Maryland Trip (October 2009)

Way back in October, right after I turned 1 year old, Daddy took Mommy and I out to visit Maryland. We were lucky enough to stay with friends of his family in the house right next door to where he used to live! This was in Cape St. Claire right on Chesapeake Bay. I got to play around on the shore with sticks and walked up and down collecting rocks and polished sea glass. We also went out on a boat - I wasn't too sure about it, and hated my life vest, but eventually settled down and enjoyed the ride.

We visited the Naval Academy (where Daddy went to school) on a couple different occasions. The first time, we walked around the campus to see the buildings. The second time we went to shop. Here's a photo of Daddy and I at Memorial Hall.

We also spent a good amount of time eating. Our second night there, our family and the Schneiders (our hosts and their kids and grandkids) had a traditional Maryland blue crab picnic dinner on newspaper and picnic tables. I managed to sleep through the entire evening, but they bought enough crab for another night's dinner so I got to see how it was done. Daddy and Mommy say its a good thing I like seafood!

For Dahlia...

Mommy says she promises to post pictures of our trip to Maryland (October), Halloween, and Christmas when she gets back from visiting Minnesota in the dead of winter. She always says this with a very unpleasant tone or sighs after. She also says we don't have any Thanksgiving photos because we decided to take a 2 hour nap on the floor of Grandma's den during the middle of our celebration.

My Birthday (aka Mommy & Daddy's Anniversary) part 3

Later that night, Mommy & Daddy (tried) to take me out to dinner for my birthday and their anniversary. We went to Buca di Beppo - a vibrant and tasty Italian family dining restaurant - where Mommy's favorite thing to eat is green beans. I wasn't very fond of any of the food they ordered. I also decided that I would rather run around the bar and outside (where I proceeded to take a head dive INTO A WALL) than sit with Mommy or Daddy. For some reason they decided that the 3 of us would no longer be going out to dinner together...

Happy Anniversary Mommy & Daddy!

My Birthday part 2

On my actual birthday, Daddy took the day off to hang out with Mommy & I (it was also their 5th anniversary so I guess he wanted to make her day a bit easier). Where did we go? The San Diego Zoo! I had never been to the actual zoo so Mommy thought it was a good time to go.

First, we went to visit the giraffes. Their new enclosure is so much nicer and lets little kids like me take a real close look. Mommy wished she had her big camera. I was still sleepy from my nap so I wasn't very excited to see them.

Next, we took Daddy to see the Pandas. He had never seen the ones at our zoo, just the ones in Washington D.C. Mommy held me up so I could see Zhen Zhen eat her bamboo. Mommy also told me that a mommy panda just had a baby boy!

Finally, we walked through the next exhibit Elephant Odyssey. It had to many neat things to touch and look at! Mommy was in total nerd form and was telling me all about the statues as well as the live animals. I was really impressed with the Mammoth statue (looking up at the tusks and trunk) and Mommy showed me all the sharp teeth that the big kitty had (Saber-Toothed Lion). The actual animals that I saw included African Lions, an African Elephant getting a manicure, a Secretary Bird, and California Condors (Mommy used to research these birds at for the zoo's conservation program). It was great because Mommy & Daddy just let me walk around and didn't try to strap me in my stroller. I want to walk and run EVERYWHERE now!

My Birthday part 1

Mommy (and Daddy) threw me an EXCELLENT first birthday party complete with guests, food, drinks, and cake of course! I got the hang of opening presents rather quickly and the real treat was playing with the paper and boxes everything came in.

I also got a whole cake from Costco to eat and share with all of my friends. At first I wasn't too thrilled with the idea. It was funny looking and mushy - also, Mommy reeled me in and put me in my high chair to eat it which I was NOT a fan of at all. Once Mommy picked me up I decided the cake was actually pretty tasty.

Ventura & the Greats

Last week Mommy and I traveled up the coast to Ventura to visit my great grandparents and my great auntie Chinh and great uncle Greg. Grandpa John came with us too. The best part about the trip was that I got to chase a dog around all day long! She wasn't too fond of me though...I guess I made too much noise or something. Mommy thought the best part was the weather. While warm in the mid-80s, it was much nicer than the current weather at our house (mid-80s inside the house, ranging up to 100 outside).

Everyone was delighted to see me walk. I also impressed them with my throwing prowess and very toothy smiles. One afternoon, we all went for a walk to the park where Mommy and Auntie took me down the slide and let me splash in the pond. Not quite the same as a pool, but still nice and refreshing!

Look Out World...

I am now technically a toddler. Check it out.

And yes, those are supposed to be shorts I'm wearing but unfortunately I seem to have inherited Mommy's short, strong legs.

Mommy says she needs to get some video of me practicing throw-ins. I can even pick up her big person ball while standing and toss it! However, I haven't quite got the hang of kicking the ball yet. Next step on my agenda: RUNNING!!!