Fall Is Here

Yay, fall is finally here. Time for some fall-themed crafts fun. We've made three kinds today and the kids really enjoyed them all. 

First we did foam sticker pumpkin decorating. The left one is created by Sophie, and the right one is by Brandon. Since they're still young, I don't really like to use a sharp knife for pumpkin carving, though that would be a lot of fun down the road. For now, foam stickers will do. ^_~

Then we created a "FALL" banner for our reading corner.

Lastly, we used pompoms to make 10 cute super-spiders. Sophie thinks they should line up in a row like all good spiders should do. ^_^

Now back to sipping my tea and enjoying my quiet time while they nap. Happy October! Now if the weather could just cool down a little and rain would just come to give California some moisture and water supplies in the reservoirs and stop forest fires , that'd be super wonderful! 

Memorial Weekend Small Getaway

We spent a weekend in Livermore, CA. The weather was nice, more importantly, the adults and the kids all had fun. 

On Sunday, we went to Oakland Zoo. It was busier than usual, but we still got to see our animals and take our pictures.

Kids loved the cable car ride. I guess both of them are not afraid of heights then.

Back to the hotel. Sophie picked chocolate flavored ice cream to share with Brandon. Look how excited Brandon looked. ^^

The next day, we were happy to have the grandparents joining in on our fun. We took a stroll along downtown Livermore in the morning and found some neat spots along the way.

Sophie was gathering sticks to make alphabets. =)

Next, we went to Retzlaff Vineyards and Winery for some wine tasting.

This is the only winery in all of Alameda County that brews organic wine from their own organic grapes.

The owner's father apparently loved kids, so he picked up many of these cute kid-sized tractors from some farm supply place that he used to go to. You can't buy these anywhere now, according to the owner's wife. So while the adults tasted wine, the kids kept themselves busy too.

Afterward, we headed over to lunch at the Wente. Both kids were fast asleep in their carseats behind my dad and Tim throughout our meal.

In the afternoon, we stopped by Del Valle Regional Park for some boating fun.

At last, we had Mongolian hotpot to wrap up our long weekend in Livermore.  Um...um...

Monster Themed Painting Session

This entry is featuring Brandon! (the newly 2 year old boy)

Ever since the kids watched Monsters Inc. at a friends' house. Brandon has been fascinated with anything that has monster prints on it, whether it be t-shirts, sippy cups, you name it. Today we're focusing on Brandon for using watercolor to paint monster characters, because he did such a great job!

I simply outlined the monsters with black crayons and I just let them go wild with color choices and how much to paint and where to paint, giving zero instructions.

As I have mentioned earlier on another post, kids at this age do not need to be taught how to draw or paint. They should be let free to explore and enjoy the process of creative arts.

Mike Wazowski definitely has to make his appearance when we're painting monsters, right?

"Um-hum!" Says, Brandon.

And of course, his buddy, James P. Sullivan.

Here are the final products: 3 by Brandon, and 1 by Sophie (She was painting other animals besides monsters, so maybe we'll feature her on another post later). ^^