Padres game

Kyle's baseball team got together to go to the Padres game today. They got to walk in a parade through the Padres stadium. Since Jeff was away and Aaron needed a morning (daily) nap, Emily, Aaron and I stayed home for the morning portion of the events and met up with Kyle later. He was super excited to head to the game with his teammate Ethan and his dad and his sister who is actually in Kyle and Emily's class this year. I think the combination of getting to ride in someone else's car - a truck no less - being away from his twin whom he is normally with, his baby brother and both parents; and getting to go with a classmate and teammate and their dad, gave him a sense of maturity and independence. When Emily, Aaron and I got to the game, Kyle greeted us, but went right back to his buddies and teammates. It was really cool to see him interacting with his friends and cheering on the Padres and just having a great time at a baseball game. 

Emily, Aaron and I went down to the game after Aaron woke up from his nap. Instead of dealing with parking and to make it a fun adventure, we took the trolley to the game. It's fairly close to us and drops us off very close to the game and is much less of a hassle than parking so we did it. I just wish Aaron knew that he is to sit still when on a train or at a baseball game or wherever you are supposed to sit still! In time... 

Emily and Aaron on the trolley ride to the game. Yes, Aaron is proudly wearing his Cubs hat with his Padres outfit. 

Emily with her friends from Kyle's team - one is her classmate (who Kyle rode with) and the other has become her friend through the baseball season

Kyle with his teammates (he is behind the kid in the middle of the picture)

Kyle and his teammates. 

Aaron 'sitting' in the seat. Thankfully the section (nosebleed section) was fairly empty so he could have a seat or three and could climb around to his hearts content (and my anxiety). 

At the Little Italy trolley stop: I told Aaron to go give Emily a hug. He did!! He is really starting to understand many things!

On the way home from the game, we stopped in Little Italy to have dinner at Burger Lounge. Since we were busy and out most of the day, cooking just wasn't on the agenda. Plus, Burger Lounge is a good and easy stop on our route home. There was some Sicilian festival going on as well so it was extra busy there, but no matter, we had just come from a baseball game that was also crowded (just not in our section). 

All in all, it was a fun day for all of us. Kyle grew up a little bit with some independence. Emily, Aaron and I had a fun adventure together. And the kids and I spent some good, quality time together while Daddy was away. 

Kyle enjoying his pretzels and hummus. They were handing out samples in Little Italy. Kyle must be growing because he is ALWAYS eating these days and if he's not eating he is HUNGRY. And he's not quite 7 yet. I hesitate to think what the teenage years will be like for this kid!

Camping

Kyle and Emily have been into fort building lately and carving out their own unique spaces together. They created their latest fort in Jeff's office under a table. They insisted on sleeping in there. It's a school night. Jeff said it was okay assuming they wouldn't last long. They actually fell asleep for a little bit. By 9pm they were awake again and went up to their own beds which are far more comfortable than sleeping in tight space on a pillow or two on the hard ground. Shocking. 

Water

Aaron has seen us get water from the fridge. He has taken a wooden spoon to reach up to the water lever to make the water come out. Today, Jeff helped him do it with a cup. Now when he's thirsty, he goes into his cup drawer, gets out a cup and a matching lid (yes, he does!), and goes over to get water from the fridge. Now, he doesn't always get it in the cup. Or really any water in the cup for that matter, but rather it goes all over to the floor. But he's happy about getting water. Or at least being able to communicate that he wants water and will go after it by himself if we don't drop everything to help him do it that second. :-)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a fabulous day together with my family. Jeff and the kids made me breakfast in bed: my favorite of yogurt with fruit and chia. Nice and simple and just right. Oh and a cup of tea. Then I got to go back to sleep until noon or so. It was glorious. Absolutely glorious. Not that we go to bed super late, but it's nice to feel extra well rested. Or just to sleep to the double digits again. 

When I woke, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed out to Mission Trails for a nice hike. It was nearly 100 degrees out so 'nice' may not be quite so accurate. We did enjoy the hike and being together and all. But it was blazing hot. Add 20+ pounds of baby on your back and it's even warmer. Thankfully, we had plenty of water and Jeff and I traded off carrying duties. 

These next few pictures of Aaron were literally taken 5 minutes apart. The heat finally wore him out. 

Emily's yellow belt

Emily earned her yellow belt in karate today. Congratulations Emily!

Emily punching

Kata 1 - the main requirement for yellow belt

Aaron plays basketball

Aaron is having a great time playing basketball these days. We brought out the Little Tikes basketball hoop that Kyle and Emily had when they were young and he is loving it! He will tell us he wants to play by saying "ba-ba-buh" and walking toward the room with the hoop. It's fun being the announcer saying "he goes up for the shot" and "he shoots he scores" and "slam dunk" because Aaron gets so excited to take the slam and afterwards he claps for himself with a huge grin on his face. 

He also enjoys playing on the big hoop outside where Kyle and Emily play with the neighbor kids. That is, he likes being lifted up and doing his slam dunks there. He likes to have a ball in hand and will bounce it if you tell him to dribble. He pretty much wants to do anything that Kyle and Emily are doing and basketball is no exception. 

Here's Aaron walking down the alley way toward the hoop and doing his dribbling.

Emily softball

Emily's softball season wrapped up this weekend with their closing ceremonies. The kids got to dress in their uniforms for the ceremony. Their age group didn't have play offs, but the older ones did. Emily's team, the Wolves, collected their participation medals and got to run the bases one more time with the team in front of all the teams in the league and get high fives from them. Another thing they do here that I don't remember doing when I played softball growing up is signing other kids' jerseys. Needless to say they had fun writing on each other's backs. Not everyday you can write on your clothes and not cause trouble. (Emily is in the green longsleeves below.)

Sluggers

Saturday is baseball and softball here. Kyle and Emily are both having a great time playing on their teams. 

Emily at bat

Kyle at bat

Sleeping

It may be hard to see, but when I looked at Kyle sleeping on the monitor, I had to do a double-take. I felt like I was seeing 5 years into the future with Aaron. I hadn't seen the similarities between them until this picture. And really, the more I look at it, I see Kyle, Emily & Aaron. 

Walking

Look who's walking!! Crawling is still faster, but this is big progress for Aaron who just 2 weeks ago would stand up for ages, but refused to put one foot in front of the other. Go Aaron!

A New Car

We got a new car this weekend! Aaron especially loves it! 

Always butter your corn with your feet

There is a funny Curious George episode where George is upset with the rules of the adult world - like buttering your corn at the table with your hands and no writing on the walls. He then creates his own tree house with George rules where you can butter your corn with your feet under the table and draw on the walls. When Aaron did what he was doing in the picture below, I couldn't help but think about that episode. I'm sure Kyle, Emily, Jeff, Adam, Max & Leo would likely think of this very episode as well .

Booger on a raspberry

Emily checking out her owie on her knee that she scraped up pretty badly when she fell off her bike: "Mommy great news. One of the boogers is falling off the raspberry." 

I apparently called the owie a raspberry when she fell. She said that's what she calls it and didn't know what to call the things hanging off of it. Descriptive. Gross. Cute. Clever. Still a bit gross. 

Cousins

Karen, Pete and Ethan came out out to visit us for a week. It was a great time being able to hangout and for everyone to play together. Kyle and Emily were back in school that week so they didn't get to spend as much time as they would have liked, but they did enjoy the evenings together. Aaron and Ethan were fascinated with each other. They are 6 months apart. It's amazing seeing how much babies change in such a short time. 

Conversation with Kyle

This was funny at the time, though without the moment and being there it is likely not as funny. 

We were driving home from somewhere and Aaron was fussy (tired) but calming down / falling asleep.  When we are so close to home, we don't like to let him fall asleep in the car and take a quick 5 minute catnap at the expense of a good, longer nap in his crib. 

Me: Is Aaron sucking his thumb?

Kyle: Yes. He sometimes does that to shut himself up.

Me: [chuckle under my breath 'shut himself up' which Kyle heard]

Kyle: Yes to put a cork in it.

Haircuts for the boys

Time for the boys to get haircuts again. The military barber got them all cleaned up nicely. Aaron cooperated again. The lollipop may have helped too, but he did great the his barber was very patient with him. 

Arizona

We took a little spring break drive out to Arizona to visit with Grandma Edith who spends her winters there. It was great to visit with her. We may have overwhelmed her a bit with the crazy that 5 people bring to a normally quiet house. And Aaron was / is going through crazy separation anxiety so whenever I'd get up from the table to get something from the kitchen for him, he would shriek like it was the end of the world. Nonetheless, we had a great time with Grandma Edith. We got to swim, hike, relax and enjoy the desert heat. 

The road to Arizona

Sadly, Camelback Mountain was closed for renovation to the trails and parking lots Grandma told us so we went to a different one whose name is escaping me now. It was still a great mountain to hike. But it was HOT that day. About 90 degrees. We all had our water backpacks or a baby in a backpack. ;-)

This was halfway up the mountain, which was the top for us. We traded baby backpack / water backpack duties and made our way down after a little rest. Kyle and Emily did very well given the heat and incline. Aaron got really tired for us doing all the work and fell asleep on the way down with me. 

Sweaty hair mohawk Kyle

Though we tried, we don't have any pictures of Grandma Edith from the trip because she didn't want her picture taken.