SeaWorld!!!!

I have been wanting to take the kids to SeaWorld for so long! When I would visit my Dad and Mel while they were living San Diego, visiting Seaworld was one of my favorite things to do. Since my last visit about ten years ago, SeaWorld had added lots of new things. They have rides and playground-type stuff built around a Sesame Street Theme. Sophie got to see her hero, Elmo, as well as Zoe, Burt, Ernie, and Coo-coo Mo-Mo (Cookie Monster).





The park is still expensive. The cost of feeding these sea animals? $6.00. Not cheap, but an activity we couldn't skip.

Sea World, Cont.

Maddie and Kent fed the sting rays a few little fish that cost another $6.00. That's 12.oo in addition to our entry tickets.  Again, not a cheap place to visit.

To make up for the $12.00 we spent on dead fish, we made sure we each got our 2 free beer samples from the Hospitality Center. One thing nice about Seaworld is you can buy alcohol and walk around with it! That means fun for the whole family!

We watched two shows during our visit. One show had Sea Lions and Otters and the other was the Cirque de la Mer.  We thought the Cirque de la Mer was somewhat vegas-ish, and not as cool as the one we were expecting with water skiers and such.

  

The last event.  Sophie was a bit grouchy by this point since we had to wake her up from her nap,  and then change a diaper that had seeped onto her shorts.  Enough details about that, though.  We had a great little get away and lots of great memories were made!

 

Unconventional Bathing

Baths have become such a chore around our house.  Over the past year, our nightly bath routine has dwindled down from every night, to every other night, to twice a week.  The girls cry when I rinse their hair, fight over the faucet side of the tub, make big splashes and a mess for me to clean up.  So last night, as I was procrastinating/complaining about the upcoming event, Kent suggested I just wash them in the pool.  The kids thought this was a great idea, and it went over well.  No fighting over the faucet, no too-big splashes, no mess for me to clean up.  There were still a few tears over the hair rinsings, but hey, I was happy.  Thanks Daddy, what a good idea!

Our Weekly Wrap-Up

Most of the week, Kent and I have moped around depressed that we were missing out on our long anticipated family vacation on the east coast. However, in lieu of our trip, there were a few highlights to our week. One, Madeline was able to attend her Princess Ball at school. Two, Kent got a ton of stuff done around the house. Three, we were able to keep Sophie's appointment with the pediatric opthamologist.


Sophie and Daddy waiting for the much anticipated appointment:

The scoop on Sophie is she is far-sighted. She has a prescription for +475 glasses that we'll get in a week or so.  She wore her little sunglasses like a trooper on the way home.

Mission Completed

The painting is done, and surprise, it's green. It was a lengthy decision. First I posted the poll, then I decided on lavender, but in the end, I decided that a more neutral color would be better for resale. In addition to painting, Kent and I have been scraping exterior paint and our interior popcorn ceiling.

The half-way mark:


The finished product:

Colors

One of my goals this summer was to help Sophie learn her colors. She has done very well and can identify, by naming, most basic colors. She can also identify by naming the following body parts: nose, mouth, eye, ear, neck, back, elbow, knee, a mole, and her tushie (poo-poo). When I ask her to do something, she responds with "O.k." or "all-right." She also likes to say "Bad Mannie" (translation: bad Maddie) when Madeline gets in trouble. This makes her big sister REALLY mad, and Sophie knows it. Fun times!

Andrew Turns 5 (Wow!)

Lucky Maddie has been to 3 birthday parties, all in the last week. Lucky girl! Today we attended Andrew's 5th party. 

As I was looking after Sophie, I realized how it seems your kids go from needing pretty much constant attention and supervision to hardly needing you around at all. It seems it has happened over night; I am just not exactly sure "which night" it happened. Madeline was so busy playing with the other kids, I don't think she called for me once. Sure I tried to encourage her to slow down enough to eat, use the bathroom, and apply sunscreen, but mostly I just cramped her independent style. She is definitely a confident and outgoing girl, and I think that will take her really far in life. I know, she's only five, but I am always thinking about what the future holds for my children . . .

One year old baby-buns, couldn't resist:


The pinata is always such a highlight. Again though, it makes me reflect on the early years . . . When our kids awkwardly held the bat, swung it weakly, hitting their target, if lucky. Well, those days are behind us. Look out Kindergarten, here we come!

Sophie and her "O"

At the party, Sophie kept referring to this floatie as, "My O, My O." I give her props for beginning to recognize letters, as well as for matching her accessories to her swim wear. Well done.  Well done.   Then, she handed me the tube of sunscreen and said, "I need more."  Now, she has used a lot of two word phrases and the pronoun "me" a lot, but this was the first "I" I have heard.

An Update, But Not Really

We saw our pediatrician and an opthomologist.  Now we're waiting to see a pediatric opthomologist . . .

Sophie Gives Mommy More Gray Hairs . . .

Sophie decided she wanted to give me something exciting to talk about for my 500th blog post, so she woke up from her nap Thursday afternoon looking like this:



Kent was the first to notice that something was wrong, and although I really wasn't too worried, I did a quick google at his request.  The search led me to believe crossed eyes were pretty common in toddlers, and I thought to myself, if her eyes don't go back to normal, I'll take her to her doctor on Monday. Around 11:00 last night, I thought I'd read through my childcare books to find out what might be causing her eyes to cross. Both books clearly said to take her to her doctor immediately if the eye crossing was sudden. Sh**. So 8:00 this morning I show up at our urgent care as they open the doors. The doctor examines her and says I might consider taking her to the ER (sh**, again) for an MRI/CT Scan. But he did say it would be OK to wait and see her pediatrician on Monday if I prefered. So we return home, and while Kent and I are discussing what to do, the phone rings, and guess who? It's the urgent care doctor, and he says he changed his mind. I should take Sophie to the ER for some scans and not to wait. So off we go to Sophie's second home, the hospital. Luckily, the CT scan didn't show anything abnormal, no mass or tumor putting pressure on the eye, and we need to follow up with our doctor and an opthamalogist tomorrow. Sophie was awesome during the scan and said "Wheeee" as her bed moved.

In the meantime, our kid will continue to look like this:

Sophie and "Huggy" waiting in the ER.

Chillin in our room . . .  Six hours all in all . . . 

Alexis Turns One!

A whole year has passed by already! We had fun at Alexis' birthday party Saturday afternoon.

Another Movie Night

One night last week, Kent made popcorn, and we all climbed in bed to watch Ratatouille. I was out first, followed by Maddie, then Sophie. Daddy, being the last man standing, took this picture. Sophie looks like she watched until she couldn't keep her head up any longer.

Down on the Farm

We spent the morning at a farm in Moorpark. It's about 30 miles from the house and so worth the drive. We went with our friends Carrie B. and David, and although we didn't pick any fruit today, the kids were well entertained. We saw so many animals, and Sophie went for her first horsie ride.

Playing Around at the Farm . . .

More Pictures from the Farm

The hills are alive, with the sound of music . . .


Sophie on the loose:


The aftermath of some banana icecream:

Pool Time With Milo

1-2-3 Jump

Partners in Crime

As I mentioned in the previous post, I was in class most of this last week. Therefore, I really didn't get the kids out of the house too much. So I'll share some of the random pictures we took "just hanging out."

LIttle Charlie's Angels, don't ya think? This spray bottle has been Maddie's weapon of choice for Kent, me, the dog, and Sophie who thought getting sprayed was pretty hysterical.

Playing beauty shop:

And a little slumber party:

So, Sophie has some new words and phrases.  She says "my" and "mine" when referring to all kinds of things and objects.  Today, the girls argued over whose show Diego was while both of them wrapped their arms around the TV and repeated "Mine!" "Mine!"  "Mine!" Kent and I thought this was pretty funny and got a good chuckle out of it.  

Sophie has also used the following phrases (all today):  "Mean Daddy,"  "Mean Maddie", and yes, "Mean Mommy" at bedtime, not to be left out.  Maddie and I got good chuckle out of that one.

Week of Class

This week I was in class for six out of seven days in an attempt to make a little more money next year. Of course with the budget cuts, I'll take a pay cut, so I'll most likely be back where I started anyway.  Blah, blah, blah . . .  I made it home each night for stories and bedtime.  Daddy did a wonderful job of holding down the fort.

Notice those paint swatches in the corner?  Remember the paint color poll?  Well, I have chosen a lighter shade of lavender to freshen up this space.  That's my goal for next week.  Find some way to paint the girl's room while they are home, but not sleeping in their beds.  Any suggestions?