Sadie goes to San Diego

We took a very special trip with just Sadie, her Daddy and I in April. Cashion got to stay with Bebe and Papa while the 3 of us explored San Diego. We went to the Zoo and had a backstage tour with Pam, who took us to meet some of the "animal ambassadors." The highlight for me (maybe more than Sadie) was getting a behind-the-scenes look at the koala habitat. They were making the most unusual howling sound, that you would never guess came from a koala. They had the males in different areas in the back, because they don't get along, and the females with their babies were out in the exhibit for zoo-goers to see. They grow over 300 kinds of eukalyptus for these little creatures because they all have different tastes. And the San Diego Zoo has the largest collection of koalas outside of Australia because they are able to grow the eukalyptus due to the temperate climate.

We saw tons of other animals...bears, flamingos, arangutans, pandas, a baby hippo and a baby giraffe. It was a really fun day. Sadie had her own camera to capture memories from her perspective.


She is really fun to travel with at this age. She does great on an airplane and can sleep in a regular bed (or pull out sofa, in this case.) She doesn't require special food and can make it through the day without needing to take a nap (although we took a couple of family naps, which was awesome!)

We had lots of treats, including cupcakes and Ghiradelli chocolate sundaes, which Daddy and I ended up eating most of. Sadie rode the little train that runs around Balboa Park and I got to walk around and take pictures of the lush gardens and beautiful architecture. The 3 of us toured antique ships on the harbor and Sadie got to pretend she was a pirate.

We went to Coronado Beach at the Coronado Hotel, which was beautiful and peaceful if a bit chilly. Sadie looked for shells and built sandcastles, which is right up there with her favorite things to do in the world. We took a drive up to the Safari Park, which is also operated by the San Diego Zoo, and has acres and acres of natural habitats with rhinos, giraffes, elephants and all sorts of wild animals. They had a butterfly garden exhibit, which was beautiful, but Sadie was a little apprehensive about the butterflies landing on her. This was understandable since her Daddy and I freaked out a little bit when a bird landed on each of us in the lorakeet habitat. We got out of there pretty quickly, to say the least. Sadie's favorite part of this park was the bubble show. What is it about bubbles and kids? We finished off our weekend with a trip to In-N-Out burger and it was as good as I remember it. Thanks to Bebe and Papa for keeping Cashion, who won't remember that he missed out on this trip but maybe someday we can make it up to him.

Cups

At Cashion's 1-year-old check-up, Dr. Brown urged us to help him move from the bottle to a cup. Sadie started using a straw cup at 11 months, but like everything else the second time around, we were not as on the ball with this one. So, when he finally started holding his own sippy cup about a week after that appointment, we were thrilled. It seems like such a small thing, but we always held his bottle for him so this was quite an adjustment for Cashion.

Of course, it is even more fun to practice drinking from a cup while taking a bath in the kitchen sink!

Rodeo

That is a llama!

We always try to make it out to Rodeo Austin when it is here around Spring Break. Sadie and her daddy are always very excited about the petting zoo, and they wanted to introduce Cashion to the experience. This year, Sadie was big enough and brave enough to have a pony ride. She

even tried a couple of carnival games and won a stuffed banana (her choice) by popping a balloon with a dart on her own.

Cashion's Winter "One"derland

After the snow earlier in the week, Cashion's Winter "One"derland felt like a Spring day. We had a hot chocolate bar and S'mores around the fire pit in our short sleeves. He devoured the cupcake and was delighted to spend the afternoon with family and friends (ditto the rest of us).

Cashion is 1!

It was really tough getting a good picture with the blocks this time...he was too quick!!

Our baby boy is 1 year old. How did this happen? It may have been the fastest year of my life, but it sure was fun. Can't wait to see how he continues to grow and change in his second year. Even though I still like to pretend that he is a baby, I know he is growing up. He can pull up, cruise on furniture, walk behind his push toy and say several words. His favorite is "book" which he usually requests with his own version of the sign and by saying "a book." Any piece of paper that is folded is considered a book to Cashion, including the tags on his stuffed animals. He is babbling all the time now and we are starting to realize that some of his sounds might actually be words that we weren't recognizing, like "all done" which sounds more like "a da." He says "mama", "daddy", "adie" (Sadie), "bee" (Bebe), "nana" (Nana or banana) and "papa" (which he usually whispers). His favorite books are "Where is Baby's Belly Button" (a gift from the Cord Blood Registry, funny enough) and "touch and feel Baby Animals" at our house; "Goodnight Moon" and "Pat the Bunny" at Bebe and Papa's house.

He still loves to sleep, God bless him. He prefers 2 naps per day and when he doesn't get them he usually makes it up by sleeping late in the morning (why can't he teach Sadie to sleep in?) This week after I picked him up from Sammy's House and he had missed his afternoon nap, he went to bed at 5:30pm, without dinner mind you because when we tried to feed him he cried for his bed. The amazing part is that he slept until 10am! I am not trying to rub this in to all my friends out there with babies who have difficulty sleeping through the night or who wake up super-early, I promise. But, this blog is going to help my poor memory later down the road and I know I will read this some day and think, "Are you kidding me?"

We love our big baby and don't want him to grow up too fast! Love you, Cashion. You are charming, sweet-tempered, and do everything with gusto.

It snowed a long time ago

I haven't blogged since January, mostly because I have been overwhelmed by the number of pictures we have taken since then and we have been battling one illness after another around here. But, hopefully we are past all that now that it is almost MAY!!

Throw in a home improvment project and it is pretty much madness. But, when it is in the 90s in April it is nice to remember the snow we had the day before Cashion's first birthday. He was less than pleased when I sat him down in it (we don't have snowsuits, ya know.) Sadie had fun building a mini snowman and having snowball fights with her daddy.

Aloha

What can I say about Hawaii in January...amazing doesn't quite cut it. First of all, thanks to Bebe and Papa who made this trip happen. We wouldn't have these amazing adventures together without you. It is hard for me to explain how special it is to get to spend 10 days with my family, not to mention in such a beautiful setting. I got so spoiled getting to see Dana so much over this last month, between the snow storm delays and this trip. I love that she and Ian got to spend so much time with the kids, and I know they did too.

We got to see some whales, enjoy a visit with Anna who lives in Honolulu, eat banana frosties, shave ice and even had ice cream for dinner. We attended a luau, saw waterfalls, sunsets, geckos and lots of chickens. Sadie wanted to know if we could go swimming or to the beach everyday. Ian and Matt snorkeled off the beach at Princeville. Dana soaked up the rays. Mom and Dad relaxed even though they would tell you they aren't really "beach people." I tried to keep Cashion from eating too much sand. Sadie built sand "snowmen" after we saw a real snowman made out of snow from the peak of the mountain on the big island (another family's Christmas card photo this year). We ate amazing food at local places like Ceviche Dave's, thanks to Ian's research and passion for food. We enjoyed cocktails on the deck at the St. Regis overlooking Bali Hai and Hanalei Bay. The girls went for pedicures and a trip to the Lihue Walmart. The kids napped in the car in between sight-seeing stops. We tasted coffee in Kona and rum in Kauai. We drank Pina Coladas and Mai Tais. We tried local fruits from the farmer's market and fruit stands. Ian tried a couple of local dishes the rest of us stayed away from (moko loco and something about spam sushi?) We drove every full-size car in the class, including the Dodge Charger (that thing gotta hemi?) We bought aloha-wear for the kids, because it was just too cute to pass up. It was warm during the day and cool at night. Even the rainy days weren't too rainy. I have always loved traveling with my family, but it might be having my own children on these trips that really makes these moments feel so precious. I love you all so much it hurts.