September I

Jonah asks for John every morning and is bummed when he's already at work or church meetings before we get up. He's so excited to eat breakfast with him on Saturdays.

We gave John Cardinals tickets for Father's Day and were excited for the day to finally come.

Perry had a babysitter, but we took Scott and Jonah. It was a hot night, especially San Francisco. We went on the slide to give Jonah a little break from the game. He wanted to leave because he was tired.

The last inning was not kind to Giants fans. They started it tied and ended up losing by 5. Scott cried (loudly) the whole walk to the bathrooms, out of the stadium, and to the car. He got lots of attention from other Giants fans sympathizing with him. It was a good lesson about practicing and trying again next time.

Perry eating the cheese right out of his panini.

You never know what you'll get when you open their door.

We went for a hike up in Butano Park. It was great.

It's part of big basin, but north up by Half Moon Bay. It's beautiful and shaded and there were some small trails.

Perry shocked us all by wanting to walk and keeping up well for his little legs. 

When Scott and Jonah would get far ahead of us, they'd light saber fight with sticks while waiting for us to catch up.

Perry held hands and poked a walking stick in the ground, mimicking his brothers. After carrying him up a long, steep stretch, he was mimicking my heavy breathing. It was really funny other than the insulting part.

Little P and I went to the mall to run a few errands while the big boys were in school. He charmed the See's lady and got himself two samples.

It's a trek to get from the parking lot to the preschool classroom, but Perry runs it in order to push the button.

Scott's knees up and Jonah on the floor are pretty standard, but the spare sheet set on the floor is a new one. 

Perry's diaper got a little awkward on the walk home from school.

He and Jonah like to sit on the neighbor's basketball hoop when we get back to the house. It's a weird little ritual they do together and I'm not sure why.

Jonah practicing some writing. He can barely write his own name, but he's got Minnie down.

Perry found a hot chocolate packet.

Taking a nap between two perfectly good beds. 

Our neighbor gave the boys a bath bomb and it was a huge hit. I added some to our amazon wishlist and my aunt sent the boys a set as a surprise. They're fun colors and have a tiny toy on the inside. It gets them all excited for baths, so it's a win all around.

Another comfy position. 

Perry decided he's ready to sit in a big seat. And steal my water.

I want to set a camera and see how they go from tucked in bed to this in an hour.

Some mornings Perry transfers from bed to the stroller. He usually wakes up from the crossing guards' whistling, but this day he was out cold the whole time.

There was a $5 build-a-bear day and I took the little boys before they opened so we didn't have to wait long.

Jonah was really good about making one for Perry, but not getting his own.

Gave him a little bath and named him "Cheeky Monkey" (the store's suggestion, but something we call Perry).

Perry LOVES giving him hugs. As soon as we finished I realized I should've put sound in his foot. He still seems to prefer Jonah's minion from build a bear because it talks. But at least he has a stuffed animal of his own to snuggle now.

I'm on the stake activities committee, so I helped prep for the street fair, a free community event we put on each year. Jonah came with me the morning of and was my helper shadow. He carried centerpiece flowers to the tables. 

 It was a pioneer theme, but they still had the sno cones and cotton candy because no street fair is complete without a sugar overload. Since everything is free, they each got their own and I just asked them to make them smaller. They love not sharing.

 Perry enjoying what they call scones, but what is actually from-scratch fried dough, and should be called morsels from heaven.

Perry said hi to our friend Karen and she gave Perry a piece of her cookie. So he went around waving to everyone. Scott sang a couple primary songs, but mostly just stood there while everyone else sang. 

Yet another Jonah-on-the-floor picture.

Woody's elephantiasis is actually a diaper that slipped down. 

Entertaining his brother during our walk back to school.

Reading together. They've been playing better than I expected with Scott in school. Perry's still so young I didn't think Jonah would be as interested, but the dynamic changes completely when you take away the oldest kid.

Cleaning out the cooler from the street fair and Jonah found a little place to sit.

Giving his bear a a huggie. He likes taking it to school in the morning if he's awake when we leave. 

I took Perry to a parent-and-me day at Santana Row because there was a traveling petting zoo.

He was in love. Excitedly clapping and making gleeful shrieks. 

He savored all 3 minutes petting the animals and going around watching each one.

I would've done another round but the line was really long by that point and we had to get back to pick up Jonah.

He likes playing in Jonah's preschool play yard, but the toys are too big for him.

Another day we went to Happy Hollow and Jonah went on the roller coaster with Grandma. He is not the least bit afraid and loves when we go with another adult so he can go on this ride.

Perry entertained himself pushing the stroller while we waited.

Then he crashed hard on the walk back to the car.

So hot and sweaty in there.

Another night Miranda got tickets for a Giants game from work, so we took her and Scott. Since Jonah was tired last time, he said he'd stay home and just have soy ice cream with the babysitter (Ghirardelli was the highlight of the game for him). We told Scott they won since he'd been saying "it was their turn to win," but they definitely lost again.

Jonah taking matters into his own hands, wiping Perry's feet.

Perry got a soccer ball from one of the exhibits at Santana Row and bit out the black spots.

Playing piano at Katie's house.

Scott's picture day. He chose his outfit and wanted to look handsome.

John and I went to an engineering dinner in Palo Alto. It was nice getting a little dressy for a date night and even better that it was a free, fancy meal. I took a picture in the swanky bathroom to show my friend I wore lipstick for the first time.

We met our friends, the Rogers, there, which made the whole evening more enjoyable. Especially for me, since I didn't follow (or care about) a lot of what was discussed.