Happy Halloween...

...from Peter Pan and Tinkerbellmore pictures to come later :)

Sitting Up!

Lydi is getting really good at sitting up! She can hold it for a few minutes now.

She's still a little wobbly so Robbie's protecting her.

Good job, Girl!

Green Beans

Lydi has been eating rice and oatmeal for the last few weeks. This week we introduced green beans. While she will eat the cereals pretty good, she really gets excited when green beans are on the menu! She opens up wide and leans forward for the next bite. When she sees my hand bringing the spoon to her mouth, she reaches out with her hand to guide it in!

Drawing

Lately, Robbie has been interested in drawing. He got this book about drawing insects and spends a lot of time figuring out how to draw each part. He can get frustrated because he's such a perfectionist, but overall he loves creating these little creatures.

an antI think he's pretty good!

Basketball

We started basketball class at the beginning of the month. In December, there is a league that Robbie can join, but we wanted him to learn a few basics and see if he liked it first. He LOVES it! It's a small class of 4 students which means he gets a lot of attention.

For warm-up, the coach has them run the court. The coach thought the kids wouldn't like this too much, but not Robbie--he's always up for a race ;-)

dribbling
The second week the coach introduced guarding techniques.
shooting The kids are to short to make the basket, but coach says he's got good form!

Irvine Regional Park

For play group this week, we decided to go to Irvine Regional Park. The park is all decked out for Halloween with a pumpkin patch, hay maze, a haunted house, and hay rides. It felt a little weird celebrating these fall activities when it was 104* outside! The kids loved it though!

riding the train with Brody and Daphne
hangin out by the pumpkins

the hay maze

They had tons of these sign through out the park.
frankenstein
going for a ride
trick or treat

the three little piggies

Look at how tall he's getting!
the princess
The hay ride pulled by a tractor

Open Mosque Day

In Church yesterday, they announced that the local mosque was inviting members of our faith along with others in the community to come learn more about what Muslims believe and what a mosque is all about. Brian and I thought it would be interesting and after church headed over there to tour the mosque. We were happy to see 3 other families from our ward join us. The director told us that others from our stake had an appointment to come later that afternoon. The people there were very friendly and welcoming. They showed us a slideshow of their basic beliefs, invited us to view one of their 5 daily prayers, and then took us on a tour of their new facility (picture above).
Some things I knew, but a lot I didn't.

Some things I learned:

• Muslims believe in the Old and New Testament.
  
• They believe in the Virgin Mary and that Jesus was a prophet along with Noah, Abraham, Moses and the last being Muhammad.
  
• The mosque is a community center for all to enjoy. They have a prayer room, game rooms, basketball courts, libraries, kitchen, a large hall for weddings and other parties, classrooms and even a mortuary to ensure their customs when burying their dead.

It was a great event and I'm glad we went!

Hangin' Out

Balboa Island

We also went to Balboa Island while we were by the beach on Monday.

Crossing to the island on the ferry...it was tiny (barely held 3 cars) but we made it!
Gawbie took Robbie on the ferris wheel. Every time they would come around, Robbie was shouting at me, "Mom, you gotta try this!" with the biggest grin on his face.
out on Balboa Pier
We couldn't have asked for better weather. What a fun day!

Corona Del Mar

On Monday, we decided to go to Corona Del Mar beach and Balboa Island. They had a sandcastle competition on Sunday at the beach and we thought we would still be able to see them, but they had bulldozed them all down. Oh well...It was a gorgeous day at the beach anyway!

Robbie and "Flat Alyssa"
(His cousin asked us to be apart of her Flat Stanley school project. We will be showing her around for the next 3 weeks.)
splashing in the waves

I put Lydi's toes in the water. As soon as they touched, she let out the loudest most horrified scream I've ever heard from her. It shocked both Gawbie and me. I think it scared her!
Watching the ships come out of the marina.