Happy 4th!

This year we went to a friend's house up in Lynden for the 4th of July. We had a great time catching up with friends we haven't seen in years.

Kaylee was excited to see cows on the drive up to Lynden, so I figured she'd be thrilled when we got there and found a whole field of cows grazing away. She was too afraid to get close, but eventually we got her to a comfortable proximity and then she didn't want to leave. She just loves cows now.

We bought a pack of sparklers for Kaylee, but I figured she'd be scared of them. I was wrong! She wasn't afraid to hold the sparklers at all, but she wanted us to hold them and wave them around so she could run through the smoke. Silly!




Mt Baker peeked out of the clouds just before sunset...

We left the party just as it was getting dark and people all around were setting off fireworks. We pulled to the side of the road just south of Lynden where we could see and hear fireworks all around us. Kaylee was thrilled. She kept saying "oh WOW!"... but eventually she fell asleep in her carseat. All in all, it was a really fun day.

Big Girl Bed!

Today I put Kaylee down for a nap in her big girl twin size daybed for the first time. I was worried about how she would do. Understandably she was pretty excited with the new blankets and pillows and being able to turn the lights on and off. It took her a long time to settle down. She was jumping and diving onto her bed and apparantly hit her head against the wall at one point. I kept checking in on her and reminding her to go to sleep. At least she stayed in bed! The time she bumped her head I told her maybe she wasn't big enough for the big girl bed and I carried her to the nursery room. She cried and cried and wanted back in her big bed. Finally (after an hour) she settled down enough to fall asleep. Lets hope she likes it enough to want to sleep in there tomorrow too! I don't want the crib to be a punishment though because likely we'll have to have her sleep in there again when we have family visiting.

Kaylee likes to count these days. She mostly counts from 6 to 10. Anyone else think thats weird? Anyone??

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Kaylee is a big time fan of bugs. Ants are her favorites, but she likes bettles, centipedes, worms, slugs, spiders, and anything else that crawls on the ground. She isn't too big a fan of moths though. Maybe because she went to touch one and it flew off and scared her in the process. There was a gorgeous snow white moth with a fuzzy head that was hanging out by our door yesterday. She didn't want me to touch it. That same moth ended up getting inside and was on our entry way mat. I let it crawl onto my finger and took it outside, all the while Kaylee was shouting "no! no! no!". I don't know how she could like bugs but be afraid of moths.

Jeff got Kaylee to sit on the toilet today. He's just got a way with her. She'd never do that for me! He showed her how to use the stool to get up on the seat and we praised and applauded her when she did it. I don't think I'm above bribery when it comes to potty training. I'm thinking of getting some dum-dum suckers as a treat for every time she sits there and tries. I had gotten a big book of stickers, but she just doesn't like stickers...they're sticky...and that really bothers her. :)

Well I suppose I had better take advantage of the quiet house and try to get a nap in too. I've got 5 more weeks to go and then I'm pretty sure naps will be a thing of the past!

Seattle Aquarium

This past Tuesday we went down to Seattle to do a little shopping at Ikea and also to go to the aquarium. We were there last January and got a membership because with the group we had, it was cheaper than everyone buying day passes. We never thought we'd get back down to use our membership again this year, so it was nice to be able to just walk right in.

The aquarium is fun but not as nice as the one in Vancouver (my opinion).
Jeff and Kaylee checking out the "Window on Washington Waters" exhibit

This fish seemed very interested in Kaylee. He kept coming back to stare at her. Maybe he thought she was lunch??

Jeff and Kaylee watching the seals come up and swim on their backs. Kaylee was much more interested in the ball that was floating in the water.

The Window on Washington Waters display... pretty amazing!
Afterwards we walked down the waterfront and found a diner that served clam chowder in a bread bowl. For some reason, whenever we're on a pier we just crave that meal.

Update on Kaylee. She is an early riser. Putting her to bed later doesn't help. But now I found a blessing in disguise. Kaylee really likes the new jogging stroller we got. So first thing in the morning (usually around 5 am) we grab some water and a snack and head out for an hour long walk. It's really helped me feel a lot better with this pregnancy. I've noticed that I have a lot more energy during the day and I just feel better in general.

Kaylee is still working on her ABC's and 123's. She sings the ABC song now on her own, only her version is a lot shorter: "B C me!"

Story time at the library started up again this past Monday. Kaylee participated for the first time. Usually she sits and just watches everyone. But this time she did some of the hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider and a few other songs, and even danced a little bit with me. This morning as I was getting ready, Kaylee kept saying and signing "Cow" and then drumming her hands on the floor. Soon I realized she was remembering the "ring around the rosy" song. The second verse they do at the library is "Cows in the meadow, eating buttercups. Thunder, lightning, we all stand up!" The thunder is made by drumming on the floor and then we clap our hands for lightning. I thought it was pretty cool that she remembered that. So we sang that song over and over for about 10 minutes this morning...which probrably doesn't seem like a long time, but think about it. 10 minutes. Ring around the rosey.... Come on.

Kaylee loves to drink tea with me. Anytime I brew a cup of decaf Red Rose she wants some too. It's cute to see her standing on her chair with her little plastic cup taking sips and saying "tea!!"

I think she might have an idea that there's a baby on the way. Today she was sitting in her high chair and pointed over to the fridge saying "baby" (there's an ultrasound picture of the baby on there) and then pointed at me and said "tummy". So I got the picture down and showed her the baby's head, nose, mouth, hand, etc... , held it to my belly and said, "the baby is in here". Won't be long now, only 6 or 7 more weeks to go!

Kaylee can pretty much get anywhere she wants to these days. She can climb up and down from her high chair, her changing table, and her car seat. Soon we'll get her new room finished and she will be able to get in and out of bed by herself and even turn the light on and off. I'm HOPING that she'll be able to get out of bed in the morning and play with the toys in her room and not disturb me with her usual "MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY..." Once this baby comes, I'll need all the sleep I can get!

Happy Father's Day!

We had great weather for Father's Day this year. This morning Kaylee helped me make some coffee cake muffins and apple juice. She helped to pour the different ingredients into the bowl and then she helped to stir it. She was very helpful in sampling the crumble topping to make sure it was sweet enough! We put the muffins into the oven and she immediately wanted up in her high chair to eat. She didn't understand that they take time to bake. She then helped me make some apple juice. She was able to pour water into the pitcher and stir that as well. This she was able to sample immediately and she seemed quite pleased to have made it herself!

We went to church this morning and then Kaylee took a nap when we got home. Once she got up we were able to get outside and have some fun. She was wearing her very adorable spring dress today and she just LOVED wearing it. Up until now, she would cry anytime I tried putting a dress on her. But today she stood in front of the mirror with a big smile, adoring herself. Throughout the day she would lift her skirt and say "cute!" She also traded in her toy dog for a dolly. What a little girly-girl she was today! She was so sad when I had to change her into her pajamas tonight. I guess I'll have to start shopping for more dresses.

Anyway, back to our outing. First Kaylee took us on a short walk. She wanted to push her dolly around in a stroller. So cute!


Next we took Kaylee to Whatcom Falls park here in Bellingham. She said her "oh WOW" again when she saw the big waterfall. We took a short walk around the park and stopped to see the young salmon in the fish hatchery.

Last of all we went to a "swing slide" park. Kaylee was being so photogenic, I just couldn't help myself with the camera. What a perfect Father's Day!

Vancouver

Here's the long awaited update on our trip to Vancouver. Okay, well maybe nobody besides me was really waiting...

We had a fabulous time! The weather held out okay. It was overcast and cool, but it never actually rained until the day we left. After arriving we went for a walk down to the waterfront and found this fun little playground. Our condo was located in downtown Vancouver and had floor to ceiling windows. It was amazing to look out on the city from the 20th floor, especially at night with all the lights. Kaylee's room had two walls of those full length windows and we put her porta crib right there in the corner. She loved looking out the windows. The morning after we arrived, I opened up the blinds for her after she woke up. She kept yelling "oh WOW!"

That day we went to Stanley Park and to the Vancouver Aquarium. The aquarium was definitely the highlight of our trip. We all had a lot of fun there. It was especially fun for me to watch Kaylee and Jeff hang out and discover each and every new sea creature they came across. She said a lot more "oh WOW"s that day! I don't have any pictures of us at the aquarium because I just had the video camera going the whole time.

Here are Jeff and Kaylee at a spot along the path that goes around Stanley Park. We could look across the water to the big yellow sulfur pile that you often see in TV shows and movies filmed in Vancouver.

We were only minutes from our condo, so we decided to take Kaylee back there for her nap. She only made it to the parking lot before falling asleep:
Later that afternoon we took a walk to see other sites we recognize from some of our favorite shows. The building right next to our condo was used in Star Gate SG1. Below is an art museum which was used a number of times in the show 4400.
We planned to go to the zoo on the way back home, but as we got there it started to rain very heavily. It was good we didn't stop, because the rain continued for the rest of the day. Out here most of the animal exhibits are outdoors, so it wouldn't have been much fun.

Like I said, we had a great time. Vancouver is a lot of fun and it's so close. It's crazy that we don't go more often. Depending on border traffic, it really only takes an hour to get to downtown Vancouver from where we live. We will definitely be back someday!

What a cutie!

Here are some recent pictures of Kaylee and one of our family as well...

Kaylee's pajamas say it all. What a cutie.

Kaylee's been talking a lot lately. Her vocabulary is really booming. Just about every morning she says to me "swing...slide...park?" She can't just say park. She must make sure they have her minimum requirements. :) The weather has been nice lately so we've been going to the park just about every day. She is also starting to learn her letters. Jeff just told me that she was able to name about 12 letters just a few minutes ago. It cracks me up that every time she sees an "O" she says "oooooh" as in ooh la la!

She is quite the climber too. She climbs up into her high chair and her changing table. She just has trouble getting down. She is also able to climb up on any couch or chair in the house. Of course her favorite thing to climb on is me. I keep telling people this baby is going to come out pretty funny looking with all the jumping around on me that Kaylee does.

It's been fun to feel the baby react to Kaylee - when she climbs on me or is crying or talking loudly, the baby gets really active. I look forward to them growing up together and seeing what kind of relationship they develop.

Oh yeah, her other new trick lately is being able to open the doors in our house. If it's not locked, she's got access. I suppose it won't be long when even locked doors won't be able to stop her. :)

Kaylee has her own fashion sense. One day she decided she liked wearing her shirt up around her head. It worked out pretty well as she was playing with the sand/water table. She managed to keep her shirt dry. :)

Our first real taste of summer was a few Fridays ago when it got up into the 80's. We met up with some friends at a local park and had a KFC picnic by the water.

We're going to stay up in Vancouver for a few days so hopefully we'll have lots of fun pictures to post when we get back. We plan to visit the zoo, aquarium, and science museum. Hopefully we'll also find some time to veg out and relax as well. This is our last get away before the baby comes!

Holland Days

I decided to take Kaylee up to Lynden for the Holland Days Festival so she could connect with her Dutch roots. First we watched the kids dance the May Pole in their wooden clogs. Kaylee didn't seem too impressed...
Here they celebrate the time honored Dutch tradition of child labor: :)
Next I took Kaylee to the Lynden Pioneer Museum. She was mostly impressed with a chair and table she found in the lobby area. Her next favorite thing was going up and down the stairs. Oh well, maybe in a few more years. Then again, in her defense, it was an hour past her usual naptime.

Tulip time!!

Me and my very bad hair day...(it was raining, what can I say?)
On the way back to the car, I was able to have Kaylee keep up with me by holding a cookie just out of her reach. She never gave up trying to get that cookie though, and when we made it back to the car, she finally got it. Here she is with cookie-face!