Lily in the City

This past weekend we took Lily into San Francisco to see the aquarium. Before we went to see the “fishies”, as Lily calls them, we went to see the Sea Lions. She liked them so much that she kept saying “Arph, Arph, Arph” the entire time we were walking around the Pier.

I know my hand is in front of my face in this one, but that's why I like it. Maybe I'm too hard on myself, but I always hate pictures when I'm in them...Besides, Lily has an adorable smile in this one.

After the sea lions, we went to lunch at the Pier 39 Restaurant (it is the best place to go if you have kids. Otherwise you’re stuck trying to get your kid to eat squid, or something equally as appetizing). Lily wasn’t at all interested in her food once she realized that the sea lions were right outside the window. When she grew tired of banging on the glass trying to get their attention, her Daddy coaxed her into coloring. Once Lily gets started coloring, nothing can pry her away. Especially when her Daddy is playing and coloring right alongside her.

While we were eating, Ernie thought it would be funny to give Lily a lemon. And when she made the face you see in the top right picture below, he couldn't stop laughing. (Okay, so I laughed too. Sue me. It was funny). As soon as she saw the reaction she had caused, though, Lily kept trying to get bites out of the lemon slice. That's my little performer for ya.

After lunch, we headed to the aquarium. We had taken Lily to the Monterey Bay Aquarium several months ago, which is a much bigger and cooler aquarium. But we really enjoyed ourselves more this time because she had much more fun now then she did then. We had two girls over the night before (one was 3 and the other was 7), and they taught Lily the art of screaming. Well, she took that knowledge with us to the city. And it translated to a very excited toddler running through the underground tube and yelling “WOW!” at the top of her lungs every time she saw a new fish. I know I should probably have tried to stop her from this outburst, or at the very least tried to get her to temper it. But she was just so darn funny that I couldn't stop laughing long enough to do anything about it. I’m sure the other visitors of the aquarium were thrilled with an out-of-control toddler running through the exhibit while her mother laughed hysterically behind her.

I look like a man in this photo, but it has the really cool, brightly colored fish in the background, so I'm including it anyways.

Lily was fascinated by this little guy. He was pretty cool, though. Notice the little barnacle-type things on his nose (at least, I assume it is his nose, as it appears to be above his mouth. Do crabs have noses?)

Of all the fish in the aquarium, Lily was especially captivated by the mantrarays. Ernie, ever the little boy, was so excited to take her around to pet the rays and star fish (they had a leopard shark in the petting tanks as well, but I drew the line at letting her pet a shark). Lily was equally excited and willing as he pulled her from tank to tank.

I love how the light reflected on them from the ripples in the water. Plus, you can see the reflection of Lily's little finger as she reaches in to touch the mantraray. It's just too cute.

Here she is reaching for a starfish. I was being paranoid and hovering because the water was FRIGID and I was worried. But Lily and Ernie were both batting me away when I voiced my concerns. Of course, looking back on it I can't help but wonder why I was concerned. What's the worst that could have happened? A cold hand? Obviously the prospect didn't concern Lily much.

The only time the entire day that she even put up a fuss was when she realized we were leaving the aquarium. When that happened, she was very put out. Stomping and whining and the whole bit. That is, until Ernie gave in and bought her her very own stuffed sea lion. She has dragged it around with her ever since.

Once we left the aquarium, we had big plans to go to the Marina and let Lily run around while we snapped amazing pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge (it was a beautiful, sunny day. Perfect for pictures). But once we got all packed in the car, we were exhausted. Lily was passed out in her car seat before we left the parking lot. So we decided to call it a day. The best laid plans, and all that, I guess. But even though we didn’t do all we had planned, we had a fabulous day.