Monterey Bay Aquarium

My birthday was yesterday and we spent the day eating out and shopping:) Today, we took a day-trip to Monterey and had an incredible time at the Aquarium! It was the first time for Dan, Ben and Emily and we all loved it. Ben and Emmie had a blast exploring the many sections geared for kids and were in awe of all the different fish/sea life. Ben's favorite part was the kids tunnel, Emily loved the seahorse exhibit and my favorite was the jelly fish and otters. We definitely hope to come back again, soon!

Admiring the lovely seahorses

Getting some fresh air and checking out the bay

Picking a toy from the gift shop(Emmie fell in love with this pink/purple tie-dyed Nemo look-alike)

Making whale and dolphin imprints--or, as Ben called it, "Doing paperwork"

Ooohhh! Jellyfish!

They are just SO bizarre. I love them!

Two of my little penguin chicks sitting in a penguin shell

Another jellyfish picture!

Callie-Koala hitched a ride in my new baby carrier. She loved the aquarium, too!

Jump-jump-jump

Gone Fishin'

"Whoaaaa. Look at the ocean!"

There were so many cool hands-on displays that Ben loved!

My Three Little Monkeys and Me

All-time fav picture of the day! This was an area with atrium windows where the tide crashed down over and over again. Each time it did, they'd exclaim with delight:)

Kai Turns Four!

Our friend Kai celebrated his fourth birthday today with the help of Ben, Emily and Callie. We had pizza, played a Starwars version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey and enjoyed a brief break in the torrential downpour that has graced our area recently!


Callie, after being told she is still too little for birthday cake;)

Emmie's turn!

Ben's turn!

Playing outdoors...we miss you so!

Puppy Love

Normally Callie is royally pissed to be laid down on the floor. She is quite the Princess Baby in that regard. Homegirl is never going to learn to crawl if she doesn't spend at least some time on the floor like a common peasant-baby, though! Sometimes, if she's not already in a bad mood and I have something to distract her, she'll roll around for a bit before the waterworks begin and she demands to be picked up. I was delighted to see her perk right up when she rolled over and saw Emily's puppy toy! You'd never guess by these adorable, smiley pictures that this baby detests being on the floor most of the time:)

Nicole's Birthday

Be prepared for an onslaught of birthday-party posts in the near future! It seems like all their friends were born in the first half of the year and we typically go to at least one or two parties a month from now until the summer! Today's party was Nicole's. Emily loved getting her face painted for the first time and Ben had a blast playing with his friends!


Rainbow-Brite.
Emily, on the subject of rainbows: "When I'm a rainbow, I'll be able to go up into the sky":)

Ben-Ben found a super-cool dumptruck toy and couldn't bear the thought of sharing it.
He spent much of the party playing with it solo.

L-R: Nicole, Piper, Nora, Emmie and Ben

What's more fun than a Diego figurine? Two, naturally!

Christmas in January

Sadly, I didn't get to see any of my extended family over the holidays but we're making up for it when possible! My Aunt Colleen and cousin Maureen(yes, we're Irish!) stopped by for a visit last night and brought some presents from their family and my other Aunt Maureen(and yes, we're all named after each other!). Ben, Emily and Callie were all pleased as punch to have visitors to show off for:) Emily brought out many of her precious and coveted items for them to admire and Ben was very entertaining as he jumped, tumbled and danced around. He's like a puppy when people come over! Callie was is heaven once I handed her the crinkly hologram tissue-paper from the gift bags. She wriggled and bounced with delight as she crinkled it and gummed it! I know what she's getting next year;)


Callie with her Grantie(Great-Aunt) Colleen

Tickles from Nina
(as I've mentioned before, B and E call my cousin Maureen "nina" which is Spanish for Godmother)

He's wearing underwear, I promise;)

Ben with his all-time favorite person!

Grease Lightening, Baby!

The latest celebrity incarnation of Callie's hair:

John Travolta as Danny Zuko...swoon!

6 Months Old!

Is it ridiculous to be increasingly more confused by just how fast the time is racing by? Because on the 10th of each month for the past six months, I really am more shocked than I was the month before. Where is the time going? How are they stealing these minutes and hours; these days and weeks and where the hell are they keeping them? I look at Callie and she still seems so little to me. She really doesn't look old enough, in my mind's eye, to be 6 months old. I was shocked(shocked!) to see how big she looked in these pictures. She's officially an "older baby" now:( Everything from this point on leads up to independence. It's so amazing to think about how much she's changed in the last six months and to know how much more she'll learn and grow from this point on!

She had her 6 month appointment today and narrowly averted getting 4 shots by coming down with a cold in the middle of the night! She's right on track to become America's Next Top Baby Model, weighing in at a slender 14 pounds, 6 ounces(25th percentile) and measuring a long 26 1/4 inches(70th percentile). Developmentally, she's absolutely perfect! We have reintroduced rice cereal earlier in the week and it was a staggering success. She's moved on to oatmeal(next stop, barley, which neither her brother or sister ever enjoyed). After that, we're on the fast-track to purees with the expectation that she samples all the main ones and begins eating two meals a day around 7 months old. That might help with the long and lanky thing;)

She FINALLY learned to roll off her belly, although she doesn't always manage it yet. She's also sitting for a few seconds before she lunges for something out of reach and topples over. And! My very favorite thing of all! She says "Mamamama"! Dan swears she says "dadadadada" too, but I've yet to hear the phrase come off her lips. So there you have it! Now onto the best part. Her pictures. Enjoy:)

Sweet, chubby little cherub

Her signature look, "Pink Steel"

Big Sissy and Little Sissy, though Little Sissy looks alarming big next to her older sister!

Sissy-Kissies

Emmie...She's pink and friendly!

Emmie found Callie's cutest headband(made by my insanely talented friend Rinny) and just had to try it on. She looked in the mirror and was delighted by her resemblance to Foofa, of Yo Gabba Gabba. We don't watch that show often, but Emily loves Foofa. Because, well, she's pink and friendly!


Emmie as Foofa

Foofa, in all her girly, pink glory!

Emmie, singing, "Foofa...she's pink and friendly!" as the song goes.

Doing a twirly-whirly dance

Mr. Independent

It was bound to happen, I suppose. As hard as I tried, Ben figured out a way to grow up. No longer is he my sweet baby, nor is he a funny little toddler. He's a preschooler and soon-to-be KINDERGARTENER. I don't know where the past 4 years and 4 months has gone, but I desperately want them back! If only to snuggle my little guy just a little longer. He's a great reminder to enjoy his baby and little sisters each moment:)
Anyway, I jokingly refer to him as Terrance the Teenager now because he is 4 going on 14. He talks back to me, says things like, "I'm busy." and "Whatever". I was frustrated at him for something and said, "Thanks a lot, Ben, for blah blah blah". His response? "You're NOT welcome". Ouch! He also has become really independent. He gets himself dressed with no prodding(and, obviously no input!) from me. If he's hungry? He gets himself a snack. If he's thirsty and there's a cup handy? He opens the fridge and pours himself a drink! He'll go into the freezer, get out a frozen waffle, pop it in the toaster and then let me know when I need to put the butter and jelly on it. He uses the microwave like he was born doing it. It's pretty wonderful, actually!
The bittersweetness of it all is that for every new skill he acquires, something babyish goes by the wayside. I *know* I should be happy about it, but it tugs at my heart:( My Baby Bear isn't a baby anymore.

So big, SO handsome!

Another awesome outfit by Terrance;)