18-Month Pictures

Pictures. If we didn’t enjoy the results so much, I doubt Julie or I would go through the stress. Before now, taking pictures of Katie was stressful only when getting dressed and driving to the mall. We were extra sensitive about her clothes, hair, what she ate once dressed, how she was placed in her car seat, etc. Once at studio though, she was very good about laying, sitting, or standing while the photographer did their thing.

That all changed this time when Katie took the photo studio by storm. They never saw this little tornado coming. Ever try to get pictures of a spunky 18-month old who never wants to hold still? Ever try to get one of those little monsters to stand in one place, even for a second, when the studio a whole room of adventure waiting to be explored? If you have, you have my sympathy. If you haven’t, you’re not missing anything. Katie, in all of her wonderful, life-exploring glory, made this session one to remember. Major kudos to the photographer who showed an amazing amount of patience and skill to make these pictures possible.

18-Months and a Drive-Thru Snack

We keep plugging along at this parenting thing.  Katie turned 18 months old this week.  Sometimes we can hardly believe it.  Other times, we can’t believe it’s only been 18 months.  Lately, we’ve felt more of the latter, I think.  She’s gone flying into the terrible twos – and there’s no stopping her.  Our quiet little one is now screaming, whining, confused about what she wants, and can never hold still for more than a second at a time. 

However, not all is challenging.  Our little life has found this concept called vocabulary.  Almost daily she says a new word.  It’s hard to get her to say anything on cue, but she’ll say all sorts of things at her own time.  “Mama” and “Dada” are common, as are “no”, “down”, “all done”, “uh-oh”, “all gone”, “bye bye”, “hi” and “thank you”.  Other words she says here and there.  We believe she has a vocabulary of about 50 words.

All in all, we take comfort in knowing that Katie is “normal”, whatever “normal” means anymore.  She’s happy, healthy and secure. For all of that,  we are thankful.  Below is a picture of her from today.  You could say it is her first drive-thru meal in her own car.

Labor Day at Santa Monica Pier

Julie suggested we take a trip to Santa Monica Pier on Labor Day. Neither of us had been there in years. We had a great time. What a good idea!

The trip down was great. Most surprising was the traffic, or lack thereof. The freeway flew both there and back.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and blue, and we didn’t see a hint of smoke from the fires.

What sets the pier apart from others in California is Pacific Park. Admission is free, but each ride costs a few bucks.

I passed on the coaster, surprisingly enough. We got there before it opened, and by the time I could have ridden, we were on to other things.

Katie dug the pier once she got used to rolling over the bumpy wood planks.

Tourist stuff. Lots of tourists were there finishing out the season.

This original site of “muscle beach” had many “strength” activities, such as rope climbing and ring swings.

This was Katie’s first experience with sand. “Hmm…what’s that, guys?”

The obligatory roller coaster picture. Katie is 17 months old now and seems to be racing to the terrible two’s (and trying our patience). She either wants nothing to do with us, or screams to be picked up. At this moment, she wanted nothing to do with me. We got lucky that for a moment, she was in a good mood.

Off to the Third Street Promenade. I was here years ago when Joe came to town. I barely remembered it, so it was fun to be back.

Palm trees, old buildings, and lots of shopping.

“Please let there be somewhere to eat that’s toddler friendly.” We found a Johnny Rockets, whose fries Katie really enjoyed.

“Grrr…me eat balloon! Me have no idea what I would do if this thing popped right now!”

We enjoyed playing Tourist, if only for a few hours.

To get back to the car, we had to go down quite a number of stairs that were dug into the side of the hill, to get to this bridge with many more stairs on the other side. We’re very glad Katie just had a lot of practice with the stairs at great-grandma’s house.

Nice view. Nice apartments. Too bad they’re surrounded by the rest of L.A.

An even better view! :)

An afternoon with Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa, and Grandpa

Time spent with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa is always nice. They, along with Grandpa Steve, provided Katie with a very nice change of atmosphere. We enjoyed food and fellowship on their back patio, which was refreshingly cool considering the heat that has baked southern California lately.

Katie was a little nervous at first, but she loosened up quickly and had all sorts of fun.

Putting on our shoes.

Katie’s first hot dog. Yum! The most fun of the evening however, was climbing up and down the stairs. Katie almost got the hang of it, and she couldn’t get enough.

The big surprise of the evening was a family of peacocks who strolled down the street; a mother and three babies. I haven’t seen an adult peacock in years, and I don’t remember ever seeing babies, so this was a real treat!

Looking out over the ocean at sunset.