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Today is a very lazy day around the house. Next Saturday we have been invited to at least nine things (though I didn't bother counting after a certain point) but today we have nothing on the calendar. It seems like it's always like that; we either have too many things to do or nothing at all. I wish that at least one of the parties happening next Saturday was scheduled for today. I guess we'll just have to relax in our tutus and jammies and find other things to do today.

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Before leaving for work this morning I told Miguel that he had to think up an adventure for us to go on when I got home. I love all of our adventures but it seems like I'm always the one in charge of coming up with the adventures and plans, with everyone in my life. It's nice because it means we end up doing what I want a lot of the time, but it would be nice to just go along for the ride sometimes and benefit from someone else's planning. When I got home Miguel hadn't come up with anything so I suggested we just head out to Duncan's Mills for our traditional half off pastries and then take it from there. The cafe has new summer hours now, which means the pastries were still full price when we arrived. It turns out most of the fun of our Friday pastry run is the fact that they are half off.

We ate our pastries in the car and I suggested that Miguel go check out the tea shop while I waited with Az as she napped but Miguel said the fun of the tea shop for him was the shared experienced. So we sat in the car a while until I suggested we check out Jenner. The majority of the time that we head to ocean we turn left towards Bodega Bay so I thought turning right towards Jenner might hold some adventures. I was reading a magazine while Miguel drove and while I wasn't looking Miguel drove through the entire town of Jenner without realizing it. I don't think he was very impressed. I volunteered at the Jenner Visitor's Center many weekends in high school so it's always fun to me to return.

We went down to the small beach by the Visitor's Center where Az threw rocks and Z built things out of drift wood but we didn't end up staying very long. In the end we returned back to the house and I took the kids into Forestville to get dinner at Carr's Drive-in. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening. Zae and I talked and had a nice calm meal; It was the very first time Az eagerly sat in a high chair at a restaurant and contentedly stayed there the entire time.

I'm still hoping that one day someone else takes on the role of wagon master every once in a while. Neither of my boys seem to want to don the hat but maybe Az will be that person. She's certainly opinionated enough.

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I think Az would actually be pretty good at blowing bubbles if she and her brother would stop dumping out the bubble solution and filling the tube back up with water.

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Az found the supply of juice boxes I bought her brother in preparation for summer school camp. She unpeeled the wrapper and put the straw in the box herself. I'm in some real trouble now that I have not one but two dexterous, curious, and smart kids running around the house.

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Az at 23 monhs:

• Broccoli is still one of her very favorite foods (if not THE favorite) though she has taken to calling them "monkey trees." I have no idea where that came from, though when my brother was little he called them "dinosaur trees." I guess she prefers monkeys to dinosaurs. She now walks around the house insisting on monkey trees.
• Her sense of humor is developing. She does things to be funny and is starting to understand what other people consider to be humorous. Today I declared, "I'm hungry!" to which she cheekily replied, "Hi Hungry!" Her sense of humor is either advancing or else that old joke is just that bad.
• She still loves wearing dresses and tutus (all skirts are called "tutus" in her world.) When we're home we go through lots of outfit changes, the flouncier the skirt or dress the better.
• She still loves dolls, and usually has one in her hand. Action figures will suffice occasionally but normally it is one of her plastic princesses that she wants. Most nights she insists on having a plastic princess to sleep with in her hand. Miguel is not the best at keeping track of the small dolls though so she is having to learn to fall asleep without them on occasion.
• She is getting better about falling asleep with Miguel at night. On the nights that he puts her down she sometimes will go willingly without crying at all, though of course she still prefers to nurse to sleep.
• I had hoped to start to wean her but Az is having nothing of the sort. On the days I work she goes for eight hour stretches or more without nursing so she obviously can do it but when I'm around she wants to nurse CONTINUOUSLY. When I talked to her pediatrician about weaning both she and her nurse told me I shouldn't be in any rush and that I should let Az lead the way. It's nice going to a practice that shares my philosophies. Though parts of me are itching to wean. The constant stimulation is a bit much. 
• Az has shown an increased interest in cars lately. She has a few already but I would like to get her some tractors and bull-dozers to bring to the beach. I know she's a girlie girl at heart but I would like to encourage her expanding interests. 
• We're still working on getting her to not scream as a default. The more words she learns, the less of a need she has for screaming.
• Az can tell me when she's hungry for food now (something she has never bothered to do in the past because her default has been to nurse when hungry.) Unfortunately, it seems like she is constantly hungry these days. The day she learned to express this need she was running up to places like the smoothie stand at the mall, declaring her hunger and then waiting expectantly. She needs to learn about the concept of money next.

I can't believe that the next one of these I do will be for her two year birthday!

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High fives while hanging out in front of the house. Before we came out I had asked Z where his homework was. He replied that he didn't know. Az was on me nursing, seemingly lost in her deep nursing thoughts. She unlatched long enough to say, "In his backpack?" Z and I had just gotten home so she couldn't have seen it in there. My baby is using deductive reasoning and paying attention to the things around her now. It's so neat. But also, it means that Z needs to start thinking up new excuses for not doing his homework.

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This week the kids and I went with my mother to Maker Faire in San Mateo. I had originally planned on skipping the fair this year because finances have been a little tough but I realized that this is the event Z waits for all year. He subscribes to MAKE magazine, who put on the fair, and spends most of the year discussing its contents with whomever is within earshot. During the rest of the year we spend time looking for experiences that try to simulate the fair. I was obviously going to have to figure out a way to get us down there and make whatever necessary sacrifices.

It worked out in the end, as it usually does. Z had a great time and even found time for a lengthy soldering lesson while his sister napped. He found a lot of people to talk at about his theories but the great thing about the people at Maker Fair is that they actually listened and came back at him with theories of their own. It's always a good reminder that just because Z has trouble finding people to relate to around him, it doesn't mean there aren't like-minded souls wandering the Earth. And they're all really intelligent, creative people whom have been searching for people to talk to also.

Last year around the time of the fair Z was having trouble running and wandering off. I had been concerned about losing him in the large crowd at Maker Fair so Z and I had agreed that we would tie a piece of yarn to each of our wrists so that he couldn't wander too far. Although he went into the arrangement amicably he had quickly become irritated by not being able to wander to whatever he found interesting and had broken the piece of yarn and run away. With the baby strapped to my back in a carrier I had had to chase after him and try to get him to stay still. Security had to be called. It was the biggest and most severe public episode of Z's life.

This year not only did I not have to try to bind Z to me, I didn't really have to nag him about staying close. There was one incident where I lost him for a minute in the crowd because he wandered ahead to look at something but after a reminder and a warning about staying where he could see me, he was very conscientious about paying attention to where the rest of us were and coming back in our direction if needed. It's a vast and much needed accomplishment in getting Z towards being able to live a fun and fulfilled life.

Z had a great time, though I do always wish I could go to the fair just him and me so that he would have the time to really explore all of the myriad of things that catch his attention. His sister was extremely patient but no two year old wants to be spend three hours watching her brother bent over some wires or sitting at a computer. Luckily my mother was with us to stay with Z while I walked Az around but I know Z wanted to spend a lot more time at each exhibit.

The only bummer of the day was that at some point Z lost his camera. I was enjoying having someone else in the family to document our daily events and was looking forward to having access to his water-proof camera for beach trips this summer. I think I'm going to have to start working on convincing him to save his money for a new camera.

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In her uniform of a tutu thrown over her pajamas, messy hair and one barrette, and one boot.

 

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The kids and I went to Maker Faire in San Mateo with my mother today. I never know how to describe Maker Faire to anyone not already in the know. It's a sort of craft/tech/science/DIY fair, but much cooler than it sounds. I hadn't been planning on going this year initially because finances are tight but then a few days beforehand I realized I had no choice in the matter; this fair was practically created with Z in mind. Or at least, kids very very similar to Z. He waits for this event all year and talks about it frequently. I knew I was going to have to figure out how to make it work.

This was Az's second time to Maker Fair, not counting the year she was in my belly and caused me to need to be pushed around the grounds in  a rented wheelchair. It was neat because this is the first year Az has truly been aware at the fair. She understood when things were unusual looking and was enertained by all of the bizarre things going on around her but I was discouraged to find that many of the things geared towards toddlers, or at least the things that were at least friendly for toddlers, were not at the fair this year.

It really wasn't the most Az-friendly event, but she actually did very well. I pushed her around in the stroller, which was enough of a novelty to keep her from trying to break out of it. We use the stroller so infrequently that when we do pull it out if feels like a special event. Az seems to view it like a special ride. I let her run free a little bit throughout the day but for the most part she was strapped into the stroller. She passed out for a nap just as Z was beginning a soldering lesson, which was absolutely perfect. Z was given enough time to work on the project in the slow deliberate way he prefers and Az was able to nap in the shade of the awning while my mother and I rested in the grass. 

It was too bad that the event wasn't as little kid friendly as it has been in the past but Az seemed to have fun just getting out and seeing Grandmama and all of the sights. I bought her an ice cream cone of her (almost) very own so that she would at least come away from it with one good memory. Hopefully next year Miguel will be able to come and the event will be more Az-friendly. 

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Az with the Playskool house and barn that were mine when I was a kid (and which I'm sure were hand-me-downs from my cousins even back then.) I have a lot of Playskool buildings, figures, and accoutrements. In fact last year I ordered more vintage pieces off of etsy. However, I've had to place most of it way up high out of Az's reach because she's so rough with her things. The plastic Playskool things have survived through however many cousins of mine, me, my brother, and Z but Az managed to break many of the things the very first time she played with them. I didn't even realize it was possible to break many of the Playskool accessories but my daughter found a way. The first time I showed her the Sesame Street building (not pictured because it's recovering from the terror that is my almost-two-year-old safely out of reach) Az threw it down onto the floor with all her might. She did this repeatedly. All of the Playskool things were moved out of her reach, though she has a way of charming her dad and brother into bringing them down for her despite my repeatedly asking both of them to not give them to her. Az has a new interest in dollhouses and can be quite insistent in her asking for the Playskool house so occasionally even I move it into her reach. It just so happens we're planning on getting her a nice sturdy wooden house meant for lots of rough and tumble preschool kids for her birthday. I'm hoping that once her birthday passes I can move the Playskool house out of reach and leave it there until she's passed through the charming slamming toys down as hard as possible phase. This is just a phase, right??

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She found my root beer float glass from the night before but was refused root beer or float to refill the glass.

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I don't know what I'm going to do with this girl's hair. It has a mind of its own. When I look at pictures of myself at her age I was already sporting my trademark middle part so I suppose it is time to get serious about training a part into Az's hair. I'm going to have to get Miguel on board with my mission though since he's often the one to brush her hair in the mornings on the days I work, and so far he still loves Az's wild crazy hair. I haven't even gotten him on board with barrettes yet so it's going to take some convincing.

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Tonight we headed over to our new favorite beach to use the coin-operated showers. I'm still carrying around a nasty case of poison oak and we are still waiting for the propane guy to deliver his goods so it was time to get creative. It actually worked out very well, there were two showers that were their own separate rooms; Z had one room to himself and Az and I used the wheelchair room right next door, which was nice and large so Az could wait for me to finish with my shower without getting wet. There wasn't a solid wall between the room Z was in and our room (the wall didn't reach the floor) so I could hear what was going on with him. By the time I took this photo with my phone Az was ready to go but for most of the time she was content playing in and out of the water. It cost me about six dollars to get the three of us clean since I had the parks pass to get us into the park, which was totally worth getting rid of that not-so-fresh feeling. It was actually a nice evening, we brought dinner and pretended like we were camping at the ocean but then got to go home to our nice warm beds. I'm hoping that we don't find ourselves in this situation again, but if we do at least I know that we have the campgrounds as an option.

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Sharing his dinner with his baby bird.

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This week involved a lot of trips to the ocean, including a day of playing hookie from school for all but the last hour of the school day. When we weren't at the ocean we found ourselves hanging out at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa, but much to the chagrin of both of the children despite all of the water we were nearby there was very little swimming. I have to love the photo in the upper right hand corner because more and more this is the look of incredulity I find directed my way from my tween-aged son. I have a feeling I'm going to get nice and acquainted with that expression, but for now there are still lots of smiles to even the incredulous looks out.

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Today was Mother's Day. In hindsight I probably should have made a point of getting a photo of me with my kids. Maybe for Father's Day I will. Miguel had to work so it was just the kids and I. It was actually sort of nice going into the day knowing that it would just be an ordinary day. Though a card from either of my boys might have been nice. When I asked Z if he made anything Mother's Day related at school he said, "Oh yeah, but then I forgot it there." And that was that and that's my boy.

The kids and I had a very lazy day at home. After breakfast Az brought me a sweater to help put on her, which I did without really thinking about it. Once it was on she went over to the door and declared, "Bye bye." She was very insistent for some time that it was time to go, and it made me realize it really has been a very long time since we just stayed home and did nothing. At first I postulated that it had been weeks, but upon some thinking it very well could have been months. It was a nice day to spent at home.

We've somehow burnt through all of our propane way faster than I expected, and are living on an empty tank until the guy can come on Wednesday to give us another hundred gallons. In the mean time we are living without gas and conveniences like hot water. Miguel heated up some water on the barbeque for Az's bath yesterday morning, and boiled water out there tonight for the kids' dinner of spaghetti but without even a bathtub I'm not sure how I'm going to get freshened up for work tomorrow. I've managed to spread a patch of poison oak all over the right side of my face, ear, and neck so that isn't helping me much with my general funky feeling.

Miguel suggested that I take the kids out to the ocean and use my parks pass to get into a campground where I could use the quarter showers. It's actually a pretty good idea, though perhaps frowned upon by the county parks. If it were just Az and me I might have tried it but I wasn't sure how to make sure Z was being kept safe while Az and I were in the shower. Az would have been game though, I'm sure. When it was already well past sunset Az brought me her sandals to put on her, but this time I paid attention to her motives. "Water?" she asked. And then, "Water, water, water!" She has come to expect her daily coastal trip.

I had told Miguel that he could just help direct the shower head so I could wash my hair, all five feet of it. The kids are both relatively clean and I haven't done much to get my body very funky, but my hair and poison oak besieged head need to be cleansed. It is now close to midnight, less than five hours until I have to be up again, and as witnessed in the above photo, Miguel is passed out quite cozily with Az. It is still Mother's Day though technically. If I go and wake him right now I might have a free pass.

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Az with both of her grandmothers. We headed down to Halfmoon Bay today to help my youngest cousin Em celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Miguel decided to invite his mom along since he wasn't going to be able to see her the next day for Mother's Day. We had originally planned a day at the park with both of our moms on Mother's Day proper but Miguel was unable to get the day off of work so this was a compromise of sorts. Contrary to her expression in this photo, Az actually did have a very good time. Her fascination with the ocean doesn't seem to have waned at all yet despite the fact that she has found herself there every single day recently.

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This is the companion photo to the one I took of Az and me yesterday I suppose. After I got off of work we went out to Duncan's Mills to get some loose leaf teas for Miguel's and my moms for Mother's Day and to pick up some half-priced pastries for the next day. Since we were so close to the coast we decided to grab a bite to eat out there (Miguel got fish and chips and Z and I each got bread bowls of clam chowder.) Once we were done I decided that since we were now so close to the beach we've been frequenting we might as well head over there for a bit. It was such a lovely, warm evening that we ended up staying out there until sunset. It would have been an all around splendid evening if it weren't for Z burying his shoes and some of the beach toys, and subsequently losing it all. I'm really hoping he catches on to the Don't Bury It Unless You Want To Never See It Again rule very soon. I'm tired of losing things to my son the dog.

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I decided to have Z play hookie from school for most of the day so I could bring both of the kids to Bodega Bay for a ranger-led tour of the tide pools. Thanks to my new parks pass it was a free event. We missed the first twenty minutes of it, which actually probably would have been the most interesting part for the kids because it was when the ranger showed various sea creatures he'd put in an ice chest. He let the kids touch most of them and told a little bit about each creature. After that, we went down to the shoreline where I guess there were technically tide pools, but they were created by people digging for clams in the sand. The holes they dig fill up with water when the tide comes in, but there didn't seem to be anything big enough to see with the naked eye in there. The kids had a very nice time anyhow. I got Z to school with just over an hour left of the school day. I worried that he would be there just long enough to run in wildly and disrupt the class but his teacher reported that he came in with a great mood and got right to work. I'll take that as a go-ahead to play educational hookie in the future.

 

I brought my camera along to the beach but then decided to leave it in the car. I know I lost out on a lot of really cute shots but I decided being able to explore with the kids and not have to worry about keeping my camera safe was more valuable than a few good pictures. I've been making that decision more often lately, which I know does not make for an intriguing assortment of photos, but it has made for a more enjoyable life. Luckily I have a son with a waterproof camera I can steal.

That same evening Miguel offered to pick up some Chinese for us as an early Mother's Day dinner, since he was going to be working on actual Mother's Day. We took our meal to Spring Lake, another outing that was free thanks to my excellent new parks pass.

When I told Az, "Let me see your pretty face," this is the pose she struck. She repeated it every time I said it. I have no idea why.

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I pulled out the inflatable pool today. Az was instantly excited, before I had even filled the pool with water. When I told her to climb in she looked worried and tried to pull off her top, saying, "Bath? Bath?" over and over. When I told her it was okay to climb in with her clothes on she got a huge smile and climbed in. I keep hoping to find a pool big enough for both of the kids but they seem to go from small $20 pools to larger than needed and $100+. While Az and I were hanging out the neighbors down the hill turned on some loud music. Az looked up at the sky and asked, "Sky doo doo?" ("Doo doo" is her word for music, as in the sound people make when generically singing.) Then she laughed and said, "Nooooo."

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Today's photos brought to you by guest photographer Z.

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Another night passed out on the couch with dad. Three more weeks until I try to get her back on a routine. I really liked our bedtime routine, I hope it's not too late to try to get it back.

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Ignore the date on the top left photo; Z likes to change the date on his camera, no matter how many times I tell him to just keep the date accurate, and that photos are better without the date posted on them anyhow. This week we brought Z to his very first concert in Sacramento, to see the Arctic Monkeys and the Black Keys. It was originally supposed to be his birthday celebration but his birthday was two months ago so it felt pretty disjointed. When I first proposed that we go to a concert for his birthday I had assumed we would find something in his actual birthday month.

 I went to my first concert with my dad when I was about his age, and I partially chose the Black Keys because I felt like it was music my dad would have dug. When I asked Z to think of three bands he might want to see he came back with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and The Talking Heads. All of these seemed near impossible (if not actually impossible) to accomplish so I asked him if The Black Keys would work as a Plan B. Luckily he agreed to it. Driving to the concert an Eagles song came on the radio (despite the fact that we weren't listening to any "oldies" stations.) The Eagles just happen to be the concert my dad first brought me to so I took it as a sign that my dad approved.

I wasn't sure how he would react to the loud music and crowd. I did stock him with ear plugs of course but there was no way to warn him about the level of loud that we were potentially in for, he had nothing to compare it to. He did great though, and seemed to genuinely enjoy the experience. We sat through the Arctic Monkeys, with Miguel and my brother S coming and going. The two of them disappeared completely during the thirty minute intermission, which was a little irritating because I felt like Z and I were being left out of hijinx, but it was also nice to spend some time at the concert with just my boy and me. As soon as the Black Keys came on the audience stood up, and remained standing up the entirety of the show. Z couldn't see over all of the standing adults so I helped him stand up on his seat; he still was only about as tall as me so I didn't feel like we were being a nuisance. Z didn't feel very secure standing on the fold-up seats so he used me to hold on to. We spent the entire set cheek to cheek, with our arms wrapped around each other. It was a very sweet moment in my life. Sweaty, but sweet. I'm looking forward to the hopefully many concerts to come with my son.

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Miguel worked the morning after the concert so the kids and I dropped him off at work and decided to go adventuring. We ended up at a county park my dad used to take Z and I to. We hadn't been back since my dad passed, likely largely due to the fact that I never felt like it was worth it to pay the parking fee for a short visit. I had bought a county parks pass the week before though, which let us visit any of the county parks for the next year at no additional cost so we were free to explore.

When Z was younger my dad randomly bought us a parks pass, and continued to do so for a few years. I don't remember why he stopped buying them, if I told him not to waste his money or if it was for some other reason, but in any case Z and I stopped being in possession of the pass and every year I would think longingly of getting one but I never felt like I had that extra money to throw away. This year I realized that it really isn't throwing away money, it's making it so that I'm more likely to get the kids outside and running around. It only takes ten visits to get my money back, and that's before I consider in the fact that the pass comes with a free night of camping and four tickets to a fall festival that we go to every year. Once I put it into that perspective I felt foolish for not buying it in the past.

My dad obviously came to all of these conclusions long ago. I never even knew there was such a thing as a parks pass until he handed me one. He never bought himself one, I think he just wanted to encourage me to get Z out and take advantage of living in such a pretty area. It's the exact kind of gift I want to give my own kids one day, as a just because kind of thing.

The park that I brought the kids to on this day had  a small lake and Az was very excited because she assumed  that much water meant she was going to get to swim. There were people fishing and I spotted a couple of boats but it didn't seem to be the kind of lake that people swim in. Once Az realized that we were just going to keep walking along the lake and not ever actually go down to it she was pretty irritated with me. She kept pointing out paths as if I just didn't know how to get there. It was a pretty hot day so I can't say I blamed her.

It got a little too hot to be enjoyable so we stayed for only a little more than an hour, but since it was a free visit and we can come back many times in the next year I felt fine packing the kids up and heading home. Whenever a bicycle or people on foot approached Az would stand off of the path and stay still until the person passed. I proudly thought she had an intrinsic sense of self-preservation but then a group of small children on bicycles came barreling up to us and Az's instinct was to excitedly run towards them. So I guess she just has an intrinsic wariness of unknown adults, which isn't all bad either.

Over all it was a pretty nice, albeit short, adventure. I brought home a case of poison oak with me, which I could have done without, but I think today was the beginning of a beautiful year of appreciating the county we live in. Next time I will be more aware of the plants I touch though. I had hoped I'd learned that lesson long ago.

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Tonight Miguel, my brother S, and I brought Z to his very first concert, the Black Keys. Az stayed with my mom. We went over to my mom's in the morning and left the kids with her while Miguel and I went to the movies. There was an inappropriate for kids movie we wanted to see and I thought it would be a good transition for Az into staying by herself with Grandmama. She would have her brother with her while she settled in and got comfortable with her environment and I hoped that by the time the three of us left for the concert she would be engrossed in the toys and cool things at Grandmama's.

Unfortunately she missed a nap and I underestimated how much Z's presence makes her feel safe in a new environment. Miguel and I have left Az twice now but both times she had Z with her. Tonight was her first time being away from all of us, and it seems like it was pretty hard for her. My mom reports that she screamed for thirty minutes straight at one point. In hindsight we should have done a trial run and gone away for a short amount of time so she could see that we would in fact all come back for her. By the time we got home she was passed out. I climbed in next to her and she woke and reached for me, contentedly sighing, "Mommy," before passing back out. She continued to wake and check for me all night. The next morning when it came time to go she loudly ran and said goodbye to her grandma, to ensure that this time she would be coming with us. I wish the night had gone better, but the good thing is that we shouldn't have to leave her on her own again for a long time. Hopefully next time she will be old enough to appreciate the one on one time alone with her grandma.

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Dancing queen. It was a rather warm day today.

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Barbequing ribs for us in between the drizzle. When Miguel saw me taking pictures of him he raised his arms over his head to exhibit what a champion griller he is. Az quickly followed suit, to show that she's just a champion.

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The Disney Store is one of Az's very favorite spaces to spend time in. I've never had much of a reason to set foot in a Disney Store; honestly I've never been a huge Disney fan. Az, however, loves all things Mickey Mouse and princesses. She's never seen any of the Disney princess movies but there's still something about them that she loves. Fortunately for her, the Disney Store happens to be right next door to where her dad works, so she finds lots of excuses to veer off course and find herself there. My mom joked that I'm going to end up finding myself one of those people who has a Disney room in their house. I'm hoping this never comes to fruition, as we definitely don't have a spare room in the house. A Disney kitchen or bathroom would just be too much so I just know that if my daughter ever convinces me to let her passion for Disney take over my house, it's going to end up in my bedroom. I should have seen it coming when my pregnancy hormones influenced me to paint my bedroom walls lavender.

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Lounging in Mom's lap post-bath.

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Today was Open House at Z's school. I was looking forward to seeing more of what Z had been up to in the classroom but unlike other Open Houses I've taken part in, there weren't projects hanging up and the teachers didn't have any information to share. I asked Z to show me around his classroom but he just pointed out where he sat and then instructed me to look at the daily schedule. The school was encouraging everyone to check out all of the classrooms; students and parents were handed a card that they were to get stamped in each classroom. When you had all of the stamps on your card you could turn it in for an ice cream. Z is due to move up to a new room next year so I was interested to check out the classroom and talk to the teacher but Z was in and out of there so quickly I'm not even sure which adult in there was the teacher. Z zipped from classroom to classroom collecting stamps and then went straight to the cafeteria to get his ice cream and Az and I were left trying to get our stamps and keeping up. Az was feeling pretty tired and grumpy so I'm not sure how long I could have stayed in each classroom anyhow, but it would have been nice to get a couple of minutes in each room. I met a few of Z's friends from class so now I can finally put a face to the names in his stories from the day, so it wasn't a total loss.

There was a book fair set up in the cafeteria, which I think had a large part in Z's eagerness to get through the school tour. School book fairs are rarely that fruitful for us because the books tend to be for lower reading levels. I was hoping this fair would stock some books at a higher level since the school goes up to high school but it was all the standard elementary school stuff. I was able to buy a couple of books about shoes for Az though, which was nice because I've been looking for shoe-related books for her, and at least this way I was helping the school out a little. Z ended up picking out a couple of non-book items that were kind of sort of academic; a calculator that looks like a chocolate bar and an invisible ink pen. Like I said, they were only kind of sort of.

After the Open House we met my friend N for a pizza fundraiser for the school. As always most of the parents did not socialize with each other. It seemed most of the parents just ran in to pick up to-go orders. I'm having the hardest time getting to know the other parents. There was a group of two or three parents and their kids sitting at the large table in the pizza parlor but their table was full and they made no motion to make room for us so the kids, N, and I sat on our own. I really would like to get to know the other parents; being the parent of a kid on the spectrum is a unique experience and I would love to have other parents to share my thoughts and experiences with. Maybe next year Z will move up to the next class and there will be a couple (or even one!) parents in the new group also looking to make friends. Z had a blast running around the pizza parlor with the other kids at least, so it wasn't a complete fail on the social front.

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I was able to get Z to stop for a split second so I could take a photo before he went bounding back up the bouncy slide at Az's cousin's birthday party in Sunnyvale.

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We met up with my brother so he could help me figure out why my van was squawking every time I braked. Luckily the problem was solved easily with new brake pads, and even luckier my brother went to school to learn how to do exactly this sort of thing. Beyond the much quieter driving experience I've noticed a big difference in the way the brakes feel. Which is both a relief, now that they are fixed, and terrifying, that I was driving on less than perfect brakes for so long. Az's great-grandma had given her a toy car the night before that she had picked up from a garage sale so we brought it along to help pass time in the parking lot. It's missing the tall handle in back that one would use to push and steer it but luckily Az has a brother willing to push her around.

She was fascinated by what her uncle was doing, but also didn't want him to catch her looking at him. She's always been shy with her uncle, I think it's because she sees him rough-housing with her brother and doesn't know what to make of him. So every time S would look over at her she would quickly look away.

I wanted to drop the toy car off at Goodwill on the way home because I know I'm not dedicated enough to spend my back on pushing Az around, but Z was adamant we needed to keep the car for his sister and that he would be willing to push her around in it whenever called to the duty. He said that he really wanted his sister to be able to keep the car because it made her so happy. Obviously I had no choice but to haul it back home after that.

Az having a snack in her car, hanging out next to Mom's car with Dad's car off in the background.

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We celebrated Az's oldest cousin Manny's 18th birthday today at a park near his house. I'm of course always nervous of any events that take place at a park and require me to keep both of my kids unmaimed given one of their penchants for getting maimed at parks, but thanks to a jump house that held his attention and kept him away from the playground everything went well. When we first arrived a boy much younger than Z ended up hauling off and punching him while they were in front of the jump house. I allowed myself a huge internal groan and went to check it out. I imagined an afternoon of trying to keep Z away from the jump house and the the boy but fortunately it turned out the boy wasn't with the party and after punching Z he ran off and didn't bother to return.

Az of course had a blast. Her main playmate was her grandmother, whom indulged Az in walking along the stone wall and hopping from wood posts for most of the day. I think it's safe to assume her grandma had no trouble falling asleep that night. I tried giving Grandma B a break but Az wasn't about to accept my company in exchange for her grandma's attention.

 Az did manage to find fun in a few other forms. She was wary of the jump house, and most of the day it was full of rambunctious teenagers and her even more rambunctious brother, but the stars did align for a moment and Az got her first inflatable-aided jump. Unfortunately this only lasted about a minute before Miguel came to carry her off to the piñata.

 Being the youngest mobile member of the family, Az got first swing at the piñata. I didn't let her gather any of the candy but she was the one to get the remains of the piñata so she was a winner in her own eyes.

 A very nice time was had by all.

Whenever we're in the area we try to work in a visit with Miguel's paternal grandmother. I feel so blessed that Az gets to have her great-grandma in her life. She reminds me a lot of my own grandmother whom passed away about seven years ago. I'm sad that Z doesn't remember her better and that Az will never get the opportunity to build memories with her at all, but I cherish the time she gets with the great-grandmama whom is still alive and thriving.