A visit to the zoo

Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Christina, and I went to the Tucson Zoo. This was the first time for Aunt Christina and I. The zoo doesn't open until 9am and it was already a little warm when we started our visit. We were surprised to find it to be shadier than we expected. We saw the tiger playing with a big empty garbage can. We saw the elephants getting a bath before walking out to the exhibit. The zebras were playing and the rhinos weren't very active. There were three adorable giraffes that were fun to watch as they used their strong tongues to eat the leaves of of the plants. Throughout the zoo we saw many peacocks. They walked right near us as if they were people too:). The polar bear, Boris, was showing off for us in the pool. I liked seeing the baby ducks and playing in the frog fountain nearby. Aunt Christina and I saw monkeys, lions, otters, and many animals from South America! Most of the animals were camping out in their expect where they could keep cool. In the aviary, I had fun trying to chase the birds that were hanging out on the walkway. After the zoo, it felt great to feel the a/c in the car and cool off. We all went home and took a nice nap. We went to Oregano's for dinner to celebrate Aunt Christina's last night with us! I am sure going to miss her and so will Mommy and Daddy. I have had a blast playing with Aunt Christina these past 5 days! Enjoy the pictures from today!

Posing for a picture waiting for the zoo to open

The peacocks were so close to us on the walkways

Giraffes have such long necks and strong tongues:)

Boris the polar bear swimming on his back

Chasing a bird in the aviary (he never flew away from me, just ran)

Taking a close look with Daddy of this Blue Crowned Pigeon (it's a pretty bird, but it's a pigeon)

Playing in the water with Daddy from this frog fountain

Peeking at the otters through the wooden fence. There swimming pool looked inviting!

Pointing out the monkeys to Aunt Christina

Waving to the camera at the zoo

Having fun playing with the pizza dough at Oregano's

Lunch at Mt. Lemmon

Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Christina, and I decided to get away from the heat and travel to Mt. Lemmon for lunch. This was my first time to Mt. Lemmon. Aunt Christina taught us that Mt. Lemmon is called a sky island. This is because the ecology of Mt. Lemmon is different from all of its surroundings. I slept all the way there. When I woke up, we were getting ready to eat at the Cookie Cabin. They only serve pizza so that's what we ate! Mommy was hoping to have soup and pie, but the restaurant she wanted to eat at was burned in a fire a few years ago. Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Christina were impressed with how Summerhaven has bounced back from the fire. Our pizza was yummy, but afterwards we shared a very yummy dessert. Aunt Christina described it as being as big as her head. We ate a warm cookies topped with ice cream and whipped cream. It was so big that we didn't finish it. After lunch, we drove up to the ski lift. I rode the ski lift with Daddy to the top of the mountain and Mommy and Aunt Christina were on the chair in front of us. I rode without being to squirmy! Mommy and Daddy were quite sad after seeing all the burned trees from the fire years ago. There were some baby trees growing so sometime hopefully in my lifetime I will see green when I go to the top again. After the ski lift, we headed back home. I of course, took another nap:). Today was a fun and cool day. The weather was 72 at Mt. Lemmon which was 35 degrees cooler than in Tucson. We were pretty full from our lunch and dessert. I only ate a small snack for dinner. I can't wait to go back to the mountain again some time. Enjoy the photos from today.

Mmm...yummy dessert!

Aunt Christina, Daddy, and I enjoying our tasty treat

Daddy and I at Ski Valley, Mt. Lemmon

Mommy, Aunt Christina, and I at Ski Valley, Mt. Lemmon

Aunt Christina and I, self portrait in Mt. Lemmon

Aunt Christina, Daddy, and I waiting for our turn on the ski lift

Sitting on the top of the mountain :)

Walking hand in hand with Mommy and Daddy on the top of the mountain

The view from the top of the mountain looking at Tucson (so sad to see the burned trees)

Daddy and I on the ski lift

This is how I looked going and coming from Mt. Lemmon

A Visit from Aunt Christina

One of Mommy's best friends, Christina came to visit us for a few days. I fell in love with Aunt Christina from the start. I was laughing and playing with her as soon as we got in the car after picking her up from the airport. Mommy was excited since she hadn't seen Christina for 3 years. Aunt Christina is pregnant so Mommy and her had fun discussing life with a baby growing inside their bellies. Aunt Christina was an awesome playmate. For the first couple of days of her visit we tried to stay cool by playing indoors or swimming. Aunt Christina and I also enjoyed taking afternoon naps. Mommy and Daddy even joined in on some of the afternoon naps. One of the first things we did together was eat real Mexican food. Aunt Christina says that the Mexican food that is served in Virginia just isn't the same as in Tucson. We tried to eat some kind of Mexican food each day to remind Aunt Christina about the yummy food that she misses. When we first got home, I immediately introduced Aunt Christina to some of my favorite toys and books. Mommy and Daddy loved that there was someone else to help entertain me and read to me. Enjoy some of the photos from Aunt Christina's first three days here.

Sitting up nice and tall as I show Aunt Christina my favorite chair to sit on, my Elmo chair

Aunt Christina riding on our Shamu raft :)

Mommy and I rode Shamu too :)

I am showing Aunt Christina my belly after she showed Mommy and I her growing belly:)

I taught Aunt Christina all about Elmo!

Aunt Christina and I having a tea party

Aunt Christina and I playing with my new DoodlePro. Thanks Aunt Christina for spoiling me and buying this fun new toy for me. (Mommy and Daddy like playing with it too!)

Aunt Christina read Elmo's Home Run to me soo much that she had it memorized! Thanks for reading to me even if I kept choosing the same book!

Aunt Christina and Cousin Allison, Mommy and Me, and Aunt Stacie at Nina Nina Dia's house for a yummy cookout

Aunt Christina taught me how to tap my cup with someone else's and say, "cheers!" I continued doing this the rest of the evening with everyone's glasses:)

We pulled out an old favorite of mine, my exersaucer to see if Allison was ready for it. I decided to try it out and loved playing with all the toys again.

Mommy and Grammy Linda convinced Aunt Stacie to let Allison try out the bouncer and she loved it, especially the toys that lit up! I had fun showing her how to play with everything!

16 Months Old!

I am 16 months old today! Mommy and Daddy definitely have a toddler and wonder what happened to their little baby. Their baby girl is growing up fast and I make sure to keep them on their toes. My investigating hasn't gotten me into too much trouble, but Mommy and Daddy don't let me out of their sight. I am playful and happy 99.9% of the time. Mommy and Daddy feel so blessed that I have been such a healthy and happy baby! I love to mimic people. If Mommy moves her head from side to side, then I do it too. I love to help do things. If given a washcloth, I will try to wash my face. If I see my socks and shoes, I will try to put them on by myself. I also like to try putting other people's shoes on for them. In the photos below you will see me trying to put my socks and shoes on Daddy's toes:). I am a pretty good eater. If mandarin oranges are nearby, I will gobble them up very quickly! I eat pretty much anything the Mommy and Daddy give me. I also am very good at letting them know if there is something I don't want to eat. I like signing and am learning new signs. If I see a picture of a bathtub or someone taking a bath, I will sign bath. Bath time is my favorite night time activity! I love to play in the tub! Books are favorite toys for me. I can be entertained for hours with books! I love to be read to! Elmo is still my all time favorite character! Anything I see with Elmo on it, I point him out to Mommy and Daddy. I like to dance! If I hear music, I will start dancing and look around to see if you have joined me in dancing. I have gotten a little spoiled lately with both Mommy and Daddy being home for the summer and am a little clingy to them. I do go to others though with little hesitation. I use mama and dada correctly. I have started to try and yell "da daaaaaaaaa" if Daddy is in another room or I can't see him. It is fun for Mommy and Daddy to watch me grow and develop new skills! Mommy and Daddy are enjoying this age! Enjoy some photos of me today and thanks for following my adventures through my blog!

trying to put my sock on Daddy's big toe

Enjoy this video clip of me from tonight. I love to take my pajamas out of my drawer each night. Tonight I turned it into a game with Mommy. I would empty the drawer and Mommy would put all the clothes back and then I would empty it again. I have just realized that the drawer liners have Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster on them and I wanted to point that out to Mommy and Daddy. Mommy and Daddy had fun watching me silly tonight. Enjoy!

FUNtastic Saturday

Today was another busy and fun Saturday. It started with my movers and shakers class. Daddy went with me to class today and Mommy, Nina Karen, and Nino Joe watched from the window. I had fun with Daddy. I liked trying to run from him at times. Today when the teachers brought out the balls to play with, they also brought out little bats. I swung the bat and hit the ball a few times. Maybe softball will be in my future. Daddy and I had a blast at class together. After class, I went to Nana and Poppy's while Mommy and Daddy ran a couple of errands. Then I went to lunch with Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Poppy, and Grandpa. After lunch we went to Home Depot. When Nana asked me if I wanted to go shopping I answered, "ya ya!" and shook my head. Mommy and Nana thought it was cute. I then took a nap before going to my cousin Mark's birthday party at Funtastics. I had fun at the party. I enjoyed eating pizza and ice cream. I had fun as I helped Mommy play skee ball. My job was to hand her the ball. We won a lot of tickets playing as a team. I tried to play a couple other games with Mommy and Daddy's help. When we cashed in the tickets, Mommy asked if we could pay the difference to win me a ball similar to the one I won in San Diego. (the ball from San Diego popped on our trip home) The guy asked which ball we wanted and then he just gave it to me without Mommy and Daddy having to pay extra. That made my night! I was so excited! The ball is a little better than my other one because it lights up when bounced! Along with games, we also were able to ride on rides. I was only able to ride the carousel, but that is the only ride I really care about! I rode it twice. Mommy and Daddy were able to drive the little go carts. Mommy tried driving like my Uncle Kenny, but the go carts weren't that fast. All in all, today was a fun filled, busy day! Enjoy the pictures!

Getting ready to walk on the balance beam

Climbing by myself

Pushing buttons to win tickets:)

Grabbing the ball for Daddy

I can throw this ball Daddy, just watch me:)

I know this photo will make my Uncle Kenny proud! When Mommy sat me in this chair, I grabbed a hold of the steering wheel and acted like I knew just what to do. You will see a video clip when you scroll down of me playing.

So happy to have won another fuzzy, bouncy ball that lights up!

Happy Birthday Cousin Mark!

Always a happy girl on the carousel

I rode a smaller carousel inside where I could ride all by myself! I can even ride holding on with only one hand and pointing the other:)

Our savvy carousel rider:)

Daddy before driving the go cart

Mommy is on the left ready to pass another cart (just like Uncle Kenny would do:))


Enjoy this clip of me pretending to drive!

Goodbye San Diego, Hello Tucson

We left for Tucson today! We had a great vacation and can't wait until our next one. Mommy and Nina Nina Dia loved how Uncle Paul, Grandpa, and Daddy packed all our things in the car for us! I took two naps on the drive home and watched my Elmo videos. Mommy and Nina Nina Dia were proud of how well I did on both the drive up and back! When we got home, Mommy unpacked our suitcases near the washing machine. I couldn't help but act in shock of how much laundry we had. Oh well, Mommy says it was worth it! San Diego was fun, but we all enjoyed getting to sleep in our own beds tonight.

Daddy and I taking in the view one last time

Whose clothes are these?

Oh No! Sooooo much laundry! (I put my hands on my head when anyone says oh no)