Moore Yacht Spotting

In case you were wondering, the Apoise (the yacht that was outside our hotel in San Deigo), has found its way from Hong Kong to Australia to New Zeland to Tahiti! I have always wanted to go to Tahiti ...

Again, I would love to know who owns that yacht and what plans they have ... are they just traveling? How long have they been circling the golbe? Where is home? How do they decide where to go next?

The beaches of Tahiti sound nice right about now ...

http://www.yachtspotter.com/ysp2_ycard.php?foo=20061225

Moore Updates

My poor, sweet little Tyler is sick. He had a major stinky diaper right before bed last night and I told Doug, I bet he gets sick over night. Sure enough, around 6:00 this morning he started fussing and he didn't quiet back down like he normally does, so I went to check on him. He was sitting up in his crib surrounded by throw up and he was burning up. So, Tyler and I spent the entire day cuddled on the couch. He seemed to be comforted by sleeping on my chest, which I didn't mind at all because it was great bonding time and while I hated that he was feeling so puny, the cuddling reminded me of when he was an itty bitty baby. This bout of sickies brought back some scary memories of when Andrew was 14 months old and he spent 8 days at Texas Children's with high fever. He was originally admitted because he was throwing up and they were worried that he was dehydrated. Needless to say, I want to avoid a repeat episode.

On a brighter note, a certain yellow dog we all know and love has regained his appetite and we can see the result in his ribs. Don't get me wrong, he is still emaciated and skeletal, but this is a move in the right direction. He weighed in at a whopping 45 pounds tonight.

Now, I am going to end this post with a funny, albeit gross story (for the record, Doug doesn't want me to share this story, but I think it is ok because all kids do stuff like this). So tonight when we were putting Andrew to bed after we turned off the lights, sang songs, and finished our good night routine, Doug leaned over to kiss Andrew and noticed something in his mouth. Doug asked Andrew what it was, but since Andrew didn't give him a straight answer right away he told me to turn on the lights (you know being the worried parents not wanting him to choke on something). As soon as I flipped on the light, Andrew said, it's just a booger Daddy! Ewwwww! We laughed and then Doug asked for his kiss on his cheek! The only other experience we have had with Andrew and boogers was when he was about 2. He was picking his nose one day and Doug told him he needed to use a tissue. Doug grabbed a tissue to get the boogers off his finger and Andrew replied, "No, Daddy, I eat it!" We still laugh about that one! Probably because it reminds Doug of his favorite Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Robert's girlfriend eats a fly. At one point in the episode Ray is retelling what he witnessed and he says, "And she ate it!" On the occasion that our Tivo picks up a Ray episode, Doug always checks to see if is that episode.

Hope you had a good laugh and you are not too grossed out by the story ...

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

I fear writing this because I don't want it to become a self fulfilling prophecy, but I think that Tyler is going to be Trouble (notice the capital T!). This weekend he decided to climb the stairs by himself and tonight he tried to climb out of the bath tub and then he tried to climb out of his crib! Here we go ...

Oh, and a cute Andrew story too. He has taken to putting his point finger on his chin and tapping his finger when he is thinking about something, or so Doug says (since I have yet to see this). Where does he get this stuff? :)

Heavenly was, well, Heavenly!

Doug and I had the opportunity to take a trip to beautiful Lake Tahoe two weeks ago for a little Spring skiing at Heavenly and some fun South Lake Tahoe night life. The boys stayed in Texas with Mom Mom and Peepaw - this was our first trip away from both boys ... actually this was our first trip away from Andrew too!

We had a great trip and skiing was a blast (it was my first trip) and to top it all off, Allie and Marc drove over from the Bay area to see us on Saturday evening! It was so great to see them, especially since it was a last minute decision / realization on Allie's part that made it all happen.

Trip highlights:

- Anne and Doug taking on the Heavenly Flyer (zip line with speeds of 50 mph - video to follow)
- Doug surpassing Anne on skis after 1 hour even though Anne had taken 2 days of lessons (we have decided that I was over thinking it a bit, not like me at all ;) )!
- Dinner and casinoing with Allie and Marc, of course!
- Building a snowman and having a pseudo snowball fight with Douglas
- Walking to the beach at sunset to enjoy the view
- Staying at the Marriott right at the base of the Gondola and on the top floor of Harvey's Casino
- Learning to play craps (sort of)
- Dinner at the Sage Room

Needless to say, we had a blast and we can't wait to take the boys. We talked to Andrew every night and he asked us every night whether we were 'skeening' -- it was so sweet. I took video on the new camera of Doug on the Heavenly Flyer and we took video of each other skiing so that Andrew could see what we were doing. Now he asks me to show him the videos any time he sees the computer out! Speaking of video, the pair that went down the Heavenly Flyer before us was a news reporter and cameraman, so they actually filmed our arrival and then interviewed both of us -- we are going to be famous on the public access channel in Lake Tahoe!

Check out that view!


Artsy shot (tree in focus and mountains out of focus in background)


Another Artsy shot (or my attempt at least)


Allie (with Homer), Doug, Anne & Marc


Anne & Allie


Sweet Homes


Look at those cool kids


Anne & Doug on the beach at Sunset


Snow on the beach - now that is an interesting phenomenon!


More snow on the beach!


The lake at sunset






Anne - attempting a blue run (photo taken by the friendly ski instructor)


Doug is sooo cool


Look at me go!


Doug getting ready for his next run


Mugging for the camera


The view from our favorite run


Our snowman

Boys will be boys

Sometimes being a mommy is tough -- being torn about not spending enough time with the boys when I am working a lot, having to play bad cop, being tired a lot - but it is always the most rewarding, gratifying and humbling job. Especially lately, because the boys are too cute for words! However, since this is a blog, I will attempt to put into words all of the cuteness to which I am referring:

Tyler Update

Well, for those who were placing bets, it is official - Tyler's walking! That's right, mere days after I left for Tahoe, Tyler started walking more than crawling. I called it before I left, but it still made me sad to miss those first days. He was walking across the living room when I left, so it is not like I missed his first steps, but now if he wants something, he stands up and walks to it. He still has the baby walk and he stands just like his daddy (sticky his belly out) - it is too cute. I will try to put some video up soon of Tyler walking. We are sticking with bare feet for now because he has no idea what to do when we put shoes on his feet!

Tyler also seems to understand more of what I am saying these days and I find myself trying to give him more instructions to see how much he actually gets. I told him it was time for dinner tonight and showed him his food and told him to come get into his highchair and he came running. :)

The other big transition Tyler has made recently is to whole milk. He only drinks whole milk these days and he will even drink it cold (finally!). I weaned Tyler just before my trip to Lake Tahoe. I was sad to do it, but it was time and he was ready.

He continues to impress me (and everyone for that matter) because he is such a great sleeper! I am such a lucky mommy to have two good sleepers (knock on wood). It is so nice to be able to sing songs and then kiss him goodnight and just lay him in his crib. From what I hear, Tyler even slept like a champ for Mom Mom and Peepaw while we were away.

This weekend we spent a lot of quality time together recovering after a hectic week last week and from vacation. Tyler is getting so big so fast, so I really enjoyed cuddling with him in the Ergo while we walked around the block while Andrew rode his bike. Tyler had his head on my chest and it reminded me of those early days when he was just weeks old and I held him in the same position and he barely filled the Ergo. How time flies!

Finally, I am not sure if you all would agree, but Tyler seems to think that I am the funniest person these days. He spent most of the weekend alternating between laughing at me and calling out "Mama, Mama, Mama ...' over and over again. It was music to my ears!

Andrew Update

Andrew is so observant and curious these days and he loves to ask questions. Sometimes you can look at him and see the wheels turning when he is trying to figure something out. Doug had the pleasure of getting Andrew's first "why?" questioning. Doug said it was one 'why' after the next. I don't remember what he was asking about per se, but he soaks it up like a sponge! Andrew's memory is incredible as well - he mentioned the Easter Egg Hunt we did last year and I was amazed that he really seemed to remember it. He is definitely at the age where you can't promise to do something tomorrow unless you plan on following through because Andrew will remind us that we promised that we would do this or that ...

Friday night we ran some errands and as we were headed back to the car, Andrew noticed that he moon was following us. I thought that was the cutest observation! Saturday, after Andrew's nap we went for a walk around the block and Andrew rode his bike around the block. He has great balance and is very fast on his bike. While he was riding around the block he noticed the fire hydrants and pointed one out to me. I told him what it was and explained how firemen use them. When we got to another one he got off his bike and put his hand on the hydrant and said, "Mommy, talk about this". So I explained again what it was and how it was used and then he proceeded to explain it back to me. It was too sweet. He does that a lot actually - he also loves to "read" to me after I read to him. Since it was getting dark, I told Andrew we needed to head home and he replied, "one more lap". See, I tell Andrew all of the time when I am walking or running and he is in the jogging stroller that we have one more lap. So, I got it back in spades yesterday!

Oh, and today, I let Andrew have a piece of gum in the car and it ended up in his hair! I actually had to cut it out! Needless to say, I am glad he is a boy because you can't even tell. I can't imagine having to cut a little girls hair an inch from the root!

The other Texas Primary - Place your vote for Tyler's 1st Birthday Photo!

First birthday, first steps ... you know what that means - it is time for the birthday photo shoot! As many of you may know, I do a special photo shoot for the boys near their birthdays. We went to the Mercer Arboretum for the photo shoot a week ago and despite taking tons of photos I didn't "the shot" that I was looking for. Fast forward one week to this past weekend and we decided to try again, this time at Bear Creek Park.

I am pretty happy with the outcome and I really think "the shot" is one of the photos below. I have a couple of favorites, but I would love for you to vote in the poll (look to the right margin) so that I can get your feedback.

Interesting tidbit - this photo shoot was taken just feet away where we took Andrew's 2 year old photos in the blue truck!

p.s. Tyler is really working on his walking! He is walking clear across rooms now and his balance has improved signficantly in the last week alone. He still crawls, but I think those days are numbered!

Photo 1


Photo 2


Photo 3


Photo 4


Photo 5


Photo 6

Math Word Problem - Answer

10,990

7 girls on the bus x 2 legs = 14 legs
7 girls x 7 backpacks each = 49 total backpacks
7 big cats per back pack x 4 legs each x 49 backpacks = 1,372 big cat legs
7 little cats per big cat x 7 big cats per bag = 49 little cats per bag
49 little cats x 4 legs per cat x 49 bags = 9,604

14 girl legs
+
1,372 big cat legs
+
9,604 little cat legs
=
10,990

Note - you can't assume there is a bus driver since that was not stated in the word problem

Thanks for playing (to those of you that were brave enough to post your answer!)

Tyler's Storybook Birthday Party

Tyler had so much fun at his first birthday party! He loved playing with the big kids, eating birthday cake, opening presents and getting lots of special attention from all of the guests. Here are some photo highlights:

Tyler's Birthday Party Invite (web safe version)


Tyler's Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Cake






The cupcakes mirrored the book ... on the first day the caterpillar ate One Apple, then Two Pears, Three Plums, Four Strawberries and Five Oranges! Note - these cupcakes were the most divine cupcakes I have EVER tasted! Strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. As Andrew would say, That's Tasty!



Check out Tyler's dinosaur shorts!


Olivia loved giving Tyler hugs


What's all the fuss about???


Tyler reaching out to touch his candle ... this photo was right before he started to cry because he actually touched the wax. Whoops!


Score! Hot wax? What hot wax?














I love, love, love this photo of Tyler. I captured him in a very playful mood!




All clean!


Tyler opened the first present and then he let Andrew open the rest. He was a real charmer all night. I can't believe that my baby is 1!

Tanti Aguri Zia Nonna!

My Zia (Aunt) lives in Milan, Italy and today is her birthday! Andrew loved spending time with his "Zia Nonna" while we were in Italy in 2006 and we can't wait to go back and visit again!

I have wonderful memories of spending summers in Italy with Zia Mari and my mom -- so even though you are half way across the world we want you to know that we think of you often and we are wishing you a very happy birthday!

Math Word Problem Challenge

My good friend Paige Eshelman sent this to me and it was a fun distraction, so I thought that I would share it with all of you. I challenge each of you to solve the problem below - post your answer as a comment. I got it right on the first try -- it took Doug three times. :)

Without further ado, here is the math word problem:

This is not a trick question. This is a real math problem so don't say that a bus has no legs.

There are 7 girls in a bus

Each girl has 7 backpacks

In each backpack, there are 7 big cats

For every big cat there are 7 little cats

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?


Don't disappoint me folks!