Happy 8th Birthday!

Holy moly. EIGHT years!? Where does the time go!? Today we celebrated Todd's 8th birthday at the SB Gymnastics Club. It was the first time since Todd was born that we had an actual party with his actual friends (well, we did try to have one with his kindergarten classmates on his 5th birthday, but only one classmate came, so that... doesn't count?) and he was soooo excited! So were we, but in a different way-- could we handle a room full of kids? Well, that is precisely why we held the party in a location where we could pay the staff to actually run the show :-D

The kids had fun bouncing around and doing all kinds of obstacle courses and exercises on the floor mats and gym equipment. The staff kept them sufficiently busy so that they were pretty tuckered out by the end of it!

Boys being silly:

The outside of the gym:

Lot of festive decorations inside:

Panoramic shot of the facility before the kids arrived. Trying out the new panoramic feature of my new phone's camera. Click for the original sized shot:

JoJo's baby shower

All of our church friends threw a baby shower for Kevin and JoJo at our church's main building. It was one of those rare co-ed showers, which I always love better than the girls-only ones. Todd enjoyed the games immensely, particularly the "Advice Mad Libs" that we brought along :-) Here is Daddy and his own "baby":

Bee cake pop

Went to Taylor and Justin's gender-reveal cake party today. It was a yellow-and-brown bee theme, so the cake pops were shaped like bees. Todd managed to find the lone cake pop that featured a bee wearing glasses. Here is my little close-up shot of him:

Charlotte and Levi's birthday party

Our friends' kids, Charlotte and Levi, born just a couple days apart, celebrated their 2nd birthdays today. Todd was one of the oldest kids there, but that didn't stop him from finding another kid close to his age and having a ton of fun with both big and little kids alike.

Here are shots (taken by Matt Coon, Charlotte's dad) of Todd playing in/around a clubhouse that the birthday kids' parents build out of several large cardboard boxes:

Here are Todd and a new friend using their fathers' phone to take pictures of each other while Mackenzie looks on:

And here's a nice closeup of Todd after finishing his scavenger hunt and getting his goodie bag:

Happy Halloween: Pirate Costume

We bought this costume on sale last year, and it fit perfectly this year! This is the costume Todd wore to our church's annual Harvest Party and on Halloween itself, where Daddy took him to the Calle Real shopping center after work to partake of local-shop-sponsored activities.

Cowboy Todd

We had a western-themed barbecue at church today, where the fun began with a chili cook-off, followed by a costume contest, baseball game, and line dancing. Here is Todd in his cowboy getup: checked shirt, bandana, sheriff's badge and straw hat (he actually has a REAL black felt cowboy hat we bought at the Lemon Festival last year, but he opted for the more comfortable straw one instead).

Happy 7th Birthday

Todd spent his actual birthday in LA, what with his school closing down early. This year, we thought it would be nice to have the family come up to SB so they could see the new house.

We got to show the entire family not only the new house, but the surrounding community and amenities (clubhouse, pool, billiards room, etc). The sun came out in the afternoon, making for a pleasant deck experience, overlooking the lake.

Todd enjoyed playing with his new toys: a bocce-ball-like game from Amir and Priyanka, a new electric circuit set from Ron and Debbie (Amir, the electrical engineer, enjoyed that one, too!), ice cream maker from Grandpa, microscope from Oma and Opa, and magnetic dartboard and pyramid-shaped Rubik's-Cube-like puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa Duaine.

The little man is 7 now. Wow, hard to believe it's been that many years already. He's so tall, most people think he's 8 or 9, yet he still has a baby face typical of 5/6 year olds. My little boy is growing up!

Easter Egg Hunt

In previous years, Easter always fell around the time of Todd's spring break-- i.e. when he was away in LA. This year, however, Easter arrived LATE-- a few weeks after school resumed from spring break. So we finally had a chance to explore one of the many Easter Egg Hunts around Santa Barbara. We settled on Girsh Park because it was the closest to us, and I knew parking at the shopping center adjacent to it would be plentiful.

We arrived on time, got a paper bag for him to decorate (since we neglected to bring his Easter basket-- never mind that he had several in his room!) and waited at the age-specific zone, which was gated off till 11:00am sharp. Then the whistle blew, the gates flew open, and the kids rushed in. I had barely had a chance to get into position to take pictures when the kids came back out-- they were done! Dozens and dozens of kids Todd's age had combed the entire grassy area and picked it clean of plastic eggs. I helped Todd open the eggs, dump the candy into his bag, and return the plastic shells. THAT was over quick.

We spent the rest of the morning wandering around, playing on the bouncy castle, playing on the playground, and wrapped it up with lunch at McDonald's before heading out for some shopping. Fun morning, and not a bad way to experience a public Easter Egg Hunt! Maybe next year we'll try one of the other venues :-)

Birthday Wish List

The whole family went to the theater last night to watch "How To Train Your Dragon", as part of an early birthday celebration for Todd. What a wonderful, charming movie! Todd enjoyed himself immensely, as did Mommy and Daddy :-)

Here's a few ideas for gifts for Todd this year (I also try to keep the box in the sidebar to the right updated, but it seems nobody really reads it anyway):

• Game of "Clue": He played this with his caretaker at after-school care, and enjoyed it, asking for it for his birthday. I suppose there is the more age-appropriate "Clue Jr", but he played the actual adult version, and seemed to do okay with it, so that might be the better deal. Less likely he'll outgrow it too quickly, as he does with most toys that are supposed to be within his age range.

• Books! Chapter books! The boy is a readin' fool ;-) He's been reading several books out of the Beverly Cleary series (he's read all the Ralph S. Mouse and all the Henry Huggins books), and I thought it was a good time to get him started on the Ramona Quimby series, which I loved as a child. They come in boxed sets: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ramona-Collection-Beverly-Cleary/dp/006196090X/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1274282591&sr=1-1-fkmr1

• A new boomerang to replace the one he lost a few weeks ago :-)

The "F" word

Last week Todd and I shopped for birthday cards for Daddy. Had to find something special for the big 4-0, after all! While Todd's choices consisted of fun music cards, mine, of course, went to the age digs. And so I found the perfect card for him. The front of it reads:

Oh no! It's the "F" word, that terrible "F" word! Stop me, please before I lose control and say it again and again and again...

Inside it reads:

Forty! You're forty! Yes, Forty! Ha ha! Forty! Forty! Forty!
Happy Birthday!

Harmless enough, right? Good for a few giggles.

Then today at school, apparently, Todd shocked his teacher by making mention of the "F-word". Fortunately, he innocently explained further and told her that his Daddy's 40th birthday was coming up. Whew! Maybe it's not such a bad thing if he thinks, for now, at least, that the F-word is "forty" :-)

Double Master Reader

Awards ceremony at school today for the Fall into Reading program. Daddy and I missed it, unfortunately. First graders had to read a minimum of 480 minutes by the end of the six-week program. Those who read twice that were deemed "Master Readers".

Todd, with his voracious reading, read 1968 minutes. He was a Double Master Reader!

Prizes consisted of books, pencils, candy, a certificate and ice cream.

Let the reading continue! :-)

Santa Claus forgot something...

While Todd was away in LA during winter break, Allan and I spied some cool gifts at Borders we thought he might like: a little magic set and an origami set. We bought the presents and stashed them away, unwrapped and still in the Borders bag, until Todd returned.

Having gotten wind of the fact that Santa had delivered some presents that were waiting for him in SB, first thing Todd did after we arrived home was search for the presents. Daddy went into the closet and pulled them out, and Todd delighted in his new gifts for a while.

Later that evening, it dawned on him that he didn't have to unwrap anything (I hope he didn't notice that Mommy and Daddy even left the price stickers on! Oops!) and asked me this:

"How come you unwrapped the presents that Santa left here?"

I hastily explained that when Santa dropped off the presents, he was in such a hurry he didn't have time to wrap them, and asked us to. We, of course, subsequently dropped the ball and neglected to wrap them as well.

He seemed satisfied with that explanation. Sure beats thinking that we denied him the fun of unwrapping Santa's gifts!

Merry Christmas 2009

Yay, we got to go to Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron's house! Todd was excited. Everytime we go there, he makes improvements in his sociability, and his timidness decreases. He now has no problem going outside into the backyard by himself, even if neither Allan nor I are there to accompany him.

He had TONS of fun playing with Uncle Ron! I think he had more fun with Uncle Ron than with Daddy, and Uncle Ron was always his first choice for playing with his new toys together. He'd eagerly seek him out and call out, loudly: "Uncle Ron! Let's build something else" (ref: his new erector set).

Todd even enjoyed teasing Uncle Ron, much to Aunt Debbie's delight ;-) And of course, once egged on, Todd ramped it up even more!

What fun to see Todd eagerly interact with Allan's family, unafraid. Christmases just keep getting better :-)

Holiday parade

The annual holiday parade! All the kids in Todd's karate class dressed up in white uniforms and Santa hats and paraded down State Street. This was the first time I'd ever been to the parade. I made sure Todd was dressed warmly in thermals, long-sleeve shirt, vest, 2 pairs of socks and gloves all under his uniform. I dressed in a South Coast Karate sweatshirt and Santa hat and helped man the lines. As luck would have it, Todd wound up in the very first line, right behind our banner. And he was at the very far end of the line, too, enabling me to hold his hand and keep him company and guide him (mostly fixing his hat along the route!) as we made our way down the street.

We kept nice and warm with all the walking, and the kids wowed the crowd whenever we stopped and performed synchronized karate moves (katas) for the audiences :-)

Can't wait for next year!

Thanksgiving weekend

Todd was disappointed that we didn't get to go Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron's house for Thanksgiving this year. He was really looking forward to seeing everyone, especially Grandpa. I guess he still remembered how much they'd bonded during their Oklahoma trip earlier this year!

On Saturday, though, Oma and Opa came up to Santa Barbara, and we had lunch together, as well as visited the sights downtown a bit.

Here we are at the top of the Courthouse, overlooking a gorgeous view of Santa Barbara, the mountains and the ocean all around us:



And here we are in the Sunken Gardens of the Courthouse. As you can see in the last photo, the little man was weary of having his photo taken. At least he moved his hands enough so that his face was uncovered when Opa snapped this picture!

Halloween 2009

Little man dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween. That makes... the 3rd time in the 6 Halloweens he's lived through ;-)



We were in Sylmar for the weekend, and so Todd got to go trick-or-treating in the same neighborhood Mommy used to go around when she was little. As luck would have it, little Johnny (now 3) was getting ready to go out with his mom and grandma, and so the 5 of us trooped around the neighborhood. Todd was excited to have a little friend accompany him, and it emboldened him to go up steps and ring doorbells by himself. It was great for Mommy to see old, familiar faces in the neighborhood, and catch up with some of them. Todd's first trick-or-treat adventure was a success! :-D

Last day of school!

Wow. Todd is officially done with kindergarten. When he returns to school he shall be in first grade-- the first of the numbered grade levels. In other words, he's really in REAL school now. Hard to believe this school year is over-- where did the time go!?

Last night was Celebratio, the end-of-year school assembly and celebration. The classes performed various pieces of music and drama, and then awards were handed out-- Todd got one for excellence in Language Arts.

Today the kids went to Zodo's for some fun bowling action before getting dismissed at noon, whereupon everyone trooped to Goleta Beach for a barbecue. Todd enjoyed playing in the sand with the other kids, and before we knew it-- the school year was officially over! One final private karate lesson and then it was off to Oma and Opa's house for the summer!

Happy 5th Birthday, part 3

Whew! Didn't think there'd be THREE celebrations for little man, eh? This afternoon, after the tournament, we held Todd's birthday party at the apartment complex. We had the little personal celebration on the day of, the family celebration last week at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron's, and then today-- the celebration with his friends from school, plus a couple other kids. Only two kids wound up RSVPing, and then one of them got sick the day of and couldn't come. So it ended up being Ginny and her little brother. Todd didn't seem to notice or mind, though, and the kids had lots of fun. Thankfully the toys that Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron gave him last week came in handy! 3-D chalk (which worked even better than before!) and bubbles provided lots of entertainment.



Here's Todd with a finished Lite Brite picture-- the Lite Brite was one of his birthday presents.

Happy 5th Birthday, part 2

Whew! Updates in droves yet again! Added some more posts which are back-dated and interspersed through ones I'd written previously, so be sure to scroll down and catch all the latest :-)

Had Todd's second celebration for his 5th birthday today. Drove down to LA to celebrate with the family at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron's house. The day was hot and Todd squealed with delight as he engaged in water gun fights with everyone. At one point, as Aunt Debbie was distracted fending off attacks from Uncle Ron, Todd snuck up behind her with his little water pistol, and got her in the back! Now THAT's what I call a sneak attack! ;-)

He enjoyed playing with bubbles and doodling on the patio with 3-D sidewalk chalk, and had a great time building a helicopter with Uncle Ron and Aunt Debbie out of one of his presents-- a junior erector set.

It was great to see him open up a bit more and interact with Allan's family. He's been coming out of his shell a little bit at a time, but this visit brought about the most changes-- this time he wasn't as shy or hesitant about talking to them and actively engaging in conversation as he played. Let's hope there are more strides in the visits to come!

Now... on to the final celebration with the kiddies next week... more when that event happens!

I Madonnari

Today was the first time I'd ever been to the annual I Madonnari Festival in Santa Barbara. This time I actually had a twofold incentive to go: Todd's karate school had a square, and so did Citrix Online. Todd and I went there after his karate lesson, and wandered around, enjoying the fruits of the chalk painters on their hands and knees, hard at work, till we finally found the karate square tucked away in the back-- and shade!

We ate a lunch of pizza and a snow cone, and then went back to the karate square so Todd could draw. Here are some shots of him in action: he basically traced and colored his hand, and then colored the surrounding background black. Notice how everyone else, being right-handed, traced their left hands. Sensei challenged Todd to trace his right hand instead-- and he did it! Not bad, even if it does look like a baseball mitt ;-) Here's a few shots of Todd in action: