Edible Afton

Afton's eating habit cracks me up and also drives me insane.

I thought I'd document his age four favorites for posterity.

1. Bacon, always bacon
2. Apples. One of the few fruits he will get on his own and gobble up without me suggesting it.
3. Soft Taco & Cheesy Rollup from Taco Bell. He thinks that after school he should always eat Taco Bell. He is disappointed a lot.
4. Salmon Sushi. This boy loves his raw salmon. 
5. Lucky Charms. There is no need to ask. This is what he wants for breakfast, along side bacon.
6. Cucumber, with or without ranch.
7. Chocolate. No surprise here.
8. Blueberry bars from Trader Joe's. Special trips are made frequently just to purchase them.
9. Pears. Must be soft and juicy and drip down the chin. 
10. Vanilla ice cream is a new found favorite. He wouldn't try it for the longest time, insisting that he only loved chocolate ice cream. Vanilla has triumphed and puts him in some kind of happiness trance. 

Safari Park & Butterflies

Last weekend we went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to check out the Butterfly Garden. The unfortunately thing is that it is only there for three weeks which makes it VERY popular. Of course we went on a weekend which added to the crowd and made for a grouchy husband. Our tickets (we didn't realize you needed separate tickets to go inside the garden) were for 4:30pm a full two hours longer than we had planned to stay. We tried to waste time watching an eagle show (sadly very boring and I love bird shows), eating lunch,  riding the carousel, and playing in the play area...still had an hour to wait. Luckily it was just Nippon who was getting impatient (he ended up going to sit in the car and didn't make it to the butterflies), while the kids and I had fun checking out the animals. There was a baby gorilla that was extremely adorable, there were huge pelicans that Afton loved, and there was an alligator talk that was pretty cool. Anway, here are the few pictures I took. I just realized I didn't get any of Rowan. Poor girl is always left out. The butterflies were well worth the wait. So many colors and sizes!

Humongous!

Afton wanted a picture with the pelicans.

Ribbit

Can you spot the butterflies?

(it was very humid inside hence the foggy lens)

There were a bunch of chrysalis that hatched while we were there.

Oma's Bracelet

It seems like I've had this little turquoise bracelet forever. Sitting quietly in my cedar chest it has been waiting . . . waiting for the day I have a little girl of my own to put it on. This bracelet was my mom's when she was a baby. She even has a cute baby picture of her wearing it. It is still slightly big for Rowan but I've been just too excited to put it on her.

Friend

Afton's friend and neighbor Enzo (Afton says he is his best friend) came over to play the other day. Those boys move so fast I was lucky to get any pictures. I tried to get them to stop so I could get a good picture of them but it kept ending up with Afton trying to put his arm around Enzo and Enzo with a confused face, pulling away trying to get to the next toy. Enzo's parents are from Brazil and he doesn't speak English that well so I'm pretty sure he didn't understand why I wanted him to stop playing and take his picture. Oh well, I got a couple of them playing.

Park Pics

We went to a new park called Hilltop Park the other day. It is located on a hilltop (surprise) in Rancho Penasquitos with lots of grass and flowers and gorgeous views of San Diego, all the way to La Jolla! There is a ton of space for bike riding, kite flying, picnicking, and even a trail for hiking. There are two large play grounds with anything a kid could want to play on, and even a recreation center. Afton and Rowan both loved sticking their toes in the sand. You'd think I would have taken more pictures since it was such a nice day but I guess we were having too much fun. These are the only pictures I snapped....

Somehow he got stuck and was calling for me to help him.

I couldn't stop laughing.

This pretty lizard was soaking in some sun.

Afton was positive it was a snake. 

Seven Months

Another month already?!?

Her eyelashes are to die for.

I had one of my cousins make Rowan some cute headbands. 

She looks so pretty in them.

Rowan enjoying some Spring sunshine. 

Picture by surprise!

I could just gobble her up.

Cat(s)

We got Banyan, and his grey and green-eyed brother Lucious, in April 2002 from my mom in Safford. They were so tiny, barely (if even) weened. We brought them home to Tucson in this small cardboard box. Nippon and I weren't even married yet. They were the best of buddies and we had fun playing with them all over the condo since we didn't have a yard and they only had access to a small enclosed porch. When we moved to Tempe in 2004 the cats, of course came with us. I'm not sure they liked the one bedroom apartment but luckily for them, and us, we only had to wait a couple of months until moving to our first home on Hazelton Lane. There we had a small backyard and they were free to go outside and explore. I was nervous to let them go at first since they had never been outdoors really, but the fear disappeared quickly as I saw how much they loved it outside; climbing trees, catching lizards, and sleeping under bushes. Luckily they were both smart cats and came when called so it was easy to get them home if needed. Then, when I was a few months pregnant with Afton in 2008, Lucious didn't come home. It was the worst feeling ever. He was such a good cat, loved to cuddled up at my feet, and even played fetch! We hung up signs, went door to door, and called all the vets and shelters in our area. We never saw our grey boy again. I like to think he left on an adventure and was out seeing the world. Banyan seemed lonely so I convinced Nippon that we needed another cat. This coupled with pregnancy hormones and missing Lucious made me crazy sad, so we went and adopted a brown tabby that we named Iris. She was a gorgeous color and cute and playful as a kitten, but she was more like the typical cat (I like to think Banyan and Lucious are not run of the mill cats). She didn't come when called, didn't really like cuddling, and mostly kept to herself, sleeping up high away from everyone. This could have been just that she didn't get as much attention as Banyan and Lucious did when they were kittens. Actually I'm sure this is the case. Neither of us had much time with her since we worked all the time and then Afton was born shortly thereafter taking up even more of our time. Banyan played with her a bit but she didn't really like him and he seem to feel the same. When we found out we were moving to San Diego we of course wanted to bring the cats. Unfortunately the apartment complex we were moving to charged an arm and a leg for pets so we decided to just take Banyan and leave Iris with my parents until we moved. We had left our cats with them before when we went on long trips and it would only be (we hoped) 6 months. It seemed like the perfect plan. Iris didn't agree. When she arrived at my parents house she bolted straight from the cage and they never saw her again. Ever. Maybe she and Lucious crossed paths on their adventure. We still have Banyan and he is extremely happy we have move from the small apartment into a house that has a bigger backyard than even our Tempe one. He jumps the fence into the golf course behind the house and catches mice, leaving them at the door. Mice with long grey tails that I have to pick up and put in the trash. I think he's quite proud of himself. He's getting older but he doesn't act like it. I sure love me kit-kat. 

Banyan

Lucious

Iris