The Circus

We went to see Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus yesterday!  It was so much fun, and a lot better than Circus Vargas that we went to last year.  We went with my mom & Frank, and Matthew, Dominique & Violet.  The best part was seeing how excited Ayden was as each act was brought out!

 

 

 

 

Grandma bought Ayden a souvenir AND cotton candy...he was bouncing off the walls!

yum yum

Elyana and Violet were passed from lap to lap and both seemed to have a good time!

the girls "playing"

Auntie Dominique got Elyana to take a little nap, despite the noise!

Soccer

Ayden had his first soccer game this weekend!  He got to play goalie for one quarter and did not let anyone score!

 

This is his victory dance when his team scored a goal on the other end of the field!

Elyana had fun hanging out on the blanket - she even rolled over from tummy to back for the first time while we were there!!

I LOVE this picture!

First Day of School

Ayden started Kindergarten at Blue Oaks Elementary this year!  Because he did Jr. Kindergarten last year, he was very well prepared for Kindergraten, so there weren't very many nerves.  He was excited to go to a new school!  The principal from my school, Mr. Murphy, moved to Blue Oaks, so his first year at Blue Oaks is Ayden's too. 

 

Ayden was not very excited to indulge me in pictures before school, but we were able to get a few!  Since my first day of school was the same a Ayden's, Ken was the one taking him.  He is in afternoon Kindergarten, so we staged a few photos before I left, then he went to work wth Daddy until it was time to go to school!

 

 

Ayden's buddy from T-Ball, Joey, is in his class!  They were both so excited that they already had a friend in the class (their moms are excited too!)

Four Months Old!

Elyana, you are four months old! You just cut your first two teeth (on the bottom). Even while teething, you were still a happy girl and did not get very cranky at all!  Since Mommy went back to work, Jenny Kuwazaki is watching you - you love going over there and hanging out with the boys.  You are playing with toys now and your favorite thing to play with is your toes!  You put them in your mouth at every opportunity and get upset when we put jammies on because they are covered.  You can sit up with the boppy's help and love to jump in the jumperoo.  You can roll over from back to tummy, but them start crying because you don't like being on your tummy.  We are thinking that if you get upset enough, you will learn to roll the other way.

 

At your four month check-up, you weighed 13 lbs, 10 oz (52%) and were 25 1/4 inches (89%).  You are wearing size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

 

You love to laugh - at Ayden or when we tickle you. You also think it's hilarious when we mimic your noises 

 

Cousins!!

It is very fun to watch Violet and Elyana together. I love that Elyana has a cousin so close in age!

 

What do you mean I can't put her toes in my mouth?

Violet showed up one day at our house dressed in the same outfit that Elyana was wearing!  They are so cute!!

Mr. & Mrs. Newton

No, not us, but the new Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Newton.  Ken's brother got married on August 25th to his longtime girlfriend Dee.  The wedding was old west themed and both Ken and Ayden participated in the ceremony.

 

The cowboy and the poker dealer

Ayden definitely had the attitude to go along with the clothes.  He loved posing for pictures - I may be a little biased, but I think he is the cutest cowboy ever!!!

Aunt Sarah flew out, this time by herself. She soaked up lots of Elyana time!  The cute little denim overalls Elyana wore were actually Anneke's when she was a baby, I can remember buying them for her at baby gap!!!

Elyana with Grandma Newton.  Elyana was cutting two teeth, so she wasn't giving us very many smiles.

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Newton!!

A little SF vacation

At the beginning of August, we took a little weekend getaway to San Francisco.  Ayden had been asking all summer when we would get to go to the beach.  He also had a free ticket to Six Flags in Vallejo, so we added that to our trip, too.

 

On Saturday, we drove in to the city and had a picnic lunch overlooking the bay. It was nice and chilly - always a welcome break from the valley heat!

 

It was so foggy, we could barely see the Golden Gate Bridge

After lunch, we headed over to the Exploratorium.  Ayden had fun looking at the different science exhibits!

We had to bribe him to get him to do this!!

 

Elyana was her usual happy self, tagging along in the stroller!

 

A little sibling love outside the Palace of Fine Arts

 After the Exploratorium, we drove to our hotel on the beach in Pacifica.  Ken and I stayed in Pacifica once before and we loved the little area of Rockaway Beach.  There are only a couple hotels, but they are right on the beach! 

Snuggling in the hotel

 After a relaxing morning, we took our lunches out to the beach.  It was freezing cold, of course, but that didn't stop Ayden from getting wet.  Ken said it wasn't that cold once you got used to the water, but Elyana and I just hung out on the blanket and watched!

sandcastles!

My beach blanket buddy

he could have spent all day running from the waves

naptime!

 My mom and her friend, Debbie, joined us for a yummy seafood dinner in Half Moon Bay!

all dressed and ready for dinner

On Monday morning, we got up to drive to Vallejo to spend the day at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom before heading home.

 

This was all the stuff we needed....we were only away for 3 days!  I had forgotten how much extra stuff comes with traveling with a baby!  I can't imagine if we had taken a longer vacation!

 Ayden was so excited to get to Six Flags because he was tall enough to ride on the big roller coasters, as well as his first upside down roller coaster!

Mommy & Ayden hit Roar first.  He didn't like it very much, but says he will try it again "when he is six"

Elyana alternated between playing in the stroller, napping, and hanging out with mommy in the sling.  We are so lucky to have such an easy-going baby to just tag along with us without getting fussy!

The Boomerang was Ayden's first upside down roller coaster!  He says he didn't actually like it that much, but has said he wants to try it again next time.....maybe he liked it a little?

 So ended our little weekend getaway...it was a great way to end the summer before heading back to work & school!