Take a hike

After a traumatizing morning - seriously, my close friends have already heard about it - we headed to San Dimas to hike Bonelli Park and to have lunch lakeside. It was the hottest day so far this year, so all of us were beat. Except for Kayden who looked bright-eyed and sunkissed. I mean, look at those eyes! Doll!

MeeMee brought Enzo a Dora Squirter (since I'm not a big fan of guns, she found this perfect water toy that Enzo adored!) Here he is, loading it up, unbeknownst to her and Gianna. Little devil...

He goes on the attack!! Too bad you can't really see the little squirter. He's holding Dora's big, full-bodied hair-covered head.

Delightful setting for some family fun in the sun. And shade.

Enzo was beat, and Claire was a trooper with him on her back.

...and shoulders. You go, girl! I had a hard enough time pushing the stroller with baby G inside!

Later Thursday evening, Enzo came across a tiny pack of Lemonheads in the pantry (I have no idea where they came from, by the way.) It was awesome to watch his sour face.

We spent this morning on a walk at Clark Regional Park in Fullerton. Enzo loves the slide. I'll spare you the shot of yours truly "sliding" down the twisty slide.

The whole family (including our first daughter, Murphy).

Unrelated to hiking, Gianna's not sure what to make of her first try at being vertical, solo. Her bumbo chair can barely contain her buff thighs.

4 months!

* Little G is the cutest thing ever. She smiles on command and I swear I see a twinkle in her eye. Her baby fat is in full affect, and I love kissing and squeezing her thighs, arms, and tummy. Oh yeah, and those cheeks!

*I returned to work this month, so she's been forced to become a little bit more independent. Fortunately, I get to sneek out of the house before the kids are up (or the sun is up, for that matter). When they pick me up from the train station in the afternoon, she is all smiles and seems very happy to see me. It warms my heart. She has become a champ at drinking her breastmilk from a bottle (when I'm not here). Maybe that's where her lovely lady rolls are coming from.


*Gianna's colic/pain/screaming became so bad the week before I went back to work, that I had to try something. So, we tried soy formula for 11 days. No change in her behavior, and no relief to this poor little one. And I longed to nurse her instead of just pumping full time. Couple this with the fact that I was also back at work, trying to keep up my milk supply and really needing to bond with her -- and it was a little rough. Gratefully, mostly just for me. It was back to the boob and us just praying that this "phase" will pass soon.



* I've been able to squeeze her into the 3 month old clothes. Until now. She is officially 3-6 month in her evening wear. She's way too long for 3 month old footed jammies. And we've had to graduate her into a larger Swaddle Me blanket so she can extend her legs. Of course the velcro tabs are too big around, but we're improvising. (She also loves holding her own hands.)

*She has never really been a big fan of the pacifiers (why are my kids the only ones who don't go for them?!) but has become a finger and thumb sucker. She sleeps with them in her mouth:
... and she has them in her mouth when she's not sleeping:

*At her last well-baby visit, I forgot to schedule her next one and just realized that she was supposed to weigh in at 4 months. Ooops. We'll see if we can get in to see the doctor before her next 6-month well baby. We weighed her anyway, and could it be that she weighs 15 lbs??

*Our little girl has come to truly enjoy her bathtime. Almost as much as her adorable brother:
She splashes all over the place.

All while checking herself out in the mirror.

All clean!

Dada out of town

We tried to pass the time while Jeff was out of town for four days. In Vegas. At a "conference." We made yummy enchiladas. And even managed to save some left-overs for Dada. Enzo soaked the tortillas in chicken broth, helped to fill and roll them, drizzled green sauce and cheese on top, sprinkled green onion, and helped me eat em up.

Enzo stopped screaming "Dada" and "eat. eat. eat." long enough for these two shots at his last swimming lesson for the session.

This is Ms. Rose - his swim coach.

Claire, Kayden, and my mom joined us at the Fullerton Market. We lounged in the grass, played, listened to music and had dinner.

Check this out. I took both my children TO THE MOVIES!! Um, yeah, I did. Only because it was the Regal Family Film Festival in Brea and I figured if Enzo or Gianna couldn't hang, we could always leave. I mean, it's free. And the theater would be filled with other kids whining and being fidgety. After the initial "no. no. no. bye bye. bye bye." I thought we'd be done. Then, the genius that I am came up with "Enzo, it's a giant DVD. And here is a special candy I've been saving for a special occasion." Awww, yeah. Worked like a charm.

Even Gianna was craning her neck to see the flick. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Foxie enjoyed the movie, and the cushy velour seats as well. Before I knew it, the credits were rolling and I was in shock that we survived a movie!! An entire movie. Then I felt lame for making such a big deal about it, until I got a high-five from a fellow mom (she had two girls, maybe 8 and 10) in the parking lot.

If going to see a movie wasn't enough excitement for one day, Enzo and I painted our very first painting, thanks to Brooke for the easle and paper. I put an old t-shirt of Jeff's on him and he rubbed his face into the shoulder and fondly said "Aww. Dada shirt." Enzo is an artiste, just like his Auntie Godmother, for sure.

And this pic was just too cute not to include.

All in all, we survived without Dad. But let me tell you - it will be a long time before we let him out of our sight for that long again. And mad props to single parents out there. It is no joke.

Summer birthdays

On the hottest day of the year so far, we went to Enzo's buddy Jonathan's 2nd birthday party in San Gabriel. Good thing it was a water party! Here's Enzo wishing a happy birthday to the birthday boy.

Enzo wasn't a fan of all the pools with big kids splashing and being rambunctious, so he chillaxed in the best playhouse ever - complete with grill, cash register, and cell phone. Multi-tasking.

This is particularly funny to me because when I was a kid, I was ob-sessed with cash registers and adding machines. I had about five or seven at any given time and I'd take all the shampoo, soap and toiletries out from under all the bathroom counters and pretend I was a cashier ringing up all the items. When I saw Enzo immediately drawn to the cash register, I was like, yep that's my kid.

My lovely OLDER sister Josie had a birthday as well, and we all celebrated her with a nice dinner at a Japanese steakhouse.

Look at Gianna eyeing the steak. This was right before she opened wide.

Enzo liked mommy's ice cream cake...

... made from scratch, transported an hour to Corona, and eaten by all of us (and the restaurant staff.) There was no way that thing was making it all the way home. It was a chocolate fudge and raspberry slush/smoothie cake. But tasted pretty excellent. Josie's birthday wish came true -- "ice cream and cake and cake."

Back to work: Week 1 done

On my first day back to the office, this lovely poster was waiting for me on my desk. And since I try to squeeze in four days worth of work on three days and am the earliest to arrive, I had a chance to reacclimate in silence and peace. And had a chance to remember what I do for a living. Yep, I'm back in the saddle.

Returning to work after my second maternity leave is night and day from the first time. After having Enzo, and having just hired a nanny to take care of my precious baby, I had to deal with the fact that a stranger was in my house, hoping the house wouldn't burn down, or my child would be kidnapped. (On top of all the guilt, second-guessing, and stress that comes along with being a working mom.) This time I just had to deal with the latter, being that Brooke has been working with us for more than a year and has done a great job with Enzo. We are at ease with the quality of care our children are getting, and it's pretty much the same for her, except for an additional child. And a larger paycheck.

Gianna looks like she really misses me, huh? Torn. Up.

A pouty kiss sent to me via MMS text. These things keep me going while I'm at work.

And today was Jeff's first day solo with both children. And boy does he appreciate me now. I walked in the door and this is what I saw. Jeff soaked in Gianna's "spit up." Literally head to knees. Does anyone agree that this amount of spit up is NOT "normal?"

Cheap. Frugal. Smart.

I read on Facebook that my friend and doula, Brenda, was dressing her kids up as cows for a free meal at Chick-Fil-A. I was like, whhaaaatt? So I went to their website and learned all about Cow Appreciation Day, and proceeded to download and print the "cow starter kit" complete with a tail, spots, nose, and ears. Afterall, if you came dressed as a cow, you got a free meal. I'm in.
And Jeff was a little excited about the prospect of dressing up for Halloween in the middle of July.

Yeah. I did it. What?

"Oh my gosh. For a free chicken strip? Really?! You are totally embarrassing me!"

Even Gianna is mortified. But cute in her bovine bib. Presh! A little public discomfort was worth a free $26 meal.

Then, in Real Simple magazine, I read that on 7/11/10, 7-11 was giving away free slurpees from 7 am to 11 pm. So yeah, I put it on my calendar and we headed to our neighborhood 7-11 for a 7.11 oz slurpee.

Jeff has no idea that Gianna is throwing up into his slurpee. By the way - the nicest strip of grass in an alley behind a 7-11 that I've ever seen.