Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday

What are those days? At 9:30 each Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday evening, there is a fireworks display at Disney's Magic Kingdom. And now that the diggers have removed the hill to the northeast of us, Caden's bedroom provides a perfect view of the fireworks some 20 miles away.

It's been a fun and busy time here in Irvine. Last weekend brought a visit from Auntie Sally. Caden had the day off of school on Monday, so we went kayaking on the Newport Back Bay. 

Caden joined Cub Scouts, and he and Dada just returned from a pack overnight campout at Firestone Scout Reservation. Caden had a great time shooting (archery, slingshots, and BB guns), hiking, eating s'mores, and hunting for tarantulas. 

Finn's vocabulary continues to grow (cat, bird, whoa!), and he is standing on his own and on the verge of walking. 

Nana, Boopa, and a new tooth for Finn

As the title implies, this past week or so featured a visit from Nana and Boopa, who were here from Thursday to Tuesday. It was great to share our new home with them, and they were super helpful.

Caden is enjoying Little League, and this past weekend he had an away game in Laguna Hills. It was a night game, and the boys had fun playing under the lights. Here, Finn watches Caden at bat.

Caden and Mama are reading Harry Potter, and - coincidentally - an owl arrived last week inviting us to a Halloween party:

And Finn is now 15 months old. His vocabulary continues to grow and includes Mama, Dada, bu-ba (brother), nana (banana = food), da (dog), vroom vroom (anything that drives), digger, milk, up, hi, and bye bye. He also has a new tooth - a molar way back in his mouth - bringing his current total to nine teeth.

Orchids

We just returned home from the amazing Fascination of Orchids Show in Santa Ana. It was a fun morning, with breakfast at the adjacent Corner Bakery before checking out the flowers. Mama, Dada, and Caden each brought an orchid home, and Finn loved seeing all of the blooms. He became frustrated that Dada wouldn't let him touch any, and Dada finally had to go find a landscaped patch of ferns nearby so that Finn could touch some plants. 

Finn has been making mischief of one kind and another throughout our new house. We have been blocking the stairs with a good-sized storage crate, and this morning, Caden had a toy on the stairs, and Finn decided that he wanted it. So he climbed right over the crate and up the stairs. So much for *that* barrier.

We pulled out some more toys for Finn - we've kept a lot of our favorites from when Caden was younger in reserve - including this Mega Blocks train:

Note how Finn builds towers out of the blocks.

And, Caden and Mama finished sorting his Legos into bins for storage on his new shelf:

Settling in

We officially moved out of our apartment on the 17th and have been unpacking and settling in to our new house. It has been great fun to watch Finn explore, assess, and enjoy it. The boys' rooms are set up, the kitchen becomes more usable every day as boxes are unpacked, the garage floor is sealed, and we now have internet.

Setting up Caden's room.

Finn checks out the new garage floor...

... and the "infinite" mirrors in Mama and Dada's bathroom.

Movie night.

Helping assemble a shelf to corral Caden's Legos:

Finn is wondering what to do with these.

Caden shows him how to screw the shelves together. Finn really wants to help.

Yay! Finn gets to help, too. And he really does say "yay" :) 

Finn helps out.

Caden is playing Little League this fall, so Sunday afternoons are spent watching baseball. And speaking of baseball, Dada and Caden went to watch the AL West Champion Angels play on Friday night. 

Finn watches Caden on the field ...

... and in the dugout.

At the Big A.

Transitions

The past couple of weeks have included some important milestones. Caden started 3rd grade just after Labor Day. He likes to be back at school so he can see his friends again and is enjoying meeting new friends in his new class. And Finn turned 14 months old on the 10th.

We are also homeowners again! We closed escrow on our new home in University Hills on the 8th and have been slowly moving in over the past several days. Here is Caden exploring the house during our walk-through:

Finn has been enjoying the moving boxes:

Come visit!

Caught in the act

1976:

2014: