Boo's 2nd Bday Celebration

Even though it's not his bday for a week, we had Boo's 2nd Bday celebration at My Gym, which is literally across the street from our house. He loves My Gym, and it turned out pretty well. They really made him feel special.

Here he is collecting squish balls.

Our toddler lunches that I made. I made sunbutter/jelly sandwiches and cut them in balloon shapes. Fun!

Pics of the party in action...

Boo kept trying to pop the bubbles with his nose-- what a funny little boy!


Pics of some guests having fun...

They built a big tent and filled it with circus stuffed animal puppets.




Bringing out the Bday boy in a sweet ride...


Cake time! He blew out the candle on the fist try.



Here's the best pic of the day, taken by either Lynne or Lance. Thanks!

Too many presents!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Stacy and I took Boo to the Monterey Bay Aquarium today. This is what he looked like for the first 15 minutes or so... that's a seahorse, by the way.

After that, he had more fun turning knobs and pushing buttons in all the exhibits. He especially liked the sea otters and the wave exhibit, shown below. Basically, you stand in this tunnel, and water crashes into it when the waves come in. I told him that he would be able to hear the waves before they crashed, and then for some reason, he covered his ears after I said that, and kept them covered until we were out of the exhibit. What a silly little boy!

Here's a pic of him waiting for the wave...

And a pic of him during the wave... he looks horrified, but he's really actually amazed.

Even though it was an extremely long day (2 hour drive there), Boo had a blast, even when we forced him to go to the Gilroy Outlets afterward. =] What a good little boy!

Parks, parks, parks.

Palo Alto has, like 100 parks for it's 60,000 people, which translates into about 1 park every 2 blocks or something like that. And the parks aren't dinky stupid little parks with tiny playstructures on forgotten corners where a drainage ditch or bus stop might be, either. You don't even have to worry about being mugged by miscreants. Each and every park is extraordinarily well-maintained with a myriad of recreational options for babies, toddlers, kids, dogs, and adults alike. Like everything else in Palo Alto, the parks here are on steroids. Steroids.

Here are pics of Boo's favorite park, the "hee haw park."

Why is there a donkey on the sign?

Who cares, the slide and playstructure are fun here! I especially love to hang.


Here's the slide that Daddy was too scared to go down. I had no problem, though.


I like the creek, too. Throwing rocks is fun.

Perry and Niner!!!! I love feeding them grass and letting them eat my head. They're like giant doggies.

By the way, if the donkey looks familiar it's because Perry was the donkey in the Shrek movies. (Not pictured are the goats, chickens, bridge across the creek, and the forest.) As I said, park on steroids.

Catty.

Recently, Boo has been taking to calling Kayla the Cat "Catty." He used to call her "Yayla" or "Kitty." But now, he stubbornly refuses to say "kitty", and insists on calling her "Catty." I think it's because a dog is a doggie, a pup is a puppy, a pig is a piggie, etc, etc, and thus a cat must be a catty. Here is a typical conversation we've had recently about it:

Me: What's kind of animal is Kayla?
Boo: Catty.
Me: Why is she a Catty?
Boo: Cat. Meow.
Me: What kind of animal is Zoe?
Boo: Zo zo dog. Doggie.
Me: Well then what kind of animal is Kayla?
Boo: Cat. Catty.
Me: Boo, Kayla is a KITTY, not a CATTY. It's because a kitten is called a kitty- there's no such thing as a catty.
Boo (quizzical look): Yayla catty.

End of discussion.

Wha???

Heard from the bathroom today from a high pitched squeaky voice speaking very slowly... "got... to... be. got... to... be." Could it be that little Boo Boo knows how to read? Hmmm! This is what he was looking at (we call it hair gel). If so, that would make us "proud, proud."

Halloween

Ever since Halloween, Boo will start talking about trick or treating whenever he's reminded of either candy, costumes, or pumpkins. It sounds something like this...

"Wear cocume (costume). Knock, Knock! Ding, dong! People opu door, give candy. Trick or treat! Dak un (thank you)! Happy Hawoween!"

He'll repeat the above excitedly about 5-6 times. I don't know if he's remembering Halloween night, or if he's telling me that he wants to go trick or treating again. Probably both, considering how bossy he is! Here are pictures post loot.

Last weekend, we also took the family around town. The best part of this area is that you can take your dog to almost all the stores in the mall, and almost everywhere else you want to go. It's so dog friendly that I feel guilty whenever I don't take Zoe places. She has a very good guilt inducing plaintive look. Here are some pics we took around Stanford-- don't we look like granola-ey nature people?

Who's the Best? Grandma's the Best!

Last week Grandma Judy came into town. Grandma Judy is Boo's most favorite person in the universe, and whenever Grandma Judy's in town, Boo wants nothing to do with me or Terence. Nothing. Needless to say, I get A LOT of rest when Grandma Judy's in town, and am very thankful for that! Grandma Judy's visits are priceless.

Here are some pics:

Here we are at Allied Arts, which is this artist enclave in Menlo Park that has beautiful garden and fountains. It would be a great venue for a wedding.

Here are are strolling around the grounds at Stanford. Boo especially loves the Rodin Garden.

Here we are at the home of Sunset Magazine. It has an interesting garden and test kitchens that were fun to see.



Even Grandma Judy can make Boo smile after being henpecked. Ouch.


Here's a pic of the perp(etrator). Cantchu tell I'm loco?




They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I wonder who Boo could be trying to imitate? Hmm....!

Webb Ranch

Last weekend, we went to a pumpkin patch. Not to buy pumpkins (because I grew some), but for the pony rides and the petting zoo.

First we went on the pony ride-- Gavin picked out a pony that he absolutely had to ride while we were waiting our turn. Luckily, he got first pick.

Here he is, excitedly waiting for his pony.


On his pony...


After the ride (and sneaking the pony some raspberries)...


Then we went to the smallest, but best petting zoo ever! It had....

A llama...

A cow butt...

A goat (of course), and rabbits...

AND it had ducks, chicken, roosters, and pigs!!!

After that, we strolled around the patch. Here we are with a hijacked wagon for picture taking purposes.


Here he is standing in the small pumpkin patch.


And finally, here's a picture of our two Cinderella pumpkins. One is about 55 lbs, and the other is about 40. They only took two months to grow; amazing!


Finally, food for thought-- homemade big macs, complete with secret sauce and little minced onions and everything!