laguna trolley rides and such.

john joined us on wednesday night, and since he doesn't have to go back to work  until the 1st (and we can't move into our place until then anyway), we have been playing at his aunt jayme's house in laguna. it's been a perfect little break. most days we have been lounging around, eating good food, and going to the beach. on saturday we went on a trolley ride to downtown laguna, and cora's joy was incomprehensible.

(i will have to update this post later with the video of her riding the trolley. it basically broke the internet ;)

we walked around some shops in downtown and let hazel play on the playground for a bit before riding the trolley back. the girls thought it was so fun! 

endless beach photos

for what a stressful week of house-hunting it was last week, it's been a pretty relaxing week this week! a well-deserved break, if i do say so myself ;) we have spent lots of time at the beach and my girls are becoming pros. here's some photos of our recent beach adventures since "moving" to california. (i think i'll remove those quotations once we actually have a house ;)

manhattan beach:

venice:

laguna:

also, we are really excited over here because our daddy is flying in tonight! 

strawberry picking with cousins:

john's cousins invited us to go strawberry picking at tanaka farms with them yesterday and we had a total blast. if there's one fruit my girls love, it's strawberries! we got a tractor tour of the farm, and tried out different raw vegetables. here is my very picky girl licking an onion! it was a big day for us:

the girls and i tried corn, green beans, onion, and carrots. green beans are one of my favorite veggies but they are terrible raw. i grew up eating raw carrots out of the garden and that was just as delicious as i remember. cora happily knawed on that carrot the entire tractor ride:

and of course, we got filthy eating delicious strawberries right from the bushes. 

what a week. we have been in california for just over a week, and i already know we are going to love it here. out of the kindness of their hearts, mimi and grandpa helped us find a place, and i think it's going to be just perfect for us! every day this week when i've asked hazel, "what should we do today?" she says, "go to the beach!". right now we are staying at aunt jayme's and i have no problem (nor difficulty) indulging her ;)

hazel's darling preschool class had a mother's day tea party last friday.  it has been so fun to see her learn and grow and make friends, and we are so sad to be leaving this week!  here's a clip of the kids singing for all the moms.  it makes me so happy to see how much fun she is having up there.  {and i love how she is always the first one to clap for herself ;}

mother's day tea from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

favorites

here are some things that our girls are loving right now.

CORA:
singing: "i'm so glad when daddy gets home", and then doing all the actions to him.  so cute.
eating kleenex
pressing buttons
blowing kisses
running up to me, planting a juicy kiss on my lips and then turning around to sit in my lap
throwing her head down on the ground in a fit of rage when she doesn't get her way
the book: "moo baa la la la"
when we clap and say "yay!"
reading books
playing outside on a warm day


HAZEL:
snapchat
singing: twinkle twinkle, abc's, mary had a little lamb, days of the week song, itsy bitsy spider, disney princess songs, etc.
puzzles!
jumping on the couch (although i'm not too thrilled about this)
reading at least "five books" every night. (the negotiating has begun)
telling what she ate for a snack at school that day.
going to the park or playground or play gym
talking about money and how we buy things
counting - my favorite is everything past thirty - "twenty-ten, twenty-eleven, twenty-twelve...."
talking about what words start with which letter

love these two girls {and their daddy!} and the laughter and fun they provide each day.  i am so blessed.

party in NYC

the hursts came to visit!  and having them here was just about the greatest thing.  we gave them space to play in NYC without us most of friday, but then pounced on them for dinner and times square in the evening.  we went to amy ruth's in harlem for ryan's birthday, and it definitely did not disappoint.  it was our first time going stroller-less, and we were also so proud of hazel for walking during our two days in the city.  saturday we spent the whole day in the city and she walked miles without complaint!  {but crashed HARD at dinner, poor thing.}

 it was quite cold and rainy this weekend, so we opted for winter coats.  and hazel wore pinkalicious and, as you can see, was THRILLED about it.  she also did some drumming with some drummer on the street.  and i quickly sanitized her hands afterwards ;)

smelling the "lips" as hazel calls them. \/\/\/

on saturday we went to the WTC memorial, chinatown for the best soup dumplings and mango boba ice drink, macey's wooden escalator, and then we took this selfie while waiting for our levain cookies.  yum!

then we went to artichoke pizza and walked the high line and went home.  but not before getting a salted pimp at big gay ice cream.  

and here's a couple short videos (from my snapchat: pbrunt) if you're interested.  the subway dancing was the coolest!  

NYC part 1 from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

NYC part 2 from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.