Two Year Pictures

At the ed of February we took Clarita out into Fafa's orchards to take two year pictures. She had a great time playing with Dada's old tractor, in the trees, and especially climbing the picking ladders. I am pretty sure she would have climbed all the way to the top had I let her! That little girl has no fear!

Disking with Bafa

Harvesting kumquats

Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers

Sitting with her imaginary friend

  

Oh no, I'm falling...

It's still fun!

Lengua!

Tan seria

Monita

Done.

Monterey Weekend

I had a conference in Monterey the week of Clarita's birthday so I insisted that she and Dada come join me because I wanted to celebrate her actual birthday with her. They joined me Thursday evening and we let Clara chose what to eat for dinner since it was her birthday.  She, of course, chose pizza (a girl after Dada's heart). Unfortunately the pizza was still a little hot when she took her first bite and made her not want to eat anymore. She took a couple of bites and was done. We stopped and got her a cupcake at Kara's Cupcakes after dinner and she was very excited. She picked it out all by herself (chosen by the bird on top) and even got a balloon! We headed back to the hotel where she was happy to play with all of the gadgets and bounce on the bed.

My conference ended at noon Friday and we headed to the beach to get fish and chips. Clara was very excited about sitting outside at the restaurant where she could see all of the birds and feel the wind. We walked along the pier and she kept telling us that she wanted to touch the birds and swim in the ocean like Dada. We then headed to David and Lizanne's for nap time. David and Dada have been friends for ever and it was great to spend time with him and his family. Dada and I spent a week with them in Florida the year before Clarita was born, but have not been able to see them much since then. Their two kids, Liam and Keira were very excited to play with Clara. They came home while she was sleeping and kept asking me if they could wake her up to play with her. They were very disappointed that she took a three and a half hour nap! As an added bonus, Kim, David's younger sister and a good friend of Tia Laurie, was also spending the weekend there so we got to hang out with her too!

Once Clara finally woke up from her nap she had a great time playing with Liam and Keira. She loved all of their toys and especially their bunk beds! Her favorite thing to do was to climb up to the top bunk and play up there. I was surprised that she never fell down the stairs or off the bed. The first night Clara insisted on eating salmon out of the very middle of the fish. If I tried to give it to her from any other location she cried. Since she has refused to eat salmon for the past few months I was just excited that she wanted some! Kim was very sweet and made cupcakes so Clarita's birthday celebration could continue. Needless to say, Clara was very excited about this and sang happy birthday to herself!

On Saturday we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Clara had a good time, but I thought she would like it more than she did. She was pretty excited about the penguins and now knows that they swim and makes hers swim around. She also liked the touch pools and the play areas. We watched a feeding in the Open Sea exhibit and were amazed that Clara managed to sit semi still for the half an hour we had to wait prior to the feeding. She got excited when the fish went crazy trying to get food and was then over it. By noon the place was absolutely packed and Clarita was a little overwhelmed. We called it a day and headed to lunch on the wharf. We got lucky and got a table at the window which Clara loved because she could watch the birds as she ate. Birds are her new favorite thing and we should apparently have gone to a bird sanctuary instead of an aquarium!

Saturday afternoon we spent lounging with the adults while the kids slept/played. We went to the park when Clara woke up and she broke her almost week long streak of pooping only in the potty because she was too busy playing to care. Kim had bought letters for the kids to paint and Clara thought that was awesome and surprisingly did not get any paint on her (I put her pajamas on just in case). Kim even bought a letter for Baby Emmett that I got to paint! At dinner that night Clara surprised us all by eating mainly pork. She is generally not a big meat eater, but gobbled it up! The kids had more fun playing and Liam and Keira were absolutely amazing with Clara. They are eight and six but did so well with her. I think I need to get me some older kids to occupy Clara so I can get things done!

Sunday we took Clarita to a huge park in the morning and she absolutely loved it. The little daredevil immediately climbed up to the tallest slide and slid right down. She also attempted to climb up ladders and other non-age appropriate toys. She's not afraid of anything which concerns me sometimes! After lunch we had to say goodbye and head home. The little Puff fell asleep as soon as we drove off and slept for two hours of the three and a half hour trip. She was then pretty content to play and eat until we got home. It was a great weekend and way to celebrate Clarita's birthday!

Clara's Second Birthday Party

We had Clarita's second birthday party the weekend before her birthday since I was going to be out of town the following week. I decided on a circus theme since Clara loves animals and it seemed like an easy theme. We got a bounce house (Clarita also loves bounce houses) and had circus food like popcorn, hot dogs, corn dogs, nachos, and chicken nuggets! I made some paper flag banners out of circusy prints and used cages with animals inside for the centerpieces. It was super easy! We invited all of Clara's little friends and she was so excited about the party. She at first told us that only ninos could come, but changed her mind when she realized that the parents had to bring the ninos! I did a terrible job of taking pictures, but luckily Tia Erika came to the rescue!

Favors

Cupcakes on a carousel!

Tia Laurie makes good chalkboards!

Clarita absolutely loved the bounce house. She had been talking about her party all week and what she was going to do: eat cake and ice cream (we did not have ice cream), bounce in the bounce house, and play with ninos. The bounce house arrived right before Clara needed to take a shower and she immediately got in and started bouncing and screaming at the top of her lungs (happy screams). She cried when she had to get out and bathe and was ready to get back in as soon as she was dressed. Tia Alyssa made Clara a super cute red and white striped circus skirt and bow and Tia Laurie made her a shirt with a two on it out of buttons (my one creative idea of the year). Clara looked very cute and circusy!

Denae and Rory and Tia and Bailey

Kierito

Ryland (if you look you can see Clara and Reed in the background
probably playing with their favorite friend Sophie)

Cambria

Sophie

Bailey and Tia Estefana

Jack

Eli

Eden

Connor has the best arm of any
 two-year-old out there!

Highlights of the party included all of the kiddos jumping in the bounce house, Reedcito proposing to Clarita (at least it looked like that was what he was doing), Clarita and Sophia playing (I think Reedcito liked playing with Sophia even more than Clara did), Kierito sitting on top of the kid's picnic table to drink his milk, Clarita eating her much anticipated cupcake (followed by two more when she woke up from her nap), Clara and Teegee playing in the exersaucer, and Bailey being cute.

Proposal! They won't tell us what she said...

King of the table!

She even blew out her own candle!

Cupcakes!

The babies

Before the poop explosion

Exersaucers aren't just for babies...

We had a good turn out and even though it was a little warm, it didn't feel too  bad in the backyard. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family to help us celebrate our little Wiggle! Clara absolutely loved the party and threw a tantrum when she finally had to take a nap (much later than usual). She talked about the party for the rest of the week and is obsessed with her new toys (the ones I didn't hide in the basement)!

So excited about her car from Tio Robert and Tia Erika!

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