22/52

Connor: It was a big week for him. He had his end of year tball celebration and he graduated from kindergarten. And I look at pictures like this and am blown away by how grown up Connor is getting.

Isla: Oh this sparky girl. She keeps me on my toes. She is sassy, opinionated and loves wholeheartedly. 

Callum: Always has something in his mouth these days. And he has started to "talk" back in conversation to people. It's pretty cute. 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

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Last Day of School

It has felt a bit like the end of the school year is like running a race. You can see the finish line, but have to put in so much effort to get there. The last week has been filled with tons of fun things, but also tons of things that require a lot of work, planning and executing. And, now I can breathe a little bit easier with it all behind me. 

I will share later some about Connor's graduation, but wanted to show the kids on the last day of school. And, since I went back and looked at them on the first day of school (my how they have grown and changed in such a short time period…why does it go so freaking fast?!), I thought you would like to see it too. So, here is them at the beginning of the year. 

^^ It's funny how Connor wanted to wear his school shirt on the first day of school. He also wanted to wear it on his last, but I wouldn't let him because they asked the kids to dress up for graduation.

And now, here they are on the last day of school...

^^ After saying he wanted to be a police officer for the past couple years, that has changed to a firefighter. And for some reason it sounds so grown up to me that he says firefighter instead of fireman. I guess my little man is growing up. Thankfully he still grabs for my hand and makes my heart beat a little faster every time he does.

^^ Given that the last thing Isla wanted to be was a snail, I was pleasantly surprised that she has changed to a hair styler. I wish I could bottle up how she says hair styler because it sounds so freaking cute. She made the decision to change her snail ambitions after career month at her preschool and a hair stylist came in and spoke to the class. 

It's been an incredibly good school year for both kids (and for me!). They lucked out with amazing teachers. I am sad to think about them being apart from some of their friends in new classes next year. But I guess that is the beast of school…things change every single stinking year. But, I'm not ready to focus on next year. I am currently excited for summer, lazy mornings, beach days, travel, the sun staying out late, blueberry picking and more.

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Callum Got Shoes

Somehow I made it this far in my parenting journey without ever having a baby get their feet measured. This past week, my mother in law and I took the kids to get new shoes. I wasn't planning on Callum getting any. After all, he doesn't walk and they are overpriced anyway. Then I sat there in the store, staring at the adorable pint sized sandals and I totally caved. So, I asked the shoe lady to measure Callum's feet…of course, at the same time I asked how one measures baby feet. I am pretty sure the lady thought I was crazy. But, I certainly can't be the only person on the planet that didn't know they use the exact same metal shoe measurer for everyone…please tell me I am not the only one! Someone? Anyone? Moving on.

They put Callum's tiny little foot up to the shoe measurer and determined that a size 2 should give him more than enough growing room to get him through the summer. Then I made the hard choice of what color…I went with navy. I figure it not only is a good boy color, but it's also a good neutral color. And, I must have been right because I have put them on his feet pretty much every day since.

I feel like I should mention that my other kids have had their feet measured many times, just not as babies. They were already walking when I had that done. So, I guess I thought for sure there must be a special little measuring device for babies. Obviously I was wrong.

Now I am questioning everything I thought I once knew in life. I mean, if I didn't know how they measured babies feet, what else am I missing out on?!

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21/52

Connor: He took part in Lemonade Day and did a lemonade stand with another kid from Ian's work. He wasn't too happy about having to wear a pink shirt, but he rallied and had a lot of fun. 

  

Isla: Her look about sums up her attitude about picture/rehearsal day for ballet. She even purposefully blew snot on her outfit…talk about four-year-old drama. Oh, and I can now say with certainty that dance moms truly do exist and they are a scary breed.

Callum: This kid is trying to work a tooth through or something. He is drooling and chewing on things nonstop. But, so far, no tooth.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

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Things to do in Northern California with Kids

With summer literally right around the corner, I thought it would be good for me to remind myself of all the fun things we have to do in our area. Some things are near by and may only take up a couple hours and others are day trips. But all are good things to do with kids.


Modesto

Great Valley Museum
Kidspace
Fruit picking at Ott Farms or Jessop Farms
Hilmar Cheese - tour and ice cream
Modesto Nuts game
MB2 Raceway (indoor go karts)
Miniture golf at Boomers or Funworks


Central Valley

Railtown 1897 (Jamestown) - bring a picnic, ride the train
Knights Ferry - go on a hike, play in the river, grab ice cream in town
Columbia - pan for gold, grab some lunch and take a stage coach ride
Children's Museum of Stockton
World of Wonders Science Museum (Lodi) - it's like a miniature Exploratorium
Kiddieland (Merced) - located in Applegate park. It's run by the Kiwanis club. It has a few vintage rides at really cheap prices.
Micke Grove Zoo (Lodi)
Castle Air Museum (Atwater)


Coast

Beach day
Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Dennis the Menace Park (Monterey)


Bay Area

Exploratorium (San Francisco)
San Francisco Zoo - one of my favorite zoos…and it's right across from the beach!
Golden Gate Park (San Francisco) - so much to do here, museums, play areas, and more
Bay Area Discovery Museum (San Francisco)
Fairyland (Oakland)
Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley)
Oakland Zoo
Jelly Belly Factory (Fairfield)


Sacramento Area

California State Railroad Museum (in Old Town Sacramento)
Old Town Sacramento
Fairytale Town (Sacramento)
Sacramento Zoo


Believe it or not, we have done virtually all of these things over the last few years of having kids. Some of these places we have visited many, many times. But, it's always a good reminder of what there is to do in our area.

And, if you are really desperate, there is always Ikea…free childcare for an hour (or an hour and a half if you are a member) and my kids always love playing in the childcare center ;)

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Connor's Imagination

Connor is really good at immersing himself in play. He especially loves role playing. He will immerse himself into the world of a police officer, construction worker, astronaut, firefighter…and the list goes on. He will turn the playroom into a grocery store or restaurant or shoe store and make myself or Isla the customer. It's one of the things I love about him. How his little brain works and how he plays. It really does fascinate me. And now he takes it to a whole new level with the drawings he makes to go along with his play. This particular one is a ticket. After letting me choose my punishment, he decided to get rid of all the other options and just take me to jail. Good thing we have an extra key (on my keyring) to his real (yes, REAL) handcuffs because things could get real interesting around here really fast otherwise.

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20/52

I'm a little late this week. But, you know, sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. Shocking, I know. But it happens. Picture taking though, that always happens.

Connor: I love it when I manage to capture a genuine, in the moment smile. This kid is growing up in leaps and bounds. He even remembered it was spirit day at school and to wear his shirt, without being reminded.

 Isla: She styled her own hair for ballet. I saw her showing off her crown to other girls in her class. 

Callum: He's happy just munching on anything and everything in sight.  

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

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