The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach

Yesterday Joe took the day off from work and we drove down to Long Beach to go to The Aquarium of the Pacific. We had a great time and we all loved looking at the fish, sharks, and other ocean swimmers that we came across. Joey was able to get out of his stroller and go directly up to the glass walls to look at the fish. At first, he tried to grab a few of the fish that were swimming close to the glass. He soon realized that he couldn't grab them because they were behind the glass. My favorite were the seals that swam up to the glass to see us. Unfortunately the sea otters were hiding. In their tank were a few plastic balls so we think that they are like CeCe, but in the water.

After the aquarium we ate lunch and then took a walk around the pier and the surrounding area. It was a nice day outside and after walking for awhile we were actually hot! Then it was time to drive home in the horrible LA traffic. A 2 hour drive turned into almost 4 hours. Joey did so great in the car sleeping, reading his books, and singing.

Here are some pictures from our day yesterday: Aquarium Pictures plus three that I took this month...I haven't been doing a good job of taking pictures recently. Hopefully soon I will get a video of Joey dancing. He has started dancing to all music, including whistling but as soon as I put the camera on he stops.

Computer Flip

This morning I went into the kitchen to get a drink and when I came back out into the livingroom, Joey had the laptop in his hands pounding away at the computer. Usually he does this when I leave the room, kinda like a "the parents are gone so let's party" kinda thing. Well, when I got to the computer, I looked at the screen and this is what it looked like:





He completely turned the screen 180 degrees a.k.a. upside down. This takes some practice. The last time that he did it, he only made it 90 degrees, so he is improving. You have no idea how hard it is to maneuver the mouse when the computer is not the way that it should be. Your brain is telling you one thing and your hand wants to do the opposite. VERY FRUSTRATING!

Joey the Copycat

Joey has started copying things that Joe and I do. This video is an example of his newest copycatting--if that is a word. A little background...CeCe has been really annoying lately. She wants to play catch with the ball constantly and I don't want to go outside to play because it is really windy here. So, she bothers me with the ball and apparently I yell at her with my finger pointing, kinda like what Joey is doing in this video...

I know, it's kinda weird that we taped him while he was in the bathtub, but that is when CeCe bothers us and apparently when I yell at her with my finger. Tonight, we were laughing and had to video it!

R.I.P. Boots

I woke up this morning and saw a text message on my phone from my mom telling me that my cat, Boots, died last night. Not really the way that I wanted to hear about it since I usually talk to my mom atleast once a day, but I made her promise that she wouldn't someday text me to tell me that my dad died. I mean, a cat, ok, but a human...no.
Anyways, my brother bought Boots for me during the summer between 8th and 9th grade. I was starting at a new school so he thought that I could use a friend. Boots was an annoying little bugger but we still loved her. She loved going outside into the woods and bringing little animals home. I can't tell you how many times we saw her outside jumping, darting, and pawing poor little chipmunks, bunnies, and birds. I think that my fondest memory of Boots was the time that she puked up a bird head in my parents entryway. My brother and I screamed so loud that my mom woke up and came downstairs to find out what was going on. Ahhh....Boots, we are going to miss you. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of her on my computer. She was a cute little thing, down to less than 5lbs at her last vet appointment last week.
R.I.P. Boots the Cat. You will be missed.
Meow.

How Odd...

I saw the oddest thing while driving on the highway the other day. I guess it isn't odd to most of you, my friends and family that live in colder climates. But to me, currently (and unhappily) living in southern California, it was odd. What I saw was something that I saw almost daily from October to April while living in North Dakota. Maybe weekly while living in Pittsburgh in those months. You all probably see this a lot and don't even think twice about it, but when I saw this, I took a double take. I mean, why was there a SNOW PLOW driving down a desert road when it was in the 60's and people were wearing flip flops and short sleeves? So odd...

Joey in February

I can't even believe that Joey isn't a baby anymore. Look at that picture. Does he look like a baby to you? I told him to smile and instead, he made this face. Apparently he didn't want his picture taken. Everyday he does something and I think to myself "Where did my little baby go?" He has started running instead of walking which has me moving a lot more! He goes over to his little cars and just sits with them and drives them around all by himself. Who taught him this? He likes to line them up and put them on top of eachother. He is more and more fun everyday and he makes me laugh all of the time.
I haven't been doing that great of a job of taking pictures of him and I am trying really hard to fix that. Hopefully in March there will be lots more. Here is what we have from February: Joey February.

Happy Birthday Joe!

Today is Joe's 31st birthday! We realized today that we are getting old. Joe picked what he wanted to do for his birthday and he decided that he wanted to go to Rancho Cucomonga. He wanted to go to REI and World Market to look for a new pair of running shoes and a new kitchen table. We had a good day and it was even better when we ate cake and ice cream for dessert:)
Happy birthday to my husband! He even did the dinner dishes on his birthday...isn't he great?!?!

1 Year Old Pictures(a few weeks late)

Today we had Joey's 1 year old pictures taken. It was a last minute thing. I called yesterday and they had an opening for today. Here are a few of the better pictures that were taken.

There is a carousel across from the place that we got Joey's pictures taken. The whole time that he was getting his pictures taken, he was looking and pointing at the carousel. So when we were done with the pictures, we took him on the carousel...like we though he wanted. Well, no, he didn't want to ride on the carousel. Infact, he was petrified. He didn't want to sit on the horses or ride around in a circle. And I forgot how sick I get when spinning in a circle...it was not a memorable first carousel ride.

Joe's Home! And Happy Valentine's Day!

Joe was gone for the past two weeks and believe me, it was a LONG two weeks. Joey and I don't really have a lot to do during the day and always look forward to the evening when Joe gets home from work, so...our days were long. During the two weeks, we made a few trips to Target, the mall, Target, Toys R Us, and did I mention Target? I know we live in California, but we really don't have that great of stores at our mall. I mean, Rave is fun and all if you are 15, but it really isn't my style anymore. Anyways, when Joe left, Joey was walking but not steadily and not all the time. In the past two weeks, he has gotten stronger and pretty much walks everywhere(other things changed in the past week, too, including a new bathroom curtain, new living room curtains, and a few new wall decorations...a little retail therapy helps!) .



Anyways, we were all excited to see Joe. The "we" includes me, Joey and Cece, who won't leave him alone and left me alone last night while we were sleeping and slept with Joe instead!
For Valentine's day, Joe got me exactly what I told him to get me...a box of chocolates. If you know me, you know that I love food, chocolate included. So, it was the perfect gift.

Joey's New Set of Wheels

For Joey's 1st birthday, we bought him a car to ride in. It is a cute little thing with a long handle for me to push him. We took it outside yesterday for a spin around the neighborhood. He loved it. He holds the steering wheel like he is really driving the car. It is kinda loud, though, so you can hear us coming a mile away!



When it was time to go inside, I took him out of the car and he pointed at it wanted to go back in! Luckily the weather here is so nice that we can go back outside again today to play!