Bitten

I'm a dork. I know. But at least I am {usually} not alone. Just to prove my dorkiness once again, I met up with fellow dork, Hillary (she prefers to say "obsessed") to attend the midnight release party of Breaking Dawn. And to add to all the dorkiness, before we could leave for the party we had to make some Twilight shirts. I mean, what if there was a contest for best t-shirt or something? Plus, as Hillary pointed out, these aren't just a one-time-wear shirt. We have ward Breaking Dawn Book Club, the Twilight movie in December, and general reading wear.
When we arrived at Border's on Union Square, our party destination, a little after 11, we were completely shocked by the number of Twilight displays in ratio to the number of people in the store. There were a gazillion displays and zero people. Well, people there for Breaking Dawn. There were several old men searching through the books and a few store employees, but that was it. We were dying at the "party." When we went to get wristbands for our books I was number 120. WHAT? Where were the rest of the people? Apparently the party was on the fourth floor. The store had a fourth floor? When we finally found it, yes, there was indeed 100 people there--several teenage girls and their chauffeurs (mothers). And we made it just in time for some trivia, where Hillary proved she was definitely more "obsessed" than I. This girl was shouting out names of old Quileute Chiefs like you wouldn't believe. Seriously--who reads, let alone remembers, all those names? Apparently people who are "obsessed." We got some buttons that said, "Bitten by Breaking Dawn" and then found a place to wait for the clock to strike midnight. We had our books and fake vampire teeth by 12:15, then took our picture and headed home. Then, unlike Hillary who stayed up reading the night away, I went home, read the last chapter of the book and went to bed. I know, it's my bad habit (my ONLY bad habit, right Blake?), but I can't help it. Bite ME Edward!

AT&T Park

In an effort to do everything, yes everything, San Francisco has to offer, Blake came across this fun activity at the beginning of the year and we've been waiting for the summer months to come so we could try it out. During the summer, on days there aren't any home games, the fan lot (where the big Coke bottle slides are) at AT&T Park is open for free. I thought Max would love the big slides, but he surprised me and totally chickened out. Luckily, also in the fan lot is a little tee ball field. Max loved playing here. But I quickly learned Max needs some serious tee ball lessons before we sign him up for any team--he refused to hold the bat with two hands and thought it was more fun to hit the tee with the bat and then watch the ball fall off. After all the fun on the field we tried the slides again, and this time SUCCESS! Really, I have no idea why he wouldn't go down the slides at first. He loves slides. Anyway, these slides were the perfect get-out-your-energy activity since you had to run to one side to go up the stairs, go up the stairs, then run all the way back to the other side to go down the slide.

This was also Jack's first time to the baseball park. He can't wait to come back for a game--he loved it!
So even though the parking wasn't anywhere close to free (The meter I parked at was $.05 per minute. I don't know how much the other coins were since I mostly had only nickels. But I do know Max probably used up most of the minute from the first nickel trying to put the second nickel in.), the free activity was well worth it. We'll definitely be back!

Braces

After staying at the school yesterday into the wee hours of the night preparing for his big day, Blake bonded his first set of braces today. Way to go Blake! So, to celebrate I am posting this 7-year old picture of me and my brace-faced boyfriend. There's nothing like kissing a metal mouth. The only thing that could have made his three months of having braces better is if I also had braces and our wires got stuck together.
Blake, I can see you rolling your eyes as you read this! Come on--You know you love me!

Pioneer Day...AGAIN!

Blake was so jealous of our field trip to Hyde Street Pier that we went down again this morning. We can't pass up a free activity, especially when, in addition to all the ships, there's also live sailor bands and different rope tying, lifeboat lowering, and sail lifting demonstrations for the Festival of Sail. Max loved showing Blake the highlights of all the ships. You know, the computer keyboards, the displays with buttons, and the roped-off rooms. And since I had Blake to help me carry the stroller up all the stair cases, we were able to explore the upper decks of several ships. It was a beautiful day and we really loved watching all the crazy swimmers race into the water without wet suits. It was a nice day, but not THAT nice.Then, we went down to San Mateo for our Stake's Pioneer Picnic. And wow! I couldn't be sad for not being in Utah anymore. There was a fabulous BBQ (I think Max ate two hot dogs and I ate two heaping spoonfuls of frog-eyed salad), pioneer games, and dress-ups. Look at this Pioneer Family. I think Blake would have done a good job pulling us from Nauvoo to Salt Lake. I love this holiday! Happy Pioneer Day...AGAIN!

Happy Pioneer Day!

Enough feeling sorry for myself that I'm not in Utah bbqing, watching fireworks, and celebrating my pioneer heritage. Since I've lived here, I have been constantly reminded that the pioneers actually arrived in San Francisco BEFORE entering the Salt Lake Valley and that this is the REAL Zion. Now, I don't know about that, but I decided this year we would celebrate the boys' California heritage. We went down to Hyde Street Pier to check out the tall ships, especially one that is similar to The Brooklyn, the ship the pioneers sailed on from New York to San Francisco. We were lucky to have our friends join us so we could each take turns manning the strollers and running around the ships. I think the day was a huge success, especially since the Festival of Sail is going on and admission was FREE.

And what would Pioneer Day be without a cowboy hat photo shoot?
Here's Rootin' Tootin' Jack.Max prefers more of an Urban Cowboy look. And yes, the hat is too small for his large head.Happy Pioneer Day!

I've Always Wondered...

So, I know I have a loud (I like to say "confident"), manly voice (there are several tapes I made with friends in high school that prove this), but I've always wondered what I sound like to my boys. Especially my baby talk. Recently Max has helped me figure it out by talking in a voice that, I can only assume, is imitating me. When I go to get Jack out of his bed I usually say, "Are you awake, Jack?" So, this video is Max's loud, throaty impression of me saying that. It gets deeper and deeper as he goes on. At least he's solved the mystery.

Play Dough!

When I picked up Max from nursery today he came running to me with a big glob of blue on the side of his mouth. Yes, Max had been eating play dough again. But the funny thing is, he missed play dough time today. Apparently, in earlier weeks, Max has hidden play dough around the room and when he's hungry, he finds it for a snack, like a little dog who has buried some bones for later. The nursery leaders told me they always find him sitting in the corner, trying to sneak his hidden treasure. Silly boy.

The other day when Max and I were playing with play dough I said to him, "I'm going to make a snake, what are you going to make?" He said, "I'm going to make a mess." I love my little monster.

Saturday Night

After his first time in an Escalade, I think Max may be rethinking his mini van decision.
Baby Jack, on the other hand, prefers something a little more sporty.
And yes, for our Saturday night activity, we went and played with all the toys at Toys R Us with no intention of buying a thing! Ah, student life.

Jack is NINE Months Old!

Uh, have I mentioned that I love this little guy to pieces? My big blue-eyed baby is 9 months old today! I can't get over how fast this is going. Since we've been home this little stinker seems to have changed so much. He is constantly on the go now, crawling everywhere. The big dirt circles on his knees are such a great reminder of how dirty our floor is and how much more often I should be cleaning it. Thank you Jack! It's so much fun to see what kind of toys he always wanted to play with and can finally get. Max was a big remote/button man, but Baby Jack goes for anything that makes a noise. As soon as he gets a hold of something, he'll sit there and hit it against his belly, the floor, another toy, well, basically anything. Jack is such a screamer and screams so loud that sometimes I think it HAS to be Max. His favorite place to scream is the bath tub, which also happens to be the only place that he will pull himself up to stand. Really Jack--couldn't we start with a less slippery/dangerous place? And this guy has a hard time hiding his excitement. When he sees something he likes his legs start kicking a million miles a minute, especially in the bath tub. And even when he's just chilling in his stroller, one of his little legs is always swinging (one of my favorite things). Jack is a super eater and has liked everything his mom has been willing to give him. I've gotten used to sitting and feeding him his mushed up baby food, so now I move on to my stage where I'm hesitant to give him table food, thinking he might not get as full eating a few pieces of vegetables as he would eating a jar, and then I have to wake up in the middle of the night to feed him. Plus, it takes him so much longer to feed himself. Is it ever easy? Anyway, so far I've given him black, pinto, and green beans, beans, peas, corn, bananas, and strawberries. He loves them all. Jack shakes his head "no" but prefers to nod "yes" and reaches his hands above his head when I say, "Jack is sooo big!" He has three teeth (the two middle bottoms and one on top just barely peeking through) and three more that look like they're going to show themselves any day now. In the past three months Jack has become much less of an easy-going baby. When Max used to take a toy away from him, it was no big deal. But not now. He'll cry and cry and cry until he gets his toy back. (I know this is mean for his mom to say, but I love watching Jack's eyes squint up, his mouth open wide, and then waiting for the cries to come. It's just so sad.) I can tell the brotherly love is really starting. And speaking of brotherly love, I am happy to report that someone else has taken Max's spot as Jack's favorite...ME! I have a little, smiling ball of heaven following me around the entire day. When Jack catches me, he'll either reach for me to pick him up, suck on my toe, or just sit there, waiting for me to move on. Did I mention I love this little guy?

At nine months Jack weights 20 pounds, 6 ounces (50%--Way to bounce back Jack! Apparently the solid food HAS made a difference). He is 29 inches long (75%) and his head is 47.5 cm (95%). Absolutely perfect.

Second Day of School

It is only Blake's second day of school and he's already been chosen to go on a field trip to Ethiopia for a humanitarian mission. Yes, ETHIOPIA! He is so excited!

I think it's fate Blake is going to Ethiopia. This is a picture at the Ethiopian restaurant after Blake's graduation from dental school. It was the one place in all of San Francisco that he chose to eat for his special day. Everyone looks a little hesitant (and one even like she's going to run to the restroom at any minute), except Blake who is digging right in. Fate, I tell you. Fate.