San Diego Zoo

A couple of weeks ago we went to the San Diego Zoo with our seminary friends Matthew, Naomi, and Noah! The Zoo is different than the Wild Animal Park that I usually show you pictures from (though they are related -- the Wild Animal Park is larger and is focused on breeding the animals, so there's always lots of babies running around there). This is an overview of part of the park. You'll probably be able to see it better if you click on the picture to enlarge it...

We took December and Noah into the petting zoo. Unlike the Wild Animal park, where you pet adult and baby deer, antelope, and gazelles, at the San Diego Zoo they have all farm animals...mostly goats. December really liked it! She enjoys feeding the animals by hand.

I think this picture's pretty cute -- Noah was a little frightened of the goats, so he's flattening himself against the wall as much as possible! :o)

The Zoo has a sky train (it's like a gondola) that lifts you up and takes you across the length of the zoo. You can see some of the San Diego skyline as you fly across the park!

December and Noah waiting for snacks.

Here's December trying to crawl in to play with the animals...you can see which animal she was trying to play with in the next picture

Aren't they lovely?? I'm sure they would have thoroughly enjoyed having December as a playmate (or to eat for lunch). These are some type of tapir (I think they actually only eat leaves and green things)

One thing I like about living in California is seeing all the unique plants. I don't know what this is, but it's pretty neato

I like this picture alot. It looks like we're all looking at some fascinating wild animal, but there's absolutely nothing there. There's nothing there beyond what you can see for yourself -- dirt and some pokey plants.

A chimpanzee smiling for the cameras

More chimpanzees

We went to a show while we were there, and one of the animals was this arctic wolf. What an awsome creature! His handler made us howl at him, to try to get him to howl back, and he did! It was fun to hear a live wolf howl right in front of us!

They also brought out a cheetah, another beatiful animal!

I'm not sure what this animal's name is...

Kangaroo

Happy Birthday, December!

We decorated for December's party with LOTS of pink and purple balloons, both inside the apartment and outside it. This is how we decorated December's chair.

Here's the birthday girl herself!

Here's December sitting at the table that is half set up for food and the other half set up for hungry toddlers. For dinner, we had hamburgers on the grill, fries, cantalope, watermelon, bananas, and oranges (it was funny to me to have summer fruit -- cantalopes and watermelon -- for a February birthday! I'm realizing what crazy things you can do when you live in a warm place!!)

Here is December watching everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her. I am very proud to say that December blew out her own two candles! I wasn't expecting her to be able to, but she was trying to blow them out before we even told her that was what she was supposed to do!

Here is what December was looking at: everyone while they sang (and Brad catching everything on film).

Eating her kitty cake -- well, actually, more like trying to save her kitty cake. She didn't really want to ruin the kitten. When Brad pulled out one of its blue M&M eyes to show her how tasty and edible the cat was, she grabbed the candy and tried to put it back into the kitten's eye. She did eat a little bit of it, though.

Here is the kitten after December was finished with it. Not as nice-looking, but still mostly in tact.

One of December's gifts was an Elmo Potty-Time dvd. Woohoo! (I've had my eye on this dvd for a while now.) As soon as I put it in the dvd player, Samuel, Noah, and December were drawn to the movie like bugs to a lantern.

You just can't beat Elmo teaching the potty! (and, in case you may wonder, the movie IS as strange as it sounds. It's weird. Really weird. BUT I'm still hoping it will work!)

Then Christopher (Samuel's dad) took out Brad's guitar and started playing some fun tunes, so the kids were dancing and have a great time. Here Samuel and December have jumped up on the couch next to Christopher.

They were trying to play the spoons, because they saw Della (Samuel's mom) playing them in beat to the music. I've never known anyone who can actually play the spoons, but it's pretty neat! I'm hoping I can learn, too :o)

The party was really quite fun. Everyone came around 5:30pm, and we had dinner right away. There ended up being twelve adults and seven children, all of December's California friends! It was nice for us to all hang out together, too. We've been very blessed to meet such great people here. Our new two-year-old girl was pretty tuckered out after it was all done, but she did great and was in good spirits the entire time (except for when her friends wanted her to share her new birthday toys). We are so thankful that God has given us such a gift, a wonderful, sweet, happy-hearted, fun daughter, for two whole years! She brings such joy into Brad and I's life, and we pray that we will celebrate many, many more birthdays with her. We love December!

Let them eat cake!

December's 2nd birthday is here, and even as I type, Kristin is working away getting ready for her party. I took some pictures yesterday and today to show Kristin's amazing work on December's birthday cake...I could try to describe it, but i think you need to see it to believe it:

The creation process:




Kristin's hard work =





Here are some close ups:




Finally, the kitties are wrapped up to keep them safe for the big day:


I am sure Kristin will tell you how the party went. Just thought everyone should see these cakes. I have never seen anything like it! December loves kitties and loves cake, it should be fun.

Brad

Going Swimming!

It has been absolutely beautiful here lately! For the past four days, it has been about 80 degrees (about 26 degrees Celsius) without any clouds in the sky. It really feels like spring! The apple trees are blossoming (in Februrary!). So today we decided to go swimming.

Brad and December looking up at a plane overhead. December loves finding planes in the sky.

December and I having fun in the water

Yay for timed pictures! We could get all three of us in a picture, which is rare!

Here was December yesterday, pulling cloths out of the kitchen drawer to use as blankets for her stuffed animals.

According to December, the kitty had to say "Cheese!" for the picture, too.

December and Daddy reading together in the little children's Bible. Her favorite story in the Bible is the one about the "Nahty Nake" (the naughty snake). Brad taught her that, and as you might guess, it's the story about Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden being tempted by the snake -- the very naughty snake!

December playing with her cats

One of the grocery stores we go to gives out balloons to kids, and so December got one a couple of days ago. They're great to have around because once they lose some of their helium and lay on the floor, they help to teach December how to catch! When December tries to catch a ball, she always misses it because it's moving so fast. But a balloon moves so slowly through the air that she is successful at catching it!

Tomorrow Brad starts his Spring Semester. He made it through all of his end-of-term exams and papers! YAY! That's a nice feeling for him -- and all of us. Tomorrow he gets back into it, though, with a full schedule. He has six classes that he's taking this semester. Right now he's at school, taking in a 2-hour Hebrew review session before the class begins tomorrow. When December wakes up from her nap, I'm going to go grocery shopping with Naomi and little Noah, to get some food in preparation for December's birthday party on Friday. That will be fun!