The Big 5!

I love opening presents!

My new jewelry/music box!

My new Minnie Mouse flip-flops

I am five years old now! My birthday was so much, we celebrated the whole month of April. First, Aunt Barbi came to visit for my birthday. We took her to the beach and she was here for my party. I had a party for some of my school friends in the backyard. We played musical chairs, pin the tail on the giraffe and we even had a pinata. It was really hard to break it open so Daddy had to do it.

Spring Break in Arizona

We drove from Santa Barbara to Scottsdale to spend Easter and Spring Break with Papa and Nana. It was a long drive but fun to go through the desert -- and I got to see some of Daddy's wind turbines in Palm Springs!

I had so much fun in the pool.

We went to the Sugar Bowl twice!

Me and Papa being silly

We went to Butterfly Exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden

A butterfly landed on my hat - twice! This one is a Malachite.

Student of the Month

Catherine was chosen by her teacher as the Pre-Kindergarten Student of the Month for March. Each month, there is one student from each grade who is chosen as the best representation of the Student Learning Expectations for Notre Dame. The acronym is SAINTS and it stands for Social Justice, Academic Excellence, Inspiration, Needs of Others, Traditions, Success. We are very proud of our girl!

Sleepy-time Girl

Catherine and Catalina

I guess she fell asleep reading 'Peter Pan' to Simba

Usually Truffles is under her head like a pillow. Not sure what happened this night.

A word from Mommy here. I just can't resist taking Catherine's photo when she is sleeping. She is just so darn sweet and sometimes she falls asleep in the funniest positions. She sleeps so soundly that even the camera flash doesn't wake her up. I just had to share these pictures of our little sleepy-time girl.

Riding on the Tagalong Bike

We have a really cool new bike for me that attaches to Daddy's bike. It's called a tagalong and it's awesome! I have my own pedals and handlebars and I can pedal along behind Daddy. We rode all over the neighborhood last weekend and yesterday we rode downtown to the farmer's market (and put our produce in Mommy's new basket) and then on to the playground. I love the tagalong!

New Year's Weekend in Morro Bay

Can you see the Monarch Butterflies?

We decided to take a little trip for the New Year's weekend and drove a couple of hours north to the town of Morro Bay. It was a beautiful place, with wonderful beaches and playgrounds and a huge monolith right off the shore. We played in the sand, flew the kite and took long walks on the beach.

Flying the kite

On the way back to Santa Barbara, we stopped in Pismo Beach at the Monarch Butterfly Grove. It was amazing! Every winter the Monarchs return to this part of California and everywhere you looked there were beautiful butterflies. They were flying overhead and were covering the Eucalyptus trees. Look hard at the pictures and you can see the bright orange of the Monarchs. It was so cool!

Thank you, Santa!

With Catalina

In my new outfit

Playing my new Candyland game with Catalina and Daddy

Now I'm an engineer just like Uncle Peter!

With Coconut

Santa remembered and he brought me my American Girl doll! She looks like me with brown hair, blue eyes and bangs. I named her Catalina, which is Spanish for Catherine. Papa and Nana gave me Coconut the dog and a vet set so I can give her check-ups and keep her healthy. I got so many neat presents - pajamas, nightgowns, cardigans, coloring books, my very own boom box with a Disney Princess CD to listen to, and lots of clothes. Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Thank you everyone!