Little Farm Animals

We went to the Little Farm this afternoon. It was very cold. (okay, not "very" cold, but pretty cold for us). But it was nice to get out in the sun. (Note, you can always go to picasaweb.google.com/szander to see a slideshow of all the pictures on tuchus. the latest are in this folder.)

Little Farm walk

And we walked to the lake. Clara was a little more enthusiasic about walking there and a little less excited about sitting in the stroller. But we made it and saw some ducks (where were the turtles?).

Pictures: Molly explains how a drainage ditch works (clearly the daughter of a landscape architect); Clara walking way ahead of Molly & Zach; Molly contemplates the lake; Clara; Clara; Clara teetering on the edge of the lake (she didn't go in, but put up a good fight for the cause); Clara, taking a page from Molly's history, picking rocks.

Little farm slide

Clara, of course, went down on her belly. :)

Bravo!

The passport photo session was so much fun that the girls asked to repeat it (it helps that I haven't gotten around to pulling the screen back up and moving the stool away).

In other news, Molly & Zach enjoyed watching the inauguration together yesterday. I asked Zach how it went and here's what he wrote:
"She liked it pretty good. The speech started to lose her, but she loved clapping and saying "Bravo!" It was funny, she said it was the first time she had actually seen what Obama looks like." (I have to say that this can't actually be true with how many pictures of him are everywhere in this part of the world)

She still talks about it. She asked Nana today if she said "Bravo" at the inauguration, and she told Zach today that he should ask Obama about his daughters next time he sees him "not on the computer".

Volunteers

We experimented with volunteering this morning - we joined a group working on habitat restoration (weeding and planting natives) in a park in Oakland. Clara ended up doing the most work - she weeded and sowed seeds. Molly spent most of the morning watching and eating crackers. Here they are at the end of their hard work, sharing a snack.

Maybe we'll be a little more useful in another year or two. :)

Bath Time

Bath time fun: Clara showing her foot to Molly (upon request); Clara & Molly; Strawberry Shortcake; Strawberry Shortcake on the move.

Passport Photo Session

I was goofing around making passport photos of the girls this morning. Here are some out-takes. Not sure if we got any photos that meet all the Department of State requirements, but pretty sure I'm going to give the passport photo website a try (anyone else have experience with ePassportPhoto.com ?).

With Nate

Molly & I made a book for Nate's 4th birthday party today. Nona got us started on making books and it's lots of fun. The way we've been doing it recently is that Molly chooses a theme and then we find pictures on the internet to print, cut, and paste into the book. Then Molly dictates a "story" or whatever she feels like saying.

For Nate she decided to do a Nate-themed book. So, we looked up pictures of Molly & Nate together, printed them, and made a book. This time she added a couple pages in the front and back for "boring stuff" (just like in real books!). Nate was thrilled - here are pictures of them pouring over the photos and retelling the stories.

Day at the Beach

We had a lovely, sandy, and wet morning at the beach today.

More great park weather

The good news is the weather has been really lovely for going to the park and hanging out outside. The bad news is that we're not getting the rain that we desperately need.

Until then, here's some pictures of the girls (and our friend Ernie) at San Pablo Park.

New Grass!

And now, for something completely unrelated. We put in new grass at last. After several failed attempts at reseeding the lovely grass that we had before (which had to be redone due to chicken-mauling, stump regrowth, and other issues) I had all but given up. And then a nearby company started selling the same species in sod form! Keep your fingers crossed that the sod will take and hopefully in 2 weeks we'll be able to frolic on our lovely all-native mow-free low-water lawn.

Bed, at last

Yesterday we put our bed frame back together. This marks an important milestone in the sleep that our family is getting. Last year our bed was put on the floor because Clara had taken to sleeping on it. In fact, it was the only place we could get her to sleep somewhat consistently. Now that Clara has been sleeping pretty darn well in her crib in Molly's room for a few months (!) it's nice to have our bed back. And because I was feeling shutter-happy yesterday, I get to share the putting together process, starting with one last hurrah for the girls jumping and running on the mattress on the floor.