Hola!

Cabo's Tourist Attraction in the background, "Lands End." The southern most tip of Baja.

I may be drinking Pepsi Free. Or, it might be a margarita. Who's keeping track?

No question...he was NOT drinking Pepsi Free.

View of the pool/beach from our room.

Walk to Marina. "Lands End" in background again.

Dinner at Lorenzillo's

Dancing at Cabo Wabo w/ people we met at our resort.

We had an excellent vacation in Cabo San Lucas. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa J for watching Evy. She seems to have had a great time, but can now say "TV." Hmmm... If anyone is thinking about traveling to Cabo we would recommend it. Shoot me an email and I can give you some resort options. I am in guacamole withdrawl as I think I consumed 25 pounds of the stuff during our 5 days. We did a lot of lounging, eating and drinking. To get away from the stress of the pool we indulged in a massage at our hotel and went on a whale watching expedition (those were two seperate tours Caleb, I'll beat you to the punch). One night we ventured down to the bar scene and listened to some live music at Cabo Wabo. Impressive for this old couple as we didn't get back to the hotel until 1:30 (a.m.)! This was the first vacation where I was excited to get home. 6 days without seeing Evy was tough!

How Things Change...

A friend forwarded the message below this morning. It got me laughing and thinking about how I will lecture Evy with all of this one day....

When I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!

There was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk across the street and put it in the mailbox!

There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio.

There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless.

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house you actually had to be out of touch with your "friends."Think of the horror!

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss. You had to pick it up and take your chances!

We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You had to get up and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!

There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons.

And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!

And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky , you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!

It's a wonder we ever survived.

Hallelujah!!!

Last spring and summer the stroller was my go-to form of entertainment. It allowed me to work out, gave Scott an hour break, and kept Evy contained for an hour. All in the same hour. That trifecta is to parenthood as winning the lottery is to a mere mortal. Damn near unbelievable! I was nervous that Evy wouldn't be content riding in the stoller this year. As demonstrated at Wal-Mart this weekend (that was fun), she's not fond of riding in the grocery cart anymore. She wants to WALK!! So, I am thrilled that we have had 2 successful stroller rides in the last week. Sanity might just reign for one more season!! Hallelujah!

Swim Lessons

Guest blog by Dad.......
Evy had her first swim lesson on Saturday. She's been in a pool before, but it has been a few months and we didn't know what to expect. She immediately ran into the water, but suddenly freaked out. After a minute or two she was ready to go again and did great. The instructor had us doing cheesy dances, songs, and swim moves.....Evy loved it!! Her favorite was when we were working on blowing bubbles....instead of blowing bubbles she would lick the water. It was pretty funny until I thought about all the kids "doing their business" in the water. We can't wait for lesson number two.......

Potty Training?

Evy is starting to want privacy when she poops in her diaper. Yes, I said poop. As a parent I talk about poop. A lot. Apparently, wanting privacy is a sign that you should start talking about potty training. I realize it's early, but I figure it can't hurt to start talking about it. So, tell me, do I buy a potty chair? Or, do I buy one of those kid size toilet seats? What has your experience been with potty training products? Would love your suggestions.

Not a Cot!

Evy still takes her naps in a crib at daycare. The older kids all sleep on cots and this week we were asked if Evy could be moved to a cot. I'm in denial. She's not old enough to sleep on a cot! She's just a baby!!! Right? We told the teachers that they could start trying a cot when we get back from vacation. We're not about to mess with Evy's nap routine before shipping her off to grandma's and grandpa's. I cannot imagine that Evy will actually stay on her cot and take a nap, but we'll see...

Bella

More dog hunting. Evy likes to look out our bedroom window and try to spot Bella. Right now one of the cutest things in the world (in my opinion) is the way Evy says "Bella." Pay attention in the video. She dosen't actually pronounce it, she basically just makes a sound and moves her tongue a little bit. We've also noticed that Evy likes the concept of a dog but kind of freaks out when she gets close to them. She even started getting a little nervous when I held her up to the window.

Naked Dog Hunter

It was 60 degrees here yesterday. So, after dinner Evy decided to strip down and go on the hunt for the neighborhood dogs. Ok, so she was actually stripped down because she wiped out her entire outfit with marinara sauce. We are surrounded by neighbors who have dogs and Evy spends most of her waking time looking for the dogs. "Dog...Dog...Dog" as she points out the window. She was running around the deck like a crazy woman and trying to climb over the railing to get to the dogs. Good grief!

Daycare Poll

Last year I spent a lot of time complaining about our daycare. Since Evy moved to the toddler room things have been going great. Her teachers are great, the director of the center is great, and their daily activities are great. Evy seems to love going to "school" and her teachers seem to love her. I'm feeling much better about our situation. HOWEVER, I just got a notice that tuition is going up again. Do other centers raise tuition every year? I will grin and bear it because I want to keep Evy at her school. We pay more per year than in-state tuition costs at our local university. Crazy!!!

Fun at the Library

On Saturday we went to family storytime featuring a brass quintet! This was the first time we've participated in any of the children's programs. What fun! Evy sat through the entire 30 minute performance and even ended up shaking her groove thing to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. After the performance we checked out the children's section. They have toys and stuffed animals! And books, of course. Evy was thrilled with all of the stuffed animals and we had to pull them all down from the shelf so she could sit with them. We checked out 3 books and a toy. We will definitely be attending more programs at the library. Just another gem in the area that makes me happy we call this place home.

Milkaholic

Have you seen this? Lindsay Lohan is suing E-trade for their superbowl ad where the baby girl asks the baby boy if he's hanging out with "Lindsay. She's such a milkaholic." Lohan is claiming that they were using her liklihood because like Oprah and Madonna she is known by a single name. This story makes me want to slap her. She starred in the Parent Trap when she was 7. She is hardly at the level of Oprah and Madonna. Get over yourself. Ugh!

Nummies

In the morning we usually give Evy some dry cereal to tide her over until she eats breakfast at daycare. She calls her cereal "nummies." She thinks they are so nummy (or yummy, but who's keeping track), they must be called nummies! If I'm serving up the cereal she gets Life. If Dad is serving she gets Apple Jacks. I think he's trying to win her over.

I Can Read

Behind her stuffed Elmo, books might be Evy's favorite thing. "Book, book, book" she says the second she wakes up. In the video she's reading to Grandma. She also loves dogs so books with pictures of dogs are Evy's idea of a great time.

The Lost Cup

Moms warned me. "Just wait until you find a misplaced sippy cup full of curdled milk." For 6 months I've been an excellent sippy cup hunter. Not one has gone missing on my watch. Until yesterday. GROSS! I found a half full sippy cup, misplaced since at least Saturday. I had to hold back the gagging as I washed the sour milk down the sink.

Fun at the Museum

On Sunday, we took Evy to the Children's Museum. She shopped for groceries, flew a plane, and tended vegetables on the farm. I think she had a great time!

This was our first trip to the museum and I can see why families love it--what a fun way to spend an afternoon. I was a little surprised how destroyed some of the exhibits were. Apparently, teaching your children to pick up after themselves is another parenting tactic that has become optional.

I almost forgot...

February was such a drag and the flu I described in my previous post morphed into a sinus infection so I've been struggling just to cover the basics this week. I almost forgot that in just 3 weeks Scott and I will be off to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Just what the doctor ordered!

February Will Not Be Missed

I am not sad to flip the calendar. February was not fun. I can't remember anything about February except that our family was sick. all. month. long. The month kicked off with a bang. I was sick, then Evy got the stomach flu and Scott quickly followed. We had a 6 day break in the middle of the month that felt a little bit like vacation. But then Evy was down for 6 days with a stubborn virus and I am just barely back on my feet after battling that same damn virus. Our house is a disaster, we are exhausted and Scott and I are both horribly behind at work. March, I have very high hopes for you.