So we're stoked for a number of reasons that she's walking now, but it was a definite bonus that she's sure footed enough to compete in the egg hunt this year.  We made our way up to the Salcido Compound on Saturday for the usual shenanigans and enjoyed watching her run around the yard and attach herself to all of Dom's stuffed animals.  She also added a degree of difficulty challenging Mama to ravioli making one handed.

She must have sensed the excitement Sunday morning when she woke up and pointed to all of the presents and baskets saying  'hey! what's that doing there?!' She was happy and curious and decided to celebrate by helping herself to an impromptu jelly bean sampler before church.

 

 

As bizarre as hiding eggs in the yard (in her case - in plain sight) and collecting them into a basket may be, I'm happy to say she 'got it' and successfully collected most of them, until she happened upon an actual hard boiled egg that she enjoyed throwing more than she enjoyed hunting.

 

Commandeering Dom's fox as her escort

 

Golden egg!

Eggs are filled with goldfish? Delicious!

 

Stripe city

 

They could share clothes

 

 



Egg hunting is hard work

 

 

Where the Wild Things Are

So maybe its good marketing, or possibly just good math, but either way the San Diego Zoo/Safari Park makes it almost impossible not to get a membership if you're a SD resident. So we sacked up and have been getting our money's worth these past few weeks (take that, math!)

Around 10 months old her first 'what does the ___ say?' was the elephant, complete with 'pffffft!' and hand raising motion (have I mentioned she's dramatic?) so seeing her come face to face with her all time favorite animal was one of my best memories to date. She immediately identified her pachyderm friends making the sound/arm motion, waving to them, trying to get their attention and dancing like crazy entertaining all of the spectators.  It was absolute pure joy seeing her favorite characters from her books alive in the saggy, gray, flesh.

 

Her most recent trip there to see the butterflies and lorikeets was equally as fun, although her recent mobilization makes it an adventure on many levels.  She is rarely ever without a furry friend tucked tightly beneath her arm and this trip was no different. Luckily we were wise enough to leave her beloved fox at home and it was a good thing we did. She takes wonderful care of her babies (despite burying them in the sand, setting them in the middle of a busy crowd to see what they do and dangling them from ledges) you may think we should have seen it coming when you look at the first picture, and we did of course, except we didn't foresee her using her newfound kicking skills to tee him up and send him over. She may have been just trying to send her friend back into the wild, but the park employees thought it best to send him back with us:)

 

In addition to our many trips to the Safari Park, we also tagged along on a field trip to a petting zoo in Orange County.  While not the slightest bit intimidated by the goats and sheep, she really found herself among friends with the guinea pigs and enjoyed feeding them lettuce and carrots. Happy to say we left with all our fingers and toes and a happy goose!

Photo cred: Jamie

These guys are just her size

 

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This Little Fishy is Turning One!

What a year.

As February drew closer and closer I increasingly became a big ball of squish. Getting pretty sentimental about how fast time has flown and how I can't remember life before our little love, but also a bit bittersweet as her entrance into this world was not the easiest, and how just making it here has been a triumph for all of us. If I had to say there was a silver lining of all of this, it would have to be that we were given the gift of perspective even before she was born and just knowing what a wonderful, precious being she was before we even met. I have logged more hours in our comfy nursery chair than anywhere else while her tummy troubles keep her up most of the night but I will never regret holding her as much as I could during her brief babyhood. While I may not be as smart, well dressed (this is a joke) or lively, some of my most precious memories will always be holding my sweet goose in the quiet house just to make sure she is comfortable. I can honestly say I have been able to enjoy the most of her baby days and continue to be thankful for every second with her - even the ones that come throughout the night. We could not be any more proud of her for her wonderful personality, silliness and constant reminder of how precious life is. 

We also have an even greater appreciation for our wonderful friends and family who have gone above and beyond to show love to our little girl.   Our 801 friends/family Tara, Allie and Katie drove down from LA and Becky (San Francisco), Stacy (San Jose), Ali (Idaho) and Lish with daughter Kaitlyn (Montana) and Lynsey (Seatlle) earlier that week, all flew south for winter and took time out of their busy lives and away from their families just to be here for our little celebration in the park. The Dads get a shout out here too for Daddy duty while the Momma's came to join us - thank you all! The Goose must have known it was a big weekend because she took her first three solo steps the day before the party in front of these loving aunties.

We had a very special, sunny day in the park just loving on this little Goose. And of course, my Mom and I indulged in some seriously neurotic fish crafting.

This little fishy is one!!



Wasn't so much as a 'smash' but a 'slam'

Would you like some?

The Family

Ali, Stacy, Becko, Me/Goose, Allie P., Katie, Tara/Gio and Lish/Kaitlyn in the front

Mark hanging the flying fish

'Go Fish' favors

 While we'd like to say our hardest days were behind us, we were smacked back to reality the Monday following the party. At another post-op appointment we got the official ruling that her three laser treatments have been deemed relatively 'unsuccessful.' They typically see a 50-75% improvement which means we were obviously expecting 80-100, but were left with somewhere closer to 20%, making it not worth continuing with the series. For obvious reasons, this news was incredibly hard to swallow and while we'd like to leave things as they are, the health risks with leaving them untreated are scary enough to make us continue to look for answers. The Doctor did say that 'we aren't done' and that he'd like to resume the treatments with a new, higher powered laser in 9 months to a year. The increased risk and her increased awareness are things I can't even begin to comprehend at this point so, as always, we will do our research, say our prayers and hope technology improves to alleviate some of these fears. 

What an adventure we have been on but it is more worth it than anything I can imagine. We love her so much and can't wait to see what amazing things she continues to do in her life. Happy first birthday Makenna Rose!

 



 



The Littlest Valentine

So I've got a soft spot in my heart for Valentine's Day, its a good excuse to wear pink, eat sweets and love people. We had a great day enjoying some ridiculously nice February weather and just hanging out blowing bubbles in the yard. Couldn't love this little love more.

 

And to top it off, her buddy Jackson dropped by with her very first Valentine. While Mark had heart palpitations I thought it was pretty cute. Here's how it went down:

 

Don't worry Goose, they eventually come around.



The Goose stands alone.



Holidays

Since we're already here in March you may be asking yourself, 'What holidays?' And the answer would be, well, all of them.  I realize no one has been sitting around holding their breath to see if we put raisins in the stuffing this year (we did, of course) but I'd still like to look back on this blog and see some pics of the little things, like her first Christmas and all. Since my memory is chaulk full of more important things, like where my keys are and the last time she pood, this seems like the safest place to keep those memories. Or post pictures of them at least.

Turkey Day!

As I mentioned earlier our road trip up to Santa Maria started with a bang by shaving off a solid 4.5 years of my life with the worst accident any of us had ever been in, putting the poor Subie out of commission for over a month.   But once we made it up there we had a great time with both sets of Gparents and cousin Dom and the Salcidos. While back on the CC we decided to take Dubbie to check out all of the sights in the motherland with a first stop at Avila Valley Barn.  Where else can you pick up a pumpkin, pet a goat AND have your bridesmaids luncheon? She bonded quickly with the goats and had a staring contest with the llamas so all in all it was a successful first visit.



Mark got ice cream - surprise.

 

 

Next stop was the scene of the crime (aka wedding reception). She was a little less sentimental to be visit 'ole Seacrest than Mark and I but she loved watching the waves down at the beach.


She looks like Mark did on our wedding day.



Happy as a Pismo clam.

As a bonus to the weekend we got a drive by visit from the Greenwood family that was on their way back north after a weekend in SoCal.

 

In the British sense, I guess you could call our little mid December stay at the beach cottage 'a holiday' while our house was being remodeled, but it felt more like an exodus while we bounced from place to palce. But since the British don't see weather like this (ever) I think it qualifies.

Midway through our exodus Aunt Seal made an appearance on the mainland and to no one's surprise she and Makenna became fast friends (she has always been fond of sea life). She stayed with my parents at their own beach rental until we could get back into the house before Operation Christmas 2013 could commence.

Goose and Seal

The festivities kicked off with the neighborhood Christmas parade right in front of our house. Mark didn't bust out his old Santa suit and rollerblades this year (oh yeah, that happened) but maybe he'll make an appearance in the coming years.

 

A motley Christmas crew

While abbreviated, we packed enough Christmas cheer into our 4 day season to last us another year. One of the perks of getting a late start was we got a killer deal on a 9ft tree and we made the most of our time around it. Mark was quite proud to show his little girl his train (he received one car every year until he was 18) and to his delight Makenna was a HUGE fan and only derailed it half a dozen times.

Annisette plus festive attire = happy uncles.

 

 

 

Mr. Snowman reincarnated

 

 

 

The favorite gift was the second edition of Mr. Snowman, a litght up bobbly guy we picked up at Avila Valley but lost his glow (and head) in a baby induced accident. Luckily his cousin showed up in her stocking and saved the day.

Very thankful for a happy Christmas in our new home!