Our Week

"Where going today?" has become a regular question out of Brooklyn's mouth many a morning lately. It's easy to see why - we have been on the go for the past couple of months now. Every day is a new adventure. Though we have called our San Diego apartment home for about a month now, things haven't really calmed down. There are still plenty of places to go and people to see. Here are the highlights of our our week: Moonlight Beach, Encinitas; creating sand castles and splashing around with cousins Drew and Alyssa.
Is it a dead-give-away that we are not San Diego natives with Brooklyn's Dodger cap? (Thanks aunt Pip!

For the first few minutes after seeing her cousins and the shore, Brooklyn screamed at the top of her lungs in pure excitement. She has no fear of water or waves. Nor does she mind bigger cousins hugely splashing around her or trying to carry her while wading in the ocean . I even let Brooklyn get toppled by a couple of waves to show her that they are powerful and dangerous. This did not stop her constant fearless frollicking in them. After being tossed under a big wave, she'd just stand right up again, rub the salt water out of her eyes and nose, then stand ready for the next round of white-water. She is not at all detered by the cold temperature of the water either. This is unlike her gutless mother who cautiously creeps ankle-deep into the water and slowly lets her body "adjust" to the temperature while backing away from any excessive splashing. By the time her mom is wading into the tollerable shallow waters, Brooklyn has bounded yards ahead, waist deep and loving life. She doesn't mind the splashes, the tempurature, the wild and unpredictable waves. She's thrilled with the wonder of it all. Here is Brooklyn and Charlie Koch. Nora (Charlie's mom) came from Huntington Beach to visit us on Friday. It was so cute how Brooklyn would try to "mother" Charlie around. She called him "Carly" because she can't make her consonant-blend sounds yet. "Ch" is out of the question, no matter how hard we try. One thing these two have in common (besides crazy moms who have been best friends since about age 2) is that they both LOVE to eat. Can you tell by the creamsicle mustaches? I'm sure the next words out of Brooklyn's mouth were "MORE PO-SI-COE!" It was so cute too because after Nora and Charlie left, Brooklyn said "That was fun." Priceless. I've always thought Nora is pretty fun too, Brookie!
This last picture is a Badger sandwich!

Mark flew into San Diego Saturday morning so that he could drive home with Tracy on Sunday. So, Brooklyn, Stephen, and I piled into the car Saturday morning to pick Mark up, then drive up to Vista to join Tracy, Drew, and Alyssa. (Side note: We did not know we were staring at Mark when we first saw him at the airport! He was wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a full-on two-week 'stach and beard thingy! WHAT?! Who is this stranger posing as Brooklyn's uncle?!) We hung out with the Mark&Tracy clan at their gammy's house in Vista all day. Brooklyn loved watching Cinderella with Alyssa, playing dress-ups, feeling all the soft wax-candles in the fancy sitting room, exploring the toy selection, going potty with an audience of cousins, and generally running around with "Doo" and "Lyssa." Brooklyn loves being right in the center of the action, no matter what the age of the other "little people" and loves any form of rough-housing or dog-piling. I just don't know where she gets her love of physical closeness and affection. Is it because she's a McKendrick or a Badger or a MacBadger?