Ardenwood Farms - I love having a big open area (with animals!) that the kids and I can explore. Hank is pretty steady on his feet, but he's still a toddler, so it's nice to let him have space to walk and run around on his own. Lyla loves to go too, and especially when she has a friend or two in tow!
Valentine's Day - Lyla was very excited for Valentine's Day. We got our craft on and used a bunch of crayons we received from restaurants along with a ton of family members' broken crayons to melt down and repurpose into multi-colored heart-shaped crayons for her Lyla's valentine this year. It was fun to have something Lyla could put her creative spin on and be proud of. We enjoyed all-out themed meals and desserts, passing out valentines, heart-attacking some family members, and even getting to attend a friend's birthday party! Lyla and Hank loved the chocolates they got, but I think Lyla liked her Princess Elsa doll that her dad gave her the most!
Happy Hollow Zoo - In the middle of February we were supposed to go to Fresno to visit my side of the family, but snow in the midwest squashed those plans. :( Lyla was old enough to know that we had plans and they fell through, so we promised her that we would do something really fun for that weekend instead. We went down to Happy Hollow, and it did not disappoint! Hank and Lyla both LOVED the rides, and the animals and playground equipment is an added bonus. Lyla rode her very first roller coaster with her dad, and surprisingly loved it! She still is terrified of swings, but a roller coaster seems to be okay. Interesting... Hank loved mauling the goats in the petting zoo area and riding on the back of a big bike with his dad. True, not as great as spending time with cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles, but a close second, right?
Mom Trip/Oakland Zoo - The last weekend in February, I went down to Los Angeles to visit my good friend Martina. I had such a good time catching up and taking a nice mommy time-out. Dustin had a great time with the kids, and packed as much as humanly possibly into his weekend with them. They went to a wrestling tournament where he and Paga watch wrestling and Lyla and Hank eat their weight in food. There was also a trip taken to the Oakland Zoo, complete with a picnic lunch (per Lyla's request, the picnic consisted of turkey meatloaf and peas). That night, he borrowed a projector so the kids could watch a larger than life movie. It's always really comforting to know that the kids are well taken care of when I'm not there (perhaps even better than the care I provide at times).
Dad Trip/Habitot Museum - In mid-March, Dustin went down to Los Angeles for the Wrestling World Cup for some man time with his brothers, dad, and nephew, Cael. His trip left me with a weekend of fun with the kiddos. I had bought a deal for a trip to the Habitot Museum forever ago and the passes were going to expire, so I decided to head up to Berkeley to use them up. Unfortunately for everyone, I caught a stomach bug and we didn't stay too long, but the place was awesome for young imaginations! There was a huge water area, a big art studio, a supermarket and kitchen, and a spaceship area. Lyla got to take part in a child development study for some Berkeley students, so she felt like pretty hot stuff. Like I said before, I'm not sure the kids had a super fun weekend with their mom struggling to keep her stomach stable, but we made it and were super glad to have our dad back Sunday night!
Backyard Projects - It's been a long and research-driven process on how to fix up our backyard. After we removed two trees, we decided to replant new ones using a method of grouping some trees together and keeping them super low to the ground to help all fruit staying within arms reach. We took a long trip out to Livermore to buy peach, cherry, and apple tree varieties. We're still waiting on avocados to come into season before we buy them, but the rest are planted and we're crossing our fingers for them to all start taking off soon! We also sectioned off areas for a perennial garden and a vegetable garden. It was an anxiety-producing event - it's hard to plan everything out when you have limited knowledge about a subject! We got some help from a few pros in the family and we think it turned out pretty good.
St. Patrick's Day - This is a weird holiday for me. I don't want to make a big deal out of it BUT I do find it nice to plan events for holidays like these so that the kids and I both have something to look forward to. We had an all-green breakfast, wore lots of green (of course!), made green-colored candied popcorn, and went on a scavenger hunt for gold (chocolate) coins. I thought I was pretty slick with my clues, and thought I would wait for Dustin to come home so we could make it a family night activity and so Lyla could have adult help on what the clues meant, but that gal was smart as a whip and figured out what all the clues meant. She found those coins in record time!
Swim Class - After lots of thought, I enrolled both the kids in swim class. I think it's really important that the kids know how to swim (for safety reasons). I had originally just wanted to put Lyla in, as I know Hank's not really developmentally ready to do any serious swimming. After talking to the place where they take lessons, they were able to get Hank and I in a "Mommy and Me" class at the same time Lyla takes an independent swim class. It's been great! They don't push the kids, but they do expect them to work towards swimming independently. Hank is learning a lot of pool safety (finding the wall, learning to turn onto your back when you need to take a breath, etc.). The best part for the kids is that they track progress in an individual passport book. When you master all the skills on a page, they make a big deal and present you with a ribbon before moving on to the next skill set. We're excited to put these new swim skills to use when Aqua Adventure opens for summer!
Ballet Class - Yes, Lyla is still dancing it up. At the beginning of the New Year, Lyla switched dance studios to Ballet Petit, a ballet-only dance studio. I'm thrilled with the results! Lyla is learning great technique, along with a great vocabulary of her moves and positions. She still loves dance more than anything else and we're anxiously awaiting her spring ballet performance next month.
Point Reyes/Napa Getaway - The first weekend in April, Dustin's parents offered to watch the kids for the entire weekend so we could take a quick trip somewhere. We were excited to have a little time to ourselves, but it's always hard to leave the kids for an extended period of time. We knew they would be in excellent hands, so we took off for a little time up north. Dustin planned the entire weekend, which made things even more fun - I just had to show up! We started off heading to Point Reyes and stayed at a cute B&B after enjoying a great seafood dinner at Saltwater. The next morning we hiked up the coast of Tomales Bay, had a quick lunch at Cafe Reyes in town, then drove over to Napa for the rest of our stay. We had a FANTASTIC dinner at Morimoto, did some shopping around, and stayed at a great resort, complete with a built-in bowling alley and a movie screening. We probably could have stayed the entire week to enjoy all the amenities! The next morning we headed up to Yontville for some walking around and enjoying the scenery, a quick bite at Redd, and then home to see our kiddos. It's amazing how much one can miss their kids after being away such a short time, but we did and we really liked closing out our weekend with the whole family together again.
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