Dallas Arboretum 2009

Mommy took the day off so that we could carry on our tradition (is it a tradition if you've done it twice?) of going to the Dallas Arboretum with Jacob and Auntie Diana to enjoy the Dallas Blooms event. The weather was perfect. Mommy was a little worried because it stormed the night before and was raining the morning of, but it all cleared up in time for it to be sunny with no clouds and not too warm.

Group shot

We started out with a nice picnic under a tree. There was lots of yummy food to munch on and plenty of room to run around. Jacob made friends with all the people at the picnic tables next to us. After lunch, we headed to the petting zoo. I have to admit, I'm still not a big fan of those animals, but at least I kind of petted a sheep on the nose a couple of times. Then we headed to participate in Kindermusic where we proceeded to wagon-jack us some transportation Bonnie and Clyde-style. Finally it was time to hunt out some flowers.

Jacob, can you help me? I'm parched.

Thanks for the water!

Mmmm ... tator tot

I AM my mother's daughter, you know

Jacob's not scared at all

I think I'll enjoy the animals ... from over here

Quick! Let's take this one!

I'll push, you pull ... hurry before the owners come back!

I dutifully posed and smelled flowers ... and then figured out how fun it is to bat the tulips! Jacob discovered the fountain which was GREAT even though our mommies wouldn't let us get in. We ended the day in the big field chasing bubbles, running through flower beds, and tackling Auntie Diana.

Pretty!

Smelling the flowers

Wheee!

Can I go in?

Dog pile!

Running through the flowers

Surprised by Jacob on the path
(Click on the picture to see my expression)

All in all, a perfect day. I was so exhausted, I fell asleep before we even left the parking lot! We were supposed to go to StrollerFit that night, but I slept right through it. I'll let all the pictures below speak for themselves. Mommy had a really hard time choose just a few pictures so she created a separate photo album just for our day out. Check it out if you want to see more!

Already a whole year later

And still wonderful friends

P.S. Just for fun, check out where we were a year ago when we last went to the Arboretum together. I just laid there and Jacob was barely sitting up. I think we're both cuter now, if that's possible.

Houston, We Have NO Problems

Mommy and Daddy finally took me to the city where they grew up: Houston, TX. We flew down on Friday morning, and Daddy gave me a B+ for the flight (Mommy said I deserve an A). There weren't too many people on the plane, so I got a whole seat to myself. I buckled myself in, ate snacks from the tray, and read a magazine to pass the time. I ended up falling asleep at the end of the flight right during the naptime and didn't even wake up when Gong-Gong picked us up from Hobby Airport (which, btw, is really nice now!). I woke up right when we got to Clear Lake, and - no surprise - Nai-Nai had lots of food waiting for me. After I stuffed myself full, we all went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. I wanted to run around the backyard, but everyone was too nervous letting me run free with the pool, so they kept making me hold their hands.

I especially liked splashing my feet in the pool even though it was too cold to get in.

Later that afternoon, Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye came down and hung out with us until we all went out to dinner. I was sooooooo pooped from all the playing during the day that I slept through dinner! But I did wake up in time to enjoy some food at the very end AND got some yummy birthday ice cream cake that Auntie Crystal and Xiao-Jiu Dwo got for Mommy.

Rounding everyone up to go to dinner

On Saturday morning, Auntie Jenny, Wade, Alex, and Mrs. Ward came over to visit for a little while. Lucky for us they happened to be in town for Spring Break! Then, we played outside again all morning until lunch time. When I woke up from my nap, Mommy and Daddy were gone! They had made arrangements for me to stay with Po-Po and Gong-Gong for the night so that they could go away on their own. It was actually the first time both Mommy and Daddy were away from me for the night at the same time, and they took advantage of the Claire-less time by taking naps, eating a fancy dinner, and sleeping even more. :) Meanwhile, I played and played and played with Xiao-Jiu Dwo, Auntie Crystal, Gong-Gong, Po-Po, and Kirby. They all did such a good job taking care of me, I barely noticed that my parents were gone!

On Sunday, Daddy and Mommy got back and we hung out until it was time to head back to the airport. Unfortunately, I did NOT score as well on the flight back -- Daddy failed me! -- but I blame it on the flight that was delayed by an hour, the completely packed flight, and the long taxi-ing even when we landed. Hopefully he'll forget the episode before we go on vacation this summer.

All dressed up for school pictures this week

So where are all the pictures? Well, Mommy tends to take a lot less pictures when she's with her family because she knows the pictures will be taken care of by Gong-Gong and Xiao-Jiu. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see those pictures soon. But I definitely had a fabulous time this weekend visiting Houston, and I can't wait to visit again!

Par-tay!

Ava and Sofia both celebrated their first birthdays this past week with fabulous parties. It's hard to believe that it's already been a whole year. Happy birthday, gals!

Mugging for the camera at Ava's party
(sorry I didn't get a better shot)

Wishing Sofia a happy birthday in her pretty dress

Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye came to stay with me last week while Mommy had to travel for work. I got to stay at home all day and play with them. They took me for walks and by the end of the week, Nai-Nai managed to teach me to recognize the letter "A". Thank you for coming to help out; I had lots of fun with you!

Boy was I excited when I thought I'd get this many goldfish!
It turned out to be just a box, but now I can hide lots of new stuff.

One yucky thing happening right now is I'm cutting my canines. I thought my first "cutting" teeth were bad, but it sort of passed by as part of all the other things that were going on at the time. My back molars were more uncomfortable than the first eight teeth, but they gave me the freedom to chew, chew, chew lots of foods. But these canines! Ugh! I sure hope I get good use out of them because they sure are painful coming in!

It's a little big, but it makes me feel pretty

I get a little frustrated with Mommy and Daddy sometimes because I understand so much of what they're saying but they can't always understand what I'm trying to clearly tell them. I mean, sure they've got some of them right ("that", "mooooo") plus understand some of my signs ("please", "milk") but how come they don't get "uh!", "uh!uh!", "uh!uh!uh!" and "waaah!"? They better learn soon or else I'll show them that you don't have to wait until you actually turn 2 to turn terrible! :D

Here's baby's bellybutton!

More pics online. Enjoy!

Infant Room Graduation

I've been checking out the Toddler room a couple of times this week to see how I like it - cots instead of cribs, only one nap, drinking from a sippy instead of a bottle - the whole works. So far, I've really liked it because there's a lot more room to run around and we go outside to play. I even get upset when they make me go back to the Baby room.

Today, the Director of my school called Mommy and told her that I'm doing so well playing in the Toddler room that, instead of transitioning over a few weeks, I'm ready to move up now! I've graduated from the Infant Room! So, after I go back to school -- I'm out next week 'cause Mommy has to travel for work and Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye are coming to take care of me -- I'll be in the Toddler room all the time. I'll miss Sofia and I'm bummed that I won't get to be in class with Reid, but I've got Juliet waiting for me, so I'm ready to go!

I've got my school bag, and I'm ready to go! No?

Transitioning to whole milk has been okay. I don't really miss my bottles, but I'm not drinking a whole lot of milk, either. But I am eating lots of food and even starting to eat with utensils (well, sort of).

Dip in the applesauce.

Into the mouth.

So much faster!

Other than that, I'm just staying busy getting myself in all sorts of trouble. I try to help take out the trash, wipe my own face, and change my own diaper. I love to push all buttons (the garage door button sends me into a wriggling ball of excitement) as well as trying to load the CD player. Mommy and I created a masterpiece together with markers the other day, but we're thinking maybe I should take a step back and start with crayons.

I look strong, huh?

Found a hidden stereo. Check out all the buttons!

Check out our masterpiece!

Here's a few more pictures just for fun. You can see more in my March album, too.

Practicing for an egg race

I found a Claire-sized cubby hole!

Still celebrating my birthday a month later!