Fun/No Fun

No Fun: Poor Lily is really having a tough time with this whole evacuation thing. Between being out of her element, totally out of her normal routines, and not even able to spend much time outdoors because of the smoke in the air, she's been pretty mercurial. Mostly she's been having trouble getting good naps, which unfortunately translates into a fragile disposition overall. Poor baby.


Fun: In an attempt to make things nicer for her and get her some good quality out-of-the-house time, we went to the Long Beach Aquarium today. That was pretty cool!

"What dat, Ma Ma?"

"Why, that's the spiny crested diver fish, honey!"




Actually, the shows here are really neat. We got to see otters, sea lions, and in this video here you see a guy hand-feeding rays! Yowza!

And, as an added plus, we also found Nemo. We think. Somewhere in there, anyways...

We had such a good time we decided to go ahead and get a membership. See how happy Lily is? Of course, at the time that mostly had to do with the nice lady at the desk flirting with her, but she did like the fish too.

All in all, I'd say a 60-40 fun-no fun split for the day. Not too bad. (and mama just put her down to bed with relatively little drama)

Babylympics, Orange County Indoor Training Facilities

Hi, all,

Let me start by saying that our house is confirmed A-OK! Our cleaners checked it out today, and although it was VERY dusty and the water in our pool is "a different color", everything seems fine! Yay! We're gonna wait at least 'til the weekend to go home because of air quality, but it's quite a relief!

But you know, just because we're up here, doesn't mean we can neglect Lily's athletic training regimen. Fortunately, we have been able to find training facilities up here. For example, there is an excellent indoor swing setup right at Nono and Nana's house. (Sorry, cell phone video is a bit grainy)

We also went to visit Nana at the bank today, and we were able to fit in some workouts there as well. Here, Lily does a little Tai Chi with mama to warm up.

What luck! Famed Russian gymnastics coach/bank employee Bela Karolyi is here! Here he is, giving Lily some tips on her tumbling routine. Point those toes, Lily! Nana is her spotter.

Last but not least...always remember to do a little calisthenics at the end of every workout:

But bottom line, I'm sure the question you're all wondering is, is she crawling yet? Well, for the answer, check out this video we took the weekend before we left (i.e. "fled"):

In other words...not quite. But she's THAT close!

Radio Free Pinklet, back on the air

Hi, everyone,

Just to elaborate on my last brief post, I am VERY happy to report that we are well out of harm's way from the big wildfires in San Diego County. We left our house at around 7 AM Monday morning, just a few hours ahead of the general evacuation order, and are safe and sound with Karen's parents in Orange County (just south of Los Angeles). Not that there aren't fires up here too, but thankfully none nearby.

So far, we think our house is OK (the phone still picks up!), and it is rumored that the evacuation order for our area will be lifted soon. However, we will probably stay up here at least a few extra days until air quality improves.

Thank you all for your concern and well wishes! Rest assured that the only imminent danger we currently face is mild boredom. ;-) Things have been a bit tense, as you might expect, but we're settling into a rhythm of sorts. Poor Lily has had kind of a hard time! As you can imagine, this whole episode has been more than a little disruptive to her usual routine, and as a baby who loves to be outside, the air quality issues we have even up here are a big bummer. But even she is getting back into her groove...she's right now taking her first long nap (knock on wood) since we got here, so that's quite a relief. Mama is following her example. :-)

On the plus side, we have been having fun visiting with our relatives. Nono, Nana and the whole gang can't believe how BIG Lily has gotten! I told Nana that if she wanted us to visit she should have just said so, the wildfires really were unnecessary.

The first afternoon, we met up with Tata Rina and family at a local mall. Malls are actually good places to go during these sorts of situations because the air conditioning filters the air pretty well. Here you see Tata Rina and cousin Mallory hanging out with Lily and mama. Lily seems pretty disdainful of Mallory's rice milk, which is odd because it tastes WAY better than formula.

Later that evening, cousin Madi demonstrates one of her newly learned Tae Kwon Do head strikes on Lily.

Lily responds with a Vulcan mind meld, rendering Madi temporarily incoherent. The battle is ruled a draw.

Carrot, anyone? Separated from our beloved nanny and her home-made baby food, we resort to store-bought. We discover that it is quite a bit runnier than anticipated. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Lily now wants to help, and grabs the spoon.

Anyways, not much to do but wait. Today's big entertainment was to go to Target and Babies R Us, where we test-drove a jogging stroller. Lily's only feedback were that the straps seemed to be just as delicious as on her regular stroller. But if anything interesting happens, we'll keep you posted!

Love,

Marcus, Pinky & Lily

Scholz Family a-OK, staying with Pinky's parents

In case anyone is wondering about the San Diego area fires, we decided not to take any chances. We're up in Cerritos with the grandparents.

Love you all,
Marcus, Pinky, & Lily

Babylympics

After Lily's exhilarating experience in the Baby Races from a few blog entries back, she has evidently developed a taste for sports.

For example, the Swings:



The 2 Meter Tandem Slide:



The Parallel Bars. Lily's surprise entry into this event necessitated a somewhat hasty lowering of the crib mattress by Dada, lest it become the High Jump.



And last but certainly not least, the Doorway Bouncy Thing.



(but wait...did someone say something about a boyfriend? And a KISS?? Is there a scandal in the offing? I think I heard pictures mentioned, maybe there'll be a blog about it soon...)

Accessorizing, part deux

Hi, everyone!

Since my previous post on accessorizing, I have continued my study of this fascinating subject. I now consider myself to be a bit of a baby fashion maven.

See? This is the same red dress as in the last post, but a different pair of shoes and another hair clip make it a whole different outfit!

Actually, I've found the whole experience of dressing up an outfit to be quite satisfying. So much so, in fact, that I'm encouraging my other baby friends to follow my example. Here, you see one of my BBFF's (Best Baby Friends Forever), Clara, sporting a very handsome pink bow...ALSO gift wrapping from a present, now that I think of it. Maybe I should start a clothing line.

Here you see boyfriend Andy getting in on the act. Andy is evidently very secure in his masculinity.

Hmm...perhaps TOO secure...

OK, yes, you're very pretty, but I think maybe you should stop now.

I also am starting to learn that accessories can play an important purpose. Take for example, this blue dress. Pretty, right? But just last night, I was wearing this very dress but sitting in my stroller so you couldn't see the frilly stuff, and someone walked by and said what a pretty BOY I was. How mortifying! But see, put a hair clip in, problem solved! Hair clips make me instantly identifiable as a girl. (Andy, maybe you should make particular note of that point).

And as an added bonus, my hair has now been trained to stick up on its own, greatly facilitating the application of said clips.

And there you have it! With all my new found skills, putting together a cute oufit is a breeze! Perhaps I shall pursue a career in fashion. Love you, daaahhhhlings!

-Lily Vuitton

I'm accessorizing!

Hi, everyone!

Mama and dada get all excited about some of the new things I'm learning, like sitting up, and eating solids, and ALMOST crawling. But somehow, they've overlooked the most important new thing I've learn...how to accessorize an outfit!

As you can see here, it doesn't have to be complicated or expensive to spice up an outfit. In this picture, I've given an ordinary red dress a sassy twist with this fashionable hair ribbon. And I just found this lying around! I think this was part of one of my baptism presents.

Of course, the right pair of shoes can really make or break an outfit. I think a good pair of bunny slippers is a must for any young lady's wardrobe. Comfortable AND stylish!

This is my favorite! My Aunty Char MADE me this sweater. Can you believe it? Aunty Char has mad skillz. It's fuzzy and cozy and it goes really well with all my pink clothes, which you may have observed is about 90% of what I wear. In this picture, you can see that I have also accessorized with a matching mama. A really high-quality mama is about the best accessory a baby can have.

Last but not least, mama's friend Desiree MAKES these cool hair clips! With the Santa Ana winds blowing thru lately, my hair is just TOTALLY unruly. I don't know what I'd do without a few good hair clips to keep things under control.

Is that it? I guess so...FOR NOW! Dada! Take me shopping!!