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.

Footloose and Baby Free

This past weekend we had our first ever baby free vacation together. Lillian's Grammy Elaine and Pop-Pop Tom came to visit and stayed with Lillian while Eric and Kristen got to spend a lovely weekend alone in San Francisco. Even though San Francisco is right in our backyard it is still a fabulous vacation destination. We had a great time sight seeing, shopping and eating some truly outstanding meals at Luna Park and Foriegn Cinema.

Resting and watching the wild parrots flying overhead during the long climb up Telegraph Hill.

Sweet reward in discovering a Rogue Brew Pub waiting for us at the bottom of the hill.

The serendipity of stumbling upon the wonderful Cable Car Museum after several full cable cars passed us by completely packed and would not stop to pick us up.

Lillian spending lots of quality time with her Grammy and Pop-Pop. Priceless!

Poaching Pictures

It's pretty sad that two out of my last three posts have involved poaching pictures off Amy's blog. But I'm going to do it again, possibly for the last time, because they are moving to Swarthmore PA in a couple of weeks. We are very sad to see them go. I will need to get in the habit of bringing my camera with me to capture cute moments like this:
Peter and Lillian climbing the fence on Wednesday at our weekly trip to the farm at Rancho San Antonio. Just after the picture was taken the kids got yelled at by the farmer for climbing the fence.

Wagon full of . . .

Yesterday at the park Amy was giving rides in Jessie's wagon. All the kids wanted a ride so we got to test the limits of the wagon, it turns out that 5 kids is about all it can hold.

Babies in Natue

Today we went on a little hike at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in Portola Valley. Since we forgot to bring a carrier Lillian hiked the whole 3/4 mile to our stopping point, a nice shady picnic spot on Corte Madera Creek. It was a beautiful day for a hike, warm and sunny. Lillian had a great time walking and splashing around in the creek. She immediately grabbed a stick to use for stability while walking amongst the slippery stones. After nearly an hour spent wadding around the creek, she didn't want to leave so Eric had to carry her back on his shoulders.

Civilized Toddlers

I'm going to re-post this picture from Amy's Blog because it is just too cute. Look at all those big kids politely eating at the table like such civilized little people!

Auntie Erin's Visit

This week, Lillian's Auntie Erin paid us a visit. Lillian had great fun with her Auntie. The best part was that Auntie Erin likes to carry Lillian on her shoulders.

Going for a ride!

Lillian and Auntie Erin doing dishes. Lillian "helped" by washing the lid to her Elmo container over and over again.

Lillian "wearing" her little baby in a frontpack.

A Day at the Pool

This weekend is going to be one of the hottest of the year so far. So we decided to spend the day at the Rinconada Pool in Palo Alto. The kiddie pool featured a shallow wading area, a slide and lots of fun water features. Lillian had a grand time, she immediately made a run for the water and jumped right in, even after dunking herself completely under the water by mistake she was not upset. She played in the water for almost 2 hours straight before she emerged wrinkled and shivering and we decided that it was time to go home.

Making a run for the pool under the watchful eye of the Lifeguard.

Hanging on to Daddy.

Under the "Magic Mushroom" with her Daddy.

Going down the water slide.

Father's Day Antics

This father's day we were recovering from two weeks of travel by doing lots of hanging out at home. Lillian got creative. She likes to sit on Nash and she likes to sit in her Elmo chair. So why not put the Elmo chair on top of Nash and then sit on it? Nash, being the good sport that he is, let Lillian put the chair on top of him, and even let her try to sit in it. However his slick fur meant that the chair would not stay on top of him so he was saved the humiliation for now.

More Vacation

We're almost finished with our time in Springfield. Lillian enjoyed her very first ear of corn on the cob. She also spent lots of time playing with her cousins at the playground, swinging on the monkey bars, sea sawing and lots of silly sliding with uncle Matt. In the Husky household there is always lots of music, so Lillian got her fill of playing the piano with her daddy and banging on the drums with her grandpa Terry. Her grandpa is a master drummer and hopes that some day his grand daughter would play the drums with the famed Santa Clara Vanguard Drum Corps. Based on her performance this week I'd say that she is well on her way.

Lillian's first corn on the cob.

Lillian and her cousins on the monkey bars.

Stories with cousins and Grandpa Terry.

Drumming with Grandpa Terry.

A vacation from our vacation

While we were in the neighborhood (or state as the case may be) we took a little trip to visit with our friends Maura, Jim, Emma and baby Maggie who recently moved to Geneva Illinois from California. Lillian was so excited to see Emma again, that she screamed "Emma! Emma!" when she first saw Emma waiting in the doorway for us. The two girls had a great time playing with each other. Since it was rainy out we took the girls to open gym at a local gymnastics center. Lillian and Emma has a ton of fun bouncing on the trampoline and swinging on the trapeze into a foam pit. Lillian's favorte part involved her daddy picking her up and throwing her into the foam pit. After the exhausting morning at the gym we all went to have lunch at Fermi Lab where Jim is studying particle physics. That evening we strolled down to the Fox river had a nice dinner and ice cream in scenic downtown Geneva.

Emma and Lillian playing nicely together.

Lillian in the foam pit. Is this a happy girl or what?

Happy little bouncer.

Lillian and her daddy at Fermi Lab.

Maura, Maggie, Emma, Kristen and Lillian reading stories.

Toddler goodbye hugs.