Some Random February Moments

2010 Winter Artwork

"dot" paint by Thomas

1/11/10

Thomas: It's Thomas and Mama and Daddy too

drawing by Thomas

1/26/10

made with marker and stamps

Glitter Art by Thomas

2/10/10

made with glitter, glue, and cookie cutters

Valentine's Day Cards for Daddy

by Thomas and Lena

2/13/10

Straw Art by Thomas

made at preschool

the little piggy's house made out of straw

Stick Art by Thomas

made at preschool

the little piggy's house made of sticks

Playing catch

It is crazy how much more kid-like Thomas is becoming!  We have real conversations and I actually understand most of what he is saying, he is close to potty-trained, and he is becoming more and more independent.  This really hit me the other night as he and Seth were playing catch in the backyard. 

 

  

  

  

  

 

Sacramento Zoo

On our way home from Meadow Vista we decided to stop by at the Sacramento Zoo.  Grandpa and Nene joined us.  I had never been to the Sac Zoo, and wasn't sure what to expect.  It was great! Small, but still lots to see, easy to navigate, and a zoo train, which Thomas considers a must!  Our favorite animals were definitely a pair of monkeys that were making tons of noise and swinging back and forth across their enclosure.  Both kids couldn't take their eyes off them!

 

  

 

 

Snow Days

Since Seth gets a week off in February called ski week we figured we should at least go see the snow!  We headed up with Grandpa and Nene and spent a few hours outside of Truckee.  Both kids had a great time!

 

  

  

 

Valentine's Day with the Chico Gang

For an early Valentine's Day the chico gang headed down to Beth and Steve's house in Oakland.  We had a lot of fun talking, drinking fancy coffees, making pizzas, and of course drinking a good amount of wine!

 

 The toppings

making their pizzas

enjoying the final product!

Daddies having a "swinging" good time with their daughters

Super Bowl Sunday

Thanks to a half serious facebook posting the Smiths, friends from Chico, ending up visiting for the Super Bowl!  Ain't facebook great?  Tyler and Tina have a little boy and a little girl both within a few months of our little ones.  The adults had a great time catching up and the kids got along great.  Here are the girls:

 

Trying to get both boys to slow down and look at the camera was a little more difficult! :)  So here is a more realistic picture of the two of them anyway:

And of course all the kids getting ready for bed:

Farming Friesens

 

So this year I decided to try and grow our summer veggies from seed.  Now anyone who knows me knows that our chances for success are not great, I have about the blackest thumb possible!  I decided to give it a go anyway because I figured it would be fun for Thomas and I was inspired to try some heirloom varieties after we had a huge seed store move into downtown Petaluma last fall. 

Thomas has been having a love/hate relationship with the camera lately and did not want to have me document our planting (can you tell by the above picture! :).)  I asked him if he wanted to take the pictures while I planted and he gave me an enthusiastic, "Yes!" So here is our planting session through the eyes of Thomas:

  

 Our pods soaking

  

 Extreme close-up

  

 Mama

  

 The dining room light

  

 Mama planting the seeds

  

 Self-portrait

 

 Dad!

The Zoo

It was a cloudy gloomy day in Petaluma, but the weather map showed clear skies by the beach so Thomas, Lena, and I called up Aunt Callie and met her in at the zoo in San Francisco.  The last time we went to the zoo Lena didn't seem interested in the animals, but this time she got it and was very excited to see them all!  She kept saying oh oh oh and waving her arms.  

We started out at the African exhibit and saw the gorillas, including the new baby gorilla, or as Thomas said, "a Lena gorillia!"

 

Then we headed over to the steam train, Thomas' favorite part of the zoo, big surprise!

 

 

Thomas' favorite animal was the praire dogs.  He loved watching them pop up from the holes and could have stayed and watched all day!

 

 

 

Lena's favorite part was the petting zoo, especially the goats and ducks.