Two years old!!

Turning 2 is a lot of work. I celebrated pretty much all week. Tuesday (my actual birthday), I had a cake for lunch with all my cousins. Then that evening, M let me do all my favorite things..I had spaghetti for supper (even though I had already had it for lunch), went to the park, took a bath and then watched a Curious George eposide with D before bed (i even got yogurt for breakfast--another one of my favorite).

D even let me dress myself..... Sasturday (june 27) we had my 2 year birthday...here's a little flashback to last year.

Then this year just before my birthday--exactly one year later. Both the tree and I have grown. I wouldn't keep still enough for M to take a picture...so this is as good as it gets.

Don't I have a cute family... the party was somewhat for all 3 of us...M had her "last" birthday ever earlier this week and D will turn another year older next week. So I shared my birthday party with them. However, all the activities were geared towards me!

We went to Lake Loveland and played on the beach. I got to eat cake and pumpkin pie and then open all my presents.I wasn't quite ready to be done when we left, so when we got home I played some more with my new toys. I got the pool last year, and the slide this year.

The buckets were presents from today.


I can't quite hold up my 2 fingers to show how old I am, but I do a pretty good job of separating them from my other fingers. I know that I am supposed to only have 2 up.

New Tricks

Since turning 2, I have learned a few new tricks. M was picking up the house and heard my muscial mobile going off. Since it is in my crib, M figured I had climbed in somehow. (hey she had mentioned night, night....so I thought I would save her the trouble). Anyhow 2 more times I got in without M seeing how. Finally she got the camera out and just waited. D chased me in and I started climbing.

Not quite how M&D thought I got in my crib...they were guessing I was using my toy box or something. M is just thankful I haven't quite yet figured out that I can get out of the crib!!!

Big night

A week ago was M&D's sixth wedding anniversary. They made a whole day of it. In the morning, we all went on a nature hike. It was 2 miles roundtrip and I almost made it all the way to the top. However, once I stopped to watch a boy and his dad walk down hill, I realized it was much easier (and faster) to go down!! I did take some time to stop and smell the flowers (I wrinkle my nose up and say "ahhh".

Then we all went out to lunch before coming home to take a nap. After I woke up from my nap we had a birthday party to go to. Then M&D planned to go to a late supper and movie. Since they wouldn't be home until really late, I stayed the night at Uncle S. & Aunt S's house. My first night away from home without M&D (also D's first night away from me--M's had 3 girl nights). Here's me getting ready to go. I have all my important things...George, blanket, fussy and my sippy cup.

MN Trip

I just got back from my first long car ride trip--up to MN and back again in 5 days. Uncle W. flew in from CA on Thursday evening so that he could visit a few CO friends before we took off to MN. We left after M&D finished work on Friday. I was awake the first few hours, then I slept most of the way--although I woke up when we stopped for gas the first time. But I was so sleepy I just wanted to stay in the car and I fell right back to sleep as soon as the car started moving again. With only 3 stops (to get gas & switch drivers), it only took us 13 1/2 hours to get to Fergus, so we got in just in time for breakfast Saturday morning. M slept most of the way with me (until it was her turn to drive), but D doesn't sleep well in cars, so he went straight to taking a nap. Meanwhile, I was busy exploring. G&G got us a lakeside cabin while G had to go to meetings all week. I soon learned how to get from the cabin to the beach, so M was busy chasing me for 2 days (G chased on the 3rd day)!! G even bought me a life jacket, so I would be safe playing by the lake.I had the time of my life. I got to play on the beach all day and get as wet and dirty as I wanted to. M and Aunt M even took me out on a paddle boat with them.

On Sunday, a lot of G's family came to spend the afternoon with us. We rented a pontoon and spent the afternoon on the lake. I even got to drive!!

M and Uncle W took a swim out in the middle of the lake. D even jumped in for a while. I was interested in getting in, so Aunt M helped me jump in. BUT it was cold, so I didn't like it very much at all!

We had a BBQ supper in front of our cabin (ours was the top level of the big white one....had 3 bedrooms, huge living room and a sun porch overlooking Ottertail Lake). M forgot how much she enjoyed Rhubarb desserts....we had 3 different ones in 4 days!

On Monday, I got to play with Aunt M, G & Uncle W while M&D headed to Minneapolis to see some friends. I played outside some and also was a big help around the cabin. I hardly noticed M&D were gone all day!Our last full day there, it rained on & off all day and was very cold. M didn't want me playing in the COLD lake water, so we went on a hike instead. Coming from CO it wasn't a very long hike & didn't climb a lot of elevation, but it was just about perfect for me. I ran up the whole way and tried to run down also....Uncle W and Aunt M tried to get me to hold hands so I would walk going down though! The only time I was carried was when I got too far off the trail and had to be brought back.Back in the parking lot, Aunt M was walking the "balance beams", so I tried to be just like her!

After such a tiring hike, I had to get a cold drink of water.

Wednesday morning, D woke me up early to put me in my carseat for the long drive back home. With only M&D driving on the way back, they figured daytime driving was safer. But I was awake a lot more (since I only slept for 3 hours of the drive), a bit more restless, so we stopped a few more times. It took us almost 15 hours to get home. However, M was very proud of how I traveled. I only complained about my carseat once, so M&D got out the DVD player for me and I settled in to watch Curious George for the next hour and half. Other than that I played hide n'seek with M&D, colored, read some books and sang to a CD. But I was ready to be home and play in the park and run up and down the halls of my house. I think I will stick to plane rides for now (much shorter!!), but I'm sure I'll go on another car ride soon.

Big sister.......little???

Over Memorial Day when we were camping, some friends brought along a Karaoke machine. M&D decided to do a little duet....

LISTEN TO THE VIDEO FIRST....but just in case you missed the message, they were announcing that I am going to be a big sister come December!! I am pretty excited, so I've been practicing so that I can be the best big sister ever.

Changing diapers.....

Feeding time.....

Reading up on how to make a baby happy.....

Whenever we say our bedtime prayers and M mentions "bless M&D and baby" I interrupt and say "Ice, ice, baby" (remember the new song I learned just before camping!!). So I guess our little one is nicknamed ICE.

Here's the sign I made when we told G&G and P&G!Here's the first picture of my little sibling!

Silly fun

I am always a little silly. Hey, when you have as much exploring to do as I do, you can't help but get into a few silly situations. I recently discovered that if you put a car down your pjs, the only way to get it out is for it to drive back up your belly. It tickles but sure is fun!!

I also decided that not all my toys should be downstairs, so I was doing a little rearranging and bringing some of my favorites upstairs.

M has a table full of stuffed animals in her guest room. Most are hers (that D gave to her), some our childhood toys of both M&D, and a few are mine. I decided sitting right among them, trying to do a puzzle was just the way to spend Sunday afternoon.

I didn't like the outfit M put on me the other day, so I changed myself. I think I did a fairly good job---other than the shirt being put on backwards! My hair is finally long enough to put into pig tails! Now I really look like a little girl and not a baby anymore!

2 year pictures

We just went and took my 2 year pictures. A little early I know, but I am heading up to MN at the end of this week to see G&G, Aunt M & Uncle B, and Uncle W. So M thought I should have my pictures taken and be ready to hand them out. Here's just a little sampling of my cuteness! The photogopher's comment was that I am easy to get to smile, just hard to keep still enough to capture it!! So a few of my shots are actions shots or not quite the "pose" I was put in!

My Easter dress!My best friend George. I love to give him hugs and kisses!!Coloring is one of my favorite activites to do. My purse always has a ready supply of crayons and paper!Just a cute one of me looking through the back of the chair!

Warm weather and friends

It was so nice the other Saturday and M still needed to clean off the tarp and carpet from the camping weekend. So while she was busy working, Cousin L and I played in the waterand helped water some plants. It was a beautiful day out. That night we went on a picnic to the park with some friends. We rode the little train around the park and played on all the equipment. It was a fun evening.

On Sunday, M and I got up to go to Denver. We met a friend from work at the museum. After spending a few hours there (with M chasing after me through most of the exhibits), we went and had another picnic in a nearby park. When it was time for my nap, we left to go to Aurora and visit another friend. M realized that she had forgot my diaper bag, so we had to stop and pick up some diapers (and M had to use the restroom). Well, I fell asleep on the way, so M carried me in. She multi-tasked and was able to use the restroom while also holding me. However, when she flushed the toilet I woke up and was a little confused. I continued to lay in M arms on the way to get diapers, but when it came time to check-out I sat up to look around. Then I was awake!! Even the 20 minute ride down to Aurora didn't put me back to sleep. So we met up with M's friend and went on walk by Cherry Creek Resevoir so I could run off some more energy. Afer getting back in the car and drinking lots of water and finishing off my grapes, I fell asleep hard. I didn't even wake up when we stopped to pick up M's friend from a wedding. When we got home, M had to wake me. While M & her friend talked, I played some. That night M was exhausted--something about chasing me all day tired her out. Since I had a late nap, I didn't fall asleep the fastest, but I sure slept good that night once I fell asleep! All that playing is hard work!

Camping!

For Memorial Day we went camping up near Red Feather (about an 1 1/2 hours away). The first evening was terrible because I smashed the same finger twice! First as M&D were setting up the camper, I was playing near the hitch and got my fingernail stuck in the hitch lock. Then 2 hours later, while D was cooking supper, M headed out of the camper and told me to stay, but I wanted to follow, so I went to catch the door and got my finger caught on the inside. That one really hurt and I got a pretty deep cut. M put ice on it and gave me some medicine, but in the middle of the night I woke up crying, "Owie, owie, owie", so I got more medicine for it. The rest of the weekend, I talked of nothing else but the owie and the door I caught it in.

But once morning came, everything turned around for the better. I got to play outside for 4 days straight, I rode ATV's (both the little one with P

and D's big one!). I played with my cousins and chased them around. I also fell numerous times on the rocks and uneven ground as I was chasing cousins or dogs. But I'm resourceful...if M or D aren't around to kiss my owies, I will do it myself!
I made new friends (mostly with dogs, but also a few kids I hadn't met before---there were 6 campers, 2 tents, 7 dogs, 35 people, and 16 ATV's around our campsite!!!) Mostly D's family, but also some friends.

(notice in this video with the dog, I am singing my new song....M needed to remember to buy ice before we left, so she started singing "Ice, ice, baby" and I picked up on it really quick. I sing it twice in this little clip!)

It was a little chilly out, but the rain only interfered Sunday afternoon (the other times I was already in the camper asleep, so it didn't matter!!). We didn't have any heat the first night though, because both propane lines were leaking. So while I played the next day, M&D headed back down to the valley to get it fixed. Finally they came back and we had heat the rest of the nights. Since it was so cold, we had the fire going from dawn to after dusk. This was the 3rd pile of wood that was gotten and only lasted less than 2 days!

I entertained myself a lot also. If my cousins were busy and everyone was out ATV'ing I would hang around the campsite with M or G. I played in the dirt a lot,

hosted my own cooking show, lounged around some and just had all sorts of fun.

One night, a bunch of the people had a crab boil. Here's a picture of them with all their food. The one ride I went on with both M&D was to a mud pit to watch Uncle B try to conquer it. It was actually a fairly nice day, so M took my coat off when we arrived. When I saw the pit, I tried to take my shirt off also...I thought it was a swimming hole!!

Church activities

M hosted a picnic about 2 weeks ago for all her SS teachers as a way to say THANK YOU for everything they do. It was a beautiful evening, so after supper we started a little fire and just enjoyed the night. I got bored sitting around the fire, so I started playing hide and seek. (M had told me it was too cold to put water in the pool, so I found another use for it!) I'm definitely not afraid of small, dark spaces!

It was lots of fun. (notice in the background our "neighbors" I've told you about before!) We noticed some new neighbors out front that morning. M tried to get a picture,

so if you look closely you should be able to see the 3 baby birds that made their home in our little evergreen bush by our front steps.

The next day at church, Uncle S and D sang a late Mother's Day song. They said it was for their Mommy, but I know my M really likes this song. It's just a fun little ditty.

Hope you enjoy it as much as they did!

Playing catch-up

I just want to apologize in advance for the marathon of posts we are posting tonight. The weather has turned nice, so I've been asking M to go outside after supper every night. We spend time either out in our backyard or at the park most evenings now. That gives M limited time to work on the computer.

Also we have had some sad news in our family. Last week Papa's best friend passed away very unexpectedly (and very young--only 55). The rest of the week was a whirlwind of friends & family, funeral arrangements and mourning. We weren't home in the evening for 3 nights straight. I didn't really understand what was going on--all I knew was that I had a new backyard to play in and a ton of new friends. But M&D, and especially G&P were very sad! I gave lots of hugs to Papa those days.

So tonight we are playing catch-up from the last month of activities and photos.

Outside fun

We have cows in our backyard!!! Ok, maybe in the hay field right behind our house, but close enough that it feels like they are in our backyard. I like to go outside and "moo" at them after supper.
I also had fun chasing a bunny rabbit who was just staying far enough away from me on the other side of the fence.

While we were outside I found the car that I played with while camping all last summer. It had been stored on our back patio all winter. I am a litte big for it, plus it has seen better days (that's what I get for being the 9th grandchild and getting hand-me down toys!!). Anyhow, I was determined to have fun with it, but the backyard grass was a little too tall for proper riding. So I carried the car around to the front of the house where I learned about the effects gravity

has in our driveway! Then I convinced M to let me ride it to the park--by riding I mean that I rode less than half a block and then M carried it the rest of the way!!! But I had fun playing with it in the rocks.

Here's a comparsion--Memorial Day last year riding the car (remember my very first step was taken on this camping trip). And me the other night....a little bit taller and much more mobile!

When I am inside I wish I was outside. Life would be good if I could spend every waking moment outside! So I sometimes sit on the coffee table by the front window and watch the neighborhood go by. This particular evening I was there and watched D pull into the driveway.