Thanksgiving 2014

We were so happy when we heard that the BC Guilars were going to be coming down to celebrate US Thanksgiving with us this year.  And, we managed to keep their visit a surprise for Tiago.  He was thrilled to take a morning trip to the airport and pick up our mystery guests.  He and Natasha immediately fell in to their routine of silly (him) and sweet (her) sibling-esq behaviors...

  Lana and I decided to take the little looney-toons to Marine World, to give the men some space to prepare for the Thanksgiving feast.  We lucked out and had, not only amazing weather but, a very empty theme park to ourselves!  No waiting in lines, and lots of animal encounters.

 Of course, some of the animals were of the cartoon kind...

 And others were of the more, wild beast kind.

 We got splashed by very playful dolphins, rode an African elephant named Valerie (2x), fed giraffes, and came face to face with a white Siberian Tiger (thank goodness for that very durable glass partition)!

 But the most thrilling experience for these two Guilar kids was soaring through the sky like a couple of super heroes!

 (Yes. There was definitely a moment when Lana and I both looked at each other and wondered whether we had just earned the 'stupidest parents' award.)  Thankfully, the kids did not go as high as it looks.  Just high enough to give them a thrill and the moms heart palpitations.

 The kids soared safely down and we ended our day at Marine World tired and happy.  

The following day yeilded equally brilliant skies and included a few Guilar Christmas traditions (why not?). See party poppers below:

 Tio Matias stopped by for turkey and unintentionally ended up coaching soccer for the neighborhood kids down at the park, after giving Tiago some 1:1 lessons.  That was our cue to sit back and enjoy the game. 

 The following day, the CA and BC Guilars bypassed Black Friday for a trip into the valley to visit the old stomping grounds.  This was the house that hosted regular Sunday brunches when Nate and I first started dating.  Natasha was a small infant and Tiago was a hypothetical conversation yet to be had.  Very good times at this house.  We were happy to take a stroll down autumn-leaf-covered-memory lane with them!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Halloween 2014

Tiago came home one day in October, noticing (aka: complaining) that we were the "only house without halloween decorations."  Rather than hit up the local CVS/Walgreens, I decided to scrounge the house for scary items.  We had to get a little creative...

I showed Tiago how to make a head-stone out of cardboard and a common tennis ball into a spooky eye-ball...he even added red veins!

We also used his little 5 y.o. frame to make a spooky skeleton!

We made four pumpkin ninja turtle brothers; to our surprise the rain made them look extra spooky once the paint started to peel.

A strict "no toy weapons" policy at school prompted some (flimsy-foil) weapon-like decorations for the ninja turtle back-pack.

There was no raining on these turtle's parade!

Home Improvements

This Summer, Nate installed the last of more than 60 window panels in the house...  

He also filled in grooves and cracks in the siding...

Korah painted the front of the house! 

We now have an updated curb-appeal...

...Well, as appealing as a garage can be...

Perhaps next summer the sides of the house will match the front???

Starting Kindergarten

Earlier this month, Tiago and momma began their new routine of walking down the hill to the charter school where they would both be going for the foreseeable future.  Tiago began his kinder-camp the first week of August, while mom attended beginning-of-the-year staff meetings and prepared for the immanent onslaught of special education shenanigans.  Tiago was fortunate to be able to attend kinder-camp, allowing him to get acquainted with the campus, staff, and his soon-to-be peers.  This alleviated some his anxieties about starting "real school" and made the first day of kindergarten a thing of simplicity.  (A big sigh of relief for mom.)  So, below, you will not spot any tears or fears.  You will only see an adorable 5 year-old who already knows that he loves his teacher. (Hooray!)

I attempted to capture one of those popular chalk-board, "this is my age," "these are my interests," moments that I keep seeing all over the internet.  You know, the ones where moms neatly comb their child's hair, prop him up against a colorful chalk-board and commemorate their kid's 1st day of school?

Yeah, Tiago wasn't interested in this internet trend. "Okay then Tiago, let's just get to school."

We found out who his teacher would be back in late June.  While all of the teachers at the school are fantastic, Tiago's teacher is his perfect match.  This became evident over the course of the 2 weeks in kinder-camp.  During that time he was able to visit his future class, meet his teacher, review some essential details (like how to use a bathroom pass, where to locate the classroom-library), and address any of his questions or concerns!  We also helped to "clean" and prepare the room during an All School Clean-Up Day last weekend.  There was ice-cream!

 This allowed for a very easy transition to DAY 1 of Kindergarten!

1st Day of Kindergarten: 

Parents were encouraged to stay to help the kids transition to their first activities of the day: making a hand print with finger-paint, and following a scavenger hunt for various items in the classroom.  (At 9am, parents were politely urged to leave.) Tiago and mom had no problem saying "good-bye" because, really, mom wasn't going very far.  In fact, we winked across the playground at recess, and waved in the hall in the afternoon.  It's nice to be at the same school!

 When mom finished her last of 2 meetings, we prepared to wrap up our 1st day of school, and we stopped by the Marquee to take one more shot for posterity. If all goes as predicted, Tiago and mom will reflect on this day, 9 years from now, when we finish his final year at this school.

 Below: A little throw-back for your amusement!

Korah-age-5-kindergarten, Nate-age-6-first grade

Yep.  The kid is ours, alright.

Summer Staycation

This summer the Guilars made the decision to take Tiago out of his preschool (after all, he is officially a pre-k "graduate").  Since we no longer have to "hold" a spot for him, we thought we could save a little money and stay local for the summer.  We also decided to defer our traditional east-coast tour in the name of saving a few bucks.  The positive: Grandma Naomi even offered to fly Tiago up to Oregon.  So, Tiago was able to keep his frequent flyer-wings!  The negative: we found out that we would be spending all of our hypothetically saved money (and then some) on taking down our beloved Cedar.

The Positive:

Tiago had an absolute blast with his grandma Naomi and PaulPaul.  (Turns out Nate got a mini-vacay too!)  The Guilar guys enjoyed exploring museums in Portland, stomping around daddy's old haunts and kayaking/canoeing the Oregon coast. (Thanks grandma Naomi--for the trip and for sharing these pictures!)

(Our ninja turtle traveler had a blast! Below: Tiago's hand-painted TMNT suitcase)

Upon Tiago's return, we braced ourselves for The Negative:

We said good-bye to our beautiful old Cedar.  We didn't want to see it go but it was diseased and leaning toward our house.  So, alas, we had to bring it down.  At least we now have an abundance of fragrant woodchips to keep moths away for days!

Pirate Tiago paid homage to the tree, saying, "I love you, tree.  You were a good tree."

 Tiago and mommy spent the remainder of their summer vacay working on home-improvement projects, baking cookies, taking short road trips to the central valley, Monterey bay and around the San Francisco bay area to see friends and relatives. (See Blog Post: Summer Fun with Friends and Family for more pictures of the aforementioned)

(Together we painted the dog-house and the storage shed, to experiment with possible house colors.)

(Tiago loves elephants and chocolate.  So, naturally, he and mommy settled on "elephant grey" and  "bitter chocolate" trim.  )

Tiago was proud of his handy work and frequently admires his paint-job saying, "It looks so delicious--I want to eat it!"  This led us to determine: It's time for COOKIES! Nom-Nom-Nom!

 (Above, while donning a USA soccer jersey and pirate bandana, he pragmatically stated, "I'm a pirate that loves America!" ...and cookies.)

 

On the weekends, daddy also completed some home improvement projects.  In fact, he completed the last of 61 windows!  (Spiderman helped.) We're officially insulated!  Thanks Daddy!

Oh, did we forget to mention another of our favorite summer-time staycation activities? You got it! We watched a lot of World Cup soccer games.  And, because Tiago had a particular tio who was in Brazil at the time, Tiago became a mega-soccer-fan!!!

(A patriotic, pirate, soccer fan)

(Sorry team USA.  Maybe next time.)

Summer Fun with Friends and Family

Tiago and Mom enjoyed their entire-month-of-July vacation together.  After he and Dad returned from a great trip to Oregon, to see his grandma Naomi, Tiago discovered that his abuelita Susan had come for a surprise visit!  That's right, everyone got some mommy time this summer!

We even drove to Sacramento to visit great grandma Emily.

(3 generations on the Portuguese side!) 

Before leaving, Abuelita took Tiago to pick out a pair of fancy new kicks for school (the new-tennis-shoe-tradition continues). He went for the camouflaged green because they looked like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The catch was that these shoes do not come with the Velcro option.  So, we dedicated a few days to practicing tying his shoes. 

 

(Above: He's now mastered the "double knot.")   

 (Above: Fun at Sacramento's Funderland with cousins)

 (Practicing swimming at Manor pool with friends. The boys apparently got the memo: you gotta sport tie-dye when in Davis.)

 (A visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium)

 (Tiago and his good buddy, Diego, practice offense at a park in Vacaville)

(At Tilden Park, in Oakland, the little ones square off for a World Cup stalemate.)