First Visit to the Dentist

Wow!  Cool toys in the waiting room!  They even have video games!

A little nervous, so Zoe chose to sit on Mommy's lap.

 All smiles!!!

 Testing out the equipment...

 Cool shades!

 Doing so well!  Mommy's watching Aladin :)

All done!!!

We have been meaning to get Zoe to the dentist the whole school year because we added her to insurance, but it was one of those things that would come up and we would get busy and forget.  Well...it is summer and we have no excuse!  Shaun called Wednesday morning and was able to get her in that afternoon.  She did amazingly well!!!  So well, that after having the first day of school go so well, then this...Shaun and I looked at each other and said, "Who is this child?!"  The hygenist said she was the perfect patient and she grinned from ear to ear.  Then the dentist came in and was very impressed with her too.  No cavities and she said that we were brushing well!  That is always a good thing to hear because it is pretty difficult to brush in her tiny little mouth.  She is Miss Independent, so of course she brushes first, then we get a turn.  Zoe couldn't get enough of showing everyone her "sparkles" that the hygenist brushed on her teeth.  She is definitely over the "white coat sydrome".  We will be on a good rotation for breaks...she will go once in the summer and once over Christmas break every year.  Perfect for our schedules :).



First Day of Preschool (Take Two!!!)

 "I am excited!" (Insisted on the bow...with a blue outfit :) )

 Standing...a little unsure of what is to come...

 Nervous?

 Mommy and Daddy stayed for a few minutes...

We were up late that morning, so I tried not to rush Zoe because she is good at reading Mommy's anxiety if I rush her.  We got her dressed, fed, and out the door in a good mood!  Phew!  Challenge number one was accomplished.  Then the nerves built up while we were in the car, but I told Zoe it would be like the time we dropped at our school's preschool, so she was a little more aware of what would happen.  She seemed okay with it and she was telling me, "Okay Mommy, you are going to drop me off,  and come back to pick me up later."  "Well, okay Miss Smartypants, we will see about that"...is what I was thinking.  This time we could stay for a few minutes, so we told Zoe 5 minutes.  I offered to play with her and she went straight to the pattern blocks.  We...no...Zoe put the pattern blocks all in the correct spots.  She was already talking to her teacher and everything.  I gave her the count down and told her, "Okay, Mommy and Daddy have to go in 3 minutes."  She didn't even look as nervous as she did at our school.  She kept on going about her business and found the babies.  That was it!  The only thing she needs anywhere to feel comfortable is a set of baby dolls.  I told her, "Mommy and Daddy need to go in a minute."  Didn't phase her... It was time!  We said good-bye and she didn't cry.  We closed the door and we didn't hear a peep...we looked in the small window...nothing!!!  Seriously?!  Fine...she wants to be a big girl and not cry this time...whatever! :)  Shaun and I went home and sat, then got up walked around (okay, okay...we paced!).  What do you do when your toddler who normally keeps you entertained and busy is gone for an hour and a half?!  We picked her up and she was all smiles!  Her teacher Miss Suzanne said they sat down for snack altogether and she just talked and talked and talked.  She knew that we were going to Montana...meeting up with Daddy's family and she even has a special seat belt for the airplane.  Really?  Wow!!!  I guess the separation anxiety is not going to be an issue anymore...at least for this class :).  She has been 3 days now and it is a piece of cake now!  Today we showed up to pick her up and she was actually playing with the others!  Yeah!  That is what she needs to work on is actual interaction with little ones her age.  Shaun noticed that some kids stay longer, so I asked her today and she said they just stay for the 11-12:30 class too.  She said that she would be okay with Zoe doing that too because her summer classes are usually smaller.  She also thinks that it would be good for her social development because it took her almost the whole class time to start to play with the others, so if she stays that extended time, she will get more time to interact.  We were all for it, so we asked Zoe if she would like that and she is ready!  Shaun went into the office and paid for the additional class, so Thursday, Zoe will go to school from 9-12:30!

Kylee/Zoe Update

Hanging out outside while Daddy and Zoe swim...

Like mother, like daughter :)  (We think it is quite hilarious!)



We took the girls to the doctor last week for their well-baby check-ups.  Kylee was 10 lbs, 11 oz and 22 in long.  She is in the 40th percentile for both height and weight. She was given a clean bill of health.  She is starting to giggle now and is very ticklish.  Her eating habits are different from day to day, but I try to stay close to a feeding every 3-4 hours during the day and at night she goes down at about 8, needs to be fed once at night, and wakes around 8-9.  Yes, we are lucky again!!!  She got 3 shots and an oral vaccination and she did very well.  She was a bit fussy that night, but nothing too bad.  Since we had Zoe, the procedure has changed a bit and they do not give Tylenol right before the shots to offset the soreness.  The doctor said it recently changed because the CDC released a statement that giving Tylenol with vaccinations may alter the effectiveness.  Bummer!  My poor little one just has to suffer through it now.  We just starting sitting Kylee in the Bebepod.  She already reaches out to bop the toy that we can attach to it.  The only thing that is more difficult about having the second right now, is tummy time.  Zoe always wants to play with her when she is on the floor, but many time she gets way to close and she is learning what personal space is.

Zoe also went to the doctor for her 3 year old appt.  She was 3 years 2 months at her appt. and weighed 34 lbs, and is 36 in tall.  Lucky girl did not have to have any shots!  Phew!!!  We prepared her for this visit and she did so well!  This is the first time with our pediatrician that she did not freak out.  We haven't seen her for about a year for Zoe.  Luckily, Zoe stayed pretty healthy with the exception of an occasional cold.  She had conversation and was polite, so our doctor was very pleased to be past the stage she was in.  Shaun and I were so impressed with her, we took her to get a special treat, ice cream!  Zoe is such a sponge and is learning so much.  She is starting to grasp the concept of counting items 1 by 1.  She is curious about everything, what different animals eat and how things work.  Swimming in our pool is one of her favorite things to do and going to the park is a close second.  She wants to eat what Mommy and Daddy eat and do what we do...including "feeding" her baby.  I think this is absolutely hilarious!  She will sit right next to me and feed her baby, while I feed Kylee.  Too cute!!!

Touch-A-Truck

Every year the Park and Rec organizes a Touch-A-Truck event at the park.  It was the first time that we have taken Zoe, but have been invited to go in the past.  We have heard nothing, but great things about this event, so I wanted to make sure we could go this year.  Zoe is such an observer.  She just wanted to look at all the trucks even though they were allowing the kids to go in all of them.  They had every type of truck imaginable....dump trucks, tow trucks, limos, fire trucks, bomb squad truck, ambulances, trash trucks, buses, etc.  We finally got her out of the stroller when she saw the art station.  She colored a truck and painted a wooden truck and stain glass truck.  She was a happy girl!  We finally convinced her to go in one truck...the bomb squad vehicle.  Lastly, she got a tattoo!!!  We thought she would pass because she is not a fan of others hovering over her, but she did great!  We hope our cousins can go next year because they would have a blast.

San Diego Mini Vacation

"Look, there's Shamu!"

Underwater View

Just hanging out...

Touch tanks...

Starfish hugs...

Daddy with a thrilled Zoe...

Sea Lion Show

Cirque Del Mar Show on the water...

Shamu Show

Watching the dolphins up close :)

Loving the show...

Taking pictures of the sea animals all by herself.

Silly girl...

Safari Zoo...Weasel basking in the sun :)

Gorillas...the baby was sooooo cute!!!

Mommy and the girls...on the tram

Daddy and Kylee

Look at the baby elephants!!!

Mommy elephant nursing baby elephant.

 San Diego Zoo...bus tour

 Baby giraffe...only a few days old!!!

 Kylee loves vacation!

 Bikini Babies

 Playing in the pool

Back to Sea World...silly penguins!!!

 I love that Mommy and Daddy took me on vacation!!!

I am soooo happy!!!

We went to San Diego the Sunday (June 10th) after Shaun finished school.  I needed to get away and so did he, so I decided a mini vacation would be really fun.  Costco has a ticket for 99 dollars and you can visit Sea World, the Safari Park, and the San Diego Zoo unlimited for 7 consecutive days.  It was awesome!  It was Kylee's first trip and she did great!  Zoe absolutely loved being on vacation.  She thought staying at a hotel was the coolest and really enjoyed all the parks.  We stayed until Wednesday, so the 4th day, we decided to take Zoe back to Sea World for just the morning.  Zoe really learned a lot and can identify so many more animals now.  She loved the Sea Lion show and Shamu show, so we saw both of those twice on the trip.  During the late afternoon on two days, Zoe was able to swim with Daddy.  The pools at the resort were perfect for her!  They had the gradual pools, where Zoe could walk in and the further she went, the deeper it got.  She had a blast playing in the pools.  Kylee was happy and content the whole trip and slept well, so she didn't wake her big sis.  Sleeping in the same room with everyone was a little tough this year because Zoe wanted to stay up with us and when Kylee woke to feed, I tried to be super quiet, so we wouldn't wake up Zoe.  It was a great little vacation and we plan to try it again, maybe next summer!