Niles Canyon Railway

Chillin' on the open train car

One of the cars in the train yard where they restore everything

The engine

Alex at The House of Dumplings afterwards

On Sunday we had a fun little outing to the Niles Canyon Railway.  It was a gorgeous day outside and we were able to spend some of our train ride in the open cars of the train.  Afterwards, we headed over to House of Dumplings for a lunch before heading home.  Alex was determined to use the regular chopsticks, since we didn't have his cheater chopsticks with.  Surprisingly, he made them work quite well.  The noodles, pork bao, seaweed salad, and the salt and pepper tofu were all super yummy!

EatReal

Collage of some of the sights at the EatReal Festival in Oakland this weekend

Alex and I in front of the Hapa SF truck

Hapa refers to someone who is of mixed descent, someone who is part Asian and part whatever else....like Alex ;-)

Eating a Scotch egg from Chiefto's West African Cuisine

Standing in front of Gerard's Paella pan to give some scale as to how large it was....must have been 8 feet in diameter!

We went to the EatReal Festival at Jack London Square this weekend to sample some of the best street food that the Bay Area has to offer.  After looking at dozens of trucks and stands, we sampled some lumpia from Hapa SF, falafel from Liba, Scotch Egg from Chiefto's West African Cuisine, Korean tacos and noodles from Seoul on Wheels and one of La Loo's Bambino goat's milk ice cream sandwiches, along with some local bitters to wash everything down. 

We would have loved to try some of Gerard's paella too, but there just wasn't enough time for everything.  Their operation was quite impressive.  The paella pans were huge and it smelled delicious.  The largest pan was probably eight feet in diameter and had its own trailer, to give you an idea of exactly how big it was.  I was quite impressed with the organization of and participation in the festival.  It was great to see everyone out and enjoying some good food from the area.  Alex's favorites were the lumpia and the Scotch egg, as well as that ice cream sandwich, which he basically polished off by himself.

Beans, Beans, Beans

Who knew at a couple of cups of pinto beans, two bowls and a scoop could be so interesting?  A couple of months ago, Alex found that scoop in my kitchen tool drawer and he wanted to "use" it in his kitchen.  I thought that the beans would be perfect to scoop with it and really not too bad to clean up either.  Turns out, he loves it.  There was alot of scooping and dumping between the bowls and then last week he said he was measuring coffee beans (Garuda, of course).  He was "grinding" them and then asked me for a bag, so I gave him one and he went to town, pretending to be the barista at Peet's.  Great entertainment and cheap...gotta love it.  Added bonus, good way to hand-eye coordination.

Big Boy!!

So, I asked Alex if I could take a picture of him in his big boy underwear,

and these are the poses he came up with to showcase his favorite Lightning McQueen underwear.  He cracks me up!

So, it has been almost three weeks now, and even though I have been bursting with pride, I have been waiting to post about this, probably, for fear that I would somehow jinx the process.  But now that I have waited, I am going to go ahead, because I am so proud of Alex!  For three full weeks, he has been wearing big boy underwear every day, all day, with the exception of nighttime, during which he has even been dry a couple of nights.  He has done a stellar job and has really taken to the whole potty thing. 

We have our accidents here are there, but overall, it has gone so much better than I anticipated.  I know that there will be ups and downs, but for the moment, we are on a good track and I must say, I am super duper proud of our little guy!  He's gone on outings to the city, in a boat, to classes and to the pool, all in big boy underwear.  We're still working on public restrooms, which is challenging, because I cannot blame him for not wanting to go, when I really don't like them either.  We have found some "nice" restrooms as he has labeled them and he will go there.  Unfortunately, many are not so "nice" and after he checks them out, he has no desire to go any longer and will wait. 

It seems like the big boy underwear were the clincher in the deal.  He picked out some "Cars" underwear with Lightning McQueen and Mater on them and then has some other boxer briefs with all sorts of balls on the waistband and he quite proud to wear them.  He has been showing them off to many friends, just beaming with pride.  It is too cute! 

So, here's to continued progress on the potty front.  So far, so good!

Pool Time!

Alex and Johnny having fun with the barbells

Having a little laugh while enjoy the nice water

Johnny, Sophie and Alex chillin' on the edge of the pool

What a great morning we had!  Johnny and Carrie invited us to come over to the Piedmont Pool to stay cool, so we joined them and Becca and Sophie as well, for a nice relaxing pool morning.  Summer has finally arrived in the Bay Area and the forecast says that it is going to get up to 101 today, so it was a perfect pool morning.  It is amazing how much different going to the pool is now, compared to three summers ago when we used to bring them.  They love hanging out on the barbells,, walking in the shallow side of the pool and playing train, going back and forth across the pool.  Thanks for having us over!  It was a great way to spend the morning.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Alex helped Daddy blow out the candles

and fully enjoyed the cupcake!

We had a nice birthday dinner with Daddy tonight.  Some ribs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and cupcakes for dessert.  Alex devoured more ribs than I did, I think and he loved the chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting too!  Wishing Daddy a year that is the best, since he is the most fabulous Daddy around!

Birthday Wishes!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday Dear Daddy!  Happy Birthday to you!  We love you!!

Love from,

Mommy, Alex and Xena

Out and About

An egret at the wildlife refuge

Alex and Mommy at Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge

Alex flying the Spiderman kite all by himself!

"Taking pictures" of the kite

Somehow last weekend just slipped away and I didn't post any pictures.  We did have a fun weekend, though.  We spent time at the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, near Fremont on Saturday.  There weren't alot of birds there right now, but I think if we go back in the Fall we will be able to see a whole host of different birds.  Probably more exciting that day was our new restaurant find, "The House of Dumplings" in Union City.  I found it on Yelp with good reviews and it did not disappoint.  We had the house made chow mein, salt and pepper tofu, dumplings, and pork knuckle and they were all super yummy!  Too bad it is a half an hour away, but regardless, we will be back.  Tiny place, but excellent food and nice people.  Check it out sometime if you are in the area.  It is very near to the Sunol railway, so it would be a good lunch destination after a train ride too!

On Sunday, we went to Berkeley Marina to fly our trusty Spiderman kite.  As you can see, Alex flew it all by himself.  We had a nice little snack on the blanket and watched kites, including ours, which was being flown by a neighboring bush most of the time.  Gotta love modern kites, so easy!

Bon Voyage

Cutie Charlotte checking out her travel journal

Mr. Tickle Monster

Enjoying the entertainment provided by Maggie and Emma

Ryan enjoying the entertainment

On Saturday night we went to a going away party for the Gandy's at The Scaff's home in Martinez.  It was a beautiful evening, with great food, fun company and even some entertainment provided by Maggie on her flute and Emma on her guitar.  It will be sad to see the Gandy's move to London for a few years, but we are excited for all of the fun they will have there.  Hmmm, maybe we'll need to make a trip to visit.  Bon Voyage to Mike, Katherine, Charlotte and Ryan!

Sunday, Sunday

Good little blackberry picker

On a mission to take the wagon to the next row

Looking back to make sure the berries are still there

Showing off the loot!

Since we had a nice sunny day yesterday, we wanted to take full advantage of it!  We headed over to the coast and went to Swanton Berry Farm again.  We originally planned to go to the beach, but ended up at the berry farm first.  This time they had blackberries, which was great, because Alex has really been into blackberries lately and a couple of weeks ago he had mentioned that he would like to go somewhere to pick some, after we saw some growing wild along side a road.  We picked a bunch of blackberries and brought home some strawberries too.  It was more work to pick the strawberries this time, since they seem to be nearing the end of the season.  They were smaller and not quite as juicy, but still delicious organic berries!  We had some with ice cream last night and with pancakes this morning, and maybe we will tackle some jam later this week.

After the berry picking, we went up to Princeton by the Sea and Alex played at the beach for a bit while we waited to get a table at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company.  We had a nice seafood lunch with a great view.  Alex was in heaven with his fish and chips and Daddy's steamed garlic prawns!  The boy loves his seafood, just like Daddy!

On the way home we drove by the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and it happened to be around low-tide, so we stopped for a bit to see if we could see anything in the tidepools.  We did see lots of hermit crabs, and some anenemoes.  It is always fun to go there and look for things. 

By the time we got in the car to go home, Alex was wiped out, although he would never admit such a thing.  He was asleep by the time we got to Highway 1, which is perhaps a three minute drive!

Field Trip

Griffin's first time at the BART station.  As you can see, he was quite excited!

Alex and Griffin checking out one of the giant face sculptures in Justin Herman Plaza

A game of "chase" around the sculptures

Taking time out for a snack by the ferry boats

Erin and Griffin on the train

Taking in the industrial view in West Oakland.  Plenty of trucks and equipment to keep these boys happy.

Chillin' on the ride home

We had a fun little outing today with Erin and Griffin.  We thought that the boys would enjoy taking BART to the city, so that was the plan.  We met up mid morning and surprise, surprise, the weather cooperated with us!  It was even cloudless and sunny in San Francisco!  It was Griffin's first time on BART, so he was super excited and they both loved watching all of the trucks and cars on Hwy 24 from the Rockridge platform.  In San Francisco, we checked out Justin Herman Plaza and the fountain and sculptures, spent some time at the Ferry Building chasing pigeons and watching the ferries come and go, and then headed to Gott's for a nice lunch outside.  It was a great day to get out and enjoy!

Smash, Mash, Crash!

Reading "Smash Mash Crash" from David Chng on Vimeo.

For his 2nd birthday, Alex received the book, "Smash, Mash, Crash" from Cousins Landen and Mackenna and Uncle Brant and Auntie Bonnie.  It is a very cute book about what else, garbage trucks, so it has always been super popular.  Within two weeks, he had it memorized and was reciting it around the house.  We finally took a full video of him "reading" it, the other night.

Jumping Bean

Jumping Bean! from David Chng on Vimeo.


So, just in case you were wondering, Alex still loves "Say Hey (I Love You)" and he is still full of plenty of energy to dance to it.  This video is from last night.  Alex had already been in dancing mode for awhile, before we got the camera out to capture the show.

Out on the Lake

Yesterday the sun finally peeked through early in the day, so we went to Lake Chabot and took a boat out for a couple of hours.  Alex enjoyed feeding some coots and watching the other birds on the lake.  It was a nice morning with great weather to just enjoy hanging out and having a snack in the boat.

Enjoying more of Tilden Park

Happy, happy boy!

Quite the ham....

with a little modeling thrown in to boot!

The quizzical look on his face is because he saw that plant to the left and thought it was squash of some sort and was dismayed to find that there was nothing growing underneath.

Waiting for the train to leave the station

Alex and I had a fun morning exploring the Botanical Garden in Tilden Park.  All of the little pathways and bridges mixed with plants, redwoods and birds made for a cool place to hang out this morning.  It is very near to the Brazilian Room where David and I were married and had I known what it was like, I would have had some of our photos taken there.  After that little adventure, we stopped at the beloved steam trains for a ride before heading home.  As you can see, we are enjoying a Bay Area summer, with our jackets and hats still a necessity until around noon on many a morning.

Speaking of the Zoo...

Silverback Gorilla

He came right up and just posed for the camera for about ten minutes

The penguins

Mr. Rhino

A good view of the anteater's nose

One of the many peacocks....clearly Alex's favorite on this visit

We went to the San Francisco Zoo on Sunday as well, with Daddy.  We had not been there in a long time and although it was a chilly, chilly summer morning, we were able to see many animals which we do not normally get to see at the Oakland Zoo.  I've included some of Daddy's nice photos so that you can all see them too!  The gorillas were quite amazing, and the baby was really cute!  Alex especially loved the peacocks, just like he did when we visited the farm on Friday.  In fact, he loved them so much that we purchased some peacock feathers from the gift shop on the way home.  Thanks to Rhonda for those!