DeLanceys go to the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

We met up with our friends, the Goldsmiths at the San Jose Discovery Museum for some good afternoon play in Early November.  We started out with face painting quickly followed by some excellent photo-ops in the Framed: Step into Art Exhibit, where all the kids enjoyed "riding" the giant chicken.  There isn't a picture of Logan on it, but I'm pretty sure he got on at some point too!

My personal favorite picture was the "Daddy Lisa", which Logan laughed so hard at!

Logan was also a big fan of the Firetruck.

Maddie and RJ spent a lot of time in the Wonder Cabinet too, which is designed for kids 4 and under.  They both loved the dramatic play with the animal costumes.  It was a great afternoon for us all!

More pictures (there aren't a lot - we were having too much fun): here.

RJ & Logan Go Bananas!

RJ and Logan's co-op goes on a mini-fieldtrip about once a month.  In November, we all went to Go Bananas!, which is essentially a warehouse filled with bounce houses and some other toys and games.  RJ and Ashlan kept up some dramatic play while hanging out in the bounce houses, while Logan fell in love with the slides and generally flopping all over the place!

Most of the pictures are blurry because of how much the kids were moving, but here they are.

DeLancey Family Christmas Wish Lists

It's that time of year again.  RJ updated his modern day version of a "letter to Santa" (I do plan on him writing a pencil and paper version too though!) and we updated all the other wishlists.  I'm posting them here because it's easiest to reach everyone that wants them and easy enough for everyone else to ignore.

A few key points about the Amazon wishlists:

• You don't have to buy from Amazon, some items aren't even sold by Amazon anyway
• You can sort the items by priority or price, the default is "date added" which is not very helpful
• Some items have comments 
• The wishlist can be filtered by what has not been purchased -- and there is a handy button to press even if you purchased something elsewhere so people don't duplicate, but still have the freedom to shop anywhere
• There is an option to make the list more condensed and printer friendly if you must (although we don't condone printing and wasting paper!)

RJ
Wishlist: http://amzn.com/w/1HA46NJ39W993

Size: We're looking at size 5T or 5/6 now (He's wearing 4T, but the arms and legs will be short soon). He's tall and thin, so he needs the bigger size for length, but his waist is tiny, so pants with the adjusters are preferable.

Shoe Size: 12/ 12.5 (yes, he has giant feet for a 4 year old - he was just sized at Stride Rite)

Logan
Wishlist: http://amzn.com/w/3T2HFFI2HFB73

Size: 2T

Shoe Size: 7

Joint gifts for RJ & Logan: http://amzn.com/w/1LIMH6ZEI9BH9
This list was created because there are a lot of things that would be great gifts for either boy, or for them to share.  Most books found their way onto this list, since story time is largely shared, as are some things like blocks and toy kitchen items where individual ownership is not heeded.

Lance: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3CFFNUMNNG7RT/ref=cm_wl_sb_v?reveal=unpurchased&filter=all&sort=priority&layout=standard&x=8&y=4

Cheryl: http://amzn.com/w/37Y82LDY0DIB4

And there is a list for things that both Lance and I would want (but the kids wouldn't necessarily appreciate): http://amzn.com/w/YL1O90R9K07O

We also created a "for the whole family" wishlist, because frankly, a Wii would be for everyone!:  http://amzn.com/w/OXS9V7SW4ZWY

Send us your wish lists too!

October in Pictures

October was a busy month of lots of weekend stuff, but there are also some cute pictures from our day-to-day activities.

Logan has learned how to scale the stairs on the outside.

and he figured out the scooter,

and T-ball.

Logan and Ethan (and RJ) had a playdate at Super Frank's on Ethan's 2nd Birthday!

Logan has started using the potty, which means we now all spend more time in the bathroom.

RJ and Ashlan whispering sweet nothings at the Pumpkin Patch at Dell Osso Farms during a co-op field trip.

We have spent a lot of time outside with the bigger neighborhood kids this month.
Here RJ shared his hockey equipment.

Both boys love Lightning - but they don't both fit too well anymore.  And Logan's legs aren't long enough to drive it on his own yet...which leads to LOTS of frustration!

More pictures from October are here.

Halloween 2011: The Year of the Dinosaur

We started our Halloween festivities over the weekend by going to Dell Osso Farms.  While we had always gone through the corn maze in past years, this year we skipped it because the kids really just wanted to do the (lame) kids area with the pumpkin bounce house.  It WAS cheaper than the corn maze, so they won and were happy.  Plus, they had already done a corn maze at Zach's birthday party.  They also picked out their pumpkins when we were there and we checked out how tall they were!

Sunday Evening (Beggars Night for our Cheektowaga, NY Readers), we carved the pumpkins.  RJ drew a T-Rex and we helped him cut it out (if you can see what looks like a dashed line, that's where RJ cut it), and Lance made Logan's a silly pumpkin, just like him.

Then for Halloween Day, we were all set to go to DreamWorks for their annual Halloween Party, but we got a call just before leaving from Lance, who explained that when he got to work, the power was out, people were scurrying away from the building, one guy was huddled under his desk, and the only ones roaming the halls were the zombies.  So due to their power outage zombie infestation, the party was off : (.  The silver lining is that Logan was well rested for Trick or Treating because he got his normal nap.

But you really want to know what we all were for Halloween (well, except for Lance who has been the same boring thing for the last 5 years - Silent Bob)...

I finally made the kids Halloween costumes!!  I've always wanted to do this, but never really had the time when I was working and even last year, Logan was still a baby and I just didn't pull it off.  But while sewing means that Logan throws my knitting needles and thread spools all over the floor (the sewing cabinet needs to be open when I'm sewing so I can get at the pedal - otherwise he wouldn't have access to these things), it is becoming something I can do to a certain degree even when the kids are awake now.

RJ wanted to be a (duh!) T-Rex that looked like his toy T-rex "Stripey" and since Logan had not expressed his opinion about his Halloween Costume, RJ decided that Logan should be Buddy T-Rex (from Dinosaur Train).  I took them both to JoAnn to pick out the fabric, and RJ picked out all the colors.  I found a free pattern online to make Buddy (thank you pbs.org!).  The pattern was a hassle to lay out because I had to put the pieces together from 8.5 x 11 printer paper, but they're also sturdier than most patterns and it's a basic costume body that I could probably modify to be other things if/when the time comes, so...not too bad for a free pattern.

I figured that it was time for me to go full out Gleek this year and channel my inner Rachel Berry...although most people missed all my subtle details and just thought I was a Catholic School Girl.  Tell me though - wouldn't the brown wig be a clue that I was trying to be something other than JUST a Catholic School Girl?  I could be that with my own hair!  And Catholic School Girls don't typically wear sweaters with things like hearts on them (I would've knitted an animal but that was just too damned hard to pull off with my very slooooow knitting skills - the heart was actually a huge accomplishment!)  Anyway...I guess there aren't that many Gleeks in my neighborhood - even though RJ recognized who I was right away.

We did the usual trick or treating thing.  I took both kids up and down our street, then dropped off Logan with Lance so he could help hand out candy (he was slowing RJ down), and then went back out with RJ.

RJ and I stopped at a few houses in our neighborhood before heading over to meet his friend Zach in his much busier neighborhood.  You can tell that both RJ and Zach were wiped by the end of the night.  This is them "being extinct" (RJ) and "recharging" (Zach).

More Halloween pictures.

DeLancey's go to Folsom and Old Sacramento

Since Kasie's wedding was in Folsom (2 hours from our house), we decided to stay at the hotel for the evening and do stuff in Folsom and Sacramento on Sunday before heading home.  We drove through the historic downtown before getting some breakfast at Mel's Diner and then went to the Old Folsom Powerhouse, which is apparently a hot spot for local family portraits as there were at least 4 photographers, Christmas props, and a steady stream of families filing in and out of the park!  So, I played photographer with our kids!

We also met up with the Dorsey's while we were there and met a praying mantis friend on the sign as well as getting a tour of the old powerhouse, which was one of the first hydroelectric plants.

After that we headed to the California State Railroad Museum (where, for $2 extra, we are members for a year and can go back for free anytime!).  RJ loved going on the displayed trains and both kids enjoyed the huge Thomas Train play area!

We also rode the "Spooktacular" train up and down a few miles of the Sacramento River, which the boys loved.  The train was all decorated for Halloween, but not scary, which was perfect for our little ones!

After our train ride, we decided to explore Old Sacramento for a little while before eating dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.  As you can see - RJ loved his crabby bib/cape!

More pictures from Folsom & Sacramento are here.

DeLancey's go to Kasie's Wedding

Last year we went to Krishawn's Wedding, and this year, another one of RJ's first teachers got married!  Kasie and Ross were the beautiful bride and groom this time around!

After a beautiful ceremony, the kids enjoyed the reception lots!  RJ was reunited with his teachers Krishawn and Melody as well as some of his CDC buddies; Calvin, Stella (who was a flower girl!), Maddie, Megan, and Maryn!  

We managed to get a family picture with us all dressed up:

and then enjoyed the reception.  Other than the obvious socializing with long-lost friends, I think that RJ's favorite part was the dancing:

Here, he is dancing with Kasie and Stella;
 By "dancing with"  I mean "running around and breakdancing in the vicinity of".

I realize this might look like a tantrum, but it was Logan's crazy dancing.

There's even a video of the kids' dancing, although even with my editing and using some brightening and special effects, the video is pretty low quality due to the dark.

But Logan's favorite part was definitely the cake:

and running around outside the reception.

Congratulations Kasie & Ross!  We had a great time and were so happy to share your special day with you!  More pictures are here.

Momma and the Boys go to Gilroy Gardens (again)

The last time we went to Gilroy Gardens, RJ and I got "Lotsa Cards" so that we could go back before the season was over (Logan is still free).  It's not a membership and we still had to pay for parking and everything, but the couple of extra dollars it cost over a regular admission was worth it because then it was like two (or more) admissions for the price of one.  We didn't get Lance one because I was figuring that we would go during the week when it was less crowded.  What I didn't realize was that starting in September, they closed during the week and we never did get back before then.  So, since Lance was due for some alone time in the house, RJ, Logan, & I headed to Gilroy on a random Sunday in October when the whole place was decked out in a  Halloween/Harvest theme and there was a scavenger hunt/trick or treat spot map to follow for the kids, so it was a fun time, and a little different from last time, which was nice.

We rode the strawberries together

RJ tried his hand at the lasso

The boys drive race cars

Monarch just emerged

Soft-Serve Face

 More pictures here.

RJ riding the garlic bulbs all by himself!

DeLancey's go to Joan's Farm

RJ's friend Zach celebrated his 4th Birthday with a Curious George themed party at Joan's Farm and Pumpkin Patch in Livermore.

I was in charge of the cake:  Here is the creation of Farmer Curious George:


























Once I safely delivered the cake, the boys enjoyed:

a pony ride, 

playing in the pumpkin patch, 

a pinata
(where you pulled off George's ass
 instead of beating him with a stick),

a corn maze,

a train, 

and Logan reunited with his lost love Sophie, who he first met at Lisa and Steve's house in June!

It was a great party with lots of fun for all!

More pictures here.