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I've been wanting to sign Az up for an activity with kids her age. I guess her brother's struggles in the land of social skills has me worried about her struggling socially too. She doesn't go to daycare and I don't have friends with kids her age (or kids, period) so she doesn't get as much opportunity to hang out with kids her age as I'd like.

After watching her brother play soccer each week Az decided that she wanted to play too. Unlike Z's program hers is decidedly not free but Miguel and I decided to scrape together the money anyhow because it seemed a waste to have finally found a program that seems good for her and then not put her in it. Considering this was her first experience in a class setting and following directions given by someone other than Mom, Dad, or Grandmama I think she did really well. She was too shy to participate in all of the activities but she did most of them. She certainly loved the actual soccer aspect of the class, it was the times she was asked to sit on a plastic square for circle time that she was unsure of.

I decided to put Az in the class for kids 18 months to 2 years old, partially because I misunderstood the way the classes were divided (I thought this meant that the class was for kids who were anywhere from 18 months old to under 3 years old, not that it was for kids 18 month to just under 2 years old as it actually is intended) and partially because I thought it might be a better fit since she would be with kids who were not as used to following directions too. I'm not really sure if I made the right decision. The kids really are a lot younger than her, and the class moves in the disjointed style that would appeal to an 18 month old. As soon as Az gets into something it's time to move on. On the other hand, the younger kids are doing things like popping bubbles and playing with parachutes. Az learned today that she absolutely adores parachutes. I'm not sure if I'll keep Az in the younger class or move her up but I figure either way she's getting new experiences around new people. And maybe she's even discovering a new life-long interest (soccer, not parachutes. Though I still think parachutes are pretty cool.)

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This is a common photo these days. I'll see a shot of Az that I want to take and I'll stealthily attempt to take it just as Miguel notices what I'm about to do and goes to brush her hair out of her eyes, thereby giving me a shot very much like this one. I've asked him time and again to leave her bangs alone when he sees me taking a picture, but I guess it's a reflex for him. After the hand in the face shot Az is usually wise to my stealthiness and I have to wait until another time when hopefully Miguel won't notice me taking the picture.

Last night Az and I were watching television when a commercial for Target came on. I had the television on for background noise really, neither of us was really watching, until that commercial came on. As soon as it did Az snapped to attention and announced, "Oh! I need to go to shopping!" It's such responsibility being a parent. I love the bulls-eyed stores, but I'd rather my two-year-old still be blissfully unaware of the siren song of Target.

The next day we went to Target of course. But we hung out in the book aisle for a long time, so I can chalk it up as an educational experience, right?

She was wearing shoes when she was strapped into the cart, but I guess a good book makes her want to get comfortable. And we didn't buy the pillow doll at her feet. I know it's disgraceful, but I often let her carry around toys that we ditch before actually hitting the checkout stand. It creates a much more peaceful trip for everyone involved.

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I often leave for work before Az wakes up, but about half the time she wakes while I'm getting ready and demands I carry her out of bed. This usually means getting ready for work with her on my hip, since there doesn't seem to be anything that will keep Miguel awake before ten in the morning. On good days Az will wake up ready to play and keep Z and I company while we get ready for the day. Sometimes, though just sometimes, she is tired enough that I can snuggle her up next to her dad and she will fall back asleep until he is ready to join the world again.

 

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Great-aunt Lulu sent Az a pink tutu'd bathing suit for next summer, but of course Az has no intention of waiting all the way until next summer. She is  ballerina after all.

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She wasn't wearing the hat or glasses when I buckled her into the car seat to go pick up her brother from school. I don't even know where either of the items came from.

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The kids and I met up with my mom again today to go to the Tolay Fall Festival, another tradition we started when Az was around three months old. I had free passes and parking for the festival this year, which was especially nice because the festival doesn't change much at all each year. There is a hay ride to a pumpkin patch where we never buy pumpkins because they're pricey and we don't want to carry around pumpkins the rest of the day, a barn with both some barn-like and not-so-barn-like animals (Az especially liked the tidal pool petting zoo area), a "village" of Miwok teepees, a tent with bees, and some buildings where kids can make corn husk dolls, felt hair for the dolls, and dip candles. The festival has grown weary for us grown ups but it is still an event Z looks forward to every year and Az gets older and more appreciative each year. So we keep going and I'll probably continue going the next couple of years until the kids no longer want to. Like I said, it was free so I really didn't have a good argument not to go. Az got to try her first SnoCone, which luckily turned out to be the really good kind with soft ice and lots of syrup so she had a very nice day. When we first started talking costumes Az listed about eight of them, one of which was a princess, so I figured the festival was a good excuse to let her wear her Snow White costume from the year before. She was very happy to finally be acknowledged as the princess she feels she is. (She also thinks most other girls are princesses too. Except for me; she says I'm Super Man.)

 We took the same shot last year. Z was quite a bit shorter and less shaggy.

 Snow White eating a snow cone.

We learned that Az is a HUGE fan of stamps. I guess it's time to make some potato stamps at home, though mine never really look like the shape I was aiming for.

I kept telling her to stop hugging the animals, that they might not see her as friendly, but how do you tell Snow White to stop loving on forest creatures?

I wish I were better at laying out all of the photos through Blogger to make it all more aesthetically pleasing. The former Yearbook Photography Editor in me cringes through every multi-photo post.

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Today the kids and I went with my mom to ArtTrails, a day when many artists in the county open their homes and studios to the public for free. It has become one of my favorite events of the year. We have been bringing Az to ArtTrails since she was three months old, and every year it gets a little more fun for her because she is able to appreciate the art just a little more. I wouldn't say that she is a great art connoisseur yet but she had a lot of fun looking at the art pieces this year. She has just discovered painting as a recreational activity so she was excited to see that other people paint too. And of course Z has always been my little artist. I wouldn't be shocked to discover that he had a pottery wheel going en uterus. I mean, I would be shocked, because that would be weird, but you know what I mean.

I was really hoping to finally be able to afford a piece from my favorite artist but this year he didn't have any items on sale. I was tempted for a moment to come back the next weekend and buy one of the pieces not on sale but then I remembered that I have both a half-broken laptop and car, and putting money towards my art collection no longer felt like a priority. I'm still determined that one day I will have one of his pieces hanging on my wall though. As a very nice consolation prize my mom bought me a much more reasonably priced multi-media piece from an artist I hadn't heard of prior to  the day, but I ended up buying a number of postcard prints of hers to frame.

I didn't come home with any huge additions to my non-existent art collection but I can chalk up the day as another great experience. I really love that both of my children enjoy spending the day driving around looking at art with their mom and grandmother. I know a lot of toddlers and pre-teen boys that would not be game. I also love that I am amassing so much art from local artists, whom I've spoken to and met and whom generally paint and portray local areas that are dear to me.

 

 Most of the artists provide snacks, which is probably one of the big reasons the kids don't mind the day. This artist in Graton had mandarin oranges for us, which was a welcome break from the cookies and cakes. (Welcome to me anyhow.)

 

"Helping" Rik Olson with his printing. Olson's home studio has become one of our favorite stops, not just because we like his art so much but also because Z always gets to use the press and Az gets to feed the fish and chickens.

 The milliner told us we were welcome to pick some apples from her orchard. It took a little doing to find apples that didn't have any holes but we were richly rewarded for our efforts. Food picked straight off the tree always tastes so much better. Nature knows what she's doing a lot better than humans. 

The apples were not exactly filling and the snacks were not exactly all as healthy as mandarin oranges so we stopped at East West Cafe for lunch. Az promptly passed out in her grandma's car afterwards, so the other three of us took turns going in to the remaining studios. We made less stops this year, but I didn't end the day feeling like I had missed any that I really wanted to see. Z would have gladly kept on going if the tour didn't officially end at 5PM, but that's okay; he was left hungry for more art next year.

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Due to budget and transportation constraints I was forced to bring the kids to donuts for their afternoon snack while we waited for Z's doctor appointment to start. I bought Az a chocolate donut, figuring that she would be thrilled by the mere fact that it was chocolate. Of course she refused to touch hers, and instead chose to ate mine because everything is better when it's Mom's.

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A conversation:
Az: Halloween store was fun!
Mom: Was it scary?
Az: Yeah. Like Frankenweenie scary.
(So more scary than fun.)

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Az at 27 months:

• She is forming complete and grammatically correct sentences more and more each day, though she has a decidedly ungrammatically correct habit of adding an "s" to the end of certain nouns.
• Has discovered her love of noodles and "noodle houses," which of course are places where noodles are sold. To be fair, the two places we usually get our noodles actually are called The Noodle Bowl and The Noodle House.
• I love that I'm finally able to have conversations with her, and that she can fill me in on the events that I might have missed while I was at work. Her memory is fantastic when it comes to remembering things she has done, which also means that she tells me when Daddy does things he hopes to hide from me like bring her to fast food. I'm sure this will only last a short time more though.
• Today I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. Her response was, "It be my birthday!" I'll have to see what I can do.
• She insists that she is both a boy and a princess.

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Tonight during her bath Az requested that we make a video, in which she mostly talks about taking a bath. It has become her favorite movie to watch, right after the video she requested I take of her spinning. I haven't been able to get my phone to both Wifi and a power outlet at the same time so the video remains on my phone. Until I am able to post it, Az would like you to know that those are clouds on her head.

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Glad to have Daddy back home.

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On the rare night that Miguel is away I like to drag Z into bed with us. It just makes me feel safer to know that both of my babies are safely next to me.

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Five years ago today Miguel and I met up in person for the first time, and even though it wasn't exactly our initial plan, we've been inseparable since.  Miguel worked until 2AM the night before and thanks to our not very great public transit system he didn't  get home until 11AM. He was due back at work that night for another late night so we made the most of the time we had in between his shifts. 

We went into Sebastopol to watch the movie Frankenwienie, which Az had been dying to see. I was a little worried the movie might be a little too scary or dark for her but she liked it just fine. Although there was one scene I made a point to distract her during. Her first words out of the theater were, "Frankenwienie is fun!" so I think everything went well. We stopped to take a group photo after the movie, though we were not very successful in getting one. The day that Miguel and I met we took a self-shot. I have no idea why, or why it seemed normal at the time but we did and now every year I make everyone smoosh together for a shot.

 Az cooperated to take the first photo, which I was not ready for and was caught mid-expression, and then refused to be in any of the subsequent shots.

Az remembered that the last time we were in the area we had gotten ice cream so she requested that we go to ice cream after the movie, and so we did.

After refusing to be in our group shot Az decided to go ahead and photo bomb this one. I didn't have two ice cream cones, for the record; I was holding Z's so he could take the photo.

After getting ice cream I wanted to find a pumpkin patch to go to. I love pumpkin patches, and try to work as many of them into the month as possible. What's not to love about a month of very cheap to free entertainment? I wasn't comfortable driving very far with the condition that my van is in these days but we actually lucked into an awesome patch I'd never heard of before. It was in a part of Santa Rosa that isn't known for being scenic, but the surrounding area was actually quite nice.

I had never seen a corn kernel pool before, and let me just say that my first impression of them is that they are fantastic! I ended up climbing in too, and it was pure preschool fun.

T

There were lots of other fun pumpkin patchy things to do there, but honestly it was the corn pool that captured most of our attention.

When it began to get dark and a little chilly we headed to Chili's for dinner. Both of the kids were worn out from the full day and sat quietly eating. So of course we had to call it a night early and pack up quickly to get Miguel back to work by 8 for another over-night. It was a very nice day. I know some people might not choose to celebrate their anniversaries with their kids in tow but for us it seems to be the only way to go. This day is as much about Az and the family that has resulted as it is about Miguel and me after all.