Week 9

We had an awesome week with our great friends Andrea and Ana to share it with. Ana will be 2 in June and fit right in with my wild clan. She was quite the commodity in our house---always looking out for Corinne and egging on Lincoln in their wild adventures! I am so thankful for their visit and taking the time to come see us. Although it was almost unheard of for all 3 kids to nap at once, it was nice to have some adult time of an evening and have conversations that didn't include talk of Mickey Mouse, jelly beans, or the concept of sharing.
Andrea and Ana relax on the back patio.




















Andrea did a lot of this with her state of the art camera.

















Unfortunately I lack "state of the art" patience and skill in the photo/blogging department. I have tried numerous times unsuccessfully to add her pics to "Week 9" and have gotten nothing but a frozen screen and a sore clenched jaw! In order to save myself or the computer a trip out of the window, I have thrown in the towel in my attempts to add her glorious pictures for your viewing pleasure here. Stay tuned for shutterfly postings--or perhaps I will try to add just one or two favorites in a separate posting later. "Thank you" Andrea for sharing your photography skills---"No thank you" blogspot for your lack of skill uploading 12 mega pixel photos.

After heading down to the San Diego airport to pick up "our friends", as Lincoln referred to them most days, we took a hop over to the San Diego Zoo where the kids enjoyed the animals and slides in the children's zoo section.

















Lincoln started his first class in Creative Beginnings with his old Toddler Time teacher, Mrs. Russo. I was so thankful to have Andrea watch Corinne during our first class as this was a huge transition for Lincoln---going from a 1.5 hr. fun filled class to a 2.5 hr. structured, learning environment filled with 2.5-4.5 yr. old kids. We are slowly putting the pieces together and making the adjustment to being a good listener and direction follower!


















The kids played out back most days during the constant relay of snacking and napping.





































Chomper saw a lot of action in the week long "War on Fur". Ana's daycare has a dog just like Chomper, so she felt 100% comfortable trying to ride him and chase him around the house. Luckily for the kids, Chomps was a good sport and loved the extra attention.

















Here is sweet Ana with her new best friend---a Band-Aid. She arrived in California with a slight scratch on her forehead, which Andrea attempted to invoke healing with Neosporin and bandages. Unfortunately Ana is a bit of a picker and she left Cali with the same scab that had been picked off multiple times during her visit. Lincoln and I kept finding Band-Aids all over the house after they left!




















Lincoln doing a bit of yard work.




















Ana got quite a lot of enjoyment from our sliding screen door.




















Corinne hitched a ride on the trike whenever she could talk someone into giving her a ride.

Ana sneaks some lovin' in on Corinne.

Corinne waiting for her chauffeur.















Corinne complains to Ana about the traffic accident. We never did find who was at fault.





















After the incident Corinne gave up on Ana and opted to ride with Lincoln.
















We had a fun-filled week complete with a trip to the park, the beach, gymnastics, the mall, and the duck pond, but these are the only pictures I took since Andrea was the professional for the week. Lincoln loved waking up to a friend every morning and is now feeling a little sad. And our house seems unusually quiet these days as well.




















A highlight of the week include Lincoln learning to poop on the run. As long as I had the little potty with us, he would holler "I have to poop" from the back seat and I would pull over and set him up in the drivers seat. As gross as it sounds, I just bag it in a doggie poo bag, wipe it clean and get back on the road. I will take dog bags of poop over an accident any day!

The kids also got great joy out of feeding each other. They were all excellent sharers and were constantly offering each other snacks and gobbling them up out of little hands.

Andrea and I did manage to lose one of Corinne's shoes while we were at the mall. After backtracking through the mall twice and leaving our contact information everywhere we went, we finally headed back to the truck an hour and a half later feeling defeated---only to find her shoe on the sidewalk outside the parking garage! Afterwards we went out to eat for Andrea's birthday dinner. We should have known better than to take 3 kids, two and under, out by ourselves when they were running short on sleep and patience due to our scavenger hunt for Corinne's shoe. Luckily they seated us next to a retired preschool teacher and grandparents of 10! Little did they know they would get dinner and a show! Everyone left with full bellies, but we were more than enthusiastic about getting the kids to bed as soon as we walked through the door.

The beach was beautiful and the kids loved getting out in the wind and having tons of room to run. Corinne kept throwing herself down to lay on the sand and relax. I didn't quite understand it and I was nervous that she would start eating the sand by the handful. But she just seemed to lay there still, with a big smile on her face. A few days later I put it all together---the sound machine she sleeps with every night and at nap time is of waves. So the beach is going to be her ultimate veg spot one of these years!

Thank you for the fabulous week Andrea and Ana! We hope to have many more like this one in years to come!

Quotes of the Week:

Quote 1:
After getting new flip flops
Lincoln: "I like my new flip flops. They make my tooters feel so nice and so warm."

Quote 2:
As we are getting out of the car to feed the ducks.
Lincoln: "The duckies are gonna be so happy to see me!"

Quote 3:
After stealing my phone and holding it up to her ear---with no one on the other line.
Corinne: "Hi Dada!"

Quote 4:
On our ride back home after dropping Andrea and Ana off at the airport. Lincoln was asleep when we got there, but Andrea slightly woke him up to steal a kiss goodbye. About 10 miles from the airport he really wakes up and takes a look at his surroundings--and the lack of a third car seat in the back row sinks in.
Lincoln: "Oh no! My friend! I want my friend back!"