April 2012

a little boy in our neighborhood was selling these grape leave sachets filled with good smelling herbs.  so cute, I had to buy one!

Avi loves the swing in her yard!  She's pretty brave for 2-years-old!

one my way to a prenatal yoga class - beautiful! 

that time we forgot to bring a jacket for Avi, so Michael gave up his.   

Yosemite with Mimi and Boppy! 

A pretty good hiker! 

They had the coolest kids toy at the Awanhee hotel - wax strings to make numerous things!

Avi's first wishing well.  She wished for a: fish, diamond (the shape, I think, since she had just learned it), triangle, tree, car - a red car that matches my Prius, and another triangle!

Bowling.  Michael calls me his "cutie fattie" - not sure how I feel about that...

Aveah and Baby Finn!

Aveah bowling!

Biking around Santa Cruz with Brant and Finn!

outdoor bath with some neighborhood kids

Swimming with Aryn, Finn, Aveah, Maren, and Mila (in the belly)!

Avi and I went to see a day time showing of the ballet.  We lasted until intermission!

Sweet Avi sleeping with "Baby Jake".

Yummy farm basket from our local farm!

Avi, Michael and Millie playing at the farm stand.

Our chickens lay some BIG eggs!

Petting the pony!  The first 2 years it came to her school she was too young or scared to pet it  - but today she loved on the little pony!

Local Fun & Parent Participation

 Just another day on the Central Coast.  We don't EVER take where we live for granted!  Every day I feel blessed and feel awe at the beauty that surrounds me 360 degrees!  Here we went to a casual dinner at the end of Avila Pier.  We could see seals in the water below.  We had to keep a close eye on Avi - that's a long drop to the water below!

 Avi has lots of fun learning and visiting her friends at "school".  I enjoy going with her and seeing her interact and learn.  I also look forward to talking to the other parents!

 Millie and Avi scoot around the gym.

 Teacher Kerri reads to the kids.  Just about 2 months ago Avi (and the other kids) felt brave enough to leave mama's lap and go up close to the book.  It's really fun to see each small developmental step in the life of a human being.

Another adventure we've done lately is going to ice cream and story time in the afternoons once a week.  Avi is so lucky!  This day we met Kendall and Katelynn and Sarah for ice cream, then went running across the suspension bridge afterwards.  

Fresno visit - March

We went to Fresno over Saint Patrick's Day weekend to visit family and attend Meagan's bridal shower.  We stayed with Sitti and James in the new Cal King bed in the guest room - nice!  Sitti watched Avi several times and Michael and I were able to go to one of our favorite Indian food restaurants and out to a movie and then to Barnes & Noble.  Sometimes it feels so weird going out without Avi.  It's a strange mixture of excitement (at being able to do whatever we want) and loneliness (I just don't feel "whole" without her around).

Aren't they cute together?!  Meagan and Avi.  

Avi will be the flower girl at Meagan's wedding.  Michael (and hopefully, me, if my pregnancy is still going as awesome as it has so far!) will be photographing it.  To be honest, I'm more nervous about Avi being a flower girl than photographing the wedding!

We went to Storyland in Fresno.  While there we called Mimi and told her where we were.  She was so excited she hopped in the car and met us there 25 minutes later!  Storyland is the perfect "amusement park" for a 2-year-old - not too much overstimulation, lots of interactive and not too complicated structures, and lots of funkiness!

It's so cool - Michael vividly remembers going down this slide as a kid.  He said, "It felt like it went on forever as a kid."  We are so blessed to live somewhere that we can revisit our childhood memories.  Thank God we don't live in a war-torn country like Lebanon - where Michael and Avi's roots are.  We just met a man who was born in Lebanon - but he doesn't go back often because of the political instability.  We are very blessed indeed!

Six months! 

Got inspired by how "full" my boobs look again (just don't look at my "full" thighs!) after putting on my mom's swimsuit.

Avi loves, LOVES, L-O-V-E-S the hot water of the spa!

Sitti got Avi this swimsuit and so I asked Avi to "model".  These poses were totally Avi-made-up.  Hilarious!