California

We took the kids to the beach today. The waves were crashing right on the shore, which was slightly stressful, but we managed to keep a firm grip on the toddlers and they had a great time. They are loving the ocean these days, just like my siblings and I did when we were small. Sometimes I get down on California (the traffic! the consumption! the relentless sunshine!) but really, it's pretty great that we can go from sitting on our couch to swimming in the ocean in under 20 minutes.

Words

It seems like I should record some of Annie and Ivan's first words for posterity, so here they are:

Ivan:

shoe
mommy
daddy
nanny
newton ("noonen")
more
please
people ("peepil")
bubble
balloon ("bloon")
up
baby
apple
no
boom! (meaning, I fell or it fell)
uh-oh
poop
meow
woof
ooo-ooo-ooo-eee-eee-eee (what a monkey says)
diaper

Annie:

mama
dada
Newton ("noon-na")
up
more
poop
shoe
uh-oh
bubble
meow
no, no, no, no (with finger-wagging)

Not recommended

Visiting to the library with 18-month-old twins.

More beach

Okay, I pilfered some photos. I'm glad my family is full of shutterbugs.

Down the stairs to the beach:



Nanny, shepherding grandbabies, as usual.



Ivan the mer-man.



A post-swim snack with Syndey.



Bounce house!



What happens when little boys inspect the fire pit too closely.



Outnumbered by children, help!

This and that

I forgot to tell you, Annie and Ivan had their 18 month check-up last week. Annie is in the 90th percentile for height, Ivan is in the 50th. (I am assuming the height comes from Steve; growing up I was always one of the smallest in my class.) Ivan and Annie don't go back again until age 2, which seems crazy, like they really are kids and not babies.

This week Annie and Ivan start two new classes: tumbling and "music together." Our nanny, who used to teach gymnastics to preschoolers, will take them to their tumbling class on Tuesdays. And I rearranged my work schedule so I can take them to the music class on Thursdays. I am excited about modeling my off-key singing and rhythm-less dancing for Annie and Ivan.

Labor day weekend

Here are some pics from last weekend at my mom's condo by the lake. (Again, I totally failed at picture-taking, but luckily my siblings took lots.)

We had lasagna and Ivan decided he does, in fact, like it. Here he is working on his first of two servings. \



Annie also enjoyed her pasta.



Here we are playing "Annie Attack." Our victim, a young cousin of Annie's, is outside the scope of the photo.



Ivan in his swim diaper, scoping out the toys.

Another nice weekend

It was such an awesome weekend. Steve had to work on Saturday (so, okay, that part was not so awesome) but I took Annie and Ivan to meet family and extended family where they were camping at the beach. Usually the kids are apprehensive around the water, interested in the waves but content to stay firmly on dry sand. Not so this trip. Ivan, in particular, was running headlong into the waves, shrieking and laughing. I had to hold tight to both his hands to keep him from being merrily swept away by the sea.

Back at the campsite we made a bounce house out of Sara and Dan's tent and air mattresses. All five of the bigger kids piled in to jump and scream and fall over each other. Then later, after it got dark, we toasted marshmallows around the fire. Ivan refused to try a smore; Annie was dubious but finally took a bite. Then, of course, she wanted to eat the whole thing, leaving none for me. (Sometimes being the parent is SO. UNFAIR.)

Then today, Steve and I took the kids to a little nearby zoo. Annie and Ivan seemed to like looking at the the monkeys and birds, playing on the playground equipment, and riding the carousel. Steve and I also discovered that, in addition to the standard hot dogs and grilled cheese, the zoo snack shack there has the best, most authentic tacos that we've had thus far in the O.C. Also, the guacamole rocked.

We also got some errands done and had some good hanging out time. I failed to take a single photo, but plan to pilfer the family flickr sites for some good shots of the kids at the beach. Stay tuned.