Disney Round Two

My in-laws wanted to take all the grandkids to Disneyland before school started, so we all headed over for some family fun. One day we spent at Disneyland and the other at California Adventure. 

Of course Afton had to play in his favourite rocket ship steam.

My wonderful friend Missy gave us her sit and stand stroller. It made the visit so much easier! Though looking at Rowan's face, she doesn't seem impressed. I promise she liked it.

Maa waiting with Afton and Marici for the big kids to come back from riding rides.

Afton absolutely loved Tarzan's Treehouse. I think he mostly loved that his dad went with him.

Handsome Joram!

Joram and Afton were best buds. Afton had been talking about playing with his "boy cousin" for weeks. It was so nice seeing how much these cousins love each other, even if they don't see each other often.

Rowan checking out the sites on Tom Sawyer's Island.

I hadn't been to Cali-Adv since it opened and it has changed quite a bit. There are so many more rides, pretty plants and trees, parades, and restaurants. The food was fabulous everywhere we ate. I really enjoyed going on new rides; Tower of Terror being my favorite, and the roller coaster being Nippon's. The roller coaster was open when we went the first time but the line was insanely long so we didn't go on it. Afton really loved the Ferris wheel (non-swinging of course), Toy Story Midway Mania, The Little Mermaid, and the Redwood Creek Challenge. He wasn't even afraid of the characters this time around! Hooray!

This was on Flik's Flyers. Afton said he never wanted to go on it again, even though he smiled the whole ride. Silly boy.

Afton was crazy excited about Cars Land. We didn't go on  single ride there (he didn't want to) but he loved walking around and looking at everything. We came back three times to sit and watch the cars race, check out the shops, and just walk around. It's what he wanted to do, so we did it. We were there when all the neon lights turned on at night. Pretty cool! 

This is in the Redwood Creek Challenge. He was a little bummed he couldn't do the rope swing but other than that he was happy. He spotted animal tracks, climbed everywhere, used the radio transmitter, and went on the slides. Having an attraction where kids can get physical and run around is such a great idea.

The Wold of Color water show was pretty amazing, although it felt like there were 10+  finales. I kept thinking "alright it's over!" even though I was enjoying it. We decided to sit further back but Nippon's parents, Tikon, and Sushriya all were right up front. They got really wet and also blasted with fire. Haha! 

It was so nice getting to see family and visiting the happiest place on earth again. Who could ask for anything better?

Del Mar Family Fun Day

We met up with friends at Del Mar Horse Racing tracks for their Family Fun Day. There were free bouncy houses, free pony rides, lots of food, and of course horse races. Nippon placed a bet and almost won! The horse  led right up until the end. It was fun cheering it on. Afton decided against the pony rides, to my dismay, and instead went on this obstacle-course-bouncy-dolphin-slide thing a bunch of times. He also liked the smaller bouncy house but not as much as our friend Barbara's daughter Vivianna. The guy who was running it had to come ask Barb to get her because she kept getting in it when they were trying to deflate the thing! Haha! We ate brats, fed the kids snacks, and chatted. I'd say it was a pretty successful family fun day.

some not so good pictures of the tooth

Have I mentioned how hard it is keeping an almost one year old still?

Well, these pictures prove it.

Can you make out the tooth?

1st Day of Preschool

Someone was very excited to go to school today. He even had me set an alarm so that he could wake up early. I didn't even have to fight him to get dressed! Since last week he has been counting the days until he gets to "see his friends and play with all the toys." He is going to Shoal Creek again, in the same classroom, with most of the same kids as last year. He was very happy that he has the same teacher too. He asked me if he thinks Mrs. K will remember him. Haha. I'm pretty sure she will, Afton. I'm pretty sure she will.

I managed to take one random picture once we got to school, and not even one with his teacher! Oh well, Afton was so excited to see his friend Nathan. They share a similar obsession with Pokemon. His friend Brody is vacationing in Hawaii still but he will be there next week and his other friend Seth arrived a little bit later. I simply forgot to get out my camera again. 

This wasn't a true school day since all the parents stayed with the kids and could arrive late and leave early. Friday will be a real day (and by real day I only mean 3 hrs a day, 3 days a week), and I know I will love it as much as he will. And I think Rowan will enjoy some one-on-one time with her mama too. 

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL AFFY!

Tooth and Steps

So there really should be pictures of both these milestones but I'm just too excited to wait for this post....

We have a tooth!

AND we've got her first steps!

This weekend Rowan was really fussy. She has had swollen bottom gums for what seems like forever. I decided to put a little orajel on them when she was having a particularly bad time with it, and what did I find!? Yup, one little tooth has made it's entrance.

Then today, actually about an hour ago, Nippon, Rowan, and I were playing on the floor. Nippon and I were sitting across from each other, holding Rowan in a standing position, and helping her walk across the living room floor. She wouldn't let go of our hands at first but then she took a couple of steps on her own and we both burst into cheers. That made her super excited and decided she wanted to keep doing that. It eventually lead to her walking all the way from one of us to the other...about 6 steps all on her own! She is still pretty wobbly and prefers the faster method of crawling, but I suspect she'll be fully walking in a couple of weeks.

Happy 88th Grandmother!

There are so many birthdays in August, on both sides of our family, but I really wish I could have been there for my Grandma Clawson's big shindig (even if it was celebrated two days before the 19th, which is her actual birthday). All her children were able to be there, which is a rarity. It may be because I'm getting older, or maybe because I no longer live so close, but family gatherings and the memories that are included mean a lot more to me. I sure hope you had a wonderful birthday Grandmother. I love you very much!

(I stole this lovely picture from my Uncle Randy. Thanks!)

A Friend That Is a Girl

Last week we met up with Afton's friend Melody for a play date at the zoo. I had been meaning to set this up long ago, since he LOVES her, but just kept forgetting. I'm so glad we finally did because they had so much fun. Afton met Melody a year ago while attending Miss Brittany's Preschool at My Kids Clubhouse and he talks about her all the time, even if we haven't seen her in months.

They were hard to get pictures of because they were always on the move. They checked out the petting zoo, inspected the bugs in the insect house, spotted hummingbirds, got their wiggles out at the play ground, saw turtles and tortoises (Afton's animal pick), identified poisonous snakes, and visited the new koala exhibit. It was a fun day! We only wish we were able to stay a little longer (Rowan was tired from a no-nap day) to see Melody's animal choice...the dung beetle!

Spotting the mice living in a humongous loaf of bread. 

GOATS!

Cute lil bugs

They were so cute holding hands.

My favorite climbing koalas.

Ni-Hao, Afton

My in-laws purchased this beautiful silky dragon outfit for Afton when they went to China last year. We were going through his closet and came across it. It seemed so large last time I pulled it out, but now it fits! He was so excited he wore it all day. Well, almost all day. After running around in it, and wearing it to the park, he got pretty hot and decided to take it off. He had fun though and, I think, looked very handsome.

Kidding Around

We've been going to this indoor play place called Kidding Around since moving to San Diego. This was the first time that Rowan got to join in the fun, and boy did she have some!

She loved pushing this thing around.
She seemed very proud that she was walking.

Who doesn't love balls?

Beep beep!

What to play with next.....

Brother showing her how it's done.
(Just after this was taken she fell and bumped her head.)

Playing in the big kid area.

Yeah, I know what I'm doing.

She just giggled and giggled while riding the blue dog.
(You can see the bump on her forehead.)

Afton looking cool on his awesome pink ride.