~monaloca~

I haven’t been updating the blog much lately because we’ve been busy – even moreso than usual. Besides being in escrow for a new house (story and photos to come at a later date), we’ve had two weddings in two weekends. The most recent was Brian and Jen’s, and since it was on the coast in Half Moon Bay we decided to use the occasion for a small getaway with the girls.

Melina was thrilled at the idea of spending an evening with princesses and immediately latched onto our friend Cassandra, the “purple princess” (yes, dressed in lovely, shiny purple). She also liked the “white princess” (bride Jen), her first Shirley Temple, a plate full of french fries and fried chicken (the food was Peruvian), the fire pit outside, and most of all, the series of cakes shaped like gifts wrapped in white with blue bows.

Nalani enjoyed the fire pit and new faces for about 40 minutes then took a really long snooze strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn. She also liked staring out at the ocean, as did Melina. Before the wedding party we walked along the coast looking for mermaids. I was half joking about it, and didn’t realize until our way back to the hotel that Melina really thought we’d see one. She was pretty bummed that we hadn’t, and at age three didn’t seem to care when I told her they’re even more elusive than whales.

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Last week we headed to Capitola for our annual Weiss family beach vacation, a tradition we started when Melina was Nalani’s age. Highlights included daily sand play (Kai), a mosaic mermaid on our walk to the beach (Melina), Grandpa/Grandma/Auntie Stacie holding time (Nalani), daily ice cream, a trip to the candy store, and of course plenty of cousin play with Lucas and Noah.

We also celebrated baby Nalani with a “sprinkle” hosted by the Hindmarshes and a reunion of our two families. It was great fun to see Jess and her family for the first time in two years (yikes!). Then on Tuesday evening we headed to the boardwalk for 1907 night: all rides, hot dogs, and cotton candy just $1 a piece.

Melina had been looking forward to her first taste of cotton candy all afternoon, but was heartbroken when the pink fluff melted to near nothing in her hands before getting to her mouth, and was absolutely traumatized when I plopped a fresh piece right in and she discovered it didn’t taste anything like what she’d hoped. At least that’s what her cries told me she felt.

Lowlights included the two older kids and me fighting a cold the entire time, and Joey’s insane bout of sciatica. It was so bad one morning that Nalani and I had to take him to the ER in Santa Cruz while Kai and Melina held down the fort, so to speak, with their cousins.

Joey felt ridiculous walking through the door with a cup of coffee in his hand, and was more than disappointed when the only treatment given was a terse “you need to stretch and excercise through the pain” from the doc. “Can’t you give me a shot?” Nope. Luckily the doc was right and stretching is helping, just not as quickly as Joey would like.

Needless to say, traveling with three young kids was not exactly a vacation in the relaxing sense of the word. But the kids had a blast, I loved hanging out with my “whole family” as Melina would say, and we all got a kick out of a change of scenery for five days. I’m sure our tradition will become more relaxing as the kids get older… right?

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Last month we had another family photo shoot, this one to highlight our newest family member. By the end Kai made it very clear that he wouldn’t be interested in doing another shoot anytime in the near future, but he and Melina were both good enough sports to get some great shots.

For her part, Nalani went through a fairly normal infant cycle during the two hours Myron was with us. She started off a little fussy, hot, and hungry, then after I nursed her she fell asleep. By the end she was wide awake and all smiles. You can see the progression in the photos.

Of course we’re now three weeks out from the photo shoot and Nalani has woken up more completely to the world. She has full neck control and long spurts of awake time. Her favorite activity is to look at people’s faces, and we like to think she prefers mama and dada’s.

Kai has discovered the joy of reading with the “Captain Underpants” series and the Berkeley public library’s summer reading challenge. Whatever it takes to get him reading, I’ll take it! Melina is getting ready to move to the transition room at preschool, where potty-trained 3-year-olds get ready for a wee bit more learning structure.

She’s also starting to get a stronger grasp of her family structure, taking it at face value that sometimes Kai’s with us and sometimes he’s with Jen. The other day she got super excited when she found out “all our family” was going to be together after school. Then she said “But Jen won’t have all of her family.” True… but we’re still a complete family in our own way even when Kai’s not with us. Strange concept to take in for an adult let alone a three-year-old, but it’s important to feel complete no matter who’s physically in what house on any given night.

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Melina got to play hooky from preschool again today, this time to visit Children’s Fairyland with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Stacie, and cousins Lucas and Noah. “No daddies except for Grandpa” she reminded me on the way out the door. Everyone had a blast except for possibly Nalani, who would have been more content lying on a blanket and staring at people’s faces all morning. Sorry, little girl!

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Long before Nalani was born, our friends the Yamadas gave us a couple free passes to the SF Zoo. They expired at the end of June but with at least eight months to spare we figured we had plenty of time. As human nature usually dictates, we waited until the last minute to finally trek over the bridge and to the coastal, wind-blown corner of my favorite city.

Melina’s highlights from our visit included two ant eaters as big as her and a polar bear – neither of which we have at the Oakland Zoo – and the flamingos, probably because they’re pink. I always love to see penguins, also something we don’t have in Oakland.

Nalani slept through most of the outing. One day soon she’ll start to enjoy zoo visits, too!

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This month’s theme at Melina’s preschool is transportation, which seems all too appropriate given how much biking we’ve been doing. Mina got her first two-wheeler for her third birthday. It has no pedals and no training wheels, which is supposed to help her learn to balance. Look at the video to see how well she’s doing after just one week!

I’ve also started to pick her up from school one day a week on my bike, just like I did last summer. When I ask if she remembers she says, “I’m sorry Mama, I don’t remember.” No matter, it’s fun exercise for mama and fresh air for the little girl as we journey across town.

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We celebrated Melina’s third birthday with a Pink Party in the Park. The night before the big event I asked which of her pink dresses she was going to wear, and she paused briefly before saying, “I think I’ll wear orange.” In the end she chose dark pink – as opposed to what she calls “real pink” or light pink. Her friends and their parents also didn’t disappoint, wearing everything from salmon pink to deep maroon and red.

We ended up with a large crowd and spectacular weather. Melina was a little confused when friends from different parts of her life started to show up. She’s not used to having school friends and playgroup friends and neighborhood friends – not to mention her cousins – all in one spot.

Big hits of the day included the train in the playground, pink cream cheese for bagels and pink and red fruit, a yummy banana cake in the shape of a flower, and of course a pink flower pinata! It took 15 kids and at least five adults taking multiple turns over 20 minutes (and some slits I made in the cardboard the night before), but the pinata finally cracked while still hanging from the tree. Kai was proud to deliver the final blow.

Cousins and grandparents joined us back at the house after the big event, and by the time everyone left Mina was 100% wired and 110% tired. We were able to get her to bed by 7pm, which is unheard of these days. But not before one final attempt on her part to have another cupcake, in the Melina version of uber-polite: “Can may I have a cupcake please?”

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Less than a year ago Melina refused to ride a merry-go-round much less a real pony. That all changed this spring. She adores a ride of any kind, and was thrilled when she saw “little horsies” at Kai’s school’s annual spring fair.

Because the ponies might frighten, the kids weren’t even strapped in and I walked along side her. Mina was all smiles for the over five minute ride, and kept saying “this pony’s really bumpy!”

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Melina’s first words the day after her birthday were “Is it still my party?” While her pink party in the park isn’t happening til next Sunday, we had a fun-filled, extra long weekend leading up to her day – itself full of special treats. It’s no wonder she thought the fun would continue well into the week.

We started her big day with a walk to our neighborhood cafe with Kendall and her mom, where both girls got pink donuts. Melina barely touched hers but loved the idea of it. We then had a play date at the park with Connor, a nap (which she took with surprising ease), and the thing she’d been looking forward to most: a princess pedicure with Lily.

Melina had been talking about pink toenails for a week, but when we arrived chose orange instead. Lily, whose favorite color is orange, chose sparkle pink. 20 minutes after we left Melina looked at her toes and said “I want sparkles!” Next time, babe. We topped off the day with dinner and ice cream at T-Rex with Lily’s family.

Earlier this weekend we drove down to SJ to visit with my parents and play at Happy Hollow. Melina had a blast on all the kiddie rides and was really bummed she couldn’t ride the roller coaster. (She’s too short.) The day before we took an impromptu visit to Livermore to picnic and visit our favorite winery with friends. Melina and Kanoa enjoyed the bocce ball court, and we adults enjoyed the ease of a family-friendly winery, especially one with wine as yummy as BoaVentura’s!

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Every day on the way to preschool Melina asks me, “Mama, is it spring? We need to look for birds and butterflies.” I’ve been saying yes for two months, but at last the weather’s caught up. With spring comes outdoor playdates and birthday party season. (Our three kids, plus most their friends. Funny how that works.)

Warmer weather has also coincided with Nalani’s new smiles. She started smiling right on queue, at one month old. Mama, Dada, sis and bro can all elicit super smiles, though Daddy would say he gets more than anyone. Must be his goofy side.

Nalani also sometimes gets this really funny worried look. The first time I saw it was as we were wheeled out of the hospital when she was just over 24 hours old. And when she’s upset the red spot between her brows gets bright pink.

Melina and Kai continue to be great big sibs to little Nalani, though Melina still has moments where she’s not quite sure what to do. When we arrive at preschool in the morning I always have Nalani in her carrier, and inevitably end up setting it down to push Mina on the swing or sit down with her at the snack table.

Within 20 seconds of setting down Nalani a swarm of tiny two- and three-year-olds surround her and peer into her carrier as she sleeps, slowly opens a tentative eye only to close it again, or stares at them in a half-curious way.

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