Meet Matthew

Yesterday morning Kailey came into our room super early. Of course we told her to go back to her room and read some books or play for a little while, but she refused to listen to us. She was talking about a "Matthew" and telling us that he was in her room. She was talking about how he wanted to play with her so she couldn't go read, so finally Chad went to investigate thinking that perhaps she had named another one of her stuffed animals or that maybe we were being haunted by a ghostly visitor. Nope, that wasn't the case. He got in her room, looked around and asked her where he was. She kept pointing to her bed and saying "that's Matthew." After a long moment of confusion, he finally realized she was talking about the headboard on her bed. It has a few knots that sort of resemble eyes, a nose and a mouth. She named her headboard Matthew. So now we have not only a collection of interestingly named stuffed animals, but a name for her bed.

A Day at the Zoo

So today we decided to take a trip to the zoo. For the first time ever, google maps failed us, giving us completely strange directions that had me and Rachel calling anyone we could think of to figure out if we were going in the right direction. After much confusion and an unplanned drive-through tour of Griffith Park, we managed to finally make it to the zoo.
Due to the sweltering heat, the first few animals we saw were sleeping or hiding in the shade. Disappointed, we declared the day a bust. Then we reached the hippo. He was chomping down on some hay, opening his mouth wide to show us his enormous teeth, then chomping back down. It was a wild ride from there.
The chimps were going crazy as we walked up to their enclosure--screaming at each other, chasing each other, and all around making a huge racket. We were enjoying their proximity to the glass, when suddenly one decided to give us a show. He pounded the glass, startling us, then proceeded to beat his chest, screech his battle cry, and took off running.
The lone, Asian elephant came over to entertain us with a few tire tosses and sand shooting out of his trunk. We then walked up to the orangutans.
Slightly envious of the lone orangutan we could see sleeping in the cooling mist, we almost walked off, but someone spotted the baby by the glass section of the enclosure. Sure enough, we walked over to observe the family ties. The mom was watching her baby with fondness as he swung back and forth on a rope swing and ran around. The huge male surprised us when he popped up on the side and we all jumped a little. He was enormous. But by far the best moment of the day was when the baby orangutan decided to nurse. Their behavior was so humanlike, it was scary. As he nursed, the mom would constantly brush kisses over his face. It was the cutest moment in nature I've ever observed.
At the gorilla enclosure, the gorillas were walking around their home, picking grass up here and there to nibble on, or just resting. The male silverback cooperated fully with Rachel as she snapped photos and did the perfect pose. Unfortunately, I'd chased after Sabrina and Kailey, so I missed it. Here are a few pictures of the girls I took today. Sabrina really was there, she just didn't pose for any pictures for me.

Disneyland Days

Here are some pictures of our most recent trips to Disneyland.

Getting ready for a new Toy Story adventure


At the petting zoo

Riding Dumbo

Little Miss Diva and her water bottle

"I'm not going to be scary, mommy."

So, Kailey decided a few weeks ago that she wanted to be a pink butterfly for Halloween. I've scoured all the stores, checked the internet, and asked around, but apparently there just aren't any cute butterfly costumes out right now. At least for Kailey's age group. We finally got her talked into a back up plan--a fairy princess.
Hoping that I'd be able to find a butterfly costume that would satisfy her at one of the many Halloween Illusions stores that have popped up around here, I promised Kailey we'd go look after preschool yesterday. We walked in the store and saw masks, skeletons, cauldrons, decorations, costumes--pretty much anything that you'd ever want if you are big on Halloween.
We went to the little girl costumes, and sure enough there wasn't a single butterfly in the mix. There was, however, the cutest little witch costume I've ever seen. Even though she was a witch when she was one, I decided to try to talk her into being one again. This is how the conversation went.
"Kailey, look at this witch costume. It's so cute. Why don't you be a witch for Halloween this year?"
"I'm not going to be a witch. I'm not going to be scary, mommy."
I tried to assure her that some witches are cute, but she wasn't buying it. By now, she was insisting that she wasn't going to be scary so loudly that the workers in the store were cracking up because it was so cute and funny.
She then spotted a skeleton and got really bossy.
"I'm not going to be a skeleton either. That's scary, and I'm not scary. I'm going to be a fairy princess. Let's find a magic wand."
So, a fairy princess she is for Halloween this year, because of course, she's not going to be scary.

Birthday Party #1

While in Utah, we also had the opportunity to have Kailey's birthday party. It was a month early, but we wanted her family to be there since she didn't get a party last year. I think the highlight for her was having her cousins Kaden and Kellan there to play with and help her open her presents.

Helpful cousins and unwrapping presents







Eating yummy cake!




Testing out the new toys

Cedar Breaks

Recently, we were able to go on a trip to Utah to visit our families. It was a blast, and we had tons of fun experiences. One of the days we were there, we had an opportunity to go up the mountain and visit Cedar Breaks. Kailey really liked the red and orange rocks, and Chad spent the whole time making sure I was holding on to Kailey's hand. He wasn't too fond of the sheer drops we were standing right next to.

Playing with one of those weeds that you blow and the seeds scatter.














Trying to get it out of her hair.














Waiting for everyone to hurry up.














I love my little girl!

First Day of School

This morning was Kailey's first day of preschool. Ever since we told her that she would be going, she would come into our room each morning with her backpack and declare that it is time for school. Unfortunately, we had to tell her that it didn't start for a few more days. Well, this morning her time had come. She woke us up extra early ready to go to school by herself and without mommy. I finally managed to calm her down and explain that school didn't start for a few more hours.

It was finally time for her to go and, of course she was fine. Mommy wasn't; however. I shed a few tears after I said goodbye and watched her through the window. She was painting just fine. Here are a few of the pictures I took of our big girl todaỵ
In the car, ready to gọ

Let me go in already, mommy!

Bye Mommy! See you later!