Ants On A Log

Inspired by ZeFronk (Disney Channel) and Baby C's friend MB who made it for a potluck this week, Baby C made "Ants On A Log". Basically - celery filled with peanut butter and dotted with raisins.

Cute idea, healthful, and tastes yummy too!

The Girls Hanging Out

Here is a picture of the girls hanging out on the kitchen floor. I can't believe Baby B will be mobile soon! Where does the time go?

I posted this pic on my Facebook page too and my sister RY commented that we never had a picture taken of us together like this, and she is right! We did not really grow up together and have grown apart over the years for a number of reasons. But we recently reconnect through Facebook (of all places), and I am glad we are in touch again. I am happy that my girls will get to know their Auntie R as they grow up.

Chopstick Fun!

Here is a fun video of Baby B entertaining herself (and all of us) at a sushi restaurant.

Notice how she wields it in a light-saber-ish way in the beginning. Must be her inner geek! =)

How To Keep A Toddler Occupied

1. Open up a Gymboree order that was just delivered today.
2. Ask your toddler to open all the little pouches of clothes and match different combination of outfits/accessories!

Good for at least 45-60 minutes of play!

To stretch it out even more:

1. Ask her to clean up all the plastic bags and put them into recycling.
2. Pick up all the clothes and put them in a bag for the laundry.
3. Let her try on all the outfits!

The Pond

Today we had a "free" day...well, free of events. So what did we do? Stayed home and did chores...well as much as we could do with two littles in our hair...!

Here is one of the things we go accomplished today: Our pond has been neglected and way overgrown, so much that our poor water lilies don't have enough sun to sprout up to the surface. We pulled and cut and even salvaged some clippings with roots and offered them up on freecycle! Look at the dramatic results!




The pond looks SO much larger after. Looks like "Cousin It" on the left side needs a trim too! =)

Cream Cheese Lemon Bars

After having some yummy cream cheese lemon bars at a friend's house, I was craving more so I decided to make a batch. Baby C enjoyed helping me stir the cake mix and squeeze the lemons...then she got bored, and I was on my own...HAH!


I doubled the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice in the recipe, so I thought it might have needed some extra bake time, but it did not. My batch turned out a bit overdone. Plus I used low fat cream cheese, so it was probably not as "solid" as it could be. Overall, still yummy, like little bites of lemon cheesecake. But it did not cure my lemon bar craving, so next time, I will make "real" lemon bars...that are more lemon-y...does that make sense? Any good lemon bar recipes out there?

Oh, and check out the new Bumbkins apron I got Baby C, I have a matching one and even bought a matching one for Baby B when she gets old enough! Yes, I am a cheeseball! =P

Grubbing!

Today we went over to Redwood City to meet our friends TM & LK, affectionately known as "Tana". We met up at the Main Street Coffee Roasting Company. They have good breakfast/brunch food there, especially their yellow cornmeal buttermilk pancakes, which can be made with the fruit of your choice...my choice: blueberries! And of course their coffee is tasty too!

The kids were well behaved and enjoyed the food too. After chowing down, we spent some time in their patio area where they have toys for kids to play with - Baby C loved it.

Baby B is eating more and more solid foods. We are subscribing to the "baby led weaning" philosophy once again with Baby B as we did with Baby C. It's really messy, but we love it. It is amazing to see our 6 month old eat table food like pancakes, bagels, graham crackers, whole steamed carrots and butternut squash, oven roasted sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, etc. We are slowly expanding Baby B's food vocabulary. I'll make a post about her grubbing experiences soon.

Here is a picture of Baby B grubbing!

Baby B Sitting Up!

Look at me!

Still a bit wobbly, but I am sitting up! =)

Baby C's First Full Day of Preschool

Today started out the typical preschool day for Baby C. Daddy J dropped her off (8:30am), I picked her up (12:30pm). BUT this time at pick up, Baby C refused to go home with me! She wanted to stay and take a nap!

When I pick her up at 12:30pm, all the kids are winding down and getting ready for naptime. She has been snuggling up in a cot the past couple times I've picked her up, but she always ultimately put her shoes on and walked out with me (or carried out by me because she was so "sleepy"). This is surprising because she has not taken a nap at home in like...forever. The best I can hope for these days is some "quiet" time in her room. I guess it is peer pressure?

At first, I was kinda sad that she'd rather stay at school that to hang out with her uber cool mom, but after some thought, I got over it. I am very proud of her independent spirit. At least I know that I am not toturing her by "making" her go to preschool! Also, it gives me peace of mind that she REALLY enjoys her preschool days (twice a week), and she is having fun learning and playing.

So at pick up, we scribbled a supplemental check to the preschool to bump her up to 2 full days week! Wish us luck that this enthusiasm keeps up! My little girl is growing up so fast!

Busy Weekend

It was one of those weekends again, jam packed with social activities and obligations.

On Saturday, we had a family appreciation picnic put on by Baby C's preschool, Little Sunshine Learning Center. It was at Lake Chabot...great food and desserts, and Baby C had a great time running around with all her little friends from school. Pick up and drop off is always a bit hectic, so it was nice to slow down and chat with some of the parents and teachers in a different environment. She's been at the preschool for about a month and so far I am very happy about with it.

In the late afternoon, we attended a bowling birthday party for JT and NT, who were turning 4 and 6. It was Baby C's first time bowling and she really dug it. She dug it SO much that she thought it was her turn, like ALL the time. She kept on grabbing the big heavy bowling balls as they came shooting out of the ball retriever thingy and would not let go of them, plus was trying to toss them down various lanes (that were not ours). It was frazzled because I was trying to bowl myself and was afraid she would drop a ball on her little toes or get her fingers caught between balls on the ball retriever thingy (which she did). It was funny when she did "bowl", it was like watching paint dry, waiting for the ball to hit the pins..or not. LOL!

Here is a picture of Baby C with her bowling party favor bag, "striking" a pose...HAH! get it? I know, I am a cheeseball. =)


On Sunday, we had a bat brit to attend in San Francisco for the daughter of one of Daddy J's old Schwab associates. The ceremony was at their home in the Marina, they served brunch fare including the obligatory bagels, cream cheese, and lox. A bat brit is a naming ceremony for a girl where her Jewish name is announced. It was the first bat brit we ever attended and the ceremony was very meaningful and touching. We were so honored to be a part of it and Baby B even had her first bagel!

That evening we had dinner with the inlaws. Here is a picture of Baby C with her great-grandfather in Chinatown and the inlaws' store.