Leyton's African Safari

Okay, so maybe it wasn't really in Africa - but it was fun none the less.  Today we visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which is located about 45 minutes north of our house.  It is part of the zoo, therefore Mommy gets in with her Membership pass, and the zoo is always free for military.  The neat thing about this place is all the animals get to roam about like in the wild.  They are in huge enclosures that are several hundred acres and they get to interact with other animals.  They separate the hunters though -so there are no National Geographic moments with lions taking down zebras.  Speaking of lions - they were not in the park -they had the day off.  Wonder what lions do on their day off...?

 Here is a good view of the African plains.

 And another one of my little monkey...

Probably the coolest thing we saw all day was a Cheetah running at full speed:  

http://youtu.be/mM2uKaQtyfg

It really sounds like that too as he speeds by -Not something you see everyday!

 Next, we boarded a tram for the African Safari

And saw Rhinos

And Giraffes

And Antelope

You also get a good view of the surrounding native Southern California landscape

(Side note: If you are thinking the scenery reminds you of Top Gun, you aren't crazy.  It was filmed just miles up the road.  Maverick likely hit the hard deck on one of those mountains!)

After the tram, we found a shady spot for lunch-

Which Leyton got all over her face and the camera case.

We will be going back - we only saw about a quarter of the park.  There is only so much fun an 8-month old can have on Safari in a day (about 2.5 hours worth to be exact and then MELT DOWN).

8 Months Old!

Our Little Leyton Lee isn't so little anymore.  She is now a wonderful 8 month old ball of joy.  We realize this is the Golden Age of babies - old enough to sleep all night, big enough to entertain herself, but not big enough to move around yet.  

As she gets older, her personality is shining through.  Generally, Leyton is a very happy little girl.  She loves going for walks outside and anything that makes noise (including the vacuum cleaner).  She is only fussy when she is bored or tired -or when you try to take away something she was enjoying playing with but wasn't supposed to be.  She crinkles up her little nose when she smiles and looks more like Ryan with her expressions every day.  

People always comment on her big beautiful blue eyes, but sometimes strangers make her cry - especially if they get too close.  She isn't crawling, but she can get around.  She can push herself backwards with ease.  Leyton is also getting better and better at feeding herself, and bananas are still her favorite.  Now that she is 8 months, we will start really expanding her food options - to meat, cheese and more fruits and veggies.  

She is still a tall girl - taller than many of the toddler babies at Storytime.  We also left her in the nursery for the first time this week- a bigger step for us as parents than for her personally.  When we came to get her, she was asleep in a swing, so I don't think she much anxiety about leaving us at all.  

Enjoy the photos from our little ray of sunshine this week:

LC's version of crawling

Modeling her Father's Day present

Giving Daddy his Father's Day card

Our first official beach outing (it started out clear and sunny - but quickly clouded up)

Thanks for the bathing suit BB (unfortunately it is almost too small, so we will have to get her another very soon)

We are trying to teach her how to clap.  She can do it, but is generally too busy to practice for long.

Silly kid

Modeling her new shades (she's not a fan)

Mommy's Little Huggie

8 month olds need lots of sleep.  She was still sleeping at 8AM this morning, and this is how she solved the problem of it being too bright outside.

Cheesin' with Tigger

Be quiet Tigger -this is my spotlight

The best part about photoshoots - playing with the sign afterwards

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY! I LOVE YOU!

Hugs and Kisses to all the Dad's out there!  Especially my Daddy.  He is the best.  He plays silly games with me, reads to me, changes my stinky diapers, and makes baby showers (bath time) lots of fun.  Mom and I wanted to get him something special and useful for his first Father's Day.

So we did some research...

And came up with the PERFECT gift!

A Kelty Kid Pack!  

Mom and Dad love sightseeing and hiking, so I thought this would be great.  I couldn't even wait until Sunday for Dad to try it out - so we went to Cowles Summit in Santee today for a nice little hike.

We enjoyed beautiful views of downtown, the surrounding mountains, and the ocean.

Another beautiful day!

Thanks for the lift, Dad!

Oh, and Mom came too.

We had lots of fun hiking, but the best part was the picnic in the park afterwards.  We had banana, avocado, and Cheerios!  Delicious!  I am working on feeding myself the Cheerios.  I can grab them with no problem, but it's transferring them from my palm to my mouth that I'm still working on.  Apparently it's funny to watch, because my folks like to laugh at me.  It's cool though, as long as they help me get a few in my mouth, too.  I'm growing up fast - but I couldn't do it without you Dad!  LOVE YOU!  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Point Loma Tidepools

Ryan got off of work early today, and it was beautiful out (of course), so we decided to head out for a little lunch and scenery.  Leyton had her first lunch eating at a restaurant.  She did great, but had trouble eating due to all the interesting distractions.  We followed it up with a trip back to Point Loma, this time to check out the tide pool area.  Great place for a photo op -as you can see.

LC in the house

Hello Blog Nation.  LC again.  Just catching y'all up on what I've been up to lately.  I am still not crawling, but I can get around well enough by rolling.  When I'm in my crib or on the parent's bed, I'll smash my face into the mattress and push myself around with my butt in the air.  I've given this a few test runs on my play mat but with little success.  It may be made of foam, but that thing isn't soft enough for sliding around on one's face.

Friday night we had some friends over, and I got to practice my hostessing skills.  Here I am welcoming the guests.

Chatting it up, being social.  This is my friend Storm.  He's a little cutie.  His older brother, Ryder, was kind enough to show Mommy and Daddy all they had to do to baby proof the house.  They have a LOT to do :-)

I got another package in the mail.  This one was from my BB and Poppy.  It was filled with goodies from their recent trip to Norway.  I really like the pull train.

But I like the string for the train the most.  Mommy doesn't let me play with it by myself though - something about a choking hazard.

This is my dog Sasha.  She is very smart.  I like to share my food with her.  She's already figured out the best place to rest during meal times.

Tuesday was Flag Day, and they were handing out flags at the Commissary.  Mom tried to get some good shots of me with the flag. 

But I thought it would be better to chew on it instead.

That's still patriotic, right?

I've got one last thing to show you before I go:

Look closely and you can see the makings of my top two teeth.  I am putting them to good use - biting EVERYTHING I can get into my mouth.  Better get a roll on that baby proofing Mom and Dad!