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This summer has really been the summer of Cars. Not only Keegan has been watching the video over, and over, and over again on the weekends, but he has been playing with his toys cars A LOT. Many people complain about these movies, because their kids obsess over some particular character…well we are counting our blessing. Since he discovered Cars in the Spring, he has been playing with them a lot, by HIMSELF. This means that we get a few minutes of independent play when we can actually relax and read or do whatever, without having to pay attention to him 100%.

It is not quiet, mind you, because I think this is physically impossible for him to do, just like he can’ t stay still. He needs to talk. We get many comments, all the time (some nicer than others) on how he expresses himself so well, how he asks so many questions, how inquisitive he is…all nice ways to say he is NEVER quite. Not even in the bathroom, or when he goes to sleep. And definitively not when he plays. It is actually quite funny: he makes up all these stories, and I have to say that the little TV he watches, fuels his imagination and stories.

He plays with his cars using all sort of other toys, building garage, or slides or whatever else. He races them, he hides them, he lines them up, and he takes photos of them with his camera…

this is what I find when I get home from work

some of his favorite ones…but where is Francesco?

recording the crash?

Despite my dislike for licensed characters stuff, my resistance was futile: he has Cars underwear, sock, shoes, pjcs, t-shirt, various books, stickers and markers. He even has a Cars 2 lunch box: after spending a long time looking for the perfect lunch box to buy, we went to Target and it was all over…I had to get that one. My favorite toy, though, is a large Mac: it contains 16 cars and has a handle, and this is where all the cars go to sleep at night. (-: And he is going to get a new launcher. garage, once he gets enough stickers, of course, that will hold 10 more. These are the kind of toys that I like…storage masked as toys.

We also found a way to use his new passion to our advantage. We made sticker charts to earn new cars. The charts have a road and he uses cars stickers to fill it. This has helped our nighttime routine quite a bit. We both win: he gets new cars, we get more peaceful nighttime. The only problem is that, since he jumped on the bandwagon so late, it is extremely difficult to find the cars he wants at a reasonable price, since it has been so many years since the movie came out. The charts also have the added bonus of instilling the idea that you need to earn your toys. Now if he sees something he likes he says: “can I earn stickers for this toy?” Nice.

“There is a lot of traffic on this road” is his usual comment

Now he is looking forward to the Fall, when the new Cars 2 video will come out. We thought about taking him to the movies, but he can’t stay still and quiet for two hours, and even at home he always wants to skip through videos, even his favorite ones. So we all agreed that waiting for video is probably best.

So, thank you Pixar. You genius idea of commercializing one of the oldest plaything for little boys has really worked out for us.

Independence Day is here! Wow, half a year has already passed, and I am glad to report that it has been a lot better than the last so far. Sure, there are still remaining construction related issues (thank you City), but nothing comparing to the stress of the past year.

Even Keegan has been  much easier: better sleeper, and way LESS tantrums (knocking on wood, touching iron, etc.). His vocabulary is increasing rapidly and his absolute non-interest in drawing and coloring continues. He has shown more interest and skills, so far, in math related games. He enjoys workbooks that are math related and has a good grasp of more and less (what is heavier, what is more, etc) which surprises me, definitely not the math genius. The other night he even did some basic math on his carrots. He knew he had to eat 5, so he said: “I have seven carrots, I will took two off and eat 5”. I was clearly impressed. Ok, so he gets it from his dad. Well, engineers make a lot more money than artists.

The long weekend started early: on Thursday we spent a beautiful afternoon in Mission Bay with Hannah, her mom Jennifer and her little sister Natalie. It was a perfect afternoon: sunny and breezy, but not hot. We finished up the afternoon with a nice dinner, and Matt reached us there.

On Friday, I left early from work to meet Keegan at school, just in time for his Bike Parade. All the kids, with their decorated wagons, tricycles and bikes go around the block to celebrate the holiday.

ready to go with Elliott

It is really fun to watch them go, struggling uphill, and flying downhill. I guess this year will be probably the last year we are using a tricycle: It is probably time for a real bike. Keegan knows, that, to get a bike, he needs to pedal on his own (he likes to be pushed when the road gets tough). And honestly, I think it is a little easier to pedal with a bike. So now my months of research start to find the perfect(ly looking) bike.

All together

After the parade, a sweet surprise was waiting for them: sorbet and lollipops.

triple K trouble: Kelsen, Keegan and (Mac)Kenzie

The long weekend was fun. We enjoyed some really good time together. Saturday, since there is no trace of marine layer, we headed to the beach. It was nice, and we got to play in the water and sand. Keegan had a nice long nap, while we rested and worked around the house. We even did a little yard work.

Sunday morning we headed to a park waiting for the Annual Church Carnival to start. It is really cool (and free). We went last year, and there Keegan discovered the magic of bouncie slides. They have all sort of booths, prices, free food and desserts and of course bouncies. We played some games, especially the fishing game, waiting for the bouncie to be blown up. We got enough tickets for a large one eyed leopard. He loves it. More bouncing and then, the highlight of the morning: a huge water slide. Keegan saw one the day before, so he was very excited. Even so, it took a lot of convincing, since he did not have his swim trunks.

But once he tried once, trunks or no trunks, you could not stop him. He was sliding up and down  for more than 40 minutes.

I finally took him home, exhausted, around 2pm. Amazingly enough, he did not have a long nap, but we got him to bed early.

Matt had been working on the pool, so we were both pretty tired by nighttime. We relaxed in the newly connected jacuzzi: it felt nice to be able to soak, after more than a year of watching it sitting there as a huge paperweight.

On the actual 4th, we finally blew up the dinosaurs pool from last year: he has been asking for it for so long… He spent most of the day in and out of the water, jumping, diving (don’t ask…I know it is only a few inches, but you go tell him) and splashing around, on a beautiful, sunny day.

We even inaugurated the new soccer goal, with annoying sounds effects. He had fun kicking the ball and hearing the loud GOOOOAAAL. And check out his technique!

Water guns were also brought out for a fun battle, since it has been very warm all day. The super friendly neighborhood cat Yogi stopped by to say HI. This is friendliest cat I have ever seen. She immediately comes over and rub against your leg even if she never seen you before. And she love cuddles, being pet and and being around people. She behaves more like a dog. Keegan loves her, and he is very delicate with her.

We had dinner outside, overlooking the canyon and listening to the various birds, and the squawking hawks. So beautiful.

After Keegan went to bed, we relaxed, and watched some of the Seaworld Fireworks from upstairs…at least the ones that were tall enough toe above the trees.

What a fun weekend! We really can’t complain too much of not having vacations or not going anywhere, since San Diego provides us with so many great opportunities.

We had a busy June. With the warmer weather and the longer days, there is always so much to do in San Diego.

Seaworld and the zoo are open later, so they are a perfect spot for a quick after school activity: this is where the the annual pass really comes handy. The is  also a great Inflatables World in the parking lot where the Pumpkin patch is and we made a trip there. While the admission fee is not cheap ($15), spending 2 hours sliding up and down made it worthwhile. It was amazing: 10/15 huge inflatables (mainly slides, which are Keegan’s favorite), in all shapes and forms. And being a Friday afternoon, there was barely anyone there, so no waiting in line. He had a blast!  He was running from one to the next, to the next, so excitedly! And since the place closes at 6pm, it was easy to get Keegan to leave: they were closing the gates, no discussion there. We will definitively go back.

The Gorilla one was my favorite. If I did not have to pay my own way, I would have loved to slide down there myself.

We also had some fun playdates. MacKenzie came to visit after school and the two kids had fun playing in Keegan’s play room. These two are really best buds, and they are great playmates. Even after spending the whole day together at school, they still want to hang out. Amazingly enough they did not break anything or hurt themselves.

playing house (with cars)

“roughing” it in the big inflatable ball

On the house front, we are still working on the yard, mainly getting pool and jacuzzi back. Then we will move on the yard, that by now looks more like a wasteland…I guess we are lucky we are living next to a guy who has a bunch of dried dirt and overgrown weeds for yard, so it makes ours look like a tropical paradise. Regardless, Matt always keep the weeds mowed, and Keegan often “helps” with his own lawnmower.

June meant also gray and cool days, but Keegan did not mind, since he get to wear some cool hooded jackets.

We also had two fun events, that happened on the same weekend: Father’s day and Torin’s birthday party.

As every year, we had a Dad Celebration at school, complete with a buffet and water games.

Keegan is helping dad with his water balloon toss

this, sadly,  is the best father/son picture I could manage.

During the weekend we celebrated daddy by cooking breakfast and giving him a little break. Matt got a couple of books, and a wonderful paper tie, created by Keegan. In the afternoon we went for a nice walk in Tecolote canyon, and saw a lot of bunnies and beautiful birds.

Torin’s birthday party was very fun, as always. Trains were the theme, and the kids played and run around. Water guns were added to the mix this year, and that was not good news for some of the adults that participated into a water gun fight.

The little guys got soaked, but they did not care. It was warm and sunny, so it did not matter. Pinata and cake arrived next, making everyone happy.

We all loved the train/lego block cake pieces. As always very creative.

One more fun event to close a fun month: we braved the crowds and headed up to the San Diego County Fair. We actually had the timing right: by driving up there 20 minutes before opening we did not find any traffic and scored a terrific parking spot. And we have heard that on that particular day the traffic, had been horrific later on, because they had a Beer Festival and a Gospel festival going on at the same time. I guess we were lucky.

We started by visiting the agricultural pen, looking at goats, cows,pigs and sheep. Keegan got soon bored, but he loved the little pigs races and swims.We could not postponed it any longer: we had to go to the rides. Keegan was well informed, and knew there were rides to be had. He could ride alone on more than half the rides, but of course he liked to pick the ones that required adults (= twice the cost to ride them).

Fortunately, we met one of his friends from school, Elliott, so they had even more fun riding together and we were mainly off the hook and could sit back.

Keegan’s first attempt at bumper cars

Look ma: I am driving a Mustang too!

“motorcycles…so dangerous!” (actual quote from Keegan, even if he loved this ride)

Overall it was a fun day: we have not been at the fair in ages, but definitively it was not a cheap proposition…these rides are expensive. But the beaming smile on his little face made it all worthwhile.

We are looking forward to some summer weather, without any June Gloom and lots more fun with our little guy.

I know some of you may think that is always Spring Time in San Diego,  and that we don’t really have seasons here, but there still is something special about this time of year: longer days, warmer sun, baby hawks and lots and lots of flowers everywhere.

Spring Time also means we have more time to play outside after Keegan’s nap. So we take full advantage of this longer days to visit our favorite places, the Zoo and Seaworld, as well as neighborhood parks. We play stomp rocket, soccer or baseball. Soccer is still the favorite game, though.

One of our favorite parks, is the South Clairemont park, next to the Skate/Bike park. There are the obligatory slide structure, but also a huge, flat field, which is ideal to play in, or simply run in, maybe on daddy’s shoulders.

Being a neighborhood park, sometimes we met some of Keegan’s friends from school, that also live nearby.

Having a snack and goofing off with Van

If the weather was not nice, we found some fun activity to do. We got to tour an ambulance and a fire engine (which is different from a fire truck, I guess). Keegan had fun pretending to be a fireman and a patient: he even got his blood pressure taken.

goofing off on the fire engine

Hello… Can you hear me?

And if nothing else is going on, a “pic nic” outside school at pick up time will do.

Spring also means, Mother’s Day. We had a mellow but pleasant one. We started the celebration with Keegan’s school party. Tea and cookies were served under a tent outside, and silly dance games were played. It was just nice to see all the kids showing off their moms.

Keegan with MacKenzie and Van and their moms

An horrible pictures of us

Saturday, we had a date night planned, but our sitter got sick, so we ended up building IKEA furniture instead for Keegan’s room.hat a parent’s way to spend Saturday night (it still beats rolling up coins). At least I felt we accomplished something. The room is almost finished: we will have pictures soon.

On Sunday, Matt’s prepared a delicious brunch while I took an early morning nap, and he helped Keegan prepare a sweet card for me. Keegan also gave me his gift: a pretty jar of multicolored sand. I also picked up approximately 400 prints of pictures from 2009 and 2010: I finally got caught up, well still need to start on 2011. Watching all the images, and how much Keegan has grown in the past two years was very heart-warming, and I felt very blessed indeed to have such a wonderful little man in my life.

The warm and fuzzy feelings helped a lot, because he was not exactly on his best behavior that day…but no matter. And since he is three, I still get to dress him with clothes I like, even matching outfits in my favorite colors (a trend started when he was a baby).

One other fun activity we did this Spring was to “raise” and then release Painted Lady butterflies. I have been wanting to do this for a long time, and Keegan have been hearing about caterpillars and butterflies a lot, both at school, and at home, with our fun Hungry Caterpillar book and magnet set.  So we got a habitat for them, and ordered some larva.We were lucky: all 10 caterpillars turned into beautiful butterflies.

It was an amazing experience for all of us…I would say more for me and Matt, but Keegan enjoyed it as well. They arrived in a sealed jar, and we watched the caterpillar wiggle and eat till they became chrysalises.We even borrowed a great book that details the transformation.

getting ready to form a cocoon

a translucent chrysalis

That’s was the tricky par: transferring them to the little pop-up container and hang them there. After a little over a week, they started coming out of the cocoon and we had the chance to watch them and feed them. It was really fun.

We fed them sugar water and oranges…and they seemed to appreciate the bounty.

How many can you count? Can you see all 6?

We let them go on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Problem was, they did not really want to leave. They enjoyed the free food I guess. So, we had to actually put them on our hands and get them out. It took a couple of days, but they finally all flew away. We bid farewell to each of them.

bye bye butterfly. Fly away…now!

One more spring baby we had the fortune to enjoy: our usual hawk came back again this year. It settled in a nest almost completely hidden, but right in front of our house. With a binocular and some luck we got to observe the babies grow into juvenile, and they sometimes used our house and railing as a resting perch while they were learning how to fly.

taking a rest (and a dump) on our railing

So, all and all a fun, busy Spring. We are looking forward to Summer, and to a hopefully warm and sunny weather to compensate for the gray and cold summer of 2010.

… so we are really behind with this blog thing. This year has been very busy so far, between work and the million house related things…And we thought we were done with all that.

Anyway let’s try to recap. The week after my parents left, it was Easter already. The festivities started with preschool party in the morning, where a Easter Bunny dressed magician showed up and did tricks. I was so sad I had to miss it (NOT): Good Friday and Easter Monday were my only two days off in the Spring, alone, so I wanted to take advantage of the time to catch up with stuff.

doing some magic

wow, a real bunny (and not a weird old guy in a bunny suit)

On Saturday, I took Keegan to the nearby park Easter Celebration: there was an Easter Eggs hunt, a bouncie, a little firetruck rides, the Easter bunny, face painting and balloons artists.

Keegan did not really understand the idea of the eggs hunt, when there are tons of other little kids running over each other and scrambling to get some eggs. He just stood there, so he ended up with only 1 egg: it still got to exchange it for candy, so he was happy anyway. And plus, there were PLENTY more eggs awaiting him this weekend.

anxiously waiting for the hunt to start…

Of course he happily jumped on the bouncie and we were lucky to meet one of our neighbors, with her little one, Markus, a few months younger than Keegan. The two get along really well, and I dare to say that Markus is even more rowdy than Keegan, so there was a whole lot of wrestling, jumping, bouncing, bonking, and whole lot of laughter. This helped a lot, since we ended up being in line for the “balloon artiste” (yes, this was on his name tag) for more than half an hour. It was worth it, though, because he got a sword, a helmet and a belt, that lasted for weeks.

There were the obligatory pictures with the Easter bunny, and just a lot of playing in the sun.

Ok, is this just me or this bunny is absolutely creepy???? It is almost scarier than Frank from the movie Donnie Darko (by the way, still one of the best movies ever!)

Markus, Keegan and the creepy bunny

On the actual Easter day, after my early morning nap, I hid all the eggs and the basket in the yard, and had a good time watching Keegan discovering them all. We had to help him bringing in all the loot. I may have gone a little overboard, but he was one happy camper, between all the toys, the large Italian chocolate egg  and the candy.

He got the Leapfrog Scribble and Write he asked for, Froggie catch mitts, and the Cars he got for his birthday, which he did not remember at all. The gift that keeps on giving. These helped fuel his new passion for everything Cars related…and it is a good timing too, since the new movie will come out in the summer. Now playing with his cars is one of his favorite games…AND he can actually play with them alone for some time.

After the hunt, we called my parents and he opened their gift while talking to them via Skype: he was excited to get little Playmobil guys to complete his skate park set (also a gift from his nonni). Grazie nonni!

He easily crashed for his nap, but woke up early (too excited). He was so tired, though, he went back to bed and I had to wake him up. We spent the afternoon at Krista’s house, and had another fun hunt with Torin and their neighbor. They had a great time playing together and we, the adults, enjoyed some relaxing time.

Chasing each other, running and roughing each other were favorite games, but playing with Torin’s great train track was also a favorite.

It was a great Easter weekend, and I had a full day off on Monday to extend the fun. It was only fitting: after all, Easter Monday is a holiday in Italy.

I can’t believe it how fast time flies: it has already been a month since i nonni left: we still miss them quite a lot.

But let’s not dwell on the sadness of the separation. We had a wonderful time together, and we wholly enjoyed these days in San Diego. The trip was uncertain till the last minute, but with the doctor’s green light, my parents arrived on March 26.

Despite our new addition, they still preferred to rent the usual apartment at the beach…and who can blame them? Spending the morning in beautiful Clairemont or hanging out on the boardwalk in Pacific Beach? Humm, it is really a toughie…In any case, it was good for us too, so we get to visit the beach a lot more often than we usually do. The weather has been a little chilly, so there was no swimming in the water, but definitely playing in the sand.

We of course enjoyed a lot of wonderful, home cooked meals, and I made sure to ask for all my favorites.

The weather was not the greatest, but we took advantage of all the sunny days. My parents also rented a car, so they had the chance to take Keegan out to play, while I got some wished-for downtime. Mission Bay was an obvious stop, so Keegan could show one of his favorite playgrounds and all the progresses he made in climbing and jumping. Check out his  really cute t-shirt (with some apologies to Milton Glaser for re-appropriating his logo)

We really got to do a lot of fun stuff, and Keegan sure enjoyed all the attention. Seaworld was another mandatory stop. Keegan showed his nonni his newest favorite: The Dolphin Show.

We also fed the seals, but the smell of raw fish turned Keegan off. We had a quick stop at the polar bear exhibit, and of course we could not miss the Shamu show. Keegan showed off his great map reading and leadership skills, directing us to where he wanted to go.

The first week my parents were here, there was a small Fire Expo right across from Keegan’s school. We went to check it out. Between a couple of emergencies, the fire station was open for business, and we got a nice tour. We were a little disappointed there was no pole, but the guys assured us the PB station have one. Of course, the cutest firemen were brought out for the event: I pick Keegan up every day, and I never seen any cute ones before. The kids also got to test out the fire truck and spray water with the fire hose. They all got stickers and a hat. It was fun.

With nonni here, everything was a game and adventure, even the painful (for us) meal time. He even started eating tomato suace again, but the veggie soup still remained a no-no.

Of course the best thing was simply the time spent together: everyday they would invent a new game for Keegan to play and regardless what it was, there was plenty of laughter. One thing Keegan really liked was to listen to grandma and grandpa telling stories, all sort of stories, from the classics, like Cenerentola (Cinderella), which is now one of his favorites, to Pinocchio, to Greek Mythology (Ulyssis and the cyclops) to Aesop’s Fables. Some of the books were the same ones I read as a child, and it felt really weird to see them again. They don’t look quite as beautiful and fascinating now. It was probably the first time he sat quietly listening to a story, without having any visual in front of him…It is more than I can say about a lot of my students.

Stickers books were a big hit too.

The overall favorite games, though, involved jumping around, and “hiding”. Keegan is fascinated with Hide and Seek, but he still does not get that you really have to hide and not tell where you are.

My mom even tried her hand at baseball.

Keegan even got to go to Legoland with Matt for his school’s annual trip: a welcome break for my parents. Unfortunately I could not make it, but looking at the pictures it seemed like they had a blast. Hannah and her mom tagged along, which made it a lot more fun, especially for Matt.

With Easter approaching, our neighbour, the photographer, once again had a little lamb, Daisy, and we got to play with it a little bit…in fact it walked us home one day… then promptly peed on our driveway, which Keegan found hilarious.

I can’t deny, of course, that my parents’ visit also meant free babysitting for us: it was great to be able to go out at night without worrying about finding and paying a sitter. We took full advantage of that. We went out to the movies, to the Rise Against with Bad religion Concert, and we even stayed a night in a awesome hotel, The Keating, designed by Pininfarina in the Gaslamp Quarter. It was awesome! I mean, being able to be away for a night would have made a cheap Motel 8 feel like a mansion, but this place was incredible. We have not been in a modern, boutique hotel since Keegan was born…and I can say I did not lost the taste for it. The room was great: concrete floors, in room glass shower, espresso machine in the room, huge, comfortable bed. Every floor had a cool model of a concept Ferrari. It was very luxurious.

in-room bath and shower

bed

espresso machine: I had to drink some

the hallway with the Ferrari models

After three weeks filled with so much fun it was hard to say goodbye, but we hope to see them soon in Italy. Thank you for everything and a presto!

So, we have not been writing for a while. Too much to do, too little time, blah, blah, blah. Anyway: all is well here. we kept busy with working around the house and my parents’ visit (more on future blogs). Of course, we have still not moved in the new rooms, and we still have mostly empty closets, and boxes in the garage. All in due time: we are setting up weekend schedules, and try to tackle one thing at the time. Keegan especially is in no hurry, since empty rooms means he has more places to store toys and play.

Case in question: his huge, inflatable ball, proudly sitting in what will be Matt’s cave.

Among all to do lists we had to add some unexpected item, that took priority. Matt’s truck finally kicked the bucket, after 12 years and more than 165,000 miles. Honestly we were hoping to wait till the summer, but when the mechanic said that the wheels could come off at any time and it would take more than $2000 to make it safe, we need we had to get something else, and quick. Amazingly enough for us, we managed to get our new ride in a couple of days. So we are now proud owners of a Honda Ridgeline. I am very excited about it, because it is still a truck (hello IKEA trips) but it has finally 5 seats, so we can all fit in comfortably. No more squeezing in a jump seat or inside the Mustang. Hopefully this will lead us to take more road trips.

As for the house, well, there is still so much t do: the yard is priority #1, We have been working with a landscape architect to come up with a comprehensive plan we can slowly adopt for the whole house. We are also setting up new concrete pads for our jacuzzi and pool, and try to figure out where to place them. For now, the yard is half a jungle, half wasteland, 100% depressing. It is so bad that gophers peek out and scurry around with impunity. They are eating some of the weeds, to be honest, but also make a huge mess. I feel like I am inside an eternal rerun of Caddyshack.

gopher are kind of cute, but still…

Then we will need to get furniture for the upstairs rooms, and the living room. And of course the outdoor furniture as well. The garage is almost cleared out: still a few things to seel, a few things to put away. And we finally ordered blinds for 2 of the upstairs rooms. My goal would be to have most of the more pressing item taken care of by summer time, so our house can really be ready for guests. Anyone flying to the West Coast?

I will soon post images from our wonderful three weeks with our parents, but in the meantime here are some pictures of Keegan during the past couple of months.

trying to inspire his musical career

A big boy seat…love it! I can actually use the front passenger seat now

Our wonderful morning ritual: milk, books and cuddles. It almost make waking up at 6.15 am bearable, ALMOST.

Another ritual: watching some TV with dad on weekend mornings, all bundled up with some friends (while mom is napping).

Keegan is very fascinated by little babies: here is with Natalie, Hannah’s little sister.

Really, 1 lucky boy on St. Patrick’s Day (also 150th anniversary of Italy’s Unification)

January and February came and went in the blink of an eye: we have been busy.

After a summer like January (more warmer days in January than last July), February brought some winter: rain, wind, hails, even thunders and lighting but also a couple of beautiful double rainbows.For as rare as they are, in the past 6 months we saw at least 3/4 of them. They never stop to amaze us.

it is hard to see the second rainbow in this image

While I did use Photoshop to stitch images together and adjust the colors, this is really how it looked like.

We still had our beautiful sunny days, of course, but we also had to crank up the heat most days.The winter weather did not stopped us. Keegan especially has been a busy boy. Between the end of January and the end of February, he had 4 birthday parties and another birthday celebration. Lucky for us, two of his friend opted for a joint party. Wow: we were exhausted.

We started with two of his best buddies: MacKenzie and Kelsen. They are born 2 days apart at the end of January, so they joined forces and had a wonderful celebration in Mission Bay, under a rare sunny day. There was a bouncie house, and crafts and of course cupcakes! How fun! It was interesting to see a Spiderman-Princess party.

playing soccer with his buddies Elliott, Kelsen and Van

the birthday girl and boy with Spiderman and Princess cupcakes

Right after the party, we all got bad colds: I completely lost my voice for a day or two. It felt weird not being able to talk…but I am sure there were plenty people enjoying the silence. (-:

The following week, it was Van’s pirate party. It was fun. It was all about pirates, with a real pirate leading a treasure hunt, and pirates crafts and cake and piñata. Event the guest were encouraged to dress up. Keegan “costume” lasted a whole 5 minutes, before he wanted to take it off. I barely had time for a picture.

Keegan loved the activities and I had plenty of time for chatting.

mr. sensitive eyes, shielding from the sun. He would not make a very good pirate.

The made-from-scratch cake was amazing. Even Keegan seems impressed.

The following weekend, it was Rozalin’s party, another friend from school. We did dread this one a little because it was held at Chuck E. Cheese’s but it was not too bad. Keegan had a lot of fun playing games and winning rewards points, but he was not too thrilled by the huge mascot. Who can blame him? Who thought that having a creepy looking rat as  the symbol of a pizza place would be a good idea?

playing the horse race game

that mascot is very creepy if you ask me

One of Keegan’s favorite things about birthday parties are the goodie bags, and the chance to eat candy. He gets to pick one or two pieces only, so it is quite the event. Guess what color was the candy he picked?

Jada’s birthday is in February too, and even if she celebrated at Disneyland, we had the chance to go visit her and wish her happy birthday.

Our final celebration for the month was Elliott’s soccer themed party. Again crafts, snacks and piñata all matched the theme. The best part about all these parties is that all his friends from school are there, so Keegan feels somewhat comfortable and plays by himself.

the three musketeers (weren’t 4 even in the book?)

Birthday parties asides, we also got the chance to squeeze visits at the zoo, and Seaworld on Presidents day, when both Keegan and I were home for the holiday. The Dolphin Show is Keegan’s new obsession, so we made sure to make it. We also got to see the Pets’ Rules show. I wonder why they have to schedule the shows so close in time: it is always a mad rush to go from one to the next.

Striking a pose with a giant panda at the Zoo

On Valentine’s day weekend, another party, this time at Mila’s house, where Keegan spent some time playing with his buddies Hannah and Mila.

By the ed of the afternoon he is so tired he looks dazed among all the toys. I swear, we did not drugged him.

We had our Valentines Day celebration: while Matt and I postponed our official date one week, Keegan got to have fun the exact day. He exchanged Valentines with his friends at school: you are supposed to bring enough for all children, and are not allowed to personalized them or address them, you just sign them. If Charlie Brown would have been around right now, he would not have to fret about the red haired girl or not getting any cards…

He got in the mood with an appropriate shirt.

At home, he got to eat his candies, enjoy his school’s Valentines and open his gifts: a train bridge and a custom puzzle with his name.

playing with his train track and the new bridge

He is really getting interested into puzzles right now. He also loved his music and motion card (but at $6.99 a pop, it will probably be his last). Even if we did not got out that night, Matt sent a beautiful orchids/brumelia plant, and cooked a wonderful dinner (my contribution: setting the table and preparing the heart shaped mozzarella/tomatoes appetizer), so we had our romantic evening at home, beating the crowds.

Last but not least, we had our final construction walk through on February 25: a year and three days after our “soft start”. Wow: what an ordeal it has been, and we are are happy to be finished. No more lock-boxes at the door, no more unexpected visits from workers, especially in the weekend, no zipper doors…finally time to worry about decorating. Granted, we still have lots to do, especially in the outdoor area, and we don’t want to wait, but we are trying to focus on the part that is done, and not so much on the yard…talking of which, we  hired a landscape architect to create a complete and comprehensive plan for the whole outdoor area, including the side yard that is now a dumping ground. Of course we will not be able to tackle it all at once, but we thought it would be good to have a plan that we can execute little by little, instead of tackling different area randomly…at least when we are done the yard would look consistently designed.

To celebrate the end of construction, we had a very informal open house for the neighbors that have been so patient and supportive throughout this ordeal. We had a pleasant late afternoon chatting and “touring” the house, while the kids played. We had a great time. It is nice to be able to have people over again.

Now we will focus on main priorities, even if I can’t stop thinking about all the other things I would like to do to update the house to match the remodel (kitchen cabinets refacing comes to mind).

With March approaching, Spring is in the air and hopefully my parents’ visit in a few weeks. We are looking forward spending some time together.

Happy New Year everyone. So it is finally here. 2010 is no more, and a new year has just begun with the hope of more happiness and less stress. We rang it in in the best way. Our friends Krista, Eric and Torin came over to celebrate this new beginning. It was really fun. Keegan and Torin had a blast bouncing around the inflatable bouncie, which bravely tried to stand up to their wild rumpus…but it did spring two leaks. Oh well, it was getting too small anyway. Then it was time for cars and trains and any other toys they could get their hands on.

We nibbled on appetizer, while master barman Eric kept the drinks coming.

next drink please!

Then we had a nice dinner, while the kids were “eating” at their own little table.

We easily  got them to settle down a little just before bedtime. Tv is always a great help, and here they are mesmerized by the little short before the Incredibles movie. It is 4 minutes long, but they loved it. In fact, Keegan loved it so much, it is now one of his favorite videos for weekend mornings.

I swear we did not drug them.

Amazingly enough, both of them went to be somewhat easy, leaving us plenty times for dessert, drinks and good company. We cheered to the new year watching the standard countdown and New York ball drop — and making the usual Dick Clarck’s jokes — and got our fill of “champagne”. What a great way to start.

can you tell we are happy it is 2011???

The next morning, Keegan continued his streak, waking up at 6.30. A great start indeed. Again, we began the year with cuddles and stories and laughter, and even a cool sun outside the window. It is indeed a great way to start.

Happy New Year everyone!

We had a mellow day. I took my usual nap, then called my parents. They sent us a second round of pretty cool gifts, so Keegan got to open them on New Year’s Day. He really liked the book, little car and especially his oversize keyboard. Combining jumping around and music: what is not to like?

He had an epic nap that day, and waking up after 4 did not leave much time to go anywhere, so we stayed in, playing with the new toys and just having a mellow good time. All and all a wonderful first day. I felt very optimistic (or maybe just relieved) and I am looking forward to a much better year, I hope.

May 2011 bring all of you happiness and joy.

Christmas time is always pretty hectic, and definitely not one of my favorite time of year. Call me Grinch, but I really don’t care for holiday music much, and hate all the stress associate with it, the rushing, the crowds, the 4 months holiday decorations in the stores…having a little boy at home, though, definitely made it better. This year however, it has been a very stressful time, because we had to deal with lots of house issues, challenges and financial hurdles all the way till the end (we signed mortgage docs on the 22nd, and everything was finalized on the 30th).

To make things more fun, it rained the whole week before Christmas. This year, which was supposed to be a very dry, la niña year, has been one of the wettest year in history. It even rained three days in a row, non stop. So, all the fun Christmas activities I planned to do with Keegan had to be postponed. No matter, we were still able to have a fun Christmas time.

The season actually started early, right after his birthday party. The next day, to be exact. One of his buddies from school, Van, was hosting a fund-raising party at his house. And what a party it was: there was real snow in the front lawn, lots of wonderful raffle prizes (and guess, what, I did not win any of them. Surprise, surprise), craft stations, cookie decorating stations, lots of food and music, and even Santa Claus, sitting in a pool house. Keegan loved the snow: even if he was a little perplexed at first, he soon joined  in a snow ball fight: the kids against the inflatable penguins.

The weather was beautiful and warm, so we just played in the sun. We ate lots of cookies, did some crafts…

…and got our picture with Santa. As always, for as much as Keegan likes Santa, he is shy when it comes to sit on his lap. A quick round of high-fives and a candy cane helped.

It was a great party, that led to an epic nap. After the nap we went to buy the Christmas tree, a table top again, and the Christmas holidays season and countdown was upon us. This year we also got sucked into the Elf On a Shelf craze. Keegan was  really misbehaving right after his birthday — probably he got too much attention then — so we thought we needed an extra incentive to calm him down. Enters the Elf. This is a book about a little elf sent by Santa to report back on his assigned child’s behavior. The book actually comes with the elf in question, that you get to name. The elf itself it is a little creepy looking — Matt compared it to Chuckie— and the illustrations not that great, but whatever works. Keegan loved it, and it was a nice incentive to behave better.

This year Keegan could hardly wait for Christmas time, and he was constantly mentioning toys he wanted…mainly everything he saw in the millions catalogs that arrive at our house. To stop the greed wave, we really tried to talk to him about Christmas as a time for giving not just getting. We made an effort to donate foods or toiletry in grocery stores bin when we were shopping together and we even donated some toys to the Toys For Tots organization.

We also made it to the parade Of Lights Event this year, in a rare and unseasonably warm Sunday in the middle of December. It is a very nice San Diego tradition: every year many boats decked out with lights and decorations will slowly parade in the San Diego Bay. Many of them also have loud speakers playing holiday music, so it is a very festive event. We got to see the show from the beach, so Keegan got a chance of play with the sand when he got bored. The festivities started with fireworks, and Keegan loved them. It was his first firework show (usually they are too late for him) and he had a blast (no pun intended).

The Christmas, or should I say Holiday party (they sang a Hanukkah song, even if Hanukkah was over by then) at his school was on December 23. This year they had an afternoon party at his own school, and it worked out a lot better. When we arrived the kids were signing holiday songs, the same same songs Keegan has been singing non-stop at home for the past month, at the top of his lung. And now that is showtime…he is barely opening his mouth, but at least he is vigorously shaking his bell. After the performance, Santa Claus AND Mrs. Claus showed up. They were great, especially compared to the pitiful Santa in cheap polyester suit and obviously fake beard that showed up last year. It must have been true what I have read on the paper: many high-end Santas were jobless this year, and slashing their prices.

They sang songs, joked and posed for pictures.

Keegan looked more perplexed than anything else, but I thought they were great.

In fact when it was time for pictures, he grudgingly posed for a group photo, but then he went on to play with his friends and did not want to sit on Santa’s lap. Good thing we had a nice shot from Van’s party.

I like this little Santa girl more…

The party was on the last school day, and it kicked off our long holiday. Both of us had the whole week off, so no real vacation for me. (-:  Fortunately Matt took some time off (in part for nursing a bad cold) so we had many fun times together.

On Christmas Eve we headed over Krista, Eric and Torin’s house for an impromptu evening celebration. Two other children were there and Keegan and Torin were their usual, wild selves.

I love this picture: it is hard to tell if they look angelic or if this is the expression of someone who has been up to no good and tries to fake innocence. What do you think?

They played well together, which meant lots of adult time for us. We munched on delicious food, drank even better cocktails and opened gifts. Keegan loved that part.

Since it was Christmas Eve, we did move his bedtime a little later, but before leaving, we made sure he was all ready for bed. Wearing his PJ he settled with Torin for a little playful bonding time and then it was time for goodbyes.

Once again, we spent the rest of Christmas Eve wrapping and setting everything under the tree. As always it looked magical when we were done.

Christmas morning started well. Keegan slept till 6.30!!! Merry Christmas to us! To be honest, he had been sleeping “late” for a few day before that; it may have been the cold weather, the rain, or a growth spur…whatever it is we savor it, as we already know it will not last. Of course he got up almost right away, after his milk, and run to see if Santa has come. And then he immediately tore into the presents.

He could not wait for the evening for his stocking: he dove right in.

While we did try to keep the number low, we still ended up with a huge mound of wrapping paper, ribbons, cardboard boxes and assorted toys. As always, it looked like a tornado ripped through our living room.

Right afterwards, we called my parents and did a festive Skype session. My sister and her family was also there so we had the chance of wishing everyone Buon Natale. Keegan was a little shy (too many people) but it was nice to see everyone.

Then it was time for my last gift: nap time! A glorious two hours nap. Keegan also had a very nice, long rest, along with Matt. Once we were all awake, we headed out to watch the Light Displays in Clairemont. Because of the rain, we were unable to check them out earlier, but even if some lights were out, most of the street was still lit up and pretty great. We had a good time strolling around.

We put Keegan to sleep with some difficulties: he was way too excited. Once he finally crashed we had a nice, romantic dinner for us, and spent some quality times together.

Once again, Christmas was over in what felt like an instant, but we had a great time indeed. Even if we are little sad to be away from family during the holidays, we are very fortunate to spend our Christmas with friends and our wonderful little guy.

Having a birthday also means getting a check up. So, exactly a week after the big day, we went to see Keegan’s doctor. It has been a difficult week, with lots of tantrums and lots of pushing boundaries, with the apex the night before: an epic meltdown at bedtime that meant going to bed without books or cuddles.

That seemed to work, fortunately, so he was very well behaved at the doctor’s office. I can’t really say the same for me, as I was getting very irritated by the long wait. This time he got seen both by a resident doctor and our usual doctor. As a fist thing, he had to take an eye test. Just a regular test, with symbols instead of letters. He has perfect 2o/20 at this point. Of course we don’t really have much hope he will keep it, but hopefully it will last a long time. Then they gave him an hearing test: they placed headphones on him, and asked him to clap when he was hearing a whistle. He did well in this test too, showing not only a good hearing, but also good comprehension and ability to follow directions. They also gave him a gown for the first time: a gown that would fit a 10 years old. He kept him on long enough for a photo and then he was running around naked.

Everything else got checked too: he is in good health and at a good development state. We talked about the fact he is “double jointed” (Hypermobility) just like me, and what sports would be good for him. We are leaning towards contact sports, like wrestling or martial arts…unfortunately he is still too young for that. He still on the 50% for height (approx. 95 cm or 37 in) and up to an incredible 50% for weight at 31 lb (14 kg). Amazing! Maybe we should put him on a diet now…just kidding.

The worse part of the exam was the blood test. While last time it did not phase him, maybe because he did not know what it was, this time he was scared and cried a lot. Fortunately it only lasted a minute or so. We are checking for lead: our house used to contain lead based paint, and when the drywall was cut open, some of the dust spread so we want to make sure he does not have elevated lead levels. We have not seen the results yet, but no news hopefully is good news.

So, what can we say about our 3 year old?

• He really likes languages, at this point. He often asks us how to say something in one language or another. He also still enjoys his Spanish class a lot
• He also likes water and swimming. He is learning how to swim alone. Now he can jump underwater and swim alone for a few seconds, come back for air and go under again. He is not moving very far, but at least I feel better knowing he knows how to come up for air
• He is getting more and more interested in puzzles. He still not excellent at it, but he enjoys trying (and getting some help finishing them up). He likes to play with them in the new under the stair storage closet. We are tryng to explain to him that it is not his new hideaway…

• He is more physical than ever. He loves to jump, and he is quite fearless, and likes to run and wrestle. He still craves physical contact all the time. At this point, we are full of “battle” scars
• He is still very social: all day interaction at school is still not enough. He wants more and we try to plan after school activities and playdates as often as possible.
• He is showing some interest in reading, asking what some words say. He recognizes the whole alphabet, and recognizes the letters in simple words like Vons and Taxi. He is starting to recognize letters sounds and what letter a word starts with
• He  still likes books a lot
• His favorite toys are trains and balls (soccer balls, jumping balls, throwing balls), but he is also enjoying playing (banging) with tools like his toy power drill or the hammer

• He likes music, dancing and singing.
• He is still very intense, in good and bad. He squeals with joy and screams in anger
• He knows how to roll the R
• He can dress and undressed by himself, with few mistakes. Still working on buckles, zippers, etc.
• He likes pretend play and dress up. One of his favorite activities at school is dressing up like a tiger and running around growling

So, he is a wonderfully active little boy, and it is amazing to watch him grow and develop into his own little person, so similar to me but also so different.

It is hard to believe Keegan is already three, but sure enough his birthday came and went. And what an event that was: for days afterward we paid with extra tantrums all the special attention the little guy received.

This year, Keegan has been really anticipating this day. He had learned early in the year that his birthday comes in December and that he would be three then. So, there was no way to let it go unnoticed.

Of course, for us, the hectic preparations started way earlier, but for him, the festivities began the day before, when we went to Von’s to buy a festive balloon, some goodies for his preschool party, and to order a birthday cake for his real party on Saturday. After much pondering, Keegan chose the train motive, with a Thomas train on it and some writing. It wasn’t actually too bad: fresh strawberries inside a marbled cake. He even got to taste two different frosting: of course Keegan picked the sweetest of the two.

On Friday, his actual birthday, we started the day by celebrating him and letting him open one gift from his grandparents: it was a fun puzzle book. We got him to pose in his new favorite jacket with his birthday balloon…he does not seems excited but trust me, he was bouncing off the walls. He just does not enjoy pictures.

Then, we sent him to school with chocolate chip muffins and grapes to share with his class. His new teacher, ms. Joanna, made him a crown, and I have been told that he got to hear the Happy Birthday song all day long (sorry everyone). One of the other teachers sent me the pictures of the party in progress.

I picked him up in the afternoon: Matt was already at home, since he had to meet some garage door guy, so it was a nice surprise for Keegan. Of course, the first thing he wanted to do was to open presents. We tried to limit the number, since we knew he would get more toys the following day, but he still lots: a build-yourself biplane (since we saw many at the Air Museum); a wood train set; and a small helicopter- hauling truck. I nonni sent him a couple of books, a set of paper place mats that convert into paper airplanes and and RC motorcycle. Wow, he is a lucky little guy.

can’t wait to open the presents…

my new wood train is pretty cool

Please note our plastic wrapped new carpet…and good thing we had this too, because I immediately spilled OJ on it

We ate pizza for dinner, one of his favorite foods and a little chocolate cake. We blew up the candles and took the obligatory pictures, and then back to play with the new toys once more.

Getting him to sleep was not easy: between the sugar and the excitement he woke up a few times that night. The next morning it was showtime!!!

The party has been the biggest stressor and the biggest unknown…literally. We sent out invitation without a site, since we wanted to have the party outside. Our house is still not 100% done and we had invited about 15 children: there was no way they would fit in our house. So, we checked the weather report religiously, and everything looked fine till the Monday before, when all weather reports showed rain for that day. Of course we panicked: we had no plan B, and it was too late to rent anything. So, we waited and hoped, and fortunately the chance of rain was reduced to 20%, so we took our chances. We rented a nice combo bouncie with a slide, and we headed to Liberty Station Park. It was the perfect location, with huge grass fields, a close by playground and open bathrooms.

Matt left early to pick up the cake and meet the set up guys, but I could not get the birthday boy out of the house: so he was actually late to his own party. He was so excited when he saw his bouncie and his friends!

It was definitely a good call! All the kids (and there were 12 of them) had a great time. We also brought some bouncing balls, so they had small races.

All the kids wore themselves out.

Thank you Krista for climbing up the slide to take this shot!

Keegan was so tired and cranky by noon, that he did not want to eat any pizza or cake!!! Fortunately, everyone else was hungry, since we had a lot of food.

a tired and cranky birthday boy

However he got a second wind when he saw on his best buddies from school, Kelson, arriving: for some reason he never got the invitation so we were not sure if we could get hold of him.

Kelsen and Elliott on the field

Impromptu soccer matches (and relative fights) ensued, and then more bouncing and running around. Keegan “tried” to take a nap, by laying down in the grass, but did not last long. Most kids were gone by 2pm, except for Hannah, so the two of them got some more jumping in. They even got me to jump. Man it is hard work… But the slide is fun!

Hannah and her baby sister Natalie

Then they took turns with the awesome Stomp Rocket she brought him.

We also got some party crashers: but we could not say NO. It is hard to see a bouncie and not being able to go in.

Keegan and I finally left around 3pm, while Matt had to stay behind waiting for the guys to pick everything up. Keegan fell asleep as soon as he hit the car seat, as expected. It was easy get him to bed and he had a nice nap. I did have to wake him up as it was getting late and he was obviously a little out of sorts:he bounced so much, he ended up throwing up all over me. Fun times. He was also still tired. Not too tired for opening the presents, mind you, but still. He got to unwrap them all, but we had him choose 4 and put away the rest. We did not want to be overwhelmed. He got so many cool toys!

Unwrapping toys is serious business

After more playing he ended up going to bed earlier than usual, with no fuss. Tired but happy. It is exhausting being the birthday boy!

It is amazing how, right after Halloween, time really seems to fly by. before we knew it Thanksgiving was gone, and the Keegan’s Birthday/Christmas/ New Year marathon began.

It was a nice one, though. We started the festivities with the Thanksgiving feast at Keegan’s school. Some of the parents brought food (no, not me of course…but we were not asked), and we all set up to lunch outside. Keegan even ate some of the food, which is remarkable. Just as for any holiday the school closed early, so we headed home for our nap. Amazingly, even if there were workers finishing up our carpets and tiles, Keegan easily settled down for his nap.

The weather has been unseasonably (for San Diego) cold, which was just “perfect”, since our heater was out and the technician could not come for at least 10 days. I guess cuddling under blankets made the holiday cozier.

On Thanksgving day we took it easy. In the morning Keegan and I met with our neighbors Sharon and Jada for a playdate at the Cadmen park, with a beautiful view of the bay. It was sunny, and chilly, but we had a great time.

hanging like little monkeys

sliding together

The kids played together very well, and to see them in the convertible toy car, hugging each other and kissing, gave me a “flash forward”…Brrr, not looking forward to the whole dating drama! But at almost three they are just adorable.

After a nice two hours nap, we played around the house, in our new carpets and tiles; this is something to be grateful for: new, clean carpets and tiles instead of broken down concrete and linoleum pieces.

Matt cooked a wonderful dinner, as always, with all the traditional food. It was a little hectic to get everything ready, take the pictures and actually sit down and eat with Keegan running around, but we did it.  Keegan “helped” daddy with the cooking, while I set the table and got everything else ready.

And we all felt really fortunate to have each other and very blessed.

The next day was even more hectic as we tried to get all packed and ready to go. We decided to spend two nights in a rented house at desert Hot Springs. The idea was to be in a warmer place, and possibly even to swim in the heated pool. The average temperature over there for November is 78. Of course, this being 2010, the year where every little thing is not going our way, we were in the middle of an unusual cold spell, so the average temperature was in the  low 60s. Goodbye swimming. The house, though was wonderful, and it even had a small yard for Keegan to run and play l. And best of all, the heater was working!

After a couple of false starts, we finally got underway around 1.30. Keegan slept a couple of  hours and when he woke up, he was so tired, he basically stared into space till we got there. I got a little nap myself.

We arrived  just before dark, so we kicked the ball around and ate some nice leftover. Keegan also took a long, epic bath in the nice soaking tub. Keegan loved “his surfer room”, and we really enjoyed how easy and convenient it was to rent a house instead of going to a hotel.

we really need to work on the smiling

In the evening, after getting Keegan to bed (which was not an easy task), we watched tv and did some internet shopping: it was black Friday after all. We mainly took care of Keegan’s birthday. One hurdle at a time.

Keegan slept pretty well, only waking up a couple of times, and the next morning he was ready to play. I took a nice nap, and then we all headed down to the Children Discovery Museum of The Desert. I liked it better than the San Diego one: it was huge and lots of things for children to do, even small ones. Keegan loved the rope maze, and painting on the car, an old BMW Beetle.

He spent time riding the police motorcycle, and “running” in the wheelchair, as well as making pizzas. We avoided the whole supermarket: honestly, we get enough lines in the real thing!

The museums also had a nice outdoor area, so we spent some times playing ball. We headed home for some lunch and a nice nap, and all of us got a couple of hours under the covers…Late afternoon was sunny but very windy: Keegan almost flew off the play structure! So, we went to the store and grabbed some food instead.

The next day it was already time to leave. Matt took a morning nap, while Keegan and I played. He showed off his newly acquired skill: rolling his R. It was a big surprise since we have been trying for a while now, without big success, and now, all of a sudden, here they are! He is still working on Rs that are inside words (such as Carta), but we will get there soon. I think Spanish class helped too. Now we have to start working on the GN and GL sound.

After packing everything up, we headed to the Palm Spring Air Museum. It was pretty cool: there were a lot of WWII planes and it was fun to get a closer look. Keegan especially liked the scary images painted on some of them.

The best part for him, however, was the children section, where kids could paint a plane, climb in the cockpit of a couple other and ride the vintage fire truck.

Prying him off was not easy, but it was already lunch time. So, after a quick stop at a family restaurant we headed back to San Diego. Keegan slept the whole way, so we had a very peaceful trip, and we made it home in less than 3 hours.

It was great to get away from the construction zone for a few days, and we had a really  good time. However the amount of packing and prepping involved for a simple three day trip may make us reconsider our Christmas plans! We really would like to take Keegan to see the snow, but maybe a day trip is all we need.

Halloween weekend also brought us a fun photo session. The pool where Keegan takes swim lessons offers the chance of a underwater photo session about twice a year with a professional photographer, Shelly VanBrabant; this winter they held one on the Friday before Halloween. So, even if it was a mad rush going to school for the Halloween parade in the morning, and back for the Carnival in the afternoon, and then quickly drive to the pool, we signed up.

We got there a few minutes early, and the pool was eerily quiet: just us and the photographer, and we were the last ones for the day. Matt was able to meet us at the Halloween Carnival and accompanied us for the photo shoot, doing some documenting of his own.

we are ready for our close up

I was in the water as well, helping out and also trying to get some shots with Keegan. He quickly warmed up and he was happy splashing and playing in the water. Then it was time for his close ups. There was an assistant helping him to get underwater, and I was swimming towards him, as the photographer shot pictures.

Behind the scene of a photo shoot

In between shots she would show us the shots on her digital camera: the miracle of technology…too bad that without glass there was not much I could see. (-:

Modeling underwater is definitively much harder than I thought, especially if you have to dive down, stay below the surface, old a squirmy 3 year old, smile, look at the camera, and slowly swim forward…all at the same time. It was especially difficult not to pop out of the water. I guess I float really well. (-: Needless to say, we did not get many beautiful shots of me, but we had a lot of fun.

Keegan, on the other hand, was a great model: he smiled, kept his eyes open and generally followed all the directions. He was having a ball. And since it was Halloween weekend, he got to pose with a pirate costume. AARRR!

He looked great in most if the pictures, so, even if the sitting fee was really cheap, we will end up spending lots of money in prints…Oh well. So here are some of our favorites:

and our all time favorite

This year Halloween was really fun. Keegan is at the perfect age for it, so he was looking forward to “trick or treating” for a while. I guess this is also probably the last year I get to choose his costume, since he did not expressed any preference. So, he got to be a dragon, a really cute one, if I can say so myself. I bought the costume a few weeks ago, so he go to play in it multiple times. He especially liked the wings and the long nails, and pretending to be fierce. Little hard to believe with that smile.

This year, we also went to a Pumpkin Patch (twice): it is funny how nowadays, the pumpkins on display are kind of a side show to all the rides that are there. In fact, one night, while we were reading a Halloween story and the book showed a real Pumpkin Patch, Keegan asked me:” Where are the bouncies?”.

The weather has been horrible, so we took advantage of the first nice day and headed over to Mission Valley to Pumpkin Station. Ok, so it was not the most spectacular view (the I-8 freeway on one side and the Bed Bath and Beyond parking lot on the other) but it had bouncies, and that was all that mattered. Of course he rushed to the giant slide, his favorite. But he found time to sample all the other rides as well: the train ride, the smaller bouncies, the petting zoo, the rotating chairs, the boats.

what a panoramic view of the parking lot

WOW, there are actual pumpkins here

Matt reached us after work, so we all chose a nice pumpkin together and had a fun dinner at Bennigan’s. Keegan was in a great mood and we actually had a whole day without any whining. Incredible!

The weekend’s weather was again not the best, so we spent some time decorating and carving our pumpkin. We totally chose an easy way out, and got a pre-made template, but it turned out great. By we of course I mean I chose the template and Matt actually carved it. Keegan was excited at the idea, but got bored pretty soon.

Unfortunately, our pumpkin did not quite made it to the big day, due to one super hot day, but it did not matter. We got to enjoy it for a few days.

The following week we made another trip to the Pumpkin Patch: I have bought a lot of rides tickets and, since they were not cheap by any stretch of imagination, I did not want to waste them. Again, we spent most of our time on the giant slide. Keegan was the entertainment for all the spectators, since he was the littlest one and he was literally flying off that thing. We even got a free ticket from a family that was leaving and noticed how much he was having fun. Despite his generally cautious ways, he is NOT afraid of the giant slides.

Look at him, flying down

On Friday, we had all the school festivities. We started off with a Halloween parade in the morning: it was of course very hot, and the poor kids were melting in their heavy costumes but they had a blast  parading around and going to the nearby establishments to get some candies.

Look how good I am at holding on to the ring

After it was all over, a good 5 minutes later, it was time to enjoy some of the loot.

In the afternoon it was time for the carnival: parents came in and kids played and participated in many different games, culminating with the pinata bashing.

On the actual Halloween day, we got ready as soon as the sky got dark. Keegan was so excited! We met with Jada first, and headed out together.

I am ready…let’s go! Enough pictures!

with Jada and Sharon

We then caught up with other neighborhood kids, so we were a nice big group.

Keegan, this year, loved knocking on doors and ringing doorbells, and knew exactly what to say.We hit many more houses than last year, and I have to say that our neighbors are very generous and had lots of really good candy. We did not have any cheap goodies!

trick or treat!

After a full hour, the kids were tired and Keegan could not wait anymore to sample his loot. We went back home and survey all the candies.

Keegan got to pick his favorite 5 plus a bag of Cheetos, and despite the sugar high, he actually went to bed pretty easily.

dancing around on a sugar high!

He even saved a few for the next day. We had a talk about how too much candies gets you sick, but I think what resonated the most with him is a book we saw that shows kids getting all green and sick after eating too much junk food. Well, whatever works, right? Hopefully it will stick, since we made all the rest of the candies disappear.

So, I have to say it was a very successful Halloween, and probably the one I enjoyed the most so far. It was really wonderful to see all these little guys scurrying around, playing and collecting goodies. And I obviously did not mind making all the good candies disappear…in my own private stash.