A New Park!!

 Mommy doesn't know what this thing is called.  I named it a Round-and-round-stander.  You stand in it and then use your body weight to make it rotate.  Cool!!

 I kept saying 'round-and-round-and-round-and.......'

 You get the idea.... I really liked it!  :)

Danni wasn't too fond of the play area....  she's not used to crawling on metal!

"Climbing up in the sky!"

Making Mommy nervous (yes, those are tree tops behind me!)

Climbing up the "blue cheese" ...

Mommy took us to a new park in Chino Hills (one that actually has trees...) to try to snap some pictures of us for our birthday invitation.  The photo session didn't turn out so great.... but the play session that followed was fantastic!  This park had all kinds of new play equipment for us to explore!!  My only complaint was that the ground was covered with wood chips.  These don't feel so great on toes in open-toed shoes...  they also don't taste very good when you eat it face first off the swing....  :) 

Diz Diz Diz!!

Lines are borrrring....

 I picked the yellow Dumbo!

Wheeeeeee!!!

Danni's first Dumbo ride!!

She was so excited, she did the macarena! ;)

Disneyland makes Danni happy!!

The Up&Down makes ME happy... always!!

I think Danni likes it too....

Happy Brasher babies!!

We rode it 4 times.... still not enough for me!

Danni loves the Diz!

Can you ever have too many Disneyland pictures??  We are definitely going to find out!  We visited our happiest home away from home again!  It was Danni's first time on Dumbo (she loved it!)  ...  I got in trouble for throwing my plastic Dumbo feather into the moat.  (Who puts a moat under a toddler-friendly ride, then gives them projectiles to 'hold'?!)   The day was a hot one, so we only stayed for a few hours... but it was plenty of time to capture tons of smiles!!!  :)

Carnival for a Cause...

I LOVE to bounce!!

 Reason #245 that toddlers are ALWAYS sick...

Smiling for the pretty girls!

One of the carnival games was picking a sunter off of a sunter tree.  I liked this game even though I only won a sunter!

I won at the SpongeBob sponge toss... of course, I didn't have to throw toooo far...

Walking the track with Mama Vee...

Happy to help little Daylon!!

One of the little boys in our neighborhood, Daylon, was born with a terrible disease that makes his skin super delicate...  he can't do any of the things that little boys should be doing because it makes him get blisters, cuts, and sores.  He is going to participate in a clinical trial that may help his condition...  you can read more about him here:  www.helpmakeamiracle.org   We all feel especially close to him because he is the same age as Danni ... hearing his story makes us all so grateful that she and I have been blessed with such great health!   In early May, there was a carnival and a walk-a-thon at the high school to raise money for Daylon's family - they will have to relocate to Minnesota for many months while he undergoes chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.  We had a great time ... but it was even more amazing because we knew that we were helping a fantastic cause!!  :)

Planter Construction!!

 Hamming with Mama Vee.  I didn't hit her once!  :)

 Hamming with Mama.  I didn't hit her either!  That's some great aim!!

Sheesh... how much help does a guy need to do construction?!

 Daddy and Danni cheered us on from the sidelines!

Putting the flower pot in the 'circulo'....

Comparing planters with my friend and fellow builder Tristan...

I can't believe that the first of the month came around so quickly!  Woohoo for construction time!  (Home Depot has a free craft for kids on the first Saturday of each month!)  This month's craft was a wooden planter... It was super easy...  but I let Mama Vee and Mommy help me...  they need to feel important!  :)  Mommy tried to convince me to plant something in my new planter...  I declined the offer.  Right now, it makes a great holder for blueberries and Cheerios!

Danni's 10 Months Old!!

It's crazy how time flies by!!  Danni is speeding toward her first birthday!  She is trying SO hard to walk... she cruises everywhere and is unhappy if she can't be on her own two feet on the floor!  She learned a couple of new words this month...  Nonononono  (my parents can't just say no ONCE!) ... and Ny-Ny (her version of Nite-Nite!)  She is a great eater -- she LOVES feeding herself (she can't get enough frozen yogurt!) She is also an awesome sleeper, she hits the crib at about 7 p.m. and sleeps pretty soundly until 6 a.m. (although, since Mommy is typing this, Danni will decide to get up 14 times a night for the next week ;) !!!)  This month she weighs in at 20 lbs 2 ounces!  Almost time for her big girl car seat!  :)

Danni's hair keeps growing and growing.... she wakes up looking crazeeeee after naptime!  :)

Silly balloon!!

Just goes to show that the simplest things in life can make a toddler hysterical....  :)  Mommy wasn't sad when Daddy accidentally popped the rocket balloon, but I was!

Crazeee Train!

 Choo-choo!!!  Loved the train ride!

Two of Daddy's favorite passengers!

Checking out the engine!

 Faster than a speeding locomotive.... 

One of the only animals that wasn't nite-nite... a bald eagle...

I petted the goat-didi gently!  

Danni wasn't so sure about the goat!

He WAS a little freaky looking!  :)

I LOVE Spring weather!  In between our sprinkly days, we have been having some days filled with gorgeous sunshine...  Mommy, Daddy, Danni, and I have been taking advantage of them with some quality outdoor time!  We took a trip to Irvine Regional Park in Orange and rode their train, walked through the park, and visited their zoo.  The train ride was my favorite!  (Especially when the conductor honked the horn!!)  The zoo was okay... most of the animals were asleep or hiding because the afternoon was a bit warm....  I had fun watching the goats poop, though!  :)

UCLA Festival of Books!

I was on the fence about the whole book festival thang....

So was Danni...

Danni liked dancing!

I warmed up to the crowd enough to smile!

I LOVE my sister!

 I was a little weirded out... she SOUNDED like Dora.... but she wasn't......

I liked the story!

I was brave and touched the big bear's teefs!

I have been to the UCLA Festival of Books every year since I was born!  (Okay, so that's only 3 times, but it sounded dramatic!)  This year, I was actually super-excited to go!  One of my favorite Nickelodeon bands, "The Fresh Beat Band" was performing on the Target stage!  To sweeten the deal, Caitlyn Sanchez, who is the voice of my FAVORITE cartoon character, Dora the Explorer, was also making an appearance!!  I was pretty overwhelmed by the crowds of people that had the same idea that we did... but I did love listening to the Dora stories!!!  Wonder what we'll see next year!

Bye-Bye, Papa Harold!

 Papa Harold and Mama Sue are finally reunited!

I don't think I have ever seen Daddy in a suit and tie!

I KNOW that no one has ever seen ME in one!

Not too comfortable... but I have to admit, I did look pretty suave!

Just a little dapper smile...

 STOP with the pictures already!

A Zashi's-Eye-View of the family...

The diggers in the background were distracting me...

Uncle Po and Danni.  (She hated her shoes as much as I did!)

My only GREAT grandparent, Papa Harold, passed away in his sleep on April 12.  He was 89 years old (almost 90!!) and had lived a great life.  Since he served as a Marine in World War II, he had a military memorial service at Riverside National Cemetery.  Although I protested about wearing a suit and dress-up shoes, I was curious about the bugle player (he played Taps on the hill overlooking the memorial service), and I liked watching the uniformed Marines fold Papa Harold's flag.  I couldn't sit still during the service.... there were tractors digging in the grass nearby...  so I HAD to watch!  :)  (Something tells me that Papa Harold wouldn't mind!)  I am lucky to have another guardian angel watching over me.... but will miss Papa Harold!!