ZooZoo

The next Saturday we went to a performing arts show called ZooZoo.  It's a mixture of dance, mime, acrobatics, and comedy.  We all loved it.  I highly recommend it.  It completely captivated Cate, who sat still for the entire hour on our laps.  I think she was trying to decide if it was all real or not!  The show was made up of many shorter vignettes, mostly involving animals. Our favorite were the competitive penguins playing musical chairs!  There was also a cat stuck in giant paper bag, acrobatic frogs, hippos with insomnia, and a lot more.  Above is a short preview video clip.

Cate also has been doing lots of dancing, building with blocks, and playing in the backyard.  California weather is a dream!

Griffith Observatory

We went to Griffith Observatory in the late afternoon and got to the park at sunset.  It was a very pretty walk to the top of the big hill and the observatory.  We got some great views of the sunset over the ocean and downtown L.A. 

The Observatory itself is pretty cool.  It's a small museum in and of itself.  It wasn't very exciting for Cate though, unfortunetly, as most of the exhibits were over her head.  She liked running around outside and inside and touching everything though.  She especially liked standing on the scales that told you how much you would weigh on each of the planets in the solar system.  The cafeteria food was very disappointing, but Cate didn't notice.  We won't be eating there again, but I'd love to go back and take a closer look at everything else.  Catherine was also too young to attend most of the planitarium shows so I think it would make a great date night with just Joe and I.

Saturdays in January we try to do as many family activities as possible because once tax season starts in Feb. we don't see much of Daddy until after April 15th.  This year we did something as a family every weekend, it was great!  Here are some pictures of what we did and where we went together.

California Science Center Museum

One of several children's special play areas.  Cate is dressed as an astronaut and riding in a space shuttle.

 Very large sound thingy (that's the scientific name :) You can talk in one end and hear it in the other end.

 Kelp forest aquarium tank - looking down from the top

 Airplanes hanging from the ceiling

 Lifting a truck using pulleys and levers!

 We had a lot of fun here, there was a lot to do and see.  We didn't even cover half of it.  Cate didn't understand a lot, but she wasn't bored either.  Best of all - admission is free!  I think parking cost $10 though.  We'll definitely be back.  Next Saturday: Griffith Observatory!

Angels We Have Heard On High

Here is a lovely video of our almost 2 1/2 year old singing her favorite Christmas song.  We hear this one and Jingle Bells all the time.  Cate has no qualms about singing loudly for all to hear.  :)  Sorry the video is crooked, if anyone knows a way to turn it, please tell me!

Cate in Spring and Summer

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Here are some pictures of what Catherine has been up to this spring and summer...

Riding ponies
Playing with relatives
Watching a parade
Riding her bike
Playing outside
Doing yoga with Mommy
Painting and coloring
Dressing up and posing in front of the mirror
Eating popsicles
Playing in the sprinkler
Going on vacation!
Cate's 2nd birthday is almost here!  I can't believe we've had our wonderful little girl with us for 2 whole years!  We are incredibly grateful. 

18 months old!

Our dear baby has been part of our family for a year and a half! I can't believe time has passed so quickly! Here are some new pictures of our little angel. She is talking and talking more all the time. She says new words every day, it's always surprising. She has some cute names for some things.
She says phone as "foon"
She can say her name! "tate"
water is "wadoo"
milk is "meee-ulk"
truck is "tuck"


Cate loves to say "rooaarrr! whenever she sees a lion, tiger, bear, etc. Or if she is trying to be scary.

She loves music and loves to dance. She includes lots of arm movements and bouncing, it's adorable!

She loves all forms of electronic technology. Cell phones, computers, digital cameras, tv's, etc. She prefers to play with these instead of with her toys. She knows how to "use" the mouse on the computer and enjoys pushing buttons on the keyboard, camera, and our phones. When we go to the library she spends the majority of her time either climbing into the computer chairs or walking around saying hi to people.

She is such a social butterfly! She says hi to everyone we walk by and loves to see and be around other kids. She is not shy at all and loves to ham it up and be the center of attention.

We love our little Catherine!

Finally a new update! More pictures of Cate :)

I've been neglecting the blog because facebook is easier to upload photos to. I guess I should add some new stuff here for those of you not on facebook.....

Here is what our darling Cate has been up to this past year! She's 16 months old now and into everything! She likes:

Daddy

Mommy (in that order, haha)

Animals - especially dogs and cats

food - especially grapes, goldfish, cheese, and suprisingly, veggies

music (she likes to listen, watch, and do the actions to songs

dancing (she loves to watch dancing and dance herself)

books (especially ones with animals or flaps to lift)

playing outside (walking, saying hi to neighborhood dogs, spotting airplanes, the moon, etc.)

knocking down blocks

pretend talking on the phone

making messes

throwing food on the floor

kicking balls

climbing on everything!

She is a very busy, happy girl and she keeps us on our toes!