Katie's First Year

Happy Birthday, Katie. We love you.

January


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January 2011

Wetting One's Self at the San Diego Zoo

In the afternoon we caught up with my cousins at the San Diego Zoo. We found them at the Seal Show, where we took advantage of their VIP tickets to sit in a prime location. The three boys took advantage of the time to run up and down all the metal benches. I love how each boy's outfit seems to scream out a different theme (skater, GI Joe and REI).



While we were waiting for the seal show to start, I let Scotty take some more photos. He keeps his finger out of the way and he manages to hold it level, so he does better than I might have expected.



D: "Scott, did you like riding up high above the zoo in that green cable car?"
S: "It didn't have wheels, so it wasn't a car."
D: "You're right. It was more like a bucket."
S: "Yeah, a green bucket."









Scott was pretty excited about the whole experience and forgot to tell us that he needed to go to the bathroom until it was too late -- and I was holding him. Suddenly I found my hoodie was all wet. We were on the opposite side of the zoo (headed into the elephant exhibit), so I had to take the cable car back and then run to our car to get something for him and I to change into. I bought a green tote bag from the gift shop as well as a plastic bag and we wrapped up the wet clothes for the rest of the visit. That tote bag is our only souvenir from San Diego.



For the record, Scott wasn't the only one to wet himself that day at the zoo. One more of the individuals in this final picture wet himself. The other one will remain nameless, but I can tell you it wasn't the sea lion.

New Year's Day on La Jolla Beach

Technically, this belongs in 2011, but seeing as it's the last day of our Christmas 2010 trip, I think it should be kept with the 2010 posts.









We spent the morning at La Jolla Beach a few miles from our hotel. There was a major swimming event on one side of the beach, but it wasn't very busy and the kids were able to run around in the sand and the water, building hills of sand and watching the waves knock them down. Apparently, it is good luck to go in the ocean on New Year's Day -- even if you just dip your toe in -- and it is supposed to bring good fortune in the coming year. I'm not sure what kind of luck you get from building sand castles and chasing seagulls, because our kids will be entitled to plenty of that kind of luck.







This was Scott's first time at the ocean and he loved the experience. We rolled up his pantlegs so he could wade out into the water a bit without getting too wet. This worked out really well until just 5 minutes before we decided to leave -- when he tripped and fell flat on his face in the shallow water. Fortunately, it wasn't terribly cold and we were able to towel him off as we headed to the car.



Katie was asleep at first, but she eventually emerged from her stroller and had her first ocean experience. Since she still can't walk, she experienced it all from the safety of my arms.







I just love the family photo on the beach and this feeling of being on the beach in a pair of shorts while it's winter in Calgary will bring me back here in future years, I'm sure.