Cute Pictures of the Month

Mady picked out a tiara. She is even willing to leave it on, unlike her hair clips.

Zachary and Mady went to a bike riding birthday party. As the kids were arriving, the hostess had squirt bottles of water and rags so the kids could clean their bikes. Then they rode to a nearby park where they decorated their bikes, and had a nice loop to ride around.

Daddy and Mady returning from a walk to the park, practicing soccer skills along the way.

Alex went to a rock climbing birthday party. He gave the rock wall a try, but mostly enjoyed playing tag with friends on the bouncy floor.

MOCHA

Alex's class went on a field trip to MOCHA. I was fortunate to be a chaperone for the day! The class loaded up on the school bus and went to the school's second campus to pick up more first graders. That was one loud bus ride! Here's my group of cuties!

The day was split into two projects. First up, the kids learned about portraits and then created self-portraits. It was a detailed process, pencil drawings, sharpie outlines, water colors. Our instructor was a little bit bossy, she clearly had an idea that she wanted to convey, and some of the kids were going to do their own thing regardless. They had their own vision!

When the portraits were complete, everyone walked a few blocks to a nice outdoor courtyard for lunch.

The afternoon project was a recycled sculpture. This involved lots and lots of hot gluing. Towards the end, I was using a pencil to push tiny lengths of glue stick into the melter. Some of the projects fell apart on the bus ride home. Alex created a very involved back story for his creation. It is a sky-scraper. For frogs. In the water.

Alex really enjoys crafts, so this was a perfect field trip for him! I'm so happy I was able to go!

'Lil Kicker

Who's ready to take the soccer field by storm? This girl!

Mady started taking 'Lil Kickers soccer classes. The Bunnies class is full of cuties who are just excited to run around and sometimes kick a ball.

At the beginning of class the kids find a 'soccer spot' to sit at and stretch. Mady likes to sit on her spot..for a little while.

Bubbles are always a hit with the toddler set! The intention is to pop the bubbles with your feet, of course that is hard to do when they are flying at your face!

Building cone towers to kick over is fun. But wearing cones as hats is even more fun!

**After about a month of classes, Mady is understanding more and more about using her feet, and is following the coach's example during stretching time.

A Day at the Zoo

Mady and I spent the day at the zoo. The gibbons were having fun swinging around, and Mady considered joining them. Luckily she hasn't mastered fence climbing just yet.

The giant tortoises kept her entertained for quite a while. With all their moving around and crazy antics, who can blame her?

Whenever any of the kids go to the zoo, they want to climb on the tomato frogs. Mady doesn't look too happy in the picture, she might have been concentrating on not squirming.

After a few hours of walking around the zoo, Mady was worn out. She did have fun riding the carousel, I just wasn't able to catch a smile.

I don't think we even made it off of the zoo grounds before she fell asleep. Mission accomplished!

Happy 2014

Happy New Year 2014!

Usually when we go into the City, we are headed to an activity. Alex and Zachary have fun at said activity, but they always ask to ride the trolley. Sadly, we are out of time, or have the big stroller and can't easily take a ride. So, we decided to head into the City with the main intent being to ride the various forms of transportation! We parked near the Metreon, and walked over to Yerba Buena Gardens. Mady, Alex and Zachary all had fun exploring around the many fountains and running up and down the ramps.

Peek-A-Boo!

Soon, we were off to the start (end?) of the cable car line. The line was long and a bit intimidating, but we decided to wait it out. Overall, it didn't take as long as we thought it might and we were glad we waited. Since it was the end (start?) of the line, we were able to watch the cable car spin on the turntable.

When we finally got on board, we ended up on opposite sides of the car. Boys on one side and girls on the other. Mady really enjoyed her ride.  She was singing and clapping her hands. At one extra steep hill, she even reached out to grab onto the railing! By the looks of this picture, I'd say Alex and Zachary enjoyed their ride too! Our driver was very personable and his comments kept us entertained.

When the driver called last stop, we decided to look for a 'facility'. This search led us to a museum we hadn't known about. It is a free walk-through of the City's history, with many interactive exhibits for the kids to enjoy. (The San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park Visitor Center).

Notifying the City of an incoming ship.

Learning about liquid gold.

Lunch was up next. Mady continues to amaze us with her love of food. She had clam chowder, crab cakes, sand dabs, pasta, peas, bread and spaghetti! Oh, and don't forget the ice cream!

After lunch, we hopped on the street car to get us back to our normal car. Since it was later in the day, the street car was really full and we weren't able to get any pictures. Maybe next time!

p.s. for dinner, Mady devoured some pot stickers and wor won ton soup.