Fall in Laguna Beach

Our morning trip to the beach today.

Happy Sunday!

Insert foot in mouth

This is girl puts everything in her mouth. She explores her new surroundings by tasting and chewing. I have been surprised that she has remained so healthy despite this dirty habit (I guess exculsive breastmilk is in her favor).

We went to the Tanaka Farm's pumpkin patch on Monday in hopes of getting some cute photos of the twins. I also got a chance to snap a few of DD and DS too (neither were quite dressed for the Harvest season so we will need to go back for some more). DS had a blast running on the hay stacks, seeing the goats and as always, playing witht the twins. DD, no surprise, had fun tasting the hay. :-)

And just in case your weren't already aware and are around the Orange County area, Tanaka Farms sells the best homemade salsa and chips around and worth a trip to the farm just for that (of course, they are known for their organic fruits and veggies but I can never pass up their salsa, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!).

Happy Friday!!! Anyone else get a long weekend? (DH has Colombus Day off).

As the world turns, so do the days of our lives ...

This morning I got up from our round kitchen table and put my dirty bowl from honeynut cheerios in the dishwasher. I grabbed my cup of coffee, walked over to the living room where DS was playing and sat down on the couch.
DS walked over and said, "You're having your coffee now Mommy?
And then you are going to go shower?
And then put make-up on?
And then we are going some where?".

I scratched my head and wondered, make-up? Where did he get that? That seems to happen occasionally but it certainly isn't in my daily routine.

I have to admit life with kids can often feel like you are in the movie Groundhog Day. Everything seems to be a repeat of the day before. DS is so stuck in my his routine that it is one of the things I worried most about taking them to Europe but I have to say both DS and DD made me one proud Mama! They were amazing the entire time even though they had no daily routine. It was a great confirmation: all they really need is me and DH.

(**picture below: the happy kiddos playing during a sight-seeing excursion in Germany.**)

We're Home!

We had a wonderful time! It is probably going to take a few days to get into our time zone so stay tuned for more updates on our fantastic vacation.

In the meantime, just a snap shot of DS going down a slide at a playground after having eis (ice cream) in the city where his Grandparents, Omi and Opa, were married. Traben-Trarbach, Germany. As you can see, he enjoyed our trip tremendously!

I want to eat canyon Mommy, please!

DS's age is unbelievable ... everyday he is learning something new. He just amazes me. He already can name correctly every planet in the Solar system, correctly recognizes his uppercase letters 100% accuracy, he is starting to learn his lower case letters and just recently read his first word. (Okay, okay, it was sight recognition only but it still amazes me ... he stated each letter first H-O-M-E and then said "HOME"). The word is in the last page of one of his favorite books. :)

**and yes, I know this is a bit of a brag but just can't help myself, I could also include that DD rolled over for the first time yesterday at 2 months, 3 1/2 weeks old but I will leave that for another post, LOL!!!**

Okay, back on topic ... But then there are plenty of moments that remind me of just how little & young he really is, like yesterday. It was unbelievably hot here but on Monday's I still need my coffee despite the weather. So after getting my coffee I decided to stay in the air conditioned car and drive down Laguna Canyon and give him a narrated tour of our surroundings and make a quick stop at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center to see the elephant seals. As I am drinking my warm coffee in my cool car I tell him we are driving down Laguna Canyon Road. I say, "look to your right there are hills (he looks), look to your left there are hills (he looks) and we are driving in the middle, that is called a canyon.". I see his little mind working and he looks at me in the rear view mirror and says, "I want to eat it Mommy. (& then he continues since there is a long pause by me as I wonder what in the heck he is talking about) I want to eat Canyon Mommy, please.".

After about 2 minutes of trying desperately to relate to toddler talk it comes to me (I think). He must be thinking CANDY not CANYON. So I ask, "Do you mean you want to eat candy?". I continue, "Mommy said canyon not candy. You don't eat canyon.". I think I lost him at that point since he remained silent and my narrated tour down Laguna Canyon Road was useless until our stop at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center where he enjoyed visiting the rescued elephant seals.

Lighten your load while traveling with a little one!

I was recently talking to my long time and good friend AS about traveling with a little one. AS is my girlfriend that owns the amazing children's clothing line www.eight3one.com. Remember her? If not, you can LINK TO THIS POST to hear more.

Anyway, she was talking about the difficulty of traveling with a little one by yourself and how hard it is to manage all the items you need to take along with you such as, a stroller, car seat, highchair, etc. with out any help. I immediately remembered a new site that my knowledgable friend KR told me about. It is www.octraveltykes.com. In-the-know and ever so sweet KR sent me the information because I have been actively looking for a double stroller before our new little girl arrives (I have only 11 short weeks to figure it all out) and www.octraveltykes.com allows you "test drive" strollers. A wonderful feature for a gal like me that can never make up her mind even between the chocolate brown sweater or the cocoa brown sweater! LOL! I contacted them and got an immediate response (they also provide a great consultation service) and will be making an appointment in January to personally test the two strollers I have narrowed it down to: The Elite Urban Mountain Buggy or the Double version of the stroller we have now, the Valco Runabout Double.

But what I also noticed when I first went to the site was their first capture that read "Traveling to the OC? ... Don't pack it, we've got you covered!" How wonderful is that? They will deliver to most locations in Orange County, CA or you can pick it up after you arrive in Southern California. You can rent and use the items while on vacation and return them before you leave town. You can rent almost all large items you would need while traveling with your child(ren) including strollers, highchairs, playmats, pack-n-plays, etc. Even if you need a double stroller, they have you covered. The rental rates are also very reasonable. If you are not traveling to the OC soon, check out if the city you are planning to visit has the same type of service. In my limited research I did notice Tahoe, South Florida, and Martha's Vineyard. Less space needed for baby equipment means more space for your souviners!!!

I hope this helps "lighten" your holiday load!

Lions, panthers and gorillas, oh my!

Yesterday was our first family excursion to a theme park. We took DS to The Wild Animal Park in Escondido, CA.

The Wild Animal Park (WAP) is 2,100 acres of land where you can view animals in surroundings most similar to their natural home-land and habitat. You can get up closely, see them freely with out cages and feed them. There are many exhibits. A few are: The Heart of Africa, Lion Camp, and Hidden Jungle.

Helpful Hints: wear comfortable shoes, wear sunscreen, dress for the heat and pack your own lunch. If you remember all those helpful hints you will surely enjoy this rare experience with the animals. DS's favorite was the giraffes. DH's favorite was the gorillas. My favorite, the rhinos ... what can I say, they made me feel skinny and svelte!!!

(picture of feeding time with the giraffes by yours truly)

Too late but worth the wait

I recently took DS to the beautiful Flower Fields in Carlsbad, CA. It is a 50 acre display of brightly colored Ranunculus. I enjoyed the view from the top of the hill the best. From the top, you can see the hillside of Ranunculus, the rose garden below and the Pacific Ocean. It was a gorgeous day. I think DS mostly enjoyed playing in the water (mining for gems), the tractor ride and running around with the adorable R twins at the playground. A Mommy friend took her slightly older kiddos and said they loved the "Stamp card"/scavenger hunt the best.

The Flower Fields are only open 6 weeks each year. Unfortunately, I posted too late for you to take advantage of it this year but you definitely need to mark your calendar for this time next year.

Since our kiddos are only 15 months and still napping twice a day we weren't able to take advantage of the wonderful Carlsbad Outlet Mall that is right next door. (But we were able to have a quick lunch there with the kiddos and there are many quick serve places to choose from). Next time, I would like to make an entire day of it and after visiting The Flower Fields browse the wonderful outlet stores they have, such as, Coach, Banana Republic, Ralph Lauren, Barney's and more!!! (Yes, I know, many of you are in shock that I didn't go shopping?!)

This is something I am putting on the calendar for an Annual event. The flowers are spectacular and the view is exactly what you think Southern California should look like.

Why so many flowers? Their goal is to harvest over 6 million bulbs. You will find their bulbs for sale in most flower and gardening stores all across the country. While in bloom (Springtime) they open it up to public.

***Blogger has not been letting me upload pictures this morning, I will try adding again tonight.