Getting ready for Christmas

Michaela has been obsessed with the movie Happy Feet lately. She asks us "watch dancing penguin?" on a nightly basis. So when I was out picking up Christmas lights last weekend I couldn't pass up this light up penguin. Michaela loves him! The first time she saw him she went over and shook his hand to say hello.

Then she pointed out all the various penguin parts to her little doggy. So cute!
I was trying to put up the Christmas stockings the other day, but Michaela had other ideas. She immediately put them on her feet and brought me the third one while saying "Put your shoe on Mommy."

She got real comfortable watching Dora on my computer the other night.

Yesterday we went to Sea World to see all the Christmas decorations and shows. Michaela was so excited to see the big Christmas tree and all the giant ornaments.

I just love this picture. She's so pretty.

Michaela took the map and guided us around the park. She looked like she was in charge (and she probably was). She knows her way around there so well that we pretty much let her lead the way.

We got to see all of the special Christmas shows, and they were all great. Michaela LOVED the Sesame Street show where she got to see all of her favorite characters sing Christmas carols and dance along. She was fascinated by the ice skaters and was real excited when there were 2 penguin ice skaters. She turned to me and whispered "Mommy, there's 2 dancing penguins!" We watched the Polar Express experience, but she was too little to go on the ride. We all loved the North Pole decorations in Wild Arctic, but Michaela refused to meet Santa Claus there. Someday I'll get a picture of her with Santa - so far I'm 0-3 on that one. Finally, we watched the Shamu Miracles show, which she loved, before heading home. Poor Michaela was so tired at the end of the day and passed out in the car seat before we even got on the highway. But Craig and I both agreed it was worth the late night to see everything. The only thing we missed were the fireworks, since we didn't want to wait until 9:00 to see them. Regardless, we had a blast.

More zoo pictures

Thursday in our house is better known as Zoo Day. Michaela got her princess shoes on, grabbed her baby jaguar and her dog, and was ready for a tour. She, of course, was the guide. When I ask her what she wants to see she will usually tell me a certain animal, then take off in that direction.

Michaela made sure to point out all of the animals to her doggy. "Look doggy, a warthog!!"

Then she decided the doggy was tired of walking, so she pushed him and the baby jaguar in the stroller for a little while.

A trip to the zoo isn't complete without a ride on the carousel. As always, Michaela had to check out the gears.

What a cute little baby bird my baby is.

Our new toys

When we were house shopping last year the biggest appeal to our neighborhood is the great creek that sits along side it. We were told that the HOA was going to build a kayak club and launch, and I told Craig that one of our first major purchases would have to be a kayak. Well it took a while, and the kayak club was never built, but we finally went kayak shopping a few weeks ago. When I walked in the store I was convinced we were going to get your typical kayak. That was until I saw the Hobie Adventure Island set up on the floor. It was love at first sight. This kayak has attachable outriggers and a 20 foot mast with a full sail. We went home and did more research and were pretty much sold after watching a video on youtube of people sailing 12 knots on one. For those non-sailors, that's really fast! Faster than our 30 foot sailboat ever went. So last week we went out and bought 2 AI's, which were delivered on Tuesday. However due to the holiday we didn't have a chance to try them out until today. The one small hitch we had was that we don't have a trailer for them yet, but we do have some wheels that attach to the back of the boat so you can drag it down the road. Michaela walked/danced with me while I pulled the boat to the entry point.

Those who read this blog on a regular basis know that Michaela HATES her life jacket more than just about anything on this Earth. So I decided I would try my last possible trick and buy a Dora life jacket. She wasn't a huge fan of it on shore, but we told her if she wanted to ride the boat she had to wear it and she put it on right away. She didn't complain about once during the entire 4 hour trip!
We decided that we would just use the kayak part for our first trip out. We weren't sure how wide the river would be or if there would be enough wind for the sail. I'm glad we did, because we hit some narrow and shallow spots along the way. It took a little getting used to the pedal drive system. Hobie's have a foot pedal system that allows you to paddle with your feet, freeing up your hands for fishing or steering with the rudder. The amazing thing is that you go really fast! The store upgraded us to the turbo fins, which fly. And the rudder works great, turning very quickly with just a small touch.

Michaela and I as we were heading out of our neighborhood.

Craig went a lot faster than me because Michaela often slowed me down when peddling.

Michaela loves splashing in the water. The problem is that when she leans over my leg like that it makes it impossible for me to peddle. And I can't paddle with my hands because I'm scared she'll fall over and so I hold onto her life jacket. So Craig ended up pulling up alongside us and towed us a little ways.

I kind of liked getting pulled alongside him. That's the other great thing about the peddle drive system - you can raft up and still be moving.

Michaela wanted to try paddling for a while.

I don't think she actually propelled us anywhere, but we were having fun enjoying the scenery.

On the way back Michaela started to fall asleep across my legs. Again, this meant Craig did all the work because my legs weren't capable of peddling. But she did wake up after a little while and let me help Daddy out. Michaela's favorite part of the trip occurred when we got back into our neighborhood. We heard a splash and turned to see a huge alligator climbing into the water. He had to be at least 10 feet long. As he sank down into the water so we couldn't see where he was going Michaela asked "More alligator?" Craig and I just peddled faster, unsure of where he would pop up next. I have to admit, even I was a little nervous at that point. But all in all it was a very successful trip. I can't wait to set the sails up next!

Little doll

The day after Thanksgiving I had to work, so my mom was left picking out Michaela's outfit. The end result was too cute not to post.

I love how Michaela sits in her rocking chair for story time with Daddy.

Michaela had so much fun playing with her grandparents. What a smile!

They really do love eachother a lot!

I wasn't home, so I'm not sure what she was doing, but I do know that this picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2009 was a successful one. We hosted it at our house this year, which was so much fun. All of Michaela's grandparents came, but unfortunately her aunts and uncles couldn't make it. We were treated with a visit from her Great Nana, who got to see our new house for the first time. Michaela happily shared her playroom with Great Nana and even tried to sleep in there with her Wednesday night. We told her she couldn't, but she ran right up there Thanksgiving morning to play with her some more.

My parents brought Michaela this talking bear who moves and tells the story of the first Thanksgiving. Michaela was fascinated by it and sat to listen to the entire (and very long) story.
Michaela was so happy to dress up in her princess dress and go fishing on the porch. I have not figured out what fishing has to do with princess clothes, but it seems she's always wearing some when she goes fishing. Michaela is getting really good at reeling in the line, but hasn't quite figured out the casting part yet. She knows the motions and always yells "Hiyah!" as she casts, but she doesn't remember to press the button on the reel to release the line. It's really cute watching her with her pole, though.

Michaela and Nana colored for a while while we waited for everyone to arrive.

We had a great dinner with TONS of food! Look at this spread!

I love this picture of Bill and Claire. Aren't they a cheerful bunch?Can you tell we like eachother?

Michaela happily ate the fruit salad and sorbet appetizer, then disappeared while we started bringing out the dinner items. We found her passed out on the living room floor. So she ended up missing Thanksgiving dinner, but luckily had filled up on cheese and crackers and spinach dip beforehand.

After her nap Michaela helped me feed Jimmy Jake the bearded dragon. She's so good about washing her hands after touching him. I love how she decided to lay down on the counter to wash her hands. That was a first for her. Usually she sticks her feet in the sink so she can splash around in the water.

My mom snapped this picture of me and Michaela, which I absolutely love. I couldn't decide if I liked it better cropped or not, so I'm cheating and putting both versions on here. I'll let you be the judge.

Michaela had so much fun running around and entertaining all of us who were exhausted after a big meal. She loves playing with my camera. I wonder where she got that from.....

We somehow managed to get a 4 generations picture. It only took us 2 years to do that!

Michaela then had a blast playing ball with her Grandma.

What a beauty this girl is.

She loves playing catch with Pop.

Michaela also had fun dressing everyone up in stickers. Frank was a good sport and wore his stickers all night.

My father put one on Michaela's forehead. She then put a bunch on my forehead. She always makes me smile.

Next she put one on each foot. She had so much fun showing her foot stickers to her Nana.

Now you know Michaela and her princess shoes. She's obsessed with them. She also loves sharing them and made sure that everyone gets to wear them. She had lots of fun putting them on Nana's and Great Nana's feet.

After putting the purple pair on her own feet she grabbed the red shoes and ran straight for my dad. "Put them on, Bop" she said.

I'm pretty sure nobody but Michaela could convince my dad to wear sparkly red princess shoes. That's love!

I was trying to get Michaela ready for bed, but she thought dancing sounded like more fun. I love how she put her cute little hand in her pocket and danced around like that. I have the cutest child in the world.

Swimming in the tub

After months of fighting at bathtime, I've discovered the key to a fun bath. Michaela will gladly climb into the tub now when I tell her she can swim with her Dora float. She actually prefers to take bubble baths in our big garden tub in the master bathroom. All I can say is that we'll keep doing it as long as it works.

The princess goes to the zoo

For the past 3 days Michaela has insisted on wearing her tutu during every waking moment. From the second she wakes up to the second she goes to bed (however not while she's at school) she wears her pink tutu. I didn't even mean to match them, but her pajamas last night were the exact pink and green color on her tutu. She just looked so adorable while she was playing with her letters this morning.

I love how she even managed to match her pink and green bracelets. She's quite the fashionista.
I was checking something on the computer when I heard "Hi Mommy! I'm driving!" behind me. I turned around and found her driving her plasma car and wearing her cow mask. She was going in circles around the island in the kitchen.

I asked Michaela what she wanted to do today and of course she said "Go to zoo. Michaela ride okapi." She was annoyed at me when I tried to get her dressed because she thought I was going to take her tutu off. I told her she could wear her tutu to the zoo and she was much more cheerful. She then picked out her giraffe shirt and her pink princess shoes. I insisted on the leggings because it was a little chilly, but overall this outfit was all her doing.

When we got to the zoo she just kept repeating "Michaela ride okapi" and got mad if I tried to turn off the path to look at the animals. She had the merry-go-round on her mind! But the little plotter that she is had quite the plan. When we got to the carousel we were greeted by Gary, who now knows us by name, and hopped on. However Michaela refused to ride the okapi. She walked right by it and circled the ride twice before settling on the giraffe. Then she insisted on riding the dolphin, followed by the zebra. I'm pretty sure she was planning on riding every animal until only the okapi was left, but I foiled her plans. When we finally did get off after the 3rd ride she whimpered "Ride okapi" for about 5 minutes. Sometimes I think she's too smart for me to handle. I'm not sure how we're going to make it through the teenage years.

Anyway, Baby Shamu got to ride the carousel too, and Michaela made sure he was buckled up and holding on tight. She loves to manipulate his flippers these days into holding things. I caught her feeding herself goldfish the other day by placing them in Shamu's flipper then bringing it up to her mouth. And sometimes Shamu gets to color by holding onto markers. It's very cute.

I love how excited she gets every time she hears the bell ring signaling the ride is about to start.

Next we explored the Asian gardens. It was a cloudy day, but I love how the colors of the bridge and her outfit stand out in this picture.

Michaela spent a long time watching the koi. She really didn't want to leave the fish at all.

So cute!

At one point she ran away from me, across the bridge, and back to this one section by the pond. She loved the intricate designs set in stone on the walkway. I don't know why she's so fascinated by rocks, but she loves them!

It's been a long time since we've visited the Komodo dragons. Michaela still loves them as much as she always did.

This next picture is my favorite one of the day. It's definitely one to be framed.

So excited to see the dragons!

From there she wanted to go see the lorikeets. Last time she visited them they were very timid and had to be coaxed onto her lap. This time they all came flying at her at once, which kind of scared her. She didn't want to hold the nectar and was much happier watching them eat next to her on the bench. But when one jumped onto her lap she got a little scared and said "All done birds" and we made a quick exit. She didn't cry, but she was sure she didn't want to be attacked by 5 or 6 colorful birds at once.

When we were washing our hands after visiting the lori's she turned and asked "Pet goats?" so that's where we headed next. Michaela cracked me up when she went straight to the brush bucket and pulled out 2 pink brushes. She was really digging the pink today.

This picture just makes me smile. She's so funny sometimes.

Next we headed over to the jaguar pavilion to eat a snack. The baby jaguar (who's getting really big and is almost the size of his mother) was really active today and kept pouncing on his mom. They were running and wrestling right by the windows in the restaurant and Michaela could barely concentrate on eating. She was so excited when the jaguar walked right up to her, nose to nose. She tried to pet his back through the window and turned to me and said "I pet the baby jaguar, Mommy!"

It's hard to tell, but Michaela was eating a graham cracker in this picture and there were 2 fish who kept following her and going after the cracker. Michaela said "It's my cracker, fishies" and kept moving away but they kept following her.

She was looking for the baby jaguar in this next picture. I asked her if he was there and she said "Nope" before jumping down and moving to the next window.

By that point Michaela was pretty much done, but did ask to see the macaws before leaving. I was shocked when I asked her how many macaws there were and she thought about it before answering "two macaws" without counting. Usually she will point and count out loud, but not this time. She just knew the answer. Doesn't that seem like a more advanced concept for someone just barely over 2 years old? Anyway, we visited the aviaries on the way out and I got this great shot of this wood duck in full plumage. The colors of the feathers are so beautiful!