San Diego: Zoo and Hodad's

We decided to spend our entire Saturday at the San Diego Zoo. We have a membership to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and we go there fairly frequently. Since I knew very little about the San Diego Zoo, I wasn't sure I wanted to spend a day there when we could easily go to the zoo back home. Luke, however, had heard from several coworkers that the zoo is completely worth the visit, and he was right! The zoo was amazing, and I am so glad we took the time to go.
We started our trip at the zoo with a bus tour. The tour was a 40 min bus ride all over the zoo grounds, and we were able to get some great views of the animals that would have been difficult to see from the regular exhibit area. The line to get on the bus was a bit of a wait, and by the end Owen was very anxious for his turn on the "big bus". He cheered quite loudly when he saw we were actually boarding. Unfortunately, he was pretty tired and fell asleep 10 min into the bus ride and missed most of the sights.

After our bus tour, we wandered around some of the exhibits and quickly realized this zoo was huge! We decided we needed to make a priority list for that day and make plans to come back on another trip to San Diego. We started with the gorillas and monkeys because Owen had been talking about them all morning. Sadly though, he fell back asleep in the stroller and only saw a few monkeys at the end.
However, he did wake up in time to see the hippos which was one of our favorite exhibits of the day. Not only can you view the hippos while they are on land, but they also have an underwater viewing area. The tank included a mama and baby hippo, and we loved watching the mom push the baby around and help it get to where it wanted to go.
From here we moved over to the panda exhibit since this is something we can't see in Seattle. It was quite busy and we had to wait in a short line in order to walk on a small walkway in front of the panda. We saw a couple pandas and then it was over. I am glad we went through the exhibit, but we did feel a little rushed.
After the pandas, we went to see some elephants and lions. The lions were a little difficult to see because they were hiding near the back of the exhibit. However, Owen really enjoyed playing on the elephant statues. He certainly could have stayed there for awhile.
Our final stop of the day was to the Polar Bears. They also had an underwater viewing area, and the bears were spending a good portion of time swimming around and playing in the water. Owen's favorite part of this stop was actually not the Polar bears, but rather the helicopter they had for kids play in. He waited so patiently for his turn, and then loved getting to play with the controls and sit in the cockpit. He is really becoming a planes, trains, and trucks fan!
Since we had to climb uphill to get to the Polar Bears, we decided to finish off our day by riding the skytram back to the entrance. Owen had been eying this flying device above us all day, and was excited for the trip. However, being the nervous mommy I can be, I held on tight and really didn't want him to close to the edge. Overall, the day at the zoo was wonderful, and we will certainly go back on our next trip to SD.

After we got home from the zoo, we decided to head down to Hodad's for dinner in Ocean Beach. We had heard from Bekah and her parents about their monstrous burgers and amazing shakes. It is a tiny little place with a line out the door, but really fun experience. The burgers were great, but definitely unhealthy. The four of us shared a shake which was also amazing. It had a huge scoop of ice cream on top. It was a fun way to finish off a great day.

Zoo Pictures (a bit out of order)

Sunset at Ocean Beach

Dinner at Hodad's

San Diego: Cafe 222, Mission Beach, and Old Town

Owen's sleeping schedule was just a bit off in San Diego. He decided to move his bedtime up to 7:30 pm and his wake up time to 5:30 am. Needless to say, we were all wide awake at a ridiculously early time on Friday morning. Bekah recommended we load into the car and head downtown to try out Cafe 222. Luke's Dad went to high school with the owner, and Bekah said the food was amazing. We heartily agree! I had some delicious french toast, Luke ordered banana bread french toast, and Bekah had an egg and spinach dish with potatoes on the side. Since Owen had already eaten breakfast at Bekah's house (he doesn't like to wait long after waking up to eat), we just ordered him a strawberry banana muffin. If you are planning a trip to San Diego, we would highly recommend a breakfast stop at Cafe 222. The prices were great and the food was wonderful. It might have to become tradition every time we visit Bekah.
After our filling breakfast, we got ready for the day, packed some lunch, beach toys, and chairs, and drove over to Mission Beach for the afternoon. The weather was just perfect for lounging around on the beach. Owen loved playing in the sand and building mini sand castles with Bekah. He also loved destroying said sandcastles over and over again. Next to us was a group of college guys who were throwing a football around. Owen was so incredibly jealous of their ball and desperately wanted to join in on the big boy fun. After we ate lunch, Luke took him up to the vendors to buy his very own football, which Owen loves and still plays with daily now that we are home. Despite all the fun in the sand, Owen was completely fearful of the water. The small waves that rolled in made him nervous and he really didn't like how cold it was. After a little coercing, we finally got him to touch his toes in the water for a brief moment. We wrapped up our day on the beach with a walk up the boardwalk and quick stop for ice cream.
That evening we met up with Bekah's friend Jen for dinner in old town. We tried out a Mexican restaurant we had found online online that bragged about their warm tortillas. The meal was good, but not really great. When we left we weren't completely convinced it was the best Mexican food around. Maybe next time we will have to try out a different spot in Old Town.

Owen playing in the sand

Owen has spotted the football!

Still jealous . . . Finally, success!

Owen's adventure into the water

He didn't want to be near it, but at the same time felt he needed to keep an eye on it just in case it crept up on him again.

So scared of the ocean

Time to head to higher ground

This was baby's first trip to Mission Beach as well (20 week bump)

The product of a fun day at the beach: one very sandy little boy!

San Diego Adventures: Flight and Seaworld

Posts about our San Diego trip will have to come in stages because our time was packed with great fun and adventure. Plus I have a busy toddler at home so finding time to sit down and blog is pretty scarce.
I was incredibly nervous about the flight since we had not been on a plane with Owen since he was about 3 months old. I wish I could report that our flight went smoothly with few issues, but unfortunately that just wasn't the case for us on the way there. Owen is a very active toddler, and it was evident from the start that he wanted to roam around the tiny ground space available on the plane. He didn't like be confined to our laps and very few of the toys, stickers, games, etc. I brought with me entertained him. Yet, we made it to San Diego in one piece, and I am sure we will do it again because Aunt Bekah lives there now and we can't go very long without seeing her!

Our first full day was spent at the Seaworld. Bekah's roommate Lisa works in one of the aquarium's and graciously offered to take us around the back areas for some close up views of the animals. Owen may not remember the experience when is older, but we have the pictures and videos to show him what a great day it was.
Our first stop was to the dolphins. I am not sure what it is about dolphins but they are magical. I just love them! During our visit we got to feed, pet, and play with them. Since this was our first stop of the day, Owen wasn't quite sure how to handles such a large creature so close to him. He was definitely fascinated, but not really ready to touch or feed them. I was a little bummed he didn't want to get closer, but it was still fun to watch him be so intrigued.
Lisa then took us over to the aquarium where she works. The highlight here was meeting the octopus. I had never touched an octopus or really been close to one. It was kind of crazy to feel the suction on my hands. Owen did reach out to touch it once and that was plenty for him. He didn't seem to really like how slimy it was. Again, he mostly watched intently as we fed and interacted with this strange looking animal.
Our last main stop with Lisa was the sea turtles. This was by far Owen's favorite part from the behind the scenes tour. He loved throwing lettuce to the turtles and watching them swim over to eat it. I think he felt he was a safe distance away from them and he didn't need to touch anything that was slimy. We posted a couple videos to Facebook if you would like to check them out.

After the backstage tour, we let Owen burn off a little energy in the kids area, ate lunch and tried to catch a few shows. We saw the Sea Lions, Pets, and Shamu show. Owen was pretty tired during the Sea lion show and we had to sit pretty high up since we were late so he didn't seem to be interested, but Luke, Bekah and I enjoyed it. He LOVED the Pets and Shamu show and for a few days after our Seaworld adventure he asked to see Shamu again.

We also took some time to wander around some of the aquariums and exhibits. Owen's favorites included the Walrus, Beluga whales, and Sea turtles. Essentially he loved everything that had an underwater view and a ledge to climb on. It was a long day for a toddler, 10 - 4:30, with only a short nap in the stroller, but it was worth it and we were thankful that Bekah had some connections to make the day so special.

I only have a few pictures from the day but lots of video. When Luke gets some time to edit the videos, I will have him add them to our blog.

Things are changing around here . . .

18 Months (We are running a bit late around here)

• Owen is now 32 3/4 inches tall (70th percentile), and 23 lbs 12 oz. (25th percentile).
• Owen is a climbing, jumping, running machine! He loves to do agility drills with his daddy and Grandpa Walker. He also did his first somersault over Thanksgiving break unassisted. I think it was a bit of a one time fluke, but he was so proud of himself when he finally accomplished it! He has been trying to do it on his own for a few weeks now.
• Owen is now in a big boy bed! He started climbing out of his crib shortly after he turned 17 months. Luke and I were shocked and unprepared for the transition. We tried for a few days to keep him in his crib, but our efforts proved futile. So, we finally went out and bought him a toddler bed. He was so proud of his new bed, and the fact that he could crawl into it all by himself! We were surprised at how quickly he adjusted to his new surroundings. It was tough getting him to fall asleep the first few nights, but the transition went rather quickly and now he sleeps in his big bed like a champ. It is a huge reminder that my baby is growing up quickly!
• Now that Owen is in a toddler bed, we are learning more about his sleeping likes and dislikes. For instance, Owen loves to sleep with as many blankets and stuffed animals as possible. During one of his nap times he decided to first walk around the room, find all his stuffed animals, pull down his stash of blankets, and then pile every single item onto his bed. He then found a perfect spot to sleep amid the chaos. He now regularly sleeps with two to three blankets, a couple "babies", and the occasional toy. When he wakes up, EVERY item usually needs come with him downstairs. It is quite the spectacle. One time he had grabbed a clean washcloth from the linen closet and refused to leave the room after his nap until he was holding it as well. Such a silly guy, but we sure do love him!
• Owen's imagination is also really expanding. It is been a joy to watch him start to play make-believe with his toys, placing them on this push toys and giving them a ride, putting them to bed, feeding them food, and occasionally trying to give them a diaper change. He is also much more specific about what he wants to do when he plays. No longer is he easy to distract when he is getting into something he shouldn't.
• In addition to his growing imagination, Owen's vocabulary is also developing. He loves to mimic and it seems that every week he is adding at least a new word and sometimes several to his list.