Birthday Party Last Weekend

We went to visit our friends at their home in Genoa, NV for the twin's 5-year birthday party!

It was a fun weekend, as always, and Liv had a great time playing outside with the big boys!

Here's a photo of the neighborhood children enjoying the pinata & its spoils!

Birthday boys & birthday cake!

Birthday CAKE!!!
mmmmmm....

Finally! -- an Update with New Pics!

I'm sorry that I've been so delinquent in updating here!

I finally have some new pictures to share.

Liv's been learning lots of new things this summer, she's talking more, she's starting to steer her trike - consistently & as expected! But, she still likes to stop frequently and explore other things she finds. :) We've started playing with crayons and dry erase markers on the glass door. We've started doing color and shape sorting - tho not always accurately or consistently - but even so, its fun to see her mind putting things together - sometimes in really fun creative ways.

And imitation is of course a fun part of learning! Last month she watched a friend of ours do a headstand.

Here's Liv's version, I call it "Upside Down Baby"

Last weekend G'ma & G'pa King came out to visit as part of their cross-country train trip! It was such a great pleasure to see them again so soon! We spent most of Friday at the King Tut exhibit at the DeYoung museum. It was really awe-inspiring. WoW!!

Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed, but we took our lunch at the cafe in the sculpture garden, where Liv discovered these great "apples". She loves to play "peek-a-boo" and when she squatted down behind these she would disappear! then POP up with a big old grin and a "BOO!" It was too funny!

On Saturday morning, we made a quick stop at the farmer's market for some peaches and tomatoes (and other yummy stuff) - Here's a pic of Liv enjoying a strawberry.

From there we went over to the Oakland Art & Soul Festival. There was a lot of interesting and beautiful art; Some of my favorite art was Karin Turner's H2Omelon Girl. It was joyful and colorful and her slogan "Live Lusciously" simply made me happy!

We didn't go to any of the concerts, except for the kid's stage while we had our lunch. They had a huge area of the festival for "family fun" Here's Liv playing with the parachute & beach balls:

and face painting by the gymnasts!

We had a really nice day!

Here's G'ma & Liv playing with a pile of pennies.

Other fun stuff we've been up to:
Of course, our frequent excursions to the beach across the street.

And coloring... here's a fun piece that I couldn't resist keeping. Liv does some pretty controlled scribbling, and is great at "keeping the colors on the paper!" and she loves to ask me to draw things, she'll indicate what she wants us to draw by signing "sun", "bug", "flower", "bubbles", "moon", "car", etc, she also loves to have us trace her hands and feet.

That's us waving "bye" for now...

Sing-A-Long

Liv and I went to sing-a-long again this morning (we'll miss the program in August when the library takes it's summer break from programs).

Here's one of the fun "lap-songs"

then fun free-play time with shakers & bells!

then everybody's favorite:
Parachute Play

first, the kids sit on top & we drag it around in a circle.

then the very best part...
running around underneath as it's waving overhead!

always a fun part of our week, weve learned so many fun songs and activities!

And Taking Mom for a Hike

Later Sunday, Liv took us for a hike in Marin County's Tennesee Valley.

Off to a great start...

but soon after a berry picking break, Liv spent the rest of the hike in the backpack.

Taking Dad for Bike Ride

Taking Daddy for a Sunday Morning Bike Ride!

She's still terrible at steering the trike.
Mostly, because she's so easily distracted by EVERYTHING! :)
bugs, flowers, airplanes, leaves, cars, dogs... you name it!!!
But also because I'm not sure the whole concept of steering (turning the handle bar = changing direction of travel) hasn't really been established yet.

But not being able to reach the pedals or steer doesn't diminish her enthusiasm for the "BIKE!" "BIKE!" ride!

Boat Ride

Liv in her "boat jacket" watching Grandpa drive the dock! :)

Liv's Chance to Drive. Woo-Hoo!

"Go! Go! Go!"

We had such a great time visiting Grandma & Grandpa King at Cranberry Lake!

Cranberry Lake

Here we are at Cranberry Lake with Liv’s grandparents, and having a great time.

Liv is having such fun playing outside (a frequent sign) everyday she discovers a new pinecone, stick, bug, or wild strawberry! She has us following her all over the property (and the neighbor’s) climbing on and over things, listening for bird calls or someone using a hammer or saw, hearing and spotting boats on the lake.

She’s been on great adventures everyday. We’ve been to town, to the store, library, and post office, the laundromat, and the playground (with a traditional metal slide: the kind with a ladder to get to the top and 2” rails on the sides! awesome! She couldn’t believe I was making her climb to the top of this ladder, until she got eye-level with the top and saw that long shiny slide – woo hoo! Her face totally lit up as it registered!). We went on a nice long boat ride, (she signs “Go! Go! Go!” when we go fast) we docked at the Pinecone and had a nice lunch at the other end of the lake. Then she slept the whole way home.

Her favorite games are running down the ramp off the porch, signing “duck” when I say “dock” (how confusing is THAT?), digging in the sand on the beach, and hiding her self or her toys and asking (signing) “where?” She loves giving hugs – if someone gets one EVERYBODY gets one! It’s awesome!

We are so excited that Jeff was able to come join us! It’s been a wonderful, if too short, week. He flies back to Honolulu Saturday; Liv and I fly home on Tuesday. It’s going to be hard to say good bye to Grandma & Grandpa.