Our Little Spritzer

Sometimes we use a spray bottle to spritz the dogs when they bark too much and the other day, Jemma got a hold of it. She went to town spraying the trees, the plants, the dogs - even herself. When she gets into something, she explores it to it's fullest. It's pretty compelling to watch her little fingers twist and untwist and her unwavering focus. A little over a year ago she was just starting to walk and talk. Now, at 27 months, she chatters about in 5-6 word sentences, runs at full-speed, does somersaults, climbs up and down anything, strings beads, eats soup with a spoon, sings songs, dresses herself (she can even put on her own tights) reads books, (well, she's memorized them but insists on reading to us) - it feels like she's turning five any day. Her communication is so clear - like the other day Mommy and Daddy were having a serious conversation and Jemma held Mommy's cheeks with both hands and said, "Look at me, Mommy, look at me."

Another thing that's changed is Jemma is fully potty trained - hurray! Two weeks ago she decided she was ready and that was that. She loves wearing her underpants and everyday she goes to the potty all by herself - she goes at school, at other people's houses, in public bathrooms... and poop is not excluded, oh no, equal time for all. It took us almost 4 months to house break Rua when she was a puppy - this is final proof that canines are not as intelligent as toddlers!

Whale Watching

It was a glorious day for the beach - 77 degrees, low winds - and we had hoped to see some whales since this is the time of year they migrate up from Mexico, but alas, just seaweed and sand and crashing waves. Jemma loves the beach and would have stayed there all day if it were up to her. The water was freezing, but that didn't stop Rua from endlessly chasing the ball in the water. She was one wet, sandy dog, and completely ecstatic. We practically had the whole place to ourselves and Ollie acted like the big man on the beach. But it was most fun to watch Jemma soak up nature at it's finest.

It's the Great Lantern Festival!

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival because the 15th day is the first night in the new year to see a full moon. Owoooooooo! It's a chance for bright, fresh beginnings and a time for families to unite in a joyful atmosphere. So we celebrated by joining our friends Adam, Tina and Anna (aka ShaSha) and went to an exhibit at the Chinese Museum. The streets outside were bustling, and because the museum is located just off Olvera Street (the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles with historic buildings in a traditional Mexican style) there were more Hispanic families than Chinese. Jemma and Anna had a wonderful time together running around the museum and environs. They managed to climb up on a bench and they were having so much fun... they promptly fell off at the exact same time. Too cute. It wasn't suprising to us that three different people stopped us to ask if the girls were twins. They really do resemble each other. We saw a dragon dance made with lanterns and topped off the multi-culti evening with hearty Mexican meal, of course!