The past few weeks have been quite busy for Renee, Sydney and I. Highlights include swim lessons, Tom Petty and making a big decision.

Saturday Sydney started swim lessons. She was a bit frightened, but did OK after awhile. She was completely unsure of what to do with the kick board though. Hopefully the next lesson will be better.

June 25 my dad and I and 18,000 of our closest friends, including Ben, were serenaded by Top Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Hollywood Bowl. Check out Ben’s review of the show here. Turns out Dad had an even better time than he expected and enjoyed his birthday present. As for me, turns out I’m a musical dork. In last week’s blog I mentioned I’d buy tickets to see Robert Palmer if he came back to town. Um yeah. I didn’t realize he died five years ago. Guess I need to brush up on my music knowledge a bit before I try and swipe Ben’s gig.

And about that big change.

We’re moving to St. Louis. We love California, but enough is enough. We realized that if we want to own a home and provide a life for Sydney that doesn’t revolve around moving  from apartment to apartment every year while being financially strained, we have to move out of the Golden State. Why St. Louis? I grew there, and a majority of my family still lives there.

Yes I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing, but I’m also really excited about it because Sydney will get to experience all the things I loved to do as a kid. The zoo and the science center, which have free admission every day. Then there are Cardinals baseball games, the famous Arch and yummy Ted Drewes frozen custard.

We don’t have an exact move date set yet. First step was to decide to move for sure. Now it’s a matter of me finding a job and then getting things settled while Renee finishes her degree. Then in December she and Sydney will meet me in St. Louis.

Wish us luck!

(The photo of St. Louis skyline is from www.cityinsights.com. Check it out if you want to learn more about a city make travel arrangements to get there.)

Today is the first day of Sydney’s swim lessons. Will she sink like a rock or swim like a fish? If any past experience with water is a guide, she’ll swim like a fish. Our previous apartment had a pool, and she enjoyed playing and splashing in the water. On a trip to Palm Springs last summer, pictured right, she was excited about the water, quickly adjusted to the crowded pool and didn’t want to leave. Granted she was five months old then and didn’t have the diva attitude she does now.

I don’t know of a kid who doesn’t like to spend a day in the pool. Renee must have been part mermaid as a child, because her parents always had to fight with her to get out of the pool when it was time to leave. Hopefully some of those genes got passed along to Syd.

Wish us luck.

Today is my dad’s 61^st birthday, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate it with him than doing two things we both enjoy – a concert tonight and golf tomorrow.

Tonight’s Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers show at the Hollywood Bowl is the ninth concert we’ve seen together. Some time in the early ’90s we started seeing concerts together. I don’t exactly remember when, but you’d think there would have been more than eight. That’s the way it is when you live in different states, though.

Hopefully tonight will be fun for Dad since he isn’t a big Tom Petty fan, though he enjoys some of the hits. This concert is one of just two we’ve seen that I’m more excited about than he is. The Police’s recent Dodger Stadium reunion was the other. I must admit that my expectations for a few of the shows — such as Tina Turner at the Greek Theatre and Robert Palmer at the House of Blues — weren’t too high. I went because Dad was excited to go, and I didn’t want to be a wet blanket. Each one turned out to be great though — so much so that we saw Tina again few years later at the Honda Center and have made plans to catch her once more in November.

I don’t expect Tom to sing “Happy Birthday” to Dad, but I do hope Dad comes away from tonight’s show with the same enthusiasm I had after seeing Tina Turner and Robert Palmer. I’ve tried to turn Dad on to other music I like before. Hopefully seeing acts live helps. Now if I could just get him to see WILCO, Social Distortion or Coldplay when they come back in town.

Summer has officially arrived, and not just because Friday was the first day of summer. It has arrived because the past few days have been hot and sticky. Temperatures have crept into the 90s in inland areas. Yesterday, the outside temperature on our car said 100 degrees at 6 p.m. It may be slightly off, but not by much. Here are a few ways to beat the heat as a family:

• Overload your taste buds with ice cream or frozen yogurt. Our current favorite spot is Cherry on Top in Orange (there’s also one in Mission Viejo). Other top picks of ours are Pink Berry, Yogurtland and Ben & Jerry’s.

• Wham-O’s Slip ‘N Slide® has come a long way since its original design of a long plastic sheet. Now your kids can slide down a pirate ship or into the mouth of a shark. Renee and I may just have to get one of these to satisfy our inner children.

• Make a splash. If you don’t have access to a pool and can’t invade the neighbors, head out to the beach. Suzanne got some great family-friendly beach ideas in the Mom Blog.

• Check out some of the ickiest, grossest animals around at the Discover Science Center’s Animal Grossology. You’ll learn about disgusting animals in cool air-conditioning. The big kid in me has been wanting to take Sydney, but she’s still too young. Video: click here for a sneak-peek.

• Take in a movie and a some cool air conditioning at a local movie theater.

• Test your ice skating skills or join a pick-up hockey game at Anaheim Ice.  I’m terrible at ice skating, but Renee likes it. Maybe she’ll teach Sydney one day.

Leave a comment below telling us how your family stays cool during the dog days of summer.

It’s 10 p.m. Tuesday night and do you know where your child should be? Sydney should be fast asleep, but she isn’t even close to meeting Mr. Sandman. She’s standing in her crib smiling away and laughing at Renee and I as we each finish up some work. Renee is typing a paper for her online class she’s been procrastinating on. And I’m writing this post before I dive into completing some work I brought home.

Guessing when Sydney would fall asleep used to be as sure a bet as Tiger winning a major when he had the lead heading into Sunday’s round. When Renee was staying home with Syd and not working, they both would stay up until 11 p.m. or midnight. Since daycare started, the girls have been going to bed much earlier. Sydney has been crashing no later than 9 p.m. This week, however, Sydney has been putting up a fight that would make Rocco Mediate proud.

Most nights we shoot for an 8:30 p.m. bedtime for Sydney. What is bedtime like in your house? Do your kids fight it tooth and nail or give in and crash right away? Tell us your stories in comments below.

I went on a date last night. Even though it was a simple evening without any elaborate plans, it was the most fun I’ve had in about a year. Renee and I had our first Sydney-free night in almost a year, and it was the anniversary of our first date to boot.

We didn’t watch the Angels game last night like we did on our first date. We visited the other Anaheim hot spot of Disneyland instead. Yes, we’ve become regulars since buying annual passes, but last night we were able to feel like teenagers again. We rocketed through space on Space Mountain. Screamed likes girls on the California Screaming roller coaster and joined 999 happy haunts for a tour of the Haunted Mansion. Plus, we made fun of all the teenagers who regularly hang out at Disneyland on Friday nights.

Renee and I love being parents to Sydney. However, we also think it’s good for parents to get out and be a couple. It helps keep marriages healthy and fun. We don’t do it often, but every once in a while it’s good to do.

Now I have to get ready for today’s date with my two favorite women. Not sure exactly what we’re going to do, but I know it will just as much fun as last night.

Sydney likes books. She flips through their pages. She brings them to Renee and I to read to her — even if it’s just a few pages before her attention fades and she takes it away. I like reading to her as well. But my storytime abilities rate right up there with my bath skills.

I don’t read to Sydney with funny voices or give each character its own distinct voice. I know I should and do try periodically. It just sounds even worse than if I just play it straight. At least Sydney doesn’t know the difference right now. Soon she’ll be wanting Renee to read all of her stories instead of me, though. I don’t blame her. I’d want Renee to read my stories too.

Renee is great at reading to kids. She speaks with excitement and there is inflection in her voice. She makes every character unique and exciting. Her skills helped her land a job as a preschool teacher. Part of the interview process was reading a story to the two-year olds. She nailed it, and the director offered her a job on the spot.

How she reads to children also earned her praise and acceptance from the kids at her internship. When the internship came to an end, she explained to the class she wouldn’t be there anymore and a six-year-old boy asked, “But who is going to read stories to us? You are the best!”

He’s right. Renee is the best storyteller in our house. I’m jealous.

Who is the better storyteller in your house? Do your children prefer, or even insist, mom or dad reads them stories rather than the other? Tell us in a comment below.

A week and a half into daycare and Sydney already caught a cold. It was mild by most cases, and really just consisted of nasal congestion and phlegm. But when babies and phlegm meet, vomiting ensues.

Sydney woke us up at 3 a.m. Wednesday coughing and hacking. Turns out she threw up earlier in the night. After a quick bath and a change of clothes, it was back to bed with mom and dad. An hour later, it was time for another round of vomiting up phlegm. This time it was all over our comforter and sheets. Luckily we were able to get some sleep between future vomit sessions and Syd’s doctor was available that morning.

A quick trip to the doctor’s office reveled her lungs were clear and her ears and throat were fine. This time we were fortunate enough to get off easy. Sydney was only sick for a day and she didn’t pass it along to Renee or I. I’m afraid next time we might not be so lucky.

I committed the ultimate sin, and it happened on Sunday of all days. Renee and I purchased annual passes to Disneyland.

After hawking balloons, scooping popcorn and rolling churros for close to 10 years, I came to loathe Mickey’s house and its annual passholders. OK loathe is a bit strong. But like other employees, I grew to look at it from a totally different perspective than visitors and despised the idea of owning an annual pass.

Nearly four years after quitting, Disneyland is starting to become fun again. Sydney is changing how I look at the amusement park, and it’s becoming fun again. We’ve taken her twice since December, and she enjoyed it both times. Sydney loved meeting Tigger, Eeyore and Winne the Pooh. And she bounced atop a horse during the entire King Arthur Carrousel ride.

Hopefully Sydney will come to enjoy Disneyland as much as Renee does. And I will learn to once again see it with the same awe and wonder children do when they first step through the entrance gate.

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