Family Life: Superheroes in our Bed

The bed is feeling a bit crowded these days with the addition of a slew of Parker's favorite superheroes. First we couldn't get him out of our bed, now we have to put up with all his friends too. We are still co-sleeping at 21 months. 

San Diego: Review of the Waterfront Pumpkin Patch

The Waterfront Park downtown has been high on my list of local parks to visit for a while and I'm glad we finally made it down over the weekend for the Pumpkin Patch event. 

The Pumpkin Patch opened at 11:00 AM and I knew it was crucial to arrive early for any event offering FREE stuff so were there by 10:45 AM. The parking spaces directly in front of the park were full but meter parking was plentiful across the street along Harbor Blvd. We parked right in front of the Star of India and strolled over to the park.

We were greeted by a large colorful lawn full of games and activities for little kids including hoola hoops, building blocks, inflatables, giant jenga and giant connect four. Parker's eyes lit up when he saw the water fountains and wading pools. We played with blocks and hoola hoops for a while and then checked out the San Diego Parks and Rec booth which had some taxidermied animals and live snakes on display. There were also a couple of food trucks on hand but we didn't have the chance to try any of the food.

Parker's Outfit

BOO(yah) baseball tee from & Apparel

Skinny jeans in light wash indigo from Gap

My Spooky baby shoes from My Darling Boutique

**My Darling Boutique is currently offering 20% off all their baby shoes. These shoes well constructed, comfortable and perfect for play dates at places that require you to take your shoes off aka Chuck E Cheese and inflatable parks.

Many of the kids we saw were about 5 and under. Parker had a blast meeting some new friends while playing with these mega lego blocks from Lakeshore. We need a set at home!

People started lining up 5 minutes before 11am for the pumpkin patch. The line grew quickly and by the time we had picked our pumpkin and left the patch, there were at least 100 people in line.

They may not be on the vine but these pumpkins were just as fun to walk through. Most of the pumpkins were your standard jack-o-lanterns but there were also a few Cinderella pumpkins and mini pumpkins available for picking as well. Parker loved picking up the smaller pumpkins and carrying them around. He tried to pick up some of the larger ones too but quickly learned they were too heavy. After picking out a pumpkin, kids had their hand stamped as a way of tracking who had already received a pumpkin. There was a craft station where kids could decorate their pumpkins with foam stickers and markers. We ended up with a big, fat, perfectly round pumpkin that will be used our annual family pumpkin carving contest this weekend. Thank goodness we brought the stroller along! It would not have been fun to carry that thing around. 

A handful of exhibitors were in attendance including San Diego Parks and Recreation, Pinkberry and First 5. Many of them handed out information and freebies like reusable bags and frisbees.

Gorgeous day for a game of frisbee on the lawn.

Thanks for putting on a great event! We will be back next year.

Like what you read? Please subscribe to my blog to make sure you don't miss out on any new posts!

Sitting in the Front Seat

For a while after Parker was born, I always sat in the backseat whenever we got into the car. Why? Because we were paranoid newbie parents who were worried about every cry and baby being lonely in the backseat by himself. For a full year Tuan was our taxi driver while I entertained Parker in the backseat. About three months ago I started sitting in the front passenger seat again and was crushed that Parker didn't even seem to notice! Don't you miss me back there, Kid?? He was too busy doing his baby stuff, another sign of his growing independence. I'm really glad I moved back to the front seat. It makes it a lot easier to hold hands with my husband, sneak in some kisses and have adult conversations. Take, for example, this gem from our drive home from Madden's 3rd birthday on Sunday.

Our friends had hired a Spiderman character to entertain the kids at the party.

T: That Spiderman guy was pretty cool. We should get something like that for Parker's next birthday. I would totally do that if I was taller.
Me: Yes that was pretty cool and he kept the kids entertained.
T: But we would get Batman instead of Spiderman because Batman is a lot cooler. And we can have him sing Happy Birthday in the Batman voice.
Me: Haha that's a great idea.
T: **Sings Happy Birthday to me in the Christian Bale Batman voice complete with dramatic pauses.**
Me: Speechless. I can't believe that just happened.

Oh right. This was suppose to be an example of adult conversation. Well Batman is a pretty serious topic in our house so this totally counts.

[Holy Batman this photo makes me want to rewatch the movie. Hubba hubba. 

Image spotted on Pinterest.]

Father's Day Recap + Lego Family Portrait DIY

Over the past few months I have been secretly compiling a list of items that Tuan has expressed wanting but hasn't purchased for himself because I did not want Father's Day to come around and be stuck with not knowing what to buy. Tuan is what you call particular and he knows what he likes and what he doesn't like. I'm patting myself on the back for planning ahead and putting together a gift that he was excited to receive. Woo hoo! Most of the items were ordered online but I did manage to pull together one DIY project inspired by this awesome tutorial on Apartment Therapy. Seriously? So awesome and perfect for my Lego loving husband.

Want to see more of our Father's Day shenanigans? Follow me on Instagram @sdmama33

Father's Day Gifts 2014 by marychu on Polyvore

coar active trackie

Lego Family Portrait DIY

Materials needed

-Shadow box or deep frame (I purchased this on clearance at Michaels)

-Lego minifigs that resemble each family member. I was able to find all my pieces at the Lego store but you can also buy them online. The only hiccup I ran into was that the store didn't carry any dark hair pieces so I had to buy the right hairstyles and paint them using Testors acrylic paint. The minifig forums clearly say to use acrylic paints and not enamel paints. You learn something new everyday.

-Heavy cardstock

-Printer

-Foam mounting squares

Instructions

-Put your minifigs together. You'll notice that Tuan's figurine is holding a camera. There are a bunch of accessories you can order online to personalize your minifigs. I'm lucky I was able to find a womans shirt for my body. I was thisclose to being dressed like a Renaissance lady or scuba diver.

-Print your family name onto the cardstock. I picked a tall font with clean lines to match the frame.

-Mount the minifigs onto the cardstock and frame.

So easy right? This is a great present to make for Lego-lovers. If you love Legos as much as we do, check out this article from Brick Dave on the Top 10 Ways That Legos Are Educational for Your Child.

[Poor Parker really wanted to play with the Legos but he couldn't get to them]

[Grubby little baby hands]