Floatie

I'm not sure why I haven't gotten Leo a floatie (or water wings) yet this summer. Maybe I thought it would interfere with him acquiring proper swim skills. He's going to start swim lesson at the YMCA the second he turns three (or very soon after), and I'm sure the instructor can reverse any damage we've done letting him swim with the floatie. I found this floatie and thought it would probably be fun. He absolutely loved it. Shortly after the video begins, you can hear Serafina on my lap laughing at the sight of her brother swimming. Towards the end, you can see Addison in the background. Addison, her mom and her baby sister came over to play and have dinner.

Baby sisters

Our group is sprouting another crop of kids and all of them have been girls so far.

Doug's baby sister, Maia.
Addison's baby sister, Riley.
And Leo's little sis, Serafina.

She has started to notice the sounds of planes and helicopters in the sky. Here she is checking out a chopper.

Star Chart

I'm a fan of positive parenting - rewarding instead of punishing. But I knew things needed to change when Leo was eating M&Ms at 7am. He was getting a "special" for staying in bed at night and at nap time, for pooping on the potty, and for eating a good dinner. It ended up being a lot of sugar throughout the day. So I decided to make a star chart. Now Leo receives a star to reward success in six different categories - the ones mentioned above and for keeping his pants dry all day and being nice to his sister. When he earns 10 stars, he receives a "big sticker". Three big stickers means a trip to the toy store. Right now he really wants a Woody and Buzz (from Toy Story). I wasn't sure how successful this would be since he's an instant gratification kind of guy, but so far it has been working well. We are still having issues with him staying in bed after we say good night, but that was happening even when he was receiving candy or donuts or cake in the morning (I always made him eat a piece of fruit first).

Here he is last night after receiving his first set of stars.

Pool party - Mirrione style

It was the last day of Sal and company's visit. They took advantage of being on New York time and got up early to spent the morning in San Francisco. By mid-day, they were at our house and Leo had been anxiously awaiting their arrival. We had a wonderful time swimming in the pool and ate a delicious lunch. While they were in San Francisco, they picked up some gourmet cupcakes for dessert. There's a shop not too far from here and it will take all my willpower not to drive there every day to experience those amazing little cakes.

We all had a wonderful time visiting and I hope they enjoyed their time here.



Look at this adorable swim suit Barbara picked out for Serafina.
And the matching cover-up. It was hard to imagine back at Christmas when this stuff arrived that my tiny baby would be wearing it in the hot months, but her she is.
Look at Serafina's admiring gaze at Caitlin. Both kids really loved playing with Caitlin and Matt. Leo especially fell for Caitlin, but had trouble remembering her name in the beginning so at different times he called her "that girl", "pinkie" (because she was wearing a pink shirt) and "Foofa" (the bubble-flower girl from Yo Gabba Gabba).

Playing at the park

We had another fun day with the Mirrione clan. The main activity of the day was a little local wine tasting in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The kids and I skipped the boozing, but before the group headed for the hills, we went to a park in Saratoga.

Here's Caitlin giving Leo a push on the swing.
Serafina and Leo.
Little fatty in the Italian shirt they brought her. It says "my dear father, my adoring mother" (I think).
Matt and Caitlin keep the kids happy.
Our shady lunch spot.
I never take my kids to restaurants. I just don't. But yesterday they ate lunch at a restaurant and tonight they joined us for dinner out. It went really well both times. I came pretty well prepared and finished up a little before everyone else so I could take them outside so they didn't get too bored and squirmy.
Here they are at dinner tonight.

Family fun

We are enjoying a wonderful visit with Tom's uncle Sal, his wife Barbara and their kids, Matt and Caitlin. We had a very fun day in Santa Cruz enjoying a waterfront lunch, scenic drives, playing in the sand and waves, and a little shopping. Unfortunately, I brought my camera but not the battery so no pictures. I did get this shot once we got home of Caitlin feeding Serafina and Matt keeping Leo company while he eats dinner.
Here are a few pics of some sibling hugging from a couple days ago.

Caught on tape

This evening, Tom and Leo were in the shower and I was folding towels while Serafina and I waited for our turn to get in. Serafina kept pulling herself using my leg and letting go, standing for a few seconds. I decided to run and get the camera to make a little video. The next time she got up, she did this....



And another one


Tom was definitely bummed he was in the shower since he is the one that has been working with her the most.

More pool pics

At dinner, Tom popped a beet into Leo's mouth. After chewing for a minute, Leo started to spit it out and wiping the bites everywhere. I squealed, "uh, you're splattering beet all over!". Leo told me, "just calm down." It was hilarious.

End of an era

We are slowly saying goodbye to baby "stuff". The baby in the household is becoming less and less of a baby and is moving on. I'm storing some items since Leo's preschool has a yard sale fundraiser and I have friends that are pregnant or will be pregnant eventually. A few large items that are too big to hold on to are being sold on craigslist. Today we bid farewell to the jumperoo. Leo loved the jumperoo as a baby and would happily bounce as long as we left him in there. Serafina, on the other hand, was not as big of a fan. Both kids produced major blow-out poops in there (I didn't tell the purchaser this little detail).

Here's Leo in the jumperoo.


And Serafina...

Keeping cool

It was a hot day and our friends Cara, Addison and baby Riley came over in the late afternoon. We played outside for as long as the mommies could stand before retreating into the air conditioning.





Leo took this picture of his sister tonight before bed.

Museum Monday

Leo loves our Children's Museum but it is a tricky outing on my own now that I have two mobile kids. Even visiting with my friends isn't super easy because everyone has multiple children and there are a lot of little bodies to keep tabs on. The museum currently has a Bob the Builder exhibit that I was pretty sure Leo would really enjoy, so I thought I'd take advantage of having Nana here to check it out. Leo, indeed, loved the exhibit and Nana explored it fully with him while I took Serafina to the baby area to crawl around. A major bonus was how uncrowded the museum was because it usually isn't open on Mondays (just during the summer months) and since school is out, there were no large field trip groups. My friend Jenn was there with her girls as well and we all enjoyed a picnic lunch outside.

Here's Leo visiting a museum highlight - the fire truck.
It was Serafina's first time experiencing the water area. She enjoyed it for a little bit, but got tired of being wet.



Playing with Jenn's daughter, Katie.
Awesome bath time hair-do by Nana

Walking?

Almost. I was in tears as I watched her make her way up and down the hallway. I can't believe my little baby is growing up so fast, but I'm also so proud of her. If she lets go and walking on her own in the next three weeks, she'll walk at an earlier age than Leo crawled. Kinda crazy, huh? Such different kids, but two total characters.

mmm....strawberry

Fun stuff

Monster truck rally


Pool time