Tucson: The Desert Museum

No trip to Tucson would be complete without a visit to the Desert Museum in Saguaro National Park West.


Dad power


Big horn sheep


The look out


Eliza saw not one but two owls that day. A favorite bird - and word for her.


Addie petting a snake


Addie claims that the dinosaur dig is everyone's favorite part.


Sleeping Eliza

Tucson: Tohono Chul with Nana and Pop Pop

By Thursday, Nana and Pop Pop had arrived from cold Michigan. Nanci and I spent the morning getting massages and manicures at the spa before meeting up with the Big Boys and the Little Girls for lunch and trip to Tohono Chul park - a first for us. The outing was cut a little short after Addie stepped in the stream soaking her shoes and got a cactus needle stuck into her thigh.


The baby carrier arrived in the mail and Pop Pop gave it try.


Addie reading the map. She insisted we all walk behind her.


By the end, Cap was carrying two cranky girls on his back.

Tucson: The Zoo

GranJanne lives down the street from the Reid Park Zoo - a perfect way to spend an afternoon.




Addie's favorite part was the peacocks who roam about and hang out in trees.


Sisters in a log.


Play time.

Tucson: The Desert Of Course

And of course, there is the desert that I love.

At Saguaro National Park East, we learned quickly that alternately keeping Eliza away from the cacti and carrying her was enough to get me onto Amazon that night and order a backpack baby carrier.






Plus, hiking takes a lot longer when Eliza stops to investigate the gravel. Eliza called all the cacti "ouch!"


Lizard hunting


Addie and the biggest, oldest Saguaro we could find

Tucson: The Children's Museum

How did I not know that Tucson had a children's museum? It was the perfect place to let the girls run wild and escape the drizzle outside.



Eliza practicing being the Big Sister in the play doctor's office.

Tucson Time

In my usual behind the times fashion these days, I'm finally posting photos of our relaxing trip to Tucson during President's day week. We stayed at GranJanne's lovely new house, lounged around, ate take-out and went on some sort of adventure each day between Eliza's naps. Addie loved helping feed the mourning doves in GranJanne's back yard which involved lots of spinning and showering of bird seed in all directions.



This is Eliza's favorite perch, watching the birds and dogs from her window spot.


Eliza was also fond of the bird bath where she would lick the water off of her hand. Gross.

I'd love to come back in the spring when the desert is blooming. Maybe next year!

We miss you GranJanne!

(I'll be posting photos of our Tucson adventures and fun with Nana and Pop Pop soon!)

Face Painting

I bought a face painting kit several weeks ago. Addie painted a colorful sleeve on both arms and then I painted a caterpillar and wrote her name on her cheek. Her other cheek has her friend Danika's name on it even though Danika wasn't even over at our house that day.

Danika did come over recently, however, for a playdate and brought her little brother Kieran along. Eliza and Kieran are in the same toddler class. How cute are the two of them together. It's officially Eliza's first playdate.

One and a Half

18 months today!

Eliza is all energy and curiosity. She's figured out how to pull the step stool up the bathroom sink and turn on the water. She can be found standing on a chair, the coffee table or trying to scale the dining room table. She opens the caps to all our pens and markers and threatens to fall off our bed at every twirl. No is a favorite word and is the answer to all questions. Did you have a good day at school? No. Are you hungry? No. Is your name Eliza? No. When she doesn't get what she wants she screams and throws herself on the floor. We call her Tyrannobaby and Baby Menace.

Still she can be sweet as tapioca pudding, bringing you an animal book to read and sitting herself down quietly in front of you or on your lap. Her vocabulary has doubled at least in the past month and mainly consists of animal words. She's switched from calling me Mama to Mommy which is what greets us at 6:15 am in the morning from the next room over. She has moved out of the infant room at school into the toddler room where she sleeps on a mat and baby bottles are banned. She refuses to use a sippy cup but I'm hoping with persistence that will change. Her smile transforms her face. She adores Addie. She's confident and loving. She has no idea her life is going to change in July when her baby brother is born.

Happy year and a half Eliza Wren! You make me laugh and I love you.

Snickerdoodles

I plan on giving up sugar again for lent this year so in preparation I'm devouring it now. Addie and I made snickerdoodles as a birthday gift for a friend today. These are great cookies to make with kids because they are very tactile. Addie helped make the dough, roll it into balls and then dredge them in cinnamon sugar. A bowl of cinnamon sugar was a standard on our kitchen counter when I was growing up. There is nothing quite as comforting as eating cinnamon toast curled up on the sofa.

The birthday girl is a lovely, single gal in her early thirties and the party guests were more her demographic. I think the last time I was at her place was two years ago and I was pregnant with Eliza. There was another mom with her two year old in tow, otherwise we were the only family and with our two kids and a third on the way I felt a little like we had rolled in from the farm. We lasted thirty minutes before Eliza terrorized her cat, the girls fought over a toy pony, Eliza ran off with the entire hunk of smoked gouda and left a trail of crackers in her wake like Gretel.

I'm wondering if the homemade cookies, instead of a bottle of wine, might have been a little too June Cleaver of me.

It's a Boy!

Really, I'm shocked. Ecstatic too.

Addie was right as she was with Eliza. I'll spare everyone the boy parts ultrasound photos but we are 100% sure that baby #3 is a boy. And, he looks totally healthy which is the best news.

Addie really wanted to come with us to the doctor's but woke up this morning feeling sick. Poor girl barfed on the way to the appointment (poor Cap's car too) but smiled when she found out she was right. She is going to have the baby brother she had instructed my belly to produce when she yelled at it, "Hey baby. Turn into a boy!" She can be rather bossy.

So long staycation

You may recall, or maybe that was on facebook, that I was complaining about spending Christmas break at home for 11 days. By day 6 I was done and ready to book a last minute, red-eye to New York. I completely climb the walls and panic that I'm wasting precious time off from work.

When MLK weekend came around, I was adamant that we would go out of town. Both Cap and I had the day off and the girls' school was closed. I looked at San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ojai before settling on Palm Springs where the pools are heated and we had an unseasonal high of 80. After searching through several three star options, I said screw it; I want a hotel that has it all. We booked three nights at the Hyatt Grand Champions in Indian Wells after getting the second night half off. We had a huge room and there were 6 pools, a hot tub, a water slide and pool side beverages on demand.

I love the desert and I love Palm Springs. It was perfect.

It's another three day weekend but we're taking the whole week! We flew off to Tucson on the 19th for our annual trip to visit GranJanne and see her new house. Pop Pop and Nana will also be there for their annual desert sojourn. Mmm. Love that desert air.

Palm Springs Photos:


Addie feeding a giraffe at the Living Desert zoo.


Addie riding a camel for the first time. This zoo seriously rocks.


Grooming a goat. When I think about how many times our city kids have combed goats, I have to laugh.


Sheep gazing


Addie and Cap on the water slide


Eliza and Cap on the water slide.


Taking a break from swimming to have some water and watch a movie on my phone.


Finally trying an infamous date milk shake from Shields. Delicious. Eliza liked it too.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our day started with Addie serenading us in bed with a Valentine song and ended with sharing strawberries and chocolates with the girls while opening Valentines galore from classmates and family.

A Valentine message from Addie as she told us over the weekend: "I am the Queen of Love!"

17 months

Miss Eliza Wren is creeping up against half a year, celebrating her 17 month birthday yesterday. She continues to grow into a feisty, exuberant little girl. She's running around, climbing up on everything, playing peek-a-boo, and taking her shoes and socks off. Exhausting! Favorite words include uh-oh, nose, shoe, more and making animal sounds. When she hears or sees a bird she says, "Caw, Caw" and a dog is breathy "woof woof". She'll only read books about animals and prefers to be outside rather than in. We frequently have to rush to Addie's aid after Eliza has tackled her and grabbed fistfuls of hair. I think Eliza might enjoy a toddler tumbling class! While scrappy, she's also very loving. She greets all the grown-ups at school with hugs whether they are teachers or parents and if you say, "Eliza, can I get a hug?" she'll rush up, wrap her arms around you and lay her head on your shoulder. Total cuddle bug but watch out, she bites.

Since I missed her 16 month post due to a pregnancy induced hibernation, here is a photo of her from a month ago.

Stuffed Animals

This is going back to Christmas when my Mom was visiting when we were most excellent LA tourists making the rounds to the local cultural institutions. This is our second visit to The Natural History Museum and I forget what a great place it is for kids. Both Addie and Eliza loved it and because it's not crowded they could run around in the giant halls. Plus they have a gorgeous, light-filled discovery room and the T-rex show is amazing - and scary!


Eliza knows her animals by sound so here is her looking at a "Rawr!"

The Official Announcement

My blog has been neglected for two months as I've been in bed around 8:00 after the girls are asleep. There isn't much time for anything other than getting ready for work, work, and then getting the girls picked up from school, fed and in bed before I crash myself. And here is my official excuse.

I'm having a baby!

Yes, baby #3 is on the way. I'm 16 weeks along, due at the end of July. After getting over the shock, I am really quite excited. Sure it will mean the massive expense of a new car and eventually a new place to live, but it will also mean a new little person to love. I can't believe Eliza is going to be a big sister as she's still a baby in my eyes at 16 months.

Addie is very excited and while she said she wanted a baby brother, she understand that you get what you get, and you don't get upset - a maxim taught to her by her God-sibs in Colorado. A few weeks ago she put her face up to my belly and yelled, "Hey baby! Turn into a boy!" If I was going to bet though, I'd put my money on a little girl. We don't find out for a few more weeks but that hasn't stopped me from compiling lists of girl and boy names.

My apologizes for the neglected blog, but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.


16 weeks in 2009 with Eliza. Looking rather similar these days. Now, if only I could find where I stored my maternity clothes . . .