Two Sundays ago, we went to Dylan’s house for a swim playdate. The kids had a great time playing in the water – and Zachary “swam” for the first time, with no floatation device, across the width of the pool. (I use quotes because his form is questionable … a frantic doggy paddle while he laughs hysterically.) For dinner we enjoyed barbecue ribeye with corn, salad, and homemade sorbet.

Last Thursday, James parent’s came to visit. They were in town for a car show and decided to stay at our place and spend some time with the grandkids. James and I took advantage of that and went on our 2nd date night ever since Calie was born. Friday evening, James and I went to The Kitchen – and it was their best menu yet!  (Well, at least out of the 3 times I’ve been there.)

My favorites … Hamachi over grilled sea scallop with a Chardonnay-fennel broth, and beef tenderloin with lobster creamed corn. We sat at the counter, so we got to talk to the servers and see all the preparations up close. It was a nice, relaxing 5 hour dinner – and it felt good to treat ourselves!

The next morning, I took Zachary to swim class. Afterwards, I headed out myself (sans kids) - picked up my bridesmaid dress (had to get it shortened since well, I’m short), had a relaxing mani/pedi, and bought last minute groceries for Calie’s birthday party. In the evening, we went to Sam and Melissa’s for a dinner playdate … they served yummy grilled pork chops with lots of mustard sauce and creamy mashed potatoes (a recipe from French Laundry!) Dessert was homemade banana and chocolate ice cream. Do I know how to pick my friends or what?!

Sunday morning was … Calie’s 1st Birthday party! I bought her a tutu for the occasion but since she wasn’t walking yet, it hindered her movement. I snapped a few pictures of her in it and then set her free. We had the party (and cake) at My Gym, and then invited people over to our house afterwards for a pizza lunch.

The hosts at My Gym did a great job entertaining the kids … it was a good mix of free play and games. At the end they had a zipline ride … I thought Calie would be scared  but she enjoyed it!

At our house, we ate lunch and opened gifts. It was a special treat to see cousins Auggie, Hayden, and Samantha, who came up from the Bay Area to join the fun. Calie loves all her new toys – thank you everyone for coming and celebrating with us!

As for 11 month Calie milestones, she has 10 teeth and she’s finally able to cruise around using a push toy. She’s added the infamous “uh-oh” to her vocabulary.  She also says “uh-puh” for “up”.

On the Zachary front, we got all his Kindergarten paperwork yesterday … school starts August 10th and he’ll be in K-1. Although it doesn’t really matter, I am pleased he tested into K-1. He’s been in daycare ~9 hrs every weekday since he was 12 months old … and we’re too lazy/tired to do flashcards or work with him on anything educational after the work day … so he basically just plays free-range at home. I know lots of parents that really work with their kids, but we just don’t have the time/energy/interest. It feels good knowing that (at least for now) he’s still doing okay academically despite slacker parents! hahaha.

Two Fridays ago, I took the day off work and went on a fieldtrip with Zachary’s class to the IMAX theater. A few kids started protesting and whining about being scared of sharks when we headed into the dark theater. It freaked Zachary out. He refused to go in until I told him *I* was going in, and it would be more dangerous to stay out in the lobby by himself. It was pretty ridiculous because he saw the movie (Under the Sea 3-D) before. Once the movie started, he was totally fine … and focused on eating popcorn.

The next day, I took him to his swim lesson and then we headed to a park for Jason’s birthday. We sat on big blankets in the shade and ate sandwiches. I enjoyed seeing some HP people that I haven’t seen since Jason’s 1st birthday. I also met baby Cassandra for the first time. On the downside, Zachary knocked over a bucket of bubbles and stepped on a sandwich, so we’ll see if we’re invited back next year. Happy 2nd Birthday Jason! 

The next day, I took Zachary to the Sacramento zoo. After that, we headed to Dylan’s house for a potluck dinner and swim playdate. I was so impressed by Dylan’s swimming skills! While nowhere near Dylan’s ability, Zachary is starting to paddle around (frantically) without a lifevest. I’m just glad he is comfortable in the water.

This past Friday, I took another day off work and went on an indoor rock climbing fieldtrip. I’ve always considered Zachary a more cautious child, but I think I may be fooling myself. I overheard a group of boys dare each other to jump off a ledge … 2 kids jumped. Then they started cheering Zachary on … and he jumped too. Hmmm, not good! He also climbed a lot higher than I expected him to. It was a fun (and sweaty) day! I belayed so many kids my palms were raw (I know I don’t have to grasp the rope that tight, but my instinct is to clench it.).

In the evening, I went to out to dinner (Taste of Brazil – very yummy!) with Dana. It was very relaxing to eat a meal and chat without tending to kids, even though we did talk about them quite a bit.

Today, I took Zachary to swim lessons again. He has 8 sessions at our local, public pool and progress has been pretty slow. I’ve heard great things about a private coach, and while at first I balked at the price, I’m now thinking that I’m getting what I’m paying for. In the afternoon, we went to Folsom Lake for a potluck picnic and jetskiing. Zachary loved playing in the water and jetskiing (holding on tight to James!) Thanks to Larry for setting it all up – we had a great time!

As for Calie milestones… she is still not walking. But she has 2 back teeth now! And she loves following and copying Zachary. She’s still a more adventurous eater (had some Indian food at the Folsom Lake event), and I think she’s becoming less interested in nursing unless it’s the middle of the night.

And I’m probably wrong, but she says “cheeeeee!” (in the same tone Zachary uses to say ‘cheese’) and scrunches up her face whenever I point the camera at her. Is it possible? It happens pretty consistently. And while a first time mom might be impressed, I’m just annoyed that it’ll be that much harder to get photos of her with a natural smile.

Last but definately not least, Congratulations x3 … my cousin Dave had a baby boy (Alex), James’ cousin Dan had a baby girl (Olivia), and my good friend Julie had her 3rd boy (Gage). Babies, babies, babies!

Two Fridays ago, James took Zachary on a class fieldtrip to the ice skating rink. It was Zach’s first time ice skating. At first he refused to get on the ice, but by the end, he was scooting along using one of those walkers (so I guess what I am saying is … not much progress). The next day, I woke up feeling terrible … sore throat and a fever. James took Zachary to swim class and then a playdate (lunch and more swimming) at Jessica’s house. I stayed home in hopes of a fast recovery in time for Sophie’s bridal shower the following day. Sunday morning, I still wasn’t 100%, but I no longer had a fever, so I drove down to Elaine’s (huge) house in the Bay Area.

I was in charge of food and brought a cooler filled with ingredients for a Chinese chicken salad, pasta salad, cheese fondue, and chocolate fondue.

We played some fun games, which involved masks of Sophie and Eddie. (Alice is very good at making these types of masks.) We also asked Sophie questions about Eddie – and she got a surprising number of them right! The last game was making banchans using Play-doh.

Despite being sick, I had a great time – CONGRATULATIONS Sophie and Eddie!

July 4th weekend was a 3-day weekend for me/James, but daycare was still open on Friday. We took advantage of that by running a bunch of errands, followed by lunch at Mizu’s without the tots. Around 3pm, we picked them up and headed to Dylan’s for a swim playdate.

Saturday, my friend Carol and her boyfriend Paul came up to visit us from Austin, TX! We also had Rita and Mia (from San Deigo), and Uyen and Jacky over for a barbecue lunch. We served corn, chicken satay with peanut sauce, and grilled mushroom and peppers from my box of organic/local vegetables that gets delivered to my doorstep every month. (I’m playing Iron Chef – amateur edition … by getting a random box of vegetables, I am forcing myself to prepare/eat a wider variety of vegetables. I badly needed to break out of my baby carrots – broccoli – canned corn cycle. So … uh, anyone have a good recipe for … 3 dusty beets?)

After lunch, we played Wii Fit with Carol and Paul. And in the evening, we went to see fireworks. When asked whether he’s ever seen fireworks, Zachary surprised me by saying,”Not July 4th. When I was 2-years-old, I saw fireworks at Disneyland.” I had no idea he remembered!

The weekend ended too soon, and Sunday morning, Carol and Paul had to fly home. We were so glad they came to visit!

Happy 4th of July and Happy 32nd Birthday to Alice (7/7)!