Finger Paint

We ventured into some of the more traditional messy crafts today. I found a recipe for finger paint which seemed super easy: a thin flour paste with some food coloring. It proved to be quite enjoyable with no permanent damage.

Cautious at first: Getting into the swing of it:Mixing up another batch: The hose down:

Hiking

After a refreshing snack of grapes, Matilda was recharged for a round of peek-a-boo and more hiking. Exploring with Gaurav.

Decisions

It seems a bit warm for boots, but are the sparkly flats too dressy?

Commuter

Reading on the bus.

Summer Fruit

Farmers market this week was incredible with all the perfect produce. We came away with so many peaches and tomatoes that Matilda has now added both words to her repertoire. She also ate her weight in fruit samples while at market.Matilda convinced me that we should purchase this eggplant, after she snatched it up and took a bite.

Ohio Grandma

We had a really nice visit with Grandma summed up here in photo form: relaxing, drinking coffee and reading.

Waiting for Harry

The mailman has been holding my copy hostage all weekend as I missed him
Saturday. You can be sure I will be over at the Post Office first thing tomorrow.

Junkie

True to her Grimsey heritage.

Skills

Matilda shows great potential as a therapist offering mud wraps at some fancy spa.

Sandy Suitcases

Actually the sandy suitcases aren't home yet. Hopefully they make it here before all the wet towels and bathing suits are too disgusting. We barely made it back late last night after a cancelled flight and last minute re-routing. Matilda loved the family beach week this year. As we walked down to the beach the first day she sat down on the boardwalk as soon as she hit sand. Blocking up the whole walkway, it was as if she was saying this is good enough. Lots more pictures to come as we sort through them. Although very few of her actually looking at the camera, as the beach was much too fascinating for her to even acknowledge our presence while down there.

Laundry Cowgirl

Kwik-E Mart

While Tim's cousin Kelly & her boyfriend Nate were visiting we ventured out to visit our local Kwik-E Mart. No, not in Springfield - right next door in Burbank. To promote the upcoming Simpsons movie a few 7-11 stores have been turned into the Simpsons fictional Kwik-E Mart complete with Homer's favorite donuts and Squishees. Here Kelly & Matilda proudly display our donuts. Nate selects his Squishee flavor. Matilda is not too sure about it all. The whole affair was quite a spectacle. There were so many people there that at times the security guard was limiting the in flow of traffic through the front door. The store was filled with funny Simpsons-esque signs and cartoon stand ups. I would highly recommend a visit if you are near a Kwik-E Mart.
After her first sip of Slushee/Squishee M was hooked and demanded more and more from Kelly until we had to cut her off.

Big Girl

Matilda looks like such a big girl today in her new dress and pig tails. Or maybe it's because she loves to sit in the "big girl" chair lately.

Think Blue

Tim scored us some primo seats at the Dodgers game tonight. Four rows from the field in box seats with garlic fries. I don't know if I can go back to sitting in the $8 seats now. It was a fabulous evening.

Matilda was very entertained for 3+ hours of game and only turned to the field guide at the very end.

Daredevil

Less than a week after figuring out how to mount the bike alone, she now thinks she can stand on it.

Little Patriot

During a stealthy kung-fu move.

U Pick

We ventured back out to Underwood Family Farm this weekend. Aside from the blazing heat, it was the perfect family trip. Animals for Matilda, cucumbers and berries for Tim and reminiscing about my farm day for me. Not only did we get to visit the farm animals and stock up on perfectly ripe produce, but we got really dirty doing it. I expected us to all get a little dusty out in the field, but didn't really calculate the toddler + tomatoes + raspberries + dirt equation quite correctly. Only Sarah managed to escape intact, the rest of us were in dire need of some Zout by the end of the trip.
Tim in tomato heaven. We turned them into a cold pasta sauce that night, it was perfect.
Matilda went to town on the tomatoes and ate three while we picked. I am not sure if that is sticking to their "feel free to sample, but don't make a meal of it" rule for the u-picking.

She also ate a fair amount of this green pepper. Actually, most every item in our wagon had baby bites missing before we checked out. Tim was joking about the crop being infested with babies, and needing some repellent spray. Here you can see some of what we picked: beets (to be roasted), yellow beans (for snacking), okra (to be smothered), raspberries (already gone in a raspberry and almond tart), blackberries (long gone), tomatoes (pasta sauce), yellow zucchini (sauteed), peppers (for salads and snacking), and cucumbers (a must have).
And we capped off the picking with a quick trip around the farm yard to greet everybody. The chickens and ducks in particular were a hit.

Baby Diet

At the recommendation of her pediatrician, Matilda is now officially on my dream diet: more high calorie foods. We found out at Matilda's 15 month (15!) last week that she has actually lost weight since her last weigh in. I knew she was slimming down with all her running, but didn't expect quite such a dramatic number. In three months she grew 1.5" and lost 3/4lb. She is currently 30.5" and an even 20 pounds. So she stayed at the 50th percentile for height but dropped to the 10th percentile for weight, from the 50th. Dr. K says more avocado, nut butters, cheese, fatty fish, hummus, creamy yogurt, butter, olive oil, dips and so forth.

I am trying not to be too concerned or make food an issue and to instead follow the counseling advice I offered hundreds of parents over the years with kids who need to gain weight. A bigger concern is how this will influence my weight as I tend to "clean up" Matilda's rejected bits. I think I'll have an even harder time resisting all these yummy new high cal snacks. Dancing down the street after her doctor appointment. She clearly doesn't appear concerned. I am sure if Matilda wasn't running every moment of the day that also might contribute to better weight gain but she's not convinced.