Beauty and the Beast

Sophia was in Reedley High's production of Beauty and the Beast and I planned to watch it, but it never occurred to me to take Clara as I thought she was too young. Kate suggested that I bring her and I opted to skip nap time on Sunday and take her to the matinee. I wasn't sure how she would do, but we talked about it before hand and she looked at pictures and was really excited. She wore her princesa dress (which just happened to be a Belle dress) and picked out flowers for Sophia before the play. We decided to have a Clarita and Mama day after church while we waited for the play. Dada had gone for a bike ride to prepare for his 100 mile ride in a couple of weeks, and he stopped by Jamba Juice (what special day is complete without Jamba Juice?) to pick Emmett up. I was surprised when Clara agreed that Emmett and Dada could have lunch with us, but she was very excited about it. She chose rice for lunch so we headed to Daniel's for some Mexican food (and she only ate rice). After lunch we hit up Dollar Tree (Clara really wanted to go there) and then picked up flowers. We also went to the grocery store where she insisted on bringing her new basket (aka basket for shopping).

We had great seats in the second row and Clara was absolutely mesmerized. She sat in my lap and actually whispered when she had something to say. At the very beginning she declared that the people were just wearing costumes and therefore not scary. Clarita was very into the play and at intermission asked if there was going to be more. She behaved perfectly and exceeded all of my expectations! Clarita was disappointed when the play was over but excited to see Sophie. Kate and I talked to the director and his wife after the play and reminisced about our days in the high school plays (he's the same director we had). We were both very impressed with the play and how professional it was. I did not feel like I was watching a high school play.

Sophia is the cutest!

Princesa Clarita

Afterwards we headed to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. Clarita insisted on getting hers in a cup so she could carry it in her basket. She quickly tired of hers and usurped my cone. Ethan impressed us all by opening doors for us and throwing our trash away and Sophie was so cute with her bright red lipstick that she was so proud of. It was a great day and I think Clara is pretty impressed with plays. She said that her favorite part was the "nice monster" (the Beast) and that was also her favorite costume. I can't wait to take her to more!

Look at that red lipstick!

Ironmanning in San Diego

Dada hadn't done a half Ironman since Emmett was born so he figured it was about time to stop being lazy and get it done (I, on the other hand, continued to be lazy). He signed up months ago for one in Oceanside the first weekend of April. This was perfect because Mikaela and Zach happened to have just purchased a house in Oceanside! I had to go to LA for work so we headed down Thursday afternoon. The trip down was great, Emmett slept most of the way and Clara even slept for awhile. There was no crying or screaming and we didn't stop at all! We met Tia Biffy for dinner. We spent some time at the beach playing and catching up. Clarita loves hotels and was super excited when we arrived (even though it was after 9:00). She ran around exploring the room while Dada brought in all of our stuff and I got Emmett ready for bed.

Tia Biffy is so fun!

Someday...

Clara and Dada played in the hotel room Friday morning while I went to my work meetings and Emmett napped. We headed out around noon and Clara and Emmett both fell asleep. Unfortunately Clarita woke up when traffic stopped and started screaming. For the first time since the chuponcito fairy took her chuponcitos, she cried for it. After at least 20 minutes of screaming (which woke Emmett up) we stopped to eat and she finally calmed down. The rest of the drive involved terrible traffic but at least there was no screaming! We hit the beach while Dada went to a race meeting. Clarita was obsessed with playing in the water and running from the waves. At one point a wave knocked her over and completely covered her. I thought she would cry, but she popped up and said, "That's why I have my swimsuit on!" Emmett enjoyed watching Clara play in the water. It was a little difficult having both kids by myself at the beach since Emmett had to be held and Clara wanted to play in the water, but we managed. Dada joined us for a little while and played in the water with Clara before we headed to Mikaela and Zach's. Clara fell back in love with Mikaela in 10 minutes and requested that she hold her and play with her! Mikaela helped her make her very own pizza and Clarita was in heaven! Emmett loved watching their dog, Duke, and laughed every time his face got licked. We had a delicious dinner and Mikaela, Zach, and I stayed up way too late catching up while Dada and the kids rested up for the big day.

Hotels are so fun!

There are a lot of crazy people who want to exercise for hours...

I got up way too early Saturday to take Dada to the race. I was able to get a little sleep when I got back, but the kids had other plans for our morning which did not include sleeping in. After breakfast we headed to the park to meet up with Nicolette, Jeremy, Bennett, and Perrin. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but it was great to see them and the kids had fun playing. Then we headed to pick up lunch and Clarita turned into a monster. She refused to walk or let Mikaela carry her and insisted that I carry her (which was hard since I was also carrying a sleeping Emmett in his billion pound car seat). We finally got lunch and headed to eat it at the beach hoping to see Dada finish. Of course we got there too late and missed his finish by 10 minutes! This is the first half Ironman that we didn't watch any of and I felt bad. However, with two kids it is getting more and more difficult to lug them around super crowded races so I feel like this will probably become a trend. Dada did great with a personal best of 5 hours 26 minutes and 30 seconds (much longer than I ever plan to exercise)! We were very proud of him and felt like lazy bums! We ate lunch while he went to collect his stuff and eat, and Mikaela played in the ocean with Clara while Emmett and I hung out in the sand. He loved eating the sand (what baby can resist it?) and gobbled down handfuls! Dada joined Mikaela and Clarita when he was done and they played in the water until Clara was shaking from cold. The little Wiggle laid on her towel with her sunglasses on and said, "This is what all the people do at the beach!" Mikaela was so proud of Clara since sunbathing is one of her favorite past times (seriously we would have to rotate after a certain amount of time when we went to the beach in college)! Clara also played on the playground and pushed Bluesha on the swings. At one point she fell down and she immediately popped back up and in a perfectly serious and upset voice yelled, "Bluesha pushed me!" I think she needs nicer imaginary friends!

Mikaela is so much fun!

Sand = real yum!

Smoothies = real yum

Pushing Bluesha

We collected Dada's bike and headed back to put the kids down for a nap while we hung out and the guys watched basketball. Zach made us a stellar dinner and we enjoyed spending time with them. They lived in Colorado while Mikaela went to grad school so it's nice to be back in the same state again! Mikaela needed to take some pictures of her doing play therapy with a child for a work brochure and Clarita happily obliged. She had tons of fun blowing bubbles and playing with the feelings octopus!

Bubble fun

Mikaela is so fun!

Ironman and Ironbaby (Clara picked out this
onesie for Emmett at the last half Ironman
before he was born!)

Sunday we hung out for a while and then had to say goodbye. Clara did not want to leave, but was happy to know we would be back in a few months. We headed to Newport to meet Beth, Ken, and Hadley for a picnic. Traffic was terrible again, but at least both of the kids slept through most of it. And Clarita woke up super happy so that was a plus! Beth and Ken had a great picnic waiting for us and the girls had tons of fun playing at the awesome playground and on the beach. Emmett was content to eat Mum Mums and smile at everyone! It was a nice pit stop and a great opportunity to see the Hailes! We continued our drive home and didn't hit too much traffic. At one point Clara declared that she "real real" had to go potty so we stopped and she pooped a ton. It's so nice that she can tell us these things now and she did great on all of the long car rides! I got tired of listening to Clara's music (imagine kids singing the same songs over and over) and decided that we would each take turns picking a song. Clara bought into this idea and chose songs like All the Single Ladies and All About that Bass so we got a break from annoying kid music! We got home around 8:00 and were all very happy to be back!

Coolest playground!

Clara loves Beth and grabbed her hand to walk to the water

Clarita made a new friend and it was so cute to listen to them!

Dia De Dada Con Dos Hijos - Capitulo Dos

Well, it has been since November since I wrote Capitolo Uno and I finally decided to keep track of another day.  Things have changed quite a bit in the last 4.5 months as Emmett has grown a lot and Clara hasn't grown that much physically but continues to impress us with her ever expanding language and mind.
Clara has become obsessed with this little blanket that is soft on one side.  She likes to put it on her feet when she goes to bed but she also wakes up almost every night and has moved so the blanket is not on her feet anymore.  She then cries for Dada and I go up and put it back on her feet and she goes back to sleep.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
5:24 am - Clara wakes up asking for her soft blanket so I go and fix it for her and she falls back asleep.  At 6:45, Clara wakes up.  When I go up to get her she cries because she wants Mama to get her so I tell her she will have to wait until Mama is done taking a shower.  Shannon brings the kids downstairs at 7:35 after feeding Emmet. After Shannon leaves, we play but Emmett has been a little fussy so I put him down for a nap at 8:55.

Playing together in the playroom

Its supposed to be like "Memory" but Clara just tells you what is on each card.

Someone is fussy because he is tired.

After crying for a few minutes he falls asleep (like normal).  Clara and I continue to play downstairs while Emmett takes a nap.

Making salad

At 10:10, Clara and I go upstairs to wake up Baby Emmett as we have to be at the library at 10:30 and he is still sleeping.  I have a bottle of milk warming as I get him.  Clara grabs a snack of graham crackers.

Mmm...Super old Horizon graham crackers

We walk to the library (Clara actually rides in the stroller this time, she usually likes to walk) and get there just in time to start at 10:30.  I feed Emmett at the library.  Clara is a little clingy in the library today and starts to cry at one point after I try to convince her to go sit with the other kids for storytime and then Baby Emmett grabbed her hair.  That really set her off but it is very short lived.  We do the crafts, return our books, check out some new books, and hit the park at 11:40.

Painting the Very Hungry Caterpillar

Getting ready to swing!

We play there for a while and Clara swings next to Sophia (who was also at the library and is also a bilingual gringa).  They copy each other for a while and then Clara has to go potty. I push the stroller into the park bathroom and Baby Emmett sits in it while Clara and I go to use the potty.

Emmett loved this pole

Clara got a few slides in too

Emmett is so easy, he can already feed himself!

After going potty she says she is done and wants to go to the panaderia.  It has become somewhat of a routine to go to the panaderia after the library now so we head over and I get her a blue cookie that she chooses.  She puts it in the stroller and says she will eat it after lunch.  Great!  I don't even have to say anything about not eating it until after her meal!  We finally get home at 12:45 and make lunch of grilled cheese.

Emmett had fun bouncing while I made lunch

The giant blue cookie!

At 2:00 after eating, playing, reading, and going potty Clara finally goes to bed for her nap.  At 2:05 Clara calls out because she has to go potty again.  Emmett is getting hungry at the same time.   Clara does go potty again though and I finally get both of them down at 2:20 after feeding Baby Emmett, the first time they have both gone down for a nap at the same time in a long time!  I catch up on a few things and then catch a couple Zs myself.  I am not a big napper and I didn't sleep well or very long but I figured I would try since it was a long weekend and I hadn't slept well the previous week.  Clara wakes up from her nap at 4:40.  We read some books until 5:00 when Baby Emmett wakes up.  We read and play some more until Shannon gets home from work around 5:35.  We head over to Los Tios for dinner. We all ate a yummy dinner that Tia Laurie made and then Shannon had to run to Fresno for work so the rest of us went on a nice walk in the fields.

Clara pulled the others around for a short walk...

Then Bigby took a turn

Clara ate some ice cream after and then Shannon came back and ate some ice cream too.  Clara continued to play in the living room after Bailey went to bed and even woke Bailey up once with her screeching.  We finally left at about 9:00.  Emmett fell asleep on the car ride home and Clara finally went to bed at 9:45.  Shannon and I followed shortly after that.

Look at me!

Lets go for a ride!