeter than the sound of a child cracking up...

Even if he is saying "Do you have tickets... for the gun show."

(Gotta love the things that dads teach their kids)



And now for Oliver's attempt at the gun show...

Oliver is quite a spaz!

Comfy couch?

Is this for real? It's a daddy couch. And, he will sit on this daddy couch for an entire show/movie!

I mean... it's no wonder Oliver is such a daddy's boy!

(Yes, I am jealous. Oliver won't sit on me like this. And Miles is too big. Maybe it's time for baby # 3? HA)

The Polar Express addiction - round 2

Oliver is officially addicted to The Polar Express. It happened to Miles over Christmas 2008 and we watched it at least 200 times.

Here we are again for round 2 with Oliver... I am not sure if I can take it much longer.

Pretty soon, the movie might get "lost" somewhere. I'm just sayin ;)

{He's fully "in the TV zone" and in case you are wondering... those are socks on his hands... don't ask. And, yes, that's an EXTRA full diaper. LOL}

Mommy, I love you

Last night, Miles was laying on my lap on the couch and he gazed up at me and said,

"Mommy, I love you. I will love you forever."

God, I love that kid.

I will be sure to show this to him when he hates me in high school.

Daddy-o

Oliver and I had some "mommy and Oliver" time on Saturday morning while Derek and Miles went to the golf range for the first time (which Miles loved by the way).

We went to the big Whole Foods to get a few things for dinner and we stumbled upon some cute kids t-shirts. As I picked through them, Oliver pointed at a black one and I said "I want that one!"

No joke, when I pulled it out of the rack... I had a red heart with the words "DAD" on it.

It really couldn't have been any more perfect for my little daddy's boy. He insisted that I put it on him immediately. Pretty funny coincidence for someone who can't read!

Life in the burbs

Last night, I came to the incredible realization that I actually love and appreciate our life in the burbs.

We've been living down here for over 4 years now and Derek and I sometimes talk about how we miss San Francisco.

However, as I was getting dinner started in the kitchen last night, I could see and hear Oliver happily riding his tricycle and Miles playing hockey with our sweet next door neighbor, William (of course Derek was outside with them). Then our sweet neighbor, Terry (William's mom), got home and we chatted with her. Their entire family is sweet as pie - everything you could want in a next door neighbors.

There was something just very peaceful about watching the boys play while chatting with Terry... and it dawned on me how good we have it down here in the 'burbs.

It's exactly the childhood that I had and want my kids to have... playing outside with neighborhood friends.

It feels peaceful, easy, and right for our family. :)

And, heck... we can move back to SF when the boys go to college and we actually have time to eat out. :) HA.

Brothers

Just some sweet pics of the boys together.

They make me smile.

And smile.

Are you a momma's boy or a daddy's boy?

I'm Miles' boy!

About as sweet as it gets...

I don't want to learn my colors

Funny things are said during the car ride to school and this morning was no exception.

Derek asked Oliver what color his shirt was and he said "I don't know."
And then I asked Oliver what color my shirt was and he said "Umm, I don't know."

And, Mr. Know-it-all who corrects his little brother at every given chance said "Oliver, you really need to learn your colors"

And Oliver looked at him right in the eye and said "I don't want to learn my colors!"

LOL. It was just so matter of fact... like... you go learn your colors... I am fine not knowing them. :)

Do you know your continents?

A cute clip of each of the boys singing a song they learned at school.

First up... big brother Miles who knows every word:


And, now for Oliver's rendition... (you might have to refresh the browser window and then hit start to watch this one)

Happy Hollow

We took the boys to Happy Hollow on Saturday morning and they loved it. What's Happy Hollow you might ask? Go here to learn more. :) It's a wonderful place for younger children.


The cool part is that Derek remembers his mom taking him there when he was a kid.


They recently renovated it and it has great rides, a small zoo, and a great climbing structure and playground.


Of course, Miles couldn't stop asking about when we were going to walk on the train tracks we saw outside of Happy Hollow on our way in. I think we could have skipped the entire park and just played on the train tracks for free! He's (clearly) obsessed with trains and says he's going to be a train conductor when he is an adult.

Easter 2010

We had a lovely Easter weekend... FULL of Easter egg hunts.



It kicked off Saturday morning with an Easter egg Hunt in downtown Campbell. There were hundreds (maybe a thousand?) kids going after 5,000 eggs. Now, 5,000 eggs might sound like a lot but the eggs were gone in less than 30 seconds! It was quite funny.

{Photo with the (scary looking) Easter bunny}

I made my very first cake from scratch on Saturday afternoon... 3 hours later, I had a decent looking cake in the fridge. It was a lemon layer cake with lemon curd and mascarpone. All I have to say is that it was A LOT of work... and I am willing to bet that I could have picked an easier recipe to start with. I have a whole new respect for Lisa and Christina! I added some fresh fruit on top when I served it on Sunday morning for brunch and I thought it was pretty yummy, but very rich and decadent.



Sunday morning the boys woke up to an Easter egg hunt in the family room as it was a bit too chilly outside... thankfully they didn't ask how the Easter bunny got inside the house. :) This started an entire day of obsessive candy eating. They ate candy ALL DAY LONG. We had Easter brunch at our house with Hao-bu, Lara, and the Danes family. Sunday afternoon we had a lovely Easter dinner at the Williams' family with a few other families (6 wild boys and 1 little girl who was holding her own). Of course there was another egg hunt (indoor again because it was pouring rain) but the kids had a blast. And then there was Finding Nemo so that we could eat dinner.

{Miles will Aidan and Carter}

{Chilling out watching Finding Nemo}

Oliver was especially in love with his Easter candy. At the end of the day, he had a fond attachment to a piece of Laffy Taffy which he would not put down even when it was time to brush teeth. Silly little boy.

Happy Easter!

Digging in Capitola

We took the boys to the beach yesterday... it was chilly but since they aren't really too interested in swimming in the water, it was a fun day. They were happiest in a big hole that another boy had dug out.. climbing in and out for an hour... and they slept like babies last night. Can't complain too much about the cost of living in California when beach days like this are 30 minutes away!

Spring picnics...

Watermelon....
Running through the sprinklers...
Spring is here...

New sandals

Poor little Oliver just does not understand how online shopping works... lol!

This weekend, I sat down with him on the laptop and we ordered him some fire engine Teva's from Zappos for the summer.

Well, after I said that I ordered them, he ran to the door and expected them to be there!!! He got hysterical (we are talking crocodile tears!) when I told him that he had to wait until Tuesday for them to come. Very very upset. Poor guy. I had to explain that they would be here in a few days.

It was pretty darn funny!

Teri and Jeff's wedding in Calistoga

I finally have some pictures to share so here's a late blog post... Derek and I had the great pleasure of going to Calistoga the first weekend in March for Teri and Jeff's wedding. It was gorgeous up there! When we lived in SF (pre-kids), we were able to get up to Napa at least 1-2 times per year, but now we rarely get up there, so it was a treat.

More importantly, it was a very special treat for me to spend the weekend with 3 of my very favorite people from college:
-- Teri, the gorgeous bride who lives in Oakland (but you would think she lives in New York based on how infrequently we are able to make our busy schedules work for a night out). ;)
-- Geri, my dear friend from middle school and college who now lives in Ohio and I don't get to see or talk to nearly as often as I'd like.
-- and Lara, my sweet friend who now lives in SF and she lives the fun, exciting life of a single woman and, therefore, I also don't get to see her as much as I would like.

We had a fabulous time laughing all weekend, making fun of each other, drinking, dancing, and celebrating the marriage of Teri and Jeff! It was so hard to say goodbye on Sunday.

Some pics from the weekend...

{Geri, Lara, and me before the Friday night BBQ}

{Derek and I before the Friday night BBQ - gorgeous backdrop, huh?}

{The bride and groom at the BBQ}

{Silly Lara at the BBQ}

{Derek and I before the wedding}

{On the dance floor}

A weekend in pictures

I am too tired today to try to write something funny about our weekend... and since we had a good weekend... here are some pics.

{Slumber party with Sarah on Friday night ... and Miles and Oliver loved her Cinderella sleeping bag!}

{Saturday afternoon at the train park... Oliver very content on daddy's lap... such a daddy's boy!}

{Oliver very content on daddy's lap - take 2}

{Thank God for my momma's boy...}

{Sunday morning... Oliver re-living his door jumper days}

{Sunday morning brunch at the Mauch's... delicious food. And, sigh... the cutest baby ever... Henry doing his "What chu lookin at?" face! I could eat him up!!!}

{Very yummy cake that Christina made...mmmmmm... I could eat you up too!}

{I still love watching my baby sleep... so what if he's 4.5 years old - he's still my baby}

I just want to cry for a little bit longer...

Last night, Oliver said the most sad/sweet/funny thing...

Recently, when it's time for lights out he will say "I want mommy to lay with me." So, I get in bed with him and he immediately says "I want daddy to lay with me." And it goes on and on.

It's a little game to him.

Well, last night, I said "No - Oliver, it's time for bed." And he immediately started up with the crocodile tears. I kissed his head and left him crying in his room.

A few minutes later, I went in to check on him.
I said, "No more crying, Oliver. It's time to go to sleep."

And in the cutest, sweetest, saddest voice he said, "I just want to cry for a little bit longer."

OMG - it was seriously precious.

So, I told him that he could cry as long as he wanted. LOL.

(For any CPS lurkers, he stopped crying right after that and went to sleep! LOL) Sweet boy. I could eat him up!

Eat it

Derek introduced Miles to Weird Al a few weeks ago and Miles loves "Eat it". He sang it all the way to school today.

Pretty funny song, actually... but not so fun when you get it stuck in your head all day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyfcOriVKBM