Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday, M&D took me to the pumpkin patch in town. I got to enjoy the petting zoo, a hayride and pick out my own pumpkin. It was quite fun. In the petting zoo were sheep, goats, a pony & donkey and fowls (chickens, ducks & a turkey).
I went straight to the sheep when I got in the zoo. Then Mommy helped me pet the horse and goats. We then went into the bird cage. The ducks weren't too friendly to me, but the chickens liked being held. We stayed there for a while and then went back to the farm animals. Just before leaving I wanted to go back into the chickens. I was in the corner petting one little chicken, when I saw the turkey move out of the corner of my eye. Then the boy next to me let go of his chicken and it fluttered its wings right in front of me. That was just too much and I ran crying to Mommy. Turkeys are scary animals!!
After the petting zoo, we went on the hayride. I kept pointing the tractor out to M&D. I also enjoyed sitting on the hay. However, the wind was blowing and irriated the cold I got the night before. So besides my nose being runny, my eyes got all red and watery.
So after the hay ride, we quickly went to find a pumpkin. I found one just my size, however I wasn't quite sure what you do with a pumpkin once you find it. The whole time I held the pumpkin I kept scratching at it and saying "Pease" (verbal, sign language "please"). Mommy thinks it was because I was trying to peel it (like an orange) to eat it.

New Discoveries

As I discover more and more about this world around me I have come to the conclusion that God did a pretty amazing job in His creation.I recently discovered that we have bunnies in our yard. Now Daddy has been trying to get rid of them for years, but I find that they are pretty cute. I even tried to chase one the other night, pulling Mommy behind me of course. I wasn't going to go near it without some support!!

I also discovered the world of forward facing carseats. I had been trying to see out the car windows whenever I could. This involved leaning as far farward in my seat as I could, then raising my butt up and twisting my head so that I could see out the side windows. So Mommy decided I was probably heavy enough (I am old enough & tall enough and needed to be 20 pounds) to turn around forward facing. The first morning I was still enjoying my bottle as we pulled up to the stoplight. But I just had to put my bottle down and let my jaw drop as I watched all the traffic go by, IN FRONT OF ME!!!! I got very excited and started pointing all the cars out to Mommy.

Mommy has given me a job to do every morning--get the newspaper from the driveway while she finishes putting everything in the car. So she opens the garage door for me, carries me down the stairs and lets me walk over to the newspaper. Once I pick it up I start walking back up to the garage and Mommy either takes my hand or picks me up (depending on the rush she is in!) and takes me back to the house door, so that I can throw the newspaper on the kitchen floor. One morning the newspaper was here before Daddy went to work, so he picked it up and confused me. I walked down the driveway and kept looking around at the lawn and rock bed for it.

Mommy got a little time to herself this week. A few ladies in the neighborhood have started getting together to do projects, crafts and just talk after putting the kids down for the night. She thought it was nice to get to know a few more mothers in the neighborhood, plus get a little time away. Besides she could walk and get back home in less than 5 minutes, so had more time to spend at the destination without staying out all night (she was home and in bed by 9:30).

Yesterday, I also discovered the reality that life doesn't last forever. I attended my first funeral for a member of our church. I did fairly well, but Mommy did have to take me out to the foyer when I started getting a little restless. There I found a few other friends to play with who were with their Daddy's, although I wasn't quite sure with the little fella who kept crawling up to me. I'm not used to kids younger than me! Mommy could still hear and see through the foyer windows. She thought the most moving part was when Amazing Grace was played with bagpipes and son & son-in-law stood up to salute the casket (was an Army vetran and both "sons" are currently in the military).

So I have decided that I am going to live life to the fullest and spend every waking moment exploring the world around me. I have more waking moments now to spend. I made the transition to one nap a day last week. So now I have almost 6 hours in the morning, then a 2 hour nap, then almost 6 hours more in the afternoon to explore everything around me. The transition was fairly smooth however, I do get fussy that last hour before nap and bedtime. But I am sleeping even better now at night, however still not quite 10 hours. Sunday morning I decided 5:45 was morning and would not go back to sleep even though Mommy rocked me for almost an hour. So the first time I woke I was up for the day--that's sleeping through the night as far as I am concerned.

Pictures of Me

Here's a great picture of me helping Mommy with dishes. I also picked flowers for Mommy earlier this week. Aren't they pretty?



A week ago M&D took me swimming at the public pool. There was a play area that had fountains, slides and other fun water park activities. I had a blast.


Bronco game time!

Here's a cute picture of me holding all my toys.

Games

I love to play games. Here's a few videos of me and my favorite games.The first one is called "There it is" and the point of this game is for an object to be hidden and for me to find it and exclaim "There it is". In this particular instance I am doing the hiding and the finding of one of my balls.

Mommy isn't sure of the name OR object of this second game,other than it seems to be see how many toys I can get in my arms and move across the room! However I can tell you it is great fun and keeps me occupied for many minutes at a time. Mommy just laughs at me and tells me that I look like her when she's cleaning house--picking up items and putting them back down again!!

I have mastered a few of the playground toys.I can climb on the rocking horse by myself. I try the see-saw but don't get very far without Mommy's help. I try to climb on the swing by myself, but it is much better when Mommy puts me in and pushes me. But the thing I have mastered the best is the slide. I can climb the steps (big girl style (meaning NOT on hands & knees, but just feet) using the railing!!) and after Mommy reminds me to sit down, she pulls me to edge of the slide and waits at the bottom while I wiggle myself forward and slide down!

Daily life for a 14 month old!

My typical day begins with me waking up between 5:30 and 5:55 (after 9+ hours solid sleep!) just to see if its morning yet and Mommy trying to get me to sleep for at least another hour or so. Yesterday I woke up at 5:54 am but since I hadn't gone to bed until 8:30 Mommy knew I had to sleep just a little longer (since Mommy's goal is to get at least 10 hours out of me every night), so we rocked and cuddled until 6:15 and I woke up when Mommy tried to put me back in my crib, so we were up for the day (but Mommy's thinking was at least I slept almost another 20 minutes in her arms!). This morning I woke at 5:22 am, so Mommy had plenty of time to attempt to get me back to sleep, so I didn't even get to rock with her, since she was just patting my back and rubbing my head in the crib. I fell back to sleep by 5:40 and slept while Mommy worked out and got ready for work. She actually had to wake me back up at 6:50 to get changed before walking out the door. Most mornings I enjoy my bottle while Mommy is either working out, showering or just getting ready (depending on what time I am officially up!!). I help get the newspaper every morning while Mommy loads up the diaper bag and her purse in the car.
Then while M&D work I get to play all day. I enjoy my walks and helping get the mail (and by helping I mean I first find my hat so we can go outside, and then on the walk to the box I get to carry the keys, and I pause to pick up rocks which fell on the sidewalk and put them back into the appropriate rock beds). I also have lots of fun dancing to Gaither music or jumping off the footstool in the living room. I go, go, go all day until I lay down for my naps and then go, go, go again once I wake up. Daddy usually picks me up around 4 each afternoon and I get to play with him until Mommy gets home. Once Mommy arrives home I give Daddy kisses and head upstairs to help cook supper (and by helping I mean that I play in the tupperware drawer or the utensil drawer (i can finally reach it!!!), or try to get into the garbage can or just sit on the kitchen floor with books and toys to keep Mommy company). Once supper is ready I show Mommy how to put the food on my highchair tray so that I can eat, after folding my hands to pray!!
Then usually for the rest of the evening we hang out downstairs playing with toys, while watching some TV and doing laundry or some other little housecleaning chore. Then it's bedtime. It is becoming more and more my favorite part of the day. I get to brush my teeth with Daddy while Mommy gets my bottle ready, after which I give him kisses. Then I go into my bedroom and pull my "night-night" book (a toddler devotional book) off the shelf and put in on the rocking chair and am usually trying to climb up into the chair when Mommy comes in. While Mommy reads I drink my bottle and rock some. Once my bottle is finished I exchange it for my pacifier, help Mommy say my bedtime prayers and off to the crib I go. Sleeping soundly until morning and I do it all over again!!
The routine varies on the weekends because I get to stay home with M&D. Usually Mommy and I run errands early Saturday morning (either letting Daddy relax or rushing to beat him home from work). After my afternoon nap, we usually play outside for a while. Sunday morning we have church in the morning and football in the afternoon.
All in all, I would have to say that my life is pretty good. Each day varies somewhat as I learn more and more and discover new things in my exploration of the world around me.

Corn

We had corn for dinner a few nights ago and I actually got to eat some. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it when Mommy first gave it to me, but I quickly figured out a way to get it eaten. Please enjoy!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend I got to go camping again, this time Aunt R came with us. We went to a new area on the other side of the divide--up through Poudre Canyon. It was about 2 1/2 hours away. We got to camp just in time to set up camp before supper Thursday night. By the end of the weekend there were 7 campers, 15 ATVs (counting 2 small ones and a dirtbike among them), and 29 people around the campfire. Here's just one quick peek of the campsite just before we tore down. Lots of room for me to run and play. It was a beautiful weekend,
full of dirt and ATV's. Papa has a 4-wheeler that is just my size. I had fun climbing on & off it all weekend. Daddy even let me sit on his a few times. Aunt R. even got the fun of driving around on one.

The days were pretty nice up in the mountains, getting up to abot 70 degrees. Warm enough that I wanted to play in the creek we camped by. My feet would get red, but I was never ready to get out!Yet after the first night, Mommy made me wear gloves to bed because it got so cold. The first morning was only 23 degrees when we got up. And according to Mommy my hands were icicles. Don't I look cute?!

Aunt R. braided Mommy's hair for her, so that it wouldn't get all tangled up with the wind from riding. When I saw the tie in her hair I wanted my hair up also. I kept pointing to my hair and saying "Ba" which means back--back in, back away, back anything. So Aunt R. combed my hair and braided it for me also.

I love to give my love to everyone, especially my Daddy. Here's a picture of me giving Daddy kisses before taking a nap. Notice my dirty face! I got cleaned up a few times a day, usually before naps and eating. All in all it was a wonderful weekend filled with fun and fellowship.

Bronco Girl!!

The other day I was playing with a Broncos giveaway toy and somehow managed to get it caught around my arms. Not only that, but it was on my back!!! So Daddy called me Bronco girl and Mommy ran to get the camera while I attempted to get it off and finally gave up and helped pick up the garbage. Anyhow, thought you would enjoy my time as Bronco girl!