Kite Day (from April)

We're a bit late in posting, but back at the end of April, one of the nearby cities had a local kite day where kids got to fly kites. Jessica tried it out with her Daddy. Here she is trying to throw her kite in the air.



Then, she helped her Daddy fly the kite and even flew it for a bit herself.




Overall, she wasn't that into kite flying this year. Maybe next year.

our latest zoo trip

A few weekends ago we went back to the zoo. We always start off by going to the giraffe and zebra exhibit. This morning the baby giraffe was being especially frisky as it jumped and ran around.



Despite all the action, Jessica still likes the little metal giraffe donation box better. In fact, she demanded we take her picture with it.



Jessica's attention span was definitely short that day. She had gotten a map at the park entrance and wanted to follow Map around the zoo (like Dora in her adventures). Here she is skipping along with her map to the next exhibit.



And, back to frisky animals, it seemed like everyone wanted in on it-- even the lions and grizzly bears.

a weekend jail break

Last weekend, both Jessica and I needed to get out of the house. We had both spent too much time at home as Jessica was sick with some stomach bug that lasted about 7 days. Once the weekend rolled around, we decided to take her to a Happy Hollow to enjoy the warm weather and run around a bit.

We put Jessica on the Frog Hopper by herself this time. That may not have been such a good idea.



She was very excited when the ride was over and did not want to do it again.

There was a specific request for the fire engine car so she could ding the bell. We were lucky that worked out for us.



The tree swing is still one of her favorites.



As well as the ladybug ride.



There was also no escaping the carousel this time around.



Jessica had a great time on all the rides. She now thinks that there are rides at every park however.

obsessed with the princess game

All of a sudden, Jessica is into board games. Candy Land is her favorite as it has a princess in it. She wants to play first thing when she wakes up, any waking moment that she is at home, and right before bed (at least 2 times). She knows the object of the game is to get to Candy Land, but she prefers to collect all of the special cards even if it means going backwards.

Our Disneyland trip

A few weekends ago, we took Jessica to Disneyland. She had a great time on the rides and enjoyed seeing all her favorite characters.

She got to say hi to Mickey Mouse.



And to Minnie Mouse.



And to most of the princesses (many times over).





She had lots of fun on the rides. We spent most of our time in Fantasyland and if Jessica had her way, she would have ridden the Monorail all day long. Here she is having fun on the teacups.



She even got to pose with Mimi and her favorite character.



All in all, it was an exhausting trip.

Easter sunday

Yesterday, we had friends and family over for an Easter egg hunt and brunch.

Jessica was goofing around before everyone got there.



She had fun running through the yard and looking for the eggs her daddy had hidden.



She sure collected a lot of eggs.



And, it took her quite some time to open all of her eggs.

whatcha got for me?

On Easter morning, Jessica got an Easter basket from the Easter bunny. When we brought it into her room, the first thing she said was "Whatcha got for me?". Hmm.

Anyways, here she is with her Easter basket.



She wore her bunny ears (for about 2 seconds).



And here she is collecting all her stuff.

making Easter eggs

This year, Jessica helped with the Easter eggs.

She colored them with her Daddy.




And then added stickers.




And finally put them out in a bowl.

easter celebration and Benjamin's first birthday at the park

On Saturday, we went to a local park for the annual Easter celebration and Benjamin's first birthday party.

The Easter bunny visited the park. He came on an old firetruck.



Jessica had an opportunity to meet him.




A little later in the morning, Jessica got to do an Easter egg hunt. She was very much into getting eggs.



Later we met up with friends for Benjamin's first birthday party. Here Jessica and Isabella (Benjamin's sister) pose in their party hats.



They had fun bouncing in the bounce house that was part of the Easter celebration.



As usual, Jessica seemed to enjoy the cupcakes the best. She's just like mommy in that she has to eat the frosting first. Once she got to the cake, she ate it all in one bite.



And here she is practicing her big spins.

a trip to monterey

Last weekend, we took a day trip down to Monterey to see the aquarium. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant overlooking the water. Jessica got a toy ring from the hostess and had fun looking at it in the mirror.



She even gave a nice smile to her daddy while we were waiting for lunch.



Once at the museum, we checked out the new flamingo/turtle/penguin exhibit. She liked the animals and liked this big penguin even better.



And, in the kid's play section, she pretended to be a whale as she used the toy flippers.

a trip to happy hollow

Last weekend, we visited Happy Hollow, which has just recently reopened. Jessica had a really fun time on the rides.

She liked riding the cars.



She had even more fun on the ladybug ride. She got to ride backwards.



She went with her daddy on the frog hopper ride. He went because we weren't sure how she would like this free fall / drop ride. She was a bit unsure at first, but seemed to like it.




And, at the end of the day, she rode the the tree swing ride, which she loved.

a birthday party at the park

Last weekend, Jessica went to a birthday party at the park for her friend Zoe who had just turned 3. The weather was gorgeous and she had lots of fun playing with her friends.

I wonder what they were talking about? It looks kind of serious.



Jessica had lots of fun on the swings. She wanted her daddy to push her higher and higher.



She also loved playing on the slide.



She even took time to pose for pictures.



There was a bit of excitement when the pinata came out (think mad rush).



And Jessica was quite excited with the toys she picked up.