Fire engine birthday party

Kyden had a fire engine birthday party today. He's turning 4. At first, we thought it was just going to be a fire engine themed party. But a real fire engine showed up outside his house! And it wasn't because there was a fire.

We got to climb into the fire truck and check out all the gear, levers, knobs and of course, the steering wheel. Kyden also got fire hats to all of his guests. It was fun for about 5 minutes and then I was over it.  I went back into Kyden's backyard to play. 

How did Kyden get the firemen to show up at his house? Was this just part of the service they provided in Kyden's new city, San Ramon? I've heard that lots of people move there because it's a good place to raise a family. But having your local fire fighters come to kid birthday parties seemed really amazing. Turns out auntie Christi won a raffle fundraiser for a school. Wow! That's a really cool prize!

After the fire truck left, we ate lunch and played with Kyden's trains, Sienna's jumpy house and played golf on their putting green. When it was time for cake, all us kids flocked to the table and waited eagerly for auntie Christi to finish setting up the mini bundt cakes so we could sing Happy Birthday.

When the cake was done, it was time for the pinata. Unlike Abby's princess castle pinata, Kyden had a fire truck pinata. We used a plastic bat to whack the pinata, and it took a  LONG time to break. Auntie Christi even stabbed a bunch of holes all over the pinata so we'd have a fighting chance with a plastic bat.

This was also the first time we've been to Kyden's new house. It's far! I kept asking mama if we were there yet on the drive to his party. Each time, she patiently replied, "Not yet." After that drive, I understand why Kyden stopped going to gym in Santa Clara.

Even though the drive was long, I'm really glad we got to celebrate Kyden's birthday with him. I hope we get to go play at his house more often. Mommy says it's definitely doable, just needs some planning.

Happy Birthday Kyden! Thanks for inviting us to your party. We had a great time!

Fetish

Mirriam-Webster defines fetish as:
noun \ 'fe-tishˈfē-\
 
1. a strong and unusual need or desire for something
2. what mason has for hats, specifcially dada's Cal baseball hat

No one knows why he has such a strong attachment to dada's Cal baseball hat. He wants the hat pretty much all the time. He likes to wear it, even though it's too big for him.  Mama and dada think his hat fetish is cute. What do you think?

Oakland zoo

Caylie invited us to the Oakland Zoo today. We had a great time checking out all the animals. The highlights included:

• Watching the river otters frolic in their habitat. Mason liked it so much that he didn't want to leave that area.
• Petting the goats at the goat and sheep barn. Mason saw a goat climb up some "stairs" on the wall inside the barn. Caylie and Mason needed some reminders to be gentle.
• Seeing a baby baboon who was only 6 weeks old.
• Observing a giraffe drink water. If you haven't seen it before, it's funny. They do the splits so they can get their head low enough to the water. How many of you would fall into the water if you had to drink that way?
• Riding the train to the Wild Australia exhibit. We got an up-close view of emus and wallaroos as well as a great view of the bay.
• Checking out the sun bears. They were just hangin' out on the sun. One of them had an empty Costco size peanut butter jar. I wonder if he ate all the peanut butter that was in there.

The lowlight of the trip was when I fell and tumbled down the hill because I was running when everyone told me not to run. I was okay though. No broken bones or scraped knees. Just was just shocked and little frightened. 

Thanks for inviting us to the zoo, Caylie. Can't wait to hang out with you again!

Apple pickin' and puddle jumpin'

Edison invited a bunch of us to go apple picking at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville. He's so lucky! His mom knows all about these fun activities. 

We met up with Edison, Greyson, Abby and Chloe at the orchard. There were four varieties of apples available to pick: red delicious, golden delicious, gala and pippin. We learned to pick the big apples from the branches and not pick up the ones that were on the ground. So, we started hunting for big apples on branches that we could reach.

The girls weren't really into apple picking. Chloe didn't want to get her shoes dirty. Abby's not into manual labor, even though her dad grew up on a farm. Us boys liked it enough, but we got bored quickly. We enjoyed chasing each other through the orchard and watching the tractors drive around a whole lot more.

After paying for the apples we picked, we headed over to the picnic area. In addition to picnic tables, there was an old tractor that we got climb on, a tunnel made out of hay bales and lots of ride on toys.

Thanks for inviting us apple picking Edison! We had a great time!

As we drove home, we encountered rain. Apparently it was raining back home all day. When we got home, mama and dada got our rain boots and rain coats so Mason and I could jump in the puddles. The rain boots and rain coats didn't help keep us very dry. Our pants were soaked and our boots were filled with water. It didn't help that Mason fell down in a puddle either.

A busy saturday

After our usual Saturday routine (mama takes me to the library; dada takes mason swimming), we went to my friend Abby's house. I sometimes get her dad confused with Chloe's dad.

Like last year, Abby's party was in her cool backyard. We played with giant bubbles (Mason and I had more fun splashing the bubble juice), dug in the sandbox, slid on the slides and swung on the swings.

The kids were scattered all over the backyard and inside the house too. But as soon as the cake was brought out, we all came running over. It's like some magical magnet that calls to us.

After the cake, there was a pinata. But instead of whacking it with a stick, we just pulled on the ribbons until all the stuff fell out. I picked out a lot of loot...smarties, chocolate and toys. Mama made me stop picking up more stuff from the ground because I had too much. Duh...the early bird gets the worm, mama. I prefer hitting the pinata with a stick rather than the kinder, gentler approach of pulling the ribbons. But I guess it really doesn't matter as long as we get the loot.

Happy Birthday Abby! Thanks for inviting me to your party.

After Abby's party, we went home to take a nap. I wouldn't go back to sleep when we got home. So mama took me to go meet up with Sierra (Sofia was sleeping in the car) at a nearby park. They were visiting for the weekend. It was so great to be able to meet up with them, even if it's only for a short time.

After the park, we went home to wake dada and Mason up so we could go to auntie Lanny's house. It was supposed to be a pool party for dada's volleyball team, but it was too chilly for the pool. Good thing auntie Lanny has four kids and lots of fun places to play. My favorite was the play structure that had swings, a climbing wall and a slide. I also liked digging in the dirt and rocks with Kyden. When mama asked what we were doing, we told her that we were making fruit salad.

We had such an action-packed day that Mason and I passed out on the way home.

Make your own pizza

I normally go swimming on Tuesday evenings. Today when dada and I got to the pool, we found out the pool was closed because someone had an accident in the water. No class today.

Dada and I decided to go to Pizza My Heart. They have Make-Your-Own-Pizza Tuesdays. So, I got to make my own pizza for dinner! They bring out rolled out pizza dough on a tray. They give you a squeeze bottle of pizza sauce, cheese and any topping you want in a small plastic cup. I made an olive pizza, and it was yummy! I ate 2/3 of my personal pizza. 

Labor Day bust

We had big plans for labor day weekend: 2 birthday parties and the Oakland Zoo with Caylie. Well, our plans were pretty much a bust because Mason got sick. We only managed to make it to one birthday party on Saturday.

Saturday night, Mason was very restless and fussy. When mama went to check on him in the middle of the night, he felt warm So she took his temperature...it was over 103! Mama broke out the infant ibuprofen and rocked Mason.

We decided to bail on Nate's first birthday party on Sunday. After Mason's nap, his fever was even higher - over 104! Since it didn't seem like the ibuprofen was working, she took him to the doctor. He said it was presenting like roseola, which is a sudden high fever for 3-4 days, followed by a rash that covers your entire body. It's pretty common in young kids between the ages of 6 months and 2 years. It's also contagious.

So to make sure that I didn't catch it, mama and dada decided to divide us up on Monday. Mama took me to Happy Hallow Zoo so I could hang out with Caylie and her friends. I rode the roller coaster and the frog hopper with Uncle Eddie, played at the playground and watched a puppet show. At the playground, one of Caylie's friend, Mia (she's 5), kept trying to play with me. But I just wanted to do my own thing.

When we got home, dada said Mason was really fussy all day and didn't eat very much. When he cried, he'd sound like a seal barking. So, mama took him back to the doctor. He ordered an x-ray of his upper respiratory area, basically his neck. Mama said that was really fun - not. Turns out Mason doesn't have roseola. He has croup, which is an inflammation of the upper airways. The doctor prescribed some steroid and warned mama that it was a stimulant. Great...just what Mason needs.