Monday, July 26, 2010

Happy Birthday, Ella!

My beautiful cousin, Ella, turned 1 on Saturday. We went to a party to celebrate.
The party was at Veteran's Park in Redondo Beach. Here is a view looking toward the ocean. It was a lovely summer day...perfect weather for a party.
Ella instantly fell in love with her balloons. Sir was there to help her enjoy them.
I loved the balloons, too. Ooooh, I almost got this one.
Mimi helped me get a closer look at this one.
Then all the party goers started to arrive. Aunt Marisa's Hula Sisters and some of Ella's friends from her playgroup came for some fun in the park, too. So there were LOTS of kids to play with. I made sure to power up with some mac n' cheese and fruit.
Ella made sure to stay hydrated before the fun really got started. I think you have to drink through the straw, Ella.
Of course no park is complete without play equipment! Daddy helped me enjoy the slides.
Wheeeeeee!
Let's do that again!
I decided I could go down the slide by myself. I climbed the stairs...
Daddy showed me where to go...
I was determined to get up there...
Here's a little video of my solo slide...
Once I was at the top, I posed for the paparazzi (Mommy, Tutu and Mimi) on the bridge.
Can't see me now, can you, Pappers! (that's what Regis calls them...Mommy has always thought that was funny).
After the slide, I rode this horse. I especially love it and said "horsey, horsey, neigh, neigh" the whole time.
Then it was time for cake so me and my entourage went back to the party area.
Look at that yummy cake, will ya! And a fitting design for a party by the sea.
Here's Ella, Aunt Marisa and Uncle Mike before the cake. Cute, huh?
Time to sing...
Here's a little video of everyone singing to Ella...
And here's Ella's first bite of cake. Yummy!
I couldn't wait to eat cake, either. I ate this whole piece all by myself. So delicious!
Here I am relaxing in my pirate chair after my cake. Ahhh, sugar coma!
Here I am with Mimi and Pop-Pop. They came to join in the fun, too!
And here's Ella with her grandparents, Tutu and Sir. Hey, Ella, you have your own paparazzi!
And here are Tutu and Sir with all of their treasures. I think we were both more interested in the balloons.
After a few swigs of apple juice, I was ready for more fun!
Daddy, will you take me to the swings please?
Oh, boy, I love the swings! Woohoo!
Ella loved the swings, too!
Here's a little video of the two of us enjoying the swings...
I even got a push from Uncle Phil. He's Aunt Mary's husband and he's been in Dubai for a while working on fountains for the big hotels. So it was a big treat to see him. He's super tall but super kind. I can't wait to hang out more with him in Maui.
After the swings, I found this cool tree to explore.
And some leaves, too.
If I were only a bit taller, I could climb this thing. One day...
As the day wound down, Ella, Maxwell and I decided to take a ride in the wagon. Aunt Marisa pulled us and Sarah pushed. It's tough to live such a pampered life.
Happy 1st Birthday, Cousin Ella! And thanks for having a birthday so we could party, too!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Popcorn!

So today, while I was eating dinner, I spied something on the counter that I just had to have.
You guessed it: popcorn! Mommy bought some the other day at Sam's Club in a big red bag and she thought I wouldn't see it. But I am an amazing toddler with super senses. I saw it and had to have some. I mean I kept saying, "Popcorn! Popcorn!" Mommy finally gave in to my pleas and gave me some during dinner. Score! Here I am avoiding the mac n' cheese and going for the popcorn instead.

Here's a little video of me explaining my love for the stuff. Enjoy!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Ventura Adventure with Pop-Pop

I know I haven't blogged for over a week but I got sick, our air conditioning went out and it was HOT last week! I mean REALLY hot. Like 110 degrees where we live. Seriously, it was hot. So by Friday, Mommy and I had had enough so we went to stay with Pop-Pop and Daddy braved the heat and waited for the repair guy. What a guy, huh!
So on Saturday morning, we decided that it would be fun to go somewhere cooler. So Pop-Pop took us to Ventura. We made our way down to the water to walk around and dip in our toes. Pop-Pop noticed right away that there was something wrong with the water. If you look really close in the upper right hand corner of this photo you can see the red tide. Pop-Pop says it happens when some little organism in the water gets sick and dies. I don't know what that means but it sounds bad so we stayed clear of the water.
So we headed for the pier instead. I slathered on the sun block and got nice and comfy in my stroller. And guess what? It was only 70 degrees. Ahhh, much better!
Here I am checking out the water from the safety of the pier. Neat!
Then we walked over the Main Street to check out the shops and have lunch.
We had lunch at Dargan's Irish Pub and Restaurant, one of Pop-Pop's favorite places. You see, he was principal at a school in Oxnard last year and had to find places to hang out during the summer. So he knew exactly where to go. Mommy and Pop-Pop had yummy salads and I had mac n' cheese, of course.
Pop-Pop took this photo of Mommy and me with his camera phone. We were having a blast!
Pop-Pop even had a Guinness. Cool!
Then it was time to head home. Mommy tried her best to take a photo of this neat sign on our way back to the car. Nice try, Mommy.
Bye, Ventura! And thanks, Pop-Pop, for a fun and cool day!

Happy 4th of July!

So sorry it took us so long to post our 4th of July photos but better late than never, right?
We spent the day with Tutu and Sir at their house, Check out my awesome shirt, huh?
We started the afternoon filling Tutu's courtyard fountain and moving the lounge furniture outside for the season. I had to help with the water, of course.
Hey, I'm pretty good at this.
Then I had to check to see if if was OK so I stuck my whole arm in the water.

Then Mommy gave me a couple of flags to wave. After all, it was our Independence Day.
What's "independence?" Daddy says it's a big word for freedom. Sounds good to me!
Then I thought I'd check out the furniture.
Here's our family waving our flags. Silly!
Being a cutie boy is tough but someone has to do it.
Then we moved to the backyard and I decided to collected all the flag pinwheels from all over the yard.
Then it was time for a BBQ! Sir made hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob and Tutu baked us a cherry pie. Yummy! How much more patriotic can you get!
I had mac n' cheese and went into a food coma after dinner.
Then I fell down and got this owie on my elbow. Not cool!
But Daddy cheered me up with a musical card. Then I was OK.
Hope you had a great 4th of July! I am so proud to be an American!