Saturday, May 31, 2014

Helping Grammy

Jeremy needed to help his mom with her modem/phone/internet, so we all went to her house just for fun.  While Jeremy helped hook up the new setup, Owen and Logan "helped" spread toys all over the living room.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Happy Birthday to Me

I may not want a big fuss made over my birthday, but there are some things I need in order for it to really feel like my birthday.

1.  I want to do something special, or at least something I wouldn't do just any old day. I thought the boys might like the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, so that's where we went.  My little scientist Owen had a blast, and that made me happy.  He carried around his map the whole time and let all the new sights sink in-- the aquarium, an animal skull exhibit, a t-rex skeleton, and much more.

2. Presents:  Okay, who doesn't like presents?  And I'm not even talking about things that are expensive or over the top.  Here's what I mean: Owen spent the whole day giving me presents-- flowers, leaves, hugs, kisses, and even the privilege of reading a bedtime book to him, and every time he told me that it was a present for my birthday.  At the end of the day, Owen teased in a singsong-y voice, "I have another birthday present for you!" He gave me a kiss on the butt and said, "Okay, that's enough presents.  That's the last one."  Good enough for me :)

3. Cake:  I love cake.  It might even be my favorite food.  That being said, we've had sooo much birthday cake from the various birthdays during the last month that I'm unusually tired of cake.  Now Yogurtland, that's another story...

So those are the three things that make me a happy birthday girl.  It's not as exciting as it was when I was younger, especially when getting older begins to seem less appealing (now that I'm 36, Jeremy jokes that he'll trade me in for two 18-year-olds!) but I still like having a special day that's all mine.

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Owen giving Logan a kiss on the forehead in the Steinhart Aquarium

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Owen waving to the scuba diver who was cleaning the tank


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Owen with a rattlesnake, one of his favorite animals, thanks to an episode of Reading Rainbow that is in heavy rotation at our house

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Logan unleashed- finally out of the stroller and free to roam (and looking like something from a Dr. Seuss book with the picture of the plant that looks like it's growing out of his head)

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Logan, curious about that mastodon tusk that Owen is checking out (and as always, he HAS to do whatever Owen is doing)

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The boys kind of missed the point of this interactive game, which was not supposed to involve crushing bugs

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Skulls exhibit

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A huge wall of sea lion skulls

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Owen, still excited from the trip, reading his map and brochure

Saturday, May 24, 2014

The Great Outdoors

We don't have much outdoor space, but the boys love being out there anyway.  Climbing on a camping chair inside?  Ho hum.  Racing Hot Wheels in the living room? Boooring.  But outside, now that's a different story.  Something about being outside makes it much more fun.

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Saturday, May 17, 2014

Owen's Birthday

We hadn't had a birthday party for Owen since he turned one year old.  Then when Logan had his first birthday party, I opened my big mouth and told Owen that when he turned four he could have a birthday party, too.  At first it was a flub I regretted, especially with their birthdays being so close together.  Did we really need two Saliba birthday parties in one month?  But after seeing how much fun Owen had, it was totally worth it.  The people at My Gym made Owen feel really special, and he had a huge grin on his face pretty much the whole time.

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Sunday, May 4, 2014

Lunchtime Part II

One day I hope we will all eat the same meals at the same table at the same time.  For now, naps, different schedules, and food allergies/food preferences get in the way of that.  This was today's Lunchtime Part II, since Logan had napped through Lunchtime Part I.  Owen chose to watch him eat rather than do something more fun, and of course he found this a bit boring.  Years from now, this is how I will remember Owen at age 3 in his quiet little moments of stubbornness: thumb in the mouth, Chip snuggled up to his face, and sometimes that little piece of cotton ball fuzz.  Then there's Logan, who has just figured out how to feed himself, and who takes an hour to eat a tray of food cut into baby-bite-sized pieces.  (Oh yeah, those grapes are cut into twelfths.)

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