Trike tyke

After having his tricycle since his 2nd birthday and riding on it with assistance, today Aaron got on his bike and just started peddling like he's been doing it all along. Previously, he would pedal a little forward and then pedal backwards to get back to the top with his dominant foot. Today he got it all together and just started riding. Just like that. Nice going kid. 

Aaron and Jeff cooking

Like Kyle and Emily at this age, Aaron loves to be a part of what is going on, cooking included. And he especially loves to see and press the buttons on the blender. Here, he is helping Jeff make some fresh pesto for our vegettie (zucchini spaghetti). 

Ice skating, part 2

We went ice skating again today. My crew and Simon. It was a blast again as the kids continue to improve on their skates. Kyle was hot to keep up with Simon (remember, he plays ice hockey so he is a fantastic skater). It was about 100 degrees outside so it was refreshing to cool down on the ice. We had a few more spills today than previous, but all were fine and still smiling. 

Kyle's flip

Today Kyle and I took Aaron to open gym at the gymnastics place. It was peewee open gym, but Kyle was allowed to play too. He had a blast perfecting his flip into the foam pit. 

Aaron's best day

So today Aaron had what was perhaps one of his best days of his life so far. We met up with Alice at the trolley station to take the train downtown. We were going to play at Petco Park's playground, but got off a little bit earlier and enjoyed Seaport Village instead. There, Aaron, Alice and her big brother Ian roamed around, finding fun in the balance beams and checking out the birds, boats and ducks. 

Then they all got to ride the carousel. "Ride horsey, ride horsey!!" The day prior we were at the zoo and the kids wanted to ride the Balboa carousel, but time did not permit so this one was due. And it didn't disappoint. 

After we rode the horseys, we were walking back toward the trolley with the intention of heading to a playground when we saw some fire trucks Aaron loves to identify fire trucks by sight and sound so he was one happy kid when he saw two of them there. The firemen even let the kids check out their trucks. Aaron was beside himself with excitement to be able to sit in a fire truck and climb up and down into the truck. He even got to sit in the giant ladder engine in the back. These firemen were so awesome with the kids letting them check out their rig. 

Aaron loved all the events of our trip and that he got to share it with his best girl Alice. And coincidentally, they were both wearing their Hawaii monkey shirts. These two. Too much!

Birthday part 2: Ice skating

Today we continued birthday celebrations with a trip to the ice skating rink. Since we aren't doing a n official birthday party per se, we are having even more fun celebrations with Kyle and Emily's buddies. This morning we hit up the ice skating rink. Emily has been asking to go ice skating for some time. Since yesterday was go-karting and more Kyle-centric of an activity (don't be fooled though, Emily & Haiden had a blast), today we went ice skating. (It was today also because this was something that Aaron could participate in, unlike go-karting). 

With all their practice on rollerblades (kids got upgraded rollerblades for their birthday) and having the buffer of their knee, elbow and wrist guards, Kyle, Emily and Simon were ready to roll. (Haiden wasn't available to join us today.) Aaron even used Simon's knee pads and one wrist guard (the other was in our garage) and his bike helmet. 

This was absolutely so much fun with the kids. Simon plays hockey so he is a fabulous skater. He was a great influence for Kyle and Emily who have ice skated a few times before, but trying to keep up with him was a great motivator to keep moving. And they did great! And they didn't fall very much at all. They were cruising way faster than they ever had been. 

The biggest surprise was Aaron. He was great on skates. He was super excited to get them on and wear them and get out on the ice. He almost just knew what to do. He held on to me very nicely and even did some steps on his own with decent grace. He did want to run on his skates, but lucky for him I was holding on to him. It was wonderful. 

Super cute Aaron on ice skates for the first time

The ice skating gang. Simon LOVES Aaron. 

Selfie with Aaron from the penalty box (my back was hurting from having to hunch down with Aaron so I needed a break)

Watching the zambonie resurface the ice

Go Emmie, go!!
Look at the kids go!!

I know there are several videos of Aaron ice skating, but I was super impressed with his willingness and two year old ability. 

Aaron skating with the girl ice helpers.

You'd think the kid was wearing regular shoes. Just walking / running around in ice skates

Fabulous day 2 of birthday celebrations. Great to be eight!

USA!

We've been loving watching the World Cup this year. It's hard to believe it's been another 4 years. World Cup got us through the 3 weeks of hospital bed rest while I was pregnant with Kyle and Emily 8 years ago so there is a certain nostalgia that we have with this event. From Spike, Kristin and Mom visiting and keeping us - okay me - sane during that time, World Cup games are what I woke up for during the days. I remember sleeping about 20 hours a day, or it seemed. I doubt it could have been that much, but I certainly remember a physical therapist always coming when I was sleeping and wondering how it was possible to sleep that much. And I remember the morning that Spike came in well before visiting hours started, but rightfully came in on the family 'card', smuggling her and Jeff some beer in coffee cups to enjoy while watching the soccer game, despite the 6 or 7am kickoff time. I also remember Jeff befriending Max, the Italian coffee man whose coffee stand was right in front of the hospital, and bringing me some non-coffee treats (non-coffee not because of being pregnant and liquid restricted, but because I don't drink coffee). See, a lot of memories associated with the World Cup. But I digress. 

Now to the point of this post... Here are Kyle, Emily and their buddy Simon posing in their awesome USA shirts. Papa & Kari send the kids their USA soccer jerseys and Simon is wearing his USA hockey jersey since he is an awesome hockey player. How cute are they?!!

I love how Emily and Simon are eyeing each other. 

And the sillies with Simon and Emily. 

Kyle & Emily birthday

After a fun day celebrating with Simon and Haiden, we had some cake together. Simon, Haiden and their families joined us for cake that evening as well.

Kyle chose fruit pie for his 'cake'. This is a dessert we have made before and was his choice for his day.

Emily chose a chocolate cake. I made what is becoming our go to chocolate cake recipe and turned it into a cat for her. 

Emily with her best friend Haiden

Our family of 5, July 9, 2014. Emily & Kyle age 8, Aaron age 2. 

Funny cute thing about this birthday: when singing Happy Birthday to Emily (we sing it for each kid), Aaron decided he was going to blow out the candles and did so for Emily and was just so pleased with himself it made everyone laugh with delight. He also learned to say Happy Birthday to you. Without a video of it, it's hard to understand just how cute it is with his sweet little intonations, but it was so sweet to hear him say that to his loves, Kyle and Emily. Now whenever he sees fire, he says, "happy birthday to you."

Birthday racing

Happy 8th birthday Emily & Kyle!! To start off the day, we went to the beach for their classmate's birthday party. The kids had a great time in the ocean, boogie boarding and playing in the sand. We went home to put Aaron down for a nap at Simon's house and then headed out to race some go-karts. We picked up Simon and Haiden to join in on the fun. The kids had an absolute blast racing each other. They got to race against one another the whole time since it was a very slow day at the track. 

Racers ready!!

Kyle ready to race!!

Emily ready to race!!

Haiden ready to race!!

Simon ready to race!!

Trampoline camp & kiddie wonderland

Today Emily and Kyle went to trampoline, tumbling and cirque camp. They had a blast bouncing to their hearts content. During that time, I took Aaron over to a little kiddie playground where had a blast running, climbing, sliding and jumping in the ball pit.

Kyle and Emily both loved the cirque component. Here is Kyle on the curtains.

Emily also got to work on flipping on the trampoline. Pretty impressive Emily!!

Saturday

So this was Saturday... I went out for a run in the late morning. When I came back, Jeff and the kids had made lunch, each taking a task. Kyle made us fresh juice in the juicer. Emily made ham and cheese sandwiches. Jeff made caprese salad. Aaron surely helped as well, likely moral support for Jeff. It was a delicious feast proudly made partly by Kyle & Emily. 

Oh and that day, Aaron refused to get out of his pajamas. He loves his doctor pajamas. But he also wanted to wear underpants and potty train (for the record, that desire to potty train lasted one day and he is happily back in diapers). And he wouldn't wear pants because he wanted to see his choo-choo undies. And boots. Cute. 

Aaron's first date

We had a busy and fun 4th of July. In the morning, we rode our bikes over to Aaron's girlfriend's pool for some swimming. She has older brothers that Kyle & Emily play with as well so everyone had fun. We came home for naptime. During nap, I took Kyle & Emily up to their classmates house who was having a pool party in the afternoon. We spent a few hours there having fun, kids swimming and bouncing in the bounce house. We came home for dinner time and had Aaron's girlfriend's family over for dinner. We had a big BBQ and playtime. During dinner, Aaron and Alice were sitting at the adult table while the 5 big kids sat together. Aaron and Alice started ahead of the adults and had quite a romantic meal together. Look at these two!! This was the longest Aaron has sat at the dinner table. 

Jeff & Aaron selfie

Jeff and Aaron took a selfie.

Beach day

It was the perfect beach day today so we hit up Coronado beach, our favorite beach. Jeff was able to join us as well so everyone who wanted to got a chance to boogie board and surf. Aaron got in on the action this time.

Here was his first ride on the boogie board.


And after he got comfortable, here was his first ride alone on the board. The kid loved it. 

While Jeff was out boogie boarding with Kyle & Emily, I took Aaron on the surf board. We both sat on the board and rode some small waves in. He liked it for two waves and then decided that he was scared and that was that. No pictures of video though since I was holding onto Aaron.