Claire & Chloe's Daddy Has a Birthday!

The highlight of this past week was Mike's birthday. It was a "big" one but since he seems to be a bit sensitive about it, I'll skip telling his age. :) Mike, Paula, and the girls, had a birthday dinner on his actual day, September 21st. I'm told Paula dressed the girls in their tu-tu's and gave them sparkly hair. What fun, I wish I had pictures! Later in the week the whole family celebrated Mike's birthday, as well as Uncle Eric's birthday ( September 19th), with a lunch out. We had a great time and some pictures of that occasion will be included.

Early in the week, however, we had some other activities to record. This little film shows the playful little souls at the park once again.





Claire spent much of this visit gathering sticks. Here she tries to put one down a hole in the steps. She also would take them down the slide with her, making Grandma nervous.



Chloe playing and chattering about some important thing.



One day we did some coloring.



Chloe, somehow, gained a brown mustache during her art session.

Claire, standing by the protective gate at the stairs.

On Saturday, we went to lunch at a Japanese Restaurant called Ojiya's in Chico. Mike and Uncle Jon ate sushi, but the rest of the family ate from the Hibachi grill. It was quite delicious and Claire and Chloe sat through the entire process which had to be about an hour and one-half, and they were amazingly patient, and very, very good! They enjoyed the antics of the chef, as well as eating the rice, and a few other tasty bites. I got a little of the chef on film, but not the real creative stuff, like forming the rice into a heart and making it "beat" or flipping the tools. Here we see Mike with his girls.

Here is Uncle Eric, seated next to Aunt Suzie. Happy Birthday Uncle Eric!

Claire is about to give Daddy a birthday kiss.

Chloe after some birthday ice cream/cake from Baskin Robbins. Yum!

Chloe was really tired and fighting nap time. Here she was just staring off in to space. Papa and I hadn't ever seen her fold her hands that way before....a great photo op.


A memorable week for us. Now on to the final week in September, 2009. My, how this month has flown by!

Claire & Chloe Go to the Dentist and the Park

This week brought a new experience for Grandma. Claire and Chloe had their second dental appointment and Grandma was invited along to help. It was a great experience, they are patients at a children's dental office so everything is geared to kids. Below you will see them engaged with some of the many toys that are around the office.

Here is Claire being treated by the dental technician. She was pretty content at this point, and is holding a hand mirror so that she can see what is going on.
Below Claire is finished with her exam and enjoying her surroundings.

At home again, and posing for Grandma in the rocking chair.

The next day, we found time to go to a little park not too far from their home. The slides are geared to their size and age, and they enjoyed it very, very much. Up the stairs, and down the slides many, many times.

They met a nice little boy and his little sister. Alex insisted on sharing his soda crackers with the girls. Notice they are sitting on a little cement curb. The curb encircles the play area and our "rule" was that they must stay within the curb. They did amazingly well with only a few reminders.


In one of the little films below, you can repeatedly hear Claire saying, "ok, ok". She was encouraging herself I believe.

If you can see in the pictures, Claire has blue shoes on. This was my first experience at her interest in what she was going to wear. In getting dressed to go, Chloe had picked up the blue pair of shoes and Claire became quite anxious that those were the ones she wanted to wear. She repeatedly said, "Claire, blue shoes". Chloe didn't seem to be the least bit concerned and gladly put on the gray pair.

The next day, Papa met us at the park. Here he is showing Claire and Chloe some acorns. The picture after, shows Chloe bringing her acorn treasures to show Papa. She insisted that she needed them in her pockets. Lucky for her she had pockets that day.

My favorite part of the second day's park trip was as we walked , Claire kept saying, "Gammaw, I love you!" It is fun to listen to their chatter when they are in the stroller. They are often calling out "Gammaw" just to make sure I am still there, I assume. Precious moments.

Good Times with Claire and Chloe and A Trip to the Coast

A few weeks ago, Aunt Suzie snapped this picture with her IPhone while the girls were getting away with standing and climbing in the recliner....one of those things that their Mommy and Daddy discourages. It was just for a moment, and it was an very cute shot!

This week brought some "firsts", at least while Grandma was around. Chloe insisted she needed to "go". Privacy please, Grandma! If this blog is around when she is 13, she won't appreciate these pictures, but for now we can do it.

Below, if you look carefully you can see Chloe's pigtails. They are getting longer and longer and she is leaving them in, longer and longer. I think she is dancing with Mickey Mouse and the gang doing the 'Hot Dog dance".

In the shot below, Claire is telling me all about the Iguana's missing eye. Poor little Iguana, it was a very serious problem. Thankfully, Claire found it on the floor and gave it to Grandma before someone swallowed it.

In the shot below, you can almost see Claire's pigtail. It is one little curl about 1/4 inch long. When she woke up that morning, she noticed Chloe's pigtails. She would touch Chloe's hair and then touch her hair. I finally asked her if she wanted a pigtail too, and of course she did. In the pictures, she is busy with their new puzzles.

Near the end of the week, Papa and Grandma took a quick trip to Ft. Bragg, one of our favorite places to go. The weather was cool and somewhat foggy but the sun was also out a good share of the time. We stayed overlooking the Noyo Harbor, where we have stayed previously. We enjoy watching the activity in the harbor as the boats come and go. As we ate breakfast at our motel Friday morning, in walked our dear friend Jeannie's parents who live in Oroville. They were at the same motel. Such a small world. I wish I had taken their picture.


This picture is of the bridge over the Noyo Harbor looking from the balcony of our room.

We visited the Pygmy Forest south of Ft. Bragg. In all the years we have been going to the North Coast, we had never gone before. It is one of those "one time experiences". Interesting, but not that stimulating. It was good to get away but good to come home as well.

Everyday, a New Experience

Everyday the girls experience something new and interesting. Sometimes as simple as taking Papa's keys and trying to make them work in the front door. Claire worked at that task for quite a while.

Mashed potatoes fly through the air quite easily. Somehow those potatoes slipped off Claire's spoon on to her sister's forehead. No harm done, and no one seemed to mind.

Chloe continues to attempt to dress herself. Here she managed to get her "skort" on. Both legs were in their proper holes but she just couldn't quite get it pulled up. It won't be long, however.

Below Claire is putting her head in the basket. It entertained her for quite some time so it must have been fun.

Sisters playing nicely together taking turns putting the shapes through the correct holes into the container.

Papa reading nursery rhymes to the girls.

The following two films are of Papa reading. In the first film Claire had a flash back to the morning walk when she had seen a "helicopter in the sky". We arrived at the corner by the hospital at the perfect moment to see the helicopter take off. That was the talk for the rest of the day, even during the story time. Claire is filling in the pauses when Papa reads, although you can't hear it as clearly on the film as when you are in the room. In the second little film the emphasis is on the spider, which, as usual the girls tell to "go away".