Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Today is Grandpa Ahearn's birthday and I told West all he wanted was some cuteness and a smile from his grandson. As you can see, West lives to please. There was plenty more where that came from!

Rock the Vote!

We took advantage of early voting today and went to beautiful City Hall to cast our ballots in the general election. West came with us, making our trip a family affair, and was an enthusiastic tagalong. As you can see from the pictures, he thinks voting is GREAT!

Here he is hanging out under Daddy's voting booth.

And playing with our paper receipts!

A Whale of a Tale (or Tail)

This is definitely going to be a long post because we have lots to share! Aaron, West & I ran off for the weekend to lovely Monterey, CA. Our first stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where West got to meet fishies for the very first time. Here he is with his Dad, having a fine time.

West definitely had his favorite fishes. He was only a medium fan of the jellyfish.

He loved the angelfish and blue tropicals. Here is what he looked like when he was watching the fish.

And a video:

He liked those fish so much that we had to go back and visit their tank a second time.

On Sunday, we went whale watching. Well, Aaron and I watched whales. Here is how West spent the four hours.

There was one brief exception, most of which he spent posing with his dad.

We saw humpback whales and otters and porpoises and pelicans and lots of sea lions.

West wore a special onesie to mark the occasion and did not get seasick.

After the whale watching, we went to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary to see the butterflies, which Aaron called "air fishies." West was a fan.

Here is a cluster of butterflies on a tree limb.

Here is a close-up of the same butterflies through a telescope.

West really loved his weekend getaway. We saw many wonders this weekend but here are the real highlights of the trip.

Fast Friends

I introduced West to one of my dearest childhood friends today. For those of you who don't recognize him, his name is Jesse and he was my constant companion when I was a little girl. Here is some footage of their first meeting. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Shock and Awwwww ...

All Smiles

It's been a while since we posted any of West's knock 'em dead smiles. They can be hard to catch on film but we got lucky today. My apologies for the sideways video - I promise it's worth getting a crick in your neck for. Enjoy!

Tickle Me Elmer

West's favorite toy du jour is Elmer, a stuffed elephant that Kirk & Jan gave him. He loves to hold him and suck on him and move him around. You can see West giving Elmer some playtime love in this video.

Snap! Crackle! Pop!

Here is a clip of West playing with his activity cube. He loves the crackling sound that it makes.

Stripey West

Some Days the Bunny Will Eat You ...

Some days you'll eat the bunny.