Recent Pictures

I have a few new pictures to add to this blog. I forgot to upload a picture of Kaylee in her Halloween outfit. She was a bee this year. We hadn't planned on doing anything for halloween - other than NOT being home to hand out candy. Jeff had to work late and I took Kaylee downtown to the coffee shop where we hung out with my friend Rochelle and Kaylee's pal Johnathon. Anyway, I saw this outfit one day and just had to get it.

My brother and family came out for a visit. We all drove up to Mt Baker in the hopes of finding some snow for my nephew who has grown up in Thailand and has never experienced it. There was a little bit of snow up there, but I just heard that MN got blasted with a good snowstorm today and Jon was able to really make the most of it. Anyway, the picture I'm putting in here is of Kaylee up at Picture Lake near the Mt Baker ski area with Mt Shuksan in the background. I love this picture because it captures Kaylee saying "water" - or at least the way she says "water" in sign language.

Finally I'll put in some pictures of our recent vacation to Seaside, OR. Jeff's folks let us use their timeshare down there for a few nights. It was pretty cold, but also very beautiful. I'm sure I wouldn't have liked it as much if we were there in the summer during peak season. We went to some historical Lewis & Clark sites (L&C are a big interest for me). We walked down the promenade from our condo to the historical site that a company of L&C's men went to harvest salt for the return trip. We also visited Fort Clapstop where they wintered over before heading back.

We got some snow here today in Bellingham as well. First for the season in fact. I wrestled Kaylee into her outdoor clothes all the while promising her that it would be worth it. I planned to take her out to experience the snow we saw falling all day and maybe give her a ride in the sled down the mailbox and back. As soon as I set her down on the sidewalk, she just stood there, seemingly unable to move. I thought maybe she was too bundled up to move her arms and legs but it turned out she just didn't know what to do about the snow on the ground. As soon as I came and held her hand she was alright. We got out the sled and she got a ride down to the mailbox, but she didn't seem to excited about the experience. When we got back, she just wanted me to hold her and she pointed back at the house like she wanted to get back inside. Oh well...I tried. I think the most rewarding experience for her was getting back out of the snow gear and having freedom of movement back.

Oh, funny thing happened this morning that I should write down before I forget. I let Kaylee play with my cell phone today as I was in the checkout at the grocery store. I soon realized she somehow made a phone call and discovered that she called my parents in MN! I think it must've been the last number dialed. After talking with my parents for a bit I gave Kaylee the phone back, not thinking she'd be able to do that again. At our next stop I looked and saw that she had Grandma on the line again. My mom told me Kaylee had called and hung up 4 times since we last talked! I haven't figured out how to lock my phone, so I just shut it off to see if that would stop her. Not 10 seconds later, Kaylee had turned the phone back on again! So no more playing with Mom's cell phone! I thought it was all pretty funny though. Grandma and Grandpa were of course thrilled to be called so much by Kaylee!

Kaylee signing "water" - so cute!

The famous turnabout in Seaside, OR.

Lewis & Clark looking kinda lost...

Things to Remember

Sorry I don't have any new pictures today, but it's been a while since I've updated and I got some things I need to get out of my brain and onto this blog. We're leaving for vacation today to Seaside, OR and hopefully will have a bunch of new pictures to post when we get back.

I don't want Kaylee to grow into a girly girl, but I can't help but love the new thing she does lately. I sit her on the counter in the bathroom as I'm getting ready in the morning. I give her a little makeup brush that I don't use and an empty lid. She pretends to put on makeup just like her mom. It's so cute. Sometimes I let her try to put makeup on me (with the pretend stuff of course!). She'll also take that little bit of mousse that remains on the container and rub it in her hands, then rub her hands in her hair. It's so cute.

Most often though she uses other styling products that she finds during meal time. Yesterday was oatmeal and carrots. The day before, banana.

Yesterday she started pinching her nose and talking with that nasally voice. It's so funny. I don't know what gave her the idea to do that!

I was also really excited yesterday when I was singing to Kaylee, but unable to sign the words, that Kaylee started to sign them for me. She knows some of the words to "Jesus loves me". She'll say "This I know" and "Little ones to Him belong".

It seems her favorite thing to do... the thing she first asks for when she gets up in the morning, is to play the Nintendo game. Now don't get me wrong. She doesn't actually play herself. She just holds a remote and thinks she plays as Jeff or I are playing. But now I think it's getting time to not play when she is up. She's way too young to be addicted to video games!

Right now I'm stalling because there was something else i wanted to write about, but can't remember. So until then, I'll also record how Kaylee loves to sit on things. Whatever we're doing, she wants to sit on it. Anyone know what that's about? Reading a book - she'll get it on the floor and turn around and sit on it. Computer keyboard (her play one) she wants to sit on it. A cooler, shoes, a box, notebook, whatever. I think she'd sit on her food tray with all her food on it if we let her.

Okay, I remember now. Kaylee is so very proud of her belly button. She'll never pass on an opportunity to show it off to someone. The first thing she does when I take her clothes off is point it out to me - then she slaps her legs and butt a bunch of times as she runs around. She loves being naked - like most kids do, I'm sure. The other day I was with Kaylee at a gathering, and Kaylee proceeded to lift her shirt and show the lady next to us her bellybutton. The lady was very impressed and amused! I just think it's the cutest thing. I believe sometimes she is checking to make sure it's there - almost like she's worried that it might not be.

Well time to get ready. We got to pack up the van and get ready for a long drive ahead of us. We'll be stopping at Krispy Kreme for a good hearty breakfast! After that I promise to myself that I'll be good (for a few hours anyway) :)

Slip Slidin Away

I see an icon for movies on this page builder, so I'm going to test it out and see if it works. Today we were blessed with some nice weather - it was almost 70! I took Kaylee out to the park and remembered my camera this time. Kaylee does really well climbing up the jungle gym to the big slides. I follow her up and then let her go down by herself while I wait at the bottom. I'm going to attach three adorable swing pictures and then see if I can attach the movie clip of her going down the curly slide.

Well, I can't seem to get the video uploaded. I think it will take a while. I'll try again later.

Found some Pictures

I took the camera with me yesterday and found on it some pictures I had taken but forgot were there. So here are some more recent pictures of Kaylee:

I got "Mom Brain"

I keep forgetting to take the camera with me when we go to neat places. Last Sunday was a gorgeous day and we went to the Lynden City Park after church. They have a new "Million Smiles" play area there that we wanted to check out. I was just kicking myself for missing out on taking pictures - so I'll have to try to paint a picture with my words. Imagine a big play area with tall spires and slides, swings, bridges, tiny little store fronts, tractors... just an unbelievably cool place to play! Then imagine tall oaks and maples littering the ground with leaves of red, orange, yellow, brown and green. There's the babbling sound of the creek winding it's way around the play area. Bright sun, cool air, kids laughing and playing. Kaylee was really into the slide. We couldn't get her off of it. We played on the swings, we ran around and climbed everywhere, but we kept coming back to the slide! Kaylee was up early that morning and we had lunch at church for Pastor appreciation... it was way past time for Kaylee's nap. It was so hard to leave when she was having so much fun!

Yesterday we had a spot of good weather, so I took Kaylee to Cornwall park. This park is closest to us and has all we could ever want: a playground, trails, and a splash park. Again, I forgot the camera. What a perfect autumn day! How I wished I could capture the memory on film! The sun was bright and angled low in the sky, casting long shadows even in midday. It warmed our faces as the cool air nipped us from behind. The ground was littered with huge maple leaves. They come from a tree called the "large leaf maple" - where they get that name, I don't know. :) These leaves are so big - bigger than a dinner plate! And you know how big those dinner plates can be! Some would say they're out of control. ;)

Kaylee was fascinated with the leaves and had to carry one with her wherever she went. I can't even describe how cute that was! She climbed on the play set and went down some slides, but her favorite was the swing. "More", she kept saying. Here's the picture - remember that warm sun and the cool air? Now see Kaylee in her swing, the soft golden curls of her hair flying in breeze, and her giggling laugh as she swings high. It just felt like the perfect moment that I wanted to live in forever. She must've felt the same way. After a while I could tell she was getting sleepy by the glazed stare that eventually came over her face as she watched other kids playing. But whenever I would ask if she wanted "up", she would say "more" instead.

I also strapped her into the backpack and we went on a little hike. The trails remind me a lot of my park back home in MN. The dirt trails, the leaves of all colors falling all around. We came to a fence and saw a few horses. Saw a lot of dogs and their people on the trail as well. Kaylee is still very fascinated by dogs - and really any kind of animal. I suppose that isn't unusual.

Her signing has come along quite well. She's able to sign: more, please, baby, water, eat, up, down, help, book, ball, dog, monkey, butterfly, daddy, bath, and airplane. We're working on: out, moon, pain, mommy, wait, where, what, look, potty, happy, sad, angry, frustrated, banana, apple, cat, sleep... and others I can't think of right now. She knows most of these, just hasn't signed them back yet.

She does a couple funny things that I have to write down. When she's playing with her toy that has buttons and pop up animals, and uses the one trigger that slides back and forth (and a cat pops up), she goes back and forth really fast and shakes her head back and forth as well. I know she got the sliding back and forth from her dad, but where the head shake came in, I have no idea. It's so funny though. The other thing she started doing is trying to wash her hair. In the bath the other day, I put soap on her hands and she started to rub it in her hair. Later on, I was showing her how I put lotion on my hands then decided to put a bit of lotion on her hands. Well, both the lotion and the soap come from a pump bottle, so she was a little confused and decided to rub the lotion on her hair. :)

Kaylee has become quite the Daddy's girl lately. I think it's adorable and only rarely do I get jealous. As soon as Kaylee sees her dad, it's goodbye momma and hello daddy! She gets really clingy and starts to cry when he has to go to work... so sad! During meals she hardly ever looks at me. All her attention is on her dad. She watches everything he does and by the look on her face, she is in awe of him. When he gets home from work she becomes his shadow until it's bedtime. It's nice for me in that I can leave her with him and get things done without worrying about her having a fit that I'm gone.

She's been down to one nap a day for about a month now. It's nice that we can have longer outings, but it's hard to get stuff done when she's up so I've gotten behind on just about everything. She goes to bed at 8:00 and wakes up anywhere between 5 and 6 a.m.! She eats pretty much anything and everything and will tell me when she's hungry by walking over to her high chair and hitting it. The only thing she won't do yet is drink regular milk. Everytime I serve it to her she takes one sip, makes a "yucky" face, and never touches it again. I even tried vanilla and chocolate flavored Pediasure, but she does the same thing. If anyone has any good ideas on how to get her to drink milk, please let me know. The doctor said when I'm ready to wean, to just not worry about it and that she won't let herself get dehydrated. I hope that's true.

Well that's all for now. Hopefully we'll get more perfect autumn days and I can remember to bring a camera so you all can see what Kaylee looks like now.

Signs

I don't have any new pictures, but thought I should update you all on our lives this past month.

Kaylee has learned to do a few signs. I was so proud the first time she said "more"! But then it turned out she said "more" all the time and in the wrong context. So I said, "You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means!". The next word she signed was "dog". Again, I was so proud... until she signed "dog" for deer and horse, and generally any four legged creature. So my confidence in teaching is pretty much shattered. But lately, I think she's starting to get some things figured out. I've been consitent with the signs we use and she now can say "please", "baby" and "eat". She also seems to be using "dog" and "more" in the right context more consistently.

Kaylee can be a real pill sometimes. Yes, grandma, it's true! When she throws a tantrum she stomps her little feet really fast and gets the biggest pout (and cries loudly of course) with those big crocodile tears. It's so adorable - it's so hard not to laugh when she does this! Sometimes I can redirect her pretty quickly but other times she stays upset for quite a long time.

She been more of a challenge with eating as well. I can't hold the spoon for her...no. It might be okay if I help put food on the spoon, but then I had better set it down or hand it to her so that she can turn it upside down before putting it in her mouth.

Jeff got Kaylee to dance the other day. She's not been much of a dancer so far. But she was twisting and clapping her hands to the music. It was very cute!

Kaylee's been getting pretty good at playing with blocks as well. She has some jumbo size lego's that she can stack as well as some wooden blocks.

She's got a book that has M-words. The first word is "Milk", so I say milk and do the sign for milk... but the next picture is monkey, and Kaylee really likes that word! So now every time I say "milk", she puts her hands up by her armpits and says "oooh ooh oooh". Funny, funny funny!

That's all the new stuff I can think of for now.

Take care everyone!

Fish & Flowers

Yesterday I took Kaylee to the local aquarium to see the octopus and other local marine life. They have a little tank that kids can put their hands in and feel the starfish, anemones, shells, etc. Kaylee took absolutely no notice of the little critters in there, she only wanted to splash around in the water. Soon she discovered the water tasted salty and that seemed to be immensely cool, so we had to say goodbye to the fish.

Outside is a boardwalk-like complex of different offices, flower beds with Japanese maples, and plenty of benches. It seemed like a great setting for a photo shoot. If only the sun wasn't so bright and my camera so slow.

We came across some vending machines where she found a neat place to store her water cup. I snapped a bunch of pictures and when we got home, I noticed one where she was checking the machine for forgotten change. Jeff says that it really shows her Dutch side! :)

This morning we went to Michaels and found a large tablet of scratch paper and some jumbo crayons for a dollar. Kaylee made her first bit of artwork in greens, oranges, and red. I think she had more fun tapping the crayons than actually coloring. I tried to point out to her that she was making marks on the paper, but I don't think it registered. Oh well. She was living in the moment and experiencing the crayons in a way most people don't take the time to do.

This afternoon we're going to go back and try the Children's Museum again. Now that she can actually walk she might have more fun.

"Oooooh!"

"Yeah!"

"Wow!"

"Mmmm.... Salty!"

"Is that my shadow I see?"

"Anything in here?"

"Oh cool, they've got my favorite!"

"Dad must have a lot of fun at work all day when he's got these great toys to play with!"

"I'm tired. Driver, take me home!"

The Fair

Kaylee and I went around to all the barns at the fair. We got to see horses and ponies, cows, goats, sheep, and chickens. I was hoping to find the pig barn, but either they didn't have it or I didn't look hard enough. Kaylee really liked the animals. She always wants to touch them, until they put their noses right in her face, then she shies away. She seemed delighted when I showed her the cows and said "mooooo" along with the sign for "cow". She also seemed to love the roosters. I'd say "cock-a-doodle-doo!" and then one of the roosters would answer.

I was really good and had a low carb chicken wrap sandwich for lunch... but I just had to get a funnel cake before leaving! Kaylee and I went to town on it. I think I'll be full for a week!

What's Cookin?

Kaylee got a kitchen set for her first birthday. She really loves to play with the pots and pans! Here's a picture of her holding the phone that comes with it.

She's been doing so many cute things lately (of course)!

She's got the little princess wave down pat. She waves at passing cars mostly. Just one hand up and a little turn of the wrist - it's so cute. When I sing to her and when she hears music that she likes, she puts both arms in the air and waves her hands. We're not sure if this is her form of dancing or not.

She loves to give kisses and hugs. The kisses are pretty sloppy though - she sticks her tongue way out. She also likes to blow raspberries on my stomach and explore my bellybutton. It gets me laughing so hard!

She got a new dolly for her birthday and she likes to pretend to feed her. We also pretend to eat whatever Kaylee happened to cook up in her kitchen. She thinks it's pretty funny when we smack our lips like we're eating. She just throws her head back and laughs.

When Kaylee gets up from her nap, I'm taking her to the NW Washington Fair up in Lynden. We'll go look at the animals and see if there are any rides we can go on together. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures to post.

One Year Old!

Happy Birthday Kaylee!

Kaylee took it pretty easy today on her birthday. She had a couple good naps interrupted by a trip to the local pool. She really loves playing in the water. More and more she wants to swim off on her own.

Kaylee's friends Matthew and Emily came over to celebrate her birthday. We had pizza for dinner, opened some gifts, and ate some cupcakes! The kitchen toys were a big hit with all the kids.

Big strides

Ok, not so much strides as a lot of waddling back and forth. Kaylee started walking a little over a week ago. She still falls a lot but a little less each day. Unfortunately she did a face plant on the coffee table the other morning and got a nice bruise on her cheek, just in time for her 1 year pictures! I guess I'll hold off a week or so before getting them done.

She's one tough little kid though. She's taken some hard falls, and sure she cries, but then she moves on and gets right back to whatever she was doing. She's also been teething in silence. I was really surprised the other day to find her first tooth has poked through. She never even put up a fuss! Maybe some of her symptoms were covered by the fact that she's been dealing with a cold.

Anyway...big strides - she's walking now and got a tooth for her first birthday. I suppose soon she will be graduating from college, getting married and having babies of her own! Oh no, it's all happening too fast!

I'll get some birthday pictures posted here next week...

Other stuff

Before we left MN we also went to the zoo. I just have to include my favorite all time picture of Jeff being attacked by a beaver...

Kaylee has been growing by leaps and bounds these last couple weeks since we've been back. We got her a walker toy since she had so much fun with one up at Itasca. However in the last couple days, she's really started to walk on her own. Two days ago was the first time she struck out on her own, not walking towards someone who will catch her when she gets there. Today she was able to walk from our family room, through the kitchen, and into our living room.

I heard a few qualified "momma"s comming from Kaylee, but they're few and far between. She's been really chatty though. Her newest thing is to go "wow-wow-wow-wow-wow...". It's also cute the way she sucks on her upper lip.

I really thought I felt a tooth coming the other day, but now the bump is gone. I was hoping she'd get a tooth for her birthday.

I took Kaylee to the pool a couple days ago and she just loved it! There is a kid pool that goes from 0 to 3.5 feet deep. She thinks she can crawl right in and keep crawling even though the water gets up over her head. When I carry her out in deeper water, she tries to kick away from me and stike out on her own. She had a lot of fun with those rubber beach balls though. That kept her rooted to one spot for a little while. Eventually we had to go, and it was not easy getting her out of there. She cried and kept reaching back towards the pool.

Yesterday we went to Boulevard Park and she "one-fingered" walked barefoot in the grass, stalking a black bird. Eventually she let go and crab-crawled with her but up in the air. It was so funny. It was hard getting her away from that grass too - it's so fun to pull, you know.

Alright, Kaylee is up from her nap now, so that's all for now...

One more picture to embarass Jeff...

m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i

An apology to all those out there who have been eagerly awaiting an update on our recent trip to Itasca Stake Park, headwaters of the Mississippi. It's been busy around here. Kaylee is doing so many wonderful, adorable things, it's hard to keep up!

But first, our trip. It was a lot of fun, we had great weather - but then most of the people reading this were there so you know already. Kaylee did really well at the cabin, sleeping in a pack-n-play. She would wake up early in the morning and I'd take her down to the lodge where I could sit and drink some coffee in front of the fireplace and Kaylee could have fun playing on the oversized whicker furniture. She soon made a new friend. Dominic, who turned 1 during our stay, was also an early riser and his grandpa seemed to have the same idea as me. Dominic, who is reported to be extremely outgoing and the life of the party would always get quiet and shy around Kaylee. Could there be some chemistry there? Just kidding! He is certainly a cutie. His family goes to Itasca every year and us mom's exchanged emails so if we're ever there at the same time again, we can meet up.

Well, I plan to attach some pictures, but I haven't asked permission from my family members to put their picture on the site here, so I will just include those of our immediate family... with one exception that just has to go on there... yeah, I'm talking about you Tom... Timmy... Jimmy... Frakiye!! Have another pot of coffee!

Kaylee and "Shut-eyed Suzie" taking a snooze

Obviously not a morning person, here!

Kaylee at the Lodge

On a three hour tour...

Swimming - Kaylee loves the water! (and the rocks - yum!!)

Kaylee's getting ready to nap while M&D go on a 17 mile bikeride!

Independence

Kaylee's getting to be a lot more independent these days. She's been practicing her walking everyday. She still doesn't take more than a few steps at a time, but she seems to be able to stand for longer periods of time now.

I'm really loving this age with Kaylee. She is such a joy! She's a lot more interactive and can understand what I'm telling her most of the time. She knows what she shouldn't touch, but that doesn't stop her from looking over her shoulder to see if I'm looking. When I am looking, she just smiles that mischevious smile, and backs away.

She likes to play around the coffee table. If we're on opposite sides, she'll duck down and laugh when I poke my head down as well. Then she'll pop up and laugh when I do too. We can go back and forth for quite a while and it seems very amusing to her.

I love the way she finds certain toys and latches on to them. Yesterday she got a hold of a little toy flower pot and some toy gardening tool and wouldn't let go. She held one in each hand for over two hours. If I tried to pry them out, like when I went to feed her, she'd cry. She'd cry when I tried getting her in and out of her car seat and her toys were in the way. But she held on to them with a death grip. They were soon forgotten however, when we got to Jeff's work yesterday and she found a few new toys to hold onto (they have a little play area for kids). She held on to these new toys all evening.

So for the 4th of July we went again to our friends house where they had a bonfire and bbq. Kaylee had a lot of fun playing in the grass and watching us play trac ball. She went to bed in the pack-n-play without a fuss and slept through about two hours of fireworks being shot off right outside the window. But eventually she woke up all scared and confused, so I brought her outside to watch the fireworks. She couldn't get used to them. Every time she jumped and cried. So I took her home early and Jeff just got a ride home. It was a lot of fun while we were there. After I got Kaylee home and put to bed, I watched the Bellingham fire show from our back deck. I could still see it through the trees. It was nice.

So here's a picture of Kaylee in her festive shirt:

Strawberry Festival

Today Kaylee and I went to the Boxx Berry Farm Strawberry Festival. I think it was more fun for me than for Kaylee. I look forward to her getting a little older so she can enjoy the balloon animals, face painting, tractor rides, etc... They had free hot dogs and strawberry sundaes. I also got a free bunch of carrots fresh from the soil! They are SOOOOOOOOOOO good (after you wash them that is!)