Cardinals Game

We decided to pack the kids up and head to the cardinals game on monday. It was hot hot hot. But thankfully, our seats were in the shade, so we weren't miserable! The stadium was really nice and had a great view of the arch. We made it 5 innings before we had fussy kids, so I was pretty impressed. :)

The view from our seats. Pretty neat I thought.

They mow an arch into the field ... sadly it took me almost 2 innings to even notice.

No baseball game would be complete without ice cream in a helmet!

Malzy trying to hide her cotton candy because she thought Daddy was going to get it!

Peanuts: The reason we made it as long as we did! Mallory became obsessed with them. (and yes, I know they are a choking hazard, but she was watch closely). At first, I was shelling them and them biting them and giving her half a nut at a time. She didn't care for that routine. So she took the bag and did it herself. Put the shell half in her mouth to crack it and bite it. She spit out the shell part and then shook the peanut out and ate it. It took about 5 minutes per peanut. Kept her busy for a very long time - she was very determined!


I took about 30 pictures ... none had all 3 looking at the camera.

It was definitely no Cubs game, but we had a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing more of St. Louis.

Working at the Car Wash ...

One of the many things we did this weekend was wash the van. It was H O T hot, so it seemed like an activity that everyone could enjoy! Well, as much as two adult can enjoy washing a car :) The kids had fun and even washed their own vehicles.

This may be less washing the car and more spraying your sister in the face, but I can't be sure!

Keira did a great job on the tires, she was super into the jet setting on the sprayer.

Mal not only washed the van, but also washed the driveway!

Me making a rare appearance in the blog pictures ... dressed in my best car washing clothes!

Mal washed and washed and washed the headlight. Cleanest headlight in town!

Ladybugs

A girlfriend and I made these for Keira's graduation. She was in the ladybug classroom at school. These are cake balls decorated as ladybugs. Let's just say, hmmm, cake ball chef I am not. But we had fun making them and Keira loved them and so did her classmates!

I've got two more projects planned - cupcakes for her ballet recital and cookies for her last soccer game. More pics to come as those dates get here!

Pomp and Circumstance

So, she is a preschool graduate. I am so proud! The ceremony couldn't have been cuter. They sang a bunch of songs, put on the three little pigs play, walked down the aisle in their caps and gowns ... so bittersweet. I've been reflecting a lot lately on Keira's short 5 years and I thought I would share with you, David Letterman stlye, the top 10 lessons learned/advice to be given on this parenting journey ... (Don't worry, we'll take picture breaks!) ...

10. Try to live in the moment. It's hard, I know. And this is the one that I am most guilty of not following. There will always be laundry and dinner prep and bathrooms to be cleaned and floors to be scrubbed and errands to be run. But there will not always be little people running around that need to be chased, tackled and tickled. :)

9. Happiness is a choice. Life has handed us some difficult situations. You can choose to wallow or you can choose to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Choose the light, choose it quickly.

8. You can sleep when you're dead.

7. There will be no time to yourself for years. Years. If you get to go to the bathroom by yourself, consider yourself lucky. That being said - figure out how to make time for yourself. Go out with your girlfriends, go to the movies, get to the gym. Whatever your thing is. You'll be a better parent for it.

6. Always wear sunscreen. Not just on your kids, but on yourself too. Skin cancer is real.

5. Take a deep breath, smile, and then deal with the situation. It moments of anger, it allows you to get ahold of yourself before you say something you shouldn't. In moments of fear, it helps suck back the tears so you can properly assess the situation and not scare your kids!

3. Get used to gross stuff. You will likely be peed on, puked on, pooped on at least once in your parenting journey. If you're lucky, it won't be all at the same time! (Oh and don't forget the joys of the ever familiar "I need help wiping" call from the bathroom. It's good to be a parent.)

2. You will say some things you never thought you would. I just used "Because I said so" about 100 times this week. Just embrace it. It is what it is. The worse one I can think of saying is "Please don't try to stick your finger in Peanut's butt." Sadly, I have said this to both my children.

1. When all else fails ... go to the beach!

City Garden

What a fun day we had today! We have decided (and when I say we, I mean me) that we needed to see more of the city ... I saw a commercial that St. Louis was running about the Core of Discovery. A website about a bunch of things to do in the "core" of the city. This was the first one we picked from the website. It is called City Garden and is basically a sculpture park with a splash pad. A very hands on sculpture park. Climbing is encouraged. The girls had a blast! Here are a bunch of pics -- Mallory has reached that stage where she can't stand still for a picture, so the ones of her aren't great! For those that want to check it out, http://www.citygardenstl.org They have a pretty cool feature where you can call a number from your cell and then enter the number of the sculpture and get information on it - like an audio tour for your cell phone.

Do you see Keira? How about Mallory's tiny little feet?

Keira spent a lot of time trying to climb this one. Especially difficult when you are wet.

Wouldn't have been a great pic, if Mallory was looking!

Again, can we please all look at the camera at the same time?

I did not ask her to pose this way, she's a natural!

Peek a Boo!

Let's get wet! Mallory is wondering where the water went???!!??

Keira made quite the game out of jumping over the water.

Mallory again wondering where the water went!

The only picture where Mal is looking at the camera!

The days are long but the years are short

These are the moments you dream of when the doctor says, "It's a girl!". Your head (and your house) is suddenly filled with pink and tutus and princesses and ponytails and well, more pink if you live here! Keira's first big recital is June 5th and she had pictures this past saturday. She was so thrilled with the costume she could hardly contain herself. "Mommy Mommy, I look like a princess, don't I?". I swear those were the words that came out of her mouth. I had a few tears in my eyes looking at her and how big she has gotten. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we were talking diapers, walking, and ABCs. Today it's ballet, soccer and kindergarten. It is so cliche, but the years really do fly by. Surely this picture below was not taken almost 5 and 1/2 years ago?

But I guess it was as the calendar never lies. So the lesson is, take time to enjoy these little moments in their lives because they are fleeting. Soon enough she'll be locking herself in her room and want nothing to do with me. :)

Oh and to answer Keira's question - "Yes, baby girl, you do look like a princess and you always will."

Cinco de Mayo

What a great reason to celebrate! Actually, I don't know the reason (note to self: Look up the reason!), but let's celebrate anyway! We had the playgroup over for a potluck lunch. Lots of kids running everywhere, but it was a lot of fun. I made a paper mache pinata, which sadly I did not get a picture of (total bummer) and we had lots of great food - like tacos! Ha. And I made these lovely cupcakes for all the mommies to take home - Margarita cupcakes with Lime Buttercream frosting.

I let the girls have their water in what they called "fancy cups" tonight for Cinco de Mayo. Loved it! Unfortunetly, Mal then started putting food in it and then flung it halfway across the room. Awesome.

Day 6: The Beach!

Aaah, day 6. Our last day before going home. Beach Day. Here's how I know Keira is my child - As we arrive at the beach, she runs to the sand and yells: "This is going to be the best day of my life!" Man, I love that kid ;) And she indeed, did have a great day. The water was C O L D, but she didn't care (Wade did, but this was not about the best day of his life!). She swam, jumped in the waves, and drug daddy out as far in the water as she could. I finally made her come in when she was literally turning blue. Malzy loved the beach too. She played more in the sand than the water, but she got wet too.

Keira dying to get to the water. She did not want to stop and get her picture taken.

Mal doing the 'I hate sunscreen' dance.

Daddy trying to stay warm in the chilly water. Keira trying to get used to the cold.


Mallory trying to get in the water. She was a little more effected by the cold.

Mallory chasing the birds. This was such a sweet moment because the first time we took Keira to the beach in california 3 years ago, chasing birds was her favorite thing to do!

Daddy and Keira getting out. Daddy was cheering, K, not so much.

Mallory checking something out with her teeth chattering.

Mallory in a lifeguard pose.

Grandma and Keira on the Santa Monica Pier.

The girls and Dad on the Santa Monica Carousel.

Alas, this ends my vacation posts. Hope you had fun experiencing it with us!

Day 5: Easter and Science Center

If you can guess what Malzy is doing in the above picture, you win the prize. Answer at the end of this entry! Day 5 was Easter and Keira was pleased to wake up and learn that the Easter Bunny did in fact know where she was. This had been an issue of concern for quite awhile. The kids spent some time going through their baskets and then went out into the courtyard for an egg hunt. As with the previous egg hunt we did - Keira was totally into it. This is one of her favorite activities. Mal, on the other hand, well, once she figure out there was good stuff inside the eggs, she was done and wanted to eat the candy!

Keira on the hunt!

While this looks like Mallory putting eggs in the basket, it is actually Mallory taking eggs out of the basket and shaking them to see if there is anything inside.



Going through their baskets. There was a smart Easter Bunny living in California that brought soft sided baskets so that they would fit in the suitcase!

Keira showing off her new nightgown the Easter Bunny brought.

I think this is my most favorite picture of Mallory I have ever taken.

Keira found 30 eggs! Which was exactly how many we hid!

After Easter festivities, we headed to the science center. The kids had a great time here and might have actually learned some things, ha! The great part about it was that not only was it free to get in, but we didnt' run into any traffic trying to get there, so it was only a 20 minute trip! As a side note, I will never, ever live in LA. The traffic would kill me. I would never go anywhere for fear of being trapped in the car with two screaming kids. And since I wouldn't go anywhere, I would probably go crazy from being trapped in the house with two screaming kids. Vicious circle.

In the hurricane chamber. It was pretty neat - 80 or some mile/hour winds. Not sure exactly what Mal is doing other than probably trying to get in. She does not like to be excluded!

Us on TV at the science center.

Mallory touching the clouds!

Keira feeling the cold ice in the ecosystems part of the museum.

Keira driving away!

And that ends Day 5 of our california adventure. Be sure to check back in tomorrow for Day 6 - BEACH DAY!

*The answer to the trivia above was that Mallory had shoved an entire chocolate covered marshmallow bunny in her mouth. Crazy kid ... I have no idea where she gets the sweet tooth from :) *