Charlie Rings the Bell!

Today, Charlie fulfilled a dream of hers—she got to ring the bell at her swim school.

For quite some time Charlotte has seen her big sister Samantha earn numerous medals and ribbons upon passing the final skills of various swim classes at Love to Swim. Shortly after starting a preschool-level 2 swim class this summer, Charlie excitedly asked on numerous occasions, "When do I get to ring the bell?"—unaware that she had to pass eight skills before she could partake in such an honor. Well, last Wednesday (October 13) Charlie completed the final two skills of her class, and Mommy was informed that Charlie could ring the bell after today's class. Charlie was thrilled when she received her medal, which read "Winner" on one side and "#1" on the other. And she was also excited to see that her new curriculum wristband, which the coaches use to mark off completed skills, is a bright pink.

My Best Art Ever...

Charlie, like Sam, has developed quite an interest in drawing and painting. A two-sided easel sits near our dining table so the girls can draw to their hearts' content.

Well, tonight Charlie was inspired to draw a picture of none other than Sammy. Upon applying the finishing touches to her masterpiece, Charlie declared, "This is my best piece ever!"



It should be noted that less than a week earlier, Charlie first uttered the aforementioned remark after drawing this rainbow.


Sam, annoyed with her sister's repeated phrase, seemed relieved when Mommy snapped a picture of her lovely art piece—a flower with a smiling tree (that Sam insisted had two noses).

Bikes and a Bucking Hog

Now that the weather has finally cooled down some, David took Sammy and Charlie on a bike outing today so the girls could ride around and get some fresh air. Plus, Mommy needed a break and wanted the house to herself for a few hours!

Hard to believe but true—this was the first time the girls had been on their bikes in months. They went the entire summer without riding around because of the heat and humidity. Texas summers suck!


OK, first stop—Leon Springs Elementary, where Sammy attends kindergarten. Charlie looked quite fierce as she pedaled around on her tricycle.



Next stop—Mi Casa Tamales, an awesome restaurant in Boerne that serves yummy tamales (like you couldn't tell from the restaurant's name what the cuisine was). The girls rode a coin-operated bucking hog. As the video reveals, Sam had quite a lot of fun at first until her rear end starting hurting because she was sitting on the hog's caboose.

And finally, the girls were in the mood for a spa treatment but settled for a bike ride in front of an empty salon and spa up the road from our neighborhood.

Bike Rodeo

Now that Sammy's in elementary school, we're learning all about activities and events that, while new to us, have been around for a while. One of those events is the annual bike rodeo.

Elementary schools throughout San Antonio have bike rodeos, which allow children of all grade levels to practice bike safety by navigating through a series of obstacle courses. Some schools only award medals or trophies to riders who place first, second, and third. Others, such as Leon Springs—Sammy's elementary school—provide ribbons to all the participants and award trophies to the first-place, second-place, and third-place finishers in each grade level.

We were concerned about how Sammy would do. We hoped that she'd have fun but wondered if she'd feel self-conscious, get frustrated, and give up. Much to our relief, Sammy not only completed all the courses but she had a great time doing so! And she capped off her adventure by drinking a bottle of cold water and devouring some salty pretzels.

Jump the Shark

It is the 33rd anniversary of Happy Days' "Jump the Shark" episode, which is airing today. I was on the beach that day when Fonzie jumped the shark, vacationing at a friend's beach house. It wasn't a big deal at the time, as jumping the shark wasn't part of the American lexicon, but now it is a fun party story.

Bald Again

It's been two years since I started growing my hair after years of being bald. With help from a beauty salon and their chemicals, my hair was long enough to put in a pony tail, but it stopped growing an longer than shoulder length. I wanted waist-length hair, but it wasn't going to happen. So I chopped it off last night. I am bald once again.

Charlie

Kids are such sponges. Nana Dee sat down with Charlie during our California vacation and taught her in a matter of minutes to write her name. At the time Charlie had little idea what the letters were, but now she recognizes all the characters and writes her name over and over again.

Canon 20D

This is the first photo I took with my Canon 20D–Baby Sammy and Lisa–photographed on February 17, 2005, 5:29 p.m. I must have been very excited, unpacking the Amazon box and finally shooting with a digital SLR. I immediately fell in love with it.


And here's the last photo I took with it–Charlie and Tinky Winky–photographed on December 21, 2009, 11:49 a.m. I know I was excited when I took this because my new Canon 7D was on its way from Amazon.

I was kind of sad tonight when I packed up the 20D, having just sold it on eBay. A photographer in Indianapolis bought it. I figured since I hadn't used it in over nine months, I might as well sell it and make some cash.

Digging Dinosaurs

We took a chance today that the Witte Museum wouldn't be overrun with visitors during a holiday weekend that was also the last weekend for a popular dinosaur exhibit. Charlie was a baby the last time we saw some animatronic dinosaurs at the museum.

Well, our timing was perfect! We arrived shortly after the museum opened (noon), and the girls had only to wait a minute or two before they were able to climb onto the pretty elephant statue outside the entrance.


Once indoors, we made a beeline for the dinosaur exhibit (well, after we paid for our tickets). Charlie wasn't quite sure what to make of the massive dinosaurs, particularly the ones that roared. But to her credit, she never cried. And after seeing the little animatronic dinos up close, Chas thought they were quite cute. Sammy totally dug the big guys and was happy to pose right near one of the more menacing ones.


Sam's and Charlie's favorite part of the exhibit was the excavation area, where they used small brushes to clear away recycled rubber bits in order to find "dinosaur fossils." The girls had the area to themselves for several minutes, which they quite enjoyed.

Sam's First Day of Kindergarden

It was Sam's first day at school today. She was pretty nervous, but excited. We walked her in to the cafeteria, where the kids wait for their teachers, and waited with her until the school bell rang. Lisa cried. I teared up a little bit.

Riding Ponies and Picking Berries

It was a good thing that we made time during our summer vacation to visit Underwood Family Farms. Sam barely fit under the height sign for the pony rides.

There were oodles of fun activities for the girls. They rode a train, climbed atop a mountain of hay bales, ran in and out of an underground tunnel, bopped around in a bounce house shaped like a cow, rode a coin-operated toy tractor, and watched a musical show featuring mechanized chickens.



But the best part of our visit was when the four of us made our way to the strawberry patches to pick fresh strawberries. It should be noted that Lisa and David could never get Sam or Charlie to try strawberries back home during the height of the season. But the minute the girls caught the fragrant whiff of the bright red strawberries at the farm, they were all over them. The Woo-Bloxberg sisters repeatedly declared that they loved strawberries. We'll see if that holds true next summer back home.

Tying Bows

During our summer trip to So Cal, Sam learned how to tie bows, something she had been struggling to do back home. While Mommy and Daddy had a weekend getaway in Cambria, Morro Bay, and Solvang, Sammy and Charlie spent copious amounts of quality time with Nana and Papa. During that time, Nana showed Sam how to tie bows—and after the first try, Sammy was a pro!

In fact, for the rest of the trip, Sammy chose various ribbons (from a bag that Nana had given her) and quickly tied bows, showing off her finished products to Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Papa, and Charlie. Chas even tried her hand at tying bows—and insisted a few times that she had actually tied a bow—though all that she had done was crumple up the ribbon!

Another Carousel—and Hello Kitty

One of our favorite carousels is at none other than the Westfield Topanga Mall. The carousel, which we visited last summer, is cool for a couple of reasons. First, it's a two-tiered carousel, which makes it quite unusual. Second, it features an eclectic array of animals—such as a hummingbird, a triceratops, and a dragon. Oh, and it also has a spinning teacup. Sweet.

Sam and Charlie went on the carousel for a total of 11 times—spread out over two visits. They rode five times with Mommy during the first week of the trip, and then rode the rest of the time with Daddy during the second week of the trip. Mommy was glad to take a break during her and the girls' second visit to the mall—she sat with Grandma and ate a cookie.

During both visits to the mall, Sam and Charlie got some cute Hello Kitty toys (including compact mirrors and erasers shaped like toy food). Did they need these expensive, tiny items? Of course not. But the Sanrio store, which sells a slew of Hello Kitty items, is strategically located across from the carousel—within easy viewing distance of little ones' roving eyes.

Carousels and Water Play

While the princess lunch was the highlight of the day for Charlie and Sammy, the girls had hours of fun ahead of them after they filled their bellies with yummy food and gave hugs to the princesses.

The girls rode the King Neptune carousel several times, looking thoroughly adorable and completely blissful.


After going on several rides at California Adventure, Sam and Charlie got wet and silly at a couple of water play areas.


Once the girls were back in their princess costumes, they were off to get their punims painted. They were now cat princesses—and boy, were they cute!

By the time we left the amusement park, it was about 11 hours after we'd arrived! David and Lisa never imagined that Sam and Charlie would have enough energy (granted, we rented two strollers) to make it that long. As the girls piled into the car, they seemed ready for bed, though they mustered up enough energy to play with some overpriced light-up wands that Mommy and Daddy bought for them minutes before we made our exit.

Princesses for a Day

Samantha and Charlotte had been talking about the princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto for what seemed like most of the year. The girls couldn't wait to dress up in their princess finery and meet some "real" princesses in California.

David and Lisa splurged the night before the big visit to California Adventure (where Ariel's Grotto is located) by purchasing two glitter-encrusted princess gowns at The World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. Sam—who at the time was in love with the movie, "Beauty and the Beast"—chose a Belle dress, along with a matching wand and crown. Charlie, selected a Snow White costume, despite the fact that she'd never seen the movie, "Snow White" (which was a good thing).

On the big day, the girls received lots of compliments about what pretty princesses they were.

At the restaurant, Sam was bashful at first, as was Charlie, as each princess made her way to the different tables to visit with the customers—particularly the many little girls who were in attendance. By the time the "real" Belle stopped at our table, Sam refused to have her picture taken. David and Lisa worried that Sam would later regret that she didn't say hi to Belle or pose with her. Sure enough, minutes after Belle left, Sam relaxed and asked when she'd see Belle again. David, ever the quick thinker and thoughtful daddy, asked a server if it was possible for Belle to come back around to our table, given that Sam had been bashful earlier. A few minutes later, a server informed David that Belle was in the patio area visiting with guests—and Sam was more than welcome to come outside and have her picture taken with Belle. David and Sam hustled outside (Charlie joined them as well), and Sam gave lots of love to Belle, as well as to the other princesses she saw again.

Before we left the restaurant, Sam and Charlie took one final photo with Ariel. It was a fitting ending to a magical adventure for these two princesses.

Beach Fun

Now that we no longer live a reasonable driving distance from a beach, trips to the beach are a high priority for our family when we visit So Cal in the summer. During our previous two summer vacations, we discovered a really pleasant beach—Sycamore Cove State Beach in Ventura County—which is about a 25-minute drive from Nana's and Papa's (Lisa's parents') house in Camarillo. There are picnic tables and plenty of sandy areas to set up an umbrella. And the beach doesn't attract the throngs of humanity that a well-known beach, such as Zuma, does.

While David was working in the Bay Area for most of the first week of our trip, Lisa, Papa, Sammy, and Charlie spent three hours one day at Sycamore Cove. The girls couldn't wait to dip their toes in the cold water and collect sand and water to make sand castles. Sammy and Charlie ran around and screamed a lot—they were so excited to be at the beach! Yet despite their high-decibel howls, the girls' voices were often drowned out by the crashing waves.

Sammy and Charlie kept Papa busy. They often wanted him to hold their hands as they waited for the waves to wash over their feet.

Charlie, never one to pass up a tasty treat (particularly one that is a carb), took occasional breaks under the umbrella so she could munch on some snap pea crisps.

Sam was in her element as she crouched like an old Chinese woman, carefully scooping up and packing handfuls of wet sand to make the perfect sand castle.

Sam Graduates from Preschool

(Lisa reporting)
Before I became a parent, I thought that preschool graduations were silly. I didn't see the point in having what I considered to be a serious and important ceremony to mark a seemingly minor event in a child's life. In fact, when I heard that some preschools allowed the "graduates" to wear mortarboards as they marched to "Pomp and Circumstance," I was floored.


But my outlook completely changed when Samantha (aka Sherbert) came into my life. As I witnessed her many developmental changes, I realized that preschool graduation ceremonies weren't silly at all. David and I had seen firsthand Sam's evolution in preschool—from a shy, clingy child to a friendly, confident young lady.

As I long suspected, Sam's final year at preschool flew by. With a mixture of sadness and joy, I sat in the sanctuary of our synagogue, watching and listening as Sam and her friends filed in one by one to "Pomp and Circumstance." Samantha looked radiant and beautiful. Up on stage, facing an audience that contained many unfamiliar faces, Samantha remained fairly calm—occasionally fidgeting with the straps of her dress, which puffed up a bit as she sat because the dress was a little big on her whippet-thin frame.

I wasn't prepared to cry at the event because there were many happy, proud moments—such as when Sam and her pals sang and danced several times. But when our rabbi's wife, Morah Silvana (who is also the preschool's Israeli dance teacher), talked with great emotion about her amazement at how quickly her daughter Lara (a graduate that night) had grown up at school, I cried. I felt like I was losing my grasp on time—I knew that kindergarten would mark a significant change and milestone in Sam's life. I also knew that once Sam moved to kindergarten—which was less than three months away—she would begin a life that was truly separate from her life at home. No longer would I be able to hang out with my little girl in her classroom, watching her interact with her friends and/or do art projects. Her school experience would now have a lot of structure. I found myself briefly worrying about how Samantha—an extremely affectionate, loving child—would fare in a classroom of 20+ students, after spending the last school year in a class of 8 students.

But when the ceremony ended, all I could do was hug and kiss Sam, and tell her how proud I was of her. And as our family walked the school's hallways to admire the many art pieces that Sam and her friends had created throughout the school year, I felt a tremendous amount of joy. I was also reminded of the first visit that David and I made to the preschool with Sam—back in October 2006. We knew right away that we wanted Sam to go to the school because of the close-knit, warm, loving environment. Moving to San Antonio, and enrolling Samantha in Heintz Preschool, were two of the best decisions we ever made.

Charlie Sings the Hits

Our Youngest is Three

We'd been planning Charlie's birthday party for weeks--put a lot of time and money into it--and it seemed to pass so quickly for mom and dad. But for Charlie it was the perfect party. You can really see the joy in her face when her friends sung Happy Birthday.

The Human Pretzel

Sammy learned a new trick from one of her preschool friends. She can now put her feet behind her head.