Fun Day with Friends

Marylin got to hang out with her BFF Avery Jane, her little friend Theresa and her long lost boyfriend Neil, as we all braved the rain and met up for a play date just outside of Pasadena. Sadly, I only got one picture of our day and that is when Theresa and Marylin were fast asleep on our ride home.

Another Cute Ballet Outfit

Can I just say I LOVE having a little girl!? Thanks to Grandma Marylin for the cute outfit :) Marylin really tried to participate more this time but it was short lived. After 30 minutes of stretching, jumping, twirling and singing, she had enough of it. I guess 30 minutes is pretty fantastic for a little 18 month old though ... I can't complain :)

Marylin's Favorite Books

Marylin loves to read. Always has, and hopefully always will. I started reading to her when I was pregnant and continued to do so as soon as she popped out.

I imagine most parents would agree that kids become obsessed with things ... like books! Marylin is no different. She decides on a favorite book and reads it over, and over, and over. Or shall I say, she brings it to me to read to her over, and over, and over. Naturally I don't want to say no to her - reading is good - right? But I swear to god if I have to read ZOOM or Wordsworth's Book of Words again, I'll scream.

OH, Allie, I take my thanks for recommending Zoom back. Thanks for NOTHING. ;-)

Marylin Picks a Strawberry - Video

View it here.

Ballet Lessons

Marylin started ballet and tap lessons today. She was the youngest in her class of 2 year olds but she kept up pretty well considering the age difference. The class was a structured yet fun environment and the teacher was very good with the girls. The class focuses on learning coordination, how to follow instructions in a class room setting, and the learning of basic positions. I was very impressed with how they were able to coordinate dance terminology and steps along with props and play. Marylin and I both had a ton of fun and will continue with her lessons as long as she is interested.

Striking a pose for mom. Looking pretty cute there baby girl!

Marylin dressed and ready to go to dancing.

Marylin waving goodbye ... we're on our way to our very first dance lessons. Fun!

Check out these chunky little feet. How cute are they?

Marylin's little ballet slippers and tap shoes. We had to get the tap shoes a size bigger than she wears because she has such chubby feet.

Fun at the Strawberry Patch

Today Marylin went on a little field trip with her Friday morning Mommy-and-me group. The whole group met at a the Underwood Family Farm to pick strawberries, visit the animals and play. Marylin had a blast.

Beautiful girl.

Playing in a wooden train. Tons of fun.

Visiting the turkeys - see you at thanksgiving! :)

A ride around the park after our adventures in strawberry picking :)

Evidence that the strawberries were oh-so-good!

She picked 2 lbs of strawberries. What a star!

Got it!

Digging for a strawberry

riding the tractor on our way to pick strawberries

Petting the donkey

Checking out the sheep

Every Adorable Child...

...has a snotty side. Watch Marylin's here.

Chillin in her chair (18 month portrait shot)

Marylin smiling

Marylin up close

Marylin

Aquarium of the Pacific

We decided to take a trip to Long Beach today (what a cool city that is) to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. Mike and I had been there years before Marylin arrived on the scene, and although it was cool, going with our own kid was MUCH funner. Marylin was totally fascinated by the fish, sea jellies, and multitudes of people, and after viewing all the exhibits and walking around for a couple of hours, we took a walk outside along the coast and up to the Long Beach Light House where Marylin got to feed pigeons and seagulls (ironically, the seagulls were really timid compared to the pigeons). We had an awesome day.

The lighthouse in Long Beach right next to the Aquarium of the Pacific. I would say that's a damn good shot :)

Our afternoon ended with Marylin feeding the birds by the light house - perhaps the highlight of Marylin's day :)

Marylin and mom in front of the Queen Mary - snuggling cuz it was chilly and windy!

Mike and Marylin posing in front of the Queen Mary.

A pregnant male sea horse. This picture is for all my dear prego friends. Don't we all wish that women were so lucky ;)

Love this picture. The fish are beautiful and you can see that Marylin clearly thought they were way cool.

Some kind of sting-ray-looking-shark. Not sure but M dug it.

Here she is excited about soemthing swimming by. Excellent.

fish lips

OK not a fish but a really cool looking frog.

Marylin clearly dug this one!

Another aquarium - up close and personal.

Outside petting the stingrays. I pet them 3 times. Mike only pet them once and got the creeps. Don't know why - they were COOL!

Marylin having a closer look at a fish exhibit.

A volunteer skuba diver feeds the fish and discusses endangered sea bass. Sweet.

On daddy's shoulder taking a closer look

With Daddy

Marylin checking out the fish - this aquarium was huge and fantastic!

Marylin checking out the sea jelly exhibit. It's kind of hard to see but if you look to the left (by the flash) you can see a big sea jelly.

Here we are at the Aquarium of the Pacific - nice and early and before the crowds hit.

Marylin - all ready for the trip to the aquarium.

I tried to convince her ...

That the purple or pink sunglasses were cuter. Nope. She had to have these silly thing:

Marylin's New Obsessions

Dressing herself: She'll struggle with a shoe for ages until she finally gets it on her foot - the proper foot no less.

Hygiene: She cannot stand her hands being dirty while she is trying to eat. This means that her hands get wiped numerous times during a meal because she is still learning how to feed herself and messy hands are simply part of the job. Thank goodness for Costco and cheap paper towels.

Being in charge: she is still bossing me, the cat, the dog, her doll and her father around. Nice.

Marylin and her hat

We took a trip to Gymboree yesterday to pick up some new clothes for summer. How cute is that store?! I swear I could spend a million bucks in there with no trouble at all! Marylin's favorite purchase was her new little summer hat. How cute is it? Tomorrow I'll be taking her to Babies R Us to get her 18 month portrait taken. Wish us luck!

Blowing mom a kiss :)

Silly girl

Striking a pose for Mom

I told Marylin to say "HI" and she pointed to her eye.

Marylin's New Favorites ...

Smoked salmon and cream cheese on an onion bagel. Yum.
Rubbing lotion on her legs. So girlie of her.
Disciplining her pets and saying "No No" to mom. Snotty-pants.

Teething Hell = Sleeping Hell

Marylin has finally cut her top two cuspid (canine) teeth and is currently working on her bottom two. I just have to say that these 4 have by far been the worst yet ... hard to believe but these are worse than when she cut her molars! She has been a total pill for about 4 days now and has not been sleeping at all, either. Poor baby. :(

Identifying Body Parts ...

... and all that entails.

Yesterday Marylin and I were going over her body parts together - all of which she can now identify. After a few "Marylin, where is your mouth?" and "Marylin, show mama your knee" type questions, I decided to see if she knew a couple more complicated ones. So I asked her "Where is Marylin?" to which she pointed to her eye (her favorite body part). Nice. Self identification has kicked in. I then asked her, "Marylin, where are your boogers?" and sure enough her little finger went right up her little nose in search of a booger. Shocking. Who taught her that one?

Marylin and the Toad

Check out this video of Marylin dancing with her singing frog toy. She is trying to snap her fingers - adorable :)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1333514172442196215

Visit With Cousin Trinity ....

What a couple of cuties!

Marylin's New Things:

Snapping her fingers
Telling people to "SHHH"
Saying "please" (finally! She's been saying "thank you" for forever but "please" took a while to master)

From Auntie Viv