Anders' California Birthday

We were so excited to get to celebrate Anders' birthday with my parents and sister in CA while we were there.  We didn't do anything really fancy, just made cupcakes and let Anders open up the presents from my parents.  Anders had a great time and loved just having so many people around to play with.  Anders loved getting so much attention from Grandpa and Grandma and loved his new toys.  He didn't care that much about his cupcake but it was still fun to give it to him and see his reaction. Alden enjoyed the cupcake way more than Anders and actually ate his.  To me it is just crazy that Anders is 2 and is growing up so fast!  He is so much fun and loves discovering new things which is so fun to watch.

Anders loved getting to do Noble Duke of York with Grandpa before dinner.

He loves going upside down and thinks it is really funny.

I just love his smile here!

Anders enjoyed having us sing to him and looking at the candles in front of him.

We all tried to coach him on how to blow out the candles but he just wanted brother to do it.

He was very happy when Alden blew out his candles.

He tried one bite of his cupcake...

and then decided he didn't like having messy hands and lost all interest in the cupcake.

Alden enjoyed his and was happy that the frosting was green.

Anders was excited to get to open his presents.

Daddy had to help him some with the wrapping paper.

He was so excited when he saw what was inside.

He immediately started pulling all the pieces out so that he could do the puzzle with Daddy.

He was very excited to get it all put back together.

Anders also got a remote control car that he was really excited about!

He had fun figuring out how to use the remote control car with brother watching closely.

Then he had fun figuring it out more and getting Grandpa's help.

Anders enjoyed doing the puzzle again with Grandma right before bed.  He had a nice birthday celebration and we enjoyed getting to do his first celebration with family.  

Monterey Bay Aquarium

While we were visiting family in California we had the chance to take our boys to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It was fun to take the boys there with my parents and sister and see them get excited about all the different animals.  Anders loves fish so we knew he was going to enjoy this outing and Alden loves any chance to see any animal.  It was a really fun day and I am glad that we got to share it with family.

I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium because I grew up going there and they have such a huge collection of aquatic animals.  I love getting to share this place with my kids.  They thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the animals but they also enjoyed the play area near the end and the touch pools, although Anders was more willing to touch things in those than his brother.  I also love the fact that the aquarium is built right on the ocean so that you can go out on the balcony and see wildlife in the open ocean too.  It makes for a very memorable and fun experience.

Anders was excited to start seeing fish with Grandma.

We had a lot of fun watching the otters for awhile.  They were being really active and playful and the boys loved how they came right next to where they were standing.

One of my favorite exhibits at the aquarium is the jelly fish.  I have always thought jellyfish were really pretty and neat to watch.

Anders enjoyed watching them too!

Anders was very happy to get out and walk around to see all of the animals up close, rather than riding in the stroller.

Alden enjoyed some quality time with Aunt Maren talking about some different animals.

These were taken from the balcony of the aquarium looking out at the ocean.  It was really funny to watch the otter eat his snack with the seagull following him looking like he wanted to steal the otter's food.

The aquarium has a cool "Baja California" exhibit right now with some really interesting reptiles.

It was really interesting to see how different some of the environments are near Baja California.

I love seeing all the interesting fish and I find it very interesting seeing them all swim and interact in the water.

This octopus wasn't really making an effort to hide and it was fun to watch him climb on the glass.

Anders really enjoyed seeing all the different fish and he was very happy to have Grandma help lift him up.

Alden enjoyed looking in all of the different enclosures and tanks and more importantly he loved getting to spend time with Grandpa.

The boys feeling different things at the touch pool.  I was glad that Alden was more adventurous than last time.

Anders tried touching a few different things but he was still a little tentative.

I love lionfish!  I think they look so cool!

My cute little boy in a clam!  (Alden refused to sit in there with him)

Alden was very excited to explore and play in the kid's section.

The boys loved this!  Anders was so happy to ride on the seahorse with his brother!

Alden enjoyed exploring this little cave in the play area.

Anders loved the slide and was very happy to just keep going around in circles to go down it over and over again!

My boys weren't exactly sure how they felt about being under this glass waterfall but Alden warmed up to it and Anders was okay on Grandma's lap.  We had a great day at the aquarium and I am so grateful for the chance to make memories with family!