Weekend of Wonders Day 1: Pretend City

One of the great things about being a parent is getting the chance to revisit all the fun stuff you loved as a child, such as blowing bubbles, visiting Disneyland, and sitting on Santa's lap (for most kids, anyway - not so much for Benjamin). In addition to the cool things we had when we were little, there's a slew of new activities for today's lucky youngsters. We managed to cram several of these into one very busy weekend, which will henceforth be referred to as the "Weekend of Wonders." On Day 1 of W.O.W., we headed down to Irvine with Kayla and Sheila to check out Pretend City.

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Pretend City is exactly what it sounds like it would be - a miniature version of a real city scaled down to toddler size. Pretend City includes many of the things you might find in an actual city - a fire station, a grocery store, a farm, a beach, a marina, an art studio, a theater, and a Persian restaurant. No, I'm not joking. Pretend City has an actual pretend Persian restaurant. Wait, is that a contradiction in terms?

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I was wondering if there would be Pretend City Cabbage Patch which I could use explain the facts of life to an increasingly inquisitive Benjamin ("Mama no have pee pee?"), but alas, there was none. Instead, there was something that looked like a padded garden with padded walls, floors, and flower petals. It was meant for babies, but it got me thinking that perhaps I should pad one of the rooms in my house to use when I'm feeling a little crazy.

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Just off of the town square was an ampitheater complete with lights, soundbooth, and costumes. Kayla and Benjamin had fun dressing up as a gypsy princess and tambourine-wielding pimp.
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But out of all of Pretend City's attractions, the kids enjoyed the art studio the most.
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In addition to the de rigeur paper and play-doh present in any kiddie art studio, this one also had two wall-sized plexiglass windows which begged to be splashed, sprayed, and swathed in paint.

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Lots of paint!
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All that playing and dancing and painting really worked up our appetites, so we headed to the Spectrum for a healthy lunch. We followed that up with not-so-healthy funnel cakes slathered with strawberries and whipped cream.
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As Sheila and I caught up on girl talk over our sinfully delicious desserts, Vince took the kids for a ride on the choo choo train. They were lucky enough to get seats in the caboose where they waved enthusiastically to everyone they saw. After the train ride concluded, we piled into our cars where both kids, happy and exhausted, fell asleep on the ride home.

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Stay tuned for Weekend of Wonders Day 2!

Father's Day 2010

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Vince's first Father's Day as a dad of two. We started the day off by presenting him with a gift - a silver keychain hand-stamped with a sweet message from the kids. Vince was probably hoping that the message would read, "Free pass from having to pick up your dirty socks for a year, Daddy" or "Have fun playing Gears of War for the rest of the weekend, Daddy," but instead the message was a short, simple, "We love you, Daddy." I don't think he minded. Too much.
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For breakfast, we went to Dinah's Kitchen where Vince ordered their famous German apple turnover. As you can see from the pictures, the turnover is pretty big - bigger than Benjamin's head. Come to think of it, I think it may even be bigger than Vince's head! While I watched with fear in my heart for the health of their arteries, they began eating it with gusto.

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Luckily, they didn't even come close to finishing it. High cholesterol averted!

. Later in the day, we went to the park where we had a picnic with Vince's family.
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Everyone brought goodies to share for a delicious potluck dinner. We watched the kids run around the lawn and marveled at how quickly they were growing. As the dusk approached, we opened Father's Day gifts and gorged ourselves on watermelon. It was a lovely afternoon, and a wonderful way to close the day.
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Happy Father's Day!

Ni Hao, Calliope!

A few days ago, we received a large package in the mail from cousin Matt and Amy Chan and fam in Chicago. Imagine our suprise when we opened it up to discover a plush Calliope doll inside! Fine, fine... The doll was actually a likeness of the title character from the cartoon "Ni Hao,Kai-lan," but you must admit the resemblance is remarkable. Now when people comment that Calliope's a doll, I can say, "Why, yes, she is!"

Many thanks to Matt, Amy, Taylor, and Drew for the thoughtful stuffed Calliope!

A Song for My Calliope

I've written countless songs for and inspired by the Boo. Some of the songs-- Ok, most of the songs are kind of silly. The Booby Song comes to mind here. But some of the songs are more poignant. The first one was a little ditty about how his birth created a family and how, no matter how much he grows, he will always be my darling little baby. He asks for me to sing it to him almost every night before he goes to sleep.
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As Calliope's gotten older and more aware, I've started singing to her, too. The problem, however, is that I had not yet penned a song for her, and I'd begun to feel quite guilty of the fact. So in recent weeks, I began trying to come up with melodies and lyrics to capture the essence of my daughter. I realized quickly that Calliope's song would have to be different from Benjamin's song because Calliope and Benjamin are two different creatures. Terrible Two's notwithstanding, Benjamin is a fairly mellow child with a calm demeanor. In this way, he resembles his father. Calliope on the other hand... Well, Calliope resembles... me.
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Even at four months of age, I can already tell that I'm going to have my hands full with this one. Her rather vocal nature became apparent even as a newborn. I remember that after I had already checked out of the hospital but was still returning daily to see her in the NICU, the night shift nurses would shake their heads and laugh when they saw me, saying, "You've got a feisty one on your hands. When she wants something, oh, she will let you know." And it was that very feistiness that ended up shaping my first song for her.

Before you start thinking, "What are you talking about? She looks as sweet as an angel in that video!" check out this previous take:

Calliope, I love you so much - feistiness and all!