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!)

Summertime

Well, it's mid-June already. I can't believe it! Time is going by SO fast!

Kaylee has a few new tricks up her sleeve. She clicks her tongue. She also tries to make that 'pop' sound you get when you pull your finger out of your mouth. It's cute to see her try. She can't make the noise so she makes her own. What else? Oh, she likes to shake her head side to side. Most times it just seems like something she enjoys doing, but every now and then she will do it in response to a question as if she is saying "no".



Tonight we practiced walking. Kaylee went back and forth between Jeff and I. She managed a couple of steps before falling forward into our arms, but she did it repeatedly and she seemed even more thrilled than we were about it!

This past week Jeff's brother and family came to visit as well as his parents. Unfortunately, I didn't take very many pictures, but I'll post a few recent ones.

"90% Angel"

Yummy Ducky!

Back Home

Here are some pictures from our trip to Michigan.

I should mention that Kaylee likes to make friends wherever we take her now. She's really into waving! I think she tried to say hello to everyone in Chicago during our brief stay there. We stayed overnight near the airport because we had to fly out early in the morning. Kaylee waved to everyone at the hotel, crossing the intersections, everyone at Target and Chili's, and then lots and lots of folks at the airport. It's so cute. I love the way she seems to be able to make everyone smile!

(Kaylee took over Daddy's seat when he went to stretch his legs!)

Hello from Michigan!

We're out here in MI visiting family and I wanted to write down a few things before I forgot. Kaylee's got some new tricks - some cute, some not so cute. She makes the cutest little smacking noise. All of a sudden, she's got to do that all the time. She also decided to start her experiments on the law of gravity. It's seems really fun to drop every toy you give her. Then she's gotta watch it to see if it comes back up and gets frustrated when it doesn't.

Today we drove to Silver Lake which is very close to Lake Michigan. We hiked about an hour over the sand dunes to Lake MI. I'll post some pictures when we get back. It was such a beautiful day. We also went to the family's cabin on Upper Silver Lake and stopped at Jeff's old house in Grand Rapids on the way home.

Kaylee had a great time playing in the sand. She loved digging her hands and little toes in it. Thankfully she never tried to eat it, but a couple times she went to rub her hands on her eyes and got pretty upset with the sand getting in there.