Today was David’s first day of preschool for the 2013-14 school year.  Last year, David and I started going to Little Hands preschool in Belmont.  We liked it so much, we decided to continue this year.  David seemed to have a great time.  Here are some photos from today.

Here are a couple of other random photos from our recent adventures.

Making “hot chocolate”:                                                    

“Playing” blocks (with a hot chocolate mustache):                                                                 

Throwing rocks in the water:                                            

Watching Bear (a friend’s dog) walk through the water:

Last year, David and I participated in a parent co-op preschool in Belmont called Little Hands.  The most amazing thing about the year at Little Hands was watching David transition from having very little awareness that other kids were around to becoming really good friends with them.  Even after a whole summer of not seeing a few of his classmates, he began playing with them immediately.  Here are a few pictures of David with his friends and classmates – Cam, Ciaran, and Sienna.

This summer, David and I did Tiny Treks, a program that takes toddlers outside on short hikes.  We were thrilled that our good friends, Jean and Ciaran, were able to join us.  We picked berries and corn, splashed in streams, threw rocks in lakes, and saw lots of animals (including deer, donkeys, and chickens.)  David had a great time, and is still talking about hiking with Ciaran.

David turned 2 on August 5th, and we’ve had a great time celebrating!  In addition to the party that my mom had for him in Georgia in July, we went to Raging Waters on his actual birthday and had a party the weekend after.

Birthday pancakes (he insisted on putting the entire box of candles on the pancakes):

Raging Waters (we celebrated David’s birthday along with the birthdays of some dear friends, Patrick and Emily):

David’s party at Laureola Park:

Some quality reading time with Nanna Lynne and Paw Paw: 

While we had some family in town, we took them up to SF.  David went on his first cable car ride and had his first Ghirardelli ice cream.  However, he fell asleep while we were walking across the Golden Gate.

We just got back from visiting family in Georgia, and boy did we have a great time!  We got to see lots of family including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and some dear family friends.  David had a phenomenal time.  Every night as he was falling asleep, he’d babble to himself about all of the fun things that happened that day such as “Neigh, neigh, yea!” and “Happy Birthday, candles, yea!”  David loved all of the attention from the adults, but especially liked playing with his three cousins who were really great with him.  We really appreciate all of the kind things that our family and friends did to make this trip so much fun!  I’ve posted more photos at our gallery page, but I’ve included some highlights below.

Landing in Georgia (note the strawberries in his hair):

Driving the tractor:

Riding in the wagon with Bethany:

Hiking Mount Yonah (and cooking a hotdog on the campfire):

Meeting Grauntie Em, Gruncle Joe, and Little Joe:

Splashing in puddles:

Taking apart computers (for fun):

Eating freshly picked cucumbers on the tractor:

Riding in the wagon:

Reading with Bethany:

Playing at the river:

Hanging out with Paw Paw and Gigi:

Playing with Grammy:

Playing with Grandpa Don:

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party:

Playing in the pool:

And of course, playing with cousins:

Happy 4th of July!  Since it’s still unbearably hot, we escaped to the beach in the morning.  (Sorry no pictures from that.)  In the afternoon, we headed to the festivities in Redwood City where David decided to swim in the fountain to cool off.  I have to say that I can’t blame him.

To escape the heat, we headed to the beach this weekend.  We all had a great time!

Chris took a few days off of work to play with David.  We’ve had a busy week, but we had a lot of fun, too.  We really enjoyed having Chris around!  We went to the end of the year picnic for David’s preschool, played t-ball, went to David’s “recital” at the Little Gym, went to Happy Hollow, joined friends for burritos and Hot Harvest Nights, went to the beach, had friends over for brunch, and met friends over at Kennedy Park.  While I’m sure Chris enjoyed his time off of work, I have a feeling there might be part of him that is looking forward to going back.

End of the year picnic at Little Hands

T-ball

End of the year “recital” at Little Gym

Happy Hollow

Yesterday, David and I went to the Hiller Aviation Museum, which is right here in San Carlos.  David loved seeing all of the planes and especially enjoyed watching the planes that were taking off and landing at the San Carlos Airport next door.  He very quickly learned the term “plane take off” and kept talking about it for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, David tried his first soccer class.  He had a ton of fun … although he especially liked that Chris came, too.  To make the day even more exciting, David and I rode the Caltrain home from Millbrae.