Better Late Than Never...

Yesterday, we went to Great-Grammy's house to celebrate her 88th birthday. I know, you are probably asking yourself, "didn't you already celebrate Great-Grammy's birthday the weekend of the Viggianelli reunion?" Well you would be half right. The thing is, Grammy loves to cook and she wanted to make us all dinner to celebrate her birthday. But with reunions and trips to Maui, we just didn't have the time. Until now...

When we arrived, Grammy had a bag of goodies for Jack and me. So I got busy with the dinosaur water squirter. Daddy helped me learn how to use it.

Soon I was "watering" the plants on my own.
Then Mimi and Pop-Pop arrived and I saw them from the porch and ran out to greet them.

I had hugs and kisses for Pop-Pop...

And of course Mimi, too!

Then when Jack, Uncle Jon and Aunt Jenn arrived, we moved inside and played with all kinds of toys.

Jack and his Daddy read a classic together.

And I tried on Grammy's glasses. They fit like a glove!

Then it was time for dinner. I was having my usual, mac n' cheese, while everyone else had Grammy's famous spaghetti. Here's Grammy trying to persuade me to try it. No way, lady!

After dinner, it was time for an old fashioned parade! Mimi, Jack and I warmed up.


Here's a glimpse of our parade going by. Enjoy!

Then it was time for Grammy to blow out her candles. Only she let Jack and I do it instead. Good practice for our third birthdays, huh?

Jack and I were sure to share our cake with Grammy. We're generous that way.

Then came the best part of the night. Grammy pulled out a big box full of costumes she had made for Mommy and Uncle Jon when they were kids. What a treat! Here I am wearing Uncle Jon's scrubs shirt and Mommy's clown hat. There were also Indian costumes and a Beetlejuice one. Who the heck is he? I guess you have to be old like Mommy and Uncle Jon to remember that one.

Jack joined the fun, too! Silly! I think that hat's a bit big though, buddy.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end. After a bath, Jack and I took one last photo with Grammy. Boy, do we look tired. But isn't our Grammy adorable?

Thanks, Grammy, for dinner and a great birthday celebration! Sorry it took us so long...

Bye for now, Grammy! We love you!

Wacky Wednesday!

We are having an extreme heat wave in Santa Clarita this week. Today the high was somewhere around 109. It was still 106 when Mommy and I got home at 5 p.m. Now that is HOT!

So we were feeling especially silly during dinner tonight. It must be the heat. Here I am looking like I am up to something...

Let's see how my shirt tastes. Ummm, fibery!
I'm also doing really well drinking out of a cup without a top. Except for Monday at daycare when I spit/spilled my juice out all over my clothes. Mommy says it's never good news when she picks me up and I have on different clothes than I arrived in. Hey, you gotta keep them guessing, right?

Wow, check out that juice mustache, will ya! I'm looking more like Pop-Pop and Daddy every day, huh?

Before I leave you on this wacky Wednesday, here is a little video of me singing the "Banana" song from "Yo Gabba Gabba." Enjoy!

Hope your Wednesday was wacky, too!

Zoo-per Zoo!

On Saturday morning, Mommy and I thought we'd take advantage of our awesome LA Zoo membership and attend a special membership morning at the zoo. We got there at 8:30 a.m. when the doors opened. I look a little sleepy in this first picture. Good thing I fueled up on some fruit snacks and crackers, huh?
We decided to go around to the right and over the hill today. Good idea, Mommy. It was quieter over there and we saw lots of animals with very few people around.

Our first photo of the day was of this lovely tortoise. OK, so it's the backside of the tortoise. Mommy was so excited that we actually caught one of them on the move that by the time she whipped out her camera, all we got was turtle bum. Oh well.

Here I am checking out some wonderful zoo animals.

Like this hippo. He was a biggin'!

And this beautiful black bear was taking in a morning snooze on the very top of the rock. That's when we started to hear the very loud monkeys screeching off in the distance. It was our mission to find them.

Here I am checking out some Francois' langurs (that's cute little black monkeys to you). We didn't get a good photo, though, because the reflection off the glass got in the way. They were pretty quiet so these were definitely not the screechers.

Then we saw this great rhino. He lost his horn but the sign said it will grow back like your finger nails and hair. Thank goodness! Still no loud monkeys, though.

Finally we found them. These howlers were very loud and very silly. Some of us kiddos got kinda scared. The docent standing near the exhibit said that they are only this verbal in the morning. Lucky us!

Then it was off to my favorite exhibit: the chimpanzees! I could sit and watch these guys all day. I call them "big monkeys."

Look at this guy, will ya! What a brute!

Then Mommy and I got a good look at the giraffes. This little one was so cute!

Then it started to get a bit hot. So I made sure to stay hydrated.

This gorilla had the right idea: a morning nap in the shade. Hee, hee.

Then we made our way to the zebras. I love these guys, too. So cool!

Here I am watching the zebras. I think I might like to ride one some day.

One of our best finds of the day was this lovely Komodo dragon. Usually they are hiding but not today. We saw this one just sitting on a rock. I kept saying "big lizard" and a little girl near us kept correcting me saying "it's a dragon." Whatever, missy.

By the way, all you pachyderm lovers out there will be happy to know that the new elephant sanctuary is almost done. We got a good shot of it from the aviary. I've never seen the elephants so it will be a treat when it finally opens. The zoo is also building a new reptile and bug house. Mommy's skin was crawling just thinking about it.

On our way to the Children's Zoo, we caught this awesome meerkat sitting on the top of the rock. What a beauty!

Don't you just love these little antelopes. They get up on their hind legs to reach for the leaves on the top branches. They always fascinate me.

By the way, I got to touch this gopher snake while walking around in the Children's Zoo. I thought it would be slimy but it was cool and smooth. I was shy at first but I loved it.

Then it was time for lunch. Mommy and I found a very quiet Mexican stand in the South America area and some comfy seats and had a nice break before heading home for the day.

By the way, we got to collect stickers all morning by stopping at specific exhibits. And I got all five! Neato!

So zoo membership sure does pay. It was so cool to be there so early and be done for the day by lunch. Good thing, too. It was super hot by the time we left. Whew!

Goodbye, Maui: Day 8 (August 14)

Our very last day on Maui was on Saturday. Boo! It was time to say goodbye to The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas. What an awesome place to spend a week in paradise!
I took one last nap in the shade with Mommy. Yes, I even nap outside by the pool.

And we were on our way home. Mommy and Daddy decided to see how I did on a red eye flight home. And guess what? I slept the ENTIRE trip! I was even asleep before the plane left the terminal. It took me a few days to get back on LA time but I'm back on my old routine now.

Thank you so much, Tutu and Sir, for the best trip to Maui ever! We will always cherish the time we spent together as a family.

Aloha for now, Maui! See you again next year!

The Sugar Cane Train: Day 7 (August 13)

On Friday, we had one more full day in Maui left. So Jack, Ella and I decided to make the most of it and take a ride on The Sugar Cane Train, Hawaii's ONLY steam train. It takes you between Ka'anapali and Lahaina. It was also my first train ride and I was super excited. OK, it doesn't look like it in this picture, but I was.
This is what the engine looks like. Pretty neat, right?

Here's our whole group waiting for the train to arrive. Ella's Mommy and Daddy went surfing so Tutu and Sir took her for the ride.

This is sugar cane. Even though there is only a little of it left on this part of the Maui, this was once a bustling sugar growing region.

The train runs on water. It was neat to see them fill the tank on our first stop.

Ella actually loved the train. Here she is taking in the sights with Tutu and Sir.

And here I am with Mommy and Daddy. I was very serious about my first train ride and kept saying "choo choo" and making the wheel motions with my arms.

Why am I so serious in these pictures? I must have been very focused.

The coolest part of the train ride was the view. Here's a neat view of the ocean and if you look really close, you can see several parasailers in the air.

And here's a cool view of Lanai with the hotels in the foreground.

Jack and Mimi loved the train ride, too. Hi, Jack!

After a quick stop to let the engine turn around, it was time to head back to our original station. We decided to sit in a different car with side seats just for the fun of it.

At the end of our ride, the engine turned around one last time and we were able to take a great photo of it in motion and were treated to a big steam blow.

When I say "we" I mean everyone but me. I fell asleep. OK, so how do you sleep through a very loud train ride and a big steam blow? I'm not so sure but I did. What can I say, I can sleep practically anywhere.

That evening, we all had one last BBQ together and said goodbye until next time.

And Jack and I made a mischief one last time together. It sure was great having you here to play with, buddy!

One last day on Maui to go! Stay tuned...