Nicholas and Ella Come to Visit

After the dance party this morning, I had only an hour before Nicholas and Ella came to visit. I was playing in my kitchen. Since the water doesn't flow, I figured the sink was a better spot for me.
I took my baby for a stroll....

and we relaxed on the couch....

And, then Nicholas and Ella were here. We went to the duck park in our Radio Flyer wagon. I have never had a second passenger in my wagon.

We rode along the canals to get there...

And, then we played and did a lot of sliding...

Nicholas hit the swing for the first time (at 7 months)

And, on the way back home, Daddy got ahead of us and I went running to him...

And, finally back at home for some Girl Scout cookies for dessert....

So much fun visiting with Nicholas and Ella. It has been almost 6 months, far too long.

Girls Day Out

Today, we went to a dance party at a "night" club turned day club for people like me. At first, I wasn't interested in dancing and spent some time eating lunch and watching the video with animals...

But, then when my friends Zoe and Mazzy arrived, I got my groove on.

We also rested some...

And toward the end of the party, we sat up at the bar and had a snack and some juice.

"I Don't Want To"

This morning as Mommy was getting ready for work, Nanny G asked if I wanted to put my jacket on so that we could go to the Farmer's Market with Zoe. I wanted to go to the Farmer's Market, but really didn't want to put on my jacket. Two times, Mommy and Nanny G heard me say "I don't want to"....Mommy thinks I have heard Zoe say this several times as it sounded like the same way Zoe responds sometimes.

Who knows? I may actually be talking in paragraphs soon.

What a Wonderful Birthday....and my new kitchen!

Daddy's birthday started out with a little bit of singing in bed....."Happy Birthday to Daddy....Happy Birthday". You will hear me sing a bit in the video below. We read some books and then, we got a surprise visit (well, not completely a surprise) from Julie and Steven. They stopped in with some delicious ginger scones (homemade!). Yum Yum! They also brought Mommy and Daddy a refrigerator for upstairs (I think they really brought it for me because I will have as much milk as I want at my fingertips). Thanks, Julie and Steven!

(Sorry, no pictures of the earlier part of the day....long story short, Mommy left her purse in the carriage at the vegetable store yesterday....Daddy thinks the camera was in Mommy's purse....the purse was still there with credit cards, but no camera and no cash....we needed to buy a new one anyway because the old better camera was dropped in the ocean BY MOMMY and ruined about 5 months ago....maybe we just shouldn't let Mommy near the camera?)

For lunch, we headed to Pizzeria Mozza, as requested by Daddy. Pizzeria Mozza is Mario Batali's pizzeria at Melrose and Highland. I had been there before when I was about 2 months old, but obviously, didn't have the pizza since I was on milk only at the time. It was going to just be Mommy, Daddy and me, but Peri was a last minute fun addition to our celebration. When we arrived, I was sleeping and continued to sleep for quite awhile in Mommy's lap at the bar....I missed the first course (not pictured here) of fried squash blossoms.....and I woke up in the middle of the salad course (arugula, mushroom and some yummy cheese).

Then, came the amazing pizza. Mushroom pizza, my favorite! But, I really only had a little crust. Not really that interested in eating. Maybe it was because I had a half an avocado for breakfast and topped it off with Julie's delicious scone?

So, while Mommy, Daddy and Peri had pizza (they also had a gorgonzola and fingerling potato and one other -- of course, there were leftovers), I was busy sitting on the bar footrest reading some books...


Then, came dessert. We really weren't going to order any, but then we saw someone next to us eating what looked like the description of what we ordered....but it was actually something else. What we ordered was amazing.....no need to describe....here it is:

And, since Daddy went to Elmo's birthday party a few weeks ago, we decided to invite him along, too.

After lunch, we wandered up and down La Brea.....went into a few furniture stores and a lighting store.

And, after so much food and walking, I went running up to Daddy

and rested on his shoulder

Then, we came home....and remember how I told you Daddy is the best Daddy in the whole world? Well, he spent the next hour or so putting my new kitchen together (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) while Mommy and I went to the beach with our neighbors. I helped out a little before we went to the beach.

At first, I was a little mad that the sink didn't actually work and kept saying "Help, Help" to Mommy and Daddy. But, then I got over it and happily played.

Daddy, I love you. I hope you had a great birthday. I had so much fun and thank you for putting together my kitchen!

More Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Here we are on your last birthday. I have gotten so much bigger, but you look the same!

I love my Daddy. He really is the best Daddy in the whole world. For those of you who don't know him as well as me, well, let me tell you about him.

He is a snuggly guy....really warm and cuddly...

He likes to share his newspaper with me...

He makes for a very comfortable ride...whether on his shoulders

or in my bike buggy along the ocean on the bike path...

He always makes sure that I visit my friends and neighbors on a regular basis...

And, when it came to making important decisions for our remodel, he always turned to my opinion first....

And sometimes even asked me to help out when our contractor started lagging behind. Most people would see it as work, but I actually love climbing ladders.

Daddy loves sharing with me his love for food....whether in a restaurant while celebrating my 6 month birthday...

or at home.....here he introduced me to steak...

and a caterpillar omelette...

and smoked fish salad!

Daddy also makes sure that I get to see the world. Here we are in New York...

and Boston...

Even though I am not a Pisces, Daddy has shared his love of water with me. I have gone sailing, in the ocean, swimming in the bathtub and I like playing with Mystic's and Camille's water bowls!

Daddy makes sure I get to see the world from all angles, not just the world everyone else sees.

And, when I haven't been able to get to sleep, he walks me around the neighborhood until I finally conk out.

I get to borrow Daddy's i-Phone whenever I need to make an important call, or more importantly, when I desperately need a dose of Elmo.

I can always count on Daddy to put together my toys...

And, he always shares his champagne.

Daddy has taught me so many things....I am very close on being able to make him his morning capuccino. Now, if I can only get up on the counter by myself.

I think it is pretty obvious what makes my Daddy so special. He loves me so much and it shows, doesn't it? The good news is that I love him just as much!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!