Play Date...with the cousins

On Friday, Lillian and I went over to Greta's for a playdate, it was a blast...here are some photo highlights...

Messy Cinnamon and Sugar Bagels...Yummy!

(OK, Devlin's not that messy, but she still is real pretty)

Bubble BBQ...Lillian thought that the tongs were grab nabbers...she loves those Little Einsteins...




Then for the grand finale, we played with sidewalk chalk and paint...oh they had so much fun, we had to hose them down at the end...










xo -ag

A new routine

Today marks Day 1 of Lillian's new bedtime routine, and I am happy to report it was successful-ish. She didn't go to sleep until 9:30pm BUT she didn't cry, play, get out of her bed, whine...nothing, well she chatted to herself a bit, but she went to sleep alone! HOORAY!

It's a good thing, because I was about ready to sell her...I already had the ad planned in my head...For sale by owner - 2 1/2 year old little girl. Very tan, cute, smart, and fun. Turns into a crazy person at bedtime... Anyway, I made a groovy sticker chart with each step of her bedtime routine listed with picture, we reviewed it a zillion times today...and I waited to get started until 8ish and it worked! I'm so happy! Jeff offered Lillian a special prize if she could follow her routine like a big girl for 3 nights in a row...he thought maybe the zoo, or sea world, no...Lillian would to go to Finn's house as her prize...

So, that is what's new around here...just enjoying the summer day by day! I will post a picture of Lillian's chart once I snap one, I am really proud of my handy work...xo -ag

updated to add

Day 2 of the new routine...would be called a failure-ish...no nap, in bed by 8pm, lots of crying (too tired) and lots of needing mommy's love...oh well, she slept until 7:45am this morning...

Day 3...nice nap, started bedtime routine at 8pm (I set the kitchen timer)...asleep by 9:30pm, but needed lots of repetition / review of the routine and Lillian is trying to break all the rules, as usual...

My hope is that by day 10 I can say the routine is a no brainer...we will see...xo -ag

House guests

I love having house guests, I really do...it's just that easy sort of fun. I look forward to chatting in the am over coffee and watching silly tv and more chatting at night! That's my kind of fun...mellow, easy fun!


Maja and Josh just left today...they arrived last Sunday and stayed a whole week, our office become their little SD home while they had visits with friends and family...Maja does most of the visiting and Josh is along for the ride...I hope they had a good trip down, we always enjoy having them...and they probably don't believe me since they got to witness some awesome arguments and endless Lillian crying at night...ahh, good times.

Here are some photo highlights...

Maja snuggles with Lillian as she wakes up from her nap

Cool Pool Party

Family Outing to Pannikin in Leucadia

3 sisters...at the Space OTTessey

More house guest coming soon...next up is a visit from Nikki, Derek, and their baby Kai. We can't wait. It has been a summer full of friends and family, so much fun! Hooray! xo -ag

Camping Fun!

We took a mini camping vacation right in Carlsbad on July 12-13th!
It took us by surprise, I had booked the sight months ago, knew it was a Saturday in July but wasn't really sure when...Friday night I decided to check...oh no, it's tomorrow...but we were able to round up some camping stuff!

We already had dinner plans that evening since our friend, Lyle, was in town. That definitely made it easier...and it was at the silly boy's house, so Lillian was very happy!

We had a few glitches...moldy tent anyone...but it all turned out groovy. We had a great beach-side spot, the moon and stars were beautiful, and sleeping in a tent listening to the ocean was relaxing!

Lillian (finally) feel asleep around 10pm out by the fire

...then Jeff and I had some drinks around the fire...
Here's our campsite all set up
This is the chuck box, made by my Grandpa Tommy

In the morning, we cooked up some yummy breakfast, headed to the beach, and made it home for a nap! Fun, easy, close to home vacation! xo -ag

Sailing Sailing...

Over the ocean blue...
Here's a photo of Lillian sailing on our boat...
Yes, we have a sailboat, and we occasionally use it!
This was on July 5th, we headed down, bbq'ed hot dogs
on our little boat bbq and then motored around O'side
(the sails never went up...not enough wind or time)!
If you bug us enough, maybe you can come sailing, too!



This last photo is proof of my bad bun math...I have no clue how I ended up with so many extra buns after the 4th of July...they are now living in my Grandma's freezer!


Summer Fun...xo -ag

Happy 4th of July

Go America...

We had a great 4th of July celebration...something annual and yes, the party has changed, from sneaking "hot dogs" on the beach while peeing between rocks to a walk to the park so the kids could play, it's scary to see how far we have come...man, I am getting OLD!


The party was great, Lillian was thrilled having so many nice, sweet friends over to play with her and all her toys...and then the Silly Boy came...Forrest, an older man, about 8 years old...she was smitten and is still taking about him...I think we are in big trouble already!!


Here's a photo recap of the parade, I was too busy to take any pictures before we left for our parade, but let me just say, the food selection was amazing...I love a good potluck...Hooray! Can't wait until next year!!

The gang's all here... Riding Away
Lillian in her wagon
Mr. Finn and his scooter
Watching the slip and slide at the park...
Lillian is sitting next to the silly boy!

xo -ag

Hectic

Holy Hectic first week of July...
How do I get myself into these things, I guess it's the love I have for chaos.

Tuesday, July 1st, I hosted Bunco. Twelve lovely ladies came over for dinner and dice. Since I own an authentic OlyO's table, I did an OlyO's themed Bunco...Pizza, Salad, and Garlic Bread. I thought it turned out pretty good, my house smelled like OlyO's and I had OlyO's under my fingernails, gross, but true. It's a taste that lingers. We played outside, enjoyed conversation and lots of wine...and a few late-nighters even joined me in a dip in the jacuzzi...fun fun!

Today, I am hosting a swim meet at Lomas. It's pretty much done, I just need to do some cutting and ordering of time cards, but I am feeling good-ish about it. Some parents of my swimmers are LAME and suffer from poor communication. It always puts me in a bad spot because I had to penalize a kid because their parents suck...

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and we are having our annual bike party...scaled down. We have decided to forgo the adult bike ride to the pier and focus on the small people. Kids bike/wheels parade around the block...it will be perfect. Now I just need to do all the shopping for food and get all the decoration out, decorate the house, find something red/white/blue to wear...yikes, it makes my head hurt just thinking about it...

It always turns out fine...so Happy Hectic July to everyone...Have a great fourth...and Nikki & Derek, Happy Anniversary! xo -ag

Here's some pictures from the Inaugural Kid's Bike Parade 2007

Happy Birthday...

to Finny!
Wow, you are a big 3 year old boy now...
You are my best friend...thanks for always playing with me!

xo - Lillian (Auntie Agatha and Uncle Jeff, too!)