Zoo Babies

Today we decided to beat the 99 degree heat by heading to the San Francisco Zoo. Thanks to a quirk of nature summertime temperatures in San Francisco are usually about 20 degrees cooler than our home in Mountain View making it a perfect destination for a hot day. Lillian had a great time running from exhibit to exhibit saying hello to all the animal. The relatively small zoo was the perfect size for a toddler. Lillian's least favorite part was the children's petting zoo with it's terrifyingly friendly minutiae goats and sheep. She was much more interested in the ducks swimming around outside the petting zoo and asked if she could get in and go swimming with them. The only animals she was willing to touch at the zoo were the one who don't really look like animals like the tortoise and the Indian Walking Stick.

Lillian's favorite zoo animals, the duckies.

Lillian the butterfly.

Lillian the spider.

Everybody in pink!

A Day at the Lake

Yesterday evening Lillian put on her swimsuit all by herself and told me that she wanted to go swimming. I told her she would have to wait until her Daddy got home to ask him. Since it was hot out today we decided to honor her wishes and took her to Almaden Lake Park one of the few lakes in the San Jose area with a nice sandy swimming beach. Lillian splashed around in the water and built sandcastles with her Daddy.

Scenic Almaden Lake.

Eric and Lillian building Sandcastles by the water.

Lillian's New Bed

Today we decided to set up Lillian's toddler bed. We have had the toddler bed for a while, but had been reluctant to make the switch because we liked that she was contained in her crib. This week Lillian figured out how to climb out of her crib all by herself and our days of containment were over. She has been unhappy about napping in her crib and has been climbing out, playing in her room and then falling asleep on the futon. So the time has come to move her to a big girl bed. As you can see Lillian is thrilled with the new arrangement. We hope she sleeps well (and that we sleep well too!).

Look at me, I'm a bunny!

We were doing our usual morning routine when Lillian pulls out a pair of pants, puts them on her head, and declares herself to be a bunny. She was very proud of herself as she hopped around the house. Once she saw this picture she commented, "Look at that Lillian! She has pants on her head. Looks like a bunny!"

In other news, since her visit with Granny and Pop Pop, she's been refusing to nap most days, which makes for some cranky evenings. And the night before last she started climbing out of her crib, which made bedtime take an extra hour on top of no nap that day! Fortunately yesterday she both napped, and went to bed easily at bedtime, so we're not looking to change the routine yet.

Cute Pictures

While Lillian's Grammy and Pop Pop were visiting a few weeks ago, and Eric and Kristen were having a weekend in San Francisco, Pop Pop took lots of great pictures of Lillian, here are a few of my favorites.

Animals!

Lillian and her daddy found a new use for all those stuffed animals today.

What to do with all these stuffed animals?

How about burying yourself in them (with a little help from Daddy).

Then rolling around in them.

Goodbye Peter!

It was our last day to hang out with Lillian's friend Peter before they move to Philadelphia. So we took Lillian to the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum to spend some quality time with her friend. At the end of the trip we tried to explain to Peter and Lillian that this was a final goodbye, but of course they didn't get it.

Peter, Lillian and Curious George.

The Last Birthday Party (Until Next Year)

Today was our last 2 year old birthday part of the year. Most of Lillian's friends were born in the spring except for Alara who is a couple of months younger than the rest of the gang. Alara doesn't have much trouble keeping up with the older kids though she is one tough cookie. We've been enjoying all of the birthday gatherings so it is sad that this is the last one for a while. Alara's party featured a kiddie pool which is always a big hit. All the kids had fun splashing around in the water, jumping, giggling and screaming.

The birthday girl pretty in pink.

Everyone in the pool!

Lillian and Jessie riding the tricycle together.