Chocolate is good

Today, Jessica and I were feeling under the weather, so we didn't do much of anything. About mid-day, the whole family (dogs included) was getting cabin fever so we walked down to the ice cream store. Jessica enjoyed a good trike ride in the process and the boys got a bit of outdoor time. We learned a couple of lessons from this experience...

#1 Jessica really likes chocolate ice cream (evidence is the chocolate ring around her mouth even after Pebbles, the neighbor's dog, got a good lick of her face)

#2 Walking home from the ice cream store presents problems. Jessica goes "more" or "ah" about every 5 seconds (indicating that she wants more ice cream) and the walk home takes forever.

Jessica is obsessed with Elmo

Jessica is currently obsessed with Elmo. He is by far her most favorite stuffed animal. She goes to bed with him and he is normally the first thing she asks for in the morning. She also prefers her Elmo books now. She has quite a collection and will camp out on the couch reading only Elmo books. And, anytime you get near the TV, she goes "Elmo" in hopes that an Elmo DVD will appear.

Jessica enjoys the warm winter weather

This weekend, Jessica enjoyed the warm winter weather. All she wanted to do was go outside. She had fun playing in her house, on the slide, in the swing, and in her sand box.

Jessica goes to Roaring Camp Railroad

Today, Jessica and her friend Isabella went on a steam train ride near Santa Cruz. Both girls seemed to enjoy the train and the ability to run about in the fields. It didn't hurt that it was near 70 degrees either. Here are some pictures that we took.

Jessica's new nightly ritual

Jessica has a new ritual that involves putting her dolls to night night. Check out this video.

some pictures from our family photos

At the end of December, we took some family photos. This is a small collection of them.

Jessica visits Muir Woods

When Jim's parents were out visiting, we went to Muir Woods for the day. This was Jessica's first hike and she actually walked quite a bit (about 3/4 of a mile before getting fussy). At first, she didn't notice how tall the trees were. She was really just interested in the water running through the base. But, then, she looked up and you could see how amazed she was. Anyways, she had a ton of fun running around and exploring the woods that day.

Jessica has fun at the zoo

Jessica went to the zoo with her dad and grandparents a few weeks ago. She loved looking at the animals and riding the train and carousel. Here are some pics from their fun day out.

Jessica is ready for valentine's day

Jessica plays mommy

Jessica likes to play mommy to her dolls now. She feeds them, doctors them, pushes them in their stroller, and even puts them to bed.

you can never have enough purses

Jessica is like me. She seems to think that one can never have enough purses. At this point, she probably has over 10 purses. Obviously, she needs ones for different outfits and occasions. Although, right now, she's a fan of carrying as many purses as possible. For her, that is usually at least 4-6 at a time.

Jessica loves sunglasses now

Jessica finally will wear sunglasses (sort of). She really enjoys taking them off and putting them back on, so they're on about half the time.

Jessica cuddles with Mousse

Mousse always seems to let Jessica cuddle with him. I think he lets her since she feeds him her snacks (willingly or unwillingly depending on the situation). Here he's nosing in on some crackers and strawberries. He's not picky at all.

more cooking in the kitchen

Jessica still loves cooking in the kitchen. Now she has an apron that she insists on wearing.

the joy of spinning in circles

Jessica has discovered how fun it can be to make herself dizzy. Check out this video.

Jessica loves her musical snoopy

When we got back from vacation, Jessica had received another musical Christmas decoration. This one is Snoopy and she absolutely loves him.

the view from our villa in San Diego at Sunset

Needless to say that we are really missing it.

inside the children's zoo

Jessica had no problems hanging out with the goats at the children's zoo. They're so much smaller than her dogs. She was the only child to venture inside the play cube with the goat and had a lot of fun petting them to.

Fun with a bag at the zoo

Never mind all the animals, Jessica's favorite thing at the San Diego zoo seemed to be a bag that she found at one of the stores and practically stole.

Jessica loves pasta

Jessica showed her Italian side while out to dinner in San Diego.

Jessica's trip to Sea World

Jessica went to Sea World and sat front and center at the Shamu show. She seemed quite captivated by all of the action. And, she enjoyed spending time at all the aquariums.

Fun at Legoland

On the 27th, we took Jessica and Jack to Legoland. They both seemed to have fun. Jessica couldn't go on too many rides, so we spent a lot of time at the little kids park and aquarium. Jack did get to be orange spiderman and go on a few rides with Jim and I. Here are some photos from the trip.

Smores on the beach

Jessica and Jack went and had smores on the beach one of the first nights in San Diego. It was very cold, so we had to bundle them up. Jessica didn't get to roast hers (Jim got the honor), but she seemed to like standing by the fire. After tasting her first smore and not really deciding what to make of it, she walked back up to the boardwalk on her own. She was ready to go back to the room evidently.

Jessica goes to the Wild Animal Park

The day after Christmas, Jim and I took Jessica to the Wild Animal Park. She loved riding the carousel and walking around and seeing all the animals. Here are some photos that we took.