Catching up: The 5th of July

On the Sunday of the long holiday weekend we headed to Heritage Park to meet up with our good friends the Rosa Family. Much to Brian's chagrin, the park had no playground equipment, but I don't think the girls minded at all. They just played in the sand, enjoyed some bubbles, and drank lots of water.



It is really fun watching the interactions between the girls change. Zoey is definitely much more fearless and very social. Sara is much more tentative and very shy. Still, the girls really do seem to take an interest in each other.

Catching up: The 4th of July

On July 4th we had no plans, so we invited ourselves over to Larry Sr. and Paula's house. Everyone enjoyed a nice steak dinner, and the men played a bit with some sparklers we had bought. Once it was dark, we headed out to the front porch, where the illegal fireworks were easily seen and quite impressive.

Catching up: The third of July

We had a wonderful, busy 4th of July weekend. We kicked things off on July 3rd by visiting Seal Beach before Sara's nap and attending a barbecue at Alex and Carla's new home after. At Alex and Carla's Sara got a chance to play with Tyler and Abby Babikian, and she loved every minute of it.

Summer

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, so this is just to say HI and that we are keeping busy around here. Here's some of what's going on:

• Effective September 1st, we are leasing our condo and moving into my parents' rental home. This will give us a yard for Sara and a third bedroom, which we hope to need maybe sometime in the latter half of next year.
• Carla and Tanja's pregnancies are progressing beautifully. Carla is now 37 weeks pregnant, so baby Kyle could be here any day!
• We have been spending lots of time visiting Buccaneer Bay at Splash! That place is so much fun! Sara doesn't like it when the water is cold, but she's getting used to it.
• Sara is becoming more demanding (complete with mini-tantrums and lots of foot-stomping) but also more affectionate. She has taken to running up to us and hugging us without prompting, which is pretty much the sweetest thing ever.
  

I hope you're enjoying your summer, too!

Cousins

Sara has two cousins on Larry's side and four cousins on my side with two more on the way. Of all her cousins, she spends the most time with Ryan, because he is the closest in age and lives the closest.

Sara and Ryan have a very cute relationship. He looks out for her by holding her hands when she climbs stairs and bringing her to me when she falls, and Sara adores her cousin. She follows him everywhere. She loves "Rine."

Tanja spent a few days in Boston recently, so Sara and I got some extra time with Ryan. She couldn't wait to wake him up from his nap the other day. The video is very dark, but you should be able to hear Sara calling Ryan's name over and over.

Our anniversary/Father's Day weekend

Many, many months ago, I made a reservation for us to visit South Carlsbad State Beach. If you have never attempted to make beachfront camping reservations, just know that they are not easy to get!

Our beautiful spot overlooking the ocean


Does life get better than a breakfast with a view?


Larry and Sara on the Oceanside pier


Okay, maybe she looks a little like me


Daddy and his daughter on Father's Day morning


Unfortunately, "June gloom" was in full effect that weekend, and Sara came home with a cold that I passed to her (which she passed to her daddy) but we still had a nice, mellow time.

Happy anniversary and Happy Father's Day to the best man in town!

TWENTY months old

As my sister Tanja insists on reminding me on a nearly daily basis, Sara is just four short months away from the big 0-2. I can certainly see it coming now. Everyone always talks about the big differences between a newborn and a one-year-old, but the differences between 1 and 2 are almost as profound! We are now the parents of a little girl who will always be our baby, but she really isn't much of a baby anymore.

This month Sara continued to talk more and more, of course. She is occasionally very shy around even those she knows very well, but once she has had time to warm up, she will typically get past her shyness.

Sara loves food. More accurately, Sara's loves other people's snacks. She is "that kid" on the playground who stares at the kids eating Cheetos or graham crackers or whatever else until their parents offer her some. The problem is that she isn't happy with just one. She will gladly eat someone's entire bag of snacks! At the same time, Sara has become much more fickle when it comes to meals. She will sometimes absolutely refuse to try something, no matter how much I try to convince her that she will love it. Vegetables are especially problematic. I just keep trying!

Her obsession with "The Wheels on the Bus" continues, too. When she was sick last week I showed her some "Wheels on the Bus" videos on YouTube. Now, every time she sees my laptop, I hear, "I want bus." This child is very persistent! Apparently she thinks we have a hearing problem, because she just repeats it over.and over. and over! :) Do I hear the terrible twos calling?

Needless to say, we absolutely love our Baby Girl to bits. Sometimes when Sara is sitting on my lap I ask her, "Will you still be my baby when you're 30?"

"Yeah." ("Yeah" is probably her favorite word right now.)

"What about when you're 40? Will you still be my baby then?"

"Yeah."

What about when you're 50? Will you still be my baby?"

"Yeah."

My mom used to tell me all the time that I would always be her baby. And finally, I understand.