Dreamin' of green

Lately I've been reliving that moment when we landed in California in December. It was foggy that day so we had no idea we were about to hit the ground. And when we did, the landscape came into view and everything was green. When we'd left Milwaukee that morning it had snowed for the first time this winter and everything before that was brown. That's how it still is in mid-March. Winter had dragged on as it tends to do here. And especially after a fresh 6 inches of snow yesterday, I'm California-dreamin' and yearning for green.

I'd planned on writing a whole series of posts detailing every moment of our vacation. Well, three months later I still haven't. And I'll be honest, I probably won't. And I only shared a few pictures. So now it seems fitting that as I'm thinking of green, I'll share a few of those pictures and torture myself some more.

From the top of the rock that is Alcatraz. That island is amazing. Its a workout, but this view was totally worth it. Look at those clouds!

At the Golden Gate Bridge. The temps were in the 50s the whole time we were there. We only wore jackets for our sightseeing. It was amusing because it was "cold" there at that time and we saw people wearing parkas. It was great because the temps were perfect and nothing was crowded.

View from the bridge. How'd you like to live with this scenery every day? I don't think I'd ever get anything done!

Palm trees on Union Square.

The skating rink at Union Square. People were ice skating in t-shirts. I wanted to try ice skating, but we were running short on time and everyone skating was so really good. If I'd put on skates I probably would have promptly fallen on my butt.

Sing along with me, "California dreamin' on such a winter's daaaaaaaay."

It will thaw here eventually.

If you insist...

As if you really needed anymore proof that Allie is the most beautiful child on the planet.

OK, twist my arm. You really insist on more proof? Fine, here you go!

So I'm right? Thought so.

Allie's been styling even more than usual since she got a bunch of clothes from her cousin, Katy, who is a year older. Its been a great blessing to get her hand-me-downs!

Eating like a human?

Meal time can be difficult sometimes. But lately its been really good. Tonight I made cajun red beans and rice. Since it was too spicy for Allie, I saved her some plain rice and mixed some vegetables in. The plan was to start with that and then try a few other things and see what she'd eat. Not only did she eat it up, she started using the spoon really well! She hasn't quite grasped the whole process; she puts the spoon in the bowl but hasn't figured out how to get food onto the spoon. But she let me help her with that and did reasonably well with feeding herself as long as you don't pay attention to all the rice that littered the table!

Allie is learning the proper way to eat. However, she occasionally does try to lick food from the bowl or the plate like the dog!

I made a discovery on Sunday. Allie loves blueberry muffins. And I mean she LOVES blueberry muffins. I know she's had them before, but this was the first time I made some for her. The result? Out of a dozen muffins, I think Allie has had eight of them. Lesson learned? Mama needs to buy more muffin cups and make a lot of muffins!

Hair restraint

Allie's hair is so shaggy, but I can't bear to get it cut yet. Problem is, she takes out everything we put in her hair to try and restrain it. Saturday I bought some of those cute little rubber bands (there are 400 pieces in the set!) and tried those. Its tight enough that it she can't take it out right away. But she was successful, shortly after I took this photo, in getting the rubber band out. She looks really cute though while its in!

Nowhere to go but up

Remember the post where we let Allie climb the stairs and swore we'd never do it again?

Oops! We did. Its so cute though. And it also means we don't have to carry her up the stairs!

She's recently grown fond of climbing up on the fireplace.

I've even heard that she took the cushion off the couch and climbed up there yesterday. But since I didn't witness it, it didn't happen.

She loves her some nutella

Its not always easy to get Allie to eat. What she likes one day she'll throw on the floor the next. But one thing she always eats is toast with nutella. I discovered nutella from a friend in an online group a few years ago. I love it. Allie does too. Its hazelnut spread with a hint of cocoa.

As you can see here, it can make quite a mess. Definitely worth it though. If you've never had nutella, you should try it!

An unlikely new toy

Our kitchen and dining room are usually off limits, which means that when the gate comes down (or if we don't close the gate fast enough), Allie runs in there to see whats up. For a long time she was more fascinated with the phone in the dining room. Now, however, she runs into the kitchen where her current fascination is with the step stool.

She doesn't use it as a step yet, and for that I'm grateful.