Baby shower/fight night

Last week we had a family baby shower/UFC fight night party to acknowledge and welcome Tanja's second baby boy, due in late September. The party had a fun, casual atmosphere, and I think the guests had lots of fun. We can't wait for this baby boy (Blake? Jake? Luke? Something else?) to get here and join his brand new cousin Kyle, not to mention his older brother and cousins! We all love him so much already!

Welcome, Kyle Alexander!

When Carla showed some signs of preeclampsia at her OB appointment on Wednesday, the doctor decided it was time to induce. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, little Kyle Alexander made his arrival.

He is very cute and small (7 pounds, 2 ounces and just under 20 inches long) and snuggly. We all love him already and are thrilled to have this newest member of our family. He is currently receiving phototherapy for some jaundice, which we are hoping will clear up very soon.

Congratulations to Alex and Carla! Enjoy your beautiful baby boy!

Book toss

I saw the twinkle in her eyes right away, and I knew what we were in for.

Last Thursday Sara woke up from her nap and wanted to take a book downstairs with her. She got to the top of the stairs and, for whatever reason, threw the book down. I saw the gleam in her eyes, and I knew what would follow.



I know I could have stopped her, but she was having so much fun throwing all those books. I decided just to let her have the fun, and we would both deal with the consequences later. I carried all the books to the top of the stairs for her, and she did, indeed, put them all back on the bookshelf. It only took about 30 minutes, one small tantrum (hers, not mine), and three crib time-outs. :)

Twenty-one months

Sara is now twenty-one months old, or "two in November," which I have taken to saying when people ask. Apparently she has grown, because I suddenly find people commenting on her being tall for her age. I think it must be that she looks two already, so when people find out she still has a few months to go, they feel compelled to say something.

For the most part, month twenty-one brought more of the same. Sara's vocabulary continues to expand. In the past few days she has added words like "shower" and "octopus." She's also getting past some of her shyness. Sara is still on the timid side, but the amount of time it takes her to warm up to people or situations seems to be decreasing for the most part. That said, I don't think she has a future as a stunt woman or X-games competitor. She is generally a mellow girl who would rather observe loud, scary stuff than participate in it. She's also still relatively quiet around others, though she is starting to talk a bit more when non-parental ears can hear.

I wouldn't say that Sara is "potty training," but she does tell us most of the time if she needs to go or is in the process of going #2 ("I poop."). We go through phases where we'll catch most poops in the potty, but then we also have phases where she says she needs to poop just so she can go read books on the potty.

Also, it's worth mentioning that her one-year molars are now all the way in. We had a nice, teething-free month. :)

All told, month twenty-one was a fun one.

Fun times in July

We had several playdates in July.

My former student Elisa came by with her daughter Lenaya. We went down to the street fair, and then the girls shared a ride back through the park.


My friend Maribel from Mommy and Me had us over for dinner. Sara and Edari played together beautifully.


My friend Kim, another "USC wife," came over with her daughter Caitlin.


Of course, we took several visits to Splash!


My friend Lisa had us over for a playdate. Sophia and Sara had fun hanging out in Sophia's "jeep."


And my friend Emily bravely ventured out with her twin toddlers, Gene and Cruz. Sara and Gene managed not to kiss each other this time. LOL


It was a busy, but wonderful, July. I do love summer.

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.