Trip to Cali

My grandma had a stroke in the beginning of March. After she left the hospital, she went to a rehabilitation center. She stayed there for a few weeks and was then able to go back and live in their apartment at Fredericka Manor with my grandpa. My mom, Amelia, and I drove out for a week to go see my grandparents and help my grandma when she got moved back into her apartment. My uncle and aunt were going to be gone the week that we went out to Cali so they graciously let us live in their house for the week. They live very close to the San Diego airport so the planes would wake Amelia, and then of course me up at 6:30am when the first plane would take off. This aspect of our stay was a little rough but they had a large friendly dog named Leo who Amelia just adored. She would chase him around and pet him and hug him. He didn't seem to mind her too much. I took care of Leo so for the week, I was like his new master. He would follow me everywhere and make sure Amelia and I were safe.

We couldn't go to San Diego without visiting the zoo so we went to the San Diego Zoo on one of the warmest days we were there. Amelia had a great time seeing all the animals. She stayed awake for 9 hours, had a brief 30 minute nap in the stroller, and then stayed up until bedtime. While at the zoo, we accidentally lost Amelia's blankie! I was very worried because Amelia loves this blankie, as well as her kitty. She would have a hard time sleeping without it. Luckily the zoo lost and found department called us later that evening and said that we had left it on one of the express buses. We drove back to the zoo and retrieved it before Amelia's bedtime :)

Here are lots and lots of pictures from our trip:

Amelia excited to see everything at the zoo.

Riding the very first tour bus of the day around the zoo.

Giraffes- or 'raffes' as Amelia calls them

Riding on the SkyFari

Standing next to a polar bear...don't worry, it's not real.

Taking a lunch break

Amelia wearing a zoo bucket as a hat

Petting the goat in the children's petting zoo

The great big sheep...baaaaaaaa as Amelia says anytime she sees a sheep.

Taking a ride on a large tortoise

One of the many elephants- 'ella' as Amelia would it

Roooaaar says the tiger

Riding on the last train ride through Balboa Park

Posing with the stuffed animal giraffe

Loving the wind blowing through our hair

We went to Corvette Diner for dinner one night. It's a great 50's style diner with a perfect family oriented atmosphere.

Enjoying a thick chocolate shake

We got Amelia a balloon and she wouldn't let it go...not even during dinner

Amelia posing for me while showing off her 'doddie bib.

Playing with the balloon on our way to the car.

Amelia and grandma Susie visiting with great grandma Flo at her apartment.

Blowing on the pinwheel after eating powdered donut holes on my grandparent's balcony.

Taking a quick picture break while walking the hallways at Fredericka Manor.

Blowing bubbles on the balcony.

My grandpa, John, grandma, Flo, me, and Amelia eating lunch at Fredericka Manor.

We took Amelia to the park at Liberty Station near my uncle's house where we were staying. Every time Amelia hears or sees a plane, she points up to it and says 'pane' until you acknowledge her saying it.

Amelia sliding down the big slide next to me.

Amelia playing in the sand with a nice little boy around her age.

A lady at the park had this tricycle. I was wanting to buy this exact one at Wal-Mart for her 2nd birthday present. She let Amelia try it out and seemed to love it. I had to stand behind her and push her though because she didn't really know how to pedal.

Going on the bouncy seahorse

Out taking Leo for his daily morning walk around the neighborhood.

Amelia and my mom with my uncle's tortoise, Ricky. Amelia loves turtles but just didn't want to get close to Ricky.

I gave Amelia these stickers to keep her entertained while I was driving. She got a bit sticker happy!

Amelia went over and sat in Leo's doggie bed and was trying to feed him his bone. He yawned so she was trying to shove it in mouth.

Leo left but Amelia had fun sitting in the dog bed. She would bring her kitty and blankie over and roll around in the bed. I know she misses Leo, or 'E-lo' as she calls him.

Papa's Visit

My dad went to Tucson during his spring bring from teaching to help my sister and brother-in-law install sod in their backyard. He came up to visit us on Saturday. Amelia enjoyed seeing him and was sad when he had to leave to go home.

Amelia showing papa how she goes down the slide.

Papa taking Amelia for a ride on the swing.

Amelia scooping up the sand.

Digging some more sand; making sure to stay on the sidewalk.

Papa reading Amelia a bedtime story.
I told Amelia to go get a book for papa and she grabbed her potty book.

Amelia loves this book about the potty. There is a girl who is learning to potty train and she has a potty for her stuffed teddy bear. Amelia tries to potty train her stuffed animals just like the girl in the book.

Phoenix Zoo

My mother-in-law wanted to do something with the grand kids during spring break so we all went to the Phoenix Zoo on 18th. Amelia and I waited on the bridge for everyone. While waiting, we watched people feed bread to the ducks and turtles.

Amelia saw the turtles in the water and said, "Toor-tul," which is how she says 'turtle'.

Amelia with cousin Roxie

Amelia with cousin Londann

Amelia with cousin Rowdy (he just broke his leg a few days earlier)

Amelia styling with her hat and glasses

Amelia got a rocking elephant for Christmas two years ago and we named her Ellie since she is an elephant. When we got to the elephants at the zoo, she said "Ellie" because she knew they were elephants.

Large tortoises, who can live to be over 100 years old.

Amelia looking for the rhinoceros iguana.

Macaw

Andreas bear. Amelia is good at saying 'bear'.

Javelinas

Amelia hanging out with grandma Betty

Londann, Cayden, and Roxie riding on the camel. The age minimum is two so Amelia wasn't allowed to ride just yet.

Flamingos

Zebra or "be-be" in Amelia talk.

Amelia with the "raff"

Me, Amelia, and the giraffes.

Group photo:
Me, Amelia, Anita, Brennan, Alisa, Rowdy, Betty, Melissa, Caliann,
Cayden, Romel, Roxie, Londann

Tiger

Rhinos

Wallaby

Amelia taking a nap near the end of the zoo trip. It only lasted 30 minutes and she missed the petting zoo area :(

St. Patrick's Day

Amelia and I had a fun filled St. Patrick's Day! We started off with green eggs and ham. I then dressed Amelia in all green with some pigtails. I tried to turn whatever I could green, hence the green cottage cheese. I had made some brownies and to make them festive, I added coloring to the white frosting, and voila, green frosting!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Green eggs and ham for breakfast, with milk in a green sippy cup :)

First time using hair ties! Amelia finally has just enough hair to make pig-tails.

The entire green outfit

Green cottage cheese
(don't worry it was just dyed with food coloring, not actually green from being old)

Enjoying the green cottage cheese

A green frosted brownie with a shamrock on top for dessert :)

Cold Water Anyone?

After talking with my sister about kiddie swimming pools, I decided I should find one for my little Amelia while shopping at Super Wal-Mart for groceries.

Let's backtrack to when I was a child:
There was the blue hard plastic shell kiddie pool, with a built in slide I think. Fun but not easy to store unless you have a backyard or empty garage.

There was the blue plastic pool where the sides are thin, stand up to make the pool shape, and had pictures of animals around it. Also fun and easier to store. (I saw this type of pool while shopping).

Fast forward to now:
Individual sized pools for kids, inflatable with an air pump, nice soft cushioned sides which help with injuries, animals around the sides, and Velcro butterflies. And all for $10! Perfect for our small front lawn area and for my sweet baby girl.

I set it up after we got back from shopping around 5:15pm. The sun was out and it was warm. Amelia loves playing in water, even though the hose water used to fill up the little pool was quite cold. I even set up a beach chair and put my feet in the pool. Amelia had a blast and I know we will do it again in the near future...it's getting hot really quick here in AZ.

Amelia: Baby Figure Skater

We were watching the Winter Olympics while getting Amelia ready for bedtime and she started dancing with the figure skater. We grabbed the video camera and started recording her. Enjoy watching our upcoming figure skater, Amelia, do her little dance!