Butterfly Frenzy

Ringing in the New Year with Justin Roberts and Legoland

I'll dispense with the "it's been a long time since I've blogged" update and get straight to it. Happy New Year!It feels great to be back to blogging!

We celebrated New Year's in a bit of a different way this year. Typically, we're traveling back from somewhere (Florida, Mexico, etc) on New Year's Eve day, and we're exhausted in bed well before midnight. This year, in our last day in San Diego, we headed over to Legoland. Yes, Legoland.

Jeff toughed out the amusement park crowds and lines, and the kids loved playing in Duplo Village. But, the main attraction on December 31 at Legoland is the New Year's Eve party for kids. Bands start playing around 2PM, and then the "ball" drops at 6PM.

We made it over to the dance floor in time for a couple of the bands, and our absolute favorite was Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players. Besides the pink tie, green shoes and overall hip clothes, his music was clever, upbeat and fun.

It was amazing to see the kids (and okay the parents too) rock out to the music. Sophie loved it. She danced with a bunch of the other kids, following along to the moves and making up a bunch of her own.

Perhaps my favorite part was the cover of AC/DC's "Back in Black" complete with hand puppet. For an ever-so-brief moment, I felt just the teeniest bit hip <noted without irony>. Needless to say, we had an amazing time, and the kids completely crashed on our subsequent, seven-hour car ride back home. Thanks Justin Roberts, the Players and Legoland!

 

 

 

Animal Assisted Happiness - An Amazing Organization

Ponies, a pig, a donkey...oh my! That aptly describes our Saturday morning recently as Intuit alumni joined Vicki Amon-Higa at her farm in Los Altos. There we learned the amazing story of Animal Assisted Happiness.

The story started with Lollipop, the pony. Vicki and Peter were contacted by a family with a terminally-ill teenager who loved horses and ponies. The family wanted to know if Lollipop could come for a visit. And come she did, spending an hour at the bedside of this child and launching Vicki and Peter into their dream to help children and families across the Bay Area by bringing them together with loving animals.

Today, Animal Assisted Happiness has delivered over 1100 "smiles" connecting children with Bella the pot-bellied pig, Flicka the brand-new baby pony and the myriad other animals on the farm. Services are completely free-of-charge for families and if children are unable to travel, Vicki and Peter make it work.

 

As always, I am humbled by the people in my life who give back to the community so deeply and passionately. Huge kudos to Vicki, Peter and their family for starting and growing this wonderful organization.

My next adventure

Since I joined Intuit almost six years ago, I’ve really grown up. From learning how to sell accounting software to very practical accountants to being Intuit’s first word of mouth marketing manager to growing a social media, community and support team truly delivering value to our division, I’ve had an unbelievable number of adventures.

Now I’m ready for my next one. I’m joining Ant’s Eye View to open its Silicon Valley office, starting in mid-April. 

 
I joined Intuit after business school because I wanted to learn how to innovate and drive growth at scale and in a large, complex environment. But, I also joined Intuit because I would get to serve the customers who mean so much to me – small business owners. Having grown up in a family of entrepreneurs and having been one myself, small business owners have been near and dear to my heart.

By opening Ant’s Eye View Silicon Valley, I return to my roots, starting a new practice within a young but growing company. At the same time, I’ll continue to innovate and drive results at scale in complex environments by partnering with Ant’s Eye View’s clients to help them achieve success with social media, community and influencer efforts.

This is a major milestone for Ant’s Eye View, having been founded by Sean O’Driscoll and Jake McKee only 15 short months ago. Their growth to a third office in such a dynamic place in such a short time is testament to the fantastic work they’ve done for their clients and with their team. I am lucky and thrilled to join them.

At the same time, I’m sad to leave Intuit. I'm so grateful for the people who challenged me, supported me, made me laugh, made me smarter and, above all, who became some of my closest friends. I could blog, tweet and update my Facebook status for days and still not have enough time to acknowledge everyone. Suffice it to say, you know who you are, you’ll be missed and, unless you un-friend me, I won’t be far away!

 

On Halloween...

The other night, Sophie, Leo and I were out and about in our neighborhood checking out the Halloween displays. The kids started getting restless, which means I start singing. I'm the first to admit that I have an awful voice, but, for whatever reason, it seems to work.

Below is the song we made up...sing it a long to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus." Enjoy! Kira

***

The eyes on the bat go blink, blink, blink

Blink, blink, blink.

The eyes on the bat go blink, blink, blink

On Hall-o-ween.

The kitty in the pumpkin goes meow, meow, meow

Meow, meow, meow.

The kitty in the pumpkin goes meow, meow, meow

On Hall-o-ween.

The ghosts in the house say peek-a-boo

Peek-a-boo.

The ghosts in the house say peek-a-boo

On Hall-o-ween.

The kids on the street say trick-or-treat

Trick-or-treat.

The kids on the street say trick-or-treat

On Hall-o-ween.

A special message for Ginger and Bas

Sophie loves her cousins very much, and she misses them while they live in Brazil for the year. Sophie wanted to create a special video message just for Ginger and Bas. We love you and miss you!

A very busy girl

With all the talk about how Leo is developing, I'd be remiss if I failed to note Sophie's transformation. She's become quite the big girl - going potty all by herself, picking out her own clothes, stringing full sentences together and finding her "name" (aka the letter S) everywhere she looks.

Sophie's also become quite the worker bee here at home. Whatever activity Jeff and I have started, Sophie wants a piece of it. Any activity is a fun one - washing windows at the cabin, setting the table, wearing mommy's shoes. If grown-ups can do it, well, then so can Sophie!

Sophie has a particular fondness for anything involving water. Gardening, washing the car and, lately, washing the dishes.

Of course, with Jeff's move to a commercial kitchen, there's less dish-washing at home (and we really didn't press her into service). There's still plenty to do, and I hope she continues to find it fun!

Our little entertainers

We're a big fan of our incredibly easy-to-use Flip video camera (thanks Grandma Cindy). Here are some of the more recent moments from our two little celebrities.

We have no idea where Sophie learned these moves! :)

Leo continues to charm us with his laughter and smiles.

A flurry of development

Mid-March finds the Wamplers not only watching a rousing series of March Madness basketball games but also enjoying the craziness and wonder of life with two rapidly developing little ones. Leo just passed the six-month-mark, and Sophie is six months away from three.

Both Leo and Sophie are amazing us at every turn. Sophie's verbal skills and ability to process information continue to blow us away. She now recognizes the letter "S" and calls it "my name." She loves pointing out "her name" in many other words, and she's also started to recognize the "R" (for Roxie) and the "L" (for Leo).

Sophie is also making some serious strides in the potty training area. Last week, she asked to go to school in her big girl underwear and stayed dry all day. Now, later that night, she peed on purpose when I walked through the door from work, but I figure a greeting is better than no greeting at all. She also had a "take my poopy diaper off and spread it around the room" experience. Thankfully, Wendy, our wonderful nanny, took that one.

 

Leo is also thriving and really starting to come into his own. At six months, he's right at the 50th percentile, growing to 26 inches and 17 pounds. He's been rolling over from back to tummy since late January, and he's got an amazingly accurate reach and grab. We love watching him roll across the room to reach Sophie or to try to reach Roxie.

 

Leo's also teething, with one tooth already popped through (first week of March) and the other bottom front tooth coming right behind. Since his teeth are starting to come in, we decided to start him on real food. He had his first taste of rice cereal on March 5, and he's now moved to mushed up bananas. Since he reaches out and grabs for anything on our plates (burritos, pasta, salad), we figured he was interested in food!

 

More from the Wampler adventure in the coming weeks and months...keep living the dream people!

California Academy of Sciences - Great Outing Despite the Crowds

With backpack and tote bag packed last night, tickets printed out this morning, Jeff and I ventured up to San Francisco with Leo and Sophie to visit the California Academy of Sciences for the first time. We knew it might be crowded but we'd heard such good things about the museum that we thought we'd give it a shot with the kids.

Was it ever worth it! The city of San Francisco has really built out the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park, and, with the addition of the Academy, it's quite a destination. So much so, that when we pulled up today, there was a line of easily 150 people waiting for the doors to open. Hint: don't get in the line unless you already have tickets!

The line moved quickly, a blessing with two kids under two, and we were inside. The building is full of natural light, thanks to the very green architecture. Here's a shot that I like to call the friendly "Death Star."

We wanted to go to the Rainforest but the line was huge and Sophie was antsy. So, we headed straight for the Steinhart Aquarium. Good call. Sophie and Leo were mesmerized by the huge gars from the Mississippi, the monstrous halibut and the extremely cool looking sea pens.

We spent quite a bit of time roaming around the aquarium, checking out the coral reef fish, the octupus and more. Both Jeff and I felt the immediate urge to travel and snorkel or dive, but, a visit to the museum may have to suffice for now!

We then headed up to the African Center to watch the penguins chow down. The actual set-up for watching the penguins and learning about them wasn't terribly optimal - "everyone move back 5 feet and sit on the floor". But, it was fascinating to learn about what they eat (herring is one key fish) and to see a 26-year-old penguin (10 years older than most).

By this point, we all needed a break from the crowds, and we were lucky to ask one of the many volunteers for a suggestion. On the third floor, we were directed to the Naturalist Center, which had some cozy spots for reading and checking out the various educational efforts. Even better, the Center opened up onto a small balcony that overlooked the entrance and the Planetarium - perfect for snacks and a little discreet nursing.

Before everyone had a complete meltdown (including this mommy who is severly lacking in sleep), we checked out the futuristic and very green "living roof." Jeff and I both expected to be able to do more on the roof, though I'm not sure what (gardening, sunning?), but there were great views and the nice smell of loamy compost.

All in all, the trip into the city and to the museum was a highlight of the last month!

Catching up with the Wamplers

Wow! It's been a whirlwind month since I last posted. Here's a smattering of what's been going on in our lives since late December:

* Had a great time with family in Davis for Christmas with the following caveat/reminder: An over-stimulated 2-year-old should not be expected to immediately go to sleep, especially when we're trying to get her to sleep in a tent in a closet. Just sayin.

* Leo rolled over from back to tummy on January 23rd, just past his four-month birthday. He was really excited until he realized that rolling over wasn't getting him any closer to his object of desire, his sister Sophie.

* I started back to work two days a week right when Jeff got slammed with business at the catering company. Thankfully, we have an amazing nanny and Sophie goes to a great school. And, we have a sense of humor.

* Sophie is really starting to have a lot her own thoughts. My favorite time with her is in the evening after we read books. She tells me all about the things that are on her mind at the time, and it's pretty darn cute.

* We had our first family service day. We couldn't make it work to volunteer on MLK day or on Inauguration Day, but we planted trees at Shoreline the following Saturday with both kids in tow. It was muddy but rewarding work, and the kids enjoyed it.

More adventures are bound to ensue as I head back to work four days this week and Jeff's catering schedule continues to fill up. Plus, we've got things like potty training Sophie, helping Leo sleep through the night and trying to lose the baby weight (Kira) still on the to-do list...!