Be Our Guest

It has been a whirlwind guest month and we love it!!!!

Kalista enjoyed a good week with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Bill. Ironically, we had Flat Stanley for the same week as a homework assignment for our cousin, Ryan. For those who don't know, Stanley Lambchop is a book character created by Jeff Brown that was flattened in his sleep when a bulletin board fell off his bedroom wall.  Poor Stanley!!

Our first exciting trip was to the Birch Aquarium since we had it on our 'to do list" with family in town.  Kalista LOVED it!  We had to hold her in order for her to see all the creatures in each tank.  Depending on who was the closest, Kalista hopped from one set of arms to another.  She was exceptionally mesmerized by the giant sea kelp exhibit. Here are a few other images from our excursion:

 Stanley standing in front of the aquarium entrance

 Beautiful jellyfish in an ever-changing color display

 The stained glass window was gorgeous

 Kalista and Grandma enjoyed the Tangs and Clownfish

The best part of the aquarium was watching Kalista touch a starfish for the first time.  Okay....it was a fake toy starfish, but it took a lot of courage.  We're so glad it wasn't real because she drop that thing like a hotcake.  

We finished our visit in the Shark Reef area and played with all the eco-energy saving activities that were on display.  Kalista loved the Shark Cage because it made the best sound as she ran across the metal flooring.  boom boom boom boom.

Kalista posing in front of a wind-energy blade template

da un...da dun...da dun....eeeeee!!!!! We got chomped up.

Like we said earlier, the Shark Cage was a popular spot among the family. We had a mini incident with the Cage, but it ended up being no big deal.  Notice Kalista's big cheesy smile in the first picture....well...the head, that houses that big smile, got stuck in between the bars.  It sent us on a flashback to the days when we were young and got our heads got stuck in the bars within the stair banister. Every child has to experience it at some point. 

Grandma and Grandpa got caught up in the action too..except no heads got stuck here.

During the week, we made our usual trip to the zoo.  We kind of forgot that Spring Break equals craziness, so we had to brave through the crowds.  Flat Stanley joined us and we think he enjoyed himself. Kalista convinced Grandma to buy her a stuffed panda and would not let go of the little thing until we got home.

We made it to the zoo with Flat Stanley

Kalista clinging on to her new friend

This elephant knew how to pamper himself

Easter weekend was great since we had a chance to spend it with family and friends. We drove up to LA to visit Jen's old roommate from college for her little boy's first birthday.  We also caught up with old friends we haven't seen in a long time.  Kalista had a blast at her first Easter egg hunt and searched for hidden eggs with lil ones her size.  Her stamina was short and found not ONE....but TWO eggs and then called it a day.  It was the cutest thing watching all these little ones running around and comparing their new found treasures.  We hope everyone had a fabulous Easter!

These were the best cake and rice krispie pops!

Kali's first Easter egg hunt

Disney...mania

Grandma Susan left a cute duster many months back and now Kali has taken on all the dusting in the house.  We are truly lucky to have a maid...um..er..daughter that cleans so well after herself.  As you can see below, she is dusting off the balls in her ball pit.  No really....she was actually dusting one ball at a time.

We found Kali's Princess Mickey Ears while we were doing our fair share of spring cleaning.  She still loves to wear them, which was impressive since she normally throws her hats to the ground.  We were able to keep those ears on for a good half hour.  Here are a few poses she made since she is such a comedian in our house:

She can recognize and point out where Mickey Mouse is in her books. It is a bit amazing what kids recognize at such an early age.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma (Por Por)!!!!

Apple...Cheese....No Way

Kalista is growing leaps and bounds and so is her vocabulary.  Here are her new favorite words and phrases:

What's that?

Who's that?

Hi

apple

cheese

No way

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

It's official...she is hitting her terrible twos early.  Stomping and crying have become an everyday occurrence.  The inner DIVA has arrived and she's fierce.  Kali took the award for saying "No" more than fifty times in one day.  Here's a snippet of our conversation today:

Us: " Kali, do you want cheese or apple?"

Kali: "No"

Us: "You don't want mum-mums?"

Kali: "No"...."cheese"

Us: 'So you want cheese?"

Kali: "No"

Us: "Do you always say No?"

Kali: "No"

We had a blast hiking one of the Torrey Pines trails with Jen's friend, Theresa, this past Wednesday.  It was such a beautiful day and the trails were fairly empty.  We decided to take the Beach Trail, as it is named, to get down to the beach where Kali could enjoy some sand time.  She loved watching the seagulls basking in the sun.

On a foodie note, Kali is doing so good lately.  She has been snacking up a storm.  For breakfast, she can eat half of a mini Eggo waffle, a slice of apple, a sliver of string cheese and 2-3 pretzel sticks.  Pretty awesome for a girl who ate absolutely nothing by mouth a year ago.  We are so proud!!!!

On another proud note, Kali is starting to understand the potty scene a little bit more.  We've been a bit inconsistent, but still exploring potty training.  The other day, Kali let us know for the first time that she needed to go to the bathroom.  She pointed to the ground, did a knee bend (resembling the adult pee pee dance), grabbed her crotch like Michael Jackson and then pointed to the bathroom.  We were so waiting for the MJ swing kick with her leg, but no such luck.  We should've video taped it...it was so cute!  She gets reward stickers for her good potty moments and it's been a big hit.  Thank you Dora stickers!!!  She even tries to earn extra stickers by signalling she needs to go again after we just went to the potty. Sorry sista....didn't work!

Thanks Auntie Nette

Matt's younger sis, Jeanette, came to visit us for a few days.  It was a blessing to be able to go on a date night and not have to worry about who should babysit Kali.  Talking about babysitting, we just finished a round of interviews for babysitters last week and we think we have two good contenders. So, we're crossing our fingers.

Don't want to rub it in anyone's face, but the weather here has been gorgeous. We took the family out for a day of stand up paddleboarding and a trip to the beach/bay.  Kalista didn't like the feeling of sand on her feet at first but got used to it pretty quickly.  We taught her how to look for seashells and now she is a master of picking up any object in the sand.  Our NO FEAR daughter even got close to the waterfront to watch Auntie paddleboard to shore.

Hello Again Sweet Blog

Where do we even beginning?  February went by in a blur.  Here is a mini recap for all of you:

Kalista got an early birthday present in the form of an egg chair.  She absolutely loves this swivel chair from IKEA and enjoys closing the cover on us whenever she gets the chance.

Kali had a home spa day with Jen. Her bathtub toys ended up teething items since a few of her teeth are still coming in.

This was her "diva" face for immediate attention. "Help Me NOW!!!"  Just kidding...she was actually upset that her toy fell on the ground. (** notice her little finger)

With sad news, Joey was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in his mouth and found out that it had quickly metastasized along his tonsils at the beginning of February.  After many visits to the vet, we decided to spare him from extensive chemotherapy and radiation.  Because he is almost 14 years old, we are making him as comfortable as possible at home. Luckily, he doesn't seem to be bothered very much and is still eating well.

On another pet note, Bella injured her little short toe a week ago and had to have the abscessed area lanced and cleaned out.  Oh yes...we had to find her "Cone of Shame" so she wouldn't pick at her wrapped tootsie.  Since then, we had the wrapping removed and have been soaking her foot daily in a disinfectant bath.  She is pretty much back to her normal self.  Our poor furry babies!!!!

In between the dog madness, the Lam and Martinez families came to spend a long weekend with us. Kali loved showing off her kitchen and playing house with all our guests.  It looks like Mrs. Potato Head might be on the menu for dinner. Oh no!

Matt and his mom were surprised with a belated/early birthday cake.

It was a tough set of candles. It took a few extra lips to blow them out.

Kali and her cousins enjoying a fantastic day in Balboa Park. We walked through some of the International Houses, since we have honestly never visited that part of the park.  Each little bungalow highlights a particular country and their traditions.  We had some yummy ethnic nibbles and enjoyed a great Irish jig. We also discovered that hot dogs represent the food item of the United States.

Besides working on our feeding trials and tribulations (which seem to be improving by the way), we have been working on potty training while we can.  Don't think Kali is ready quite yet, but every little step helps.

Matt finally made it to one of our weekly zoo-ventures.  Kali got to enjoy a better view in the backpack since Matt is a good 12 inches taller.  We even took our first ride in the Skyfari sky tram with Kalista to see the polar bears.

When we got home, we asked Kali if she had a good time at the zoo and she showed us this beautiful smile.  The answer must have been ...YES!!!!

In our toddler group yesterday, the theme was "crafts" and letting your child explore without worrying about what the end product looks like.  Kalista skipped finger painting and gravitated to  her two favorite things - coloring with crayons and playing with stickers.  At the end, she made this beautiful sticker-clad vase. It's now our Happy Leap Day vase!

Oh Yeah...Elmo Song...

Matt is a true YouTube surfer and came across this awesome video.

"I'm Elmo and I Know It"