Tour De Tahoe

Emily was most helpful throughout the trip, pushing the stroller wherever she went.


Sunset from a pier off the private beach at Lakeland



Kayla couldn't keep her paws off this statue of a mommy bear and her baby.


The not-so-little one with the little ones

At the beach... Zephyr Cove

Kayla thought it was a giant bathtub!

Caillou Crazy: First thing they did in the morning was watch Caillou.

Blowing Smoke

The entire Bay Area, or rather California, has been engulfed in flames the past week. According to the latest report in the Merc,

"Meanwhile, across California, more than 15,000 firefighters, 1,000 fire engines and more than 80 helicopters and aircraft were fighting more than 1,000 active fires Saturday, state officials said."

And the air quality has been less than desirable, which means we haven't been able to take her out as much as we'd like to -- to the park, on her long stroller walks or even in the yard. In fact, I've been limiting her time in the backyard to 10 minutes. :( She's not very happy about it, but there's not much we can do. The air is a strange mixture of garlic and smoke, and we actually had to hose down the grass because a thick layer of ash had settled in nicely over the week. That's how bad it is.

The good thing is we've new books and toys (yes more toys!) to keep her occupied indoors. She's loving her new doctor play kit, friends of Thomas the Train, and she's been reading voraciously. Whatever it is, I do hope the smoke disappears soon and the fires get put out promptly so there'll be less homes lost and one happier baby. We need to get out, before summer disappears in a blink!

Take a Shot

It looks like all the doctor stories we've been reading to her have paid off. "Barney goes to the Doctor," "Elmo goes to the doctor" and Caillou goes to the Doctor". Kayla didn't flinch when the doctor examined her today. For the first time in 18 months, she allowed her to listen to her heartbeat without crying. She even let him look inside her ears and the only time she protested, was when he tried to look at her teeth. That's what I call progress. Finally.

Oh, and of course, she had to get a shot, but just one so it was okay. As for her vital stats, they've stayed pretty much the same.

Weight: 22.1 lbs (25th percentile)
Height: 31.5 inches (5oth percentile)
Head circumference: 18.5 inches (50th percentile)

In conclusion: a healthy, growing baby

She's Little Miss....

Sunshine, Trouble and Naughty all rolled into one. Kayla had a not-so-good day today, possibly because she's sprouting some huge teeth on the bottom (finally). She still has the same pathetic two central incisors (see http://www.tpub.com/content/medical/14274/css/14274_57.htm). When I last checked this evening, her first molars were just about to erupt, causing her (and in the process, us) to be in utter misery. :( Strangely, she skipped her canines on the top row and her canines on the bottom are missing too. It's amazing how these teeth pop out in such a random fashion and it's near impossible to find order in this tooth-popping chaos, if you ask me.

But like they say, there are always rays of sunshine on a gloomy day. And Kayla continues to amuse with her never-ending antics. She complained that "Mommy, too slow" when it was time to go to the playground today. She calls Jumping Jacks "Jumping Giants" because she associates Jack with the giant in "Jack and the Beanstalk". And she's developed an exhibitionist streak of late. She likes running around with nothing but a diaper and has recently started protesting each time we try to dress her. It's frustrating, yet at the same time, hilarious, when you watch her admire herself in the mirror going "Kayla naked" with chuckles, giggles and the cutest grin.

She's also started displaying a nurturing and caring side of her lately, putting blankies on her teddy bears, Ernie, Elmo. Today, she tried changing their pretend diapers and reading them a story before telling them good night. In the afternoon, I caught her carrying Elmo and Cookie Monster to the beanbag, before instructing them to sit still. Gasp! She's fast morphing into a mini-me!

On the singing front, her repertoire has grown to include Baa Baa Black Sheep, Give me Oil in My Lamp and London Bridge is Falling Down. We managed to record (at long last) her singing Jesus Loves Me in full and I promise to post the video sooooooon. So stay tuned.

Photo Shoot

We've just returned from a short getaway to Tahoe and a very last minute one-day stopover at Reno. While I recover (vacations are never really vacations with a super active 18-month-old) and collect my thoughts about the trip, here are some more photos of the chatterbox at the Fremont Kite Festival and at home.


Nope, she didn't cry.

Should I go, Mommy?

Hmm... he wants a hug.

Sorry, changed my mind.

Check out my bedhead.

Her favorite activity of late: playing with water in the yard.

Cute shot of her, but check out my even cuter plants in the background. That's the satsuma in still in its plastic container and the tomato plants that are now out of control.


Oh my! (Alamak!)

Care and Share

In the past couple of weeks, Kayla has become pretty popular in the church nursery. Each time we pick her up after service, the kind ladies start singing her praises, telling us what a good girl she's been. One week it was "As always, she's the calm among the storm;" another week, it was "She talks. And she can count to 20." The middle-schoolers who help out at the nursery are clearly thrilled. And so I am.

It's been great watching her progress from crying each time when we drop her off to smiling and saying "bye" to her caregivers when we pick her up. And she's even made friends. In fact, one of the moms of another 2-year-old in the nursery asked me if I was open to a playdate. Her daughter, Sienna was born just six days after Kayla and apparently, these two get along pretty well. :) One thing I've noticed about Kayla is that she's been really good with sharing her toys. I'm not sure if it's because she hasn't reached that "Mine" stage or if it's just her personality. Either way, it always plants a smile on my face when I see her walk up and offer a toy to someone else.

And with summer round the corner, we've signed her up for 10 sessions of music and art classes in Mountain View. It's been a while since I've done anything fun with her in a structured environment. She still talks about Gymboree very fondly (I'm surprised at how much she remembers) so I thought she'll probably enjoy it.

Another thing: We finally took her to Chuck E Cheese the other day, after weeks of driving by the restaurant and Kayla exclaiming excitedly "Chuck E Cheese!". If you ask her, Kayla will tell you they serve "terrible pizzas" but boy has she fallen in love with Chuck E. Cheese. The arcade games were fun (i'm not sure who had a better time, me or her) and I think we'll be back. And if her infatuation with Chuck E Cheese persists, we might just have to spend her second birthday there.