Enzo and Pee Wee

Our neighbor's dog Pee Wee has been spending a bit of time at our place lately.  Turnip loves the little guy and Enzo gets super excited to have a dog to play with.  Pee Wee loves to play fetch and Enzo thinks it is hilarious.
You can also see in this video where I tried for the second time to cut his hair.  I was just trying to trim a few hairs behind his right ear, but he ended up with two large bald spots on the right side.  Oops.

Super Fun Weekend!

It's been so long since I've had a whole weekend off and the weekend of July 6th and 7th I finally had one!  We scheduled lots of fun stuff and the weather was extremely cooperative.  On Saturday we went to Amey's for our second annual grilled pizza party (the GPP).  Here's a wonderful recap of the grub and the people over at Amey's blog.  Go take and look and start drooling.  I can't wait for our next one!

However, even more exciting than eating pizza is the chance to see Snoopy, Amey's littlest dog.  He's the sweetest a dog could ever be and is a certified love magnet.  We got some good Snoopy time in!

There's some other great ones here if you need more!

Then on Sunday Jake, Enzo and 2 friends hiked the Skyline to the Sea trail in Big Basin, the entrance being about 20 minutes from our house.  It's a 12 mile hike starting in the mountains and ending at the sea.  It's beautiful and has a really cool waterfall Enzo was really into.  I didn't do the whole trail because I had pie making plans!  I spent the morning making ollalaberry pie then drove to the ocean part of the trail, hiked in and met them about 1/3 from the end.  Then we all hiked out together.  Enzo was such a trooper over the 12 miles!  Jake said he stayed in the backpack mostly because he doesn't walk in a straight line and the woods are covered in poison oak.  So, for skin safety reasons Enzo stayed in the pack but got lots of on the ground time too, even if it meant the trail was hiked at a much slower pace.

18 & 19 Months

I had really intended to write a big ONE AND A HALF YEARS OLD! post last month.  I really did.  Life, however, had different intentions and I was emotionally and physically exhausted since our bout of bad luck started in April.  Nothing was going right due to external forces and I was sick of being frustrated, tired and sad for 2 months straight.  However, over this past weekend things have really picked up and there has been fun, joy and a lack of broken appliances in our house.  It has been amazing!  My dad did fall 20 feet out of a tree, but he seems totally unscathed thankfully.  That could have been really bad.

Enzo, on the other hand, has been healthy and doing all sorts of smart and active things ALL THE TIME.  He surprises me every day with all the words and signs he pulls out of his little peanut brain.  He jumps off furniture, loves to ride his push tricycle, runs around the house in circles while babbling and sometimes even plays independently.  He just started experimenting with imaginative play which is super duper cute.  Baby Sweet-Feets (current nickname) is the class clown at school and remains a picky eater.  He has 16 teeth as of last weekend (the canines look like little gremlin teeth).  He's into watching videos on Youtube, and can watch this one over and over if we let him.  He really cannot get enough of those dogs.    

And now for the reason you all stop by here....

We'll start in May when we were Michigan the first time.

By far my favorite picture of the summer!

At Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids

Observing goats at the zoo and feeding our friends' chickens in Detroit

Back in California it was HOT.  Staying cool except for the hiking boots he insisted on wearing.

And now we're in June, officially 18 months old.

Loves tricycles - this was actually at a restaurant.  And eating plain tofu.  Hey, whatever he will eat.

 Back in Michigan helping make strawberry shortcake for 150 people for Pat's memorial.  Strawberries are his passion.

Back at Meijer Gardens.  These swim trunks kill me!!

Grandpa Angelo brought out the rocking horse he made and that I played with as a child.  Enzo loved it.

Does Grandma Tweet-Tweet dress like a toddler boy or does Enzo dress like a grandma?  You decide.

Organic California strawberries are his jam!  (pun intended)

His "where is it" gesture.  THE CUTEST GAME EVER!!!

Helping dad shop at Trader Joe's while mama works.

Ollalaberry picking with dad.  Loved the box of dirt most of all.  And yes, dad did put a temporary tattoo on him.

And we've been making some amazing food this summer!  Mexican tofu scramble with refried beans and cilantro salsa was a hit.  Summer produce is in full swing as is our garden.  LOVE IT!

Ollalaberry pie before being put in the oven.  This is Jake's favorite pie (made for the first time last year) and shall be made every summer from now on.

Next up on the blog, some shots of the garden and other summertime activities!