Thrills at the Zoo

We took a spontaneous trip to the Oakland Zoo a few weekends ago. It's always fun to see lots of different animals.

Colin's first meeting with a goat.

Had to take a picture with the zebra since we matched.

But the best part about this zoo is not the animals; it's the little amusement park that's connected to it on the way out. They have a train ride that takes you to see some wallabies and emus that you can't see from inside the zoo, and a bunch of little thrill rides. If you ever go to Oakland Zoo, make sure to factor in an extra hour for all the stuff at the end. 

My favorite was the mini roller coaster. Daddy even took a selfie video during the ride, and you can see the smile I had on my face the entire time. Made the whole trip worth it.

Thirteen Month Update

Hello toddlerhood! Life is so much more fun now that I'm walking - fun for me at least, exhausting for Mommy who's constantly trying to keep me out of trouble! I am always exploring and rarely ever stay still.

Talking:
I added two words to my vocabulary this month: dog and ball.  Not much, but I've been too busy with my physical development! Other words I've tried to repeat are "ba-ba" (balloon) and "buh-buh" (bubble).

Teeth:
Three more teeth popped out this month. I now have four on top and three on the bottom! I have a very toothy grin that I love to flash to strangers.

Sleep:

Mommy keeps trying to push my morning naps back but I just can't hang. I wake up around 6:30-7am each morning and by 10am I'm ready for my first nap. Looks like I'll continue taking two naps a day for awhile.

Since I moved back to the crib, Kaitlyn spent the last few weeks sleeping between Mommy and Daddy because my middle-of-the-night crying kept waking her up (not that she's complaining). We had to sleep train again and it's starting to work. Recently there have been a few nights where I've slept straight through until morning! 

Likes: climbing up and down the three stairs that lead to the den, climbing play structures at the playground, going down slides, collecting sticks, ride-on toys

Dislikes: swings (they seem to bore me and I'm always trying to get out), getting taken out of the bath (I complain every time)

Finally big enough to bathe in the big bathtub! Makes bathtime so much more fun.

Week with the Cousins

The Tans came to visit us for a week while they were on Spring Break. As always, I had so much fun with them. We played nonstop, had sleepovers in my room, danced to all my favorite music videos, and ate lots of yummy treats. Best of all, I finally got to take Alex and Kieran to preschool and show them my classroom - I had been wanting to do so for the longest time. It was the best week ever!

Checking out the reptiles at Curiodyssey.

Colin trying to catch the fog at Curiodyssey.

I was so proud that I went down that giant slide for the first time!

Walking to preschool.

Pizookie!

Berkeley Habitot Children's Museum

We were in the east bay so spent an afternoon at Habitot Children's Museum in Berkeley. It's a small museum with a very intimate feel - you can literally walk from one end of the museum to the other in less than a minute - but there's still lots to do. Colin got to roam freely about the place and explore while I spent lots of time in the art studio.

Easter egg decorating

We really enjoyed playing with the "goop" (equal parts glue and starch). We'll have to try making it at home sometime!

This was a "wind tunnel" - a large fan that blew fake flower petals everywhere. It doesn't look very windy, but it was.

Easter (and more eggs...)

This year's Easter projects: 

The Easter Bunny came and left some treats for me and Colin! 

Last year's egg hunt for Brady was so successful, that the Easter Bunny did it again this year. All the eggs were stuffed with dog treats and hot dogs. I'm sure Brady could smell them, because he followed me EVERYWHERE around the backyard. We found all the eggs just in time before it started pouring rain.

I had so much fun hunting for Easter eggs for Brady, I wanted to do it again. So for his dinner, we divided his kibble among all the eggs, then I hid and found them again. It was such a long, drawn out process of feeding him - good thing he's such a patient dog!

On a related note, here is Mommy's latest Easter discovery - Peeps s'mores!

Bunnies and Eggs

It's (Easter egg) hunting season! We checked out a spring carnival/egg hunt in Millbrae Central Park, hosted by the Mills High Interact club. The carnival portion was a bit lacking, but the egg hunt did not disappoint! It was not crowded and they had thousands of candy-stuffed eggs to give out. Even after the hunt started, students were walking around throwing out extra eggs and candy to make sure that every child got something to pick up. It was Colin's first egg hunt and he did great. We both ended up with tons of eggs and candy! 

This is my first picture with the Easter Bunny since I was a little baby! I'm no longer scared of him!

The next day, we went to Casanova Park for the San Mateo Mother's Club spring picnic and egg hunt. The egg hunt itself was pretty quick and we were done in about two minutes. Colin was too slow so I made sure to put an egg in his basket. 

Colin met this same Easter bunny last year when he was just one month old! This year, he sat in his lap for just long enough to take the photo, and then started crying.