Sunday with the Schwaebers

Had another fun family day. After Norah and I got back from the Sisterhood breakfast we headed out to Walmart and ended up purchasing a bike trailer for the kids. After lunch we decided to try and get the new kite flying. We headed off to the great park. Got some cute pictures of the kids, but try as we might, we could not get that thing airborne!

Frustrated we headed home for dinner……afterward we decided it was time to try out the new trailer.

First we got the kids in their pajamas in case they fell asleep. We handed down Sammy’s old bike helmet to Norah and got him a new Thomas one. She looks a little surprised about having to wear it! Next we got the kids loaded into the trailer. At first Norah wasn’t too thrilled about it, but Sammy held her hand and once we got moving she was fine. We had a quick ride. It was getting a little cool out and it their first time in the trailer. Sammy seemed to like it and Norah fell asleep.

Father’s Day 2009

What a terrific Father’s Day we had yesterday! Norah and I got up early and went to a make-up swim class. By the time we got home Sammy and Jeremy were up and listening to the Met’s game.

I know, the bed isn't made yet.....

We gave Jeremy his present and then made our plans. We had deliberately not plan anything much ahead of time so we could see what the weather would be like and what we would feel like doing. We decided to head north to Seal Beach to this pizza place the Ford’s told us about, A Slice of New York. Goood pie! Well worth the drive and what a cute little beach town. We stopped at this little store and bought a new kite. Then we drove south to Dana Point to the beach. We figured we’d let Sammy run in the waves and fly our new kite. Norah was togged out and looking particularly cute!

Beach diva

Sammy loved the waves almost as much as climbing on the rocks.

king of the hill

We never got the kite airborne; it was a little more complicated than it looked at the store. It had two lines and had to be completely unwound and then rewound just so. Maybe by next week we’ll get it flying. I had a little scare. The tide was pretty strong and Sammy kept running into the waves too far. I yelled for him to come back, and with Norah on my hip I went after him. It knocked him off his feet coming in and before I got to him pulled him back of his feet and started to pull him out. I just got to him as his head went under. Nothing like a little adrenaline in the afternoon! Since I was holding Norah, I had to scream for Jeremy to come help as I only had one hand on Sammy and the tide was so strong. Jeremy had missed most of the episode messing around with the kite. After that, I figured we’d had enough fun and were going to head home. Sammy got to model his new Thomas towel.We left the beach about six and headed home for dinner – spicy green bean chicken, one of Jeremy’s favorites. Overall we had a great day and it kept me from thinking about missing Bekah’s wedding. I am sure it was beautiful and a wonderful time for all. I am so very sorry we missed it, but I think they day we had as a family, our first Father’s day with Norah, more than makes up for it. It was a beautiful day that I won’t forget. I took alot of pics, but this one is my favorite of the day………..Sammy looks so happy

What is he thinking?

This week for us….

Well, we’ve had a pretty good week so far. We stopped by Jeremy’s office to visit and caught a look at an egret up close. It was just walking by the office. Sammy thought it was really neat. Then I got Norah a Bumbo seat since she doesn’t really like the bouncer seat. That way she is at eye level with us at dinner time and she really seems to like it much better; no crying so far. She continues to enjoy her evening cereal. I have to say, Sammy was a much neater eater! She looks like a little doll sitting on the table though! Caught a cute picture of her sleeping after her bath….check out the hair. It always does that after I wash it. It is too hysterical!

Then today was Jeremy’s birthday so we celebrated with cake after dinner. Sammy picked it out. He was so cute this afternoon. Around 5ish he handed me the phone and said “phone Daddy” so I dialed and gave it back to him. When Jeremy picked up he said “Happy Birthday Daddy!” I didn’t know that was why he wanted to call. He is too much sometimes!

Yay cake!

I can sleep anywhere…

You’d think by the title I am talking about Norah since she goes everywhere with us, but I am talking about Sammy. Recently we got rid of my PT Cruiser and have upgraded to a minivan. Unfortunately it doesn’t have an entertainment system as the PT did, so Sammy has been falling asleep in the car. I go these picks after he fell asleep in the car and I managed to get him into the house – just not very far. He would have continued sleeping in that position if I hadn’t moved him; he was out cold!Yes he is standing and bent over a chair and snoring!

Yummy Cereal!

After talking to her pediatrician, I got the go ahead to start giving Norah a little cereal. We are starting her earlier than we did Sammy but she is apparently ready! She watches every bite of food that goes into us and she is always trying to grab some. Just giving her a spoon didn’t appease her. She wants food! Here she is wearing some of her first meals! So far she is a very neat eater just like her brother……

Exosaucer Time

Norah loves to stand and she hates being put down in her bassinet when I cook dinner so we figured it was time for an exosaucer. She loves it and I can finally cook!

Look at me!

Visiting Great Grandma

Finally I am able to sit down and blog about our trip. We had a great time. It was so good to visit grandma and Sammy hasn’t stopped talking about it yet. Going on the airplane was huge for him. He loved it and stayed awake pretty much through both flights. He loves the train in the Denver airport too. That was a huge amount of fun. (Unlike going through security! What a pain!) He had a great time at his great-grandma’s house and we did some fun outings too. He really enjoyed the Butterfly Pavillion.

Rock climbing

He is still talking about the train at Tiny Town and riding in the caboose. He is also still talking about the rides at Lakeside Amusement Park.Amazingly the rides at Lakeside are just how I remember them; nothing has changed. There I was putting my son on the same rides I went on as a kid. It was just amazing to me…..And how did Norah do? She did great! She is a good traveler just like her brother. She mostly slept through both flights and just had a good time wherever we went. Mostly though she just likes hanging out with her brother.I’d say she had a fun time too!

On the road again…..

Countdown to takeoff has begun. The kids and I will be winging it off to Denver in little less than 3 days. I will try and keep everyone updated!

Tanaka Farms

We are very blessed to live so close to so many things here in Irvine. This week we got to visit a real working farm. Much to Sammy’s delight we also got to pick our own strawberries! We toured Tanaka Farms which is an organic, working farm and just down the road. We went with a group from my mom’s club. Sammy enjoyed jumping around on the hay bales waiting for the tour to start. First they loaded us into wooden wagons pullled by tractors – just the thing to delight little boys, then as we wound our way thru the farm to the strawberry fields, they pointed out different crops and give us samples to taste – fresh picked that a.m. Sammy tried carrots, green beans, bok choy, cilantro, celery, snap peas and sweet maui onion. They explained alot but made it fun too! They told the kids about planting seasons and some of the different crops that are available then. When we finally arrived at the strawberries, Sammy was delighted at looking under leaves and discovering his favorite fruit. I think more went into him than our container!Sammy had so much fun. He likes carrots with the “green tops” now…….As we were leaving I told Sammy we should come back this summer. His response was “watermelon!” and when I said fall, he told me “oooooh pumpkin!” with a big grin. I was so happy to know that he was paying attention to the tour. (And impressed he remembered which fruit and seasons went together!)

Independent

It amazes me constantly how different Norah is from Sammy. The first night in the hospital I knew they had very different temperaments. From the outset she has been far more mellow and not a very big fusser. The older she’s gotten the more differences we have seen. The word that best sums it up is independent. We he was her age, he couldn’t bear to be not held and she fusses if we don’t give her some “down time.” He was unable to put himself to sleep for years and never went down at night before 10 or 11 (if we were lucky) for at least the first two years. At 3 1/2 months she goes to sleep around 8, often by herself, and barely rouses once or twice to eat during the night – she never opens her eyes, just wiggles and whines until I feed her. She is already rolling herself over and trying to scoot. She wants to get up and go. She is just so independent!