Why So Serious?

For the most part, Dillon is all smiles and goofball antics, but there are moments where she puts on her serious face:

This picture raises a lot of questions.

Play-Doh time.

Pocoyo time.

Nutcracker time.

Adventures in Daycare: Please Silence Your Phones

Dillon has now been going to daycare for half her life! Shocking that 18 months has gone by so quickly. She continues to make friends, take "half naps," play and dance.

Bubbles!

Dillon and friends working on a photo project.

Class picnic in the lobby.

Working on some turtle art with Sophie Loaf.

Using potato mashers as paint brushes.

Flamingo + Flapper

Here's what happens when you try to jury-rig a Halloween costume only a few days in advance: your daughter will look adorable. But she will look like a flapper more than a flamingo. I guess they had flamingos in the 1920s too.

Pretty cute, kiddo.

Leg warmers as arm warmers.

Flamingo beak.

Happy enough in all pink.

It Wasn't So Hot But...

This year we decided to mix it up and head to Del Mar for pumpkin patch festivities. On the plus side, it wasn't nearly as hot as the last two years. On the negative side, it was more like a really loud, garish carnival than a bucolic gourd farmland. Did Dillon notice? Not with a giant inflatable slide around...

Pumpkin Love.

This time with daddy.

The 1,000,000th carousel ride.

I'm swatting away a bee before the kids go down.

Whee!

Here's a quick video of the slide in action (music from Danny Elfman's "Pee Wee's Playhouse" suite).

Baked Beans and Ballerinas (II)

Little Amare.

Twin ballerinas Maddy and Olivia.

Amare's big brother Austin.

Every little girl needs a sparkly crown.

Dillon had a wardrobe change before cake time.

Literally chillin' on a cooler.

Takeaway candy-coated pretzels. They were really good!

Baked Beans and Ballerinas (I)

For Dillon's third birthday party we decided to combine her two loves: baked beans and The Nutcracker. While the kiddos watched the ballet inside, we feasted on BBQ in the backyard. There was also an incident with some paint (truly what kind of stupid woman would put out paint at a birthday party), but everything was cleaned up by the time the cake came out.

This was the first cake...

Pre-party dancing.

Relaxing with some juice.

The painting begins with "Darinda"...

Her dress looks like a crime scene.

Underneath the dress doesn't look any better.

The Day of Too Many Pies (II)

Again...too many pies--it's not possible! After a much-needed nap, Dillon's third birthday festivities continued with pumpkin decorating, opening presents, a ride on the trolley and pizza pie. I loved spending the day with her and I think she tolerated me for the most part.

The sparkliest pumpkin ever!

Opening birthday cards.

And birthday presents.

Riding the trolley with Snow White.

She photo bombed...

The trolley was kind of loud.

But the pizza was good!

The Day of Too Many Pies (Part I)

First let me state for the record that I don't think there is such thing as "too many pies," but it seemed on Dillon's birthday we put that theory to the test. For her third birthday I was able to take the day off from work. We headed up north to check out the San Diego Botanic Garden which was really beautiful--another little gem I knew nothing about. But let's face it, it was just an excuse to visit Betty's Pie Whole Saloon for lunch...

This gazebo's made for dancing.

Vogue.

She was not interested in any mommy/daughter photos.

A sample of the garden foliage.

Turkey meatball pie.

Milky Way pie.

The pie was a hit!

ABCs of Rock

This video is a few months old, but Dillon is pretty good at identifying some classic rock acts. She even refers to one of our friends as "Dave Not David Bowie."