Belated 9-month stats

Geoffrey Patrick

9 months 2 weeks old

23 lbs

29.75 inches tall

That's our little big man! :)

Huntington Beach with Grandma and Grandpa

Our second full day with Dale and Martha in town, found us venturing over to Huntington Beach for several hours of more fun in the sun!  We enjoyed a yummy lunch at Ruby's on the pier, and then we toted our beach gear down to the beach and had fun for a bit, playing in the sand, swimming in the surf, you know, doing the "beach thing."  It was a good time!

Maddie loves coming to the beach!

Taken just over a week before the helmet finally came off!

Outside of Ruby's on the pier.

Geoffrey watching beach volleyball - literally standing up to get a better view. :)

:)

Water Park: Take 2, with Grandma and Grandpa!

Back in August, (a week before Maddie started preschool and Geoffrey got his helmet off), Dale and Martha came for a visit over a long weekend!  We packed the weekend full of activities, the first of which was a return visit to the Water Park in Ojai.  We had a lot of fun, soaking in some rays, floating the lazy river and splashing around in the play structure...

Maddie quickly re-acquainted herself with the park.

The boys getting wet.

Hi Everybody!

Sweet.

The crew, linked together, as they float down the river.

Grandma Marty with Geoffrey, who is, by far, the easiest travel companion on the lazy river.

Dale relaxing, and none the wiser that I'm taking his picture. :)

Brant with Maddie, who is looking ahead at the coming waterfall, and wishing she wasn't on this particular tube. :)

Grandma Marty managed to snag Maddie for a quick picture.

It was a fun in the sun kind of day! (And seriously - that sky??  What a beautiful blue, one of which we never see the likes of in LA! :))

The roundest head you ever saw!

Geoffrey completed his helmet treatment on the same day that Maddie started preschool - exciting day in our household?  Absolutely!

15 weeks have finally come and gone (well, that was the case a few weeks ago, anyway :) ).  The world seems to think, and they are sure to tell me, that the "time just flew by!"  Ha. I don't ever recall a moment during those 15 weeks where I felt that time was flying by.  Regardless, however you look at it, we made it. And for that, we are overjoyed!

Getting ready for his final head scan.

Waiting for the doctor to give us the results from the scan.  Look at those baby blues!

What a good lookin' noggin!

Doc says we're all done!

Goodbye old friend.

Check me out, Mommy!  I don't have a helmet on!!

Ha Ha Ha!  See ya!!!  :) :) :) :) :)

Maddie's First Day of Preschool!

Maddie started preschool the day after Labor Day, and it couldn't be a better fit for all of us!  We have her enrolled in a co-op preschool called Altadena Nursery School, where she attends Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, from 9-12.  It is a perfect amount of time for all of us! :)

The first day of school (and every one thereafter) was a smashing success!  Unlike several of the other children, Maddie had zero problem branching off on her own, away from Mommy and Daddy.  We were not surprised and very pleased that she transitioned so well into her new environment.  That was a big day for us, as the first half was filled with preschool excitement, and the second half was filled with excitement for Little G (more on that in my next post!).

On our way!  Yes, this is what it looks like each and every day that I take these three kids anywhere... oi!

We picked up Daddy on the way to school so he could be a part of such a special morning, too!

I'm going to PRESCHOOL!!

She was so excited to finally be here.

Maddie, showing her backpack to her teacher, Miss Dianna.  She was very proud of it, and Miss Dianna was "very interested!" :)

We didn't get a picture before preschool, so we settled for taking one after the morning was over.  I love that Maddie was still just as happy. :)

Maddie and her favorite teacher, Miss Dianna.  She talks about Miss Dianna throughout each and every day!

Here's to a great year!

Auntie Amber comes for a visit

At the end of July, Brant's sister, Amber, was in town for a conference, which meant she was also in town for a special visit!  It was a short weekend, but wonderful nonetheless.  We enjoyed going to the Rainforest Cafe with her (which was a first for all of us), spending an afternoon at the Santa Monica Beach, and playing at the local park with the kids.  It was a refreshing time of visiting and relaxing, albeit too short - but that's always the case when we have visitors!  We can't wait to have her come back for another visit!

Excited to be together!

Posing like monkeys...because, you know, we were at The Rainforest Cafe. I'm not sure Maddie knows how to pose like a monkey... :)

Hooray for being buried in the sand!

My little beach bum.

Happy family...no matter that it's slightly posed.  :)

:)

Amber is our super talented crocheter (is that even a word?), and made these little animals for the kids - Maddie has a monkey and Geoffrey has a giraffe.  Aren't they so cute?

PJ Love

Because I'm catching up on my picture blog posts, I have to include this set, too.  I know most of you faithful blog readers are also Facebook friends of mine, so you've probably already seen these.  Thanks for being interested to see them again. :)  But its not all that surprising...they are so cute!!

Nothing like cute new pajamas to make a boy feel good!

Nothing like cute new pajamas to make a big sister feel good, too!

She found herself in the mirror.

PJ Love.

Laundry basket fun!

Isn't it funny how the most ordinary household items can turn into something so fun and silly? :)

Geoffrey has had his helmet on for 9 weeks in this picture (and as I write this post, he has had it for 15 total).

Haha!  His little grin brings me much joy!

It's like they are communicating with their eyes - I love siblings!

This is what happens when mommy brings in the tickle monster!

Love.

Maddie still wants to pose and love on her brother, while he is starting to re-think this arrangement.

The "moose ears" was the final straw for Little G.  He's done. :)

Just a day at the beach!

A few months ago, we came across a great deal on beach gear at Cost Plus.  The funny thing was, everything was significantly on sale because beach season was passing (what?!?).  I didn't know a day where it wasn't beach season in southern California!  Regardless, we snatched up two cute beach chairs and an umbrella, and headed down to Huntington Beach with our new gear.  We've actually made it to the beach several times this summer because we had been blocked off on our Disneyland passes - we had to come up with something to do on our spare weekend days! :)

A boy after my own heart.

Happy to be at the beach!

Cuties

Maddie also had some new beach toys to play with - we were all enjoying ourselves!

Our snazzy new set-up.

Fake smiles can still be cute. :)

Me and Little G.

Maddie insisted on going into the ocean with her big shovel.

Like most kids, she tenses up and gets ready to dart away when she sees a wave coming (that wasn't always the case!).

Beach buds.