16 Months

I am 16 months old! October was a busy month with lots of weekend trips and outings. Aside from that, here are just a few quick updates:

• I can understand and say the following words: dada, hi, bye-bye, ball, doggy, birdie, sí, yes, no, agua, leche, nose. The list hasn't changed much from last month but it's slowly growing. Currently my favorite word is "no." I've gotten very good at expressing myself when I don't want something, shaking my head and repeating "no" over and over again.
• I understand the following commands/gestures: peek-a-boo, touchdown, high five, wave goodbye, kiss, flying kiss, oh no, I don't know, and "quiet time." I learned "quiet time" in day care by watching the big kids - whenever I hear the phrase, I will stop what I'm doing, rest my head in my arms and close my eyes. It works every time. One time I even rested my head on my ball popper toy.
• I am thriving in day care. I still attend the same in home day care that I started at a year ago, and I continue to love it. There are only four other kids that attend full time, so I get a lot of attention (especially because I'm the second youngest and the only girl). When I get out of the car in the mornings and see where I am, I get really excited and run from the sidewalk to the front door. I'm usually too busy saying hi to my friends or starting to play that I don't even say goodbye to Mommy and Daddy (but I'm always happy to see them when they pick me up). I love the owner Johanna, and her 8-year old son Anthony treats me like his little sister. I even had a weekend sleepover there once when Mommy and Daddy had to attend a dinner event.
• Activities: My favorite activities around the house involving opening and closing cabinets and drawers, organizing and collecting things in containers (Mommy is so proud), making Mommy or Daddy read to me (I always insist on sitting in their laps when they read), and climbing up on anything I can.

One of these days, I'll learn how to put on my own shoes. But as you can see from this video, I'm not quite there yet. 

LA Weekend

Last week we flew down to LA for Mommy's cousin Jeffrey's wedding. Since the wedding was in Pacific Palisades, we enjoyed four days hanging out in West LA and Santa Monica. We went to lots of malls and, of course, Mommy's favorite West LA joint (California Chicken Cafe). It was fun for Mommy and Daddy to go back to where they spent so many years working.

At the new Santa Monica Place mall. It has completely changed since Mommy and Daddy last visited long time ago!

Hanging out on 3rd Street Promenade. It hasn't changed much over the years.

Mommy and Daddy took me to a toy store on the promenade, where I picked out a stuffed doggy all on my own. Although I have a bunch of stuffed toys at home, I have never shown interest in any of them. For whatever reason, I quickly became attached to this one and refused to let him go. Mommy even tried to take it out of my hands several times to make sure I really wanted it before she bought it (I responded by starting to cry and clutching it even tighter). That was enough to convince her.

My new lovey. Mommy has never seen me hug something for so long.

He looks a lot like the doggy I met on our camping trip a few months ago, so we named him Budda.

Grandma and Grandpa also came to town for the wedding. We got adjoining hotel rooms and I loved running back and forth between the two rooms. As an added benefit, they were able to babysit at night while Mommy and Daddy went out for drinks and late night eats. :)

At Century City mall, we discovered Giggles N'Hugs, a restaurant/playspace tailored just for kids. It was the perfect place for an energetic toddler like me to run around, play, and socialize (Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the food too).

There was also a slide - I recently discovered how fun they are. Here is a video of me going down all by myself (and then attempting to climb back up).

Jeffrey and Linda's wedding was held at the Bel Aire Beach Club in Pacific Palisades. Although the fog never lifted, it was a beautiful wedding and I was on my best behavior.

Practicing for my flower girl duties for Auntie Alzira's wedding next year!

The day after the wedding, we had some time to kill before heading back to the airport, so we decided to walk around The Grove and Farmers Market in LA. I even had my first Hollywood celebrity sighting!

Mario Lopez interviewing Jonah Hill (Superbad, Moneyball) for Extra!

Now that I'm home, I'm still attached to my doggy Budda and I give him hugs and kisses everyday. :)

Pumpkin Patch

It's pumpkin season! Here's some pictures from today's visit to Pastorino Farms in Half Moon Bay.

Apparently I really like sticking my head through portrait holes.

We met up with a group of friends there. Here is me and Kira at the petting zoo.

And with some other friends, Ashton and Brandon.

We took a train ride through the farm.

Clearly I need a haircut or something since I refuse to let Mommy put clips in my hair.

On the way back to our car, we had to pass through another farm, which also had a petting zoo. I stopped to say hello to the goats there too.

This was a bigger goat and I was a little scared at first.

Then I realized that it's just like petting a doggy.

By the way, at the end of the day, we totally forgot to bring home what we went there for...the pumpkins!

Healdsburg

Mommy and Daddy went to wine country for their anniversary weekend (and I tagged along), where they rented a cute cottage in Healdsburg. On the way up, we drove through Sonoma and stopped by Viansa Winery, where Mommy and Daddy got married the same day four years ago!

Mommy is secretly hoping that she gets to plan my wedding here in thirty or so years.

To celebrate their anniversary, Mommy and Daddy stuck me with a babysitter while they enjoyed a decadent eight course dinner with wine pairing at Cyrus. They were told that after they left for dinner, I stood by the front door for awhile waiting for them to come back. I eventually gave up and (hopefully) behaved for the babysitter the rest of the night.

We spent the rest of the weekend eating and walking through downtown Healdsburg, visiting the Farmers' Market, and visiting a couple of wineries. It's a lot harder to go wine tasting now with me around. Luckily we found a nice winery with a huge lawn out front and plenty of room for me to run around.

Bella Vineyards

I even met a nice family that let me pet their dog. (I LOVE doggies!)

I look so tiny standing in front of that barn!

I couldn't leave wine country without picking some grapes from the backyard of our cottage. They were super sweet too so Mom cut off a bunch so I could enjoy them at home.

Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy!