18 Kids and Counting...

/

...at the Heffernan Family Reunion this year! We've been up at Black Butte Ranch in Oregon having a blast at the great big annual gathering of Heffs. They have all been coming every year for 10 years now (my sixth trip- I came with Brian right after we met) and there were only a handful of kids when I came for the first time but this year we have 18 under 8 years- It's crazy but soooo much fun. The pic above was from the first night when we broke out the reunion and 13 out of 18 might be as close as we get to photographic evidence of all children awake and at the same place at the same time. 13 of them are under five years old and there are 2 more on the way.

This is the almost nightly dinner and hanging out scene at Opa Bob and LaLa (Aunt Francy's) house. They host us all and dinner duty rotates. This kids have fun in the dirt, on the swings, in the sandbox, on the trikes and then settling in for a movie in the new rec room while the adults sit around to eat and drink

Waiting turns at the swings

Francie pants in her element with all the big girls to follow around (she told them she was five)

and Maisie is just happy toddling around and finding someone to pick her up (aka Mom, Dad or Jannie)

my little godson Thomas- the youngest baby

couldn't resist taking pictures of him

Izza-Bizza who turns THREE on Friday! (no resemblance to her brother in the picture above is there??)

Cousin Ellie and Kate (who just moved back to CA for GOOD!) They are so good with the little kids and we are so happy they are back for ALL the family functions :)

just a few pics from the first night... I have so much to post!!

Hippie Style

/

The other night Christian came over to make cookies for her Dad's birthday and we made a batch for our trip. Maisie was being SO clingy and just wanted me to hold her the whole time. Heff was working downstairs so finally I gave in and grabbed my Ergo and threw Maisie on my back while we baked- Heff and Christian were laughing at my hippie mothering but it worked!

After Chocolate Chip we made Trail Mix Cookies (yup- those are Rolos and pretzels- sooo good)

Francie still in Nature Camp clothes and cooking with us at 9:30pm (damn clock in the backgroud gave me away!)

Me and My Maisie :)

Mom's Night Out

/

Thursday night we had a Mom's Night Out to celebrate and say goodbye to our good friend MaryCatherine who is moving back to Ireland with her family next month. Somehow we managed to get all 12 moms in the playgroup together at the same time on a mid-summer night. Three nursing babies in tow at Mica's house and backyard- we all had a great time catching up and toasting MC.

Lindsey and Stephi with baby Jonathon

MaryCatherine opening her gift- a photo book Mica made with pictures of all the kids and messages to their friend Lady D

our first attempt at a group photo inside with 11 of 12 in attendance- and of course Sarah arrived just after we took it!

their backyard was beautiful and the perfect setting for ladies, wine and lots of chat without the kids running around at our feet

Mica was such a great host and her mom was so nice to help with her kids

yummy pot luck dinner spread

Parvin and I

Kayley and Jonathon woke up for late night

Salinas Rodeo

/

Last Saturday we went down to Salinas with my parents to meet the Mariani Crew for Joe's Mutton Busting competition (where little kids try to stay on a sheep out of the chute as long as they can- it's awesome!) We expected it to be HOT mid-day on Saturday but the fog was close enough from the ocean it was nice and breezy. Jannie reminded us the whole time it's the Salinas RoDEO (like Rodeo Dr) not RO-deo like they say everywhere else and my grandmother was chosen to be Miss Salinas ROdeo and parade around on her horse when she was in high school but her grandfather thought it wasn't very lady like and wouldn't let her. Glad we had our local girl Jannie for trivia and memories!

first stop- the pony rides! Maisie watched first then had to get on her own

Sunkissed and beautiful Whitney

My buddy JoeJoe

Francie loving every minute!

"Can we ride again pleeeeassse?" (they made friends with the kinda creepy horsey operator)

Dad and daughter making the same face

Maisie's first reaction- picking up her feet and clinging to dad

then she got the hang of it

Francie and Jannie watching Sis

"There you area AGAIN mom!"

the girls making funny pictures for a family photo Jannie took

Auntie Dea and Maddie's go around!

Maisie wants another turn

Up in the stands waiting

Baby Nico- he is so cute and looks like a mini version of his cute dad!

Joe decided maybe he wasn't ready to jump on that sheep this year but got in the winners circle anyway

Cousins Emelia and Whitney

Cute Maddie

Jannie and Francie

Big kids lined up watching the bull riders... not sure why Francie started pouting!?

and after watching for awhile we hit up the kids area- Francie went down the bounce slide 12 times and Daddy patiently waited in line with Maisie for the petting zoo

she couldn't have been more excited! The lady had them all sit in little chairs and brought furry animlas for them to hold. Maisie grabbed this bunny, hugged it and wouldn't let go!

Heff was cracking up

On to a quack-quack

nearly pick-pocketed by a baby goat

Francie convinced us she HAD to stop and make a pet rock- and we were on our way home

Nature Camp Round Two

/

 

Francie and Marcella are back for another exciting week at Nature Camp! So Maisie and I spend a lot of time at Shoup Park and downtown and it never gets boring. The creek at Shoup just ran dry this week (but oddly at our house less than a block away we still have running water!?) but the big dry creekbed makes a fun new place to explore. Maisie and I went to the park yesterday with Cat and Josephina while the big girls were at Camp (after a huge breakfast downtown at Rick's) and then we went back with Francie in the afternoon to meet Jannie, Great Aunt Kate and some cousins.

Francie making her best "sad face" about no more water (sorry it's sideways)

 

Maisie @ 15 Months

/

Sorry this blog has been bu-bu-bu-boring lately! I can blame it on summer and technical difficulties :) But ABA has nothing to do at work if I don't update something so this might just tip the scales at being even more boring but here is a "what you're up to" post about my little Maisie Moo!

*****

Maisie Shark (aka Sharkie, Moodle, Maise) you turned 15 months old yesterday and you are SO much fun....

*You have a little attitude. Dad says Francie is rough and tumble and you have the girly side. You don't like to get dirty, you have to clean a mess (not saying you don't like to make the mess- you just like to clean it immediately too :) and you growl "Ugggggghhhhhh!" if Francie or Ollie make a mess in your presence.

*You still wear newborn diapers! My favorite Pampers Swaddlers in the 2-3 size. I think they go to 22 pounds which you are just about at/over but you have skinny chicken legs and a little butt so they will probably still fit you for awhile

*You make your dad proud as a meat loving carnivore. You pick the meat patty our and devour it first, then the sliced tomato and eat it from the center out (messy messy shirts). You love venison, turkey, beef, hot dogs, sausage, burgers, steak... just about anything that used to have four legs. You like healthy food like fruit (strawberries, cantaloupe and watermelon are your favs) and veggies but you don't like blueberries ever. You aren't a big carb girl except pasta or waffles.

*You still take a bottle of whole milk (the "D" kind Francie says, while she drinks the "2" kind because she is 2) before some naps, when you go to bed and sometimes in the morning when you wake up. You love your ba-ba. We like the Born Free one best since the one here is cool but you pop the top through and dump it out too often!

*You are a GREAT sleeper. You go to bed around 9/9:30pm every night and we just put you in there with your down pillow, flannel comforter, Little Giraffe lovey and your music light box thing on. You HAVE to have your binky attached to your shirt at all times, especially when you go to bed unless you are already asleep. You sleep through the night and wake up between 9/10am. Thanks Maisie- I love you for this :) You also still take 2 naps if we can swing it but it's starting to look like one afternoon nap might be in the cards for you soon.

*You are starting to talk and babble more- you say "MaMA!" when you want something, "Dada" when you see your favorite person, "JA!" for Jannie (the other day it was "HI Ja! Hi JAAA!" waving from the swing while Jannie cooked pizzas, you say "Tank ah!" for thank you and "Ow-wa" for Ollie just like your sister did, you say "ba-ba" and "bub-bub" for bubbles (on my iPhone game) and "dis! dis!" for THIS please. You sign more and please with a funny "sssss" sound when you rub your belly up and down for please. You don't say NO yet- you just shake your head with a cute little smirk.

*You love to take a bath- just doesn't look much like it here! I think your sister smacked you :)

*You love to read and bring us books all the time then plop on a lap. Your favorites are Sandra Boyntons doggie books, 15 Animals (Bob and Bob) and Silly Little Goose.

*You have a cute little crooked tooth and a little space between the front teeth just like Grampa does and ABA did before braces- must be a Simonson gene!

We love you Maisie Moo!!!

The other day Maisie and I walked downtown Los Altos (DTLA we've decided, since it's not the Cruz!) and got some lunch while Dad and Francie were on a whirlwind trip to Red Bluff for the day. Maisie was hanging in her stroller while I fed her some turkey and a lady stopped and said "Oh my goodness she's so calm, she's like a Buddha Baby!" I laughed but it's kind of true- she is usually pretty content and happy just to sit and watch the world go by (except when she is in a fit and gets MAD Mad Maisie Mad if you even look at her!)

My Buddha Baby :)

Dinner at the Skidmore's

/

Francie can always count on Grampa for a swim! Sunday night we went to the Skidmore's for a post 4th BBQ in their beautiful backyard (and yes this was two weeks ago when we wouldn't let Kat and Donald leave- I've almost fixed my photo uploading issues!) We had a great time with great food as always when Ann and Earl host. The girls loved being the center of attention and getting to swim with Grampa in the pool and the waterfall hot tub!

Maisie posing like a movie star (in her too-small last season suit! oops)

cute pic of Kat and Donald and their baby belly

Maisie used to have to wait around for Francie to vacate Jannie's arms but now she pushes her way in and won't let Francie bully her into second place! Maisie LOVES her Jannie and Grampa and cries like crazy whenever we have to say goodbye. Jannie loves it :)

PJ'ed up after the pool and helping Earl throw mesquite on the fire with her gloves on of course

Dad had to assist with the aim a little bit

Ann Skidmore always spoils the girls with their favorite snacks or "Francie food" laid out and extra ice cream-

Francie asked everyone if they wanted Limoncello on their's but reminded grampa "Not toooo much or you might get a headache and a hangover!"

and the night wouldn't be complete without a few "shows" she learned at nature camp

bedtime for babies!

The Big Show

/

The last day of nature camp was a "show" the kids put on and invited all the parents to come watch. It was the cutest thing ever :) Francie was an "explorer" and her group went after the older 4-5 year olds. They all got up on the little stage and did two songs- then one big all camp song at the end. Francie was doing all the hand motions and standing with her toes on the edge of the stage- Heff voted her most likely to fall off which she narrowly avoided. It was fun to see her with her friends being a big camp girl!

kids on the tarps listening to "Scooby" give instructions before the show

Jannie and Grampa waiting for the action to start (grampa 48 hours after knee surgery!)

Francie with her big kid friends - not even shy about it!

she saw us and yelled "HI GRAMPA!!!"

the counselors "Meatballs" and "Tree" start the song and dance

hand motion queen

all the little campers

proud daddy

"hi mom, just hanging with my friends"

Maisie was so proud of her sister!

awww- we all were proud of you Francie!

Gilroy Gardens

/

We had a wide open day Tuesday (and I was feeling like I had a new lease on life after a serious migraine that lasted Saturday night until Monday night- never really had one before that had vision blurs and everything- it was no joke!) so we texted Jannie in the morning to see if she wanted to do something fun with us for the day after she took care of me and the girls all day Monday since I was so worthless, thanks Jannie! We decided to go to Gilroy Gardens- it's a little amusement park with rides, games, shows, etc. I'd heard it was really fun for kids (and clean!) so we made the 40 minute trek down 101 and were surprised how nice it was. The girls could go on a lot of the rides and the park was big but not too huge. We walked the whole thing twice and still have plenty of rides to try if we go again. It helped to go on a Tuesday morning too- hardly any lines.

"Cheeeeese"

off to the races

our first ride of the day- the carousel. Maisie could not get to the other side of the fence fast enough

what a big girl

we sent this pic to dad (and the blog- Jannie couldn't figure out how Aunt Mimi knew we were at Gilroy Gardens WHILE we were there!)

Jannie rode too

while we ate lunch at the Taqueria there was a show with talking vegetables and the star of the show- Mr Gilroy Garlic! a little weird but they didn't care :)

next stop- the giant duck/swan/mallad paddle boats in the middle of the park on a pond! There are nice waterfalls and rivers all over the place. Jannie and I had to laugh when one guy walked by the man-made waterfall feature and goes "wow- you just don't see beauty like that many places."

Lifevested up

Jannie and Francie paddling to the waterfalls!

I had to keep a death grip on Maisie's hand the whole time since the only way she could ride was to sit by herself in the seat next to me (no laps and no more than 2 to a boat) and there was NO WAY she wasn't going on this ride! She was good and sat still the whole time taking it all in- then fell asleep at the end!

Francie was the "steerer" and Jannies was the peddler

Sharkie and her sister won a sharkie in the shark races

water feature number one- didn't last long when a 4-5 year old kinda mean girl running around with no shirt on basically hauled off and hit Francie! on to the next...

just whizzing by on the firetrucks

and the BIG water park playground- Francie wanted a bathing suit but her sisters 12m leggings and her undershirt worked just as well. SHe was off and running while Jannie and I sat in the shade with Maisie while she napped

then Francie wanted to try the giant slide but you had to climb up to the top of this thing with all the big kids. She got up there fine but then wasn't so sure about how this "waiting in line thing" worked and kept getting cut (which didn't bother her at all)

finally she made her way DOWN the slide! Fun day- thanks for coming with us Jannie!

4th of July BBQ

/

We finally pulled the house projects together enough to invite everyone over for a 4th of July BBQ on Sunday (the party was supposed to be at Jannie's and we pulled a fast one at the last minute :) Jannie helped us deck the house out for the 4th with some flags and bunting, we had more food than anyone knew what to do with and it all made for a fun 4th, one of my favorite holidays. It's so nice to host at our new house!

Francie helping Kat and I bake a festive cake

I tried to make this really pretty red, white and blue flag cake I saw on a blog. It was all plain white outside but when you cut it, each piece looked like a flag. Except mine didn't look so pretty. When Christian came over she looked at it and goes "Oh that looks EXACTLY like the picture." And Emily said "so cute Francie made her own cake." Uhhh, thanks for the support guys :)

Francie was SOO excited when her BFF Alexa came to join the party

Ann and Earl came by too- we've been celebrating all the fun holidays with them for 32 years!

Earl and Heff looking patriotic

Happy Grampa recovering from knee surgery last week (never took a single pill for pain meds and was back at work way too soon- Francie says Grampa is "the hugest super toughest")

Sharkie got into the dress up chest and put on her pretties

Sandra and Ben made the trek down to Los Altos- we miss our old neighbors!!

aw my snuggle baby

Cat, Tim and Josephina

Francie providing some entertainment- I think she was trying to do "Mooned Ya!" but couldn't quite get it right with a long dress :) What a classy little lady we are raising.

Donald coming up with some lamp-chop-lollipops to pass around. Meat, meat and more meat was the theme of the afternoon.

Okay the cake was a mess but it KINDA looked like a flag! And it was real red velvet and cream cheesey frosting Aunt Kat made so it still tasted good. And luckily we didn't throw the rest out- it served as a perfect hangover cure for everyone the next day

Phina liked it!

James and Tim after cigars and I had to tell James he couldn't light off bottle rockets in the redwood grove!

congregation of guys around the BBQ

and ladies laughing around the table