Wanting to Play With the Big Kids

Last week, I took Brody over to Almaden Lake Park. There is a great walking trail there, but we hadn't yet been to the park. Since the weather has been so great, I've been trying to get Brody outside each day for a long walk or some time at a local park. We've found some great parks and some not-so-great parks. I think that Almaden Lake Park is going to be a great park for Brody...when he's a little older. Here's why:

Brody was thrilled to be able to "steer" the ship from down below.
(There is a pirate ship/fort type jungle gym/slide at
Almaden Lake Park. It's quite impressive for even the
littlest future pirates like Brody!)

Brody decided he wanted to climb up top to hang with the older pirates.
(There were a number of little boys about 4-5 years old
running around with their toy swords and guns.
Brody wanted so badly to play with them.)

As Brody gets close to the top, you can just see the looks
on these boys faces...it was as if they were saying
"No little boys allowed!"

Back to the ground floor of the ship. Brody's bottom
lip is out as I think he realizes that he might be
a tad too small to play with the big boys.

Secretly, I was terrified of this fort/ship thing! Had Brody actually made it to the top without this gang of bigger kids blocking the way, I think I would have had to climb up there with him because I don't think that he would have ever come down!

Don't worry my little pirate! In a few short years, you'll be the Captain of that ship!

Weekend Getaway

After 13 months, we figured that the time had come for Mike and I to get away for a weekend sans toddler and canine. Grandma and Grandpa Jones offered to babysit and get some quality Brody time, so we escaped for a few days up to Sonoma. We hadn't really spent much time at all in the Sonoma/Napa area - just once about 6 years ago for our friends' wedding. We enjoyed our time then, so I figured that we should explore the Wine Country.

We truly lucked out weather-wise as February was a pretty wet month here in San Jose. It rained most of the week prior to our trip, and even the morning we were scheduled to leave. But when we woke up in Sonoma that Saturday morning, the skies were as clear as can be. What a treat!
That weekend, we treated ourselves to a few delicious meals in the downtown part of Sonoma near the mission. We had a tasty Portuguese feast the night we arrived....a "Let's Celebrate Our Anniversary Again" meal. We headed out to Bodega Bay on Saturday morning for brunch. Neither of us had ever been out to the Sonoma Coast, and with perfect weather it was gorgeous! Plus, the whales are migrating north, so we joined a pack of whale watchers on the cliffs and watched some of the water spouts from a number of whales far off in the distance. Back in Sonoma, we stopped at a few wineries some of my friends had recommended. Our favorite was probably Arrowhead...much smaller than some of the better know wineries, but the wine was delicious, and we even met some nice locals there. We finished off our Saturday with a quick trip to the store for some bread and cheese to go with our wine and made ourselves a picnic on on the balcony of our cottage. On Sunday, we had brunch downtown and took our time driving home. While we were anxious and excited to see our little man, we wanted to savor our last few moments before getting back into our normal routine.
Many thanks to our weekend "babysitters." We look forward to another weekend away...hopefully before the next 13 months have come and gone!

Splish Splash!

While visiting Portland last month, we took Brody to OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. We figured that he was old enough and mobile enough to finally enjoy a trip to the museum. When he was just 5 weeks old, I joined Brody's aunt, uncle, and cousin at the San Jose Children's Museum. Lucky for me, Brody slept the entire time....back then, I was so thankful for a few hours of "downtime" and enjoyed watching Carys have a good time with all of the exhibits.

At OMSI, Brody had the time of his life! They had a room specifically for toddlers and young kids and there were fun animal exhibits, demonstrations, cars, trucks, blocks, a ball pit, and most importantly a SPLASH TABLE!!! Since Brody loves his baths so much, we knew that he was probably going to spend lots of time at the Splash Table. Thank goodness I brought a change of clothes!

Brody, perfecting his splash

Eyeing the bigger kids, ready to attack!
(The boy to the left was also named Brody~ This made for an
interesting challenge when trying to get our Brody's attention!)