Big Boy Bed

This week Finnegan decided he was done with his crib. On Tuesday morning I walked into the kids room to find him sitting on Kenzie's bed. They both looked me and said"good morning Mommy" as if this was perfectly normal. That night he tried to use the railing of the crib like a high wire and jump off. Jim quickly went and got his tools and disassembled the crib. Finn spent the next two nights sleeping on the mattress the floor, while I searched the classifieds for a toddler bed. We found the perfect one to match Kenzie's and this morning we went to pick it up. Finn was all smiles when he saw his new big boy bed!

5 months old

Emersyn is 5 months old today and meeting all her milestones. She can now sit up in the tripod position. She can roll from front to back, has a very strong grasp (the cat is especially fond of this trick) and has started eating cereal. Some fun things she's doing are smiling a lot, laughing, playing with her feet, sticking out her tongue and zerberts. The zerberts are especially fun when she has a mouth full of cereal!

tripod position

Rice Cereal

Emersyn has become very interested in watching everyone eat. She tries to grab at spoons and cups, and she's always trying to put something in her mouth. So we decided it was time for a little rice cereal. Most of it came out of her mouth as fast as it went in, but she seemed to enjoy the experience and was very happy to hold the spoon.

Happy Valentines Day

Today was Valentines Day and Kenzie had a party at preschool. She was so excited to go to school and exchange valentines with all her classmates. She came home with lots of cards and lots of goodies. Here are my three little valentines.

matching heart dresses

The ladies love me

Soda Springs

This morning was day 2 of our mini Tahoe getaway. We took a scenic drive around Donner Lake and headed to the top of the ridge for a panoramic view. I had fun trudging through the snow trying to capture all the views and then it was off to Soda Springs for some tubing. They have a special area called planet kids. We got to ride in a sled pulled by a snow mobile, which Finn was very impressed with. In the kids area they had a mini tube carousel and two tubing hills. The kids were excited to try everything out. Jim and I got a work out pushing kids down the hill and then retrieving them and pulling them back up the hill. Kenzie's favorite was to go down the hill in her tube on her belly while spinning. I don't know how she didn't get dizzy! Finn was just happy to go fast at one point he abandoned his tube and just started running down the hill laughing! Such a crazy little man sometimes. After a few hours it was time to say goodbye to the snow and head for home. Our trip was short, but a great time was had by all, even Emersyn who had fun watching her siblings and snuggling up in her snow suit.

Donner Lake

Skiing at Boreal

Today we decided to head to Lake Tahoe to play in the snow and do a little skiing. We piled everyone in the car at 6am and headed for the hills. We got to Boreal around 9am and checked Kenzie into ski school. She was so excited to meet her instructor and get her skis. Jim headed up to the top to do a little skiing and I took Finn to the tubing hill. Finn was a little apprehensive at first, but as soon as I pushed him down the hill he was all smiles. He was happy to spend the rest of the morning riding the tubes. He just kept saying "me go gain" and "bye bye Mommy". After lunch we switched and I dusted off my skis and took a few runs. I went to visit Mackenzie and her instructor. She was the only child left in the ski school, so she basically had a private lesson all afternoon. She was very excited to tell me about "making a pizza" with her skis. After her lesson she showed me how take the lift to the top of the bunny slope and ski down. We did a few runs together and decided to head to our hotel. Amazingly the kids still had enough energy to run up and down the halls outside our room. We took them to one of our favorite Tahoe restaurants called Jason's. After dinner we headed back to the hotel for tubbies and some much needed sleep.

my little daredevil

a view of Donner Lake outside our hotel

Sun Hat

The adorable sun hat was given to Emme by Baysdens. Well it finally fits, so today we tested it out.

Alcatraz Island

So on my list of touristy things to do while in the bay area has always been to see Alcatraz. I wanted to go when we lived here the first time and never got the opportunity. So we decided to go while Mum Mum was in town. We had a perfect warm sunny day. The kids loved getting on the big boat. The grown ups loved the view of the bay. Once on the island we stopped to watch a short movie to tell us about the history. It was very interesting to find out the many uses of the island over the years. It was originally a  military fort during the gold rush and civil war, then a military prison, after that a federal prison, and even a refuge for the Native Americans before becoming part of the national park service. After the video we took a tour of the prison and then walked around looking at the architecture and gardens on the island. It was a photogs dream, with so many things to take pictures of. After walking up and down every hill available we headed back to the city to pier 39. We stopped for a ride on the carousel and some chowder in a sour dough bread bowl. It was a great outing, I'm so glad we finally made it out there.

morning snack on the boat

inside the prison

Kenzie in the isolation cell

a view of the Golden Gate bridge

the gardens

Kenzie testing out the wind in the tunnel

Happy Birthday Mum Mum

February is a month of birthday celebrations in our house. We had our final party of the month for Mum Mum tonight. It was a low key night of paella and Oreo cheesecake. Then we let her blow out her number "3". The kids really wanted to help blow out the candle and open the presents. We are so glad we were able to help Mum Mum bring in another birthday! I didn't get very good pictures but here are a couple that tell the story.

Photography Field Trip

Today was my final photography class. We met at Hamilton Field at the Unity Church and Mackenzie was one of our models. It was a fun outing and lots was learned. Mackenzie did a great job smiling and posing. Now if only she would do this for me when its just us.

macro shot

Kenzie & Keira

bumble bee

in front of the old base hospital

Photos from the Headlands/Fort Baker