Nates Butt Farm...I mean, Bates Nut Farm

My excellent friend Barbara called me up early on an October Saturday morning and invited us to meet them at Bates Nut Farm. I had never heard of it but apparently it is very well known pumpkin patch, and is visited by many San Diegans. It took a good 40 minutes to get there but it was well worth the drive. There were lots of booths set up, like a street fair, with food trucks and live music. There was a petting zoo, pony rides, bouncy houses, and hay rides. The kids did some jumping and I ate a delicious chicken pesto crepe. Lance, Barb's husband, took Afton through a hay maze. Since Lance only has girls, I think he had fun hanging out with a boy. We finished up with a hay ride and picking out our pumpkins. Afton insisted we get one white (a ghost pumpkin, as he calls them) and one orange pumpkin. Actually, he wanted 8 white and 8 orange. I don't know where he got that number but it was turned down. The only thing that was a little annoying (other than Barbara's family being turned around on the drive to the pumpkin patch because of a car accident) was the wind. It was very windy at first but eventually calmed down. We had a fabulous time and hope to go back again next year!

Zoobilee Zoo

It's so nice having annual passes to the zoo. Whenever we are bored, or can't think of something fun to do, we head there. It's funny how it seems like we end up spending the most time at the play area instead of checking out the animals. 

We did take the bus tour since Afton had a free pass, so some animals were seen. For once we actually got there early enough that we spotted quite a few animals that are usually sleeping. We saw the tiger which I hadn't seen in several visits. Apparently I was too excited about this fact and didn't snap a picture. Or any animal for that matter. Unless you consider the kids. Which I do. Ha!

Afton always asks to get our pictures taken in the booth but we've never done it. I told him that today we would finally do it. Funny thing is it took some coaxing to get him in the booth since it was, in his words, "too dark in there!" Once we sat down he was super excited about it and announce what poses we should strike for each picture...cheese, silly faces, kisses, love.

Here's a random shot of hydrangeas. They were insanely huge, and gorgeous.

It's always fun going to the zoo with these cuties.

Fun with the Girl

Here's some pics of my Rooey Pooey. She makes me so very happy....and sometimes drives me nuts. But who could resist that face!?

She loves playing peek-a-boo with the scarfs Oma gave her. Cuteness overload!

Arizona Friends

 A few weeks back we were lucky enough to get a visit from our fabulous Arizona friends, the Barsetti's. They may be luckier ones, since they stayed at a beach house in La Jolla! We met up with them for some beach fun, smores, and pizza. It was nice catching up and watching the kids play together. We had never built a bonfire on the beach before and it was even cooler than I expected. Something about sitting around a fire makes everything more fun. To top it off there was an amazing sunset. My camera didn't even come close to capturing it's beauty.

Bummer

My poor lil boy got his first cold sore. He's just like his momma, and both his grandmas. I had to talk to him about not picking his lips and making sure he puts chapstick on. Hopefully he doesn't get them often. So sad.

Bed

Afton has been bedless for almost a year now. When Rowan was kicked out of my room, we converted his toddler bed back into a crib so she could use it. Afton then began sleeping with me. I think he was quite happy with the arrangement but it was getting time. We looked at several different furniture store, check online, browsed Craigslist, and even went to some thrift stores. We decided on IKEA since we liked the simple design and could get the bed and the mattress for around $200. He is so proud that he is a big boy, sleeping in his very own bed. Though he does tend to sneak into my bed in the early morning hours. And that's okay with me.

A Day Away

My friend Barbara invited me to attend her sister Rachel's bridal shower. We all grew up in the same small town, graduated from the same school, and are now living in San Diego. I had originally planned to take Rowan with me but Nippon said that he would watch the kids.  ?!?!?!?!?!?!  What he didn't realize was that this meant I was going to take full advantage of this freedom. Bwahahaha!

The shower was held in El Cajon which is about a 45 min drive from my house. It was nice turning  up the music and driving in peace. I like going to new places, and it was fun seeing parts of San Diego that I had never seen before. The shower turned out super cute, with yummy food, and silly games. It was nice to chat with adults and not have a baby to chase around or hold. Rachel is a sweetheart and I'm very excited for her and her new life.

After the shower Barbara and I were not ready to go back to being "mommy" just yet. We decided to go to Old Town for some margaritas but followed some wrong directions and ended up in Little Italy. This was a happy mistake because I hadn't been down there before. I've driven passed it yes, but never have stopped and enjoyed how lovely it is. There were so many cute shops, whimsical building designs, delicious looking restaurants, and lots of public art.We picked a spot to get a drink and chatted and chatted and chatted, until Nippon called with a desperate plea to come home. As we strolled back to the car we stopped at Filippi's Pizza Grotto because they have a little grocery store in the front where they sell fresh mozzarella. It was divine! I could eat it like an apple. I squishy, salty, cheesy, apple. Ha! Thanks again Barbara, for inviting me for a much needed time away.

School Picture

Holy guacamole, he looks so grown up in this picture. And very handsome! He has such a great smile, that boy of mine.

So far this year has been great. Afton has made some new friends and is learning lots of new things. He has homework that has to complete each week. It is filled with fun activities (like making play dough), coordination tasks (like walking backwards from the kitchen to his room), simple questions (like how do you get to school), and  reading (which we do every day). He is much better at remembering what he did at school this year. When I ask him how his day was he usually has an answer rather than the standard from last year, "I don't know."  He really likes centers because they do art projects, and of course he always tells me about what he did at recess (usually swings and "running with my friends."). He can recall most of the kids in his class now and tells me about who he talks to and who he likes doing certain things with. For example, he likes making funny faces with Autumn, playing Pokemon with Nathan, and finding rolly pollies with Brody and Seth. He has been to time out a couple of times already. Mainly it is for talking and sometime for not wanting to participate. One of the mom helpers in class told me that one day he said he didn't want to look at one of the items someone brought in for share day because it was a Barbie Doll...."those are for girls," he said.

Doc

Chick-fil-Fun

Today we met up for some food and fun at Chick-fil-A with Afton's friends from school. I'm so happy that they are all in the same class again this year and that they remain best buds. The other plus is that their moms are awesome. It's nice to finally have some friends of my own. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of Missy or Jasmine. They seriously rock.

Rowan, has been getting more and more social. She wanted Jasmine to hold her, and of course Missy won her over with ice cream.

Cement Tootsies

My Uncle Brian was fixing my Grandma Clawson's fence this summer and came across these feet embedded in ancient cement. 1984 is ancient, right?

Indiana Jones

Part of Afton's Halloween costume arrived the other day. He has been obsessed with Indiana Jones as of late and has been begging for a hat and whip since he spotted them at Disneyland. They were far too expensive to purchase at the park, so we found them online for a good price and ordered them up. He had no idea what was in the box. The smile and excitement on his face was priceless. He wears the hat ALL THE TIME, even taking it to school. He would have taken the whip too if it wasn't a "weapon."

He really gets into character!

My handsome Indy.

The One Year Old

So I realized (probably a month ago) that I never posted Rowan's year old update. So since she is napping and Afton is not demanding attention, I shall actually write a post on it! Hooray!

At her one year doctor appointment...

Weight: 17lb 7oz (when we went back a week later she was at 18lbs 6oz)

Height: 27 1/4"

Her iron levels were still low after months of taking iron, so we were ordered to go have her blood drawn again. When we went back to find out the results she was diagnosed with Beta Thalassemia Minor. I had been telling the pediatrician since her blood iron levels came up low, that this was probably the case. It's a hereditary iron deficiency that Nippon has, as well as his mom and sister. There isn't anything that needs to be done. The only information I was told is that she shouldn't go to high elevations. I guess there is no climbing Mt. Everest. Shucks!

She was also diagnosed with asthma and was put on prednisolone, a steroid to stop inflammation. It had awful side effects. She was cranky, wobbly on her feet, and slept terribly. Luckily we only had to do it for 5 days and it did help reduce her crackly, wheezy breathing. Now she uses an inhaler as needed. We have to go back and find out if she needs a controlling medication, but I'm dragging my feet on that one because I don't want her to have to take it. I've been monitoring how often she needs her rescue inhaler and making a mother- educated decision on whether she needs it or not. So far she has been fine with just the inhaler. Fingers crossed. We are sick of going to the doctor!

Rowan is such a sassy lil girl. She loves to dance, play peek-a-boo, and play with anything "pretty." She is constantly wearing necklaces, carrying her purse, and putting on her sparkly shoes. It's so fun watching her play with her brother. You can see how delighted she is that she is now able to walk and join in on activities now (for the most part). One of her favorite things is reading. She seems to always want me to read to her, and likes to sit and open and close her books. Rowan is really good at mimicking words. It's crazy which words she hears that she decides to say. She's my lil parrot. The words she does say with understanding are dada, mimi (for mom), Banban (for Banyan the cat), eat, bye-bye, and hi. I'm stopped everywhere we go by people commenting on how cute she is. I have to agree. She is my pretty girl. I love her so!