Evelyn's First Lost Tooth

June 2nd, 2011~
  After weeks of tooth wiggling and a lot of apprehension on Evelyn's part we finally decided it was time to pull Evelyn's first tooth. For fun we experimented with the classic doorknob technique but after a couple of unsuccessful attempts Andy had to just pull it out.  There were a few tears shed but for the most part she was all smiles :D

Evelyn after daddy pulled her very first tooth

There it is, here first lost tooth!  The bottom right incisor.

Such a beautiful smile :D

Our Little Shark

May 23rd, 2011~

  It's one of those well known facts that sharks' teeth grow in rows, well as it turns out Evelyn has that same ability!  I had no idea that was even possible until one night I was brushing her teeth and noticed something particularly odd... she had two EXTRA teeth growing behind her regular teeth.  Terrified I immediately scoured the internet to figure out what in the world was going on.  What I discovered is that it actually occurs in 1 out of every 10 kids and it's called lingually erupting mandibular incisors (say that 10 times fast), but it's more commonly known as "shark teeth".

So proud of her new teeth

 A close up of her "shark teeth"

Santa Monica Day Trip

May 10th, 2011~  SANTA MONICA PIER 

 

 During a recent trip down to the Los Angeles area the kids and I took a little detour to see the sights surrounding the Santa Monica Pier.  I had never been before so it was a great excuse to get out with the kids and just go exploring!

First up on our visit was a ride on the 1922 vintage Carousel.

Just outside the Playland Arcade I found an actual Zoltar fortune-telling machine just like the one in the movie "Big".

The kids took a good 10 minutes sitting on every moving toy outside the arcade.

Then we walked to the very end of the pier to enjoy the view.

And met this fisherman who had just caught a string full of fish as we got there. 

He threw one on the dock to entertain the kids but the poor thing just flopped around for a while.  When the kids started to question how long he could live without water I decided it was probably best not to stick around to find out.

Before heading back we took a few minutes looking back down the pier at Pacific Park and the kids took turns looking in the telescope. 

 
When we got back to the car to get our beach toys Preston entertained us with his interesting "robot" impression.  He got a good kick out of himself which was by far the funniest part.

Santa Monica Beach and Aquarium

May 10th, 2011~  SANTA MONICA BEACH

 After exploring the pier a while we headed down to the beach...

Preston went straight for the water

while Evelyn surveyed the beach and picked up every shell in sight.

At one point Preston got a little too comfortable with the water.  An unexpected wave knocked him off his feet and a second tried to pull him out to sea.  He was so brave though.  Almost immediately he was ready to go back out.

Collecting lots and lots of rocks and shells.  We went home with a good size bucket full and the next day the kids helped me clean them up and added them to their collections.

 Evelyn asked me to bury her in the sand.

Preston wanted to be buried also but he wasn't nearly as patient.

Evelyn and I worked on building a sandcastle.

Finally, a picture of the 3 of us!

Lastly, directly under the pier is the HEAL THE BAY'S MARINE SCIENCE CENTER.  It's more or less a large one room aquarium but admission is FREE for kids and only a couple bucks for adults.  The kids made little octopus hand puppets which were cute and afterwards enjoyed watching all the fish.

At the touch tank they got to experience a good amount of things from a squishy sea cucumber to the baby brittle star Preston's holding in the above picture.  

As always, we had such an incredible day of fun and exploration!

Decorating Eggs with the Family

April 23rd, 2011~

  Later, the same day as our egg hunt with Kim and Ricky, my family came over for a visit!  We went to the movies, cooked lunch on my brand new George Foreman grill, played Rock Band (I actually got everyone to sing!) and decorated Easter eggs...

My mom and dad decorating eggs with the kids.

 Preston looks like he drank the food coloring but I swear it's just from the candy.

Evelyn's eating an egg.

My little brother Scott and his wife Tiffany.  Scott just cut his hair for the first time in almost 8 years.  I REALLY like it!  He's a handsome guy.

Best Aunt and Uncle Easter Egg Hunt

April 23rd, 2011~

Our very good friends Kim and Ricky, who by the way have officially been nicknamed Aunt and Uncle by our kids, came over Easter Saturday to have an egg hunt with the kids.  It was super sweet of them!  

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the event.

 Uncle Ricky and Aunt Kim hiding eggs.

I'd say that was a good spot, Ricky!

The kids searching our backyard for eggs.

Ricky helping Preston get a particularly high one out of the tree.

Preston finding an egg.

Evelyn's funny smile :)

Ricky giving them clues in order to find the last few eggs.

Opening eggs.

 Kim and Ricky even gave the kids their very own chocolate bunnies, which they thoroughly enjoyed :)  Thanks Kim & Ricky.  You guys are the best and we are lucky to have you as friends!