Harmless (?) Addiction

I love taking pictures. I am not great at it, but I have fun with it. Helps when I have a few subjects who don't mind the camera. Well, more than snapping my own frames, I love to get pictures taken. The beauty of having kids with birthdays spaced every 6 months is that I have a "reason" to get them done professionally. In fact, I had B's portrait taken every 3 months during his first 2 years. G is following suit. Sometimes we go to a fancy studio. Other times we got to the local kid-friendly option at the mall. I never post those photos because of copyright issues. Well, I found a new studio recently that actually gave me a CD with all of the poses. Told me I could put them on my computer. Because T's birthday, Valentine's Day and G's next 3 month photo interval all fell at the same time, I had another "reason" to go.  

Here are just a few...

Really...

The view from Birch Aquarium...

The view from our living room the day after our return...

We don't live in Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts. Now I understand why "Global Warming" has become "Global Climate Change". 

Birch Aquarium

One of our San Diego stops was the Birch Aquarium. It was very close to the house, situated on a hill overlooking the ocean. Just beautiful. We all enjoyed the day.

1. G with her two biggest fans. She loved spending time with both Boppa (J's Dad) & Grandpa (T's Dad). 

2. As an example of his mad reading/memorization skills, B read this sign to me. Yes, someone read it to him a few minutes before. But he read it to me, word for word. No, he isn't even 4 yet.

3. G LOVED the outdoor tidepools. She wanted to jump in for a swim. They let her touch star fish and sea cucumbers. We got to watch them "feed" the tidepools, during which time the 6 lobsters came out from hiding - ranging in size from 5 - 9 lbs. 

4. I love Jelly Fish (from behind glass). 

5. More cheesy vacation photos...

6. No. This isn't a plant. It's a seahorse like creature. Really. Swimming/floating all around the tank. Almost as cute as the "Pot-Bellied" seahorses. They looked pregnant. 

I miss it already

How do you entertain 2 kids in a house full of breakable objects? A step stool next to the 450 gallon salt water aquarium!

San Diego Photos

Sea World was great. Shamu didn't disappoint. The kids were happy. We spent lots of time in the Sesame Street area, which has rides that were perfect for both kids, the parents, and the grandparents, too. 

Hard to stay frustrated when...

Our trip to La Jolla had a few missteps. It all began when we bid on this package at an auction last March. Along with lodging at a great house near the beach in La Jolla, the package included passes to the Buick Open at Torrey Pines. We were excited at the prospect of watching Tiger Woods defend his title, as well as spending some quality time in the sun in February. Well, if you follow golf, you know that Tiger injured himself at the US Open and has not returned to play. That's OK. We'd still watch some good golf and get to enjoy some sunshine. We invited both sets of grandparents along and figured we'd rotate who would play with the kids and who would watch golf. We made plans and got excited. Then a business trip came up. T would have to leave Thursday afternoon for a quick trip to Wichita, returning Friday night. Not ideal, but workable. 

Finally, the big week. Tuesday morning, our 10:45 am flight got delayed, and delayed, and delayed. We didn't board the plane until after 3 and sat on the plane for about an hour before take-off. We landed and finally got to the house after 8 p.m. 

We woke in the morning to the following view...

This picture was taken our the Master Bedroom window. Yes, we were that close to the water. 

We were wise to spend Wednesday at Sea World, since the rain moved in on Thursday. T's trip to Wichita got short-stopped in Denver. Fortunately, another Partner got to Wichita and T was able to return to La Jolla Friday morning, since he couldn't get to his meeting. The big-named golfers didn't perform as promised, but the grandfathers & T  enjoyed the time they spent watching at Torrey Pines. We all explored the local aquarium Friday afternoon and on Saturday, returned to Sea World, rain coats, ponchos and umbrellas in hand. The kids had a blast. We explored the beach and spent lots of time gazing into the 450 gallon aquarium that was in the house. 

The kids traveled like champs - mostly. I would have preferred if G slept later than 5 am each morning, and that I wasn't the target when she emptied her stomach at dinner Friday night. T & I had a lovely dinner out Saturday night, just the two of us. 

I will post photos of our adventures soon. 

Catching Up

We've been dealing with colds, etc. so no new exciting news here. The kids were helping me with the laundry and ended up playing with the baskets all around the house. B jumped in and G started asking to climb aboard. 

G tried to play peek-a-boo through the handle while B hammed it up for the camera.

These two kids are "SO BIG".

So big is correct. At her 15 month check up, she weighed 25 lbs 6 oz and measured 30 inches tall. This puts her in the 75% range for weight and 50% range for height. She amazed the pediatrician with her picky eating. Why would picky eating amaze someone? Well, when she came home and was so food insecure, she'd eat any and all that was sent her way. Now, she finally feels secure enough to hold off on eating unless she gets exactly what she wants. Annoying from a meal planning standpoint, but fantastic from a bonding perspective. She is also off the charts (good) with her exploding vocabulary. We've been pretty excited with the "IUVOO" we get in response to "I love you" on a semi-regular basis.  Then the "Ree. Booo. Ease." Or "Read book please." At church, much to the delight of our fellow parishoners, she shouted out a loud, "AMEN" at the end of a prayer. And also she loves to wiggle and dance with any music. 

Yesterday, G decided to give herself a Peanut Butter Facial. When T asked if she was all done, she put her arms in the air, waved her hands (sign language for "all done") then covered her eyes with her dirty hands. Instead of cleaning it up, he got my attention and we snapped some photos. She loved it.