Touch-a-Truck

I took the kids to an event called Touch-a-Truck, which is totally genius...by the way. They bring every vehicle you can think of and put them all in a parking lot so that kids can climb all over them and experience them first-hand. We spent a lot of time at the fire engine, but we also enjoyed a school bus, UPS truck, convertible yellow cab, construction and military vehicles. Brilliant!

September 2011

Daddy: favorite ride-on toy

Dinosaurs at the Children's Museum

Cashion's favorite breakfast: "Punkeen muffin" or "Punky food" (translation "Pumpkin Muffin")

Favorite friend

Kiddie Acres

September was full of our favorite things and some new adventures. Sadie and I try to have a "mommy day" on Wednesday afternoons while Bebe keeps Cashion during his afternoon nap. One afternoon we went to Kiddie Acres in North Austin, which apparently Dana and I went to when we were kids. They have toddler size carnival rides, pony rides, a small train that runs around the property and good ole concessions (i.e. popcorn and snow cones.) There were only a few kids there so we all decided which ride we wanted to go on together since there was only one operator.

First day of Preschool 2011

We were in the middle of Austin Fashion Week for the first day of school, so we got to take pictures at Bebe and Papa's house that morning. Cashion LOVES his backpack and lunchbox. Sadie is a pro at this point, but was still excited to get back to school. She is so bored at home most of the time. Cashion walked out onto the playground and didn't look back. His "Bumble Bee" class is led my Ms. Kendall and Ms. Ellen and they are downstairs next to the baby class. Cashion made fast friends with the only other little boy in the class, Parker (there are only 5 kids in the class on MWF). He eats all of his snack and lunch everyday and loves the tractor book, asking his teachers to read it over and over again. Being out on the playground is the best part, as far as Cash is concerned. They go out first thing in the morning so they can avoid the heat of the day.

Sadie is in Ms. Erin and Ms. Heyden's class, the Sunflower Class. They have so many great activities to do that Sadie doesn't have a chance to get bored. Art is always open and they have these great journals to write and decorate with pretty tape and things. This year they are given the option of having their snack or waiting until lunch, which I think is pretty cool that they are encouraged to keep track of things like "Am I hungry?" One of the main goals of this year is to make sure that they are emotionally ready for Kindergarten next year.

Swim lessons

waiting for your turn is hard

We had a great experience at Nora Martin Swim School this year. Sadie made so much progress and Cashion was a fish right from the get-go. They use T-shirts over swimsuits to be able to safely hold onto the kids but allowing them to feel what it is like to be swimming independently. Sadie was initially timid about going under water, but by the end she was gliding under the water on her own. She was so proud. We got to practice her "flying fish" and "rainbows" at the Horseshoe Bay pool over July 4th. She didn't want to leave the water. We will definitely go back next year and I won't be surprised if both Sadie and Cashion are swimming independently next summer. And the kids get a personalized medal and a lollipop on the last day. What could be better than that?

Sadie's first dance recital

Sadie showing off her eye shadow

They definitely had the cutest costumes of the bunch

Sadie and her teacher, Miss Trish

Sadie had her very first dance recital the day before her 4th birthday. She was so excited to wear her costume (and make-up) and show her family what she has been working on all year. They danced to "Little April Showers" from the movie Bambi. They had the cutest little white umbrellas that they twirled and hid behind. Sadie's favorite part of the dance was when she got to skip among the umbrellas. Dana was in for the weekend so she got to relive our days at Shirley McPhail School of Dance.

The girls watching a movie while they wait for their turn to dance. Remind me never to sign up to be a backstage mom. They get a raw deal...they have to wrangle all these bored little girls and keep them from messing up their costumes. They have to watch the dance from the wings while the rest of us relax in the theater.

Sadie goes to San Diego

We took a very special trip with just Sadie, her Daddy and I in April. Cashion got to stay with Bebe and Papa while the 3 of us explored San Diego. We went to the Zoo and had a backstage tour with Pam, who took us to meet some of the "animal ambassadors." The highlight for me (maybe more than Sadie) was getting a behind-the-scenes look at the koala habitat. They were making the most unusual howling sound, that you would never guess came from a koala. They had the males in different areas in the back, because they don't get along, and the females with their babies were out in the exhibit for zoo-goers to see. They grow over 300 kinds of eukalyptus for these little creatures because they all have different tastes. And the San Diego Zoo has the largest collection of koalas outside of Australia because they are able to grow the eukalyptus due to the temperate climate.

We saw tons of other animals...bears, flamingos, arangutans, pandas, a baby hippo and a baby giraffe. It was a really fun day. Sadie had her own camera to capture memories from her perspective.


She is really fun to travel with at this age. She does great on an airplane and can sleep in a regular bed (or pull out sofa, in this case.) She doesn't require special food and can make it through the day without needing to take a nap (although we took a couple of family naps, which was awesome!)

We had lots of treats, including cupcakes and Ghiradelli chocolate sundaes, which Daddy and I ended up eating most of. Sadie rode the little train that runs around Balboa Park and I got to walk around and take pictures of the lush gardens and beautiful architecture. The 3 of us toured antique ships on the harbor and Sadie got to pretend she was a pirate.

We went to Coronado Beach at the Coronado Hotel, which was beautiful and peaceful if a bit chilly. Sadie looked for shells and built sandcastles, which is right up there with her favorite things to do in the world. We took a drive up to the Safari Park, which is also operated by the San Diego Zoo, and has acres and acres of natural habitats with rhinos, giraffes, elephants and all sorts of wild animals. They had a butterfly garden exhibit, which was beautiful, but Sadie was a little apprehensive about the butterflies landing on her. This was understandable since her Daddy and I freaked out a little bit when a bird landed on each of us in the lorakeet habitat. We got out of there pretty quickly, to say the least. Sadie's favorite part of this park was the bubble show. What is it about bubbles and kids? We finished off our weekend with a trip to In-N-Out burger and it was as good as I remember it. Thanks to Bebe and Papa for keeping Cashion, who won't remember that he missed out on this trip but maybe someday we can make it up to him.

Cups

At Cashion's 1-year-old check-up, Dr. Brown urged us to help him move from the bottle to a cup. Sadie started using a straw cup at 11 months, but like everything else the second time around, we were not as on the ball with this one. So, when he finally started holding his own sippy cup about a week after that appointment, we were thrilled. It seems like such a small thing, but we always held his bottle for him so this was quite an adjustment for Cashion.

Of course, it is even more fun to practice drinking from a cup while taking a bath in the kitchen sink!