A Day at the Park

OK, so we really didn't spend a whole day at the park. When we were visiting the Japanese Gardens in Oregon, I noticed a sign for a park not too far away so we decided to go check it out. We actually ended up at the park both Sunday and Monday. The kid's favorite part . . . the stone elephant. William did ask me to turn it on several times. He thought it was a Chuck E Cheese ride of some type and if I put a coin in the elephant would move.

Portland Japanese Garden

This place was absolutely beautiful and definitely geared more for adults. They did attempt to make it kid friendly by providing a map with 10 items or so for the kids to look for while walking around the gardens. Briana really got into it and refused to leave until we were able to check everything off her list.

Japanese Garden

Click this picture to see our trip through the garden. :)

Oregon

Saturday was our day to check out the great outdoors of Oregon. We had actually planned on taking a few hikes to the waterfalls in the area but each stop was so crowded. With two young children we decided to hike around in a less crowded area and look at the sites that way. The weather was beautiful by this time and we had a great time exploring a new area.

Children's Museum

The children's museum was practically next door to the Oregon Zoo and we were tempted to check it out on the same day but decided against that plan due to William's nap schedule. So, bright and early the next day we headed to the museum. They had so many interactive centers for the kids. They had an area with baby dolls, high chairs and baby beds. I casually mentioned to Alan that he should take William over to the area because he likes baby dolls. After 10 minutes of chasing Briana around I noticed William and daddy still over in the baby doll area. William was very much into the dolls. "Baby go sleep, Baby awake." It was a little too repetitive for Alan, so I took over for the remainder of William's time with the dolls. We actually left the museum for a short time because there was a huge school group and it made all of the areas very crowded. We decided to head out for a while and try back after lunch. The minute William saw the museum he said, "I want to go see baby!" It was such a great place. I really wish they had something like this in my neighborhood!!

Children's Museum

Oregon Zoo

Oregon Zoo

Click on this image to see more pictures. :)


We couldn't resist the opportunity to visit the Oregon Zoo. I was impressed by all of the interactive centers they had set up near the animal exhibits. They also had many employees set up along the paths and near the animals with skulls, bones and fur samples for the kids to touch and interact with. The way they designed their exhibits you felt as it you could reach out and touch the animals. Compared to the living desert less than two weeks prior to this visit, it was cold and rainy. This was great for crowd control. There were many times it felt as if we had the place all to ourselves. However, it wasn't so great getting rained on from time to time. Overall, it was a great visit and definitely a fun place for the kids to explore.

Airplane!

We decided to take a vacation to Oregon before the new baby arrives on May 22nd. We decided to leave the RV behind and get on a plane. For William this would be his very first airplane ride ever. For the most part he did very well. Daddy had his laptop loaded with the Chipmunk movie. When that died, he got out the iPod and his phone with games for the kids. William did stress out during the landing. It was particularly rough and I know I was having a hard time with motion sickness myself. I felt so bad for him because he was crying and trying to turn the airplane off by pushing the button on his seat. A nice lady sitting in front of me handed him a large bracelet in order to try and distract him and it actually worked. Briana has been on a plane a few times in her life, although I don't think she really remembers those earlier trips. She of course did very well. She loved the drink and snack service and to look at her you never would have known the plane was going through any kind of turbulence during the landing.

Looking at those happy faces, it was definitely a positive experience for both. They were even more excited when they found out we were going on the plane again to come back home!!

Visit with Great Grandpa

The kids love to visit their great grandpa. William is starting to form a very strong attachment. He talks about great grandpa for days after our visit. Briana loves the ice cream she gets at every visit.




William is opening a late Birthday gift. :)

Fire Station Visit

We had a great time visiting the fire station. The kids love watching fire trucks drive by on the road and they loved the opportunity to climb inside and talk to a real fire fighter.

William loved going inside one of the rooms inside the fire house. I had a hard time getting him to leave.

Cousin Lexi was able to join us on this particular field trip.



We can't wait to go back next year!!

My Little Man

William is going through such a cute phase right now. The other night I was getting ready to go out for a few hours and was working on striaghtening my hair. I had just placed a large clip on top of my head when I hear him crying to get up from his nap. I walk into his room and he starts to smile at me. He then tells me, "mommy you are a princess!" He loved the clip on top of my head and it took me a second or two to realize what he was talking about. It was so precious.

The Living Desert

My mom's group was taking a field trip to the Living Desert in Palm Desert. Normally I would shy away from a trip that takes just over an hour to get to from my home but I was feeling ambitious and wanted to get out of the house. I know we'll be home-bound for a while soon enough. It was HOT!! 97 degrees but we managed to have a great time anyway.

I managed to get at least one picture with all three of us!

William was absolutely fascinated by this butterfly.

If I let him, William would have slept on this goat.

It was so difficult to get a picture of Briana because she was running to each animal, trying to pet them all.

Family Pictures

We try and do family pictures every six months. It is amazing to see how much the kids have grown in such a short time!

William is in Love

with a bunny!! We went to a birthday party recently for a 5 year old little girl who has a pet bunny. William absolutely fell in love with this animal. He spent over half the party over by the cage watching the bunny and trying to pet him. It is defintely not something we will be getting any time soon. But I'm glad he got to spend some time with an animal he enjoyed so much.

My Clever Little Boy

My baby boy never ceases to amaze me. We were out running errands today and at one point I had to go get some money from the ATM machine. As soon as I got back into the car I told the kids that I had the money so we could go. William then tells me, they make the honey and we make the money . . . . he then starts to laugh. If you don't know that is a quote from the Bee Movie. William has probably seen it 4 or 5 times. Barely two and he now quotes movies . . . . maybe he watches too much tv ??!!

William is Turning 2 Today!

William’s 2nd Birthday (3/31/08)

You are definitely my little man and all boy. You have one of the brightest smiles I have ever seen. My heart melts every time I see that beautiful face all lit up. I am amazed at how much you have grown and learned this past year. It’s seems like yesterday you were just a newborn baby. Now that you are turning 2!! I look forward to another great year together!

One of the biggest changes we noticed this year has been your increasing ability to talk and communicate. You started just after your first birthday and your vocabulary has been slowly increasing ever since. Some of your early words included manu (your word for Nemo) danu, wawa, baba, bubble, mama, dada, dirt, backpack, Nana (your word for Briana), jes, and no. Early on, you would use a combination of gestures and words to express yourself. You became increasingly interested in getting on the couch and sitting like a big boy. You learned very early on that if you patted the seat of the couch we would help you climb in so you could sit down with the rest of us. At 15 months you added please, thank you and welcome to your vocabulary. Often times you say "welcome" and then expect us to say thank you again, not quite grasping the concept. A few months after that you started to tell us, “I love you” even though it came out more like, “ups you”. It was still very cute!! We often get comments from other people about your ability to speak. Not only that, the closer you get to the age of 2 you were able to sing the entire alphabet song and count to eleven. Advanced skills according to Dr. Lao and not asked of children until the age of four!!

It goes without saying that you seem to be growing up so fast. When I think of all the places we have already taken you, it amazes me. Of course you have been to the Zoo more than a dozen times. Each time we go you are becoming more and more interested in the animals. At this point you are still confined to the backpack for most of the trip but it actually gives you an excellent view of everything. We have also taken you to Disneyland several times. Your favorite ride in Small World but you would never know it because you are always singing the pirate song. Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me!! We had a chance to go to Goofy’s kitchen back in October and that was all you needed to form a long lasting attachment to the Goofy character. I hear from so many parents that they want to wait until their child is older to go to Disney so they will get more out of the trip but I can’t think of how you could love it more. We also had a chance to take you to Lego land back in August. Your absolute favorite part of that trip was the water area. We have even taken you to see your first movie on the big screen, Horton Hears a Who. For the most you did very well. You spent most of the time in daddy’s lap and waited until the end of the movie to ask to go home.

During the past year your love for certain television and movie characters has grown immensely. The very first show you fell in love with is Dora the Explorer. Swiper is by far your favorite character and when given the line, “swiper no swiping!” you always reply, “oh man!” Of course there was what you called manu and what the rest of the world knows as Nemo. As you got older, the little boy in you took over and became very interested in Cars and Toy Story. Your aunt Justin gave you Michael’s old Woody and Buzz Lightyear dolls and you must have them in your crib every night or you won’t go to sleep. Not to mention how many Lightning McQueen cars we now have around the house. Of course if it weren’t for big sister I think we would have been watching Toy Story and Cars just about every day!!!


Speaking of your big sister, you take so many cues from her that at times it’s almost absurd. I remember one time after lunch I was giving you both a cookie for dessert and Briana happened to still have her napkin so I placed her cookie on it. You took one look at that and started to yell for a “nakin”, “nakin like Briana”. Not realizing right away why you wanted it, I handed you the napkin and watched as you placed your cookie on it. Of course with Briana being your constant role model you stopped calling her Nana at about 18 months and have called her Briana ever since. (In my experience young children have a difficult time with the name Briana but you hear it everyday) In reality your persistence to imitate Briana has actually made my life 100% easier. I know that’s why you stay in your stroller so well during stroller strides and why you can sit for 30-45 minutes at a time during a meal. On occasion, it does break my heart when you get disappointed at the prospect of being separated from Briana. I was dropping you off at the church daycare one Sunday morning and you hesitated for a moment an asked me if Briana was coming. When I told you no, you began to cry. You apparently got over it quickly enough because I was never called back in. It just makes me realize what a close bond the two of you have been able to form since we are home together everyday.

I am truly enjoying this opportunity we have together. I am definitely getting to know such a sweet, loving, intelligent, and caring little boy. I look forward to each and every day we have to spend together. I am definitely looking forward to what you have in store for me next. I know I will always be impressed with the things you do and say. My love for you grows deeper with each new day and I know I will always look back at this time with the fondest of memories. Now on to 2 and hoping for few temper tantrums and continued good times!!

William's 2nd Birthday Party

William's 2nd B-day

(Click the photo above to see B-day Party Pics)

We decided to have a small home party for William this year. Just the grandparents, aunt Justin and cousins Michael, JoJo and Lexi. I decided to make the theme Toy Story and William absolutely loved it. I had purchased a small plastic Buzz Lightyear for the cake topper and he took one look at that and had to have it! He actually spent several minutes liking the chocolate from Buzz Lightyear before he got to his cake. I think William really enjoyed his party and of course his big gift . . . . a new bike! Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!!

Phantom of the Opera

Hubby and I headed down to the Orange County Performing Artscenter for the Phantom of the Opera. (The kids had grandma and grandpa day back at home.) Alan has wanted to see this performance for so many years. I have only recently began to get into musicals and performances. It was definitly not something my parents ever did with us. So of course I was also excited to see the musical and have a day off from being a mommy.

It was a beautiful performance and great to have a date day with my husband. We even managed to get a bite to eat and still make it home to spend a few hours with the kids before bedtime.

I always tell myself that we need to get more date nights in. However, this is always so much easier said then done. I know that I just have to make more of en effort and be more willing to drop the kids off with grandma and grandpa. I think they also enjoy the time away from us as well!!

Disneyland

This is from one of our many trips to Disneyland. We happen to be there for an hour or so and walked by the Aladdin show just before it was scheduled to begin. Briana had been watching Aladdin practically every day up to this point and absolutely loved the show. Afterward, Aladdin and Jasmin were available to pose for a picture. Briana couldn't wait to share her elephant with them.