What season is it?

Those of you who have been out to this part of California know how beautiful the weather is all year round. It is very temperate since we are so close to the ocean. This makes it very tricky when talking to a four year old about what the seasons are. Here is an example to elaborate. The other day we were riding in the car to story time at the library and this is the conversation LeOra and I had.

LeOra: "Mom I just saw some leaves on the ground and falling from that tree. It must be fall."

Me: "Well, no it is actually winter time."

LeOra: "But I thought it was cold in the winter time?" (the weather that day was sunny and warm)

Me: "Well, yes it is usually cold in the winter. But is depends on where you live as to how cold it gets. Here it doesn't get as cold as other places."

LeOra: "So is it summer because it is so warm today."

Me: "No it is still technically winter. Look at that tree. She the one that has no leaves on it. That is what happens in the winter, there are no leaves on the trees. In the spring there are blossoms and flowers on the trees, in the summer there are bright green leaves, in the fall the leaves turn color and fall off the trees and in the winter time there are no leaves on the trees. "

A few minutes later.

LeOra: "Look mom it must be spring now. That tree has pretty pink blossoms on it."

I suppose that is what I get for using trees as an example of what season it is. There are things blooming all year round here. The weather is wonderful, but very confusing!

Where did the time go?

Alright, so it has been a while since my last post. I have no idea where January went! (Or half of February for that matter.) Here in the Ziegler house hold we have been very busy.

We started out the month with a foreign exchange student from Japan. His name was Takahiro and he stayed with us for only three nights. He was with his student group for most of the time and we really only had Saturday to give him a California experience. We started out the day with a walk on Pismo Pier and then on Pismo Beach. He and the girls made sand castles and then he wrote their names in the sand in Kanji. We then took him to the Pismo Outlet mall where he was very excited about all the deals he could get here in America. We came home and had pizza and then he made Shiratama dango for us. It is a dessert that is little spongy balls mixed with fruit or dipped in honey or chocolate sauce. They were very delicious. Then I had to go to work while he and RJ stayed home and watched some American movies and ate more American junk food. It was a lot of fun and the girls liked having someone here. LeOra still asks me about Japan and it's culture.
I think the one above and the one below are LeOra. There is often two ways to write things. I forget what the first picture is. I think it is Takahiro's name.

The rest of the month was just filled with good ol' little girl fun. This is a picture I took at Costco. It was the first time that I put Kirstin in the cart and she just looked so cute.

Every time the girls take a bath Kirstin crawls over, pulls herself up and splashes and plays with the girls. She usually comes out soaking wet and I don't know why I don't just put her in there with them. It so cute to watch and full of giggles.
One day LeOra came running down the hall, giggling, while wearing her daddy's boots and sun glasses. I thought it was way cute and as usual she was willing to pose for the camera.

Look very closely at the little smile on Kirstin. Do you see the two little bottom teeth that are coming it? They are there! My little girls finally cut her first teeth. She has grown up so much lately. She is nine months and I can't believe it. In addition to the teeth, she has started giving kisses, pulls up on everything (the garbage can is her favorite), won't touch baby food and will only eat what we are eating. I don't really blame her for that. She loves her sisters and love crawling into their room and playing with them. I know when she has gone in there because I hear LeOra and Mackinsie saying, "Hurry, hurry pick up the polly pockets so that Kirstin won't choke. She is crawling in here to play."

Besides days filled with glittery crafts or going to story time at the library or dance class or the park, that is what we have done this month. Hope your year started out as fun as ours!