California Academy of Sciences

Edison invited me and Mason for a play date at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. The last time mama and dada were there was with Tyler's family, but they can't remember if I was born or not. I can't believe that they did fun stuff before Mason and I came along! I'm not surprised that they can't remember if I was born or not. They're pretty forgetful. (It's because they're old, but don't tell them I said that.)

We had a great time squashing bugs (don't worry, they weren't real bugs. they were images of bugs projected on the ground), watching the sting rays and sharks swim outside the planetarium, running up the ramp in the rainforest and looking at the marine life in the aquarium.  That was all before lunch too!

The aquarium is neat. It has jelly fish (that's what we're looking at in the picture, a touch pool with sea stars, a tunnel that lets you walk under the fish, and a giant coral reef with colorful fish and coral. I saw Dory and Nemo! While it's smaller than of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it has a white alligator! 

After a picnic lunch in the garden area, we ran around on the grass. I found a gopher hole, but the gopher was hiding. Edison claimed a tree for himself and didn't want to share it. He kept telling another little boy that it was his tree and he should go play with my tree.

As we were walking to visit the penguins, we discovered the Early Explorers Cove, a special activity area for children 0-5 years. It was awesome! We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in there. Science sure is a lot of fun!

Thanks for inviting us, Edison! We had a great time!

Mason's first trip to the beach

We had a playdate at the beach today with Grey, Ehren and Emily.  It's been a long time since we've been to the beach. The last time I was there, I wasn't even 6 months old. Mason's never been to beach before.

It was windy and a bit chilly when we arrived in the morning. Good thing daddy brought long pants and sweat shirts for us. Auntie Char, Auntie Sammie and Uncle Eric (Ehren and Emily's parents) had already staked out a place close to the water. We (Daddy) lugged all our things from the car while I pulled a little wagon filled with sand toys.

It took me a while to warm up to being there. When we walked down the sandy hill, I whined that the sand was too cold. When we settled into our "camp," I whined that I wanted to go back to the car. I also whined that I didn't want the water to get me. You can't really fault me for that one. Unlike Hawaii, the water at this beach is C-O-L-D. 

Mason wasn't very sure about the sand. When mama tried to put him down on our blanket, he'd just keep lifting his feet higher and higher.  He even stood/sat on mama for the first 30 minutes while she fed him a snack.

Eventually, both of us warmed up to the beach. I liked making sand stew in the bucket. I offered some to mama, but she wasn't hungry. Mason stood, walked and ran around on the beach. He enjoyed playing with the water in the bucket and watching the colorful kites.

After lunch, I helped mama and auntie Sammie make a sand dinosaur. It has spikes on its spine and tail. After they were all done, we got to smash it! That was super fun. Mama captured the carnage on video.



The sand dino didn't stand a chance against all us kids.

When we were hiking back up to the car, I told mama that the beach was fun and I had a good time. Then I bet dada that I wouldn't fall asleep on the way home. I passed out before we even made it onto the freeway and slept until almost 5pm.

Thanks for inviting me to play at the beach, Grey! Can't wait to go another time.

Mama ditched us

She left on Monday for a conference in Las Vegas. I wanted to go with her, like the last time she went to Orlando. But she said that I wouldn't have fun in Las Vegas. So, us boys stayed home.

We all know that dada has no problems taking care of me and Mason on his own. Afterall, he managed to take care of both of us at Disney World all by himself.  Well, he's managed to out-do himself again!

This time he took care of a sick Mason (ear infection), me and Tachi.  He even gave a presentation to his VP and a bunch of directors and managers while carrying Mason! This wasn't a WebEx or online meeting either. It was an in person meeting. I didn't miss swimming or Little Gym either. Dada is a A-MAZING. Mama is one really lucky woman.

On the first night that mama was away, she Facetimed us. I was in the bathtub. When dada walked in and showed me who was on his iPad, I made a face and said, "I thought we were going to talk to grandma and grandpa."

Dada: "Don't you want to talk to mommy?"
Me: "No. I want to talk to grandma and grandpa."
Dada: "You won't be able to talk to mommy until tomorrow or another day."
Me: "Yea, that's a good idea. Maybe we can talk to mama another day."

See, we didn't miss mama at all while she was having a great time in Las Vegas with her co-workers.

Well-visits times two

A couple weeks ago, Mason and I had well-visits at Dr. F's. I had a 3 year well-visit, and Mason had his 15 month well-visit.  Even though we have the same doctor, we've never been at the same time. So, this was an unusual opportunity.

Since Mason got there first, he got weighed and measured first.

• Weight: 21 lbs, 9.5 oz (34th percentile)
• Height: 32 in (79th percentile)
• Head circumference: 47.5 cm (68th percentile)

He's still rockin' the long and lean look. Now, you might be wondering why we didn't arrive together. Well, Mason had a fever and couldn't go to school. That also meant he got to delay getting his immunization shots until he was all better. Smart kid.

Now that I'm three, I don't use the baby scale anymore.  I stood on the scale to get weighed, and I stood against the wall to get measured.  I also don't have my head circumference measured anymore. Here're my stats:

• Weight: 34.8 lbs (80th percentile)
• Height: 37.5 in (44th percentile)
• BMI: 17.4 (86th percentile)

When mama saw the numbers, she started to worry that I was going be an oompa loompa. What's an oompa loompa? Dr. F also said that I don't need any immunization shots. Hooray!

While Dr. F was examining Mason, I was just chillin' out on the exam table. When it was my turn, I listened and cooperated with her.  Mason, on the other hand, was a squirmy little bug. He would barely sit still when she was examining him. And when he was all done, he roamed all over the exam room. Banging on the side of the exam table, opening drawers, opening the trash can and trying to grab the computer mouse. Dr. F marveled at how different Mason and I are. Mason is in constant motion, a ball of energy, and I'm a chill, laid-back kid. Mama and dada could not agree more!

Mini-golf

Greyson invited me on a playdate of lunch and mini-golf.  I've never been mini-golfing before, but Greyson's a regular.  He seems to like sports that involve swinging stick-like things at objects.  Hockey: swing a hockey stick at a puck. (His parents converted their dining room into a mini rink, complete with a net!) Golf: swing a club at a ball with dimples.  I wonder if he'll take up baseball next.

Apparently, I have an unconventional golf swing. Mama tried to teach me the proper way to hold my putter. I'd do it that way whenever she helped me. When she didn't help me, I'd go back to my unconventional grip.  Whatever, it works. Check it out for your self.



Turns out the mini-fold course is really close to mommy's old townhouse. She told me that she used to be able to see it from one of the bedrooms. Even though she lived so close, she never played mini-golf there. What's wrong with her?! If we still lived that close, I'd want to go mini-golfing every day!  Who wants to go?