Four Picture Friday: A Day in the Life

We started our day hanging out with the usual gang:



Then hopped in the car for a busy day:



First, we looked for some goats:



Then considered jumping a fence to go run around on a BMX track. I talked Chimpy out of it:




So instead we explored an old freight train:



After, a quick dip to wash the soot of rail travel off:



Refreshed, we go on hug patrol:



All that and and ice cream cone, a duck pond and a bike ride–we were wiped out. It was time to hop in the car and call it a day. Well, after a quick drive-thru for a coffee and some cookies:



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What a day!

Wednesday Moment of Zen

Four Picture Friday: When Chimpy Met O.

After a rough morning last week, we thought we'd take our lunch in the park. On the menu: spaghetti with a fried egg on top and fizzy water.



It was a crazy windy day but there was another kid out with his mom. Intrigued by Chimpy's choice in lunch, he kept an eye on her so we invited him to play. And that's how we met O.

O. was a real little gentleman. He let Chimpy drive their pretend driftwood horse:



O. also shared his crackers, unwittingly discovering the second quickest way to Chimpy's heart (the quickest way is owning a dog):



For her part, Chimpy impressed him by spotting a ladybug by his feet:



After playing they stood around and told each other jokes (nonsense jibberjabber followed by hysterical laughter) for 1-2 minutes straight.



It was about this time O's mom and I started feeling like third wheels. But still, it was a great afternoon.

Wednesday Moment of Zen

Third in a series: My Uncle Came from South Africa and all he brought me was this lion and I love it! Thanks Uncle Bobby and Liz.

Four Picture Friday: Sunday in the Park with Chimpy

Just over a month ago, Chimpy and I drove past a roadside carnival on our way to the salvage yard. We didn't stop but I pointed out the merry-go-round to her. As usual, she added it to her vocabulary AND long-term memory and has asked for 'more may-go-wown' several times since then. Luckily there is a permanent merry-go-round across the bay, so we made an expedition to see it.

The merry-go-round was much faster than any of us three expected, and Chimpy was a little unnerved. The trauma was nothing a kiss from a giraffe and a cream puff couldn't fix, though.

Four Picture Friday: Home Improvement Chimpy (with special guest star, Mo Junior!)

As Chimpy has gotten better at handling a hammer, we've kept ourselves busy this last month with a lot of home improvements. The big project is the attic renovation, but the weather was been so nice we've taken many of our chores outside.

At the salvage yard looking for bricks.

We came home with 568 paving bricks at a crazy low price. We'll have a patio this summer.

Finally, the bricks for a small retaining wall.

Chimpy loves riding in trucks. The trip to the dump for some compost and top soil (recycled out of our green bin scraps) was also a big hit. And Chimpy finally got to see where it is I've been telling her garbage trucks go to sleep.

We got a head start on our garden this year and are really looking forward to eating tomatoes off the vine.

Only one attic picture. Our friend Mo Junior came by to help us with some plumbing. Hooray for exposed beams!

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Special Bonus Picture: My uncle Jeff went to Italy and all he brought me was this jester's hat and doll and I love them!

Thursday Theatre: Chatterbox Chimpy

Chimpy is talking a lot. She has been for a while, actually, but I've been careless about keeping my old camera (which can take video) handy. On this morning she had just created a game (Daddy, Where Are You?) and I was in arm's reach of the camera. This video doesn't have all that much of Chimpy's talking, but it shows her using rudimentary sentences and that has been a constant source of surprise. Chimpy can parrot anything Mama or I say, but what's most fun is when she puts the words she knows into little sentences: "Two-Tone sleep house" (Two-Tone is our neighbor's rarely-spotted but much sought after cat) and "No chicken. Burger!" (Chimpy has meal preferences now) for example.

The game ends at around the ten second mark so we fill the time with a little Indonesian lesson. We actually hadn't done that in a month or more so I was pleased to see she remembered her words:



Here's some more Daddy, Where Are You? from earlier that morning:

Four Picture Friday: Filmstrip Friday

Milkshakes with Louie

Making breadcrumbs

Reading with Sis

Wednesday Moment of Zen

Four Picture Friday: Mama and Chimpy

This Wednesday at play group.

Chimpy: Mama!
Daddy: Mama is at work.
Chimpy: Mama, Mama!
Daddy (looks around): Which mama?
Chimpy: Kristen!

It was weird enough to realize Chimpy knew her mama had a name, but it was stranger still to hear her say "Kristen" perfectly. I asked her what my name was and she said "Stan." I shouldn't be surprised, those two are as thick as thieves. This despite the fact that Kristen gets her parenting skills on the fly from various magazine subscriptions.

A real head scratcher.

For her part, Chimpy enjoys going out with her mama. But as this photo shows, they have their own agendas.

Let's get cereal! No, cookies! Wait, who put all these vegetables in the cart?


It's a real girls' club. Daddy is only allowed in as long as he brings smoothies.

Spoiled

Well, I don't know about them. They are a couple of class A freaks, but they are my freaks.

My freaks

Four Picture Friday: BFF

Chimpy met Sis when her Daddy (Chimpy's daddy) was outside doing a rare bit of lawn care. Sis was out for a walk with her parents when Chimpy's daddy, figuring they were the same age, intercepted, accosted and invited them in to meet the family. Eager to humor the strange, dusty man with weeds in his hands, they came in and cautiously exchanged numbers. Soon we set up a play date. Here are Chimpy and Sis at one of their first plays together:

Hey, who are these little boys?

And here they are seven months later:



Chimpy and Sis are best friends. When Sis comes for a visit she gets the smile usually reserved for dogs and garbage trucks.



Chimpy and Sis see a lot of each other. We have dinner together two or three times a week which didn't seem like a lot until I typed it out just now.

Then

Now

"The books" say kids don't really develop friendships until they are 3 years old or older. You would never know that by Chimpy and Sis. They ask after each other almost every day (Sis says "Abba" and Chimpy has a sign for "Sis"). If our drives or walks take us past each other's houses without stopping, we hear about it. Although they usually play side-by-side to each other, they do play with each other from time to time which always makes their parents' days.








Well, Sis' parents have decided they want to be closer to the ocean so they are packing up and moving south to San Luis Obispo. The days are numbered and I guess it won't be long before we have to say good-bye. Here's Chimpy outside Sis' house making her sign asking for her friend.


Sis: Sorry my parents are making me move.
Chimpy: Sorry doesn't fix my broken heart.

Well, SLO isn't so far away and it will make for a fun weekend to drive down there. We'll see them often enough, they are BFFs after all. And we have to make sure we stay in touch long enough that we can embarrass them with pictures like this one:

Four Picture Friday: Fun Things We Did This Week

Drywalled the attic.

Dug a hole.

Watched cartoons.

Saw a beautiful sunrise.

Got a cool package in the mail.

Went to the park.