tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63990622362238266342024-03-05T19:03:01.548-08:00Rap ReportThe latest "rap" on the RapoportsRap Reporthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09836646739563169250noreply@blogger.comBlogger374125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-1691584423597032442014-09-10T15:04:00.000-07:002014-09-10T15:06:54.166-07:00Quincy’s Top 10
10 If you came into our house your shoes were stolen GUARANTEED. Never chewed because he just wanted to play and get attention <br>
9. LA Beaches are not dog friendly, so I used have to sneak him on to the beach at 6am to go running. While I would run he would follow me and take swims. On 2 occasions we were chased by the LA Animal Control and successfully outran a $500 ticket. <br>
8. He was a much better surfer than me. I could throw a Frisbee out into 6 foot waves and he could navigate the break to avoid being pounded and then amazingly time the waves to ride them perfectly back in.<P>
7. He ate an entire chicken carcass and was sick as a dog but SURVIVED. I don’t mean just a couple bones, we are talking breast, wings, legs and everything. By the way he didn't learn his lesson because he did it again 4 months later.<br>
6. He ate my drivers license and credit cards TWICE within 3 months. The first time I had to fly out the very next day. Try talking your way onto to a flight and into a rental car with half a license.<P>
5. He was a master food thief. Almost every meal he would wait for one of the kids to drop their guard for just a second. He would then come up from under the table like Jaws and attack their hand or plate. All you would see is wild eyes, teeth, food and then hear the cries of our kids<br>
4. Karen spent two days baking and carving a homemade Choo Choo Train birthday cake for Landon’s 1st birthday. I was upstairs and literally heard Karen screaming like somebody just died. I came downstairs and Quincy in a single leap had jumped up onto the counter and taken a massive bite out of the locomotive’s engine. We used extra frosting and cake crumbs to rebuild. <br>
3. While running on the beach we spotted a 6 foot sea lion on the shore. Quincy ran ahead of me to charge it and I thought it was going to be the end of him. At the last second he stopped dead in his tracks about 10 feet away from it. They both looked in each others eyes and Quincy went smartly around. <br>
2. Quincy to his detriment used to love to eat all the junk he found at the beach and it was my job to wrestle it from him. He was eating what looked like a stick, only when I pulled it out of his mouth it wasn’t a stick. It was a petrified rat and the stick was the rat’s tail. I don’t think I have ever washed my hands so many times. <br>
1. 100% TRUE: We were walking him on our friends street and Quincy saw a really nice house with a pool. He ran under the fence and immediately dove in. The owners were right there and this guy angrily reached into the pool and pulled Quincy out by the scruff of his neck and walked him back over to us. It was Christian Bale. Quincy was rescued by Batman. <br>
0. When we lived in Venice, Quincy was like the Mayor. All the homeless people absolutely loved him. He was like Mother Theresa and he would disgustingly wash their feet with his tongue. I would be walking down the street and people would be shouting Quincy from every street corner.<b><Rap Reporthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09836646739563169250noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-49383090820592745502014-09-09T13:10:00.000-07:002014-09-10T15:12:25.448-07:00Quincy: A EulogyI have so many memories of Quincy flooding through my head over these past weeks as we realized he would not be with us much longer. I need to write them down now so they do not pass along with him. I will never forget picking Quincy up in July 2003 from Oxnard. I was so nervous, having never owned a dog before. I read about how puppies can get carsick and I worried the whole drive home, down PCH listening to David Grey, that he would puke on me. He didn't.<br />
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He was our first baby. We read books about puppies, we did all we could to give him a good start to life. He traveled with us to faraway lands, like Catalina, Palm Springs, Carmel, & Big Bear. He traversed the wild streets of Venice on a daily basis. He made friends with all the homeless people and we joked that he was like the mayor of Venice because all his friends would call out to him, "hey Quincy!" as he walked his usual routes. He was just as likely to kiss a baby's toes as to lick a homeless person's toes. If you think about that enough, you will likely gag. He would start licking and I would be pulling him away, "okay, Quincy it's time to go!", needless to say with panic and repulsion in my voice.<br />
He was known to chew things up, namely Jon's wallet, twice, and my wedding shoes, thankfully after the wedding was over. He would bite me with his razor puppy teeth to the point I might have cried a time or two. <br />
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Quincy loved the beach, especially Marina Del Rey. He loved to swim. He loved to get super sandy and wet and stand right next to you before shaking sandy water all over you. He could swim for hours if you let him. Quincy brought many special families into our lives who we never would have met if not on the beach via our pups. <br />
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He loved both of our babies from the moment we brought them home, even as their arrivals knocked him down the totem pole of our family structure. I was the most guilty of this, leaving Jon to happily continue to tend to Quincy's needs as I focused on the children. Quincy did not have a mean bone in his body and loved to be around Avery and Landon, especially at meal times.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rf0mUcrjw-FLVpEhqH9g2HvcFiZ7t0DlmTk02o0nJuEyKTAbPWQeSjmWAqm4nLUCn82ZnBuueB57wPwNT7Za2lQHGoZsE8BBQ7P4CphMMwfFUwszn5Kk5bew6TtBIkitHD7sDxpLzMfp/s1600/photo+3-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rf0mUcrjw-FLVpEhqH9g2HvcFiZ7t0DlmTk02o0nJuEyKTAbPWQeSjmWAqm4nLUCn82ZnBuueB57wPwNT7Za2lQHGoZsE8BBQ7P4CphMMwfFUwszn5Kk5bew6TtBIkitHD7sDxpLzMfp/s1600/photo+3-1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bRCSfFIYLAo3GUuzkeC3vp9W1Ek98MbpX5C9Ne7MNTr0DZl48T6TD_Ni4r3e9TbMgwbgxeCAvVGqPItwsQvLeFuDPL3muOJdzaSto-3suvivf8ZjRrxHjrsa_fALLq69IsvkLjG4bInt/s1600/photo+4-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bRCSfFIYLAo3GUuzkeC3vp9W1Ek98MbpX5C9Ne7MNTr0DZl48T6TD_Ni4r3e9TbMgwbgxeCAvVGqPItwsQvLeFuDPL3muOJdzaSto-3suvivf8ZjRrxHjrsa_fALLq69IsvkLjG4bInt/s1600/photo+4-1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
He learned very early on as Avery began to eat solids that the best place to be was directly under a young child's place at the table. We eventually had to lock him in the laundry room during meals so he wouldn't find opportune times to steal a peanut butter sandwich, destroy a birthday cake, or eat 2 whole chicken carcasses in the course of 1 week. He could eat and eat and eat. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdzXwcFuhCd-BYQjWSJ2ROqpLAdWIVxvT6rR3iCfsD4A_2womh9Z60_VZ4wWaFqoDwPQBwjeaE80LDw8Dui9nc4v_ldxIpfeR68altSrHvUfhTLem0JrY6Fogbp1k5f4X4jGSjUSdJR6S/s1600/photo+1-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>As his paw started dragging and his head started tilting, we did not realize how quickly things would progress to where he couldn't walk without assistance. Never have we been faced with such a difficult decision in our family as to when to take him to the vet to receive medicine to end his suffering. Today was that day. We are heartbroken. Beyond heartbroken. There will be no scuffle of his paws downstairs, no more barking when someone come to the door, no more tail wagging when the kids come home from school, no more belly rubs, no more swimming in the sea.<br />
You were the best dog, Quincy, Quinny-bin, Quinny-bear, Quinny-boo, Quiny Binny Boo, Booboo bear, Pupa Pa Nub, Pupa Dupa, Pupa Lupa. Thank you for teaching me how to love a dog and for forgiving me those times when I didn't love you the way you deserved (like when I would curse your name as I vacuumed your white fur off our black floors, endlessly). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0PTpkpehNSEMLst6FKK-zgAm4g5L7sVURe-QG02o5ExaZQ3QPJ5xFEXed46OD7_cmEQGtXuW_qiS7e8C8pNM45lCRTFsXtxpCbpR69vGBrW5mKiEfp5bdjMAPiSixenOQ884TMg4SwMO/s1600/photo+2-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0PTpkpehNSEMLst6FKK-zgAm4g5L7sVURe-QG02o5ExaZQ3QPJ5xFEXed46OD7_cmEQGtXuW_qiS7e8C8pNM45lCRTFsXtxpCbpR69vGBrW5mKiEfp5bdjMAPiSixenOQ884TMg4SwMO/s1600/photo+2-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a>karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-91889456666011425122014-06-02T21:14:00.000-07:002014-06-04T22:14:52.126-07:00Long Time No BlogIt's been over a year since I posted anything here. I have major feelings of guilt about not documenting my children's lives, especially Landon's. I mean really, how long will he be 3? How long was he 2? 365 days. Why can't I find/make the time in those 365 days to write a little something? At least Avery got some good coverage for the first few years of her life. I am not a scrap booker, not even a Shutterfly scrap booker, so this is it. And so I try again, working backward from today.<br />
This kid is a piece of work. He is delightful at times and challenging at others. The other day I walked into the bathroom to find this. <br />
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He always asks, "who gave me this?". Sadly (or interestingly) most of the things he asks this about are things that were given to Avery when she was little. For example, Rocky the rocking horse that our dear friends the Hollands gave Avery when she was two. I tell him the horse's name is Rocky and he says, "No, I don't like that name, his name is do la ja wo gee jo." Okay kid, whatever you say. karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-14088904683681140942014-05-15T21:33:00.000-07:002014-06-04T22:01:23.927-07:00Self-portrait<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The week before Open House, Avery's homework was to add hair to the self portrait she drew at school. I went to Target, who knew Target doesn't sell yarn? But as I drove to Michaels I talked to my sweet sister about my yarn dilemma. She said they would have yarn that matched her hair exactly. Turns out they did have every color under the sun and even some curly yarn. Avery insisted that the yarn be "golden".We got to view this on display at Open House. We were so proud of all the work we saw that Avery had done throughout the year. On her desk was a folder of her writing from the year, in chronological order. It was amazing to see the progress she has made with writing. I had to run off to night shift after open house so I was distracted and did not bring my phone to take the quintessential "kid with the teacher" picture. But I do have this picture from when Avery won an award for Achievement in writing in February. She loves loves loves her teacher Ms. Hodges.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jon did take one picture from the art show in the cafeteria, entitled "Starry Beach Night", inspired by my fave, Vincent van Gogh. I LOVE the lifeguard stand and palm tree. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-10891887082739864212014-05-12T22:33:00.000-07:002014-06-04T22:34:25.144-07:00Frozen at the beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are having a drought and unseasonably hot weather this spring. One day after school the 4 of us headed to the beach. Jon and I noticed something bobbing south along the waves. We could not tell if is was a raft, with or without someone holding on, or what it ended up to be: a bundle of balloons. The waves brought the balloons to shore and Jon ran over to grab them before they were taken back out to sea. Imagine the kids' great delight to see that they were Frozen balloons. Elsa on one side, Anna on the other. My kids have been Obsessed with Frozen since they saw it in the theater. They love to listen to and sing all the songs. When we go to Whole Foods these days, Landon makes me get him a large single carrot so he can pretend to be Olaf. So they were overjoyed to play with this find for the rest of our time at the beach. karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-38369362627115354862014-04-26T22:11:00.000-07:002014-06-04T22:13:32.909-07:00Curious Troublemaker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Landon is not really a kid who can be left alone for extended periods of time. This morning in particular he was experimenting with band aids. Not only did he cover both his nose and mouth (not a good idea) but he also stuck a big band aid on his eye and beautiful long eyelashes. He did not like when I had to peel that one off. Now he knows what happens when one sticks band aids all over their face.<br /><br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-40665678889793791812013-05-18T19:58:00.000-07:002013-05-21T20:01:04.492-07:00CountingLast week, all of a sudden, after forgetting about the numbers 5 and 6 for a couple of weeks, Landon was counting correctly all the way up to 10. Since that day, he has yet to remember 5 and 6 again. So it goes like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. He also went from singing the alphabet while missing half the letters to now getting almost all of them. It's super cute to listen to him singing nursery rhymes. He especially loves twinkle twinkle and its a small world. We love this smart little guy so much. <br />
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-28433030638444343502013-03-28T22:13:00.000-07:002013-05-21T22:13:45.134-07:00Truck LoverJon is constantly coming up with home improvement projects. One of these was building a portable fence to block off our driveway from our relatively busy street to let the kids and Quincy play out front a little bit while he gardens. The longest available fence to be found is only 25 feet across and we needed one that was 30 feet across so Jon came up with this system of pipes, netting and zip ties to make our very own special fence. We recently set it up one morning so Landon could watch the trucks that were working on our street. He loved watching them while we would walk Avery to school and didn't want to stop watching them when we got home. <br />
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-39475469234802964202013-03-28T21:43:00.000-07:002013-05-21T21:44:44.664-07:00Sweetest WordsAvery has taken to writing us letters. She will leave one on my pillow or give one to me when she gets home from school. They brighten my life. Here is a recent example. Sweet girl. And yes I will show this to her when she's a teenager and doesn't feel quite this way anymore!<br />
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-35069107851977274042013-03-25T21:51:00.000-07:002013-05-21T21:52:24.150-07:00That's my kidWhile in Atlanta, my sister gave me 2 pictures of me from when I was a toddler. We showed them to Landon and said, "who's that?" and he said, "Landon". See what you think. <br />
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karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-6945782552458095662013-03-25T21:35:00.000-07:002013-05-21T21:35:50.030-07:00Warning... GrossPrior to our departure for Atlanta, the kids sink was clogged mostly with Avery's hair. I asked Jon to deal with it but in the chaos of getting ready to travel, it was left for several days. We also have taken to eating chia seeds in smoothies and oatmeal. They contain omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants and minerals. Anyhow, they tend to get stuck in between teeth and are best removed by brushing your teeth. Do you see where this is headed? No? So sink is clogged with hair, then Avery brushes her teeth, chia seeds get stuck in the hair ball and alas, we come home 5 days later to a little chia plant growing out of our sink. So disgusting, but also an interesting little science experiment. And since Jon was still sick upon our return home, I had the great pleasure of cleaning out this mess!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gross, I know. </td></tr>
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-87670845090354023802013-03-25T21:20:00.000-07:002013-05-21T21:21:25.706-07:00Grandma Libby turns 95<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My beautiful, beloved grandmother Elizabeth turned 95 this March and we were so fortunate to get the whole family together and have a lovely party for her. Unfortunately the first night we arrived in ATL Jon came down with some wicked stomach bug that left him out of commission the whole trip and beyond. But the kids and I enjoyed our time with Grandma Libby, Grancy, Aunt Nita, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Mayo, Aunties Kate and Bee and all the cousins. We also got to see my college friend Karla. She brought the kids little gifts including chocolate covered bugs. The kids loved them, apparently not caring what the chocolate was covering. We went to the High Museum to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit. I didn't see much from the floor where we set up the kids to color pictures to keep them out of trouble, but it was still lovely.The party had a great turnout. We also had a fun easter egg hunt for the kids in my grandma's yard. Our flight home was crazy delayed but we did all make it home :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Landon Eating the Chocolate Covered Bug</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins playing at the water-logged park to keep out of trouble during party prep time</td></tr>
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My handsome nephew</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this picture</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh yes, it's true, that says flight home from ATL to LAX was delayed 6hr 19 min, and indeed it was...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancing in the airport, they were such troopers during the delay</td></tr>
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-42986946635838109042013-02-27T20:08:00.000-08:002013-05-21T20:25:41.062-07:00The new PauleyThanks to Great Work Perks, Jon and I were able to go to a UCLA basketball game this year. I got to see the newly remodeled Pauley Pavilion and it is super cool. They have made it very contemporary but have preserved the old center court in a sort of museum-style exhibit on the east side of the building. I hope to get back there again soon. I would love to take Avery to watch gymnastics there too. When I was 8, my mom took me to the Olympic gymnastics exhibition at the old Pauley and I can still remember my first exposure to UCLA. I loved watching Mary Lou Retton and Bart Conner perform. I digress. UCLA beat Arizona State 79-74 in overtime. They went on to be a terrible disappointment in the Tournament, but I did enjoy watching them win on the new home court. I love this place. <br />
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-92054921013268328932013-02-18T22:19:00.000-08:002013-05-20T22:53:03.877-07:00Road Trip The public schools in our city are part of their own school district. We have been very happy with our little (less than 370 K-5 students) neighborhood school so far. The principal, teachers, and support staff have been great. Due to budget cuts, this year we have 6 furlough days. At least they were kind enough to add the furlough days onto 3 day weekends to make them 4 days or at the beginning of spring break to make it 12 days instead of 11 days. That I appreciate, although I obviously wish there were no furlough days. Mid-February for President's Day weekend we took a little getaway to Palm Springs to stay at my friend's condo. It was great fun. We got to swim, go to the zoo and eat lots of frozen yogurt, the best of which was at Eddie's Frozen yogurt, so yummy. We brought Quincy too and he was in heaven. Landon figured out how to climb out of the pack and play this trip which was not so much fun. He was up very early each morning roaming around trying to find some trouble to get into, the worst of which was to drink the remnants from my wine glass from the previous night, surely not more than a drop or two.<br />
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Sweet, cuddly, sleepy guy</div>
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view from the balcony</div>
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Cool train exhibit at the zoo</div>
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Sooo hot</div>
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Carousel at the zoo</div>
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Lots of fun swimming time with our little tadpole</div>
karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-17553589805804907932013-02-09T22:10:00.000-08:002013-05-20T22:18:43.513-07:00We love kindergartenWatching Avery progress in Kindergarten this year has been so much fun. She went from knowing her letters and loving to be read to, to now trying to write sentences of her own. Her teacher insists that we not help with spelling, that she spell as she hears the word and I guess eventually she will learn how the words are really spelled. She also has done great with her sight word lists. She got to go to a father/daughter dance with Daddy and she had so much fun with him and all her friends. They did a little girl conga line and had shaved ice. <br />
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Avery's shrinky dink Valentine for her beloved teacher, aka chycher. </div>
karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-90715200565162977352013-01-15T20:53:00.000-08:002013-05-21T21:36:48.766-07:00Sweet Cousins and Aunties VisitAfter the New Year, we were graced with a visit from my sister and her family. We enjoyed a bunch of quality cousin time. We enjoyed the PV tide pools, sledding at the beach, park time, and a small birthday party for Landon and Auntie Bee. Here are a couple of pix from my phone. We are so lucky that although we live thousands of miles apart that both families make it a priority to get together as often as we can. Of course we didn't get to all the things we wanted to do, so they will have to come see us again soon. <br />
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Lucia, Quincy, and Elliott</div>
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Sweet matchy Minnie Mouse girls</div>
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Dark sunset after the tidepools</div>
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-68928578240014753392013-01-02T19:53:00.000-08:002013-01-02T19:53:05.042-08:00Late Christmas PresentLet me set the scene. Avery and Landon are in our bedroom playing "night night", where they get under the covers and pretend to sleep for a second, then jump around a little, then pretend to sleep again.<br />
Jon is in his office and I am downstairs finishing up making dinner.<br />
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Avery: "Come quick, Landon took off his diaper, and oh no...."<br />
Jon: "Karen! Karen! Come up here now!!"<br />
I grab paper towels and antibacterial spray (I've been here, done this before, or so I thought). <br />
Avery: "Landon teetee'd on your side of the bed, mom!"<br />
and as if it couldn't get worse...<br />
Avery: "And he pooped on daddy's side of the bed!"<br />
Yep it's true. In no time flat, he managed to use our bedding as his toilet/diaper.<br />
So now I am doing laundry, obviously.<br />
I carry the filthy linens downstairs to load them into the washing machine and am reminded as I look into the dryer that I still had Landon's laundry in the dryer from the night before, when he cried so hard (for no good reason) that he puked all over his crib. <br />
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It's a good thing he's so handsome. <br />
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-91252399317111372562012-12-29T21:07:00.000-08:002013-05-20T21:08:50.064-07:00SleepSo Landon, aka LB (landon baby) or Gogo bear, isn't the best nighttime sleeper I've ever known. But he sure does know how to nap in the car seat like none other. On more than one occasion he has fallen asleep before we even got out of the parking garage at work or driving down the street from home. He can also fall asleep being held at the beach surrounded by friends and family. <br />
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Now if he could just channel that into good home sleep...karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-50322946805111972242012-12-25T19:58:00.000-08:002013-05-20T22:07:00.676-07:00No Way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was at work on December 23 and Avery called me at work to tell me she learned how to ride her bike. Jon just brought the bike along to the park, she hasn't really been interested in trying to ride lately. We took the training wheels off over 6 months ago and worked on coasting mainly. So he didn't think that he should bring the camera, it was just another day. But alas, she decided to figure it out. So on Christmas day, after seeing what Santa brought, opening tons of wonderful gifts, eating frittata and blueberry coffee cake, we all trekked over to the park to watch Avery in action. We are so proud. It is strange, I can't explain why it is such an accomplishment, but it's such a cool thing to watch my big little girl ride her bike all alone (and to see her write about it too!).<br />
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karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-1405135287417697942012-09-03T17:32:00.000-07:002012-09-07T17:33:02.120-07:00Hot as what?There has been a recent hot spell in So Cal. The other day we were outside and Jon says "it is hot as Hades" to which Avery replies, "It is hotter than Katie's, because in Alabama there were thunder storms and clouds. But today is just hot. Hotter than Katie's".<br />
Jon and I just smiled at each other. She cracks me up sometimes. Most of the time I forget what she says though.karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-42505964699998444052012-07-02T19:41:00.000-07:002012-07-04T08:56:55.833-07:00Carnage in the Rapoport Garden<br />
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<span style="color: white;">So last year, I lovingly planted a garden and tended to it everyday - watering, weeding and fertilizing. We never got to eat ONE thing... Our dog Quincy got to it right when everything ripened and was ready to eat. He sacked and plundered our garden and made it look like a horrific crime scene. All I found were tomato seeds and half eaten peppers all over the place. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">So this year I tried it again, only I decided I would outsmart him and put up a fence. I have been even more vigilant this year with watering, weeding and fertilizing. Everything is coming in really nice. We even got to eat a single delicious tomato that came early.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">So last night I let Quincy outside and I guess he has been secretly planning his attack. We heard noises coming from outside, but I figured there was no way it was coming from our garden because of my fort knox like fence. I went out there and sure enough I smelled tomatoes in the air and that little stinker had breached the fence and was scarfing down some tomatoes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">In the morning I went out to survey the carnage and thankfully he only got two of them. I then spent 25 minutes rebuilding and reinforcing my fence to protect the remaining tomatoes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Then Avery and I let him out of the house to test my engineering skills and this is what we saw...</span></div>
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<br /></div>Rap Reporthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09836646739563169250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-81993087199401643232012-06-29T21:25:00.000-07:002012-07-14T21:26:21.915-07:00Pictures from Last day of Preschool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-75417718004191372252012-06-29T11:56:00.000-07:002012-07-01T12:06:26.196-07:00End of PreschoolThis week I have been acutely aware of the end of an era, the end of bringing Avery with me during the week when I drive to work. If I had to add up all the hours we have spent commuting since she was 3 months old, it probably ends up being thousands of hours in the car together. She has gotten so much more fun as the years have gone by. We have conversations about all kinds of things, from where the sun rises and sets to who she enjoyed playing with at school that day. <br />
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Last week Jon and I realized that it didn't make sense for her to go to school after 6/29 because she would only be there a few days in the next 2 months due to swim lessons, in-town company and a trip to the South, so I let her know 6/19 that she had 5 more days of school left. I thought she might be upset, but she was fine, happy even. <br />
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Recently, Landon has been crying incessantly on the drive home from school and Wednesday I sat in the front seat and marveled at how Avery will sing to him when I want to pull my hair out or scream! She must have sung 5 rounds of "Hush Little Baby" followed by "Twinkle Twinkle" followed by "Rock-a-bye Baby" and lastly "ABC's" until he Finally fell asleep. I will miss these precious moments. She also has taken to distracting him in the morning when I drop them off so he is not upset when I leave them. I hope he can start distracting himself now that she won't be with us. Friday was her last day. We made black-bottom cupcakes for the teachers and kids on Thursday. Avery was a big help in the kitchen, we made 8 dozen cupcakes! 6 dozen were mini cupcakes though. She loved licking the spatula and bowl. <br />
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Avery has been excited for her last day. She is excited to be "off school for the summer". I got through the morning ok, just a little teary eyed as I looked back to wave goodbye. Fine during the day until I went to pick them up and Teacher Edna, her teacher from blue group when she was 3 years old, had put a picture of her in the mailbox for us. I got totally choked up looking at how she has grown. We are so proud of Avery. She is growing up and we are excited for this next chapter in her life.karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-336456392453569142012-06-03T15:38:00.000-07:002012-07-01T12:06:53.156-07:00"Da"Our little guy is growing up. He is funny and loving. He is slowly but surely outgrowing his "bang my head on the floor, or bite you, or hit you when I am frustrated" phase. Thank goodness.<br />
He calls out to us throughout the day, "mama!!" "dada!" He says "da" for yes and often says "no!" when he means yes. Jon has figured out if he says no but you think he means yes, ask him to say please and if he says please (signing) then he really means yes. We have been asking him to say "Avery" for a few weeks now. He says something unintelligible and then we ask him again and he says "dada", reliably. It's so cute and sweet. The nickname "gogo bear" has seemed to stick, at least for now, thanks to Avery now we all call him gogo bear more than Landon. <br />
He is about to transition to the toddler room at school next week. He will have the same teachers that Avery had when she was a little one. Teachers Sheila and Beverly. I like both of them very much and know that he will love them. I went to talk with Miss Sheila and saw all the little ones asleep on their cots. It is hard to believe he is finished with cribs at school, growing up. I also remember when Avery transitioned to this class they told me she would be drinking from cups and would not miss the bottle and they were right. So I have sort of just waited for him to go to the toddler class to start weaning the bottle aggressively because I know they will help me so much with this transition. They are doing lots of water play now that it is summer time and he will love this. <br />
The teachers were sharing with me about seeing Avery after her piano lesson in the community area interacting with Landon during his snack time. He kept going to her and giving her hugs and he became upset when his teachers told him it was time to go back into the infant room so Avery said "Landon you need to go with your teachers into your room now" and he listened to her. They really are so sweet to each other, almost all the time.karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399062236223826634.post-59843864663668823322012-05-26T16:22:00.000-07:002012-07-14T21:36:44.668-07:00The Great Flood of 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I should have known May 9th when I pulled up to the garage with the kids in the backseat after a long day of work and saw the garage door open and the wet-vac in the garage that something bad was going on. But I didn't. I should have known when Avery went inside and said "wow, look mommy!" that something bad was going on, but I didn't. I really thought it might still be a good surprise. But alas, our dining room had flooded. Jon had spent the past hour or so wet-vaccing the floors to get up as much of the water as he could. Over the course of the next week or so, our floors were slowly ripped up by various workers. We found mold, possibly from an old flood from before we bought the house. So we tried to see that as a silver lining, flood the house but get rid of mold. We also ended up having to remove about 1/2 the downstairs flooring, which got rid of a few bad scratches we had from the past year. Lastly, we got new baseboards which had been kind of shoddily done and now they look wonderful. This is the tiny hole in the pipe that caused all the trouble.<br />
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We are so happy to have our house put back together again!<br />
<br />karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06356095935326592055noreply@blogger.com0