Anthony's Plant (Another Year, Another Bean)

As usual, he loves his plant.  He waters it obsessively.  He carries it around with him.  (We're going to the park, wait, I need to get my plant.)  He checked on it every 30 seconds to see if the seed had germinated.

Yet somehow, the plants always seem to grow.

This year's is going into the ground tomorrow.

His Easter basket will contain pumpkin, watermelon and sunflower seeds.  I expect that they will all be well loved.  Hopefully not too well.

Visiting the Easter Bunny

A few weeks ago we took the boys to the mall to get big boy shoes for Richie (size 4 1/2) and to visit the Easter Bunny.  Richie found the bunny to be absolutely fascinating.  Anthony immediately recognized that he wasn't real and proceeded to stage whisper to me.  I told him not to say it out loud so he didn't hurt the bunny's feelings.

Last night Anthony asked me if the Easter Bunny was real.  I asked him what he thought.  His response was that the one at the mall was fake and he could see the person inside.  I suggested that it might be one of the Easter Bunny's helpers.  Anthony didn't like that answer very much, but did proceed to explain that the Easter Bunny was busy getting everything ready for Easter.

The rest of the trip...

Somehow, we didn't get pictures for some of my favorite parts of our trip.

The hotel had a nice warm pool.  Anthony swam for at least an hour each day, he probably had more in him.  His stroke needs serious work, but he could swim the width of the pool.

Richie LOVED the pool.  He thought it was hysterically funny when Daddy helped him float on his back.  He didn't get quite as much swimming time as brother--one day I made him nap instead of swimming and another day we came out early as he was turning blue. 

As Anthony said, "There is nothing funner than swimming."


The other great part of our trip was our walk at Armstrong Redwoods State Park.  Anthony really hoped to see a banana slug.  He even made a point of asking the ranger if they had them.  We looked closely, but no banana slugs.  He did find lots of wildflowers and some very pretty mushrooms.  Its funny, it was probably the slowest hike I ever took, well over an hour to walk under a mile and a half.  It was because Anthony was exploring the entire time.  

Richie slept through most of the walk.  He did wake up and go for a short walk himself before I plopped him back in the stroller.  Anthony was slow enough, if we'd gone at Richie's speed we'd still be in the redwoods!

Old Friends/New Friends

I really wanted a babysitter for part of our trip, but i just wasn't comfortable leaving the boys with a complete stranger.  Then I had the "a-ha" moment and realized that one of my former scouts moved up to the Santa Rosa about 11 years ago.

I called up the family and they were happy to take on the boys.  The boys spent one evening at their house playing with Dana's daughter.  All three kids had a great time together.  Then Dana and her daughter came out and joined us on the walking part of the safari and kept Richie while we went on the jeep tour. 

 It was really nice seeing my scouts all grown up.  Her daughter was just precious and I really enjoyed getting to meet her.  A good part of the drive home Anthony was spotting random white SUVs and asking if that was his friend's car.

Safari West

The highlight of our vacation was a trip to Safari West in Santa Rosa.  It was a pretty fabulous experience.  We slept in a safari tent; Anthony was thrilled to sleep in a bunk bed. I don't think the rest of our acommodations were even noticed..  We were up a good part of the night with Richie, but it was kind of wild hearing the flamingos all night long.  For the record, those birdies are LOUD.

  In the morning we headed out for our safari.  Richie joined us for the walking tour (before we got in the jeep) and then stayed behind with one of my former Scout.

  The safari was pretty darn neat.  Bob and Anthony rode on the top seat and were pretty much face to face with this giraffe.  While Anthony enjoyed the animals, he just enjoyed going four wheeling, the animals were a bonus.  Besides and up close and personal visit with the giraffes, we saw rhinos, cape buffalo and all sorts of antelope.  (The zebras were nowhere to be found.)

  Another nice part of the experience was that both boys made new friends.  While we were enjoying our communal dinner, Richie hit it off with the 3 year old girl at our table.  When he was done playing I let him toddle around the dining area.  Next thing I knew she had him by the hand, announcing to her mother that she was taking him potty.  (We stopped that.)  Anthony made friends with the girl on our safari and was thrilled to see her at McDonald's on our way out of town!

Snoopy's Ice Rink

 We took a long weekend to Santa Rosa for Anthony's Spring Break.  The first day we went to the Charles Schulz museum and ice rink.  We visited the museum in the morning and after lunch at the Warm Puppy Cafe I took Anthony ice skating.  (Bob sat out the skating as his ankle is still healing from a bounce house injury.)

  Anthony got frustrated occasionally with how slowly he skated compared to some of the other kids.  Most of those kids were clearly accomplished skaters, I thought he did remarkably well for his second time on skates. 

  We skated for a little over an hour, then had snack and headed back to the hotel pool to swim.  (For the record, nothing is better than swimming!)

Happiness Is...

Sharing Daddy's ice cream.












Since we were at the Warm Puppy Cafe, a little "You're a good man Charlie Brown" seems in order.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d13_LoHQkRM

Happiness is finding a pencil.
Pizza with sausage.
Telling the time.
Happiness is learning to whistle.
Tying your shoe for the very first time.
Happiness is playing the drum in your own school band.
And happiness is walking hand in hand.
Happiness is two kinds of ice cream.
Knowing a secret.
Climbing a tree.
Happiness is five different crayons.
Catching a firefly.
Setting him free.
Happiness is being alone every now and then.
And happiness is coming home again.
Happiness is morning and evening,
Daytime and night time too.
For happiness is anyone and anything at all
That’s loved by you.
Happiness is having a sister.
Sharing a sandwich.
Getting along.
Happiness is singing together when day is through,
And happiness is those who sing with you.
Happiness is morning and evening,
Daytime and nighttime too.
For happiness is anyone and anything at all
That’s loved by you.

Fifteen Months Old!

Richie walks!  That's the big news of the month.  He's still very wobbly but he walks everywhere he goes.  He's also discovered Anthony's old lawnmower and loves to mow the sidewalks with it.

  He also talks.  He jabbers all the time, but he has more and more real words.  The current list:  oh-oh, no, ball, dog, bottle, book and I'm fairly confident he says "thank you".  Now, you have to be "skilled in the art" to understand his words, but he's definitely saying them. 

 His fifteen month check-up went well.  He's still pretty tiny, 20lb, 2 oz and 29" tall. That makes him 15% for weight and 2% for height.  He's still follow his curve on the growth chart, and at least he's on it!  The nurse practitioner thinks he will grow more teeth, as he's still at 6 and holding.

  I just looked back on my blog post for Anthony, and Richie is doing more or less the same stuff, though he doesn't stack blocks.  He can scribble with crayons, talk on the phone, and likes to play with light switches.  And, like Anthony at this age, he's insanely clingy.  Oh, and he throws temper tamtrums.  The kind where you throw your whole body down screaming because you didn't get your way!