Weekend in Capetown

This past weekend was packed to the brim with events as we traveled over to Capetown for the Two Oceans running extravaganza. Justin ran the Two Oceans 56km - the initial reason for going to Capetown - and we decided to make a mini vacation out of the trip since we had a four-day weekend over Easter.

We started our time in Capetown at Boulders Beach, home to hundreds of penguins. We had no idea what to expect and were just hoping that we would see a penguin. That wish was granted before we could even get out of our car as a penguin was standing in the middle of our parking spot! At this point, we knew we were going to enjoy the experience. As soon as we headed down the walkway to the beach, several penguins shared the sidewalk with us, and Taelyn ran over to them to say hello. Both parties seemed to like one another. Once we got on to the beach, Kaelia walked over to a penguin while Taelyn continued to chase others. We could walk right up to them before they decided to waddle off and take a dip in the ocean. Next we walked along a path, heading towards a second beach. During our walk, penguins were nested everywhere. Both girls were so excited to see them every couple of steps, and Taelyn decided to stop and talk to a couple of them. Just as she knelt down and said "Nice penguin," one of the penguins gave her a little peck on the nose! Taelyn thought is was hilarious and kept telling us that the "penguin eat Taenyn nose!" We actually videotaped this too (see Smilebox below).

At the second beach, we saw even more penguins than before. Kaelia even started dancing by kicking her little legs because she was so excited. Once Taelyn saw this, she started spinning in circles to add to the dance. It was pretty cute. Then Justin tried to teach Taelyn how to waddle like a penguin, but Taelyn had her own way to doing in. She squatted down, tipping back and forth and she yelled "waddle waddle" and then usually fell backwards because she couldn't balance for too long. We then left the beach laughing and with good spirits.

The next day was the kick-off for the Two Oceans races where I hopped in a 5K fun run and Taelyn made her running debut at the 56m Nappy Dash! She had so much fun. First, we put on her number, and she was so interested in it, that she wouldn't take hand off of it - even when she ran. Then hundreds of 1-3 year-olds and their parents lined up 56m before the finish line and took off when the announcer yelled "GO!" Taelyn paced herself until she saw her daddy at the finish line and then took off to get to him. As we walked through the finish shoot, she was awarded with a medal and a track bag filled with goodies. We sat off to the side so Taelyn and Kaelia could open the goody bag and play. Kaelia was so eager to be a part of the race that she eventually made a mad dash of a crawl while another little baby tried to chase her. Kaelia kept looking back to make sure the other baby was still there and then kept darting away. After we got back to our place, the girls played "Run a Race" over and over again for the rest of the weekend where they took turns wearing Taelyn's medal and then crawled around the room, chasing each other. The medal kept getting caught under their legs until the ribbon was so frayed that it ripped right off. A quick tie held it together, though, so the game could go on.

After Justin's race (for his full story, please see his running blog), we ventured over to the Capetown Aquarium where the girls got to see many different kinds of sea life. They got to pet a starfish in the petting pond and crawl in to the middle of the clown fish aquarium so that they were surrounded by little Nemo's everywhere. Taelyn loved anything there that reminded her of Finding Nemo, and Kaelia loved everything that moved!

We ended our trip with a nice scenic drive along the coast where Justin had run a good portion of his race. The area was breath-taking with the combination of tall trees, enormous rock formations, and crashing ocean tides. Capetown is a beautiful city, and we had the perfect family weekend.

Since we were gone over Easter, we did not get a chance to fully celebrate the holiday, so we plan on doing so next weekend. Stay tuned for pics of that event.

This photo album made with Smilebox

Silly Sisters

The girls have had so many great moments together over the past month that I wanted to display a few that we managed to get on camera. They absolutely adore one another - and they fight like sisters will do too.

This free digital scrapbook customized with Smilebox

Taelyn has her own little games that she has been playing with us as well. Sleep & Awake is a huge favorite where she makes us pretend to be asleep and tuck us in bed. After piling on blankets, toys, puzzles, books, and anything else in sight that she wants us to sleep with, she will then close the door and say, "Sweet dreams, I'll see you in the morning." After a little wait time, she will run back in to the room and scream, "Awake!"

Another game that she recently started playing is Happy Birthday. She likes to stack things on top of each other to represent a birthday cake, give it to one of us, and then sing the happy birthday song. Then she will take a toy or book, wrap it up in a blanket, and give us a birthday present. Taelyn has also kept her birthday cards from February and continues to read them and present them during her little birthday party games.

Kaelia - 10 Months

Kaelia is now 19.1 lbs., 29.5 inches tall, and has a head circumference of 17.5 inches at 10 months. A couple of teeth are just moments away from breaking through, and her hair is getting longer and longer. Little curls are even starting to form in the back of her head; it looks like she will end up with a full head of curls!

Aside from her physical appearance, Kaelia's physical development has grown. She has been working toward more and more milestones - especially walking. Kaelia moves around the house quite fast by crawling and cruising furniture. And just at the end of this month, she took her first couple of steps! She has been diving toward us throughout the entire month, and then was finally able to add some steps to it. She was standing up against the coffee table in the living room and wanted to come over to me. Then without any fear, she simply lunged toward me. Her feet scrambled two steps before falling face first in to my lap. Kaelia was so excited and proud of herself and has not stopped attempting to walk ever since.

Kaelia's personality continues to shine as well. She really likes anything interactive and silly, yet she is a great snuggler too. She also likes to read books (especially touch and feel books and anything with baby faces), play peek-a-boo, give-me-five, play in the sand, destroy puzzles and stacked blocks, and she loves to play with her sister. Kaelia is finally at the point where she understands Taelyn's little games like "tickle Kae-ya," pretending to sleep, and wrestling. So now Kaelia will play back. After Taelyn tackles Kaelia to tickle her, Kaelia will flip around, get on top of Taelyn, and smack her in the face to get her back. Or when Taelyn gives Kaelia a hug, Kaelia will sometimes hug back and give her sister a great big slobbery kiss on the face. Taelyn will often ask Kaelia to "fall asleep" so Taelyn can tuck her in and then surprise her by saying "awake!" Now Kaelia will lay down on the pillow patiently while Taelyn puts a blanket and a stuffed animal on top and then scream with excitement when Taelyn yells "awake." It has been such a joy to watch the two girls interact.

The usual babbles are a daily part of Kaelia's day, while she will also repeat sounds that we say when we try to pair a word with an object. If we see a dog, for example, we will tell her that it is a dog over and over again, and then Kaelia will say "duh" for "dog." She does the same for cat too. And during the end of this month, we think she said her first actual word without prompting. Justin usually gets her out of bed in the morning when she wakes up, and she has started to say "da" when she sees him. She does the same when he comes home from work. We are not quite sure if she is just saying the "d" sound or if she is actually saying "dad." She does not say that sound very much during the day when Justin is at work, so it looks like it might be her first word!