Beach Bunnies

Grammy joined us for some relaxing fun in the sun today...it certainly didn't feel like the day before the start of November! We all had fun digging our toes in the sand and enjoying the cold water and sea breeze. Thanks for playing with us today, Grammy!

Happy Halloween!

I was SO proud of Parker for wearing his costume and accessories today! He's usually not a "dress up" kind of guy. We pulled together a pretty good cowboy outfit for him, and he had a ton of fun playing with his friend Emily and learning all about trick-or-treating (that is, learning that he doesn't actually get to eat the candy...I guess you could say that's the trick). In fact, I think Parker has been having so much fun lately that it's about time he had a boring day at home and fell asleep early.

Bates Nut Farm

We had a fun family day at Bates Nut Farm out near Escondido--they have a crazy pumpkin patch/Halloween carnival there through the whole month of October! Grandma Chris (Grammy) has been here visiting, so she got to join us as we met up with Mimi, Niki, Diana, Grayson, Jim, Kristina, and Lanea! The kids all had so much fun--Parker was happy all day long, right up until bedtime. He was definitely on a little-kid carnival high. He got to pet animals (although he stuck his thumb in his mouth seconds after petting the pig...and yes, those are tears on his face as Grammy tries to explain to him that baby animals are not scary), fly down a giant bouncy slide with Mommy, chow down on carne asada tacos, go for a tractor ride, and feed goats. Whew!

Pumpkin Patch, Part One

We met up with my childhood friend Hayley, her son Evan, and a gaggle of other toddlers and babies in Oak Glen today--it's a little apple farming community out near the mountains. We had a great time running around on a farm and searching for just the right pumpkins in a real pumpkin patch! We took lots of photos and brought home a cool pumpkin to add to our collection. It was a really nice day and Parker got to make some new friends.

Pumpkin Patch, Part Two

Work It!

Parker really likes trying on everyone else's shoes right now. He picked these out from my closet himself--hey, at least he's got good taste!

How Very Postmodern

Here's a video of Parker watching a video of Josie watching a video of Ella and her new baby brother, Owen!

Did that just blow your mind?

Haircut

I took Parker to get his second "real" haircut today...needless to say, he did NOT enjoy the experience! He sat in my lap and sobbed hysterically the whole time, Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!, with snot and drool running down his face. The price we pay for beauty.

Foggy Beach, Part One

Wow! After about a week of really, really hot weather, the fog came rolling in this evening. Which means we can add another word to Parker's vocabulary: foggy. I thought I might lose him if he wandered off too far!

Foggy Beach, Part Two

Flying the Friendly Skies

We had the most peaceful flight up to Northern California for our Napa trip--Parker stuffed his face with a banana, Cheerios, and grapes--all before takeoff--and then fell right to sleep as soon as we left the ground. It was the most relaxing flight I've had in...oh, about 19 months!

Wine Country

We spent a fun and busy yet relaxing three days in Napa with Dee, Niki, Emily, Peter, Josie, Diana, John Paul, and Grayson! We were quite a crew--it took a 12-passenger (Merlot-colored, of course) van to haul us all from winery to winery! Thank you to Diana for this great photo among the grape vines at Garden Creek Vineyards in the Alexander Valley. (you can check out Diana's website at www.casanovaphotography.com)

In the Barrel Room

Here's Parker and Josie hanging out among the barrels of wine at Groth. In about 20 more years, they can taste the wine too!

Bathing Beauties

The days were incredibly hot in Napa (almost 90 degrees), so it felt great to cool off in the hotel pools in the evenings.

Time for Some Swimming Lessons

Parker is really opening up to the whole swimming pool experience--I think we'll take a swimming class this fall.

Cousin Grayson

Parker and Grayson got to play together a lot on our Napa trip; Grayson is about fourteen months old and is the son of Jared's stepsister, Diana. I think Parker did a good job of teaching Grayson all about throwing rocks into water.