Gilroy Gardens

Today we took Vita to the Gilroy Gardens theme park. The park was designed to be educational and to promote an appreciation of horticulture. In fact, one of their slogans is that they are an amusement park where the trees are taller than the rides. The park is actually quite beautiful, with fun rides geared towards VERY young children, nestled amongst trees and a lake. We had a lot of fun. The first ride we went on was the carousel. Vita LOVED riding on the horses, and talked about it all day. It was definitely her favorite ride.

But there were LOTS of rides that Vita went on. Here is Vita and I riding inside a worm in an apple.

There were barely any lines. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes to get on a ride, but I did take this picture while we were waiting for the boat ride.

Here's Vita on the boat. On some of the rides, Vita looked a little concerned, and I wasn't sure if Vita was having fun or not... but then when each ride was over, she said AGAIN!!!!

Vita was able to ride some of the rides all by herself, like this race car.

And this fire truck.

As much fun as we had on all of the other rides, and the boat, and in the various gardens and playgrounds, Vita just kept talking about the horses so we had to make sure we took one more ride on the carousel before we went home.

We had a blast, and something tells me we'll be going here often during the next year... (season passes - yippee)!

Tickle Torture

I promise we don't torture her with tickles... very often. But for some cute laughs, check out this video.

The year Swine Flu stole Halloween

Since we last posted Vita has had a busy couple of weeks. First, Vita had a very quick visit from Grandma Victoria.

Then, Ernie started back at work (hooray!) so Vita went back to daycare full time. That same day, Vita came down with a bad flu that the doctors think was probably THE flu (swine flu). We'll never really know for sure, because they didn't bother testing her. However, she had the highest fevers of her young life, and for a very short time she was doing some crazy shallow breathing and her lips looked a little blue-ish. Surprisingly, Vita was in very good spirits during her flu. Ernie pitched the tent in the living room and filled it with blankets and toys. For a while we turned the tent into a "dolly hospital" and Vita made little beds for all of her stuffed animals. She wiped their noses, and pretended to give them medicine and gave the kisses on their boo boos to help them get all better. It was pretty cute. Although Vita was better in time for Halloween, Ernie was battling against Vita's flu, and I was nervous I might be coming down with it, so it was a VERY mellow Halloween. First, Vita dressed like a ladybug. But that was a little bit too big and I thought she might get cold.

So for Vita's pre-school Halloween Parade, and for Trick or Treating on Halloween Night, Vita dressed like a skeleton princess... with a skeleton jumpsuit and a princess skirt. (She LOVES this princess skirt.) She had a great time, and even though she was too shy to say "trick or treat" at some of the houses, she ALWAYS said "thank you" when someone put candy in her bag.

Here's a couple of pictures of Vita at school.

And here's Vita at home getting read to go out trick or treating... and sneaking candy from the dish!

Fall in the air

The days are really getting crisp here in Santa Cruz, and fall is in the air. Vita keeps growing by leaps and bounds. The pants I hemmed for her just 3 weeks ago are getting too short already and I'll be taking the hem out. Wow. Her vocabulary grows faster than Ernie and I can keep track of. She loves singing songs - the ABC's, Three Little Monkeys, and C is for Cookie are her favorites. She's starting to count, and check this out... Vita can swing on the big kids swings now (instead of those bucket seat swings for babies)!

A couple of weekends ago Vita had a little visit with Grandma Marianne and Grandpa Vito. Here are two really sweet shots with Vita and Grandma Marianne.

I know it looks like Vita is on the surface of the moon... but these rocks are our "front lawn". Hey - at least it doesn't need to be watered.

In preparation for Halloween, we headed out to a pumpkin patch. Vita was scared of the pumpkins last year, but now that she's almost two years old, we thought she'd love the pumpkin patch. Wrong. I don't know if Vita remembered the "barking pumpkin" from last year, but for some reason she wanted nothing to do with the pumpkin patch.

Mom, can we go now?

When we got home, Ernie was sent on a mission to pick up some pumpkins. Now that the pumpkins are here, on our front porch, Vita loves them. I guess it's just when the congregate in large groups that they can be a little intimidating. Anyway, I think Vita is going to love pulling out the pumpkin guts and getting messy (but we're saving that for next weekend).

If you know Vita, you probably know that she loves to eat. She also thinks she's entitled to everyone else's food as well (especially mine). When Vita finishes her food, she looks over longingly to see whats on my plate, and she gives me this look.

And then, if I still haven't responded to her cues, her hints get a little less subtle.

This weekend, we had a quick visit with Vita's Aunt Jennifer, Dan and Nevil who were spending the weekend on the coast. We headed out to an event to celebrate the return of the monarch butterflies who migrate through the area, but it was really cold so the butterflies weren't really moving around. Still, it was great to see everyone.

And now, I think the blog is just about caught up!

Vita's Car

A friend of mine recently loaned Vita two very cool toys. There is a horse that can bounce or rock (and makes horse noises) and the car pictured below. Vita enjoys bouncing on the horse... but from the moment she saw this car she could not get enough. It is the first thing she asks for in the morning and the last thing she mumbles before finally falling asleep at night. Vita loves for Ernie or I to run around and push her in this car. The only problem is that she doesn't ever want to get out. EVER. This is one VERY happy little girl!

M.I.A.

Perhaps you're asking yourself where we've been. The truth is, we're all happy and healthy and having fun (busy busy busy), but I just haven't been taking many pictures this last couple of weeks.

This is kind of a lame post, as I just have one picture to share. Here is Vita and Ernie at the County Fair. We had a good time, but Vita really didn't like getting close to the sheep, goats and pigs. She clutched on to us tightly, and repeated "no more sheep!" and "dirty! messy!". Actually, she's right. They really were pretty dirty and I can't blame her for not wanting to pet them. However, the people watching is always spectacular at the Fair, and there was a fun puppet show that we watched as well. Also, I was amazed how many animals Vita was able to accurately name.

In other news, Vita is really mastering some of the play structures at the local parks. She is climbing ladders, swinging, heading down slides, and having more and more social interactions with other kids. It's really fun to watch!

Before I sign off, I just have to admit that working, being a mom, and other distractions are getting in the way of my blogging. Originally, I had planned on keeping this blog until Vita turned one year old but when her birthday came and went I kept on going. However, the blog has just about run it's course now. I will continue to blog intermittently (not every Sunday) until her second birthday. When Vita turns two, I will retire this blog, but I will open a flicker account so you will you still be able to see the latest and greatest Vita pictures online. In fact, the only thing you won't have is my witty commentary, and I doubt anyone will miss that!

Labor Day with Aunt Mary

This weekend, Vita's Aunt Mary came up for a visit. We took a walk in the redwoods, we played in the backyard, and had lots of fun. For our walk in the redwoods, Vita wore a really cute new fall outfit, including a tweed skirt, cable knit tights, and mary jane shoes. It was so cute we had to do a little photo shoot. "OK Vita, let's do a nice studious back to school picture." "Good, now how about a sassy little twirl. Perfect!" But since it's not technically autumn yet, when the weather warmed up Vita wore this cute summer sundress and hat for some more outdoor fun.