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.
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.
It's been awhile since our last monthly update, so we've got some catching up to do. Kaitlyn is now 15 months old! She's an active toddler that loves exploring and is learning new things each day.
She is 19 lbs, 6 oz. and 30 inches: I can't believe she still hasn't hit 20 lbs yet!
Walking: Kaitlyn was taking solid steps by 13 months and quickly picked it up from there. I think the turning point of her walking ability came when we went camping in August. After a whole weekend of trying to walk through the uneven grassy campground, by the time we got home she was walking steadily around the house. By the following weekend she was practically running.
Eating: Kaitlyn has always been a good eater but lately it's been hit or miss. At mealtime she will either eat anything we give her or will take one look at her food and refuse everything. The only foods she never refuses are goldfish crackers, cheese, yogurt, and fruit (she goes crazy for melons, berries, and peaches/nectarines). She also loves those squeeze pouches, especially the applesauce pouches from Trader Joe's. Lately the biggest challenge has been getting her to eat enough protein. She never seems interested in the meat dishes we give her, unless it's jarred baby food, which I would prefer to not give her at this point. I need to work more on disguising the meat with cheese or fruit so that she'll eat it!
Talking: Kaitlyn is still a chatterbox talking in her native "Kaitlynese." The only real words I've heard her say are: bye bye (while waving), dada (Daddy), baba (ball, bubble or balloon), hi, and "dah" (yay). Her daycare teacher insists she also says "si," "gracias," and "leche," but I have yet to hear it.
Sleep. I can't complain anymore about Kaitlyn's sleep. We put her down between 7:30-8pm each night without a fight and she sleeps solidly until 6-6:30am. She still takes two naps a day, with her first nap being around 10am and second nap at around 4pm. At some point she'll need to consolidate naps but right now keeping her awake for any time beyond 5 hours is really pushing it.
Teeth: She currently has four upper teeth and four bottom teeth. It's been awhile, but we think she's starting another round of teething. In the past few days she has been waking up in the middle of the night crying, cranky at home, and drooling up a storm. I hope it doesn't last too long this time.
TV: We *try* to avoid having the TV on all the time, but there are two shows that always catch Kaitlyn's attention: Sesame Street and Mister Roger's Neighborhood. I DVR'ed a few episodes and whenever she hears the voice of Murray at the beginning of Sesame Street or the tinkling music of Mister Roger's Neighborhood, she will drop whatever she's doing and head straight to the TV. She is absolutely mesmerized by Mister Rogers - it must be his soothing voice and gentle demeanor, but unlike other shows or cartoons, Mister Rogers will always hold her attention for at least 20 minutes. We don't want to become dependent on the TV for entertainment, but sometimes it's a good way to help her calm down (and buy us a few minutes to get other things done).
Personality: When she is with people she's comfortable with, Kaitlyn is talkative, playful, and curious. She loves to get our attention and make lots of noise, whether it's yelling at the top of her voice or banging on objects around the house. In contrast, in group settings such as music class or playdates, she tends to sit back and quietly observe, and it takes her some time to warm up to those around her. Kaitlyn is selective in how she reacts to strangers. Sometimes she gets very shy, clinging to me or hiding behind my leg when she meets someone new. Other times, she'll see a stranger at a grocery store or mall, and will do everything she can to catch their attention (point, wave, stick out tongue) - it's very cute. :) Overall Kaitlyn is a happy, fun little toddler and these past few months have been a blast.
In the coming months I'm hoping that Kaitlyn will learn some more words, be less picky about the food we give her, and drop the use of her bottle and pacifiers!
We went on vacation to SoCal last week, and spent a few days in sunny San Diego. I loved hanging out with my cousins, and enjoying the beautiful hot weather! We got to go to the pool, beach, and Legoland!
I need to start going to swim class again. I was pretty nervous in the pool, even though Mom and Dad were holding me.
This was my first visit to a beach. At first I didn't like the feeling of the sand under my feet and kept lifting my feet up every time Mom tried to put me down. But after putting on some flip flops I felt more comfortable. My favorite activity at the beach was playing with all the rocks. I had at least one in my hands the entire time and kept trying to bite them.
The next day we went to Legoland. We wandered through mini cities made out of Legos and checked out the Star Wars exhibit.
San Francisco
Both made out of Legos!
I was actually scared of most of the Lego statues at the park. Whenever Mom brought me close to one I would clench onto her tighter, and I refused to touch them. I guess I'm not used to seeing giant 3D faces yet that don't move or talk.
It was a hot day and one of the best parts of the park was the water fountains. I could have stayed here all day.
Of course I didn't bring a bathing suit and got soaking wet. Good thing Mom packed a change of clothes.
Since I was too little to go on most of the rides, I spent a lot of time at Duplo Village playing with the giant Legos.
We did so many fun things on this trip but the best part was spending quality time with my cousins. I followed them everywhere around the house and wanted to do whatever they did. They took such good care of me!
During the San Diego blackout, Alex shared her crayons with me and I happily colored nonstop.
I was glad to find other people who were as awake as I was at 6:30 in the morning.
We just finished the summer session of Peninsula Music Together classes. It was a fun program and Kaitlyn really enjoyed hearing the instructors sing, watching the other kids, and playing with the different instruments. In addition to singing, we did lots of other activities including the big parachute, rolling balls, dancing, and playing with musical eggs, sticks, and scarves. The best part of class though was when the instructor would take out the big blue box of instruments and lay them all on the ground. All the kids would go crazy and run to grab their favorite instruments. Kaitlyn's favorites were the maracas and drums.
And here's a short video of her during "free play" time and learning from a fellow classmate.
Another weekend, another road trip! We had an amazing time in wine country this past weekend. Mommy and Daddy rented a great house in Kenwood with a big backyard. It was a perfect getaway with lots of space for me to play and for them to relax.
I always seem to know which cupboards I'm not supposed to get into.
The huge backyard even had a miniature vineyard.
On Saturday we spent the day hanging out with the Grandon's and friends at their amazing rental house in Healdsburg.
Lounging poolside with Daddy
Playing a game of bocce ball with Jon and Teddy.
Celebrating the Grandon's ten year anniversary with a picture perfect sunset dinner.
The next day a group of us visited Sonoma TrainTown, where I enjoyed my first train ride.
The train took us to a miniature town that I got to explore by foot.
Excuse me, some privacy please!
The highlight of TrainTown was the petting zoo. I absolutely loved the llama, and giggled every time I got to touch him.
It's so fun to go out now that I'm old enough to enjoy all these activities. I love weekend trips!
I just came back from my first camping trip and boy, did I have a blast! We headed up north near Pt. Reyes to Olema Campground, where we met up with the Chiu's, Kwan's, Yuen's and two other families. There were lots of kids for me to watch and to play with. I got so dirty walking around the campground and playing in the grass and dirt!
Hanging out with Daddy in front of our tent.
I slept surprisingly well in the tent. Mommy and Daddy put me to sleep in the Peapod, but both nights they returned to the tent to find that I had crawled out to the middle of the sleeping bag. It was so much cozier there and I enjoyed getting to sleep between them all weekend.
Although we were supposed to be "roughing it" there was definitely a downside to camping: ask Daddy if he enjoyed waking up at the crack of dawn each morning to stand outside in the cold while he waited for water to boil to heat up my bottle. They will never take electricity and bottle warmers for granted again.
One of the highlights of the trip was taking the short drive to Tomales Bay Oyster Company, where we bought bags of fresh oysters to grill and eat raw.
I also made a new friend named Sumo. I adored him. Every time he crossed my path I would point and smile and call him "Budda."
We took a late afternoon drive to see the Pt. Reyes lighthouse. I was so tired though that I crashed out in the car for almost two hours! Daddy had to stay in the car with me while Mommy took the half-mile trek to the lighthouse. It was a very scenic walk.
On the way back to the campground I finally woke up, and we stopped for some ice cream and enjoyed the view.
I was just happy to spend the weekend outdoors hanging out with the big kids.
Overall we all had a great camping experience and hope it becomes a family tradition!
