trip to the pumpkin patch

Today, we took Jessica to the pumpkin patch. She was so excited to go and see the ponies and goats. She spent a good portion of the morning riding the ponies.



And she also bounced in the bounce house on and off.



She kept going back and forth to feed the goats. She had to make sure to feed them every last bite/



She had fun spending time with her friend Isabella.



And even posed for a few pictures.

driving home from Monterey

The drive home from Monterey is a long trek -- especially when you don't leave until 8pm. We were surprised that Jessica stayed up the entire way. In fact, she was still running around when we got home completely wired. What probably helped was that she sang songs the whole way back. Here is just a sampling.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (aka Fwinkle Fwinkle according to Jessica)



ABC Song



It should be noted that she alternated between these two songs for over an hour. The song quality (if you can even call it that) seriously deteriorated over time and she began adding new lines each time. Nemo made his way into many renditions. I'm assuming because of the nemo like fish earlier in the days. Eventually, we switched over the baby songs (music from Jessica's music class) and Jessica had us all singing. "Mommy and Daddy sing!". she said. Even Jim, who really, really does not like the baby songs, but still knows all the words, was not going to argue with her that night.

a day trip to Monterey

Last weekend, we took a (long) day trip to Monterey. Our first stop was the aquarium. Jessica was really into it this time -- naming the fish and checking them out. She was very interested in the sharks and only wanted to see the sharks. I'm assuming this is because of the sharks in The Little Mermaid and Nemo.



She also finally decided that she would like to start posing for pictures. We get about 5 seconds before she runs towards the camera to see what is going on, but at least we have a chance to take a nice picture. This time, she wanted to pose in front of the fish sign.



She had some of the most fun playing with the fish costumes. The clown fish (don't say nemo according to Jim) was a big hit. She looked at it, checked it out in the mirror, and ran around saying she was Nemo.



We ended the day with some hiking at Point Lobos at sunset. Jessica was so excited to be at the beach (although she didn't actually step foot on the beach) and see the sea lions. Every time I tried to tell her the noise a sea lion made, she would say, "No Mommy. Lions go roar." She wasn't quite getting the point evidently.

last swim day at the park

This past weekend, we took Jessica to one of the last swim days at the park. It was a great day to go as the weather was quite warm. She really had a fun time splashing around and wanted to spend more time there. Next year.

a trip to Big Basin

A few weekends ago, we spent the day hiking around Big Basin. Jessica loved running around and playing in the hidey-holes in the trees.

jessica builds a house with her friends at school

Another fun week at school. Jessica had fun fishing in the water table and building houses and buses out of giant blocks in the courtyard.

a new nightly ritual -- the hot dog dance

Jessica loves the hot dog dance that accompanies every episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Ever since she heard it playing in Jim's office (he found it online), she wants to dance the hot dog dance. It has now become part of her bedtime ritual.

heels are fun

Jessica is into dress-up. Evidently dress-up heels make all the difference.

Another trip to the zoo

We did another trip to the zoo this past weekend. Despite all the animals, Jessica sees to have the most fun running through the tunnels near the giraffe exhibit.

fun with leilani over labor day weekend

This weekend, Jessica went with Leilani to the local amusement park. We found it was much easier to keep track of them if they held hands. Luckily, they didn't have any problems with this.



Jessica had fun riding her first "rollercoaster" with her daddy.



She also loved the waterfall that she could run under and get wet.



And Jim thought it would be a great idea to take a family photo under the water. Let's just say that it was a little wet.



The best part of the day had to be the pony rides. The girls got to dress up as cowgirls!

Jessica plays the harmonica

All of a sudden, Jessica has figured out to play the harmonica. She can even do it without any hands.

another fun week at school

Jessica had another fun week at school. She enjoyed reading books and playing with the parachute outside. And, of course, she generated loads of artwork doing painting and markers.

Jessica has fun at gym class

Jessica continues to have fun at gym. She loves to hang on the bars. Falling off might even be more fun.



She had fun trying vaulting and hand stands this week.



She practiced her balancing.



She jumped on the trampoline (as usual).



And, she even let us bury her in the ball pit.

Stamps, stamps, and more stamps

Jessica loves stamps. After gym, music, and swimming, she looks forward to getting them on her hands, her feet, and even her tummy. She then likes to show everyone what she got. Recently, we got Jessica some stamps (small animals and a few Disney characters), so that she could stamp on her own at home. It took a while to convince her that she should stamp the paper rather than her body. Now she is really into doing the stamping herself too.

a trip to the duck pond yields an airplane show and beautiful sunset

Earlier this week, we went to the local duck pond to see the ducks and watch the sunset. It was a gorgeous sunset.





Jessica, however, had the most fun watching the planes land and take off at the local airport. It seemed one was coming in or going out every few minutes.

Jessica loves swimming lessons

Jessica hammed it up for the camera last night as Jim came to one of her swimming lessons.

She danced and sang on the mat and took many extra jumps into the water.



She took big leaps during her mat walk.



She zoomed down the slide into the water.



And, she even did a little swimming.

Jessica goes to her first circus

This past weekend, Jessica went to the circus. When you ask her if she had a good time, the answer is yes and she goes on tell you that she saw elephants, giraffes, tigers, horses, and clowns. There weren't any giraffes at the circus, but the rest of her list is accurate. She really enjoyed the pre-show animal open house. She alternated running between the zebras and the elephants (with all of us hoping to keep an eye on her / catch up with her).



The biggest excitement for Jessica during the show was the elephants. She liked them the best (or so we think as she screamed elephants at the top of her lungs whenever they came out). They were pretty spectacular.




And, we were one of those parents that bought their child an astronomically priced light wand during intermission. How else are you supposed to keep them entertained? I'm happy to say that she still plays with it at least.

Jessica enjoys her new school

Jessica has really taken to her new school. She loves painting and comes home with lots of artwork each day. This week, she also had fun doing dress-up and playing ring around the rosie with her friends.

Jessica draws things

Ever since Jessica started her new school, she has started to draw "things" when she colors. I think that this is because the older kids say they are drawing things, so she has started copying them. Sometimes they are people, sometimes they are animals, etc. This was a drawing she did tonight. It was our first family drawing (mommy, daddy, and Jessica). I can definitely see the resemblance.

Jim perfects his homemade pizza

It is yummy too!