San Francisco Zoo

Several weekends ago, Mike and Martha stopped by for the weekend to visit us on the way to Palm Springs. We drove to the San Francisco Zoo. I don't think I had ever been there before. I think I enjoyed myself more than Hattie did. My favorite animal was the giraffe. I probably took 50 or so photos of them. Hattie's favorite attraction was the train. We could hear it from any point in the zoo. Her least favorite? The goats and sheep at the Children's Petting Zoo. We were finally able to get her to feed a goat, but that was about it.

3 Years

One beautiful daughter and a baby on the way. Life is good.

A Beautiful Day in Monterey

After the park, we headed over to the Wharf and ate lunch. We had the most fabulous meal at Cafe Fina, and John and Hattie shared a beer. Actually the bottle was empty and they took turns blowing into it to make a noise (don't call CPS).
We saw a seal, and then Hattie played in the ocean. The water was freezing, but whenever we tried to take her out, we got, "more water."

Dennis the Menace Park-Monterey

Yesterday, we met John and Jenny in Monterey for some lunch and fun in the sun (overcast). We stopped at Dennis the Menace Park to let Hattie stretch her legs. I had never been there before, but Randy went often when he was younger. It is a great park with lots of slides, swings and other play structures. Hattie had a great time playing and chasing geese.
And for those of you who have expressed concern about Hattie's height (19.5 inches)from the previous post ("30"), that was a typo. She is 29.5 inches! She was 20 inches when she was born. :)

30

Yes, it's my birthday, but no, I'm not 30 (actually, I'm much younger than that). 30 weeks is how far along I am in my pregnancy. I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has flown by compared to the first. Lots of nesting going on around here. I've been throwing things out left and right and reorganizing everything. We even hired a housekeeper to come in twice a month to clean. What a difference!
In other news, Hattie had her 18-month appointment yesterday. She is 21.1 lbs. and 29.5 inches (5-10 percentile). The doctor said she is the most advanced 18-month old he has seen in awhile (regarding her language). Of course she showed off during her appointment; naming body parts, putting 2-3 words together, and naming shapes. But, the best part was when he said that she is no longer allergic to dairy! We have to slowly reintroduce milk and milk products, but we don't have to read labels anymore and prepare special meals for her. Meal time will be so much easier around here.

18 Months

We can't believe it's been 18 months since this little one came into our lives and changed them forever. We can't imagine a moment without her, and she makes us laugh each day. At 18 months,
she:
-still sleeps from 6pm-6am with one nap during the day
-loves to eat grapefruit, lemons, pickles and capers
-hates watermelon
-loves to slide down her tree house slide
-loves bubbles
-uses over 100 signs and 40 words
-likes to watch Thomas the Train, Curious George and Caillou
-will start potty training soon
-uses a spoon and fork while eating
-likes to have many toys in her crib while she sleeps (we take them out after she falls asleep): see photo
-still screams in delight whenever Cameron walks into the room
-has a doctor's appointment next week, so we'll find out how much she weighs. We are guessing 21 lbs.
-likes to take my blush brush and pretend to put on makeup.

New Swimsuit

Texas

We took a quick trip to Texas a few weekends ago. We were there for Sadie's 2nd birthday party, meeting our new nephew Grant Driscoll, and saying goodbye to Grant before he left for Iraq.
It was so much fun to watch Sadie and Hattie play together. Such a difference from last year when Hattie was just learning to sit and Sadie was saying just a few words. The visit was fun, but too short.
Grant has safely arrived in Iraq, so please keep him and his family in your thoughts for the next several months.

Father's Day

It's been a relaxing day here. We are all under the weather, so after sleeping in and being lazy (watching the U.S. Open), we decided to take a quick drive to Los Gatos to eat lunch. After lunch we stopped by the park and watched other kids run through the water feature. Someone was too scared to go in, so we just took pictures. Happy Father's Day to Randy, Hector, John and Mike, and all of the other dads out there.
Photos of our trip to Texas coming soon...

Sprinkler Fun and an Ouchie

The other night, we were outside playing when the sprinklers came on. She started yelling, "wa wa," so Randy picked her up and ran through them. She loved it! I grabbed my camera, and they ran through them again. On the third round, Randy slipped and she fell on the grass. Poor baby cried (both baby and daddy) and didn't want to go back in. I bought her a fun wiggly worm sprinkler today, so I am hoping I can get her to enjoy it again. And for the record, I put the camera down and comforted her instead of taking photos.

Three Days in a Row

she went pee pee on the potty! We are not officially potty training her, but she started to show signs of understanding, so I sat her on her potty and she went.
She:
-is signing "toilet" when she is going poop
-is signing "change diaper" after she has gone pee or poop
-likes to sit on her potty seat
-likes to flush the toilet and
-likes to pull all of the toilet paper off of the roll (maybe not a sign she's ready, but it is still potty related :) )

And a few pics of her first pig tails.
She no longer looks like a little baby. Sigh.

We will miss you (Great) Grandpa Baker

Doc Baker passed away on Friday, May 8 and 11:30 p.m. We were able to visit him in October, which was Hattie's first time meeting him. We feel so fortunate that the two were able to meet, and that we have so many photos of them together. Although we miss you...its wonderful to think of you reuniting with Grandma Baker.
Photos taken October 2008 and April 1973

First Ponytail

This weekend Hattie and I were in the bathroom getting ready when she saw me throw my hair back into a ponytail. She said, "Mama" as she tugged on her hair. I pulled her hair back into a ponytail as well, and she looked in the mirror for several minutes smiling. Looks like it's time to go out and buy some girlie rubber bands for her.

Easter Sunday

We spent Easter at my parent's house. John, Jenny, and Nathan joined us. We had a nice time playing with Hattie, watching golf (rolls eyes), and eating (and eating some more).
Hattie's Halloween costume still fit her, so I put it on and took dozens of photos. Notice her foot in the air? Yep, still doesn't like the grass. In the picture with the three of us, she is pointing to the swimming pool at John and Jenny's, and she is saying "wa wa." Randy put her feet in the pool and she was determined to get back in. Looks like we will be signing up for swim lessons this summer. She doesn't have the whole find-the-egg-thing yet, but she did put some in her basket. Next year I'm sure we'll see a huge difference.