Most people go with silver, but we went with Mexico...

On July 22nd, Dan and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! Five years!! Can you believe it?!?!

For a traditional five year anniversary gift, you're supposed to give wood. More modern gift givers choose silver. Dan and I opted for a five-day, four-night trip to Cabo San Lucas. We did a similar trip for our first anniversary, and thought we'd try it again. We're glad we did, because we had the best time!

We stayed at the Barcelo Los Cabos, which is actually closer to San Jose del Cabo than Cabo San Lucas. It didn't really matter though because we were at an all inclusive, so we only went into town once to do a bit of shopping. We spent our days by the pool, and relaxed at some great restaurants and bars at night. I was shocked, but the food was AMAZING! We've been to some all inclusives with some horrible food, but this place was great. Nex time we'll take Kendall - there was a ton of stuff for kids to do, including a little water park! I forgot the camera (of course - I always forget something), so you'll have to settle for a couple of shots that I found online:

And yes, it really did look like that.

Kendall wasn't forgotten about. She spent the time with Gram and Dude. They lavished her with new toys and played with her all day long. When she woke up yesterday morning in her own bed, she actually asked for them. That tells me that she had a great time.

Finally, I have to mention that the modern gift giving guides weren't lost on Dan. My wonderful husband actually took the time to find out the rules for fifth anniversaries. Before we left on our trip, he gave me a beautiful silver Kate Spade picture frame, complete with silver wrapping paper. I can't wait to fill it with one of my favorite memories from the next five years!

Daddy's Day Care

How did I manage to get such a wild child?

These days, my most used phrases are, "Kendall, don't climb that!", "Get down!", "You're going to hurt yourself" and "Be careful!!". I'm not surprised when she falls and hurts herself, but she always seems to take it to another level when dad is in charge.

This past weekend, I came home from an afternoon of shopping with my mom to find Kendall like this:

Not only did she take a nasty fall on the neighbor's front porch, but she also managed to climb up one of our kitchen barstools, fall, and hit another barstool with her head on the way down. Kendall takes it all in stride and even managed to "smile" when I was taking her picture:

Later on, I left to run to the supermarket. I was gone about 20 minutes. When I came home, Kendall had a gigantic goose egg on the other side of her head. Apparently she jumped off the couch and landed head first on our tile floors, between the couch and the side table. Can anyone say "Parents of the Year"??

The Official 18 Month Stats

34 inches tall (99th percentile)

27.5 pounds (88th percentile)

18.5 inch head circumference (64th percentile)

A letter to Kendall at 18 months

Dear Kendall:

You turn 18 months old today. Gosh, how time flies. I can't believe that you've been with us for a year and a half now, but then again, it feels as if you've always been in our lives. We've been so blessed to watch you grow and change. In a lot of ways, it's sad to watch you leave babyhood behind. Dad isn't sad, but mom kind of is. Then again, I'm so excited to be a part of what lies ahead.

It's so neat to watch you're imagination run wild as you start to interact more with your toys. You love to feed your animals, and you'll always make sure that they eat before you take a bite. Stuffed animals are your favorite and you've gotten in the habit of taking one or more to bed with you every night. You just starting to really get into your Little People and kitchen sets.

I can already tell that you're one smart little cookie. I hear new words come out of your mouth every day now, and you're constantly trying to mimic things that we do. Speaking of cookies, you're starting to acquire a sweet tooth - asking for cookies for breakfast and digging into whatever dessert we may have in front of us. You like to brush your hair and your teeth, but I think you really just like eating the toothpaste. You also say "thank you" quite often, and at the appropriate times.

I love that you're so loving - you kiss EVERYTHING. Sometimes actual kisses, but sometimes you'll just blow kisses. I think that every one of your animals has been kissed a million times. I particularly love when you give me hugs and kisses.

You are also the funniest kid. Always looking for ways to make us laugh. You've developed an "evil laugh" that you'll break out every now and then. Sometimes it's when you're doing something that you shouldn't be doing, but it also just comes out when you're having lots of fun. You're also a daredevil - never afraid to scale a barstool or the end of our bed. You haven't yet discovered how to climb out of your crib, although I'm sure that you could if you tried.

Happy Half Birthday, Kiki! We love you more and more every day!

Our Busy Summer...so far

Summertime is always a busy time around the Weatherby house. So far, this summer has proved to be no different. We're barely into the month of July, and it seems like we've been going no stop since the summer started. Here are the highlights (and lowlights) of the past few weeks:

Caleb made his annual summer trek from the midwest, and wraps up his trip at the end of the week. He participated in 2 full weeks of the Encinitas Junior Lifeguards program, which teaches participants the ins and outs of the beach, ocean and lifeguarding. He had a great time, and we're proud of him for completing it. This program has been around for years, and I know that it is TOUGH!

Caleb actually drove out to California this year with Dan's mom and dad in their RV. Cousin Cati graduated from high school, and the family was here to celebrate. They spent a week at Campland by the Bay in Mission Beach and Kendall was lucky enough to join them most days!

We also hit up the fair a couple of weekends ago and tried some deep fried Kool Aid. It was as gross as I thought it would be. There were some neat horses though:

Dan is extremely busy at work, and I'm still struggling to find a good fit. I was laid off (again!) from my job at Dragonfly Designs, but have started to work (here and there) for a couple of land use planners that I worked for years ago. I'm hoping that business picks up and that I can start working a regular schedule. In the meantime, I'm planning things for Kendall and I to do to beat the heat over the coming months. She'll outgrow this plunge pool before long:

We sure have packed a lot into the past few weeks, but I know that there is much more to come!