Beach Time

*Well, blogger USED to let me copy and paste pictures in the order I wanted them to go. Not today. *sigh*

We went to the beach yesterday for the first time since living in California. We went to a group of tide pools during low tide to catch a glimpse of starfish and octopi and crabs. We didn't happen upon any of those things (unless you count a hermit crab) but we did see anemone, plenty of mussels, and these fun sea slugs that were pretty neat.

We had a picnic (translation: our kids ate sandy sandwiches and apples) and then the kiddos played in the sand. Ryan was nervous at first and kept telling us he wanted to go home. He was afraid the boats were going to get him. There were some pretty loud motor boats. He warmed up to the ocean eventually and spent a LONG time playing in the sand making sand castles and filling the bed of his dump truck.

Katie wanted in on the action too. She crawled around and touched and ate everything she could manage to put in her mouth. She didn't even want me to hold her while we were looking at the anemone and such, she wanted to get a piece of it all.

The following pictures are in no particular order.

Happy Birthday to You

I had absolutely NO plans for Katie's birthday yesterday since I figured she didn't know the difference, but then felt like I wanted to celebrate the day she was born, even if it was just for me. :) Ryan was really confused how it could be Katie's birthday and not his birthday too. He also said to me multiple times in the morning, "I want to go to Katie's birthday". He didn't understand that we don't GO to birthdays, we HAVE them. Luckily, some moms in my ward planned a last minute play date at the park so we took along some cupcakes and sang to her and it felt like a party enough for Ryan.

Katie doesn't eat sugar so I wanted to make something for her besides a cake. I finally decided on a fruit pizza (thank you Cindy for the idea). I know it's a cookie, but I felt like it was better than cake.

She was so daintily plucking off raspberries and blueberries and enjoying it very much. I realized we had one more cupcake left from the park and suddenly decided to give her the choice (for once). I put it on her tray and she picked it right up and got a mouthful of that poison called "frosting". YUCK! She would go back and forth between the cupcake and fruit pizza, but finally settled on the cupcake.

Ryan was told that he couldn't have any of the cookie until after he ate his peanut butter sandwich. He fought and fought and finally ate his sandwich and got his slice of pizza.

He came to me and said, "Here Mom, you can have the rest." He didn't even eat one bite of the cookie itself, he only picked off the fruit. That's my boy! (The bite was from Derek.)

Today we got in the mail 2 packages from grandparents. Grandma Cookies sent a darling little bracelet (on her other wrist in this picture), and Grandma and Grandpa Bayles sent the prettiest little dresses you've ever seen (along with a few other treats). We went to Target last night to find her a birthday present that we thought she'd like. Due to the highly unimpressive selection, we settled on a "My Little Pony" which she likes pretty well, and we know Ryan will soon hijack it from her, as he has every other toy she's been given.

Happy Birthday!

So, since I've had a few people express interest in this bag - here it is.
Pocket side out.

Pocket side in.

Jodie, here is the pattern I used.

This is the beautiful fabric. It is "cotton duck" material so it is heavy duty but not stiff like canvas. Canvas might be better just because it would stand up by itself and this is more floppy. Still, it's sturdy, and a bit cheaper.

This is my next combination. I think I'm going to make the next one with pockets on the inside AND outside (just reverse pattern) so that it is very functional like that.

I had originally purchased these colors but they are more like quilting fabric and I'd have to line them. I've decided to save it for a blanket instead.

I am currently taking orders. Only $16 each and I accept paypal. :) Seriously, these things are big enough to fit ALL the stuff I need for church on Sunday. That's saying something.

Visit to the Orange County Zoo

The weather was so beautiful last week that we just had to get out and do something outdoors for the day. I found out there was a little Orange County Zoo a few miles away for super cheap so we decided to go check it out.

We packed a picnic lunch and headed on over. When we got there a million signs said not to take food inside so we sat on the lawn outside and ate our lunch before going in. The zoo was located in a regional park so there were many picnic tables and meeting areas but we picked a sunny spot on the grass.

Here, I knew you'd want a close-up of the tote bag I recently made. I think it was the first time I've ever bought a pattern and sewed something following a pattern. It's reversible and has pockets on the inside.

The zoo was very small and we walked around and saw everything in less than an hour, and that was being slow about it. They had a petting zoo and I held the kids' hands so they could feed the goats.

Ryan preferred feeding them this way.

There were a few larger animals including this bear who was sleeping with his foot up on the wall. It was hard getting any good shots of the animals through the chain link fence, but at least the bear worked out okay.

I also really enjoyed the porcupine walking upside down. I didn't realize they could have such a good grip to hang from the ceiling.

Ryan's favorite part:

I would've loved to take him for a ride on the train but I was $2 short. The engine was awesome and Ryan talked about how it had a cowcatcher but no side plates. He would run alongside the track when it started and loved to watch it go through a tunnel. I wish there was a real train station around here because I think he'd enjoy watching trains literally for hours.

He has been talking about it all week so we're going to have to go back one of these days. I was telling him that at the OTHER zoo (in Santa Ana) has an elephant that people can ride on. He's excited about that one but was telling me that the elephant was going to drive the train. There must've been some miscommunication somewhere in there.

Bird Owners for 3.5 Seconds

We went outside to play with Ryan's friend William this morning and I noticed a beautiful little white and blue parakeet fly out of a tree. He landed on the ground near our back patio and I slowly walked over to see how close I could get to him. This type of bird is obviously someones pet so when I realized that he'd let me get close enough to touch him I attempted to pick him up. We discovered that his wings weren't clipped and he could fly, though he was flying very close to the ground and not far at all.

That pretty little thing sure bites the pizzazies out of a person. We took him in the garage and put him in a box for safe keeping. I had bird seed and put some in there with him. We all went out and played in the park for about an hour and when Ryan was done riding bikes we went back to the garage to try and put the little guy in a better habitat. I found a clear tote and lined it with newspaper and then put a dish with water and birdseed. The shelf on my window box was basically like a screen so I realized it would be perfect to keep plenty of air circulating and we'd be able to see him without him flying away. Well, in the transfer he flew right out of the box and out the garage. If I had been smart I would've closed the garage door as I was transferring him, but I needed the light. Anyway, he's long gone and I didn't even get a picture of him. Oh well, at least we TRIED to keep him safe for his rightful owner. So ends the short, yet exciting, bird owning adventure.

Cheesy chompers

Here are a few cheesy faces from Katie to show off her four most prominent teeth. I think they look very chipmunk-ish and seem to make her face a little chubbier. Either that or the fact that she is eating MUCH more solid foods has taken it's toll on her petite little frame. :)

She has three more that have broken through the gums but are still so tiny that they are not noticeable.

Settle a small dispute

I cannot find much help on the internet so can you please fill in the blank for me. Which lyric do you remember as a child for the Mr. Potato Head jingle?

"Mr. Potato Head,
and his bucket o' _____.
Buckets of fun for everyone."

Derek and I each recall something different and I think we bet a spicy chicken sandwich on what the actual word was. Your input would be appreciated.


On a side note: Katie took her first step last week. Today she did it again and stayed up and balanced afterwards. Making progress!

Ode to Galiftum and Fifsheese

For Christmas Katie got a baby doll from each of her grandmas. She likes them equally well, whichever is around she picks up and kisses and chews on a little. Ryan, on the other hand, has taken a particular liking to the doll from Grandma Cookies. (I think he likes that one because it came with a little bottle to feed her with.)

Some days he is in a very paternal mood and will carry the doll around or rock her with a blanket or put her in a little box as her bed.

I asked him what the baby's name was. He was a bit confused with the idea that he can name something and asked ME what her name was.
"You can pick one," I told him. "Whatever you want, you can choose."
After a long pause he said, "Baby Cow."
Sounds good to me.

He sticks with his name choice and always calls her Baby Cow. It reminds me of when Rachel named her dolls Galiftum and Fifsheese (Jana might correct me on how one would spell those names) and she regularly called them that. Ryan has also named Grandma Bayles' doll, Cow. Katie has one other baby. That one is Mama Cow. Creative, AND distinguishable. If only naming children were REALLY that easy.

Newest form of exercise (for Derek and I, not the kids)

I've been looking for a good way to get some exericise so we asked for a bike trailer for Christmas. That makes it possible for me to do something active AND have the kids with me. My Mom and Dad gave us Christmas money to go toward the trailer and requested that we blog pictures of the kids in it. So, here you go mom.

One complaint... the safety straps aren't very impressive. As you can see, it doesn't hold Katie in very securely and the straps connect WELL above her head. It was made for kids more like Ryan's size apparently. Though, you can see that his legs are getting long enough that he won't have more than a year's left of growth before he'll be too big for the thing. Still, they love it.

One small note: we found this one used on Craigslist for super-cheap (which is why it is less than perfect) and the Christmas money from my parents will INSTEAD go toward a different present. Thanks Mom and Dad!