How to Play ALL DAY LONG

9:00am - Head to Sacramento to visit Candace, Emberly, and Sam

11:00am - Visit the California State Railroad Museum with your best gal and refuse to pose for pictures until your mom bribes you with ice cream look really cute happily posing for pictures.

Fourteen shots and not one of them looking at the camera at the same time...

11:30am -  Try to figure out what the spiral plastic thingy on the end of the weird looking iPhone is.

Why doesn't this thing have a touchscreen?

11:45am -  Check out some super cool model railroad setups.

This one reminds me of the town in the Hidden Valley Ranch commercials.
I want to go to there.

12:30pm - Eat pizza and ice cream, and then go back to Emberly's house to do this:

We owe Candace and Ryan some grass seed.
PS -  Ten points if you realized the song is by Puddle of Mudd.

2:15pm - Change out of muddy clothes, relax on couch and watch WALL•E while baby brother hangs out in a roll-away-proof pod on the floor.

Escape attempts = thwarted!

5:15pm - Go to Fairytale Land for the Chalk it Up event, have a delicious picnic dinner, and watch Emberly cover herself in loads and loads and loads of blue chalk.

If you go home neat and tidy, you didn't have enough fun.

6:30pm - Systematically (and repeatedly!) try out each and every amazing slide that Fairytale Town has to offer.

Sharks and crocodiles... ha!  Where does he come up with this stuff?

10:05pm - Stay up way past your bedtime and fall asleep in the car on the way home, dreaming of next week's fun play date event - going to the Oakland Zoo!

Summer.  Is.  Awesome.

Wait... I have a blog?

You wouldn't know it with the way that I've been spacing out my posts lately.  I have SO MUCH to catch up on.  I'll work on that this week.  Given that I'm on vacation, I have absolutely no excuses for neglecting the blog.

In the meantime, enjoy this behind the scenes video of the semi-annual Notch boys portrait photo shoot.  Super awesome images (as well as a few blog posts making up for all that I've missed over the past two months) to follow soon!

Ethanisms

- Why are there commercials?

- I wanna ride on a train.

- There's dog hair on the couch.

- My baby isn't looking at me.  I want him to look at me and laugh.

- Mama, can I come with you to the potty?  Do you want privacy?  Maybe you don't.  Um, what happens when you lock the door?

- Can I watch Phineas and some Ferb?

- Why do birds lay eggs?

- Hey, Mom, look at me!  I'm a silly turkey!

- What happens if you push this button?

- Do you like my hat?

- Why?  Why??  Why???

- Max, get back inside!  When I was a doggie, I stayed in the house.

- When I get big like you, then I'll take care of Everett.

- That's a pattern!

- Let's make a Daddy sandwich!  I am the bread, and Daddy's the peanut butter, and Mommy's the other bread... and Everett's the pickle!  

- Are you letting me stay up late?

- Is this a one time book, or a two time book?

- No thank you, but thanks for sharing!

- Mmmmm... this cereal is tasty!  Can I have it for dinner?

- Can I play games on your phone?

- If the sun melts the ice cream, what happens when you take the ice cream into the dark sky?  The moon's not hot, right?

- What's a wishing well?  What's a wish?

- I like buildings and cities.

- Why is there traffic?  Let's take a shortcut.

- Can you take me to school today?

- Why do I have to wear socks?  You don't wear socks.

- What makes steam?

- What's an itch?

- I'm not a lot awesome, but I'm a little awesome. And a little shy.

- Is this a freeway?

- If you don't use a crosswalk, the police officers will come get you.

- What happens if a bird bonks into a tree?
- Animals can't talk, but they can laugh.  They laugh in a different language.  And the cows say "I love you" like this:  "Moooooooo!"
- What does danger mean?
- What's a business trip?

- Mom!  I think there's chocolate in these M&Ms!!!

*I have to credit the lovely and talented Emily for this post.  She wrote all about What Lyla Wants to Know over on her blog, and I totally stole her idea.*  

A Bit of Peter Pan Magic

Did you know that Neverland is actually located in Berkeley, California? It's true. With a pinch of my husband's daring spirit, mixed with a dash of internet research, he found the park that the Lost Boys built.


Apparently, a lot of other people have also discovered this park, as it was packed full of kids and parents who refuse to grow up. This incredible place, named one of the Top Ten Playgrounds by National Geographic Magazine, is almost indescribable. But I'm gonna try...


Opened over thirty years ago, Adventure Playground is still a work in progress. How is that possible, you ask?  Well, it's simple.

Normally a list of things to *avoid* on a playground... which is what makes it so brilliant.  There were hardly any construction hazards to be found.  

Kids have access to giant piles of scrap wood, and can check out hammers, nails, saws, and paint to build pretty much whatever they want to.

Reduce, reuse, recycle!

As a result, the play structures all look, well, like the forts I used to build in the woods with my friends growing up.  But much, much cooler.   They're a little bit wonky, a little bit messy, and a whole lotta fun.

Sure, that makes for a few hazards here and there, but parent supervision is required, and there are warnings all over the place.

Understatement.

If you would have asked me yesterday if I'd take my not-quite-four-year-old to a park where they not only provide, but *encourage* the use of potentially dangerous tools, I probably would have said absolutely not.  But once you're there, witnessing the playground's perfect combination of creativity and childlike joy, it seems like the best idea ever.  

For starters, the park is right on the water, with views of San Francisco.  That alone is hard to beat.  But it gets better.  There's giant climbing nets, tons of slides and swings, tunnels for days, and a zipline, for crying out loud. 

Old instruments have been turned into works of art...

I kind of want one of these for our living room.

... and objects of exploration.

Everywhere you turn, there's a new nook or cranny just begging to be explored.

This.  Playground.  Rules.

It's everything a Bay Area mama could ask for.  It's amazingly artsy.  It's granola-crunching hippie.  It's something completely different.  It encourages the kiddos to play outside and use their imagination.  But the best part of all?  It brings families together.  Since you have to keep a really careful eye on your little one, it creates a totally different level of engagement.  Parents are given permission to turn into kids again.

Forget about finding the Lost Boys.  We ARE the Lost Boys. And this is our Neverland.

(Almost) On a Roll

Things I learned while filming this video:

1) Everett is a determined little guy, just like his big brother. (This can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on what the boys are determined to do. In this case, the determination to figure out how to roll over is adorable and endearing. Put a tally in that blessing category.)

2) Gone are the baby blob days when all he did was eat and sleep. Everett is growing up quickly, and developing quite a personality. I suppose he was born with free will (debate this amongst yourselves), but he's just now getting to the point where he's old enough to execute it. I love watching him choose to do something.

3) There's a reason why the play mat comes with structured plastic inserts to hold up the sides... and I should probably spend the weekend searching the garage for them.

His technique is a bit unorthodox, but I guarantee it'll yield results!

In the Blink of an Eye

There are a handful of nostalgic movies that I will always watch if they are on TV. One of my favorites is Big - a Tom Hanks classic. It's one of those films that sucks me in and absorbs 100% of my attention. I am physically unable to change the channel. It makes me *that* happy.

Some Broadway producers tried to capture that magic by making it into a musical. Sadly, it compeltely tanked, and was only on the Great White Way for a little under six months. However, that was long enough for my high school drama director to see it and decide that we would perform Big: The Musical in the Spring of my Junior year. I was cast as Mrs. Baskin, aka Tom Hanks' mother. For lots of different reasons too numerous to go into, we didn't end up doing the musical. I instead played Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls that year, another one of my favorites. But every now and then, I think about the show that never was and how much fun it would have been to perform. Of the songs that Mrs. Baskin sings, "Stop Time," has always stuck with me. It was moving when I was 16, but now that I'm thirtysomething and have two kids of my own, it means oh-so-much more.

I go back to work in a little over two weeks, which marks the end of my days at home with tiny boy. My maternity leave has flown by, and I know it's just the beginning of time slipping away from me. As I hold Everett and stare at his itty bitty baby features, I think about how quickly Ethan has grown, and Mrs. Baskin's song plays on a loop in my head:


Two months old, he looks up at you.
How his smile melts your heart!
You want to say, "Stop, time."
"Don't move on."
Even as you watch, that look is gone.

Then he's two, such a little man.
So alive and so smart!
Again you say, "Stop, time."
"Stay just this way."
But the future comes, and he can't stay.

Nobody warns you of this parent's paradox -
You want your kid to change and grow,
But when he does, another child you've just begun to know,
Leaves forever.

Birthdays fly - 7, 8, 9, 10.
Every kid he becomes you clutch and say "Stop, time."
"Hold this one fast!"
But it's not supposed to last.
And that time has come and passed.
For he's growing,
And he has to go.

Be My Valentine

We drove up to Sacramento this weekend so Ethan could have a date with his sweet little Emberly. Of course, I had to chaperone, camera phone in hand to capture each and every moment. Here's a little photo essay on how the evening went:

It started off with a gourmet dinner of dinosaur chicken nuggets and juice popsicles. Ethan let his best gal have the pink princess plate - not because he's opposed to pink, but because he wants to give her every happiness. He's chivalrous that way.

Cheers!
We need to work on manners. Ethan made a drippy popsicle mess all over the table. Upon discovering it, Emberly hopped up, ran into the kitchen, asked her mom for a wipe, and cleaned up after him. She's nurturing that way.

But seriously, little dude, let's try to get more in than on your belly next time.
After dinner, Ethan took Emberly for a spin on a shiny red tricycle. Chicks dig it when you've got a cool ride.

Notice how he's powering it Fred Flintstone style. Smooth.
Emberly wanted to show him how to put the foot to the pedal and the pedal to the metal. Or something like that. So they swapped places and Emberly hopped behind the wheel.

She's a much better driver. Sorry, Ethan, but them's the facts.
After the long drive from the kitchen, they arrived in the living room and watched "Finding Nemo" for a bit. When their attention span was tapped out, they retired to a comfy chair for a little light reading.

Building literacy skills with the added bonus of cuddling up with his lady. Win-win.
Those two little sweeties played together for hours, filling the house with the sounds of squeals and laughter. Thanks for such a lovely evening, Hoke family!

(A special shout out to the babies, Sam and Everett, for sleeping through the whole thing! Boys - you were missed, but it sure was nice to be able to eat a delicious meal and play some Spades without interruption!)