Caltrain field trip

This past Tuesday ended being our field trip day. We joined my friend Krissy and her 3 yr. old daughter Devon on a Caltrain Ride up to Mountain View for lunch. The trip up was about 30 min., we arrived before 11am and walked the 4 blocks of old downtown since none of the restaurants were open yet. We visited the Mountain View City Hall and CPA where the kids ran up and down some grassy hills, played by the huge fountain and climbed up and down stairs(always a crowd pleaser!). Then found a pet store where there were lots of lizards, geckos and turtles, big and small! Then off to a little Mexican restaurant for quesadillas and chips and back to the train. They both enjoyed their view from the 2nd level on the train, on the way back, but were super tuckered out from all that walking.

T and I also hung-out with Kim's kids on Monday. Here T is "holding" Alivia, he always asks to and whenever she cries or seems fussy, T gets concerned...very cute! He and Noah(2 yr. 9 mo) played with trains for nearly 2 hrs., actually Noah became distracted fairly quickly, but T loves their Geotrax train track and could play for hours without losing interest..one of the few instances! Then we picked up Avery from pre-school and met Krissy and Devon at the Spaghetti Factory...absolutely delicious fresh bread, and salad...my veggie lasagna however, not thrilled, I believe my own recipe may be better, surprisingly. We had a great lunch, it doesn't occur that often where we can have lunch at a restaurant, that was empty except for us, with most of the kids, and have grown-up conversation, feel relaxed and enjoy ourselves without constantly being in mommy mode. Lovely.

Our Valentine's Day

Pretending to be his wild animal of choice

A little late posting these but I just took them off the camera....

Valentine's Day I went to a USA dance competition with Shelley, then came home to a beautiful bouquet of flowers, balloons, and chocolate cupcakes that T picked out himself. "Look Mommy it's all for you! Happy Baltimes Day!" And Jason wanted to update my lack of music selection with CD's from The Fray and Leona Lewis. I was pleasantly surprised, Jas and T were very thoughtful! After a home cooked meal, although I forget now what it was, we spent the eve. on the couch eating popcorn and watching Planet Earth!

"Whered da fish go?"

T, his Pasha, and I went to the Japanese Friendship Gardens and San Jose Historical park. T joyfully trotted up and down the many paths that wind around koi ponds and waterfalls. His favorite area was a stone bridge where huge groups of koi hid underneath. He would lay on his tummy to look under the bridge and I swear his nose nearly touched the water. Next door to the gardens was the Historical Park. We rode on an original San Jose Trolley, refurbished from the late 1800's. T was asked by the conductor to ring the trolley bell! Then we visited a train and auto museum/shed where various trolley cars, steam engines, and vintage autos originally from San Jose are being stored and maintained. I recommend visiting this park to anyone with small or school-age children to learn about and appreciate the culture and history of our city. We had a great day!

Sitting on the trolley car

Field Trip

A few weeks ago Kim and I took Talan and Noah on a ride on the Light Rail, which for our little boys, was a major treat! They each brought their matching Thomas the Train "pack-packs" filled with goodies, Noah had snacks, T had various toy animals and a train whistle, a little cumbersome for his little body to carry but he insisted on packing for the trip! Noah, at 2 1/2, was such a good train rider, enjoying just sitting and looking at the scenery out of the window. If T had his way he would want to get off at every station stop, as I believe he enjoys more seeing the trains pulling in and out of the station more than sitting in one, or it could have just been his particular energy level that day! Nevertheless, this was definitely a field trip that we will take again, very memorable.

Found some old pics to add to the nostalgia!

The yellow was not intentional I assure you! This is Shelley and I in Capitola, 1999 I believe

Look at my frosted pink fake nails...oh to be in high school in the 90's!

Big Bone Ball, 1997! Is it me or do we look older than 17 here?

My dearest Shel, I am so glad we have remained friends for all these years. Now look at us now, and you're going to be a Mommy soon! I am so happy for you and Nick!

My Piper

Thank you T for reminding me how much fun it is to take a walk in the rain!

My parents brought home a new 8 week old puppy on Friday, an American Eskimo (or Spitz) they named Piper. T is absolutely beside himself with excitement over his new puppy! He constantly wants to pick her up and carry her, oversees her potty breaks with Papa or Pasha, and gives her treats afterwards. He doesn't understand quite yet how fragile Piper still is, gets overzealous with playing, and refuses to accept that she needs naps. My parents are doing pretty well coping with caring for a baby again, as Piper is already grass-trained and slept last night for nearly 5 straight hours! And Piper's big sister Willow is warming up to her too!

Rainy days are tough for little ones, especially 3 year old hyperactive boys, so I took T for a walk in the puddles! Although he insisted on wearing his holey crocs because they were the easiest to put on in order to dash outside as quickly as possible! He probably didn't want Mommy to change her mind!

Plans, Shmans!

Friday, we had planned on taking T to the IMAX theater at the Tech museum to see Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep - I had noticed a sign there a few weeks ago, and since T is obsessed with dinosaurs lately I knew he would love it. 15 min before we were to leave I decided to double check what the showtimes were (my memory is short-lived these days) and come to find out it is no longer showing, having been replaced by The Grand Canyon and Lewis & Clark - not for a 3 year old!
So off to the San Francisco Zoo we went, and we weren't disappointed! The rain held off on us the entire time, a little chilly but it could have been worse. The highlight for T were the Black Rhinos - on the endangered list, with only about 600 in the world today, and they are difficult to breed in captivity. We kept explaining to T how privileged we were to be able to visit animals like these. There was also a 3 week old baby giraffe named Bititi, in a nursery with her mom, so cute! The animals were quite active, as we also watched Grizzly Bears ham-it-up for our cameras, the tigers and lions were awake and moving about, and the peacocks were yelping. Then we ended with a carousel ride...we sure had an adventure on our family outing!

Auntie is Your Valentine

Katie always does something thoughtful for us on Valentine's Day. We love her and miss her while she is away at school, especially around this time because it has been several weeks since she has been back here. Yesterday, T and I were suprised by a knock on the door from UPS and a big box waiting on our doorstep. T opened it and found a supercute "King of Hearts" shirt and matching rugby stripe beanie, and a Melissa & Doug animal stamp set......T has been stamping out his "projects" constantly every since. I also was lucky enough to be given a new, and very chic, coupon organizer-yup I organize coupons, I just have to remember to use them! We love you Auntie Cake and want you to be our Valentine!