New Year, New House, New Job!

We've had quite the busy month!  Let's break it down:

CHRISTMAS:

This year was fun since Kaylee was so much more aware of everything.  She really liked the tree and all the lights.  But she did not like Santa!  Santa was a complete no go.  Her toddler group put on a party where Santa came to visit and gave each little kid a gift.  Kaylee wanted no part in this.  She shrunk back against as far as she could and then burst out sobbing when we got to close.  Needless to say, I did not make her sit on Santa's lap this year!

Toddler Proofed Tree!

Christmas Eve with Grandma!

  Kaylee also was only interested in one or two gifts...she actually told me "no" when I tried to get her to open more.  This will be the only year THAT will happen!  But she got some presents she is really excited about:  a little baby doll with a crib and a doll stroller, mini pots and pans and cooking utensils and a little cupboard to put them in, a little kid laptop, a little golf set, a little keyboard, a pull toy doggie, a wagon and a trike!

Giving her baby water.

Checking out the new cupboard

NEW HOUSE:

The Naugles moved!  We are renting a new place in Kirkland (about 5 minutes from where we used to live), but we have so much more space!  We have gained a bedroom, a living room, a full sized bathroom, yard, two car garage and storage shed!

Backyard

Kaylee checks out the new digs

It is so nice to have the space and Kaylee loves to be able run around the whole house!  She is a much happier toddler.  Plus there is a private park about two blocks away and there is an elementary school right behind our house.

Playing at the new playground!

NEW JOB:

I will be joining the ranks of the employed once again!  I got a job at the UW as a program assistant for the Toxicology and DEOHS.  Basically I'm a gopher, but I'm excited about it.  I'll be working with a good friend of mine, so that always makes it fun!  Kaylee will start going to daycare, but she is going to be in a class with a little playmate of hers and the teacher teaches them Spanish!  Kaylee seemed to like the teacher and classroom.  Finding a daycare is stressful, so I'm glad when found one everyone likes.  I'm starting next week!  Eek!

Time to Catch Up!

Poor neglected blog...I just realized I haven't updated since the middle of September!  Whoopsie.  Let's catch up, shall we?

First Up: Halloween!

YAY FALL!

Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and Little Alice

This one, Mommy!

 Kaylee learned to walk at the beginning of October, so Halloween was a lot of fun.  She got to explore pumpkin patches and the fall leaves.  We had a really fun party with her baby friends (my mommy group).  Everyone dressed up and ate lots of good food!  We were planning on taking Kaylee trick or treating at Lance's work, but she ended up getting sick and we had to miss out.  I was sad, but at least it was a year she didn't care. 

Hi Mommy!  Lets Read!

We also had a very nice Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law's.  My parents also came which made Kaylee really excited that 4 out of her 6 grandparents were in the same place!  Kaylee thought turkey and green beans were delicious...but didn't not go for the maple glazed sweet potatoes and pumpkin pies.  Huh. 

New House!

Lastly, the Naugle's are moving!  I'm not excited to pack, but I am excited to gain an extra family area, bathroom and room!  We'll be in the new house for Christmas, so it will be fun decorating a new place. Kaylee thinks the new house is really fun because she can run all around and yell.

Kaylee Stats (age 16 months)

*Signs she knows: eat, more, sleep, thank you, bottle, all done

*Words she says on a regular basis: "nonny" (mommy), daddy, doggy, kitty, cheese, ball, book, this, hi, bye, cracker, up, no, shoes

*Favorite Activities: Reading!  She loves to sit in your lap, pull up the blanket and have you read to her.  She also loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider and does some of the hand movements.  She enjoys her toddler group and is starting to get into circle time.  She loves to go on walks outside.  My dad usually takes her out when he watches her, so she will sometimes get her jacket and shoes when he comes over.  She LOVES animals...particularly our dog and my mother in law's cat.  Sitting on little chairs...she loves to get into her little rocking chair and on her little firetruck.  And she loves to sit with her daddy when he is in his chair.  She sits right next to him and plays with his computer mouse.  She is also starting to become attached to a stuffed seal and wants to take him with her.

Naugle Family Travels - Summer 2011 Edition

Now that fall seems to be upon us and school is starting back up, I thought I would catch everyone up on our family vacations from this summer!  Kaylee survived 3 trips and actually did really really well.  Better than hoped, actually.  I wrote about our first vacation to the Olympic Peninsula, where she had to endure HOURS and HOURS of being unjustly constrained in the car while her parents "claimed" they were "sight-seeing". (Her opinion, not mine!).  Kaylee's idea of sight-seeing was exploring new hotel rooms.  Crawling around uninhibited was SO MUCH FUN!

Our next trip was the annual family pilgrimage to Lake Chelan with Lance's family.  We weren't sure how it would go because while the in-laws have an RV, everybody else sleeps in tents.  We didn't know how Kaylee would take that situation.  But my awesome mother in law took Kaylee overnight in the RV and woke up with her each morning.   (THANKS VICKI!)  Kaylee loved having so many people to play with and mommy and daddy enjoyed having lots of babysitters!  The highlight of the trip was a sea plane ride to Rio Viste winery and back.  We purchased them as birthday presents for Lance's sister and mother.  I thought Kaylee might be freaked out by the loud plane but she actually seemed to enjoy it quite a bit!  

View from the Sea Plane

Yay!

Flying is fun!

Ground Control

Lastly we took a last minute trip to Toronto.  We found out that Lance's older sister and family were visiting Toronto on a working vacation from Milan.  They invited us to come visit them.  Since they live so far away, we usually jump at the chance to see them.  Especially since their daughter, Indigo is exactly a year older than Kaylee.  They actually have the same birthday!  But I was really really hesitant to fly with Kaylee.  She has never been one to fall asleep in our arms, so I had no idea what she would do on the plane once she got tired.  But she did really well, managed to fall asleep and charmed all the other passengers and flight attendants.  Whew.

We wanted to use our airline miles to make the trip affordable so we had to fly in Cleveland and then drive to Toronto.  The bad part was the 5 hour drive.  But the silver lining was we got to visit Niagara Falls and partake in my favorite activity: wine tasting.  We did wine tasting in Niagara and in Ohio.  Ohio wines...who would have thought!

Niagara Falls

Toronto was a lot of fun!  It is actually a pretty cool city and it was so much fun seeing the two girls together.  Kaylee loved having an older kid around and Indigo loved having a baby to play with.  Indie was so good at sharing with Kaylee.  And actually the bigger miracle was we managed to fit 4 adults and two toddlers into a one bedroom tiny apartment relatively stress free!  HAHA!

Kaylee wanted to pack Indigo in the suitcase to take home!

Cutie pies

We made it! Kaylee is 1 year old!!

We have a 1 year old.  I still can't believe it.  We had a great first birthday and a fun July!

Kaylee got to experience her first 4th of July.  We went to my old co-worker's house for a BBQ and fireworks.  Kaylee got to bounce in a bouncy house...but wasn't so sure about it.  And she wasn't super excited about the fireworks either.  Lance and I had to do a lot of "yaaaayyyy!!" ever time one went off.  But she managed to make it through!

Kaylee also started swimming lessons!  She is doing really well and Lance even managed to dunk her in the water.  We play "Kaylee Shark" and "Kaylee Dolphin" and swoosh her around in the water.  She loves it!  She is a little water baby for sure!

I had my first trip away from husband and baby.  I went to San Diego to go to Comic Con with my friend Cody.  It was a super fun experience!  Lance and Kaylee did really really well without me.  (Nice to know, huh?)  I missed them like crazy, but I felt good knowing Kaylee was in good hands with her daddy.  They had a lot of fun together and I got to experience the geekfest that is Comic Con!

Kaylee started off her birthday celebrating early with "July Birthdays".  Lance's family has 4 family members celebrating birthdays in July:  Lance, his aunt Sue, his brother Brett and Kaylee.  Kaylee and Brett actually have the same birthday!  We actually had some decent weather (one of the rare sunny days).  We opened presents and Kaylee got to try her first cupcake!  It was tough to decide if she liked the cupcake or the garlic bread.  I feel ya, baby!

Then we celebrated her actual birthday by feeding her more cupcakes!  She was an old pro by then.  On the 30th we had her first birthday party at Richmond Beach.  We had amazing weather and an awesome turn out!  14 kids under 4!  And it wasn't as chaotic as you would expect.  All the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and hanging out with each other.  Kaylee loved crawling around and seeing everyone.  We had a "Little Monster" theme and my best friend Stef made these amazing Monster cake pops.  I am forever in her debt!

I am trying to finish up the last of my schoolwork for summer quarter before the Naugles head to Chelan!  Wish me luck because I am going to need it.  Sigh.

11 months - let the countdown begin!

One more month and my little baby is not going to be a baby anymore!  How did that happen?! 

Birthday Celebrants (and Kaylee)

We've had an exciting month with lots of celebrations.  On June 10th, we celebrated Lance's sister Ashley's 21st birthday.  We weren't brave enough to go out with her, but we did go to the Redhook Brewery for a tour and then out for Mexican.  Next time we hope she won't be so hungover!   Lance celebrated his first father's day.  We had lunch with his parents and grandparents who were visiting from out of town.  Then he went golfing with a friend who was also celebrating his first father's day!  I also turned 30 this year.  Eek!  (Again, how did that happen?!)  We had a big party on the 17th at the Museum of Flight to celebrate Ashley's 21st, my 30th and Lance's Grandpa's 80th.  It was really neat - it was "Helicopter Day" so we had a great view of all the helicopters and got to watch them take off.

Hanging out at the Lodge

On my actual birthday (the 22nd), Lance, Kaylee and I left for our vacation to the Olympic Peninsula.   The original plan was the camp at Deception Pass the first night, camp at Sol Duc the second and then spend the remaining two nights at Lake Quinault Lodge.  The weather, however, proved a little threatening, so we decided to play it safe and stay in hotels instead.  So we spent the first night in Port Townsend at a neat hotel called the Palace Hotel that was in an old bordello.  I love kitschy hotels!  It was actually very nice, right downtown and fairly inexpensive.  The second day we headed to Port Angeles after checking out Port Townsend.  We explored Hurricane Ridge and then ended up having dinner with Lance's uncle who was working in Port Ludlow.  It was fun to meet up with him!  The third day we took off to Quinault with stops at Lake Crescent, Hoh Rainforest, and Ruby Beach.  The 4th day, we hiked around Lake Quinault and enjoyed some down time at the Lodge.  A glass of wine on a sunny day?  Yes please!  On the last day, we stopped off at a couple of the World's Largest Trees while driving a nice scenic loop around the lake.  Finally we stopped off at Northwest Trek on the way back and then finally home!  Whew!  Kaylee did really really well - actually better than we expected and makes us breathe a little easier for our road trip through Oregon in September. 

Baby Jail

Daddy and Baby Slug

I wish I could say I had the summer off, but I am taking two classes.  At least it will be a little less work than usual.  And then I get almost two months off before fall quarter...which looks...challenging. 

My Little Gremlin

Kaylee is a busy busy girl!  She LOVES crawling and is starting to pull herself up on the couch and ottoman.  Nothing is safe anymore!  It can be a little frustrating, but it is expected.  She is also getting her top two teeth. They've cut through and are working their way out.  I think she is working on the next two because she is teething like mad.  Heaven help us all. 








4th of July is approaching and I am interested to see how she handles the fireworks.  I'm not sure she will love them.  And then on to her first birthday!!! Ack!

10 Months - Movin' and Groovin'

Ladies and Gentleman, we have a crawler!  It took Kaylee a really long time, but she is finally on the move.  She was so frustrated - her mind was telling her she should do it but she just couldn't get all the parts going together.  So we are all glad she finally figured it out.  Life is a little less...scream-y.  Here is a video of when she first started:

Watch Kaylee Crawl!

Kaylee also continues to love to babble.  All babble, all the time.  Besides her "mama" and "da-da" she has adding whispering and "nyeah" and "da-da-da-DAH!".  She has learned to blow two different kinds of raspberries: one with the tongue and one with just her lips.  She also starting going "muah" and blowing spit bubbles at the same time.  And lastly, she know makes this clicking sounds with her tongue.  She sounds like she's speaking that African click language.  I played a video for her of someone speaking Xhosa and she started clicking back!  Funny girl.  Someday I will have all of these on video.

I had a very nice first Mother's Day.  Kaylee and I had brunch with my mom, my mother in law, my grandma-in-law, aunt-in-law and sister-in-law.  Then Lance hung out with his mom and watched Kaylee while I went shopping with my sister-in-law Ashley.  We haven't hung out just the two of us in a long time, so it was really fun.  Then my mom and dad came over to watch Kaylee so Lance and I could have a date.  We ate sushi, did a little wine tasting and then watched a movie.  Let the record state that I passed up on a massage to hang out with my husband.  :)

We've had some fun times with my mom's group too.  The ladies left the babies at home with the husbands and we had dinner at the Purple Cafe.  It was really nice to get a little dressed up and hang out.  The wine didn't hurt either.  We also had a get together with the husbands and babies so they could all meet each other finally!  It was a lot of fun to get to know the husbands.  We had a good time. 




School is almost over for the quarter.  I have to take some classes in the Summer but it isn't a full load.  I'm looking forward to a little break...although summer is already so busy!  June is going to be full of stuff: birthdays, father's day, and a trip to the Olympic Peninsula.  :)

9 Months and Two Teeth!

Hi!

Well, April seemed to go by quickly, yet drag on.  I blame the weather. 

Kaylee is slowly making progress on the crawling front.  She will go forward on her hands from a seated position and rock back and forth.  She will also flip onto her stomach.  But she has yet to put everything together.  Soon though.  We really need to childproof, but I am not looking forward to that at all.  So I keep putting it off!


Kaylee also cut her front two bottom teeth!  Finally.  I think the whole house is glad she is no longer teething.  Not that she drools any less now.  So lovely.

Riding the carousel for the first time

 She also said her first word!  It is "Kitty".  Or really, more like "keeh-ti".  Close enough, right?  She also says "dada" and "Mum mum" but I'm not as convinced that those are directly at us.   Although "dada" is usually when something if is fun.  "Mum mum" is usually reserved for diaper changes and other things that make her unhappy.  Nice.  I'll remind her of that every Mother's Day. 

Melati watches my mom and Kaylee

Feeding the birds at the zoo

We took our first zoo trip as well for my mom's birthday.  My mom volunteers at the zoo so it was a special outing.  My mom has made a connection with an orangutan named Melati and was excited to show Kaylee off.  She wasn't sure if Melati would recognize her without her volunteer outfit, but Melati stopped in mid stride on the other side of the enclosure when she spotted my mom.  She then came all the way over and watched my mom and Kaylee.  It was pretty amazing.  And for those who know me, I do not like Monkeys or Apes, but even this heart of stone was melted.

Shaking my eggs!

Easter was also fun.  Kaylee is really too little for much, but I did make her up an Easter basket.  I took a bunch of those plastic eggs and filled them with different stuff like rice, beans, beads to make rattles for Kaylee.  She thought those were pretty cool. 

Kaylee's First Easter

So now we just wait for teeth to grow in and babies to get mobile and this is one mom who is excited for Mother's Day!  Maybe the hubby will read this and see that massages, pedicures and good food are all welcome presents.  :D

8 Months! Or Wait, Didn't She Just Turn 7 Months?

Well here we are!  8 months!  How did THAT happen?

Beets are delicious!

I feel like March has gone by in a blur.  I can't even remember most of it!  I managed to survive my 2nd quarter, even though I hated one of my classes.  I managed to get two A's and one A minus.  Not too shabby.  Lance finished his quarter strong as well.  It was his first quarter back after Kaylee was born.  We all survived!

Kaylee continues to grow like a weed.  I can't keep that baby in pants that are long enough!  She has a new trick.  She likes to make this crazy face and make an "eeee" sound.  She loves to have you imitate her.  So silly.

In other Kaylee news, we are signing her up for a toddler group co-op with the other babies she hangs out with.  The whole process is a little insane.  At one of the places we were looking into, parents line up 2 hours early to get a spot!  We decided to try a different group, so we'll see what we end up with.  It seems so weird to think about toddler groups for next year when she is still just a baby!

This past weekend, we decided to try out a family vacation.  We went to Victoria BC on the Clipper for two nights.  Kaylee did ok on the boat...she slept most of the way there, but had a hard time on the way back.  Luckily the Japanese couple in front of us loved Kaylee.  I was a little worried they were going to take her back to Japan with them!  But they were really sweet to her. 

In Victoria, we did a ton of walking around and a little shopping.  We had a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant and we let Kaylee try a little miso soup and some soy sauce.  Miso yum!  Soy sauce...meh.  We also had some delicious fish n' chips on the wharf.  Kaylee didn't get to sample that cuisine. 

Can I keep it, Mommy?

Yay! Skulls!

We took Kaylee to a petting farm that had a ton of goats!  And there were about 4 baby goats.  I was in love, of course, but Kaylee also seemed to enjoy them quite a bit.  We visited the Royal BC Museum.  Kaylee liked the animal skulls.  Creepy baby.  We also went to the Bug Zoo.  It was actually pretty neat.  Lance got to hold a bunch of bugs and was totally loving it.  Kaylee was even pretty interested! 

Lance's new friends

It was a pretty different experience traveling with a baby - so much preparation and you are pretty limited, but it was definitely a fun family outing and Kaylee traveled better than we were expecting.