Daphne's Development

Daphne likes to "sort" the laundry. She takes the whites
from the small hamper and dumps them into the big hamper.

It seems like our little girl is quickly turning into a big girl. Here is what she is up to these days:

• Walking: Daphne has been walking for over a month now and doesn't resort to crawling any more. She is still working on her balance and topples over now and then but she is loving her newfound walking freedom.
• Climbing: Tyler's toddler race car bed is low enough to the ground that Daphne can climb onto it now. 
• Teeth: All four of Daphne's first molars are through the gums and are slowly growing in. Two of her canines are working their way through the gums right now.
• Accessories: Right now Daphne loves shoes and purses. On vacation she slung Tyler's empty backpack over one shoulder like she was carrying a purse. Daphne is fascinated by all the shoes in the house and she likes to hand me her shoes when it's time to put them on to go places. This love of accessories is making Michael nervous. Unfortunately she is not super wild about the hair clips with bows and flowers that I have been putting in her hair and she pulls them out. I've been trying to get her to wear one to keep her hair out of her face and they have to be big enough so that they aren't a choking hazard.
• My helper: Daphne is my shadow and she is curious about everything I do. And she likes to "help" me around the house with the dishwasher, putting away the groceries, the laundry, etc.
• Music: Daphne loves music. She will do the hand motions if you sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and she likes to clap along to If You're Happy and You Know It.

A few last vacation photos

Here are a few last photos of the hundreds (literally) that were taken during our California trip.

My cousin Michelle with Daphne

Tyler getting tickled by Bryce. All the kids picked up a thing
or two about rough-housing from Uncles Brad and Bryce.

Noah and Tyler watching cartoons.
Tyler looks thoroughly worn out!

Family dinner

Matching souvenir t-shirts from the zoo 

San Diego Zoo

We had a great time at the San Diego Zoo. It's so big that we didn't even see everything, but we checked out a number of highlights: pandas, koala bears, polar bears, Galapagos turtles, etc.

Heading to the zoo entrance

Daddy's little sweetheart

Ready for the zoo's double decker bus tour

Daphne had trouble sitting still on the bus
and tried to climb on everything

We covered a lot of ground that day

Drumming on space heaters

This is the first time in ages I have seen Tyler take a
nap while out and about. Michael said that Tyler was a
little too heavy (41 pounds!) to be carrying on his back.

Gao Gao the panda

The grandkids weren't sure what to think of PawPaw the tiger

A Galapagos turtle

We ended the day with a nice tram ride over the zoo

Tyler was scared to get on the tram but quickly
decided he liked it after all once up in the air

Disneyland

We spent an action-packed day at Disneyland. Since there were five kids ages 4 and under, the day was very kid-centric to tailor to the little ones. We did some rides tailored more for kids like Dumbo and Autopia, visited Toon Town, and did some rides we could all go on like the train, Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean. The parade was a hit with all the kids too. Daphne especially liked waving back to all the characters and princesses in the parade that waved as they went by. Tyler was scared of some of the louder rides like Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, whereas Daphne was pretty enthusiastic about everything. She's going to be our little daredevil. When I asked Tyler what his favorite part of the day was he emphatically said, "Not the pirates!"

 

Tyler and PawPaw on the tram from the parking garage

Renee, Daphne, Tyler, and Michael

Megan, Hazel, Minnie, and Brad

Dumbo, Damon, Bryce, Sonia, and Noah

Trying to escape Toon Town jail

Mickey leaned in to give Daphne a smooch on the cheek.
She didn't freak out but she did push him away with an
"I don't think so!" look on her face. That's my girl!

Michael and Tyler riding in the front car of Gadget's Go Coaster
 in Toon Town. Tyler says this was his favorite part of the day
despite the fact he looks like he is hanging on for dear life.

Riding the train. Thankfully Daphne took some naps
in the baby carrier when strapped to me.

Even 5-month old Hazel had fun!

Hanging out with Daddy

Minnie Ears. Technically Sonia was carrying the
youngest Hulett grandchild in her belly.

Autopia: Bryce and Noah in front car followed by Michael
and Tyler. Even Damon was tall enough to ride this one.

Little Tigger and Little Mickey

Loving her new Minnie doll. Daphne was so wiped
out from Disneyland that the following day she
took a 4-1/2 hour midday nap!

Tyler and Buzz napping to infinity and beyond.
Side note: We rented a minivan while in
California and Tyler LOVED it. He thinks
we need to buy a minivan now.

The Pool

The rental house had a hot tub and a small heated pool that was perfect for the kids. Tyler says that the pool was his favorite part of our trip, which is funny because he stayed on the corner step almost the entire time. I took him across the pool on his raft once and also held him with me in the water but he just liked hanging out on the step and playing from there. Daphne was excited about the water too but even though it was heated it was still just a little too cold for her. She played for a while but we had to take her out when she started shivering.

PawPaw with Tyler, who is on the step of course

Tyler playing beach baseball with Uncle Brad

Daphne floating around with Uncle Brad

Oceanside Beach

Oceanside beach is just north of Carlsbad. It has a pier and more importantly a playground right on the beach. For Tyler this was the perfect combination.

View from the pier

David, Sandy, and Steve; David was the only one brave
enough to go for a cold swim in the ocean!

Swinging with a view of the ocean

My dad

At one point the dump truck took a roll down the slide

Carlsbad Beach

The rental house we stayed in was less than a mile from the beach adjacent to Carlsbad Village.

Brad (with Hazel) and Bryce

Tyler was excited that the rental house had lots of toys
to bring to the beach, particularly the big trucks.

Sonia and Damon



Daphne and Renee; On our first excursion to the
beach, Daphne decided she did not like the feel
of sand on her bare feet but she came around by
the end of the week.

Megan and Hazel

Southern California Vacation

We had a wonderful vacation last week in Carlsbad, California. We stayed with my dad, my brothers, and my brothers' families in a rental house less than a mile from the beach. We also got to catch up with my Uncle Steve, Aunt Sandy, cousin David, and cousin Michelle. Our two big outings with all five grandchildren in tow were Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo. The rest of the time was spent at the beach or the pool at the rental house. Tyler's favorite part about the trip was the pool. And when one of his teachers asked him where he went on vacation Tyler exhaled loudly and said, "The rental house Ms. Kristina" as if it should have been obvious. I will post lots more pictures but am still trying to sort through them all.

Tyler was very excited to roll his own suitcase.

Daphne and Tyler on the rental car shuttle bus

Brad, Megan, Hazel, Michael, Renee, Daphne, Tyler, Sonia,
Damon, Jeff, David, Steve, Michelle, Bryce, and Noah