Last two weeks of April

April was so much fun, it took us a long time to get back to the blog.  Here are some highlights:

Last year, Auggie LOVED Easter (what's not to love about family and hunting for treasures full of toys and candy?).  This year, he was just as enthusiastic.  Daniel and Auggie went to the local Easter Egg hunt at Arlington Park, which is an elaborate affair with two fields and hundreds of kids. (There is a video we may upload later.)  The local police and fire were there and Auggie got to sit in the fire truck.

We also had our annual Easter Picnic with the Czet and Grycz families (also at Arlington Park). Agnieszka worked (again) this year, but the rest of the family had a blast. 

As one last birthday celebration, Kristen took Auggie to the Ice Cream Museum in SF!  This place includes slides and a "sprinkle pit".  They had a great time.

Some other photos from the month:

Tired mom and happy Ella.

Ella is starting to love playing with her brother and cousins!

Auggie at swim lessons

Babcia reading to the kids before bed. Both kids in PJs. Ella in a hat!

Ella loves her hat

On the last weekend of the month, we returned to Traintown and Cline for another fun day in Sonoma County with Colin and Maya's families.  As usual, we started with rides - after Legoland, Auggie now loves rollercoasters - and then went on to the winery for a picnic and wine tasting, why the kids ran around feeding fish and turtles.  This time, no one fell in the water - I guess the kids are growing up.

Ella is 15 months old!

Ella is 15 months old!  She loves pacifiers, hats, music and bananas. She can easily eat a banana in one sitting. She sways and rhythmically bends at the knees whenever she feels a beat.  Her favorite hat is the one in the 3rd picture. She will sometimes wear it for hours. Of course, if we try to get her to wear a sunhat at the beach, that's a different issue. She is much better about communicating her neesd - pointing, whining, and even sometimes clapping for us, if she feels we need encouragement.  She loves her big brother and her big cousins. Baths are a favorite activity, as are trips to the park.  All three of us love to watch her discover the world

Legoland Day 2..and return home

Day 2 started with Ella "sleeping in" until almost 7am, but still beating everyone else down to the breakfast buffet table.

We spent our 2nd day at the park revisting our favorite rides- though we all agreed to skip on the wet ones, as well as trying some new ones.  Highlights included Auggie getting to drive his own car around a track, the kids having caricature portraits done of each of them, and Auggie riding the scariest roller coaster in the park. 

This is Ella worriedly looking back and forth at the falling rollercoaster in front of her. 

Digging up dinosaur bones

In the evening, adults shared some drinks in the hotel room, while kids took turns taking baths together.  We finished the evening with a dance party in the official hotel "dance party" room. Lots of fun. And everyone slept well.

Staying at the Legoland hotel definitely enhances a visit to the park.  There are lego pits and lego building stations all over the place, so kids can finish eating and escape to building legos together.  There are also plenty of places for Ella to explore. On day 3, the kids spent a last few hours playing together in the pits, while adults packed up cars for the drive home.

We managed to drive back home in one day.  The kids were both extremely patient.  We had one long stop in Kettleman City's Bravo Farms, which has a play area that looks like an old west town, and has plenty of places to climb and many hidden slides.