Scrapbook

As I type this, it is technically still 2012 on the West Coast, so I made it, sort of.  I didn't finish this last night.  But as I type this, it is still New Years Day, so I'm so not all that late.  

Obviously a lot of things shift when you have a child, but I think the perception of time is one of the most amazing.  Things hurtle by amazingly fast, and such change happens in such a short period of time.  A year passing previously would be momentous, sure, but now I am startled to see how much can truly change in 365 days.  My favorite thing of late is to compare photos exactly one year apart.  It's so hard to believe that it's the same child.  

Ever since Matt and I got married, it seems each year brought an unimaginable amount of craziness.  Getting married, starting two new jobs (careers, really) and buying a house in 2007 was topped by getting pregnant (with not-so-fun medical adventures) in 2009 which was topped by having a kid (and lots more not-so-fun medical adventures) in 2010 and then auditioning for the Navy, quitting both of our jobs, and moving to California in 2011.  And then there was LIVING in California in 2012, which feels like five whole years crammed into one.  

Originally it was my (mental?) plan to keep up on the blog and post pictures so that friends and family (or whoever the three people are who read this) could keep up with us, but obviously that never happened.  I did manage to send out my perhaps now ubiquitous photo emails every few months, but a lot of memory-keeping details slipped through the cracks.  Culling these photos (which I admit I did in a very hurried fashion, as my whole "use the two weeks Matt is off work to go through all the photos from the year" plan failed miserably) did bring back some memories which I hope to share in fragments, as much for myself as for anyone else.

I hope everyone had a great 2012.  The world didn't end.  Yay!  Here's to 2013.  

JANUARY

We're here!  We moved into military housing, which was a good start, I suppose.  After a few weeks, though, I was totally done.  More on that later.

It seemed during this first full month Bug would compulsively search my wallet, trying to pull together airfare back to Minneapolis.

But then we discovered story time at the Coronado library, where she immediately established herself as That Kid Who Won't Sit Down.  

Living on Coronado was idyllic at first.  I mean, it's very pretty.  But very isolated, especially when you only have one car.  Also, our neighbors were heinous.

We quickly figured out the Saturday farmer's market in Little Italy and started our trend of getting hooked on most things not Coronado.  Our obnoxious neighbors, the chemical-smelling kitchen countertops and driving Matt to and from work every day across the Bridge of Death wasn't helping matters, either.  Mama wanted out.  

Bug's first introduction to the Mercado.

We visited La Jolla for the first time and it was just about as beautiful as everyone says it is.

Look how little she is!  Please note that this is the first of THREE PAIR of Keen sandals we had to buy in 2012 for the Yeti.

But Coronado IS flat, so while we there we were able to try the Burley trailer for the first (and currently last) time. 

Playgrounds!  Outside!  In January!

Uh oh, Mom found Bread and Cie.

We visited the Children's Museum for the first time.

I forked over for the membership, which we will not be renewing in 2013.  I think we barely ended up going enough times to break even.  Barely.

I started to try and figure out developmental services for Bug, and it was (and is) a complete disaster.  It's handled here through something called Regional Center, and we got stuck with a terrible, terrible coordinator.  I started Bug with private PT at the Children's Hospital, and figured we would just skip state services for the time being.  This began the long, frustrating journey that is quality medical care in this city.  

The San Diego Zoo is as amazing as everyone says it is.  Active duty get in free, and kids under 3 (or maybe 5?) are free, so we just had to buy one membership.  We will definitely be renewing.  

This was the day she fell head-first, literally, into the poo-stained dirt.  We don't frequent the petting portion as often now.

I look like a Flamingo!

Visiting the zoo with new friends is even better!

We had our first official visitor when Mimi (and Beau-Beau) came to visit!!  All the kids were happy and relieved.

I AM SO EXCITED I CANNOT SIT STILL.

We brought them to this "new place" we found called Con Pane, where you can order huge slabs of bread with delicious coffee.  

We showed Mimi the beach. 

And the Zoo, of course. 

And then while Mimi visited, I interviewed for a Real Job.  I got it, and started in...

FEBRUARY

After searching on Craigslist, I found a townhouse in a neighborhood called Banker's Hill.  It's situated a half mile West of Balboa Park, just north of downtown.  The second I walked in, I was sold.  It was two levels, which we desperately wanted (and which is hard to find) and the landlords were amazing.  It took FOREVER (it was probably a week, but felt like eight) to find out if we got the place, because there were three other people who were also interested.  I was distraught while we waited.  It was just what I wanted, location wise -- walking distance to Balboa Park, Little Italy, Hillcrest, and near the trolley for Matt to use to get to work.  OMG CALL US PLEASE CALL US AND JUST LET US KNOW.

And then we finally found out they chose us and were set to go!  Except for that whole "we are f-ing insane" to re-pack up an entire house again after a month.  

Ahead of the move, we managed to just make it in the window to return the new washer/dryer we bought, since the new place came with one (saving us like $1000).  But this meant, of course, that Bug and I spent a lot of time at the Laundromat.  

Always helping.

And always, always growing.

I think it was technically in early January, but I also managed to find a running group.  I had seen it online before, and was not completely sold.  And then when we were looking at places to rent, one of the current tenants at this place in Little Italy (who was showing us the place for her landlord) turned out to be from Minneapolis (she had this seriously CUSH job at 3M selling adhesives to the Navy) AND a runner, who gave me a first-person recommendation to join the run club.  After I got over the "how much smaller can this world get" shock, I decided to try it out.   On my first day, there was another girl my same age, from the Midwest, also trying out the club for the first time.  And we have been rather inseparable since.  It sounds like dating.  Finding friends is like dating.  (It sucks most of the time, and then you find someone you think will work, you hem and haw about calling, blah blah blah.)

Here are some of the girls from the run club as we visited the Mercado post-Saturday long run.

The BFF is in the white shirt.  Her and her husband are moving to the East Coast in a few months now.  I am beside myself.  

Although I believe the concept is much more well-known now (at home, at least) the discovery of the "serve your own frozen yogurt" was quite exciting to figure out.

Bug is just talking a big game in this picture, since she refused to eat any frozen yogurt for a long, long time. 

We hadn't moved yet, so there was more laundromat-ing.  As odd as it sounds, I never really minded the laundromat all that much.  Sure, it sucked to feed quarter after quarter into the machine (and to wrangle four over-stuffed laundry hampers and a toddler, solo), but there is something to be said about being able to do like six loads of laundry all at once, and be ALL CAUGHT UP for like two solid days.

We tried our best to continue to explore the city, and stumbled upon a park that is still Bug's favorite... the "Seal Playground."

Every time we visit, she has to hug the fiberglass seal.

Then we had our second official visitor when Grandma came to visit!

She bought me a Super Why book!

If you ask us where to have a fancy dinner, we'd have no idea.  But if you want to know where to find a good donut, we're all over it.

Eating special treats at Clayton's in Coronado.

Showing Grandma La Jolla.

I ran my first road race in California this month - the Coronado Valentine's 10K.  In shorts!  And short sleeves!  The course wasn't all that spectacular, and the last quarter mile was across an unanticipated, lumpy soccer field, but it was fun.  I still use the water bottle I got from the race, but I will not be signing up for it again this year.

Someone absconded with my finisher's medal.

I'm forgetting the exact circumstances -- perhaps I've blocked them out? -- and Matt's sleeping so I can't ask him.  But Basie managed to scratch Bug's face terribly, right before Bug was set to start at her new day care.  Awesome first impression, right?

Somehow it didn't scar.  Whew!

She loved her new day care from day one, which was great (although obscenely expensive, but when is it not??).  It felt weird to be back at work, and doing something in a completely different capacity than before (and not in a positive way).  I was determined to give it a go, though.... sort of.  

And just because Matt's in the Navy doesn't mean he's exempt from mundane, obligatory work-related functions, like a Saturday softball tournament.

It was torturous keeping her entertained.  I kept hoping they would lose so we could go home. 

Then it was moving day!

Helping by staying out of the way.

This new bedroom is great, Mom!

We started exploring our new neighborhood, and came across Influx, which we continue to visit constantly.  It serves breakfast and coffee.  Are you surprised?  You shouldn't be.  We have a kid that goes to sleep by 7:30 each night, and is up each day by 7:00 a.m.  What is going out to dinner?  We only know breakfast.  Damn good breakfast at that.

In the first month at new day care, Bug got pink eye.  

Visiting the sketchy pediatrician's office, somehow smiling about the whole thing.

And then Aunty Allison came to visit!!  Aunty Allison actually saved my ass from certain disaster after I got horribly sick (day care germs, obvs) and wound up in the ER while Matt was out of town by picking up Bug from day care and feeding her dinner.  I AM FOREVER INDEBTED.

MARCH

We visited Torrey Pines for the first time.  Parking was expensive and far away.  By the time we hiked up to the top, it felt like we could be done, and we hadn't even made it onto any of the trails.  And then we got yelled at by a Park Ranger for having food (for Bug).  Strike 2!

It was very beautiful, though.

We haven't been back since.  Every time I think about going it's Saturday, or a holiday, and I'm all, "I am NOT dealing with tourists today."  Tourists bug me.  They're EVERYWHERE.  The only reprieve is Labor Day through Thanksgiving.  Then all bets are off again.

Bug continued to grow, like, exponentially.

Mercado, again.  We pretty much started a weekly routine.

And then we got our glasses!  At least we went to pick them out.  We saw these frames and were sold, instantly.  The glasses were just to fix her astigmatism, and would not do anything for her nystagmus.  But still, we were curious what would happen!

I had my first of many (many) bad days at work.

PC LOAD LETTER?!??!

The best thing to come out of work was being introduced to another woman (Mrs. D) there who had a son (M) with Down Syndrome.  If it would not have been for her, I would have never known that there really WERE services available.  She told me about the school her son went to, and gave me the personal cell phone of his teacher who she loved.  I called, and we had a few home visits later that month.  I fell in love with Bug's teacher (different than M's, due to age).  

The program here offers weekly one hour home visits, or twice-weekly morning preschool.  I was already struggling to keep Bug in PT once a week in the afternoons with my work schedule, and this new development weighed heavy on my mind and my decision to work.  We went with the home visits, and Matt was usually able to get home with Bug in time, although I usually missed them, which drove me crazy. 

We also switched pediatricians on recommendation from Mrs. D.  I still DESPERATELY MISS Bug's ped from Minneapolis.  No comparison.  None.   

Care packages from Mimi!  Bug learned quickly what a Priority Mail box meant.

I can't get this open!  OPEN IT OPEN IT OPEN IT.

Upon recommendations from friends, we started swimming lessons at the Boys and Girls Club pool in Linda Vista.  It was like swimming in too-warm bath water. 

Which were fun, but we found ourselves burdened by getting there each Saturday (let's go here!  No, we can't, we have swimming.  We do?  Dammit, we do!  Arrrrgh.  Etc, etc), and with the cost, we didn't end up committing very long.

Then our glasses were ready!  We were concerned she wouldn't keep them on, but we never had issues.  Watching her really "see" things for the first time brought a lot of mixed emotions.  She sat agape watching Elmo from the couch as if she was seeing him for the first time.  Matt held her and she instantly touched his whiskers, fascinated.  I was happy and sad.  I always have to kill the moment with the sad. 

I get new glasses AND a beer??

Even more alike now!

Every morning I'd often leave for work before Bug was even awake, so part of their morning routine was sending me a breakfast photo.  I have one from almost every single day.

Still swimming, for the time being!

They put in new equipment at the Seal Playground!

This yellow seat was the coolest, ever, until some big kids (we assume) broke it after maybe a month.

There were a whole cluster of kids at day care with late March/early April birthdays, so there was a lot of cake to enjoy in a short time.

APRIL

There are farmer's markets in just about every neighborhood here, year round.  That being said, we still haven't explored further than our own (sad!).  But ambitions were still high in April when we went to Hillcrest for the first time, which is held on Sundays (to Little Italy's Saturday).

This violin-playing man, who was warming up for Bug's favorite Bluegrass Band, made several insensitive (at least in my opinion) comments about Bug and her glasses.  I still see him busking around town a year later and refuse to make eye contact with him.  

Despite not being terribly coordinated at it, Bug chooses running as her favorite mode of transportation, all the time.  The overalls she's wearing here are 3T, and she hasn't even turned 2 yet.

In all the unpacking (c'mon, two months isn't enough time to get through it all!) we came across my old Cabbage Patch doll, which would probably be worth tons of money (as it was signed by Xavier Roberts) if it hadn't been loved to death already.  I was startled to realize how much it looked exactly like Bug, all the way down to the stained face.  Tutu somehow knew, 28 years ago, what would come to be.

Then we had our third visitor!  Aunty Emimmy!  We were flattered she wanted to spend her Spring Break with us, even though we're short on beer bongs and single men in their 20s.

They got pretty comfortable pretty quick.

We're eating at Con Pane again? No way!

We showed Emily the Hillcrest market where the violin man was thankfully not playing.

I enjoyed hanging back while they toddler-wrangled.

Originally, before we even moved to California, there was talk to organize a large birthday celebration for Bug and her BFF Lotte, as their birthdays are only about six weeks apart.  To no one's surprise, this never came to fruition.

Then I was all, we'll still have a party!

And then that never happened, either.

At the very least, I remembered to send treats to day care on the appropriate day.  I had this great idea to send ice cream, because the kids had eaten so many neon cupcakes in the last week, but clearly this was a great idea only to me.

The kids didn't really get it.

This is so embarrassing.  Why didn't Mom just send cupcakes like everyone else??

So Matt and I *had* to force our way through a bucket of cookies and cream ice cream for the next week and a half.  It's hard work being a parent.

Mimi helped me pick up the slack, though, by getting Bug a kitchen.  

And then I totally forgot about the cake.  How do I manage to do this??  Bug had a grocery store cake. If only Byerly's shipped!

She didn't seem to mind, and will not remember whatsoever anyway.

We continued to explore other playgrounds, but nothing matched the Seal Playground.  This one had a few points for scenery, but lost even more for rust and disrepair (being so close to the salty Bay and Ocean, rust is unavoidable).

Holding on to her arm as she flails toward the ground is like the STORY OF MY LIFE.

I was inspired to try and recreate all the photos we have of infant Bug sleeping on Matt.  Looks quite different now.

Bug and Dad went to the Zoo by themselves, and returned with stories about taunting peacocks, questioning my previous thought that sending them alone was a great idea.  

Especially when there's photo evidence of said Angry Peacock.

Basie was finally all, fine, small human, if you don't want to ride in this thing, I WILL.

Unreal.

Matt got promoted this month!  Woohoo!  No longer lowest-ranking guy in the band.  Phew.  Still lower-ranking than most of the non-college-educated "Shippies" out here, but I digress.

Photo taken not by me, obviously.

If only we could have let her do this DURING the actual ceremony, it might have been smoother.

She was allowed to resume playing her song afterward.

Part of my role at work was to plan quarterly "meet and greet" meetings.  For May, we were going to do a Cinco de Mayo theme, and I set about trying to get custom pinatas made.  When I was at the shop (I still don't know how I whittled down from the 878 different business options...) I happened upon an ELMO PINATA OMG.  Totally new to this whole pinata thing (who even knew you could get custom ones?  Not this girl) I asked how much it was.  I had in my head a mental limit ($25) and if it was over that, I'd walk away.  I was convinced it had to be more than that.

$17.

Well, shit.  How could I turn that down??  So I bought it.

I was so sure she was going to be terrified of it.  Nope.

Bug was legitimately upset that Elmo didn't hug her back.

Elmo, you're looking a little thin.  You need to eat more.  MORE.

Then Mimi and Beau Beau came to visit, AGAIN!

Out to... breakfast.  Duh.

For her birthday, we decided to take Bug to see Elmo Live.  The venue was gross, the folding chairs almost gave more than a few children concussions, but she had a good time.  And thanks to my lightning-fast moves, was able to shake Elmo's hand when he walked into the audience.  No photo evidence exists, so you'll have to trust me.

In fact, this blurry cell phone photo is the only photo that does exist, because the psychotic rent-a-security people went ballistic on me when I tried to bring my camera into the arena.  I should have shoved it in my bra.

Con Pane?  Again?

It's so good.  I could eat there every day.

Bug got an amazing custom apron from her Great Aunt Shelley.  Kitchen complete!

I don't remember if this was truly the first concert that we went to of Matt's or not, but considering I've photographed every single one since, and there's no photos before this, I'm thinking it is.

The Brass Band played at some family festival at one of the military housing complexes.  The festival was underwhelming, but we enjoyed being the audience.  

Keeping an eye on all the gear.

April also marked (apparently) the start of a series of fun outdoor festivals -- because the 60s from January-March are just too cold for these types of things.

We had a blast at the Little Italy Art Walk.  Definitely can't wait to go again this year.

Dancing to blues guitar.

The best part might have been the free slinky from the local newspaper's booth.

MAY

And then, WE ACTUALLY WENT OUT TO DINNER OMG.  Don't worry, it wasn't fancy.  Just the best burgers and fries and beer in South Park.  

Bug can't even believe it, either. 

Matt had a Cinco de Mayo gig in Old Town, which is technically a State Park, "the Birthplace of California," that recreates the "life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872."  In reality it's a bunch of tchotchke shops and Mexican-food restaurants.  REGARDLESS.  Cinco de Mayo down there is like a HUGE, PEOPLE-INFESTED THING.

I decided to be adventurous and take the trolley there with Bug, especially when Matt reported that the Old Town exit was backed up on the 5 for miles.

Proving that cute, clean-smelling people DO ride the trolley.

It was fun, but GOOD LORD were there a lot of people there, in an uncomfortably crammed-in kind of way.

Very fun to watch, though.

I figured she was old enough to learn the joy of the Target ad on a Sunday morning. 

It's May, so the sun is BLAZING HOT.  The air temperature this time of year isn't all that amazing, but if you're in the sun, it's uncomfortable.

Eating samples at the Mercado.  It's Saturday, remember?

For Mother's Day this year, Bug and I got some new running gear.  She was so excited.

Twinsies.

Oh, right.  We still have a dog, who gets groomed on an every-six-months basis because we're poor.

The Showband (that's the big band) had a show up in Poway.  That's, like, far away (according to my standards).  Probably 30 minutes, GOD FORBID WE HAVE TO DRIVE FOR THAT LONG.

But we were glad to go, and entertain/terrorize the mainly senior-citizen audience.  

Fee is the much, much more fun Mom of the two of us.

These two just slay me.

We tried to get pictures of them hugging whenever they were together. 

Riding the bus to work downtown in San Diego is a completely different experience than riding a Metro Transit express bus to work downtown in Minneapolis.  Even riding the 17 (local route) in Minneapolis was generally more reliable than riding the 11 here.

Every day the homeless people delayed the bus.  EVERY.  DAY.  Why even publish a schedule?  I don't think I ever showed up to work at the same time.

For a while there was this high school-aged girl who would get on.  One day she brought her guitar.  And practiced on the bus.  At 6:40 a.m.  Why not?

Matt would get random weekdays off from work due to gigs on the weekends, and I'd get photos like this sent to me.

Taunting me with her pajamas, gigantic chocolate donut, and sweet perch atop the Vons in Mission Hills.

JUNE

The Zoo will never get old.

Matt and the band were scheduled to play before a Padre's game.  We got tickets to the game, and almost got altitude sickness.  

Also, somehow, we were seated next to a group of men who appeared to be on supervised leave from a halfway house (I'm only sort of joking??) which made it even more tense.  

But we had snacks.

And a telephoto lens.

It looked cool, even if no one was there, because I guess the Padres are terrible.

Matt joined us in the stands.  I denied him the chance to purchase an over-priced beer, and we went home.

Then Grandma came to visit us again!  And brought this too-cute-for-words dress.

We took her to The Station for french fries.  

Then I ran my first real trail race!  The Cougar Mountain Half Marathon.  The weather at the beginning was so perfect -- clouds.  Less heat and less rattlesnakes!

I started in the second group (I'm in the neon) which I was annoyed about at first, but it turned out OK.

Finish!  Please subtract something like six minutes from the time due to second wave start.  

Trail running is difficult.  Fun, but difficult.  Afterward we went for pancakes at Snooze.  Which is, wait for it, another breakfast place.

Then later that same day (no rest for the weary) Matt had another concert.

A new saxophonist joined the band a short time earlier, and he also has a little girl.  Of these three, Bug is oldest, then Lotte (left) six weeks later, then E (who is tiny anyway) like a week after that.  

Then Bug got hand, foot and mouth disease, AGAIN.  This time it was pretty terrible, and kept her out of day care for a few days until the fever went away.  She had a pretty fantastical sore on her tongue.  

Gross.  I didn't think it would ever go away.

I heard about a dog surfing competition and I couldn't ignore the urge to go see.

So we drove down to Imperial Beach and saw dogs actually surfing.  I found it entertaining to take pictures of, but Bug couldn't really see anything and just generally did not have a good time.  

We rewarded her with grilled cheese when we got home.

The feet!  She has always shown excitement by wiggling her feet and toes.

Out to breakfast... again??

Showband had a concert at Spreckles Park, which is on Coronado.  Since I no longer have to drive the bridge every single day, the immunity I once had to its height has completely disappeared.  It nearly gives me a panic attack to drive over it now.  I'm impressed we made it.

How could I deny these two a chance to dance together, though?

She was born to attend concerts.

Gymboree was having like a crazy fire sale so I bought Bug some new clothes for OUR TRIP HOME OMG HOME OMG. 

It was about this time that I decided I was going to quit my job.  It was miserable, I was miserable.  Bug was missing umpteen appointments, and when we did go to appointments they'd grill me on her progress and I'd have nothing to report, since I didn't see her for more than a few hours each day (most of which were spent eating dinner and bathing).  It wasn't worth the stress.  We were planning on going home for a few weeks in July, so I figured it was a good break.  I gave my notice and... they asked me to stay on, and work remotely, throwing a gigantic wrench in my plans to be done.  Sigh.  It ended up that I worked remotely while we were in Minneapolis, and then I was done-done at the end of August.  Best decision.

Before we could go home, and before I could quit, we had to say goodbye to day care.  This time I wizened up and sent cupcakes. 

Bug's boyfriend is in the yellow.

Saying goodbye to Ms. Holly was especially hard.  She took to Bug right away when we started, and although wasn't working with her daily (Bug graduated to a new room at age 2) they still shared a special bond.  I credit Holly with making the transition back to day care so seamless.  Sniff.

Don't worry, I'll come back and visit (and we have! Thank you, drop-in option).

Bug and J had to hug it out.

JULY

And then we were off!  Bug handled the plane ride like it was no big deal.

Ma, I don't know what you're so terrified about.  They have Elmo!

We made it!  Oy vey is it humid.

One of the first things I wanted to do was run along the river.  So Matt and I (with our maladjusted, humidity-marred bodies) went for a hot, sweaty (and miserable) run along the river, stopping three miles shorter than originally planned.  Pansies!

It was all just a ruse so we could stop for... breakfast.  At Longfellow!  Oh, old friend, how we've missed you!

And then we saw Baby Charlie!

Here, let me read you this.

And we went back to the Splash Pad with Ya-Ya!!!

Last time I was here I was the only one who couldn't walk.  This is much better.

Mornings with Mimi.

The first weekend we were there we rented a car and drove to Milwaukee to see Matt's family.  Grandma unearthed some toys she had been saving.  I'm not sure who loved the train more, Bug or Matt.  Who am I kidding, it was totally Matt.

Bug was completely uninterested in cooperating.  

Alone with Emmimy was OK, though.

We went to the pool.  Ah, the pool.  I could have taken all meals and slept there, too.  

After all that fun, we had to drive back to Minneapolis.  But not before the most epic road trip picture (to date) was taken.

What happens in a rental car, stays in a rental car.

It was good we got back because Mimi's plants needed help being watered.

However many months later and every time Bug sees a hose she makes a reference to Mimi.

Then I had to nerd out and take 200 too many pictures at sunset by the Stone Arch Bridge. 

It reminded me of being in college.  Oh, college!  Come back!

Bug had her first push-pop, which pushed the limits of her cold temperature tolerance.

I can do this, Mom!  This tastes phenomenal.

Battery-powered bubbles??

And then the push-pop died a sad, sad death on the driveway.

Me: "Seriously, Bug?"

Bug: "What I'd do?"  Pause.  "More!!!!!!!!"

We tried to teach her hopscotch.  This picture makes it look like she understood, but she did not, at all.

Matt left to go back to California to go back to work, and Bug and I stayed.  We had a very important event to attend, anyway.

BABY CHARLIE'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

Bug reaffirmed her Minnesota roots with a good, old-fashioned Up North barbecue and boat ride. 

Charlie got this awesome wagon for his birthday.

And there were awesome cupcakes, of course.

This shirt fit her three weeks prior.  I believe it was one of the last times she was able to wear it.  

Then we headed back down to "the cities" to get back to our important daily work, like filling the pool.

And running in the sprinkler.

And filling more pools.

And playing with new (old?) friends.

Aunty Lisa came up from Iowa and brought Bug this adorable umbrella. 

One of my favorite pictures of Mimi and Bug, entertaining themselves on the deck.

"Get outta town!"

Then Pool Papa came in town!

Am I thinking about this correctly?  Four generations?  Fun either way.

Then, eventually, we had to go home.  I tried to put on a brave face for Bug as we flew back to San Diego alone, but let's be honest.  I hate flying.

And it's a good thing we got back when we did because it was time for Bug to start school!  Part of why I quit was so that we could swap out our home visits for the preschool.  Bug started with the summer session at the end of July.

Can we stop at Starbucks on the way?

She loved school.  Still loves it.  Win.

We finished out the month with some pretty pictures.

At the La Jolla cove. 

Walking with Dad in Balboa Park. 

Finally allowed in the Botanical Building without a stroller.

We also decided to try attending the free nighttime concerts at the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.  We'd pack a picnic dinner and have a great time.  Usually.

This was a good concert.  Sometimes it didn't end quite as happy.

AUGUST

School had a summer party! 

There was watermelon, and I decided again to never have another child.  

We had more visitors!  Matt's aunt and uncle from South Carolina were in town for a wedding, and we went out to dinner one night.  Their youngest enjoyed being a "big sister" to Bug and Bug enjoyed being, well, Bug. 

The weather started getting unbearably hot.  The seasons here are a few months behind what I think of as "regular" seasons.  Summer is really August-September-October.  HOT.

Allowed outside for short 30 minute increments.

Another outdoor concert, but not many pictures that turned out.  Just sweaty little girls being crazy.

There's all sorts of hiking and National Park action going on in California that we'd like to take advantage of while we live out here.  Bug is too small to actually hike.  So I went on Craigslist to find a hiking backpack.

We drove up to Oceanside to pick it up.  I was excited that it was in pretty good shape.  We decided to try it out the following day up the street at Balboa.  

It was a miserable failure.  At 2, she was too big to be comfortable.  

No time to dwell, though, because it was time for another outdoor concert!  This one was at Kate Sessions Park in PB (Pacific Beach), which sits up on a hill and has a phenomenal view of the city. 

Working on a new routine.

See?  They do have fun, sometimes.

I just love this picture of them.

We drove up to Santa Monica one Sunday morning.  Didn't hit too terrible traffic.  Matt had never been, and I figured it was worth it.  We had fun walking around and people-watching, but especially now that Zara is open here, there's really no shopping up there that we can't get down here.  I want to love LA, I really do, but it's such a pain in the arse to get any where. 

Turning into such a California Dad with those Ray-Bans.

There was no use in hanging onto the hiking backpack if she didn't fit, so we put Basie in it once just for kicks, and then sold it (for a profit!) back on Craigslist.  

Terrible dog parents?  Or PHENOMENAL dog parents??

Then it was finally the Navy Band's turn to play at the Organ Pavilion at Balboa Park!  Despite seeing numerous performances there by all kinds of musicians, Bug still refers to it as the "place where Daddy plays the saxophone."

It wouldn't be a true Navy Band Southwest concert without these two in attendance. 

I even got in a shot, too!

Up on the big stage.

Giving each other love.

Then the band was back at Spreckles Park on Coronado!  The park I love to hate.  If it weren't for that bridge, we'd be there every day.

They were particularly cute this night.

The way they make each other laugh is amazing.

SEPTEMBER

This was a momentous occasion.  This was FINALLY THE DAY that Bug decided to stop being dumb, and start enjoying frozen yogurt.  She hasn't looked back since.

I guess cold things DO taste good when it's hot as blazes outside.

Thank goodness for these red umbrellas.

This month also marked the first time Bug legitimately enjoyed being at the beach, covered in sand. 

I don't know why we couldn't have loved this earlier in the summer, but at least San Diego summer runs through October.

On the beach at North Island (Coronado), with Point Loma in the background.

The water here is very cold, relatively speaking, so none of us really went full-fledged swimming (falling over in a small wave notwithstanding).  But we could do feet and getting splashed pretty good by waves.

My feet were freezing.

The only thing missing was a cabana boy with drinks.

Keeping the trend of willingness to eat cold things alive, Bug also (FINALLY) agreed that popsicles taste pretty darn amazing, too.

Then BFF and I decided to run this crazy trail race at Camp Pendleton.  It was a half marathon, so nothing too terribly crazy, and I dumbly assumed that seeing as how it was on Labor Day Weekend, it might be "cooler."

How wrong.  Oh, how wrong.

The race started late.  Way too late.  Like not until 8:30, which is borderline completely unsafe considering we were running in a hilly desert.  When I voiced complaint about it, I was told that it was late to "give everyone enough time to make it onto base."  That's bullshit.  If you run a race, you figure out a way to get there on time.  Leave earlier, that's my response.

Because I wasn't wearing a hat (not smart) the sun was relentless.  I stopped sweating at like mile 8.  I thought I was going to die.  I am not exaggerating.  It was terrible.  But also so deserted, and the last thing I wanted was to have to be like helicoptered out of area 41 or wherever we were.  

Looking fresh at the beginning.

Not so much at the end.

BFF fared much, much better than I did.  It just wasn't my day.  I spent a half hour in the medical tent with ice bags afterward.  And then Bug tripped and fell in the parking lot and sliced open her knee.  The Marine medics froze when we brought her over to get cleaned out (it was full of gravel and rocks). They've probably seen God-knows-what in grown men, but give them a screaming 2-year-old girl, and it's like they forgot how to use a band-aid.  She does, still, have a scar on her leg.  Battle wound!

We all recovered enough to go over to Lotte's house to jump in her new trampoline.

And take one of my favorite pictures of the summer. 

Then it was time for another birthday celebration!  This time for Baby Mason!

Food, obviously, is the only way to get them to sit still.

The two biggest ones also, not surprisingly, were the most interested in eating.

I was there!  There's proof!

Oh these two.  It will be so sad when they move in a few months.

At this point I had also been attending Stroller Strides for about a month, the mom+baby workout group I swore I'd never participate in.  Although I've had ups and downs with my feelings on it, in the end, I feel extremely grateful to have found them.

One of the women there happens to be Jewish.  We got to talking one day (I think both of our radars went off) and we ended up being invited to "Shabbat at the Bay" which was an outdoor Shabbat service at Mission Bay put on by the synagogue that happens to be up the street from us.  I had hesitated going in there because it's Conservative, but when we were invited to this I figured we should give it a go. 

It was beautiful outside, at least.

I was told it was going to be a potluck.  Originally I was going to make more food, but Matt got off of work super late, and we ran out of time.  The woman who invited me assured me earlier that she was bringing lots of food, so we figured we'd be good with a few bags of chips and salsa.  When we got there, it was clear that it wasn't really a potluck, per se.  Most of the families that were already there were eating take-out food from Taco del Sol, or something similar, and there we were, hungry, with a bag of Tostitos.  Hrm.  

I sent Matt off to go get us burritos (which actually ended up tasting pretty awesome).  The family that invited us showed up a bit later, armed with lots of... foofy, hippie food.  Which was delicious, of course.  And they are so nice.  But perhaps just not really *our* people.  Plus, there was an overly-friendly guy there that was making me uber uncomfortable.  If I were his wife, I would have been totally giving him side-mouth whispers and hairy eyeballs.  

We pretended to be Jewish for a night!  We did not become all-consumed by the Sh'ma like this woman sitting in the chair, though.

And it wouldn't have been a true Jewish function if we hadn't been accosted by a friendly older woman who refused to stop talking, even after the sun went down, it got dark, and our toddler started crying.  

We recovered by going to the beach again the following day, where Matt dug a hole deep enough for Bug to stand in to her waist.

I feel like more than Bug, Matt just needs a brother to do dumb things with.

I was smarter this time, and brought a book.  We really need to invest in a solid beach umbrella.  

I'm not sure why it took us so long (OK, so I know why it took us so long, and it starts with "m" and ends with "e" because I wasn't convinced it was worth it) but we FINALLY went to Cabrillo.  

Wow was I dumb for not going before.  It is breathtaking.

If it were a bit closer to our house, I think I would drive there just to sit on the cliffs and stare at the water every afternoon.

This picture might look familiar!  I think this was the ONLY time a stranger I asked to take a photo was actually competent.  

Way up high, transfixed.

This was my original choice for holiday card, but I was out-voted, due to its "overly-posed" look.  

Another one of my favorite photos.  Look at how good we've been at keeping her pale and untanned!

While shopping for birthday cards, Bug staged a protest at Target.  We were seriously in that store two hours longer than necessary.

If not for Bug's, I got my shit together for Matt's birthday and made an amaze-balls cake from scratch.

It really turned out beautiful, and I finally got to use this cake stand we got as a wedding gift.  

Birthday boy with his girl.  29!

I will admit to instructing her to taste it in order to get a picture.  Don't judge.  These things don't just always "happen."

OCTOBER

Some days it feels like 20 years, and other days like just last month, but on October 6, Matt and I marked our FIFTH wedding anniversary.  Crazy.

We celebrated by sending Matt to San Francisco for five days for Fleet Week.  

It was girls day AND girls night, x5.

When he sent me this picture I was all, "OK, I believe you now, and you didn't just run away to Vegas."

We survived, Bug and I, somehow.  It involved a lot of running, shirking of other responsibilities, and frequent trips to Starbucks. 

Yes, I was the one who dressed her in old clothes that no longer fit. 

And then he came home.  Yay!  And in true Dad fashion, came bearing gifts.

If it has a hood and pockets, it's a guaranteed winner.

We started getting hyped up for Mimi's Costume Birthday Extravaganza Halloween, too.  Last year she had this costume, and was terrified of it.  I wasn't sure what was going to happen this year.

Luckily, she loved it.  

I have like 87 photos from these ten minutes on the deck in the costume for the first time.  I know I should delete some, but I cannot bring myself to delete any of them.

I don't remember why she was angry, but I think it was for something meaningless, like being told to stop standing up on the chair.  Made for a priceless side-by-side to the previous year, though, so I went with it.

There was another art festival-type thing in Little Italy, where they had crazy chalk drawings.

I kept picturing her tripping onto one of these, well, masterpieces and smearing them everywhere, so she wasn't allowed to walk anywhere unassisted, much to her dismay. 

We had our first, and perhaps last, modeling experience. 

I was secretly hoping they'd let us keep the dress, but of course they didn't.

Often times we skip class and run just the two of us at Mission Bay. 

I just love this photo, and it was taken with my phone, if you can believe that.

I love this one, too.

One of my old bosses at Target brought her family to San Diego for vacation over MEA break and we met up with them a few times.  She and I were pregnant at the same time, and although our girls hadn't really met before, they, as toddlers usually do, had fun instantly.

Thankful for an outdoor patio and relatively few patrons to bother.

OMG the sunset that night was absurd.

My master grand plan of going to an actual pumpkin patch was derailed by my general laziness and unwillingness to drive long distances.  Plus, the Stroller Strides had a group deal at this "pumpkin patch" in Mission Valley.  Which, I'm loathe to admit, was just some creepy carnival rides and a bunch of pumpkins arranged on straw in a mall parking lot.  YES.

Got some cute pictures, though.

This is the nervous finger in the mouth.

Matt thought it would be "fun" to take Bug on the large inflatable slide.  They made it down once.  The guy tried to give Matt his tickets back because I guess you get like 5 or 6 slides, but he declined.  I didn't want to say I told you so, but... I told you so.

Holding up a line of (understandably) impatient children.

Matt originally labeled this ride as "extremely unsafe" until Bug begged to go on it.  

San Diego is hilly.  Everything around us is steep.  This is the one sort of flat sidewalk a block over.

Mission Valley Target is in-stock with ANYTHING??

Overwhelmed by candy choices.

Bug finally got her first manicure.  I was amazed at how still she sat for the whole thing!

And then the nail polish lasted like DAYS longer than I thought.

We've been trying to bribe Bug to go #2 in the potty with a "big girl" bed.  Despite declaring her love for this one, we haven't made much progress.

I'll take it.

I started being obsessed with Instagram around this time, too.

Just. Can't. Stop.

I also applied back at the bullseye for a seasonal position.  It sucked, but I got the job.  I started working a few nights a week and the weekends.  Hard.  Work.

Bug had her first official picture day!  This was from the morning before we left for school, practicing our smiles.  

Please note the touched-up manicure.  I am a professional.  

They let me be there with her during the photo taking, and were extremely patient with my requests and demands for additional shots.  Not once did I feel judged getting all Toddlers and Tiaras on Bug to "SMILE RIGHT."  I saw a preview on their little laptop, and had her write a note that I preferred that specific image.  They were going to be EPIC.

We went to a Fall Festival at the charter school up the street.  We had some behavior problems but mostly had fun.

I think this would disqualify you from most "bags" tournaments in Wisconsin.

What, we're back at Con Pane? 

I waited at least 24 hours between visits this time.

Seaport Village also had a Halloween event with early afternoon trick-or-treating ahead of the actual night.  It was actually quite fun, and I'd totally bring her again next year. 

Once she got her first piece of candy, she thought we were done.  "Let's go get more!" we told her.  "But I already have some!" she told us.

It turns out she LOVES blue Dum-Dums. 

This photo is cropped and re-straightened within an inch of its life, after another poor stranger choice for taking our picture.  

This was my favorite costume, ever.

That week her school also had a Halloween party.  She refused to bring her Elmo costume with, but happily agreed to put on this ladybug costume after we walked in the door. Of course.

She's been making this face since she was a few months old.

How do I get mad at this?  Oh wait.  

Then the night before Halloween we went to Lotte's house to decorate pumpkins!

Lotte's grandma brought Bug and Lotte matching dolls from Australia.  The girls used to be about even in height but Bug has been pulling ahead lately.

Painting was a great idea!

I also made these super creepy (but OMG delicious) cookies from a recipe I found online.  I've become obsessed with food bloggers. 

Gross, right?

I think Halloween might have been our most photographically successful holiday of the entire year.  Here's Bug with all of her friends at Stroller Strides.  It's like the Land of Nod catalog had a baby with Pottery Barn Kids.

I handed out candy (of course), but some moms handed out bubbles.

Still a popular choice.

We went to visit Dad at his work "Halloween party" afterward.  

Then it was time for the big event!!

We may have pre-partied too much in the previous week, because we had a case of the barfs after the second house, and never quite recovered. 

Puke and rally, Elmo!

NOVEMBER

All Mimi wanted for her birthday was a trip to California.  Wish granted!

Ugh, these two! Get a room!

We ate out for almost every meal.  It was amaaaaazing.  

So spoiled.

I know, I agree, Bug.  It is amazingly beautiful here!

Mimi had to leave. We gave each other manicures to recover.

Seriously, this Instagram thing is getting out of hand.

While Mimi and Beau Beau were here we convinced Beau Beau to buy Bug some new clothes from her favorite store, H&M. Of course we had to model and send back some photos.

Maybe the best one.

There were several like this.

Why does dramatic shit always happen when I'm driving?  That's her new toothbrush, *somehow* stuck behind the window shade.

Don't worry, we were parked when I took the photo.

We graduated to the big swing!  At least for some of the time.

We can always count on Stroller Strides for a good, holiday-themed craft.  Here we are with some Thanksgiving headbands after class!

Then the motor on our hatch broke, with like 300 miles left on our warranty.  Bullet: dodged.  Except while they were replacing the motor, the hinges of the whole hatch broke, delaying repair.  We had a sweet minivan as a rental for a few days.

Best notes on a car repair invoice, ever.

These two are working really hard on being nice to each other.

Basie's eyes say, "Help me, Jesus."

Then we got the best Thanksgiving present, ever!  A visit from Grandma and Aunty Emimmy!

Who's got it made? I do!

I thought Thanksgiving dinner turned out pretty darn tasty, especially since most of it (the turkey) was donated to us from Albertson's and the US Navy.

Except for these.  I made these.  They were unreal. 

"I agree, Mom."

The day after Thanksgiving, I didn't have to work until later in the afternoon, so we drove up to a friend of Grandma's who lives in Murrieta, which is near Temecula (basically an hour and a half north, but East of LA).

One of her neighbors has this amazing petting zoo/hobby farm/hobby ranch.  Bug was excited to be around dogs who didn't growl and snarl at her.

She was particularly fond of this one, which had white eyes.

Not so sure about the horses.

"It's touching me!!"

There was a pretty gorgeous pool, too!  I could have this in my backyard and be perfectly content, obvs. 

These kinds of overpasses can only exist on Mars, and in California.

Now that we were all Cabrillo Monument regulars (HA, not really) we took Grandma and Emily there.

They agreed it was pretty gorgeous, too.

To recover from their departure, we distracted ourselves with the Christmas tree!  This was the first year Bug understood and/or was interested in anything Christmas-related.

This amazing disaster of a Santa photo happened, too.

Self-portrait of our tree setup, Basie included.

Stroller Strides gives us plenty of excuses to be in Balboa Park every day of the week.

DECEMBER

THE SCHOOL PICTURES CAME.  

Epic, as promised.

Running in summer running clothes in December is pretty OK.

Smiling in pictures with Mom is not OK, though.

Living on the edge at Target.

It's Christmastime, so it's time to make cookies!

She was actually very good about helping.  I think I will work on including her more often.  Now we just need one of those fancy stools. 

Taste-testers.

The band had their Christmas holiday party.  We missed last year's by a few days.  It was actually not a bad time.

Well, whenever these two are involved, it's always a good party.

Every December, there is a HUGE event at Balboa Park for two days called "December Nights."  It's a big, big deal.  The news talks about for weeks leading up to it.  You overhear people talking about it everywhere.  

Of course, I wanted to go.  Of course, Matt worked that night.

One of the many perks of living where we live is that fact we can walk everywhere.  Our neighborhood was completely parked up by 4:30 p.m.  So Bug and I loaded up the stroller and headed to the park!  Our goal was to watch the ceremonial tree lighting at the Organ Pavilion that marked the official start of December Nights, and then see how it went after that.  

Waiting for the tree lighting.

Almost!

You can't hear me hissing at her about not going near the water.

It was insanity there.  Thousands upon THOUSANDS of people, in the dark.  Actually a little unnerving.  Imagine going to the busiest day at the MN State Fair, except there's not that much room, and it's pitch black.  I mean it's lit, sort of, with random strings of Christmas lights, but everything looks fuzzy. Hard to maneuver.  Bug actually held up really, really well.  We stumbled across some belly dancers in the International Villages and she was transfixed.  We killed enough time to still be there when Matt got off work so he met us up at the park, we ate some really good Iranian food (the food there... unbelievable.  Ignore all the funnel cake bullshit and head to the International Villages where every single one of the countries represented there (and probably more) cook their native food.)  Bug completely lost her mind on the walk home, but it was totally worth it.  I'm glad we went on the first night, too, because the second night was a bit of a disaster, as too many people tried to go, and there just isn't enough space for everyone.  We saw cars circling our block for parking for hours.

Another thing we showed up a few days late for last year was the Christmas concert!  It was on North Island (Coronado) which meant I had to cross the bridge.  UGH.  I made Matt talk to me on the phone (speakerphone, don't worry) about things like football penalties and what he ate for lunch to distract me while I drove across.

This should come as no surprise.

There weren't a ton of people there, but we still enjoyed seeing Matt play.

Then it was Hanukkah time!

A new doll stroller and "magic" baby bottles.  

Then we heard it snowed something awesome in Minnesota.  We were feeling jealous, so we went to the beach.

I worked the second and third nights of Hanukkah, so Bug had to wait until the fourth night to open her other present from Mimi: A new scooter!

Instant hit.  Also, Instagram.  Always Instagram.

Her helmet from the failed Burley trailer experiment still mostly fits, which is great news, because it was stupidly expensive.

She even shared with Basie, who needs some tips on how to become a YouTube sensation.

Maybe then they could afford the fancy kibbles again.

Matt's holiday Liberty was oddly-timed this year.  But we had no out-of-town plans, so it didn't stress us too much.  We finally made it up to Mount Laguna, which Matt has been wanting to see for a while.

We went for snow, and this is all we found.

This trip confirmed our decision to delay a "real" hiking trip and not waste money on Yosemite right now.  She barely wanted to walk from the car to this tree.

It was beautiful.

The sun is at hard angles for good picture taking, though.

At the last day of school before winter break, there was a school-wide assembly (her preschool is part of a larger elementary school) where they had a Reggae band playing Christmas songs!  She found sitting in the auditorium to be too loud (it was very loud, and I was actually surprised, with all of the special needs kids, that no one really flipped out) and preferred to dance just outside.

Behind her is the "cafeteria" which is outside.  All the hallways are outside.  I don't understand this madness!

We were having company over on Christmas Eve, so we had to get our baking on to make sure we were stocked up. 

We really need that damn stool.

And then it was Christmas!

This is Basie "photo-bombing" (sneaking in to hilariously ruin) our slipper picture.  Bug finally got her own slippers, so she can stop stealing (and tripping) in ours!  

Matt had to work on the 27th marching in the Big Bay Balloon Parade.  We went last year for this, but we had a better time this year (despite being stuck in a cold, shady spot). 

There he is!

This firetruck was SERIOUSLY doing its sirens/horns down the parade route.  It was painfully loud.

Having a great time, making friends with the kids around her.

I do NOT  understand how these bikes work.  How the hell do they get up there?

After Matt was done, he met back up with us and we walked home.  Somehow we ended up at Yogurtland because I have no willpower.

For Christmas I got a fancy all-terrain tripod and a new remote for my camera.  We went to Sunset Cliffs to watch the sunset and try it out.

OK, so I will admit this is much easier than propping up the camera on a box of sidewalk chalk and three Eric Carle books.  

Not the tripod this time, just Matt.

I was setting up the camera for a shot of all three of us and happened to take this picture, which is on my All Time Favorites list now.

What a way to end the year!

P.S. This is irrelevant to everyone but me, but I'd like to notate that Bug has almost outgrown her 4T clothing, as a reminder that I need to only buy two shirts and two pants of whatever size and nothing more, no matter how tempting it may be.