We are back from San Diego!

Here is a little diary of our trip. For pictures of our trip, please go to:

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Boy, what a trip we had! We really made the most of our four days to San Diego. We left at 7 am on Thursday to catch a plane and got back to Dallas Sunday night at 10:30 pm. We didn't mean to get back so late, but due to storms every flight was delayed an hour.

Going into this trip, I had no idea how Kaitlyn would react to being on a plane for two and half hours. It is hard just to keep her in one area at home as she is into everything. We found out early on that we would either have to keep her in her stroller or fold it up as she wanted to push it everywhere and her steering capabilities were not well-defined yet as she was running into everything. Fortunately, there was a play area at DFW before the flight. The actual flight was good since we had three seats to move around in. One guy changed seats so we could have an extra one. Kaitlyn watched Baby Einstein and listened to the headphones for a good while. And then she got cranky and wanted to sleep. We were a little nervous because we didn't want to be "that couple" that couldn't calm their child down. She finally not only put herself to sleep, but my leg as well. Instead of trying to move around and bring back to life my numb limb, I fought through the pain and let Kaitlyn take in a few Z's.. She woke up about 30 minutes later as we were coming into San Diego.

We then got our car, checked into the hotel, and ventured on for a few groceries and dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican spot. Much to our dismay, there were no stores around all the hotels whatsoever. We drove for 15 minutes and couldn't find anything until stumbling upon the greasy, but good restaurant.

After our return, Kaitlyn took a nap before heading out for a quick visit to the beach. Mission Beach was a great location, equipped with a fun boardwalk and tons of people. The water was really cold, but the breeze and air felt great. The sun made it hot. Kaitlyn was okay with the sand, but she really loved the waves and water once she got used to it. She couldn't figure it out. She loved all her sand toys, but the shovel was her favorite. Just holding onto it was fun enough for her.



We lucked out. The hotel was cooking some hamburgers that night, so inspired by Brandon's resourcefulness (alternative word for CHEAP), we took advantage of the 1,2,3,4 burgers and 2 hot dogs, as well as a couple of free beers.

Friday, we went to the San Diego zoo, only a 5 minute drive from the hotel. They had bus tours, a sky tram and tons of fun animals. Kaitlyn loved the monkeys and elephants. We were one of the first to arrive at 9 am and left around 2:30. We wore her out! The Sea Lion show was fun, the petting zoo was okay, but they had some animals we don't normally see in Texas like Panda Bears (They had four of the 11 in the U.S.), polar bears, great exhibits to see the animals in, weird looking pigs and koalas.

We really liked the zoo and were fresh for the day. After Kaitlyn's nap, we went to the beach again just for a little bit. We got pizza on the beach and that was kind of a disaster as birds wanted our food. Kaitlyn was too distracted to eat.

Saturday, we went to Legoland. The highways have tons of lanes. It is crazy. It was a cool little park. I think we were a little worn out already and enjoyed watching Kaitlyn play in the toddler area, but after that it was hot and we were ready to go to the beach. It is a great park for 3 to 5 year olds, definitely! Kaitlyn had a great time there too.

Saturday night we went to Coronado island, had Mexican for dinner. Kaitlyn loved her quesdillas. The beach was great around 6:30 pm. Not as many people, but the water seemed to be colder. Kaitlyn loved running up and down the beach. She also found some kids she liked watching build a sand castle. They were from Venezuela and so sweet.

Sunday morning we went to the beach again and it was cool, but very nice. And then went to Kansas City Barbque after loading up the car to go to the airport. Kansas City Bargque is where Top Gun filmed the sleazy bar scenes in 1985. It was pretty cool, except the barbque was not good. And being that I am from Kansas City, I know good barbque. The owners are from there and that is where the bar gets its name.

The flight back wasn't as bad as it sounds. We were stuck in the airport for a couple of hours and had to keep Kaitlyn entertained. There were a couple of other toddlers who ran around with her. She was pretty loud and we had to walk around with her a lot. The plane started off bad because she was so tired, but she slept the last hour and a half killing Brandon and my's arms.

Little things to remember about the trip:
1. Kaitlyn said hi and bye to just about everyone we came into contact with in the airport, on the plane, at the beach, at the zoo.
2. Kaitlyn loved to push her stroller by herself.
3. She and mommy caught colds on the trip.
4. Kaitlyn wanted mommy on the plane and the first time in the water, but wanted daddy going deeper in the water and to play in the sand.
5. While she was supposed to be asleep in the room in the hotel, we found her standing in her crib looking out the window pointing to cars and saying "car".
6. Kaitlyn loved the stuffed lion from the zoo and wouldn't let go of it and kept roaring at the zoo.
7. She liked to make us clap our hands when others clapped.

A Phone Girl

Kaitlyn has always had a fascination with phones whether they are cell phones or basic telephones. She now loves to listen for about five minutes and say hello. If you catch her at the right time, she will listen and talk back. In this video, she says pool and roars like a lion.

High School Reunion

Here are a couple of photos from my 10 year high school reunion this weekend! Go Martin Warriors!


Can you believe it? I dragged Brandon with me and we went with a couple of girlfriends that I still keep in touch with. I am so glad we did it that way because we had no idea who we would see or what would happen. We all saw several old faces and were able to mingle the first night at the bar. The second night was in a hotel ballroom and it was very stiff. Poor Brandon sat at the table while I mingled with some friends. It wasn't as fun as the night before, but a girl did come up to him who went to A&M and told Brandon that she had his and Tim Duffy's pictures all over her room freshman year. I thought that was hilarious.


As for me, I was a wreck because I had no idea who I was going to see. I saw a lot of friends, but unfortunately none of my junior high or high school crushes, which was probably good for me with Brandon there. Ha! It seemed as though everyone was pregnant or recently married too. I definitely felt like a kid again when we all took a class picture again! Anyway, it was nice to go, and glad that Brandon and I went!

And recent August photos in a cool new film loop:

Pool Time Fridays

Pool Time Fridays have been fun this summer! Kaitlyn and her friend Caroline played in the water yesterday. It seems that they are definitely recognizing each other more and want to play together. It is neat to see that now because when we met, the girls were only a couple of months old.

We only have a couple more Fridays of pool time as we are going to be out of town for a couple of them soon. I hope we can last until maybe the end of September and with this heat, we may just be able to pull it off!

Are we boring?

Today started out late. I woke up at 7:45 am and Kaitlyn woke up at 8 am. We didn't have any particular plans, except a few errands and I needed to do a little work while Kaitlyn slept. We took our time with my orthodontist appointment this morning, returned a couple of things at the store and then it was time for lunch. Kaitlyn took a long nap and Brandon came home early. It was like the old days where we worked side by side at our computers. Kaitlyn woke up and then we played. She really likes reading her books now while laying down on her tummy or on her back. She is a pretty good reader. I just wish I could understand her language. Once I figure it out, I will be sure to share!!

Kaitlyn thought I was going to leave her at the ortho's office today. Once I turned a corner to pick up some papers, she was crying. The office had a play area and it looked like fun; however Kaitlyn really wanted to pull tissues out of the box and try to stuff them in her mouth or almost wrecking a mold that the orthodonist had on her desk. It was classic.

I guess I am a in a little of a ho-hum, boring mood and I don't know why. We have plenty to do, plenty of things coming up and Kaitlyn is never short on entertainment. Hmmm... Maybe it is time for a vacation to get out of this! Oh that is right, we are going to San Diego next week! Ahhhhh!

Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate Kaitlyn's book-lying position.

A Healthy Checkup

Except that we skipped the 15-month check-up, Kaitlyn did well with receiving three shots at the 18-month check-up on Friday. I am not too worried about being behind on shots, but the doctor seemed to be a little annoyed. I am guessing she was annoyed that we missed the last check-up. I don't feel bad about it because I asked when the next check-up was back in March and looked at the papers they gave me and everything said 18-months. In addition, the doctor's office (doctor and front office) never talked about a 15-month check up at her sick visits in June nor when I made the 18-month appointment in July. Hmmm? Not a big deal, but I am beginning to feel that they may have too many patients to give each one the attention they need and we have very healthy child.

I don't mean to start out on a sour note; however, I am used to feeling pretty good after going to Kaitlyn's check-ups. She is always so healthy and above average, which leads me to the good news. She weighed 26 pounds 2 ounces and is in the 75 percentile for weight; she is 33 inches tall and is in the 90 percentile for height; and, she has a head circumference of 47 and a half centimeters and is in the 75 percentile for size.

She is right on target for a lot of the developmental activities as well such as playing with jigsaw puzzles, stacking blocks, walking down stairs and pointing. I am looking forward to her beginning to put two wards together soon.

Swinging and Reading with Kaitlyn

We have received an overwhelming request from a certain Birthday Grandmother for video of Kaitlyn. Here are a couple of Kaitlyn swinging and reading.

The Hills are Alive with Music

This week Brandon pulled out the guitar and we had fun listening to him strum along!

Karoke Kaitlyn

Test, 1, 2. Test. Next up on the mike, Kaitlyn!!!!

A New Beginning

This morning marks a big milestone for Kaitlyn. Her first day at Mother's Day Out, while her parents are crying their eyes out, being sentimental and trying to hold it together. Brandon was teary-eyed at work this morning ,and I felt as if I was moving in slow motion trying to remember every little moment. Coming back home was so empty and I felt so sad and teary-eyed.

I could tell she was ready to play when she walked into school at 9 am and immediately sat down at the table with two other children with a little snack. I took a couple of photos, kissed her on her forehead and walked out. She didn't even notice I was gone. I couldn't believe how easy it was. How exciting for Kaitlyn to be with other little friends and getting to sing, color, play on the computer and be with other children today!

When I came to pick her up at 2 pm, she was playing and I stood in the doorway with a couple of other parents. When she looked up and saw me, she came straight over. She started to cry and then I picked her up and she was fine. She was very, very tired because she didn't take a nap with the other kids. She immediately fell asleep on the way home and is now sleeping.

She colored a happy face today and her teachers had nothing but great things to say about Kaitlyn. She really had a good first day at Mother's Day Out! Yeah!!! Go Kaitlyn! I knew she would do fine and can't wait to see how she does next week. And on that note, I see what my parents meant when they used to tell me that I was growing up too fast or how they were so sad to see me go.

Here is a video of her practicing yesterday with her backpack on rollers.

Starting Mother's Day Out TOMORROW!

I can't believe it! Kaitlyn is going to Mother's Day Out for the first time tomorrow.

We went this morning to a teacher orientation and to see her room. She is in room 11, which has a connecting room for more space. The room has toys, a toddler-sized table and chairs, and a little hook plus cubbie hole with her name. Her teachers are Ms. Kelly and Ms. Carol. There is a teacher's aide named Katie who has down syndrome and will be helping the teachers this year. Kaitlyn liked her and gave her a hug by the time we left. There are 10 kiddos in her age group, seven boys and three girls (including Kaitlyn). Kaitlyn's friends, Ian and Davis, are in the same class.

As soon as we entered the room she went to play with the toys. She came back to me only a couple of times, but really enjoyed the room. I think she will do really well in the program. I know she will miss our normal routine at home a little bit, and maybe her mommy. I will miss her. The time will fly though as I will be busy working on PR projects and errands.

It was just this time last year that she was starting to eat baby food, and I was still feeding her. Where does the time go? It is a bittersweet moment, but truly a happy moment for me to see her start to interact with other kids in a safe environment and learn new things like singing and more sign language. The teachers say most kids by the end of the year are singing like songbirds and signing a lot. I can't wait to see what she learns.

THE FENCE

Here are a few photos of the new pool fence being installed today. This will definitely help when we have pool parties with other little kiddos and Kaitlyn. We can never be too safe or let our guard down when it comes to having a pool in our backyard. Kaitlyn is really great around the pool and is only interested in it if one of us is in the pool and that makes us feel good; however, we are going to feel even better knowing we have another guard against the pool. We still have a couple of alarms to put up and of course continuing to teach Kaitlyn about the water and pool safety.

Same thing, a different day

Today, has been a little boring. Y es, I will admit it. We are going to stay low-key this weekend so we don't have a whole lot to prepare for this week other than going to the store and the toddler class. We have played in the backyard and went to swing out front and now Kaitlyn is taking her usual nap. I think we are going to have to go to the mall this afternoon to get out of the house! Next week will be a very busy week, so I guess this is the calm before the storm and we better enjoy it!

I have been procrastinating with my project work, but it is hard to get much done with Kaitlyn pulling my shirt or trying to pinch me. So then I put work off and go play with Kaitlyn. It is hard to teach her that mommy has to do housework or do other work while Kaitlyn plays. This morning I tried to have her color while I did a little work, but her attention span lasted about 10 minutes.

Last night she ate part of my taco. Yeah!! Definitely excited about her wanting to try what we are eating. She ate with us around 5:30. For lunch today, she went to the pantry and pulled out her own box of crackers and grabbed some to eat with her jelly sandwich. She also finally ate some dried fruit and tried a rice cake with peanut butter. We are thankful that we are making a little progress in the eating department!