Legoland

Our friends won tickets to Legoland last weekend and invited us to join them for the fun.  This is something we have talked about doing, but hadn't gotten around to yet.  Tickets are super pricy, so we couldn't pass up a few free ones!  Madeline was about the perfect age and she and Sophie had a blast enjoying the rides and hanging out together.  Olivia sat back and took it all in--there were a few rides that she could do, but it's definately geared towards ages ~5-12.

Torrey Pines Hike

We were searching for something new to do and realized we haven't taken full advantage of Torrey Pines State Park, just near our house.  We've been to the beach there multiple times, but there is also some very scenic hiking that is doable for little ones.  Madeline had a great time.  She insisted on wearing her fairy wings, which got us many compliments during the hike.  The day was a bit windy and cool, by San Diego standards, but we were able to get a few glimpses of the ocean when the fog was just right.  We'll certainly have to plan to do this more often!

Valentine's Weekend

Well, I'm super behind on posts again, so I will attempt to catch up on what has been keeping us busy in our free time.

Valentine's day was fun.  Madeline's class had been talking about it and she declared she "wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day."  When we picked them up from daycare on  Fri evening, we let Madeline choose the course of the evening.  We ended up at her favorite restaurant "crazy chicken" for mac 'n cheese and nuggets and then we went home where a few Valentine's day cards and gifts awaited them.  I think it turned out to be pretty special!

We had planned to go to the zoo the next day, but when we got there, I realized I forgot our membership card, so we ended up exploring parts of Balboa Park.  We had a great time, and it turned out to be a fun and different way to spend the morning.

Olivia got her face painted and still have the remnants of a black eye-making for a tough looking little girl!

I'm not sure what this expression is about, but it was too good to not post! :)

Madeline's excited face!

The airplane flying overhead was much more interesting than daddy holding the camera!

Can't you just see the mischief in these pictures??  She has grand plans!

Our pretty girl loves posing for the camera (on her own terms!)

Gorgeous day!

Our attempt at a fun artsy pic!

The following weekend we did actually make it to the zoo.  We picked up donuts from the store and had a breakfast picnic at the zoo.  I think they approved! :)

Planting a garden

These pictures were from many weekends ago, but I thought I'd put them up for you to see the fun we had planting our garden.  Olivia enjoyed digging up the plants soon after we had them planted and Madeline enjoyed choosing flowers and where they should go.  Hopefully we'll have some fresh yummy veggies soon!

A belated 18-mo check-up

We went for Olivia's 18-mo check-up today, and she continues to be our robust baby!

Weight = 26lb (82%)
Height = 33in (72%)
Head = 19in (90%)

Her progress was good on all her milestones, and she has reached a number of the 2-year old milestones already with her verbal progress.

She took a good crash into a bookshelf on Tue morning at daycare and has two black eyes and a large goose egg to show for it.  I'm thinking her eyes will be super black tomorrow!

You can see how swollen it still is :(

 In other "big girl" news, she has taken an interest in the potty and has been sitting on it every night before bed.  Well, tonight we had success!!

Grandma and Grandpa were here!!

Grandma and Grandpa were in town a two weekends ago and I am just now getting around to looking at the pictures from their visit.  We enjoyed showing them our new house, our new neighborhood park, the Children's museum, the tide pools, our favorite breakfast spots and post-breakfast parks.

Here are a few pictures that capture all the fun we had:

Time for silly costumes and the living room parade!

We laughed at the tide pools, as you could really see the girls' different personalities emerge.  Olivia was all over the place, picking up things, examining them, taking risks, poking inside of the shells.  It took Madeline a long time to get comfortable with the waves crashing next to her, "We're going to get wet!"  She was hesitant to touch the sea things we found and stuck close to one of us, and really kept her eye on Olivia. 

The Daredevil!

The Cautious Observer!

Best shot of Grandma and Grandpa with the girls

"Hey Grandpa, check this out"

Grandpa **really** wanted to see a whale, but no luck this visit.  Guess they'll need to come back again soon!

Beautiful morning at the beach!  Almost impossible to get everyone to look at the camera at once!

We're already looking forward to their next visit.  Hopefully it will be soon!