Mommy Group: LA Zoo

Today Tyson and I went on a trip to the Los Angeles zoo with a few mommies. I ahd never been there adn i had a coupon so I was excited about it. We drove with Laura and Alex. It was a very cloudy day earlier that morning so I put on jeans and a shirt and by the time we got there it was so hot I couldnt hardly move. Luckily I had a tank top under my shirt because I had to take my shirt off.

Laura and I were about an hour or more late meeting the other moms so when we got there we had to eat while the other moms were walking around. We finally caught up to them but shortly after, they were all leaving to go home. We had hardly seen any animals yet so Laura and I decided to stay and look around.

We saw every single animal there as to see there. We ended up staying there for 5 hours. The kids were great the entire time.

This zoo had tons of more animals then the zoo in Santa Barbara so I think I ended up liking this one better. It was also a lot bigger which just means we got more exercise. Tyson also got to see the animals a little better.

We'll still have to go again once he gets even a little bigger so he can really enjoy it.

Peek-A-Boo

This is What Happens When...

You let your 14 month old be independent and feed himself

Happy Independence Day!!!

Today was Tyson's second 4th of July. 1st where he can actually enjoy it. Last year he was only 3 months old so he didn't really get to enjoy the food and celebration. This year Justin and I went over to his aunt Sherry's house. She had some family over for swimming, games, movies, and food. When we arrived Tyson's cousins were already taking advantage of the pool. Grandma Stacey volunteered to go in with Tyson which saved me from having to where a bathing suit although the water looked great. Lucky Tyson, swimming twice within a few days. He enjoyed the water this time even getting dunked once more by grandma.

After the pool we put on a copied version of the move Hangover and startedd to watch it downstairs. Of course until the little cousins came in. We had to turn it off because it's definitely not a movie for small ears. Everyone finished watching it upstairs though.

After a while most of us went out into the front yard and hung out a little bit. Tyson got to explore the streets a little bit. Taking grandma Stacey and I for a trip up the court around the other houses. It was uphill and going downhill was a little scary because Tyson kept trying to run down and I was afraid he was going to fall.
Of course the food was the best part. There was very good food might I add. They had chicken, ribs, mash potatoes, salad, and tons of desserts. The mash potatoes were my favorite. I think Tyson's too because he had more then enough of it. They were so good. The dessert was even better because I am a sweet head. Looked too good to eat.

Of course being the "wanna-be" photographer I am, I took some time to get in some very good pictures. My FAVORITE being the MOON. I have this other lens that zooms in very far and the moon was out before it got completely dark so I decided to see how close I could get. I was absolutely AMAZED!!! it looks like a satellite picture or something. You tell me how u like it?


At around 8:30pm we headed off to see some fireworks. I was very determined to get Tyson to see the fireworks. I wanted to see his reaction. We drove down to warner center and parked in the promenade and watched them from the parking lot. There were tons of people on the street watching. Even the traffic on the streets stopped for the show. It was about a 20 minute show and Tyson was amazed the entire time. He actually watched the whole thing. Sometimes even putting his hands in the air with excitement. Crazy to think that in a few years he'll be begging me to go see them. I'm glad he got to enjoy them this time.

Mommy Group: Northrige Rec Pool

Yesterday we went to the Northridge Recreation Pool for some swimming with the mommy group. It was our first time there and we had a lot of fun. I hadn't really gotten the chance to take Ty for a swim since his swim groups. We went a little bit in Vegas but the water was really cold and at Hansen Dam we didn't get in past our feet. This time I took him under the water structures and all the way into the pool and even dunked him a few times. He was very scared at first but like with everything after a little bit he started getting used to it. This pool had a slide but of course Tyson is too small so he wasn't able to go down it. Before and after we got into the pool, Arianna had a small tent set up so we had a mini picnic throughout the time we were there. All the babies got to hang out and play. I was surprised because this time Tyson actually stayed under the tent and didn't try to walk away...as much. After a while the mommies just threw the food in the middle and watched the kids eat it. Of course food always gets the babies attention. For one of the groups they had OPERATION SPLASH where they are going to be trying out different pools around the valley. This was the first one. I'll update you as we go to more.

Hi Straw!

So I introduced straws to Tyson a few months ago and he's actually been pretty good at it. but lately he'll take a drink and maybe 3 out of 5 times he'll let all the fluid fall right out of his mouth all over himself.
Point proven! then he'll look down like "What is this all over me and how did it get there"

Mommy Group: Summer Celebration

Yesterday we met up with Laura and baby Alex and went to Summer Celebration in Woodley Park. When we got there, there were already a lot of people there. There was a band playing music and people BBQing and a few bounce houses and kids games. Most people were laying on blankets around the band.

It was Laura and I's first meetup with the Valley Mom's Social Club so we decided to go together. We saw the mom's laying on a blanket near the bounce houses. They had a sign up that said Valley Mom's so we knew who they were. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. We sat with Devora who was super mom of the day. I didnt have too many snacks for Tyson because we had to go to the grocery store but Devora had every snack in teh book in her back and was so willing to share and make sure Tyson had enough to eat. She even shared the meat off of her own sandwich. We needed sun tan lotion and she had that as well. She had the bag of magic tricks.

Most of the celebration I of course spent running around after Tyson. He loves to wander off away from the rest of the group. So I was walking around the outskirts of the party following him. I kept trying to keep him dstracted from walking away, one idea was taking him into the playground area. It is so funny because he isnt really used to sand yet. He's kinda scared of it. I'll take his shoes off and stand him in the sand and he just looks afraid to move. I'm sure it feels different underneath his feet. Then he'll bend down and touch the sand and put his hand up like "Look it's on my hand". He walks so slowly around too as if he doesnt want to fall and get dirty.

We played in the sand for a while then we were off wandering around the park again. My next move was to bribe him with food. Of course food I didnt bring. The mom's group had provided drinks so I let him drink his very own Koolaid pouch. It didnt stay in his mout for too long. He would sip out of the straw then every few times he would just let it flow out of his mouth and it would get all over his shirt. Being that it was red, there I was wiping his shirt with wipes so that his shirt wouldnt stain. It worked until he started drinking again. We then just sat and listened to the music. Got into the crowd and danced a little bit and after that we decided to go home. Well to the grocery store.

We had fun at the celebration. I like doing little park parties like this. So I'm sure this summer we'll be at a few more.

Strong Man

So Justin and Marcus came to move this dresser out of the house and as they were pushing it towards the door Tyson jumped in to help. It was so cute. He wanted to be one of the big boys. Then Marcus backed up and let Tyson take over. Of course Justin was pulling it himself but Tyson felt like a strong man and thought he was really helping. I have such the little body builder.