I got a picture with mommy at the Aquarium, too

That's rare -- usually she's the one taking all of the pictures. Of course, I was busy putting on lip gloss. Again.

Hey look, a shark!

Mommy sharkie is taking a nap. Her babies are running around wreaking havoc!

Then it was time for the tide pools!

I get to touch!

Poke!

Mommy helped me pet a sea slug and a sea anemone.

Heeeeey, I'm not done!

I touched a stingray!

Then I splashed some water around. Both were fun.

I made a new friend!

Not that he was so interesting. So I went back to talking to the fishies.

I ran around with my friend Avery

Oh boy did we explore!

I had some delicious Chowder

Notice the "Judge" pin -- I really judged "The Best of the West Chowderfest!" I always told you I was a gourmand.

I got up close and personal with some fish

Introducing... CarolineFish and AveryFish!

Here I am at Aquarium of the Pacific with my friend, Avery. We are making our best little fish faces. Don't we just blend in with the other fish in the aquarium?! Lots of pictures will post tomorrow. Check back several times throughout the day!

Fishies on my mind...

I've had fishies on my mind for a while now. Mommy's friend Olga learned of an opportunity for mommy and me to judge "The Best of the West Chowderfest" competition at the Aquarium of the Pacific last weekend. Some of the top restaurants of the area participated, pitting their chowders to see whose cuisine reigned supreme. In anticipation of our visit, mommy started telling me about all of the fish and other animals we would see there. I opted to get in the spirit by having mommy put a temporary tattoo of a fishie on my leg! Isn't she beautiful?

A new Sunday tradition!

Daddy started playing basketball with some friends on Sunday afternoons. This means special time for me and mommy. We started going to Costco to play. We walk around, see what strikes my fancy, play with some toys, sample some food, drive through a carwash, then go home. It's SO fun.

Last week, we learned that I love organic, MSG-free, no-GMO wontons. Mommy was very excited about this. Daddy was too, but he's really starting to wonder why it is that I seem to like Asian food so much. Who knows, daddy -- but please pass the chop sticks. I'm hungry!

This week's Sunday tradition will be a little different - my friend Liam is turning 3, so I'm going to his birthday party, then dropping daddy off for basketball before mommy and I go to play at Costco and the carwash.

I'm going to MALIBU!

A few weeks ago, it was so cold that it snowed at Amma and Baba's house. Mommy asked me if I wanted to go to their house to see snow. I responded, "No. Snow is cold. Let's go to Malibu!" We did go out that day, but we didn't go to Malibu (instead, we went to have lunch and enjoy the beautiful day in Santa Monica).

Well, today we're going to Malibu. We're going to see whales (provided it doesn't rain -- trips are cancelled in rainy weather)! As of yesterday, there was a 50/50 chance of rain, so I'm not sure if we'll see whales, but I'm still going to Malibu! Daddy isn't coming because he gets sea sick, so we promised to take lots of pictures and to tell him all about it when we get back. He's lucky I recall such vivid details. That's one of the many reasons I'm such a terrific storyteller.

Daddy's not the only one who gets snuggles from me

I also love my water sippy cup. Sometimes I even snuggle and sleep with it.

Snuggletime!

Daddy was laying on the couch. I ran at nearly the speed of light to get my step stool, bolted to the couch and used my step stool to hoist myself up to snuggle with the big guy. I even instructed him to "make room for me!"

Yep, that's a self-satisfied grin.

A new snack

I recently discovered that I like spring rolls! I really like the delicious dipping sauce for them, too. Eating a spring roll is like a snack and a game all in one -- dip, eat, dip, eat, dip, eat. Weeee!

More Hello Kitty!

For Persian New Year, mommy's aunt Shahla sent me a package! I love opening presents. I was really excited to open this one, too. And when I saw all the Hello Kitty stuff inside, I was even MORE excited! Look at all this great loot! Thanks, great aunt Shahla!

Woops! But hooray!

Apologies for neglecting to update my blog for a few days. I guess we were all just really excited about mommy's victory at trial last week! It was a bench trial, and she got the judge's order awarding judgment in favor of her client on all matters this morning. It was a very meaningful win.

I will make posts retroactive to the date they should have been made. Thanks for cutting us a little slack!

Happy No Ruz!

Today is Persian New Year!

We went to Amma and Baba's house yesterday to celebrate. Well, that and to see some crappy houses in LCF. Daddy actually asked mommy if she was sure that one of the two houses we saw wasn't a double-wide. What a piece of garbage. Needless to say, we didn't make any offers. But we sure had a lot of fun running around and playing in each of them! Too bad neither had a significant enough back yard for me to do some serious damage.

Next time.

Mommy and daddy said that a lot of houses come on the market during the summer, so we stand a pretty good chance of finding something worthwhile then. Fingers crossed!

So this is trial prep, huh?

I've never been a big fan of mornings when mommy has to go to work, but for about a week and a half, she was coming home hours later than my bedtime and leaving shortly after I woke up. I was not a fan of this AT ALL. I even woke up around 1am one night and talked to mommy until 5am because that's the only time I could get her attention! It was really wreaking with my sleep schedule.

Mommy, you'd better win this one. I did NOT give up all of this quality time with you so judgment can be entered in favor of the other side.

I am such a big girl that I can order my own entree!

Mommy and I read the kids' menu together. Then, when the waiter asked mommy what I wanted, I answered "curly mac and cheese, please!" Mommy cut it up for me into bite-sized curly macaroni pieces so I could spoon-feed myself. It was yummy. I especially enjoyed the M&M sundae at the end. I separated out all of the M&Ms!

Okay, bye! I'm going to Alaska!

I pack my bag daily and tell mommy that I'll see her later. When she asks where I'm going, I tell her I'm going to Alaska (clearly I enjoyed our vacation last year). She tells me I need warmer clothes, but I think she forgets that I packed a blanket. And a pillow. And my sunglasses. Clearly, I'm ready for Alaska!

Only in LA can I need a cool treat in March

Thank goodness there is a Baskin-Robbins nearby! I opted for a scoop of Strawberry and a scoop of Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry, topped with a sugar cone. PERFECT!

Tea! REAL tea!

I have tea parties at home, but I'd never had real tea before. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant and they served us a pot of tea. I saw mommy and daddy enjoying it and I wanted to try, too! So mommy poured me a little bit of tea and I really savored it. Now I know what I'm supposed to put in those pretty tea cups!

Hello, Kitty!

I got my acceptance letter for preschool. And yes, it's true, the application process on the uber-competitive Westside of Los Angeles can make the application process more complicated than when mommy applied to college. She had to take a mandatory tour, write multiple essays and go to an interview. She even did a toddler program with me so we would be on the "preferred admit" list.

Now that I'm admitted and have a start date (July 1 -- my preschool likes kids to start during the summer because they do so many fun things then, including taking field trips to cool places, because they find it helps with the transition), it's time to start thinking about what I need to start preschool. In an attempt to start preparing me for the transition from having a nanny and being in a preschool classroom with other kids, mommy started getting me things that I would need for preschool. One of my friends brought me the Hello Kitty lunchbox for my 2nd birthday (yes, the process began early). Then mommy bought me a Hello Kitty rolling backpack last week to match my lunchbox. We talked about how I would need the backpack to take a pillow and blanket for naptime, and a change of clothes in case I decided to paint on myself. There is also a protected area for my sunglasses! I put my sunglasses in there for safe keeping. I also put my mini camera in that pocket to keep my sunglasses company. Mommy also slid the lunchbox straps through the backpack handle so I wouldn't have too many things to hang on to! Super.

Mommy didn't fully appreciate how much I would love it -- I didn't stop playing with it all night that night, and I woke up in the middle of the night asking if I could SLEEP in it! I can be so silly.

Chow (LOTS OF) Fun!

I enjoy using chop sticks. I especially love using them on Chow Fun. It turns mealtime into funtime! As an added bonus, Chow Fun is absolutely delicious! YUM.

Picasso, eat your heart out

Do you see the doggie in this picture? I drew it all by myself. I also drew three people. Mommy was impressed!

Nuts!

I'm always curious about what people are doing. Mommy told me my squirrely buddy was eating nuts. I asked what kind of nuts. Mommy said Marcona Almonds. I said I wanted some. So we went inside and mommy gave me Marcona Almonds. BOY does this squirrel have good taste! I may just join him next time he's having a snack.

It's time for BANG BANG!

Now that the holidays are over and I'm done with holiday-related things (except maybe a few elves I keep on various shelves), I asked mommy if I could bang bang the gingerbread house. So mommy gave me a hammer and my gingerbread house and let the demolition begin!

Everything on the house was fair game.

Snack time! CHOMP.

Then I added insult to injury by smashing previously-smashed walls. I'll show that gingerbread house who's boss!

Demolition is complete. That was FUN! I enjoyed releasing my inner Godzilla.

Even my lemur wears jewelry

Lemur likes to wear pearls, just like me. Copymonkey.

Fine dining with a toddler

Utensils?! Who needs any stinking utensils?!

Pink nail polish!

At the book launch this weekend, a new Brentwood nail salon was passing out nail polish. They let me choose my own! Naturally, I chose pink. That night, I insisted that mommy paint my nails (and hers) and that she take a picture so I could share with my devoted fans. And so I could insist on looking at it all the time. Hooray for manicures!

What a busy Saturday!

Yesterday I was busier than usual... I went to daddy's dentist appointment with him and "helped" the dentist as he cleaned daddy's teeth (he even gave me my very own instrument!). Then we went to brunch at Nonna's Empanadas and had some mediocre empanadas (ah, it was worth a try).

Then it was off to Santa Monica for Dr. Seuss's birthday party! I got to choose a new Dr. Seuss book, I got an eraser with Horton on it and I even took a picture with the Cat in the Hat! Then we went to a special room Dr. Seuss had set up for his guests to color, do crafts involving green eggs and ham, have cookies and sip juice. What fun!

But wait -- the fun continued! In the afternoon, I went to the Brentwood Country Mart to celebrate a book launch (didn't care about the book, but I really enjoyed the activities!). I got a pink OPI nail color and had mommy paint my fingernails, I picked some cupcakes for mommy and daddy to eat, I got a yummy-smelling candle, I rode an elephant and some ponies (not real ones -- the coin-operated big metal kind), played with some toys, sang some songs, got tossed in the air in a parachute (this was a favorite), got a balloon doggie, had a butterfly painted on my arm, played the piano and generally just ran around having a great time.

I slept well on Saturday night. I must have been pooped from all that fun!

They're so small... why stop at one?

Besides, this one is CHOCOLATE. That's my favorite.

What a tasty treat!

I need to be sure to get every delicious bite! Err -- lick.

Oh cupcake baby, you're a little slice of heaven.

Eeny, meeny, miny... CUPCAKE!

Which one of you will be my lucky pick?

I choose you! Now get in my belly.

I love books so much that I even keep one in mommy's car

This book is special -- it even plays music and has lyrics for me to sing along!

Patience! Legal research takes time.

And concentration. Shhhhhhhhhh.

I went to mommy's office!

I was curious what this "work" thing was about, so I asked to go to mommy's office. It's kind of a nice place! Plus she has this super-comfortable Herman Miller chair. Fancy schmancy! I sat in her chair and pretended to be her. Do I look convincing?