Over the Hump

I just have to share this.  Do you know those motorized rides you see at the supermarket or the mall?  They look like little cars or boats that you have to pop in some quarters for them to start.  They just rock back and forth and play sounds.  Until today Izzy has been deathly afraid of them.  She'll jump on to play with the steering wheel but will completely freak out and scream once those quarters go in.  I've tried a few times as she got older and older hoping that she'll like them one day.  Well, today was the day folks!  We went to Everett Mall for the first time since we've been here and I took her to the tot play area.  Wasn't interested.  She kept pointing at the motorized car and asked to "ride".  For the heck of it I put in the quarters and she LOVED it!  Wanted to keep going for another 3 rides.  Paint me shocked folks!  I don't know what hump she had to get over before she started liking it but she's all for those coin rides now.  Too bad it take 75 cents for a 1-2 minutes ride.

Toddler Proof Wall Decals

Do you rent? We do. When my hubby was chosen for these new orders we agreed to rent a place until we knew for sure that we would settle down here. We didn't want to go through the rush of trying to sell like we had to with this last move. That was WAY too much stress and I don't even want to get into the crap our house is worth now because of the economy.  So now we're renting. One reason I was sad to move was because I took time to decorate the baby's room.  I love how it turned out and I made sure it wasn't obnoxiously girly.

Even though we have to rent I still wanted my little girl to have a beautiful room full of color were she would want to spend her time dreaming and discovering.  The down side was since this was a rental I wouldn't be able to just paint like I did at our last house.  So I found the next best thing.  At one of the discount sites I frequent, Zulily I found these decals that I could put on the walls to decorate.  I finished putting them up yesterday and I LOVE them.  I was concerned that they wouldn't come off without leaving adhesive on the walls or take off paint.  I moved a couple of pieces while I was putting them up and this morning I found a few stuck to her bedding.  When she woke up she must have peeled them off.  Two were stuck to each other, one was on her shirt and the other on her bed.

Usually, those would be in the trash can.  Not these, I just peels them off, took of as much lint as I could and stuck them back on the walls.  Yeah!  They're even toddler proof!  I randomly see them on different discount sites so if you happen to run across them.  They're great and you don't have to be stuck with white walls anymore!

A Day Downtown

We spent our afternoon and the New Children's Museum here in San Diego.  This is our second time visiting and it's been a few months since we were there last.  You can read about that here.  It's nestled in downtown San Diego and the place has three levels.  The general concept is it's a place where children of all ages can learn by doing.  There are arts and crafts on each floor and you don't have to worry about them touching any of the exhibits.

Today was short visit so Izzy and my nephew Nate could burn some of their never ending energy and get out of the house.  Out of all the exhibits they spent their time at the toy animals, the block table, bubble station and the rain house.  The rain house was the best part.  The floor is covered with foam mats and it's completely empty inside.  The kiddos were able to run around like little crazy people and since the house pipes out the sound of rain their screaming and laughter didn't bother anyone.

The down side is that it's a little pricey.  Just for the entrance and parking for one adult and one child was $20.  The same goes for the coffee/snack bar.  It's a great place to experience but there are so many place in San Diego for her to burn her energy that aren't as expensive.

Family Day at Chuck E. Cheese's

What a great family day!  My hubby didn't have any work to do today so we decided to take Izzy somewhere special.  We decided to let her experience Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time.  I personally haven't been to Chuck E. Cheese's since... well I can't remember.  It hasn't been in the past 10 or 15 years I can tell you that.  I wasn't sure what age would be right to bring her there so we decided to just risk it.

We headed out around 2:30pm, it was later than we planned but she was able to get in her daily nap before we left.  Once we got there she just held my hand while we ordered a late lunch and soaked in the atmosphere.  By the time we got to our table she was ready to go explore all the sites and sounds.  Even though there was a small crowd there it didn't phase her at all.  We looked at those little motorized rides that start up with a token.  She got into a bus and I made a HUGE mistake of turning in on.  She LOVES pretending to drive but didn't like the motion at all.  Luckily, it didn't turn her off from the experience.  We played games as a family and even won enough tokens to get her a few toy nick nacks.  She had the most fun watching other people play.  This was a great first time experience but it's definitely a place I'll save until she's older to fully enjoy.  The pizza was pretty good too!

Play Town

We spent the day yesterday at Play Town in El Cajon. The place was a great find so close to home.

It was filled with toddler friendly toys and activity areas. This was our second time there but the first time bringing cousin Nate. They especially loved this play camper pretending to drive and cook in the back.


So much that Izzy stopped mid play to give him a hug.



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