Family Party

We went to Anaheim for a Quillen family week long house party at the end of July, and it was SO great to spend time with family in a beautiful place.

It was especially great because JD got to come with us, and because a wonderful family adopted Teo while we were gone, so we had no worries and every human family member with us.

We started off a little rocky - due to a mis-communication about renting a car between me and JD, but in the end I was glad we did because my Sister in Law gave us the coolest vacation tip ever and we used Costco rentals to get a really great deal. She also gave us another great tip - a web site with deals on passes into sights there. Thanks Sis!!

We visited the Aquarium of the Pacific Monday - it was so neat! I love aquariums, and this was had petting tanks which were especially fun.

Toddler lesson learned today: Strollers are less handy for toddlers than babies. I spent most of the time pushing an Stuff-filled stroller, sans toddlers. 

Look, mom, crazy Chambered Nautiluses! These were my favorite. They were so cool

Petting the Jellies

Lilu's favorite part was standing up on the rim of the exhibits and staring into the tanks

We went with family, but with toddlers and small children it wasn't easy to stay together, so we mostly explored on our own.

This was a tunnel through a seal tank and I just let her run free through it. She loved watching the seals, though they were a little fast to catch on camera when she was holding still. 

She was not happy about sitting on my lap for a picture. She was already done with the penguin statue at this point, and it was hot.

We sure loved petting the sharks though! They were all piled in this corner, so they were close enough to the surface for her to two-finger touch. I learned that sharks pile when they feel threatened so they look bigger. Sorry sharks. 

 Lorikeets!

Korrali loves birds. She can spot a bird fluttering around quicker than a bunny hopping home. She thoroughly enjoyed the lorikeet exhibit. She was so excited that she could get so close to birds, because in the wild, they definitely don't let us get this close. 

After the Lorikeet Forest exhibit we were done for the day.

 Tuesday we took a little break and stayed home with Korrali's cousin, Evan. Who is about a month older than her. They not only had similar schedules but they got along great and having two toddlers for a few hours was definitely more fun than one (for them particularly).

Right after this, Evan dove out of the raft. I scored it a 10 and ran to jump back in the pool to help out.

My favorite memory of the day though was going outside, Korrali sat in a push-able car and Evan voluntarily pushed her around. I think he enjoyed the freedom of using just his feet with the support of the car. I love watching toddlers come up with their own games.

Wednesday was beach day, and we all went to a nearby beach. We arrived a little late (due to lack of sleeping at all the night before.. our whole nuclear family decided to have a 4 am house party. ugh.) but had a great time!

She loved the waves here in Chicago, but lake waves are way tamer than ocean waves. She ran right in...

Got whacked by a wave... and screamed. And stayed away from even the wet sand for then next hour and a half.

Instead Daddy helped her chase birds.

She loved playing with Uncle Jesse - he got her to get close to the water again.
Where she got whacked by another wave. Oops. 

So she stayed on the outskirts the rest of the time, sitting in a beach chair with Daddy.
This angle makes him look a lot heavier than he is. Just sayin'.

She loves construction cones. Look, she chose it over the nearby bird. She is a toddler of odd enthusiasms.

She even found a beach cup and enjoyed placing it upside down on the cone.
She sees things and comes up with things most people just ignore.

Look, we were there all together!

 Thursday we went to the Discovery Science Museum. SO COOL!

The baby room - Korrali really like the Weebl people. Evan was way too cool for it.

Korrali has seen these pushing pins at our local children's museum, so she was very enthusiastic about using her pushing skills.

This was a fossil discovery exhibit. Korrali loves dinosaurs, and rocks. Sold.
There were exhibits for everything science, on about every inch and in every nook of the place.

This was the favorite. Lights that turn off and change color when you tap them. Toddler nirvana.

Geysers! You stomped on some pedals and the bag filled up due to pressure. Korrali LOVED it.
She still stomps on everything metal on the ground she can find.

Can you spot the plane? It's taking off from a moving conveyor belt. Just one of the myths tested by MythBusters and shown in the Myth Busters exhibit in the museum. Korrali was fascinated again. Her favorite was a rainfall myth , they had the myth set up in the exhibit, and she kept daring herself to run through, and then asking me for help in ASL. She doesn't like falling water, ever since the waves whacked her on the beach.

That night we all went to DownTown Disney! Free parking (though we valeted) and so many fun people and music.. Korrali thought it was pretty fantastic. She danced to all the music, and played in every fountain.

We loved the Lego Store, she proved that feeling these giant Lego structures is an innate part of humanity.

Yep, every fountain. We even through pennies in this one. She learned that while we were waiting for her Dad to have an injection a while back, so she initiated the coin tossage this time.

 Then we got our expensive caricatures, watched the fireworks and drove home. We left the next day, JD to go home, and us for a second leg of adventuring. What a fun, fun week.

Chef's Table

This up-and-coming chef knows no fear of the unknown. Constantly reaching one step higher, she will create for you the best darn dinner you've experienced yet. Freshly refrigerated ingredients, lovingly pre-combined by major Italian chain restaurants in a delicious delicacy known as Mac & Cheese garnish this little Chef's menu. Proving true the famous movie slogan - Anyone Can Cook - this Petite Chef invites you to join her in the kitchen - as long as you don't mind her unconventional chef's table.

She really did love the pasta.

The Great Escape

Due to a recent water incident in our bathroom involving gallons of water pouring through our ceiling, our apartment complex replaced our vanity and part of the back wall of our bathroom this past week. After the challenge of living here with a toddler when they replaced our ceiling a few weeks ago, I decided to jet out for the duration of this remodel.
We went to Colorado and it was so great!
We visited JD's grandparents - it was so so wonderful to see them!


Great Grandma brought some jewelry for Lilu - she loved the beautiful bracelets and necklaces.

I'm clasping one for her, but she pretty much put the rest of it on by herself.

I can tell they're related, can you?

This one is one of my all-time favorite pictures.

We had such a wonderful time at lunch with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma!

The sun was a little blinding this direction, and I think Korrali is pointing at a dog, not scowling.

This tiny little liquor store had a ton of fun decorations - benches with fake grapes, a tiger, a bear.. a stone face.. all worth exploring.

On our way back we stopped by Vail. It was my (and Korrali's) first time visiting there. I finally understand what all the fuss is about. It is so gorgeous.

There was a river under this quaint bridge; Korrali looked out the side and was glued. Mind = blown. I can't wait to see her reaction to the ocean.

A valiant effort at escape into the water feature. Lilu wanted to play in the waterfall. I can't blame her, it really was gorgeous.

How did they manage to take family pictures back in the day when photos took like 40 minutes? 

We got to hold Emily's Adorable New Babies.

We really had two objectives this trip - meet Great Grandparents and snuggle sweet, soft, adorable babies.

Lilu loved them so much. I have never seen that little girl so happy to meet anyone.

You may not be able to tell, but she is smiling a huge smile.

She tried to pick up her cousin the second time she met him. The first time was the day before, and she was just too excited to even get close to them.

Thank you Em for being so kind and letting her hold him! (I don't have a picture here, so I should explain she held him with help, not alone.)

We went swimming too. It seemed like we hit perfect weather for whatever we were doing, every day. Thank you, Colorado!

SUCH a fun spur of the moment trip. Thanks again Mom for being so flexible!

What Teo is up to these days

We don't say much about him anymore, but he's just as much a part of our family as ever.

We had a great time Memorial Day with our Eldredge cousins. He loved their pool. 

He is very much a patient older brother. Maybe Uncle is better, because I'm not sure I know any older brothers who would submit to this so cheerfully.

This was not the first, or last, time he played dress up with us. 

He's usually right there when Korrali gets into things, like cereal..
Korrali's favorite thing is to steal his toys, and then run, shrieking, behind my legs while he slowly follows her. I think he likes it too, because he is very gentle with her.
He waits for me to get Korrali in the morning, and comes and pokes his nose through her crib bars to say good morning. She is more excited to see him than me :sigh:.
These days, wherever we go, he's likely to be along too.
Glad he's part of our life!

Family Beach Day

A little while back, our Grandparents Quillen stopped by Chicago on their way to New GBaby #9 and played with us for a few days. What a perfect summer day to be with them!

We spent a day with our Eldredge cousins - we are so lucky to have them so close by. We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo

They had a farm exhibit at the Zoo. Korrali loved getting out and running around at the indoor playground. This is a chicken egg that was part of the chicken part.

Grandma and Grandpa bought us ice cream, Korrali couldn't get enough.

Ice Cream is helping her learn how to use a spoon. For now she still just dips and stirs though.

Then, we traipsed across the street to the beach. I put Korrali down in the sand, and she took off towards the water. I snapped a picture, and then raced to catch up before she got in over her shoulders. (Am I in trouble when her legs get longer, if I can hardly keep up now?)

We had long afternoon playing in the sand.

Korrali loves her Grandpa Quillen. He must love her too, because he let her sandy, soggy, pbj self clamber over him several times.

We don't have pictures, but Korrali made the rounds of everyone on the beach. Looking at them, smiling, generally making friends. Everyone. I told her she could skip some, but she didn't. Teens, adult men, women, other kids....

This is her version of smiling when she's focused on something.

Decorative rocks have been her new favorite thing recently. The pebbles on the beach were heaven for her.

scream! giggle giggle.. I think L Eldredge there is doing a somersault.

Why I don't blog more often

I spent a few minutes blogging today.

This happened.

Teo is her role model.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! Korrali and I went to Cantigny this year to commemorate the holiday and they had a giant chalk board asking what freedom means to you. So here's the question, what does freedom mean to you?

?

To me, it means the freedom to debate over what freedoms we should have - we can talk openly about Hobby Lobby, and tell the world we love our Savior, and converse in a friendly way with people who have religious beliefs completely opposite of us. It also means the freedom to take my toddler to a giant park and let her run and play without worry of harm.

She agreed to wear her headband for almost an hour!

I always love and appreciate when places give out free baby-safe things to hold. This commemorative flag kept her hand busy enough to me to snap this picture and get my camera safe before preventing her from climbing off the rocks into this pond.  (She was too fast to prevent from climbing over the rocks, right next to the sign asking us not to climb on the rocks.)

She loved this fountain. I think we spent 40 minutes playing with it. To a toddler attention span, that's like, a million years. To her, freedom is playing in the water feature!

I'm also grateful for the freedom to eat candy or ice cream or brownies after my daughter goes to bed with abandon. Freedom is ability to be who I am without fear, to become something better, and to really love the process (and sometimes to hate that process too).

 I need to add here, that we spent the evening having a grill out with some really good friends of ours from college. Korrali Loved their cat. Cap.it.al L. It came downstairs when we arrived, and she didn't want to do anything else the whole time (aside from eating) besides following it, petting it, pointing to its nose, and occasionally trying to give it giant hugs. The cat was very tolerant of her petting, and seemed to enjoy sitting up to nose her finger, or reach and and touch her finger with a paw. I helped it escape from the hugs. The sweet critter was so patient. Every so often, Korrali would have a little private freak out of excitement.
Pet, pet, pet. Back up, crouch down, shake with excitement and shriek with giggles. (the cat escapes) Stand up, find the cat. Repeat. Also, we learned that Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce is really excellent inside a beef patty.