Pinnacle Bank Pool Party
Every summer Jeff’s workplace puts on a summer bbq/picnic/party event deal. At least year’s event, Vincent was only a few weeks and it was his first official “outing”! My how much he has changed in a year!
The party was held at one of his coworker’s houses in Gilroy, which is normally pretty hot in the summer, and fittingly enough they have a pool!
We dressed vinny in his ‘nice’ clothes (polo shirt, cute alligator short set he got from Becky) and a new hat Mommy picked up at BRU earlier in the day.
His favorite discovery of the day was probably two big red buckets filled with drinks and cold ice/water!
There weren’t too many other kids there, the youngest was probably in about 2nd grade.
The property was super nice and expansive. Besides the big house and pool, they had their own “parking lot” that ft about 12+ cars in it?? And a great big backyard with a few dog kennels in the corner of it.
There was a playground swing set area with a tired swing. Vinny got to ride in it until we realized he was eating a a rock from the ground.
All of Jeff’s coworkers were excited to see Vinny. He was wanting to run all around but we had to be watchful with the pool nearby.
The food was great – a taco truck with carne asada, carnitas and pollo tacos! Plus a bunch of sides. I brought some homemade pasta salad that i dont think anyone really ate! Lots of food. And lots of bees trying to eat our food! Ugh! One of the boys got stung actually.
The bean bag toss that was set up was probably vinny’s second favorite of the day behind the ice buckets.
If we had actually swam in the pool, that probably would have been his favorite, but we at least stuck our feet in at the end of the party to cool off from the 90 degree weather.
New Glasses for Diane
Last week i went to the eye doctor to get my standard eye check-up and to order some much needed new glasses. The pair that i had been wearing was STEPPED ON by Vincent. Actually, what happened was I was getting ready for the work day, had already got Vincent dressed and ready, and he was playing down by my feet while i was putting on make-up. Butters always comes by and sits on the counter and stares and meows at me so i will feed him. Butters ALSO has a bad habit of knocking things off the counter with his paw. Mostly pens, but really anything that’s within striking distance for him, which means my glasses! Swipe by Butters, heard it fall on the floor. Happens all the time, really didn’t think twice about it, until i finished getting ready, went to the floor to get my glasses, and realized, Vinny must had stepped on them after it fell on the ground because it was in two pieces! The side was broken in half, so its not like i could replace a screw or something. SIGH! Here is the OLD PAIR:
So i went to my check-up, and my doctor (Dr. Nunzig at Vantage Eye Center in Salinas) said my astigmatism changed in my right eye, which is odd, but not odd, for my age. So i needed new glasses anyway, which is fine.
I picked out a new pair that was made by the same company as my last pair, Silhouettes. They really expanded their line since the last time i got these glasses a few years ago.
HERE IS THE SHOCKER: I do not have vision insurance, and these rimless glasses can get pretty pricey. Guess how much. Just guess… $300? $500? NO! $700! And some more dollars for the eye exam, etc. Oh well i need them, wear them everyday, and they serve a useful purpose.
How do you like them? They have a nice tiny pinstripe design on the side. Kinda stylish. Ooohh.
Vincent Starts Another Daycare (#3!)
Vincent started a new daycare yesterday. After a little bit of drama, Jeff and I had decided his current sitter just wasn’t working out (for reason’s i won’t get into here!) We were fortunate enough though, that one of my friend’s mom who runs a daycare in Prunedale had an open spot starting in September!
(the above photo actually from one of his last days at the other place, eating a cookie)
I took Monday off of work to watch Vinny and go meet with Charlyne (new daycare provider) before we started Vincent with her. The interview went well (Jeff and I both went). We met some of the other kids going to the daycare, which is currently all girls! There was one other girl who was 1 year old as well, and she was super friendly and smiley, just like Vinny! I very excited for that… to say the least.
A Day to Work from Home!
After the interview i stopped by the Schipper office to grab my laptop say hi to the girls. He love running around and playing with the curtains and banging on the windows.
I was interested to see how working from home would go with Vincent and it actually was not that bad. He plays by himself pretty well, but can get into some trouble if i don’t watch him good enough. Like he came back with my cup of water that i normally keep in the nursery… like “hey where did you get that!” sort of thing, kinda just happened constantly throughout the day.
He also took his sippy cup and started sucking the water out then spewing it all over the place! Which was the second time he did that in one day. First was in the car ride to the office! I had to change his clothes both times.
He is pretty rascal! The thing about the new sitter is that she operates a much “tighter” ship with more structure and discipline, which i think Vincent really needs right now, and as he gets older.
We’re happy with our decision! And I think Vinny will be happy too.
Jeff is 396 months!
If you don’t want to do the math that means he is 33 years old! We had a low key birthday. Since I always teach on the weekends we didn’t make any elaborate plans and just played everything by ear. It ended up being a fabulous day.
Vinny helped me draw a card for his daddy. I got the markers/crayons out and told him to pick a color and ill use it to write the card. He was a good helper, though he of course wanted to eat the markers and the pen caps! At the end, i even let him draw a little. All he could do was big line/dots since he just slammed the pen up and down on the table (see pink below). *note: card design not my best work*
When Jeff woke up right before I went to teach, vinny and I hoped into bed and sang him happy birthday with the help of mr birthday bear, and gave him our card.
After the gym I stopped by La Plaza Bakery (which is right next door! Evil.) to get some birthday treats. This is a Mexican bakery so they have mucho delicioso desserts which 90% of them I’ve never seen before or tasted. Of course I forgot to take a picture!!!!! But I bought a big pinwheel looking dessert like those baked pastries that are thin and crispy with sugar and cinnamon. Got a scone-like dessert with butter/sugar filling, and a chocolate croissant and chocolate donut.
Once I arrived home from the gym/bakery, it was lunchtime so I asked Jeff what he wanted to eat. We decided to pick op some gyros from Reds Burger Joint down the street since Vince had fallen asleep for his nap. Honestly the gyros were not very good but it’s the best (read: only) gyros that can be found in Salinas.
Once vinny woke up from his nap we opened presents. I got Jeff some styluses for the iPhone/iPad, a book Phillycheesesteaks, and a sunglasses holder for his car. I also blew up a red balloon because i know Vinny would love to play with it.
I also bought Jeff some Uncle Henry Pretzels straight from PA. These came a few days later in the mail — When we opened the box Vinny tried to eat the packing peanuts!
After presents, we took a walk to the neighborhood park for some swing and sand time. We ran into the same boy and mom we saw another time at the park but this time his dad, grandpa and other family member was there. They were smiling at each other the whole time.
Weekends are our chance to eat out since we can do an earlier dinner before Vincent’s 7pm bedtime. We always seem to go to Sapporo (teppanyaki) for those special occasions.
Food is always great and you can’t beat the show!
Vinny likes the action, including the banging drum for the birthday songs and the flying food. He ate steak, chicken, veggies and fries rice. Yummy!
We were way too full for dessert!
Hope you had a happy birthday Jeff!
Date with Olivia at MyMuseum
Last week we had made plans with Rebecca and her family to go to MyMuseum, but Vinny was just getting over a cold and still had a runny nose, so i didnt feel comfortable letting him loose in a place where kids spread lots of germs! So we rescheduled for this weekend, which was a much better idea. We had to jam over there right after i got out of class because Olivia’s sleepy time was at 2pm. So we met up around 12:30.
This is the first time Vinny was here since he could walk, so we were excited to see how he would explore the place on his own two feet. First stop, the Toddler room, with soft cushions, a big slide, and a boat!
It was all smiles for these two, so many cool things to ride on and touch.
Next up, we swung by the firetruck, but was only able to steal a hat before Vincent took off to checkout the underground tunnels. It was so funny, he just stood there looking inside from the outside. He never tried to go in, which seems really strange for him, he is normally not hesitant to explore any place. There were lots of kids in there though and it was dark!
We went backstage to try on a costume. Dad found one the perfect size for vincent, a little lion! He looked so cute, but we didnt keep it on for long.
We played in the crop/ball area for quite a while.
The exhibit was partially broken, so the guys had to “throw” the balls up in the cage above the tractor instead of using the built in pulley system.
The putting green fascinated Vincent. Dad controlled (from afar) the little character that hid the hole, and Vincent couldn’t figure out what was going on with the thing. He kept staring at it.
Vinny and Olivia got along really great! Jeff and I were so surprised to see that she knows how to say a handful of words and go down the slide by herself! Olivia was still crawling mostly though. She is 7 weeks younger than Vincent but know girls are normally more advanced than boys.
Another great visit to MyMuseum. Its a pretty small place but just big enough for a toddler to explore for about an hour or so. I’m sure Vinny can’t wait to go back.
New water activity table
We filled the pool up earlier today and let the water get nice and warm so Vinny could play. Here he is waiting for daddy to get everything ready. Him and Butters are like two peas in a pod, though i am not sure why Butters hangs around since all Vinny does is wrestle and drool on him.
Anyway, Vincent had a blast in the pool. Chasing after all his bath/water toys. We bought a couple water ball toys (the kind that soaks up the water) and since those were brand new it was his favorite.
So we originally thought we would go to Toys R Us and get a sand and water table/box but the thought of sand and water mixing by a toddler had me very nervous! So we bought a water only table called “Tropical Resort” and it comes with a few people, a cup, a boat, a pump, some water wheels, a slide and a little merry go round thing. It looks like lots of fun!
He loved splashing the water and getting himself all wet. He played for a little bit with the table, but then he saw the kiddie pool that he was in earlier that was set up right next to him and he went DIVING for it. So… We’re not quite sure how much he likes the new toy yet since we had to cut playtime short. But I’m sure if the kiddie pool is put away he would play with the water table for quite a while
Vincent is 13 months!
Every month for the past 12 months Jeff and I would write in Vinny’s baby book answering such questions as, sleeping schedules, what new foods he ate, any new discoveries, etc. now that he is past a year, the pages no longer chronicle by month! I’m kinda sad. I feel like he is still growing so much and doing different things every week. So I am going to try to continue the baby book tradition and instead just blog it! We also tried to do a monthly photo shoot, including shave ice growth picture, though I was really slacking on those ever since he started getting mobile. Literally impossible to have him hold still!
He got the cutest superman shirt from our neighbors for his birthday. Complete with red cape! It is Velcro on there!
Milestones this month: WALKING! He learned how to stand on his own as opposed to holding on to something to help him get to standing. Once that was figured out he was pro. Poor guy though, so many bruises on his head from falling and running into furniture and the floor.
He has started wearing some hand me down shoes from Evan. He is not quite used to them since he only wears them outside. He always tries to take them off. But now that he can walk it is so much fun to go outside and run around with him.
NEW FOODS: Now that he is over a year old, we can feed him pretty much whatever we want. He loves to eat cheese! He has also tried pizza, asparagus, rice and beans, meatloaf, carnitas burrito, lima beans, steak, meatballs, chicken fingers, peanut butter crackers, pirate booty. I have him a peanut butter jelly sandwich tonight and he hated it.
Vinny likes drinking water from mommy’s cup, like a big boy. He also has tried to drink the bath water on multiple occasions. He loves to bring his sippy cup to his forehead and just staring at you smiling.
TALKING: he still blabbers constantly in his baby talk but no real words yet. Daddy, dad, dada, dig, dog, dug, and d word. Some ah, baa, bu words as well. He is now starting to show more of his EMOTIONS. For instance if you show him a toy and you wont let him play with it, he will start to make a fuss. He never really cared previously. Also when you tell him “NO” he will stare at you with the saddest eyes and start to whimper.
So now that he can walk anywhere we got a baby gate to block off the dining room. We drag his pack n play crib to the kitchen door to block that area then close all the doors to the bedrooms. It works pretty well. I also covered the bottom of the fireplace area with a yoga mat.
I rearranged the sunroom so that the coffee table blocks the cat litter area. Butters can still get to it but Vincent cannot! Previous to that, Vincent has gotten into the litter and he might have even ate some :(. No more of that!
His favorite toys are his animal balls, cymbals, beach ball, and ride along car toy. He also really likes the puzzles! My mom brought one from my childhood days (fruit) and a new one that makes sounds (farm animals). Mike and Lisa bought a safari animal one that vinny loves to play with too.
Daycare is going ok. I don’t like leaving him all day and not knowing what he is eating, when he us sleeping or how many times he poops! We were too spoiled with our first sitter that’s for sure. Who knows how many times he gets his toys stolen or he gets yelled at or hit by the other kids, but I guess that’s the life of a daycare child and a parent that has to work and be away from her child. I’ve contemplated staying at home with him but I can’t justify putting my career on hold for that. In my field of work, taking a few years off would be detrimental. Unless I study and keep up… Which most likely would not happen. 🙁 If only we had family close by to help out. Its sad everyone lives thousands of miles away.
Lake Nacimento
Bonnie and Kyle invite us to Kyle’s parent’s lake house near Lake Nacimento. Neither Jeff or I have been there before. It is a little over an hour south of Salinas in San Luis Obispo County.We left Saturday morning and got in right before lunch time.
Vinny stayed awake almost the whole drive, until we were about 10 minutes away, then he crashed. He was crying a little bit so we knew he was tired, but sometimes he just fights the sleep! We let him sleep a little in the car while we got a tour of the place.
Its a small cozy house that they renovated very nicely. The guest room is actually part of the garage (to the left in this photo). It was a nice big room. We brought Vinny’s pack n’ play for him to sleep in.
The thing with having/traveling with a toddler is that they eat so often! We ate breakfast right before we left, he had a snack in the car, and as soon as we got there, it was already lunch time! I packed a few meals for him and lots of snack, plus his cow milk.
I knew Vinny would love Bonnie’s dogs, Rufus and Tina. Rufus is a bit more friendly, while Tina (smaller on) is very skiddish (just in general) so she kept her distance from Vincent. There was a little growling from the dogs, but overall they were very tolerant of our little mischievous boy.
Charlotte just turned 4 months old. She has the cutest eyes/stare. She is very strong for a 4 month old. She loves sitting up (supported) and putting weight on her legs. I dont think Vinny could do that until 6 months or so…I had some extra Butternut Squash Pear fruit puree and Bonnie had me try feeding it to Charlotte. She lapped it all up with her tongue. It was quite amusing.
So after lunch and hanging out a bit, we got the kids (and ourselves) dressed and slathered with sunscreen so we could hit the pool! The temperature was warm and getting hotter, but still not too bad. About mid 80s i think… our car temperature never seemed to be accurate for some reason.
The community pool was a short drive away. There were quite a few kids in the pool but it was fun and not too crowded. There were pool toys scattered about for everyone’s use, and a lifeguard on duty.
Jeff took Vinny in for his first pool experience.
He loved it! Big smiles, talking, and splashing!
Then we decided to try Charlotte’s water ring thing… oh… he did not like that at all! I think it made him float on his back so he just laid there. It was kind of funny. We took him out immediately after this.
We all hung out at the pool for a bit. I got in the water too. We also played on the grass for a little bit with that purple ball.
After the pool, we went to the local market and picked up some burger meat for dinner. When we got back to the house it was time to feed Vinny again!
I think i fed him some chicken meatballs, cheese, and green beans. He is a pretty good eater.
Bonnie and Kyle taught Jeff and I a dice/board game called Cataan. It was a fun “resources” game with wheat, rock, brick, sheep, … and maybe some other stuff i don’t remember. Anyway, you have to get resources to build houses/communities and roads to earn points (most points wins). It was fun to learn but we (or at least I) was trying to watch Vinny at the same time and so that was challenging. I think Jeff ended up winning the game. It took us a long time to finish it!
We gave Vinny a shower in the shower and put him to bed. I was pretty tired so i went to bed shortly after we ate our grilled burgers (yummy!) for dinner. Vincent slept nicely in his pack’n play.
The next day was boat day! Kyle’s dad made us a nice bacon n’ eggs breakfast. We hung out for a bit.. we were being lazy.
Vincent had so much fun running around after the dogs, running into different rooms, and going out on the deck.
He kept going in and out of the back door.
Finally, i said, here, sit in the camping chair. And he actually stayed put! It looks rather comfy actually, sort of like a hammock for him!
We got slathered up again with the sunscreen and headed out to the lake. Charlotte stayed home with her Grandma. Kyle was practicing docking/undocking the boat. The boat had a couple of issues starting up, but we got those cleared after a few runs around the lake.
Here is Vinny on the boat. We had a little floaty thing on him, that i think paralyzed him. He didnt cry or make a peep. He just had his “poker” face on the whole time. Didn’t move a muscle. Which i guess is good, since i cant have him running all around the place.
Kyle’s dad did some wakeboarding. Jeff even tried too! I did some innertubing. Kyle took a few runs at both.
It was bumpy, and kinda hurt my legs when the boat went fast!
Vinny finally perked up toward the last 2 minutes of the boat ride. He started playing with Dad’s mouth, then the metal nuts on the pole that was in front of him…
Then here is is leaning back and being silly with Bonnie.
We can’t wait to go back and visit!
Video: Vincent, Butters, and a Box
Vincent is so damn funny. He likes playing with Butters — mostly charging into him and eating his fur. He will occasionally pull his tail and pull on his fur as well. After he tortures the cat, he runs into a box in the video below:
Video: Cheerios in a Cup, Placing Toys in his Car
The littlest things bring such joy to children. Like stealing Daddy’s cup from the coffee table, then having Mommy put some cheerios in it to eat while sitting on the floor!
This next video is a little long, but shows how determined he is. His Aunt Susan bought him this car, which he loves, loves, loves. There is a toy trunk underneath the seat, but it doesnt function very well. Vincent had it in his mind that he would place the football and the ball pump (*not a toy*) in there. Problem is, the holes on the sides make it constantly fall out! Watch as he tries anyway!