Monterey

We went to Monterey with Ryan's family. It was a perfect day for Monterey- overcast and windy. That's the only way to do a historic coastal town, in my opinion. I loved it.





Lydia's cousin Luci did great, but Lydia had the first ear infection of her life, unbeknownst to us at that time. She had a miserable day- the only times she was happy was when she was eating in the stroller or playing in the sand.



Being with Ryan's family always brings out the goofiness in Ryan. I love it. Here, he's dancing in the streets. What a nerd.



We picked up shells and rocks in this cute little nook.



Lydia loved playing in the sand, and had absolutely no fear when the tide came in.



On our way home, we took the scenic 17 mile drive, which ends at Pebble Beach. I was a little disappointed to find that Pebble Beach is not actually made of pebbles, but the rest of the drive more than made up for that misleading name. =)




I don't remember what this spot is called, but the waves all come in from different directions and violently crash into each other. I've never seen anything like it. The pictures don't capture what I'm talking about. Just take my word for it. It's cool.

San Francisco

Where, oh where have we been lately? We have most definitely NOT been just sitting around.



We got to take a week off and go visit family in California. We first stayed with my parents in Tracy. My dad took a day off work and went with us to San Francisco on Tuesday for a pre-birthday celebration for moi. I haven't been to San Francisco in probably 6 or 7 years. So sad. It was a perfect, sunny, blue sky day- the kind you never get in San Francisco!

We did all the touristy things. Pier 39 and a trip to see the walruses.

I thought Lydia would go nuts over the walruses, but she had more fun watching the pigeons. Why did we bother?

This picture is somewhere along the wharf.

And, of course, we went to Ghiradelli Square. Lydia loved the fountain and tried to run in. Ryan had to speed-racer it up the steps to catch her just in time!

Ryan's brother Dave happened to be in the city that day, so we met up with him for a few minutes. He dropped his dog, Max, into the fountain, and made a lady really angry. She got all huffy, and walked her daughter away, practically shielding her daughter's eyes. Some people...

My mom took some great pictures, but lost them all. We are so sad because I didn't have my camera out very much.

Stay tuned for more posts about our fabulous trip to California.

I need a baby sitter! Teaching piano is starting to feel like running a circus.


Case in Point: Lydia dumped a whole box of Chex during a lesson I was teaching. At least it all landed in one nice pile.






Then, while I was cleaning it up, she learned how fun it is to crunch Chex under feet.

Combine that curiosity with her continuing obsessive need (and noisy demands) to wear whatever she finds...

Whether it's her pajamas half-on over her clothes...

Or Daddy's suit coat...

...and I am one busy momma/piano teacher! Oh, and don't forget her fast little legs that won't let her stay in one place at one time. (Hence the blurry pictures)

She sure is a cutie, though!

Nothing's Happening, But You're Gonna Hear From Us Anyway!

Again, nothing exciting is happening in our lives, but we're posting anyway!


Lydia has a serious high heel fetish. The only problem is, she hasn't figured out how to walk in high heels by herself, so one of us always has to help her!

Among Lydia's other oddities, she loves playing weird games with her dad. If he puts his hand near her, she grabs it and brings it to her face like so:

She laughs hysterically and doesn't let go!

It snowed (again). Since it happened on a Sunday when Daddy was home, Lydia actually got to play in the snow! (I don't take her out in that yucky stuff for anything!). I went out to take pictures, then hurried back inside while Ryan took Lydia for a walk around the block.

I came downstairs the other day after teaching a piano lesson, and found Lydia sitting happily with Daddy. I love catching moments like these.

And because I rarely make an appearance on this blog, here's a picture of silly me.

Why is Lydia wearing layers and layers of winter clothes in the house? Is our heater broken?



No, Lydia just found a stash of her winter clothes, and brought them to me one by one, saying "Ehhh Ehhh" until I put each item of clothing on her.



It got to the point where she couldn't move her arms, but she wouldn't let me take anything off her.

Obsessions

Not much has been going on around here, but I thought I'd post some recent pics anyway.

Vanessa always takes really cute pictures of herself with her girls- the kind where you just hold the camera out in front of you and take the picture yourself. So I've been trying to do that with Lydia...but it doesn't work. Here, she looks so annoyed.


And here, she thinks her momma is a humongous dork.



Lydia LOVES books, which makes me happy because it took her a while to get that way. I was sure I was going to have an illiterate child. (I'm a panicker...and also very unrealistic in my panicking.)



Maybe I should panic about the girl's obsession with herself, instead. This was taken seconds before she planted a huge, wet kiss on the mirror.



Or perhaps I should panic about her obsession with weird clothes. She loves to get dressed and will come up to me at all times of the day holding some random item of clothing, begging for me to put it on her. I always oblige, so as not to destroy her creative spirit (or maybe just because I think she looks hilarious). Sometimes she will be wearing two shirts, a bib, socks on her hands, a couple of beanies and a coat. Or sometimes she will be wearing my fashionable socks over her fashionable jammies.



I think she has the makings of a fashion designer. What do you think?

It's impossible to describe how much my little girl adores her daddy, but here is a pretty good image!