Update on my Offspring

 Jack will be 18 months on the 4th of July.  He is such an adorable mix of cuddly, teasing sweetness.  He is finding new ways to capture Hazel's attention (like screaming and making faces), and they are finally, finally, becoming true friends that actually play with each other.  Jack's always adored Hazel and followed her around, but I suppose now that he can run and joke and sort of communicate, he has become an appealing companion instead of just someone who can't keep his chubby fingers off of all of Hazel's "special things."   

Photo by Deon Bingham

A few nights ago, the kids and I got home from grocery shopping just minutes before we usually eat dinner.  Todd had just arrived home from work.  The kitchen was crowded, with Todd and I trying to simultaneously unpack groceries and throw together a meal.  Jack was up in my grill, begging to be held.  (He likes to watch what's happening in the kitchen.)  But there just was no time or space for it that night.  I said, all hopeful-like, "Jack, go find Hazel upstairs and play with her."  And he actually wiggled out of my arms and ran up to Hazel, giggling in anticipation of what she'd have in store for him.  Not to mention, they stayed up there, happily playing without me until we had food on the table.  It was a miracle and a milestone. 

Photo by Deon Bingham

Another night recently, there was an empty Huggies box in our living room and I put Jack in it and started pushing him around in it, trying to keep him happy and occupied while Todd vacuumed the main level.  He LOVED it.  Five seconds after Jack climbed out, Hazel got in, wanting a turn herself.  Jack immediately wanted to get back in as well, and I fully expected Hazel to protest, push him out, make a big fuss and have the whole thing end in tears.  Not so.  She lovingly pulled Jack onto her lap and used a real sweet voice to talk to him, and the two of them snuggled up tight and went for a ride.  Hazel integrated it into some storyline she was in the middle of imagining, and as she hopped out to go trick-or-treating called out, "Thanks for the ride, Jack!"  And Jack scrambled out right after her, crying and chasing her, wanting her to get back in with him.  Which she did (after putting on a dress-up for her Halloween costume).

I've been praising Hazel like crazy, hoping she'll pick up on how proud and impressed I am with what a great big sister she's being lately.  I think it's working.  Today, after a smattering of compliments from me, she told me she was happy and filled with a warm feeling.  Let's keep it up.  I so want them to be best friends.

Jack still doesn't talk much, but he sure hums a lot.  His most common tune is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ABCs.  He hums every single note.  He adores dogs and calls out "daw!" every time he sees or hears one.  He's also recently become very interested in trucks and airplanes, and loves to point them out.  He's usually pretty happy looking out his window while we drive around town.  There's a train track we cross over frequently, and he loves it when the train crossing arms come down and the lights flash to warm that a train is coming.  He's been wearing Hazel's shoes all over the house lately, even her dress-up heels.  He will do anything again and again if we think its funny. 

Hazel had her half-birthday (3 1/2) almost a month ago and we celebrated with a half a cake and a couple of presents.  My poor Christmas kids... We're excited to do something for them in the summer so it's not such a celebration drought and flood around here.

Hazel loves to learn new things and has recently taken to the nonfiction section of the library.  After Todd and I got back from our trip to Hawaii, we checked out a book on volcanoes that absolutely fascinated Hazel.  She has been talking constantly about lava, magma, and ash ever since.  This week we got a bunch of books on cheetahs and other wild cats, and it's been hilarious watching her slink around on all fours, growling, hiding behind furniture and then leaping out to take a nibble out of Todd's leg.  She's also very concerned about poachers and making sure big cats don't go extinct. 

Her imagination is really taking off in a fabulous new way that allows her to entertain herself for looooong stretches of time.  It is so fun for me to eavesdrop and listen as she carries on two-sided conversations with herself to keep her adventurous storylines alive.  Right now she just called out, "Help!  I am sinking from a bad-guy octopus!  Help!  I'm sinking.  Please help me." 

Photo by Deon Bingham

She is obsessed with collecting and loving loose change.  It is in piles all over among her toys.  She has her favorite quarters with pictures on the backs that she likes, and at least half of her, I'd say, seven dollar collection is covered in stickers.  Sometimes she lines them up on the ground, sticker side down, and plays a matching game with them, trying to pair up coins with the same color of sticker on them.  She always sweeps the car and the key box looking for new additions.  She will do almost anything you want if you promise her a coin as the reward.  It can even be a penny.  She doesn't care. 

Hazel's taking swimming lessons right now and is doing great.  She has turned into quite a little fish in the pool when she's got her floatie on, so it's time for her to learn to swim without one.  In class they've mainly focused on kicking on her back and her tummy, blowing bubbles with her nose, jumping in from the wall, and trying to dunk her whole head underwater.  (She does not like that part!)   Every day she yells out to me on the bench something along the lines of, "I am loving this!" or "I am having such a great time!"

 The swimming lessons have given her such confidence that she asked to jump off the diving board at a church pool party yesterday.  She had her floatie on and did a great job all on her own.  She didn't even expect me to catch her or anything.  She knew she'd go under the water but pop right back up.  I just about exploded with pride.  She is so brave! 

Oh Peter, why won't you come for me?

I put the kids to bed an hour ago.  After a long session of giggles, I had hoped they were settled down for the night, but kept hearing the bedroom door opening, so I knew it was not so.  Still, I let them be. 

Just now I went upstairs myself and Hazel met me at her door.  I was surprised to find her in the pink dress-up dress Nana made her instead of her pajamas.  I was even more surprised to find half the contents of the dress-up box on her bed and the floor.  Hence, the ever-opening door. 

I set to work rocking Jack and directing Hazel back into her PJs.  But then Hazel really threw me for a loop.  She said, "I keep waiting and waiting, but he just won't come." 

"Who?" I asked. 

"Peter Pan," my sweet little girl replied, completely serious. 

My heart melted.  She really believes in Peter and Neverland.  For reals. 

I guess I threw a little Santa her way, as I said, "He won't come until you're asleep."  She didn't believe me until I reminded her that Wendy was asleep when he came to London.  I said, "If he wants to talk to you, he'll wake you up, just like he woke up Wendy."  And she bought it. 

What a magical night!





On a related note, I might as well record that we talk about Peter and Neverland a lot.  I frequently tell Hazel I'm going to take her to Neverland so she'll stop growing up.  She's quite excited about that idea, and has started asking me why Peter hasn't come for her yet.  (I guess she has nights like this a lot, and this is just the first time our conversation about it didn't happen the next day.)  I've tried to buy some time by telling her Peter is waiting until she's old enough to do his spring cleaning, like Wendy was.  But apparently her darling little mind can't quite wrap itself around the idea of being 10 years old.  Tomorrow is a long ways off...

Hawaii 2012

Earlier this month Todd and I went to Hawaii (the Big Island) for a week by ourselves.  My awesome mom came out and took over kid duties, and did a great job keeping them happy, safe, and busy while we were gone.  They loved having Nana time!

When Todd and I weren't sleeping in, napping, or lounging about reading books, we were out exploring.  The Big Island is a lot more rugged than Oahu.  Good thing we had a 4-wheel drive rental, but we still had to turn back at some of those crazy roads!

Our very first day out, we attempted to drive out to a beach along a 4x4 access only road.  We made it about a hundred yards before we parked and decided to walk the two miles down.  Such naivety!  A hike is a hike, but a hike across rough road hewn from lava rock...  It wore us out.  Good thing we saw sea turtles in the water, or the whole thing would have been a major bust.  Especially when we found out later that there was an easier way to get there...  Bygones. 

The second day we went to see a couple of waterfalls, searched around and found some natural steam rooms to sit in (heated by the volcano), and visited a national park showcasing trees that had been mummified in an old lava flow.  That night we walked out to a spot where you could see the lava from a distant viewpoint, sparkling like red glitter in the night sky.  Todd's thirst for adventure was whetted, and we determined to pay a tour group the next night to get us closer to the lava. 

The next day we met up with our tour group in the afternoon and proceeded to hike for over two hours across brittle, sharp lava rock.  It was brutal, but the reward was quite impressive: the opportunity to come close enough to flowing lava to not only feel the heat, but poke and nudge it with sticks!  Todd pulled some of the lava out, waited for it to cool off, and carefully packed it home as a souvenir.  We arrived at the lava flow as dusk was falling and stayed until it was completely dark.  It was interesting to be able to see it in the different lighting.  It was quite difficult to then hike two more hours across the lava in the dark. 

We didn't quite get enough of lava that night, so the next day we went on a four-hour tour of a lava tube cave.  It was about two hours too long.  More walking across brittle lava rock.  We were starting to hate lava!  And it turns out lava caves are far less interesting and life-sustaining than other caves are.  There just wasn't much to see, and we were worn out from all our strenuous hiking.  When we finally made it to the turn-around point, our tour took a turning-point itself.  We turned off all our flashlights and waited for Steve, our guide, to tell us to wave our hands in front of our faces or something.  Nothing.  Silence.  Suddenly, Todd pulls out a fast one with a well-worn line Hazel quotes multiple times a day: "Tell me a spooky story."  I giggled a bit.  Steve took him completely seriously.  "One about caves?" he asked.  And then proceeded to fill our entire two hour walk out of the cave with personally experienced ghost stories.  He gave us plenty of laughable quote fodder to last through the rest of the week. 

We spent the rest of the week playing in the water and checking out beaches.  We made another arduous journey (this time via vehicle) to witness with our own eyes a green sand beach.  We also went to a black sand beach. 

We kayaked across the bay to Captain Cook Monument, where we did some impressive snorkeling.  There were plenty of colorful fish in the water, and interesting coral, too. We saw dolphins in the water as we kayaked back.  That was awesome. 

We spent some time at a couple different tide pools, checked out some natural volcano-warmed pools, did a lot more snorkeling and a bunch more R&R. 

We paid a visit to Place of Refuge, a spot where anyone who broke the law and was in danger of punishment (back in the day) could race to arrive at before he was caught by the guards.  If he got there first, he received full forgiveness of his crime and was allowed out and free. 

Like everything else we did on this trip, the bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the reward.  One of our final nights out, we rode a boat across choppy water to a place where the manta rays come to feed at night.  There were three other couples on the excursion, and one of the ladies had a major run-in with motion sickness.  At first I felt bad for her, but my compassion wore thin as her retching grew louder and seemed to never end.  It was a trying time for me.  ;)  But it was well worth it.  As darkness fell, we geared up in wetsuits and snorkel equipment and jumped in the water.  Holding on to a surfboard equipped with bright lights, we swam a ways out to the "manta mosh pit" and hung out, literally, for only a couple of minutes before we had our first spotting.  We stayed out for probably 45 minutes as these enormous, graceful manta rays swam up and did flips truly just inches below us to snag all the plankton that swarmed around our lights.  We saw six different rays, ranging in size from eight to 15 feet from wingtip to wingtip.  They were so big, and right there, and we never had more than a couple minutes at at time where they weren't right next to us.  It was a breathtaking experience.

(image from here)

Overall, Todd's favorite part of the trip was "plucking that stone from the jaws of Dante's inferno" (poking the lava) and mine was the manta ray snorkel.  The best parts of taking trips alone are feeding our love (getting to be boyfriend and girlfriend and not dad and mom for a few days) and appreciating our kids more when we get back.  We sure missed Hazel and Jack a lot. 

Spring Fling

 Spring is in full swing and I'm loving it.  It is fantastic to be able to take the kids outside multiple times a day, no worrying about jackets or even socks.  We've been having such a blast.  When we're not playing at one of the handful of parks within walking distance, you can usually find us near our garage playing on the streets in our complex.  Hazel and Jack have spent hours already riding bikes, drawing with sidewalk chalk, chasing bubbles, and playing our usual make-believe plot (bad guy captures good guy) with the sand toy dinosaurs.

 

 Last week the kids went crazy for water painting (water in a sand bucket with big paint brushes).

We bought a membership to Happy Hollow (a local amusement park for the 2-5 year olds) and have been going a lot.  One time I did a swap with my friend Natalie.  She watched Jack at her house and I took her son Jefferson with us.  It was a blast!  The kids were in heaven.  It was so much easier having two kids the same age to entertain each other.  We dressed them in matching clothes quite accidentally and everyone thought I was trucking around twins.  

 Jefferson didn't want to go on the roller coaster, so Hazel went on her own again while I stayed with him.  She had to stand reeeeaaaal straight to show the ride worker she was tall enough.  She just reaches the 40" mark.  I was pretty surprised when she chose the front row, but I shouldn't have been.  She was up for the challenge.  Arms up, huge grin, and theatrical screams throughout the entire ride.  The roller coaster is Hazel's favorite part of Happy Hollow. 

 Around the house, the J-bird is developing more personality every day.  He's a total jokester - he loves making me laugh.

Such style, right? 

 He's figured out how to throw some pretty massive tantrums as well.  Not sure where he picked that up.  Surely not from his older sister...

He's figured out how to hum the next line of "Slippery Fish."  Before he could do just the first three notes:

Slippery fish, slippery fish

But now he's added:

Swimming in the water.  

He adores the dustbuster and will push it all over the house until the battery runs down. 

 He's figured out there's a whole new level of exploration if he just stands on something.  The child chairs and bathroom step stool have become his new favorite tools for mischief. 

 And we are spending more and more time in the halls during church.  Last Sunday I stood in the hall trying desperately to still hear the Relief Society lesson while Jack had a party at the water fountains.  Two more months til he's officially in nursery.  We will probably be in there a lot before then. 

Morro Bay 2012

 If you had peeked into my Freshman apartment at BYU back in 2000, you never would have thought that my roommate Emily and I would ever be friends.  I don't think we started to get along until March!  But those last two months of the year were a serious bonding blitz for our apartment that left me with plenty of wonderful memories and several dear-to-my-heart friends I'm still in touch with. 

When Emily moved to Southern California a few months ago, we planned a meet-in-the-middle weekend.  We joined up in beautiful Morro Bay with our husbands and kids this past weekend.

Honestly, the part I was most excited for was the Hazel/Amaryllis merge.  Both girls have massive imaginations and I had a feeling they would be fast friends.  (They were giggling together within 30 seconds.)

 (Amaryllis kissing Hazel out of a sleeping spell)

We stayed at a gorgeous, big house so we'd have room to hang out after the kids went to bed.  I'm still reeling from all the space - how do I survive in 1200 square feet?  It was lovely to spread out.  Jack was head over heels for the balcony.  He spent mounds of time out there pointing at the boats. 

We strolled the main drag, peeking into shops and sampling delicious pastries from the bakery, visited the teensy aquarium, and played at the local playground.  Emily took this photo.  I love Morro Rock in the background, and sweetie Jack pointing at something that interested him. 

 After naps we spent the afternoon at Spooner's Cove, climbing big rocks, collecting medium-sized rocks, and throwing little rocks in the water.  

 

Jake (Emily's husband) and Todd took Hazel up to the top of this enormous rock at the beach.  Todd said she was right on the edge of the cliff until she got sprayed by sea foam.  That girl is just about fearless.

 I love this family photo! 

 The next day we attended what may be THE LAMEST parade I have ever attended.  I am really bummed that we spent our time on it, actually, because we ended up not having time to check out the kite festival that was going on and I bet it was really cool.  But, maybe not?  Judging from the parade, maybe I was crediting this little town able to put on more of a party than it could.  (I'm telling myself that to try not to feel bad we missed it.)

The highlight of the day was throwing everyone into canoes to play on the water a bit. 

 

We were able to get up close and personal with these bad boys.  They spend all day sunning in the middle of the bay.  They barked a bit at us, but when a handful of sailboats went past, they all arched up as tall as they could get and really made a ruckus.  It was awesome.  

We took our canoes across the bay and played for a while in the sand dunes.  There was a fairly tall drop-off, maybe eight feet or so, and first thing when we got there, Todd said, "Hazel, you should run and jump," and off she went, not a seconds' hesitation.  Slam, into the sand halfway down, and she ran the rest of the way, balance intact.  I am so impressed with her courage.  (Surprised, no.  Todd is quite a daredevil himself, after all.  But definitely impressed.) 

Emily took this photo as well.  She's got a gift for photography.  Check her out here. 

 After canoeing, we snagged some lunch, then it was check-out time at the house and up we packed into the car for the drive home.  We had a great time. 

Hazel Achieved a Big Goal

 Hazel responds very well to rewards and sticker charts, so a couple of months ago, we whipped one up to help her stop sucking her thumb.  She has been busting her tail trying to kick her bad habit and has been very on-board with the whole process.  This weekend, she placed her final sticker on the chart and earned her grand finale reward.  We are very proud of her!  (This doesn't mean she never sucks her thumb, though, just that her chart is full, so don't judge if you see it pop in.  We still let her suck her thumb when she's in bed, and she has a hard time keeping it out when she's stressed or really tired.) 

If she lasted from morning to lunch without sucking her thumb, she could put a sticker on the chart.  If she lasted from lunch to bedtime, she earned another sticker.  Each time she completed a row of 10, she got a treat of her choice (a sucker or M&Ms).  And once the chart was full, we could go to the bakery at the grocery store and order a fancy cake.  This was a big deal to her, because she's long admired the cakes on display and always wants to look at them when we shop there.  (They have princess cakes, Tinkerbell, SpongeBob, Dora, etc. all in a display case and a book full of other options to glance through, too.) 

So on Friday we went to Lucky's and placed our order.  She turned page after page in the book until she came to the super-pink Barbie cake, and then was very definite that that was the one she wanted.  It was a very loooong, hard wait til Monday when the cake was ready to be picked up. 

We got it at lunchtime on Monday.  Everyone at the store asked if it was her birthday, and Hazel very proudly explained that it was for not sucking her thumb, and that she filled up her entire sticker chart, and that we were going to have cake for Family Home Evening treat!!!  Then she spent the whole afternoon admiring the cake and counting down the hours.  She gave me an enormous hug and when I kissed her on the cheek, she turned my face toward hers, straight on, and gave me a loooooong smooch on the lips!  Then she said, "I am in love with you, Mommy.  I want to marry you."  She was that happy! 

We had some friends over to share the cake with us Monday night, and when that didn't finish off even half of the cake, I decided to take it to the park the next day.  The moms with young children in my church congregation meet at a different area park every Tuesday morning, and today just happened to be the park next to us, so it was super easy to bring the cake over and tell everyone to eat up!  They finished it off, but the best part was all the additional acknowledgment Hazel received for her hard work.  She was bursting with pride from all the attention, and I'm hoping that'll hold her over and help her stick to her guns now that the reward chart is full. 

Santa Cruz Sillies

Todd and I had a great date night on Saturday. We drove down to Santa Cruz for dinner to check out a fun restaurant Todd heard about from a coworker. It's called Bocce's Cellar and has an actual bocce ball court for you to play on while you eat. Todd even looked up the official rules and made us play by them. We've got a bocce set and love to play with it at the park, but it was a whole different ball game on the court! Todd kicked my trash. (Surprise, surprise.)

I've been needing a swim skirt and thought we might find one there, since it's a beach town and all, so we headed into downtown to peek into a few stores. As we were looking for a place to park, we spotted quite a gem strolling down the lane. I kinda panicked about getting a picture, chasing her down from the opposite side of the street. I was so afraid she'd get away. But fear not - here she is!What in the world? I know, right? And then, bam, right after that, here comes this lady, long dreadlocks, pushing her dog in a bike stroller:And then across the street, there was this band playing music, so we stopped to listen and it turned into this massive people-watching expedition. (They're playing marimbas from Zimbabwee. It was a visual and an auditory feast. You should have seen the dancing in the crowd!)I kept my phone poised and ready and stole snapshots on the sly every couple of minutes. Santa Cruz is a landmine.

Baggy purple pants and purple hat to match:
Lovely white socks peeking out of the shoes. (And she was a great dancer, too.)
If only I could pull this one off. It looks so comfy:
Amazing mohawk, tight cut-off jean shorts, leather jacket. Welcome back, 1986!
I don't even know where to begin:
All of a sudden this monstrosity comes barreling down the street, and Todd was totally like, "Ang, run out there and get a good picture!" so I totally did. And what I saw made me laugh so hard I cried. Truly.
The guy driving this thing had muppets or stuffed animals or something sitting right up in the front of the truck with him. And they were dancing to the music!
Such as fun, fun date. PS I got bangs. The jury's still out on them. I think they look cute when my hair's pulled back, but not when it's all down, and they're hard to get used to, having the hair in my face and all.