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)

Max and Charlotte Like ...

Max likes to eat limes.

19 February 2012

And so does Charlotte.  (Jenn loves limes, too.)


Charlotte loves animals, particularly elephants.

20 February 2012

And so does Max.

20 February 2012

The pictures above were taken when we took Max and Charlotte to the Los Angeles Zoo on Presidents' Day.  (There are less crowded days to visit the zoo, by the way.)  This was the first time that they really "got it".  Max and Charlotte clearly understood that these weren't just pictures of giraffes and zebras and elephants, but honest-to-God, living animals!  And they were thrilled.  While watching one of the giraffes amble towards us, Charlotte got so excited that she grabbed me by the neck and gave me a great big hug!  Max did the same a little later.  You don't need much more motivation to go to the zoo than that!

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

15 Months

Not that I wish to get in the habit of starting every post with an explanation for the dearth of posts, but I would like to explain that it has been a while since I've posted for two reasons: 1) I've been on jury duty for a month (keep your kids away from gangs, folks!) and 2) nothing terribly out of the ordinary has been going on.  But Max and Charlotte turned 15-months-old on February 12th!!!  That seems to me to be more than sufficient reason to post some pictures of our lovable, dynamic duo!

They love the mornings.  Here they are at breakfast:

11 February 2012

11 February 2012

I have a strong belief that discipline is good for children ...

10 February 2012

... which has absolutely nothing to do with why Max (and Charlotte -- not pictured) decided to crawl into and play with our friends' dog crate on a recent visit to their house.  Still, it was pretty funny.  So much so that I couldn't help but to capture it on film via electrons excited within the semiconductors of my iPhone's CCD.


Speaking of dogs, Max' and Charlotte's love for our dogs goes way back!

17 June 2011

 Lucy is (only slightly) less hairy these days.  Max a little more so.

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

There's No Escaping the Sandman!

On Saturday Max had what just may be a watershed moment in his relationship with sleep.  Or maybe it was just the first time that I became aware of this new attitude towards sleep.  Y'see, Charlotte and Max have come down with colds ... again.  Maybe you can tell from the pictures below.

29 January 2012

29 January 2012

Or maybe you can't.  At any rate, Charlotte and Jenn laid down so that Charlotte could take a nap.  And Max and I discussed how Mommy and Charlotte were taking a "night-night^*".  After a few moments of Max repeating "ny-ny" to me (Max-speak for "night-night"), I realized that he was asking to take a nap!  Pleased, amazed and shocked, I put Max in his crib, where he happily rolled over and slept for a good, long while.  His recognizing and communicating a desire to sleep blew me away!

Now I don't mean to imply that Max or Charlotte are poor sleepers.  They are, in fact, wonderful sleepers, going to bed sometime around 8:00pm and rarely waking us before 7:00am.  (I mean, really, waking up any earlier than 7:00am is simply uncivilized from my point of view!)  Jenn and I truly are blessed when it comes to this.  And we're grateful.

But I suspect that this solid night sleeping comes at the expense of naps.  They are, generally speaking, poor nappers.  Seldom are their naps as long as we'd like them to be.  And Charlotte and Max always fight us when it comes to taking naps.  They can put up a pretty good fight.  But it wasn't always so.  Max' newfound appreciation for naps made me reflect back on the days, reflected in the pictures below, when they fought sleep, but weren't yet so skilled at keeping the Sandman at bay.

31 March 2011

9 April 2011

9 August 2011

I happen to think the three pictures above are absolutely hi-larious!

So maybe it was just his cold.  Or maybe Max will embrace napping in the future.  Only time will tell.  But I will know that we have really turned the corner on this when Charlotte starts telling us that she's ready for a mid-day nap.  (I'm not holding my breath.)

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


^* "Night-night" is the term we use with them for sleep.  Thus, to "take a night-night" (or "faire un night-night", as I tell them in my franglais) means to go to sleep.

Things to Do in Pasadena When It Rains

Well, I have to admit that I didn't really think that the raincoats Grandma Judy gave Max and Charlotte for Christmas were gifts for which they'd really ever have much use.  I mean, we live in southern California!  However, as with so many things, I was to be proven wrong.  On Monday it rained.  So what're two babies -- who love going outside! -- to do on a rainy day?  Well, go outside, of course!

Here Charlotte and Max prepare for their first real outing in the rain.

23 January 2012

Max, loving the rain, models his flashy Thomas the Train rain gear.

23 January 2012

Is it wrong that I think Charlotte looks so cute, despite looking so sad?  (I don't think this was really traumatic in any way for her.)  Aunt Lauren, are you jealous of the Hello Kitty raincoat?

23 January 2012

 Max discovers puddles, while Charlotte looks on to make sure it's safe.

23 January 2012

This being Pasadena, California, the "rain" would really have been called drizzle almost anywhere else I've lived.  But I think Charlotte and Max had fun all the same.

Rainy days are also great for reading!  Max and Charlotte discovered a new book on Monday: Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? also co-written by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle.  It has sound effects!

Some of my favorite points in the above clip are Charlotte growling at :15, Jenn realizing that Max is saying "broom" or something very much like that at about :46 (I'm pretty sure that he also says it at :28) and the look on Max' face as he discovers the book.  One might suspect that my son's fascination with brooms suggests an aptitude for the janitorial arts.  Just so long as you love what you do, Max ...


And rainy days are good for playing in the kitchen with Mommy!  Max and Charlotte tried their hands at "cooking" with wooden spoons and some pots.

23 January 2012

Before they know it (~late March) the season when rain is sporadic and rare around here will give way to the season when rain is non-existent.  I hope they get some good use out of their raincoats between now and then!

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


PS -  Anyone catch the movie reference in this post?  Anyone?  Anyone ...