Under the Sea Recital

 I can't believe Orelia is old enough to have dance recitals, but apparently she is.

 She was in ballet class for months with two of her best friends.  Most evenings the moms got to watch them rehearse for the last five minutes, and usually Orelia would either just stand there doing nothing or she would be a wild woman running around.  Needless to say, I wasn't sure how the actual recital would go.

 Luckily we had our very own hairdresser on hand for the big day.  Uncle Bobby made our girl the perfect bun.  So we knew she would at least look good.

 I snapped a few photos before we dropped her off a couple of hours before the show was set to begin.

She was really excited to perform and I was so proud of her for doing something like this.  

 Her group was made up of the littlest kids in the show, and their dance to "Under the Sea" was adorable and hilarious and amazing.

 The best part was, Orelia actually danced!  She didn't do all of the moves, but she did plenty of dancing.

She especially shined during the finale ("Last Dance" by Donna Summer) where she did plenty of boogie-ing.  

Cheers to these three ballerinas on their first recital!  

We had a great time watching the show as a family.  I'm so proud of our girl!

Father's Day

We spent a fantastic Father's Day morning up in San Francisco.

 We went to our favorite park- the one with unparalleled views - after picking up pastries that are worth the 30 mile drive alone.  (Orelia's face is covered in chocolate from her beloved cookie.)

It was John's choice to come up here, and we were all glad he picked it.  We literally had to drag Orelia away when it was time to head home.

While Orelia was off befriending everyone in sight, Bennett snuggled with Mom and Dad.

 He also ate some croissant and downed two pouches, Boosky style.

I really wanted a Father's Day picture of John with both kids, but Orelia was having too much fun to oblige until the very end.

Orelia and Bennett are so lucky to have this engaged, dedicated, fun, thoughtful, kind, and giving man as their dad.  I am so thankful to have him by my side.  We love you, John!

Truckee

We went to Truckee for Memorial Day with a group of friends, and poor Bennett managed to sneak into only one photo.

Bennett is at the age where a vacation just means sleeping in a strange bed.

Orelia, however, especially loved this trip since it meant she got to be with her friends the "whole days."

Truckee is a town off of Lake Tahoe, and since we never actually made it to Lake Tahoe, we now have an excuse to go back.

When our friends invited us up for Memorial Day, I immediately said yes and pretended to be a laid back person capable of traveling with my children where I didn't know anything about the sleeping arrangements.

Luckily, Orelia absolutely loved sleeping in a room with her friend Gemma.  They were a bit rambunctious every time we put them down, but Orelia did get a surprising amount of sleep.

With her trusty (albeit a bit small) Spider Man boots, Orelia was ready to go on hikes through the forest.

In her favorite party dress, of course.

Even when we went to see the snow at Squaw Valley, she was wearing this party dress and no pants.  I cannot get this girl in a pair of pants.

There was quite a bit of rain that weekend, so Orelia got to do her fair share of jumping in "muddy" puddles a la Peppa Pig.

On a neighborhood walk we convinced the kids this was the "best friends log" so they would sit down and take some photos.

Orelia is holding onto her Squaw Valley lift tickets ("credit cards") for dear life here.  Those cards went with her everywhere that weekend.

Say "chocolate cake!"

This is what a toddler looks like at the end of a long weekend full of "sleepovers," fort building, and nature walks.  Exhausted.  Ratty hair.  Happy.

Bennett at 9 Months

This little guy is now three-quarters of a year old!

At his nine month check-up he weighed in at 20 pounds (57th percentile) and 27.5 inches (17th percentile).  His head is some measurement I have forgotten, but it's large and 90th percentile (which surprises no one who has met him).  The doctor says the height might be a bit off - or perhaps he's turning out to be a bit shrimpy.

At our 6 month appointment Bennett was refusing solids, and now he is an eating machine.  It's been so fun to feed him macaroni and cheese and shaking beef lately.  He usually is good about trying new things, though has had a few occasions of tears after we feed him something too spicy.  Sorry, buddy!

It's such a blessing to have his big sister as a play mate.  He lights up and kicks his little legs like crazy when he sees her.  Recently he has decided she is worthy of belly laughs when she jumps from her lounge chair.  It's the best thing to watch them laugh together.

He's not exactly mobile at the moment, but he isn't stationary either.  He is lunging for everything, whether he's sitting on the ground or in my arms.  Don't even consider holding a drink with a straw anywhere near his grasp.

He rolls around a bit and can scoot towards really enticing objects.

His favorite toys are plastic straws, silicon spoons, Sophie the giraffe, and board books.

He is really vocalizing a lot lately.  Lots of mas, bas, and yas.  He, of course, does plenty of screeching when something is really worthy.  

He's getting a little heavy for the carrier, but we still use it a lot.  He loves to be forward-facing and we never use it any other way.  He is content in the stroller for walks, especially if we stop by the bagel store for a nibble.

Like any little boy, I suppose, he has taken to digging his hands in any dirt he can find.  If he's placed on a blanket he will find the edge and dig his little finger nails in there was much as he can get away with.  A taste of what's to come, I suppose.

He is down to two naps now.  One is usually from 9-10 and the other is usually 1-3.  It frees up our late afternoons now, which is convenient because we can all head to the park or at least walk to Starbucks in the evening.  

He is down to four nursings each day, and when he gets a bottle he is less interested in them than he used to be.  He takes 6 oz. each feeding instead of 8 oz.  This guy loves his "real" food, thank you very much, and would like a pouch with a red cap pronto.

We may be falling more and more in love with this little guy with each passing day.  He's finding his personality and becoming himself, which is a wonder to see.

Happy 9 months, B!  Life is better with you in it.

Last Day of Twos

 School has been out for a couple of weeks now, and both Orelia and I miss it terribly.

 It's fun to have freedom on Tuesday and Thursdays, but it is a testament to how much we love Preschool Family that we are already itching to go back.

 I don't think it actually rained on her last day or that she wore her vest for a single second once at school, but she was ever-prepared with her umbrella and "cold" weather gear.

 I didn't manage to get a picture of Orelia standing like she was on her first day of school, but here she is as a "big" girl.

And here she is on her first day of school.

 At the end of this year she became a monkey-bar addict.

Thanks to gymnastics class, she loves to go "upside-downies."

 Because she has a summer birthday, our sweet teacher let her celebrate her un-birthday on the last day of school.

 After watching all the other kids get their turn with the Play-Doh cake, she was thrilled to have her turn.

It goes without saying that she enjoyed wearing the crown.

I was proud that she did well being dropped off one day each week at school, but I also really enjoyed our mornings there together on the other day of school.

Orelia especially misses the amazing Teacher Becca who was always so patient and kind to all the kids.  We actually ran into her on a walk recently and it was the highlight of Orelia's day to see Teacher Becca (especially outside of the classroom).  We had a wonderful year and can't wait to be back!