Three weekends have almost passed and we’ve had lots of milestones, so this might be a long post! Three weeks ago, I hosted a team builder at my house. I invited my extended team – everyone worked together to prepare the meal, eat, talk/play Wii, and generally socialize in a relaxed environment. I have a really great team that actually makes going to work fun (well, most of the time.) 
Saturday, I took Zachary to Home Depot, where we met up with Dylan and built a rain gauge. Afterwards, we went to Spaghetti Factory for lunch, and then played Monster Mini Golf and arcade games. James stayed home to bond with Calie.
Sunday was Nicole’s birthday party. It was tea party themed, and we enjoyed tea sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit, and of course cake. Happy 3rd Birthday Nicole!
On Tuesday morning, March 9th, I received a phone call from Dana – baby Maya was on her way! I will let Dana/Dave share the birth story <enter future link> … but it was a great honor to be there. I don’t think they could have asked for a better birth experience, especially since Maya was over 9 lbs! Congratulations Dana, Dave, and big brother Jason! 
(This picture on the right is actually a 1 wk photo, but it was so cute, I had to post it.)
Last weekend, James took Zach to Lowes to build a mini basketball hoop. While they were building (with Alex and Melissa), I took Calie to Trader Joes to get groceries. Perfect timing (new BKM?) – we were all done about the same time.
In the afternoon, I met up with Melissa for a free class on making jewelry at Michaels. We learned a few basic skills and figured out which tools/supplies were needed for beginners. Afterwards, we chatted over coffee/tea, and decided to co-host a jewelry making get-together with our girlfriends next month. No such thing as a free class, we discovered – we’re both going back to buy more beads and supplies! Sunday, we went to Jack’s birthday party at Funtastic, an indoor play system for kids. Kids loved it and adults kept getting stuck (maybe we ate too much lumpia?)! Happy 3rd Birthday Jack!
This Friday, Calie had her19 month doctor’s appointment – she did great! Took 2 vaccinations without flinching and even smiled at the nurse. Her head looks huge, but it was average (50%) … she was 33.5″ (85%) and 26 lbs (65%.) This reminds me that I haven’t documented her milestones lately (much to everyone’s dismay I’m sure.) She’s starting to “sing” more (in quotes since she has the tune, but her words are jumbled. Opposite of me … I have the words, but my tune is jumbled.) She does the hand motions to “If You’re Happy and You Know it” and a bumble bee song. Unfortunately, she is a bit of a drama queen – any bump and she starts whining,”Owie, owie.” When she doesn’t want to do something, she will lie face down on the floor, tantrum style, and pretend to cry. She also makes a very exaggerated sad pout. None of this works on her parents, since we are both data driven and not easily influenced by (fake!) emotions. 
Calie is not a fan of building things or puzzles (prefers to just hand the pieces to Zachary), but we are impressed by her good eye contact and pretend play skills. She has multiple dolls that she feeds, covers up, rocks to bed … and she even checks for dirty diapers. She pulls the back of the pants, looks in, pinches her nose and says,”Pee-yew!” Speaking of dirty diapers, she will usually let us know when she has a poopy diaper – and a few times told us in advance, in time to put her on a potty. She even peed in the potty twice this weekend. I’m hoping this means she’ll be easier to potty train than Zachary (oh please, oh please …)
But enough bragging, because that usually jinxes me. Let’s return to our timeline of activities. We’ve finally reached this weekend. Saturday, we met up with Alex and Nicole at the library for stories, songs, and a craft. The theme this week was emotions, and we got to take home “The Feel Good Book” by Todd Parr.
Afterwards, we went to the Effie Yeaw nature center. The weather could not have been more perfect – cool but sunny. We had a picnic lunch and then went on a hike. There are 3 trails that are each less than a mile long … and perfect for little kids. We followed one trail to the American River and then another to a small pond. On our hike, we saw turkeys, deer, butterflies, ducks, and bluejays. The kids loved running around – Zachary and Alex took turns leading the way, and even Nicole tried to interpret the trail map. The only downside was that towards the end, I could really feel my allergies kick in. 
We got home around 4pm, but the weather was so great that we played some more in the backyard after dinner. At 8:30pm, James asked the kids if they wanted to stay up a little later today (since it’s the weekend) and both kids said they wanted to go to bed! 
On Sunday, James had to log into work, so I took the kids to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. It wasn’t spawning season, but the rainbow trout tanks were exciting enough for the kids. Zachary really liked feeding the fish.
We walked around a small museum and also climbed a big salmon structure right outside the office. Then we had a late lunch at Spaghetti Factory before heading home. I dropped off Calie and took Zachary to Nolan’s birthday party at SkyHigh. I thought that maybe Zachary would be tired after being in the sun all morning, but there is something about being a 5-years-old surrounded by big trampolines. He could barely stand in line to get his wristband, watching his classmates already jumping. What a fun birthday party - Happy 6th Birthday Nolan!
Last, but definately not least - Saturday morning I recieved an email announcing the arrival of another baby girl … Alexandra was born March 19th. Congratulations Jenny and Brian! Welcome to the sometimes fun and usually rewarding world of parenthood. You are going to love it! 
Painting suncatchers was fun – although a bit frustrating because Zachary does not share my ‘results orientation’ personality. I see a government job for him in the future … and that’s assuming he’s even employed. (By the way, I am joking – there are definately hard working govt’ workers out there!)
