La Jolla #7 - "Other Memorable Moments"

I could probably just go on and on with the photos from our vacation. Every moment seems to be worthy of it's own "post" but this is going to be the last one. (To be honest, I'm getting antsy to write about Ryan's first day of preschool). We had so many great times on our vacation and will be heading back for sure.

Daddy having some play time with his girls. Daddy got to do alot of this because he didn't have to work so much. They loved having their daddy around.

Uncle Jeff and Ryan with their favorite past time. Squirt guns. Thanks to Grandpa Kudron for the bright idea!

Our trip to Sea World. Look at fearless Charlie. In the mix with all the other kids. No mommies or daddies allowed. Go get 'em girls!

Mommy's best friend from college, Jenn, lives in Del Mar so she and her husband, Trey, and son, Holden came over for the afternoon for some fun and sun. Very relaxing. So glad you guys could make it. Always a good time just hanging out.

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SEE YOU NEXT YEAR LJBTC!

La Jolla #6 - "The Camp Out"

Well... not really a camp out but a little bonfire on the beach. Jeff visited us down in La Jolla from Saturday through Monday. We all had a great time. We love that Jeff lives so close now. He has really gotten close to the girls in this past year ("girls" including me too!) Gotta say, I got lucky with Steve but Jeff as a brother-in-law makes it a two-fer for sure. As always Jeff, thanks for making the trip. We really enjoyed having you there with us all.

This is what the beach looks like on a weekend night. Everyone is outside either BBQing, having a bonfire, or both. It was incredible an incredible sight.

Jeff getting some love time with Charlie. They really bonded over vacation.

Jeff and Ryan hanging out by the fire. Look how she is holding his hand. She really loves him alot. They are super cute together.

Jeff obliged in taking a family photo for us. Here we are. Sunburnt and all.

La Jolla #5 - "A Day in the Life of Charlie"

Charlie loved the water. And the sand. And eating the sand. And everything in between. That little girl is afraid of nothing. She wanted to be in the mix the whole time.

Here is Charlie playing in the sand. What you can't see in this picture is that it is right after she went in the water with mommy so she is soaking wet and now completely sandy. Didn't phase her a bit.

Charlie LOVING the water with daddy.

Charlie liked to climb the lounge chairs. One of her favorite activities on the beach.

More sand toys. One of the greatest parts about The LJBTC is that there are tons and tons of complimentary beach toys for kids to play with so every day the girls got to try out new items. And if you didn't know... new toys = more independent play time! And that makes mommy's margarita taste all that much better:-)

Napping with daddy after a long day of fun.

La Jolla #4 - "A Day in the Life of Ryan"

Ryan had the time of her life hanging out on the beach. Here are a few snapshots to capture her moments of bliss. Ahhh... to be two again.

La Jolla #3 - "The Zoo"

On Friday, the girls and I went to the zoo. I know it doesn't look like Charlie is having fun in this picture but she totally was. She was so excited at every new animal we saw. Making all kinds of squeals and sounds. It was adorable.

Ryan kept her hat on all day because "mommy said so". She got sunburned a little under her eyes the day before (mommy learned how to apply sunscreen more thoroughly after that).

The elephants were one of Ryan's favorites.

Daddy was a little sad that he missed out on all the fun but I didn't feel too sorry for him. While we were trekking up and down the hills at the zoo (with a double stroller + a 31 lb. kid + a 23 lb. kid + our big bag), daddy was playing golf at Aviara. Boo-hoo Daddy! Oh p.s. speaking of hills, Ryan never did get to see the lions and bears because they were at the bottom of this steep, steep hill. Ryan said, "You can do it mommy, it's not hard." I don't think she realized that mommy would have to hike back up that hill.

La Jolla #2 - "The Set Up"

Our daily set up. Mindy was a favorite beach assistant. Every day she would set us up with chairs, tables, and two umbrellas to keep the pack and play and a play area for Ryan in the shade. Of course, Ryan chose not to sit in the shade. Directly up those little stairs in the background of the picture is our room. Oh, and see the little red flag attached to the chair. That's how we'd order grilled cheese sandwiches and strawberry margaritas without leaving our seat. Hmmm... I wonder which one of us ordered what????? Ha-Ha!

La Jolla #1 - "The Big Girl Bed"

Hello everyone! We're home! We just got back a few hours ago from our 8 night stay at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. We loved it. Can't wait to go back. I certainly can't do justice to all the wonderful moments in one blog entry so I will break it up into many over the next day or two. This first entry depicts the best decision of the trip... bringing the big girl bed! Steve thought I was a little crazy at first suggesting it but admits it was worth it. And you all wondered why we needed such a big car!! This is Steve's car packed up and ready to head to La Jolla. The girls and I drove in my car.

Cheerio

Sunday evening we helped celebrate Godmommy Katie's semester abroad in London. She leaves tomorrow for her big adventure. We loved being there to help send her off on her journey. London is a fantastically wonderful place. I will live vicariously through her these next few months. She has started a blog too so we all will be able to be there with her every step of the way. Enjoy yourself Katie. You will be missed.

Saturday Kudron BBQ

We headed out to Placentia to my brother's housefor a little summer BBQ. A little Kudron get together. We all had a wonderful, relaxing afternoon. Great food as always Nancy. Cousin Katie and Ryan played and played and played. But don't forget Charlie. She liked to get into the mix too.

Pre-Preschool Playdate

Last Friday we had one of Ryan's friends, Adelyn, and her mom, Holly, over for a playdate. Ryan and "Addy" will be going to preschool together starting next week. They will likely be the youngest so Holly and I are both glad that they will have one another. They always have so much fun together. So much so that it makes parenting easy. They share nicely and laugh the whole time.

what a character

Ryan and mommy had a special day together at Disneyland. We walked into the park right at 10:00 and got back into the car at 1:45. It was just the right amount of time. Ryan was asleep before we got out of the parking structure. Our typical day... 3 rides, one show, and lunch. But this time Ryan was really into the characters. She really wanted to see Donald Duck. We didn't see him but we did see Mickey Mouse and Minnie but the lines were way to long to get a photo. We got in line for Cinderella and were only 3 back. When we got to the front the guy said, "Sorry, Cinderella has to go." Ryan cried all the way to Pirates of the Carribean saying how Cinderella was mean and that she wanted to see the pirates. The ride was closed. I thought we were off to a bad start but then we got to hear Sleeping Beauty at Storytime and Ryan got her picture with Princess Aurora. She was so happy. And then on the way out, we ran into Raffiki (sp?) from the Lion King. He had no line, go figure! Ryan was scared at first (hence mommy in the pic) but afterward gave Raffiki an extra loud, "oo-oo-ah-ah!!" I guess that's monkey talk for "see you next time".

Mom's Shopping Adventure

So mommy had a little fun shopping. Nothing really for me. The girls scored though. Well, as all women do after a long day of shopping, they show off all their new merchandise. Ryan and Charlie had their favorites of course. Can you tell?

Charlie liked Ryan's new purse the best.

And Ryan can't decide between Charlie's fairy princess outfit and her own new boots.

How excited does dad look in the background after mom's shopping adventure?

Black is the new Pink

Just thought you'd all like to see Ryan's new move at dance class. And yes... if you're wondering... those are little hip hugging hot pants my daughter is wearing with the word "DANCER" across her bum. They are the cutest think since sliced bread.

Official Big Girl Statistics

In the past month or so Ryan has met some pretty wonderful milestones...

1) No more binkies at all! One day she just decided she was done. Not a tear has been shed and she hasn't even tried to steal them from Charlie.

2) No more diapers. Not even while she sleeps.

3) No more little "potty training" potty. She climbs up on her stool to the big tiolet now. Such an easier clean up (if you can imagine).

4) She can climb up into the carseat on her own now (especially in dad's car). So much easier with one adult trying to put two kids in the car in a busy parking lot.

5) I forgot to add before but yet another big accomplishment is Ryan sleeping in her big girl bed all night long all by herself. Mommy had to sleep on the floor in her room for the first few nights though. But not anymore. "I not scared Mommy."

6) And the biggest big girl statistic yet... She officially got into preschool starting in September!!!! We go this morning to fill out the paperwork. She is actually 3 months too young to start preschool so she was on the waiting list, but another little girl was not potty trained in time so Ryan got in!!! We are so thrilled. She'll be going to the Teddy Bear Preschool in Long Beach Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00-11:30. I guess now she will need a new backpack, and lunch box, and new school clothes. Oh darn, I just hate shopping for fun things like this. Hee-Hee!

big girl = big responsibilities

Well, there is only one way to say this. Ryan is two. And you all know what that means. Mommy started getting a little annoyed with her behavior and her obsession with the word NO. The teacher in me came out and yep, you guessed it, it's time for another reward chart. I have to say, my daughter responds very well to stickers. I have learned over and over again in my profession that you have to find that one thing that works for that individual. For Ryan, it's stickers.

Ryan is brushing her teeth all by herself. This falls under the rule, "I listen the first time." Surprisingly, no soaking wet shirt, counter, or floor. Yeh!

I have also learned through teaching that you're really only supposed to have 3-5 rules at a time for young children. I tried, I really did. I just couldn't narrow it down. Some are really easy for her so I'm looking at those as constant positive reinforcement and encouragement for the others. Can you tell which ones are difficult for her? Hmmm... yes... she's having a hard time being nice to her sister and can't seem be quiet while mommy is on the phone. Go figure.

She gets to pick out and put up the stickers herself. You'll see her one lone sticker for being nice to Charlie is a little butterfly at the end of the rainbow. Well placed Ryan. Sure wish we could get some more. Gotta say though, I'm pretty impressed at how much her behavior has improved. I wonder if we'll have to take the chart on vacation with us???

fort building

Fort building has become the favorite past time in the Grace household. This weekend we made our best one yet. You'll see we used Ryan's Fisher Price house as the front complete with front door, window, and even a potted plant. We used the Jumperoo to create the frame of the house. The blanket then became the drywall/stucco finish. The ottoman completed the house as the back wall. We then added one play phone, kitchen accessories, and two tiny tots and made for hours of fun. Well, maybe not hours. Their attention span is much, much shorter than that. But... for the 12 minutes it really lasted, it was worthwhile.

Ryan is sharing her space and her toys. That's rare (she post above, she's trying to earn a sticker)!!

Ryan is trying to pass Charlie in the doorway. No way Jose! That little one is a bruiser.

KNOCK, KNOCK!! "Who is it?" Ryan said that mommy was too big to come in. Thanks a lot Ry!

god bless charlotte sandra

Charlie's big day. And oh what a day it was. She was great during the whole ceremony and for the festivities afterward too. I know I may be biased, but doesn't she just look stunning in her white outfit?

Daddy and Charlie get ready for the ceremony to begin.

Two proud parents and their beautiful girls.

Charlie's godparents, Ryan and Michelle Smith, ready to lead Little Miss Charlotte Sandra to be a child of God.

The dunking... plain and simple.

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Thanks to everyone for supporting Charlie's big day. So many fun stories and memories to share with Charlie when she grows up.

science center

On Monday, the girls and I went to the Bowers Science Museum for a day of fun and learning. Our neighbors Kristina, Kendall, and Kyle joined us for the day. Ryan called it the science center instead and kept saying it the night before. "Tomorrow we go to the Science Center mommy? I get good sleep." My camera's battery died about 15 minutes into the day so I only got a few pictures. In one of the pictures you'll see the troughs with mud inside. This is a hands on science center of course, so the kids are supposed to put their hands in and build a dam. Do you think Ryan did that? Well, if you know our daughter well... you'll know the answer to that question is no! She didn't want to get her hands dirty. She just watched Kendall and stayed a good foot away. This also meant that she wouldn't help dig for fossils or eat a breadstick with her lunch (because it had salt/garlic powder on the outside of it) ! She is sooo much like her dad it eerie sometimes.

P.S. Sorry it's been so long since I've written a post but I promise... this weekend we should get some great photo ops so check back early next week.
P.S.S We also went to Aunt Ginny's last weekend to swim and took pics with Steve's camera phone (I forgot mine) but I couldn't figure out how to get them on the blog. We had fun though Ginny, thanks for having us.