The Beach and Boardwalk

It has been a couple of weeks since I visited this fantasy land in Santa Cruz, but I still dream of the Big Macks. No, we're not talking meat here folks, but pint sized rigs that kids like me can drive around, and for only 75 cents!! The deal of a lifetime is what I call it.

There is some really great people watching around these parts. While walking down the main street of Santa Cruz, I have seen more piercings and tattoos that I have in my whole life. Don't believe it when they say that NYC has the most interesting people, because I live there and in my two weeks in this place I have seen more whack jobs that in my 2 years in New York. In NYC I have never seen anyone standing stalk still in the middle of the sidewalk, midsummer, wearing a pair of ski goggles looking like they are tuning in alien signals from another planet.

Just Call Me Ariel

Since my last swimming update, I have become the quintessential mermaid. Whenever someone is in the pool, then so am I. I can swim for hours on end, and it just isn't enough for me. I like to jump off the wall and kick my feet and splash; being in a pool is great fun. Too bad I didn't have a water birth- I think that I would have preferred it to the hospital birth. I think that I am a wonderful addition to any pool, so feel free to invite me to yours anytime (if you have one of course).

Drawing in Capitola

Whenever I go to a restaurant, I am handed crayons and told to draw while everyone else talks to each other and eats lots of food. I am given food, but if I make a peep, I am often shushed. If I want to run around it is even worse, because then I actually get strapped into my seat. But when I am really fed up and want to leave, all I have to do is scream and make a racket and I am immediately whisked out of the restaurant and on to other more important things in life. The picture above is the first time where I have cooperated and colored all by myself. Watch out Met, here I come.

My Boo Chair

For those of you who don't know, I really enjoy pint sized chairs. This picture features the newest addition to my life- a boo beach chair and I can't pull my butt up from the thing. We took it to the beach in Santa Cruz (where I will be relaxing with my boo chair for a couple of weeks) and I sat in it for about two hours straight as I played with my bucket and shovel. I refused to go into the water, much preferring the safety of my chair. It is so great because I can move it around and sit in it and fold it up, all these really great things that I can't do with an adult sized chair. My mom loves it because I actually stay in one place for a couple of hours, which hasn't happened since before I became mobile.

A New Fish in the Pool

This week I had swimming lessons every day. I'll give you a brief synopsis.
Monday- Not excited to be in the pool at all. Cried the first five minutes and clung to my mommy and said "No mow" the next 25 minutes. Really enjoyed the duckie pool ring and wouldn't do anything without holding on to it. Learned how to blow bubbles and kick.
Tuesday- Didn't cry, but was still wary of the pool. My mom tricked me into going under the water- not happy about that AT ALL. Really wanted to end the lesson there and then. Kicked some more and learned how to push off from the wall and pull myself up out of the pool. Was still very attached to my duckie pool ring. Also learned the prone position. Not really into that, but did a little kicking on my back to appease my mom.
Wednesday- Climbed into the pool rather quickly. Learned how to jump off the side of the wall with mom's help of course. Did all that other stuff- some happily and some not so happily. Did a lot of kicking and learned big arms. Also learned about the kick board. I'm a smart girl though, because even though one hand was on the kick board, my other hand was always attached to mom.
Thursday (Final Lesson)- Sang "Swimming in the wawa" all morning until my lesson. As soon as I was at the swim club, ran all the way to the pool. Jumped right in. Jumped off the side of the wall many times. Shook with happiness and clapped for myself every time I blew bubbles or went under the water which I did a lot without crying.
Just call me aquawoman.

My First Cone

Today a delightful thing happened- I had my first ice cream cone, a chocolate/vanilla swirl to be exact. It was so yummy that I stuck my whole face into it. I think that this is now my favorite food group, besides edaname that is.

Boating on the Bay

I arrived in California to visit Mimi and Pops and the next thing I know I was whisked away on my first boating excursion! I was a tad scared climbing up the steep stairs to the top deck, but other than that I loved it. Check out my trendy life jacket from one of my favorite stores- Target. (I love the large expanses of running space, aisles I think is the proper term for them. Oh yeah, and there are all the wonderful racks of clothes to play hide and seek in.) Besides the fabulous new jacket, I loved the way the wind blew threw my baby locks and how the salt air smelled in my nostrils. What a word! And what fun we had on the boat.

Hula With Holly

I was in Central Park the other day meeting up with Amy, Henry, and Holly when I learned about the fascinating sport of hula hooping. At first I thought it was strange to see large plastic toys strewn about on the ground, but I was hooked after I saw what could be done with these things. Holly tried to help me do it myself, but the rings were just to big for me and I couldn't swing my hips fast enough. Holly on the other hand is a hula pro. Look at her swinging that hoop around her waist. Another successful learning excursion to Central Park. (We also had a celebrity sighting- Larry David, who looks like my Pops by the way, was filming an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm) Only in New York.

Biking With My Dad

Dad and I went biking through Central Park today and boy did we have a blast. Dad is so great at riding bikes, he doesn't even need training wheels. We biked around the big loop, but I only wore my helmet until Columbus Circle. After that I refused, because I wasn't able to see the beautiful views with a large helmet hanging over my eyes. Dad completely understood and didn't make me wear my helmet anymore. Don't tell the kiddie police, because I don't want them to take me away for bad parenting.

Rhymes with Grammy

Grammy and I love to read nursery rhymes together. Old King Cole is one of my favorites, but I really just like to read the whole book if I have enough time. Grammy is so funny because she makes a lot of silly faces and voices when she reads the rhymes. I think it is so entertaining that I now read the rhymes in the same way! I think I'm becoming my grammy- especially because I like shopping and counting to ten.