Janie had a fun time at dinner tonight. She had some spaghetti and enjoyed herself thoroughly.
Sitting across from Auntie Jia was pretty entertaining too. 🙂
Manhattan Beach
On Sunday, we drove over to Manhattan Beach for some lunch and time at the beach. We’ve been trying to get Janie used to the ocean but she’s still so scared of the water. She’s fine on the sand and in fact, loves playing in sand.
However, once you get her close to the water, she starts to cling onto you like a scared monkey.
Daddy helped her get her feet wet and she was actually ok…to a certain point.
Once she was done, she was done. She walked away and sat down in protest.
Then as soon as you get her distracted by the sand, it’s all good again. Silly baby.
Here’s what she did when we left her side. She walked back up toward Auntie Joy and the umbrella. The grown-ups just stood by and watched her.
It’s funny how she had her hand up like she was throwing in the towel. Poor Kumquat. Why do you hate the water so bad?
Janie’s 1st Fun Run
Janie participated in the runDisney kid races this morning.
Doesn’t she look so cute with her bib and Nikes on?!
She was in the 1-3 year old division going 100 meters. When she arrived with Daddy, she was ready to go and dancing to the music!
We also met up with her aunties and the 4 little girls also doing the 200 and 400 meter dashes.
Unfortunately, it was already 80 degrees, humid, and they made her wait an extra half and hour before starting. Here’s the start of the meltdown. She was so sweaty and kept rubbing her eyes.
They corralled all the children in this little area and then made us walk at least 400 meters just to get to the race start. By then, you could see all the little toddlers on the brink of melting down. The parents were all probably thinking the same thing I was, which was “this was the worst idea ever”. I even overheard a mom yelling in a very frustrated tone “Stop fussing! This is supposed to be FUN!” Sounded like the adults were melting down too at this point. We had to break down and give Janie the G-raffe, which was hiding in Daddy’s pocket and was supposed to be her “carrot” during the race. Oh well. It kept her from completely losing it before it was her turn to run.
They let the kids go row by row and we weaseled our way up to almost the front so we wouldn’t have to wait so long. Janie was ready to go again but wouldn’t let go of G-raffe. So, we spent most of the 100 meters trying to convince her it was a good idea to go straight ahead and not to sit down on the course.
The announcer called out her name and she even waved to Yai on the sideline.
Waving to Grandma a video by beakatude on Flickr.
Here’s a video of her hearing her name and waving to Yai at the sideline.
What a funny girl.
Finish Line a video by beakatude on Flickr.
It’s hard to get a 16-month-old to walk in a straight line with so many fun things to see all around you.
Here she is after going through the finish. Daddy picked her up and gave her a ride the rest of the way back.
She was NOT in the mood for her medal and was just over the whole thing by the end.
Look at my tired sweaty baby. Good job, Baby Girl.
Congratulations on your first organized fun run!
Here she is at home with her finisher’s t-shirt and medal just an hour later.
After a quick nap, cooling off, and a little snack, she was back in action. Ta da!!
She was so active again that it was nearly impossible to get a photo taken of her.
Here’s the back of the t-shirt. So cute!
America’s Cup outing
Janie went out to watch another race but we had to trek all the way out to Marina Green today for our grandstand seats.
The morning started with a ride on Daddy’s back and on the special train to Fisherman’s Wharf.
By the time we arrived at the venue, she fell asleep. So, she slept through most of the race.
She woke up in time to see the water from the grandstands but that was about it.
No afternoon is complete without a big snack. Baby Duck is having edamame.
It was a gorgeous day in the Marina.
It was also super windy. In face, it was so windy that they canceled the second race.
Janie couldn’t get enough of the curbs.
She also enjoyed lounging on the Adirondack chair nearby.
When it was time to go home, we rode the Chinatown bus and Janie had a luxo ride on Daddy’s back.
Hello!
Happy Hour
Janie joined Mommy and all her aunties for an evening of food and fun. She was on her best behavior and sat there just like one of the girls.
She also helped Baby Vivian figure out what was going on since it was her first time out with Mommy’s work family.
Auntie Teresa and Janie also got some snuggle time. She’s gotta get her alone time with Auntie T before Baby Hopkins arrives in January!
Janie shared her toys with Tia Patty. So cute.
Mommy and the rest of the ladies were so proud of how well Janie did tonight.
Good Morning, fishies!
We got up early to go to the California Academy of Sciences. We renewed our membership so Janie will get to go as much as she wants for the next 12 months! Yippee!
The last time she was at the Academy, she wasn’t able to walk yet so today’s new found freedom was so delightful for her. We spent most of the time down in the aquarium. There was so much to see and so many places to explore on foot!
She looks so grown up in this photo with her arms swinging as she walks.
Her favorite was the big reef exhibit with stairs. The stairs were actually her favorite part. She could have spent all day just going up and down those steps.
Here’s Janie in front of an orca skeleton. It’s “built for speed” and so is this little trouble-maker.
With all that running around, Janie had to stop for a little cheese snack…of course.
Then it was back to the fun!
We were done by noon and just in time for her nap. What an exciting morning!
The Giant Race
Janie was up early this morning to wish Mommy good luck on her 10K this morning. As Mommy was getting ready, she popped up out of bed.
Daddy took her to the baseball stadium finish and did some exploring while she waited.
Here they are watching from the promenade.
When Daddy gets her ready in the morning, she usually sports the “mop top” look.
Check out the blinged-out finisher’s medal!
Sophie was also there to cheer on her Mommy. What fun!
By the way, Janie has 5 more inches to grow before she can ride the twirly slide.
First Blood Draw
Turns out Janie is still anemic. At her 12-month visit, her doc recommended adding more red meat and eggs to her diet. We even gave her chicken liver these past 3 months and it didn’t make any changes to her Hb level of 9.6. So, Dr. Kaplan ordered a full blood panel to rule out thalassemia, which is a blood disorder. So, we went to a lab at CPMC to get it done since we were in the neighborhood. Here she is waiting for her turn. Poor baby was happy as a clam and totally clueless of what was about to occur.
Once it was her turn, the phlebolomist Mila sat us down and instructed Mommy how to hold her. Here’s a sequence of photos that Daddy took.
“Hm. What’s going on?”
“Uh, I don’t think I like this.”
“Wah!!!!”
By the way, Mila was just looking for a vein at this point.
Here comes the alcohol swab.
She was not going to hold still and put up a good fight. In the end, Mommy held her body and left arm and Daddy had to step in to hold her right arm down with both hands. She screamed the whole time and Mila took 4 vials of blood!!! Poor baby.
The Embarcadero
Now that Janie’s walking, she gets to explore her hometown a bit more on foot.
She never got to see the anti-skateboard sealife from the stroller before! She was a total fan and even tried to give one a kissy kiss. Don’t worry, I stopped her. Who knows what’s been hanging out with that turtle.
