Sea Otter Classic Bike Festival 2012

 

Sabrina rocking on her balance bike

Dillon & Sabrina ready to ride the hilly obstacle course

 Yesterday Sabrina and I had a fabulous Mommy n me day.  we met up with our friends the Halls to enjoy a day at the Sea Otter Bike Classic, a HUGE weekend of nothing but cycling!  Road cycling, mountain biking, tricks, flips, obstacle courses, and everything in between.  The weather was super hot so we thought it best to keep Maddie at home with Daddy.  (report from Jerry:  We went to the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum and had a fun time.  There was also a children's faire outside the CDM and Maddie really enjoyed looking at real silkworms)  Jodi was super nice and got me a parking pass for her campground area, that saved us a lot of time getting to the actual festival!  As it was the kids area was on the other side of the grounds so it took a while to get there.  But Sabrina was a trooper.  She was so excited to be around everyone else with their bikes.  When we got to the kids area there was a kid's obstacle course, with a teeter-totter and a narrow bridge.  She must have done that course at least 15 times.  then we went over to the big obstacle course and Sabrina did that one too!  Once we met up with Dillon and his sister Lucie, there was also a "race" for the kids and Sabrina (and everyone else) got a cool shiny medal.  We got to see the whole mountain bike trick champion jump around and do crazy stuff on his bike.

By this time Sabrina was done so we went off for some well deserved lunch.  After lunch for a special treat Sabrina and Dillon got to do this cool bungee cord trampoline thing, where they are strapped in and can jump really high, without worrying about getting hurt.  By now it was pretty late and we needed to get back home.  Sabrina was wiped and fell asleep in the car as soon as we started driving.  After we got home Sabrina got right in the bath and I took a shower because that place is pretty dusty to begin with, plus all the riding and running around we were doing.  For dinner we all went to In n Out for dinner where we happened to run into the Lim's.  After dinner all the kids got to run around in the grass.  What a great day!

Music & Movement at the Edenvale Library

Sabrina loves music and singing.  I cannot get through a car ride without Sabrina asking to sing songs.  I am her human MP3 player.  Whenever we can, I take her to a Music & Movement class.  Music & Movement classes are held at various public libraries; they sing songs, bring out musical instruments, scarves, wooden sticks, sometimes even a parachute!  I love her enthusiasm.  Maddie enjoyed the music and eating her lunch while the class was going on. :)

Making Music

My big girl

What happened to my baby?  Where did this little girl come from?  I swear a second ago she was just figuring out how to sit up and now she is just all over the place, wanting to do everything the big kids do.  I have really been enjoying the San Jose Children's Museum with the girls and they as well.  Both of them love to explore and have fun with all the exhibits. 

Digging at the sand table

Maddie's favorite part - the water area!

Painting a masterpiece

Sabrina's first homework assignment

Sabrina's class has a book bag that each child has to take home and do what's inside.  There was a book to read called "Chika Chika Boom Boom" about a tree who has a whole bunch of letters climb it.  After we read the book together there was a felt tree and letters and Sabrina decorated the tree with all the felt letters.  The last part of the assignment was to for Sabrina to draw a picture and for me to transcribe what she wrote about it.  I'm not a big fan of homework for kids (study after study shows that kids need PLAYTIME, not sitting down and doing worksheets, but I digress), but this was pretty fun.

Sabrina and her Chika Chika Boom tree

Circle time at Playhouse Calvery

While Sabrina is in preschool Maddie and I went to Playhouse Calvery, which is at the Calvery Church in Los Gatos.  It's an open play for babies - preschool kids every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.  They house it inside of a big gymnasium, filled with toys, bounce houses for both bigger and smaller kids, art projects and just tons of stuff for the kids to play with.  AND it's only $1!!!  I suppose it's a way for the church to promote itself but it's not overtly religious and the kids have a fun time.  They do open play from 9:30am - 11am and then circle time.   Here is Maddie enjoying all the singing and music. 

I love to clap my hands to the music

Sabrina and Maddie, sisters and best of friends

I do love how much my girls love each other.  Sabrina and Maddie so far (knock on wood) get along really well.  Sabrina is really easygoing on Maddie and Maddie just thinks Sabrina is wonderful, funny, basically the best sister on earth!   On this particular morning we went to a friend's house with our Las Madres South Valley 2010 group to participate in a Kindermusik class.  Sabrina really got into it; Maddie enjoyed it but is still a little too young to just concentrate on the class for the entire time.  After the class we got to stay and play until it was time to leave for Sabrina's lunch and Maddie's naptime.  Our mornings have been a lot more flexible now that Maddie transitioned to one nap a day.  I think my next post is going to be about Maddie's latest schedule.

Sabrina took Maddie on a ride around the backyard

Apex Gymnastics Class

Okay, obviously this photo is not of Sabrina in her gymnastics class.  There was a Living Social (I think) coupon for 4 classes to Apex gymnastics.  Maddie was too young but I thought Sabrina would enjoy it.  Gymnastics hasn't been a real hit for Sabrina in the past but that was well over a year ago and why not?  The price was right and if she didn't love it, there were only four classes.  Also Sabrina's good friend CJ was in the class too.  Also fun to have a friend to do something with!  But what to do with Maddie?  Fortunately for me 1.  The gymnastics studio was inside of what I think was a school that is not longer used, and the school still had it's play structure available and 2.  Sabrina is pretty independent and didn't mind when I needed to take Maddie outside to play while she did her class.  So the two of us played outside and came back for Sabrina when she was done.  Afterwards I brought lunch for the girls Elaine (CJ's mom) did the same and all the girls play in the school's playground. 

But what did Sabrina think of the class?  Eh.  It was okay...the women who run the class are Russian and most (as in all the kids except for Sabrina and CJ) were Russian.  They would speak in Russian to the other kids and (heavily accented) English to our kids.  Sabrina liked it okay but I could tell by the 4th class was getting kind of bored of it.  But it was something to do for a few weeks.  I think her favorite part was playing with CJ at the playground after the class was over. 

This playground is pretty fun!