Summer 2012 Summary

How time flies!  It has suddenly become quite a long time since my last post.  My apologies.  So I will briefly try to summarize what Max' and Charlotte's summer has been like.

They love the water.  (I'm not sure I can understate that, particularly in Max' case.)  And, with high temperatures in Pasadena, California, typically well over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the summertime, it made sense to get Charlotte and Max a kiddie pool, of which they made frequent use to keep cool ...

4 July 2012

... and look cool.

4 July 2012

Speaking of looking cool ...

4 August 2012

I know I'm a bit biased, but I firmly believe that my daughter has the coolest bedhead ever!

2 August 2012

We spent a couple of days at the beach at our friends' house up in Oxnard, California.  Livi is showing Max and Charlotte that the ocean is pretty cool and not to be feared.  Though the surf was pretty rough that day, and Charlotte was justifiably nervous about the ocean, they enjoyed it more than they did on their last visit to the ocean.  (On their next visit to the ocean (early August), we would actually have a hard time getting them out of the water!)

8 July 2012

8 July 2012

Before heading back to Pasadena we went back up to the Santa Barbara Zoo, where we got to feed the giraffes!

9 July 2012

9 July 2012

Check out the long, black tongue on that giraffe!!!

We had a visit from Grandma Cheryl who came from northern Virginia to see us.  And Aunt Lauren traveled down from northern California (mid-California for some of our esteemed readers with an Australian perspective on American geography)!  That was a lot of fun for all of us.

19 August 2012

Grandma Cheryl and Aunt Lauren spent lots of time with Charlotte and Max and even got sit in on a bedtime story.

19 August 2012

We all enjoyed Charlotte and Max getting to know Grandma Cheryl a little better and getting to see Aunt Lauren again.  We hope they can both come again soon.  After all, Charlotte and Max didn't learn to say 'Grandma Cheryl' (Gwamma Teh-wul) and 'Aunt Lauren' (Law-ween) for nothing!

In late August Max and Charlotte got some new tricycles and tried them out on the lane.  I patterned my teaching style after that of Gordon in the Sesame Street skit "Abby Learns to Ride a Trike".  (They've become quite the Elmo fans!)

25 August 2012

25 August 2012

But they didn't quite get the gist of it.  Still, we're excited to teach them and time is on our side.

They're doing a lot now that they weren't doing at the beginning of the summer.  When I returned from a ten-day trip to Europe in late June, I immediately noticed that their capacity to repeat sounds they'd heard had increased dramatically!  Now they can string together multiple words to form two- or three-word sentences.  Recently Max was coming dangerously close to climbing out of his crib!  So, to avert a broken neck, we installed toddler rails on their cribs.  As a result, Max and Charlotte can get in and out of their beds at will.  This has several consequences, not all of which are favorable to Jenn and me; it's a game changer.  However, they have learned how to sleep in a bed despite their new freedom and now get a full night's sleep with a minimum of coercion from Mommy and Daddy.  They've been watching Sesame Street, too.  Their new favorite episode is "Elmo's Potty Time"!  And, perhaps not coincidentally, Max has even started using the potty!

So, yeah, we've been pretty busy ...


--- Shawn (for Jenn and Charlotte and Max and Lucy and Rufus)

Surfside Anniversary -- Part II

So on the second day of our anniversary trip to Santa Barbara, California, we took Max and Charlotte for their very first beach experience!

Of course, we'd been to the beach before:

17 July 2011

21 May 2011

But this was the first time where they could really appreciate it on their own!

10 June 2012

10 June 2012

Given that Max and Charlotte love playing in and with water above almost anything else they do, I naïvely assumed that they'd be all about frolicking in the ocean. Shows what I know! In retrospect, it is quite clear that the allure of the enormous sandbox in which they found themselves would trump all else, particularly when there were sand toys on hand!

10 June 2012

10 June 2012

Though Charlotte did primarily stick with playing in the sand ...

10 June 2012

10 June 2012

... Max was intrigued by the waves.  He didn't get too much closer after getting knocked down by a couple, however.

10 June 2012

I just really like this picture of Max.  (Note the birds in the background, which also drew their attention for a while during our time at the beach.)

Without qualification, I can definitely say that it was a wonderful trip and a great anniversary!  And, with Santa Barbara being so accessible to us, I'm sure we'll be back for more great memories!


--- Shawn (for Jenn and Charlotte and Max and Lucy and Rufus)

Surfside Anniversary - Part I

For our fourth wedding anniversary, Jenn and I decided to go up to Santa Barbara, California, for a long weekend ... with Max and Charlotte in tow, of course.  (It's just too soon to spend an entire weekend without them!)  After an extended morning delay we finally got under way.  Our first stop was the Santa Barbara Zoo!  The goal there was to give Charlotte and Max an opportunity to run around after the ~2-hour drive up.

9 June 2012

The first thing we did was to enjoy lunch.  And this character seemed pretty keen on snapping up any crumbs we might have left behind (a privilege normally enjoyed by Lucy and Rufus).  Anyone know what kind of bird this is?  The one zoo associate I asked couldn't tell me.

9 June 2012

After lunch we got to looking at the animals.  Max and Charlotte are looking at some of the zoo's five giraffes.  The one closest to us was grasping at some food with its tongue, a food acquisition technique which Max is proudly demonstrating.

9 June 2012

Max and Charlotte discover the koi pond!

9 June 2012

And take a closer look.

9 June 2012

An even closer look was necessary, it would appear.

9 June 2012

Charlotte and Max lounge in one of the lounge chairs in the yard of the Upham Hotel, our temporary residence for the weekend.  Charlotte is partaking of the complimentary crackers offered by the Upham at happy hour (they also provide free wine and cheese).  The beauty of staying at the Upham is that they have a wonderful restaurant on the first floor.  So, armed with our trusty baby monitor, Jenn and I were able to enjoy a nice meal + a glass of champagne (or two!) secure in the knowledge that our babies were sleeping peacefully just one floor above us.

10 June 2012

They also provide free breakfast.  Max got a start to his day with some bananas and oatmeal ...

10 June 2012

... while Charlotte had a hankering for some cream cheese.


To be continued ...

--- Shawn (for Jenn and Charlotte and Max and Lucy and Rufus)

The First New Do

I have to admit that I was probably in a bit of denial when Jenn announced that Max needed a haircut.  I guess it was just hard to accept that he was already old enough to warrant a haircut.  It's not even like his hair has really come in fully!

But, of course, she was correct.  Has hair had gotten pretty tangled and unmanageable in the back, probably on account of how he lies when he sleeps.  So last Friday Jenn arranged for him to have a haircut, which I recorded with the help of my trusty iPhone.

1 June 2012

So how do you cut the hair of an 18-month-old child?

1 June 2012

Distraction!

1 June 2012

 Charlotte looks on.

1 June 2012

But don't think it was terribly difficult for Max.  He had a great time!

2 June 2012

Charlotte admires Max' new do.

2 June 2012

2 June 2012

Not only does he look good, but now we can actually comb his hair, too!


--- Shawn (for Jenn and Charlotte and Max and Lucy and Rufus)

In Chico, Where the Sun Don't Shine ... Briefly

Lots has been going on in the past month!  One of our more recent adventures was our trip up to Chico, California, which was primarily motivated by three watershed events:

• Grandma Judy's retirement party,
• Grandma Judy's packing of her office (with which Jenn long ago promised to help)
• and the May 2012 annular solar eclipse!

(Rufus and Lucy spent the time at "camp" with the breeder where we first met them in Riverside, California.)

11 May 2012

Here's Max on the tarmac at the San Francisco International Airport eagerly waiting to board the flight to Chico, the second leg of our trip.  The planes that typically fly from SFO to CIC are a great size for a baby, but a little cramped for a baby daddy.  Still, it serves the purpose.

12 May 2012

Here's Max en route to Grandma Judy's retirement party!  Knowing full well that his cute outfit (sent to us by Grandma Cheryl!) wouldn't go long without getting dirty or wet, I snapped this picture before water or dirt could find his clothing.

12 May 2012

And here's Charlotte wearing the adorable dress which Grandma Cheryl sent her.  Again, I was eager to take a picture of her before it had to be switched out for a clean one.  The inflatable giraffe that's making her smile would soon be in the same pool in which Charlotte herself would be playing.

13 May 2012

We spent lots of time at Cousin Pat-Pat's and Cousin Na-Na's house (Pat-Pat = Patrick; Na-Na = Natalie).  Max and Charlotte had a blast spending time with Patrick and Natalie (who is enjoying a meal in the photo above).

13 May 2013

Charlotte and Max tickle the ivories after playing in Pat-Pat's wading pool (soaked diapers had to be discarded).  Yeah, I said I'd never embarrass my kids with naked baby shots, but I'm hoping I get a pass on this due to the extreme cute factor (and the fact that it's not frontal).

16 May 2012

To me, no trip to Chico seems complete without a trip to Tres Hombres restaurant in downtown Chico!  And now Jenn and I will always recall it as the place where Charlotte learned to love salsa.

16 May 2012

This is where Max learned to enjoy salsa, too.  (Spicy people eat spicy food, they say.)  I guess there's no denying that they are little Californians!

19 May 2012

Max and Charlotte love playing in Grandma Judy's kitchen.  And I can't help but wonder when they'll get so big that they can't climb into the same kitchen drawer (or box or toy bin or what-have-you) anymore.

19 May 2012

I've noticed that Charlotte and Max suddenly seem to be enjoying baby toys with which they haven't played in a very long time all over again.  It kinda fascinates me.  Above Max rediscovers the "Jumperoo" which we gave to Cousin Na-Na a few months ago.  Max' feet didn't touch the ground anywhere near this easily the last time he played in it!


About a year and a half ago I discovered that an annular solar eclipse would be visible from Chico.  (An annular eclipse is one where the Moon is slightly farther from the Earth than average and, thus, is unable to totally obstruct the Sun from our vantage point.)  When I learned of the eclipse, I informed Jenn that we would be visiting her mother the week of May 20th, 2012, which we did.  The four of us, Grandma Judy, Tio John and Tia Wren and Pat-Pat and Na-Na had a picnic in a nearby field to enjoy the eclipse.

20 May 2012

I did not bring along my nice 35-mm SLR camera with us to Chico.  I just didn't think we'd be able to manage two babies, their car seats, all of our luggage and a camera bag.  (Turns out I think I could have.)  Unfortunately, really capturing an eclipse is somewhat beyond the capabilities of my iPhone.  So I don't have any cool shots of the eclipse itself.  But what I did manage is the picture above.  It's a photo of the shadow cast by Charlotte and me.  The eclipse is distinctly manifest in the funny shadows we cast.  Notice how the shadows are blurry around the edges, which is a result of the Moon partially blocking the Sun.  And here's a neat perspective on the eclipse!

20 May 2012

Following the eclipse Natalie and her grandmother shared a moment in Natalie's backyard.

We had a great time up in Chico!  Not only did Jenn and I have a great time, it was wonderful watching Max and Charlotte getting to know their young cousins.  And I happen to think it's one of life's fortunate "accidents" that I now have such wonderful family and a terrific excuse to visit Chico, from which the May 2012 annular solar eclipse was visible!


--- Shawn (for Jenn and Charlotte and Max and Lucy and Rufus)

A Year Ago, Saint Patty's Day ...

As you may recall, Saint Patrick's Day was last month.  And, paying homage to the Irish facet of our patchwork quilt-like multicultural heritage, Max and Charlotte were dressed appropriately for the holiday:

17 March 2012

Who wouldn't want to kiss this sweet Irish baby?  (Pay no attention to the fact that she's rolling around on one of Lucy and Rufus' beds.)

17 March 2012

And what a difference a year makes!

17 March 2011

I think the picture above was taken at or near the apex of their initial balding, which is thankfully well behind us.  (I often tell Charlotte how I envy her advancing hairline.)  To me, Max still very much looks like Max ... just different.  But Charlotte's face seems to have changed much more than his in the intervening year; I think it's largely the fact that she's lost a lot of the baby fat in her always lovable face.


--- Shawn (for Jenn and Charlotte and Max and Lucy and Rufus)

Max and Charlotte Also Like ...

Going for rides together ...

2 March 2012

... and wearing sunglasses!

3 March 2012

3 March 2012

--- Shawn (for Jenn and Charlotte and Max and Lucy and Rufus)