Houston Zoo

We decided to take E to the Zoo, of course she slept the whole way there. She can't help but to fall asleep in the car as soon as we hit the freeway :)

What a beautiful bird!

She loved looking at all the animals. Every new animal she would point at.

We got to see the feeding time for the giraffes.

It was a really hot day and poor E was red and splotchy after 30 minutes, so we stopped in a resturant to cool off and get hydrated

I think this was at the tigers

E is a full blown walker now. She gets mad if she is held or pushed in the stroller too long. So we let her stretch her legs and have a little fun.

She loved looking at the lions.

Picking up some rocks...Probably to eat

Look at this cool plant Mom! Like I said she points at everything

The bears were more active than most the other animals, it was nice to see them moving

She really wanted that little girls sucker.

But then she saw the big brown bear

The Elephants were cool...

But E decided to take a short nap while drinking her bottle and missed them

It was a fun trip and I was glad to share it with my little girl.

Mani/Pedi

This weekend E got a mani/pedi. It was so much fun!

On an additional note, she loves going up the stairs, and tried to go down them this weekend...

This was taken just before the fall. I was too busy comforting her to capture the fall. Good thing my camera didn't take a fall too!

Monkey's

E climbs on everything now.

This weekend she was climbing on and off a child sized chair. She loved it until she fell and hit her head.

Today I walked out of the living room and for just a minute, when I came back she was on the couch. I pulled her off wondering how she got up there when I saw her do it again. She pulled a couch cushion down and stepped on it then was able to get on the couch. Clever girl.

Finally at bath time tonight she kept climbing on the stool and standing up. I am not ready for this.

She seems to think that once she climbs on an object she needs to stand on it...this will be interesting. Hopefully we don't have any trips to the ER...knock on wood.

On another note...

She says momma and dadda and bababa. But only if she wants to. For instance, I asked her to say mamamama the other day and she looked me square in the eye and said "daddada".

I kid you not. Stinker.

Walking

So I have been meaning to write this...but E is now taking steps. She will stand up and walk anywhere between 1-10 steps. It is always different. She has been doing this for about two weeks now. The first time she did it was Thursday April 14th. Then Tuesday April 19th she did it again. Now it is a lot more regular and several times a day.

Sunday she gave me the best Mother's day present by walking about 15 steps. It was amazing to see her go so far and all by herself. She brings me such joy every day. I love her so much and never cease to be amazed at her cute personality, joyous laugh, or new developments. I look forward to many more years of raising her.

Family

How E responds to eating out

Beach and Gardens

We left the house at 8:00 and by 8:30 E was already asleep. She slept for about an hour until we got to the Ferry. We walked up to the front of the ferry and she got her first glimpse of the seagulls. She loved watching them fly and they were only a few feet above our heads. When the ferry started it was pretty windy so the water splashed in her face, she was very surprised and a little upset. We took her upstairs to look out at the water over the view deck and then to the back of the ferry. People were throwing bread at the seagulls in the back. She loved watching the seagulls eating with a look of awe across her face.

Before getting strapped in her carseat, we let her "drive the car." She loved it!

We met up with Aunt L and Uncle J and then went to spend a few hours at the Aquarium at Moody Gardens. E loved the seals the best, she just kept watching jump and play. She got so excited every time they came up out of the water. When the big daddy seal came up against the glass next to her she jumped a little. This happened a few times but she eventually got used to him. She was very well behaved and eager to see all the sea animals. She crawled through the shark cage and pretended she was in jail. She tried to kiss the shark when he swam above her headJ. While watching the fish in the aquarium she stepped over a bar all by herself. Some of the animals we looked at today were seals, penguins, sea horse, sharks, stingrays, octopus, starfish, and lots of fishes, two sea dragons, and
eels.

After Moody Gardens, we went out to eat at Casey’s Seafood Restaurant. She was so tired and hungry that she kept screaming loudly. Daddy gave her a purple onion. She took one bite and made the funniest face, almost as if she had been betrayed. I wish I had caught her reaction on camera. But surprisingly, she continued eating it for a few minutes and it kept her quiet. However, when we tried to give her a second one she would not eat it and only played with it like it was a bracelet. She enjoyed eating Potatoes Au Gratin and French fries.

Despite E’s tiredness we trekked out to the beach after lunch. E loved crawling in the sand. But then Mommy took E out into the ocean for the first time. When the first wave hit her, she made a pouty face and shivered, it was a little too cold for her. When a bigger wave hit a few minutes later she cried. So Mommy brought her back to the shore and played with the sand and incoming tide. E still clung to Mommy for dear life every time the tide rolled in. Mommy enjoyed the sweet cuddles from her baby girl. Daddy, Aunt L and Uncle J came back after a few minute of playing in the waves and E had warmed up to the ocean by then. She crawled up and down the seashore raking the sand with her fingers. Every time the tide rolled in she would sit and wait for it to go back out then start crawling again. Daddy took her back out in the water later and she did much better with the waves. She even started laughing when the waves hit her. Suddenly, a rogue wave caught her by surprise and spoiled the fun by splashing her face and soaking her hat. Daddy took her back to shore and Uncle J and Aunt L followed soon after. Uncle J offered to watch E for a minute while mommy and daddy went to boogie board.

When we came back from boogie boarding, E was fast asleep in J’s arms.

Swinging

E's favorite thing to do is be outside however to top that off she loves to swing! I love how her face lights up when she is in the swing. Here are a few of my favorite swinging pictures.

Sliding Fun

So at work the family has a little play slide in their playroom. It used to be the only place that E could not escape from once she started crawling. It took two months, but she finally learned how to go up and down the slide.