Sunday, November 4, 2012

Halloween Festivities!

We had a successful Halloween!  Once Kaylee discovered that saying "Trick or Treat" resulted in candy in her bucket, she was all over it!  We did a couple different Halloween events, so here are some fun pictures from them:

Kaylee the Cuddle Monster 

Riding one of her first rides at Remlinger Farms Harvest Festival

What is going on?!

You mean I get candy?!

I LOVE trick or treating!

I'll just add this to my collection

Trick or Treating Pro

At the Seattle Children's Museum Halloween festivities

Hanging out with her friend, "Panda"

Trick or Treating for real

Aww, just one piece?

Kaylee and her partner in crime


What is Halloween without a pony ride?  This is her first one and she wasn't too sure about it!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Summer is Over, Here Comes Fall!

Well, summer is over and after this long stretch of beautiful fall weather, it looks like the rain is on its way finally.  The last couple months have been busy, but a lot of fun!  Here are some pictures of our summer!











Monday, July 30, 2012

Birthday Cake!

Kaylee is 2!! We had so much fun for her birthday and are constantly marveling over what a funny, silly, big girl she is now!  Here are some fun Kaylee facts:

* She is 27 lbs (50% percentile) and 35 inches tall (75-90% percentile)  Tall and skinny!

* The doctor asked me how many words Kaylee had.  I had no idea so I guessed around 50-60.  Lance thought I was wrong so we started a tally of all the words Kaylee says.  We got to 150 and stopped.  I was way off!  Sorry for underestimating you Kaylee!

* She says "Daddy funny" or "Mommy funny" or "Doggy funny." when we do something that amuses her.

* She likes to tickle us and says "tickle, tickle, tickle!"

* She is terrified of Santa.  A friend had a Christmas in July party with a guest appearance from Santa.  Kaylee freaked out and grabbed my keys from my bag, trying to get me to take her home!

* Every day we picked her up from daycare she demands her "paper" (the sheet that says what she ate, when she slept, etc) and won't let me see until we are about 1/2 home. She very protective of that thing.

* She is obsessed with stickers and likes to stick them all over her arms. I see tattoo sleeves in our future.

* She loves animals, but doesn't want to get too close to them.  Everyone thinks this is silly, but I just say she has a healthy respect for wildlife!

* When we ask Kaylee how old she is, she answers "Birthday Cake!"

* She loves Cookie Monster and makes us sing "C is for Cookie" over and over and over and over. 

* We are working on her counting...so far it goes, "One....four....five....eight..."  Hmm.

* She is becoming more and more independent.  She likes picking out her clothes and feeding herself with a spoon and fork (and she does pretty well too!). 

* She always takes off her shoes and socks in the car.  Never fails.

Presents!

Birthday Cake!

Stickers with Grandpa "Golf"

The Great Strawberry Massacre of 2012

Kiddos having fun with the bubbles and balls

Always wanting more

She never slows down

Whoa.  Dude.

Kaylee collected pet food for the Seattle Humane Society at her party.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Happy Birthday To Me!

31.

Yep.  I am "in my thirties".  Sometimes I feel my age.  Sometimes I still feel young.  But I think most people feel that way.  One thing I notice as I get older is I tend to be more nostalgic.  I think this has to do with the fact that I'm not a fancy free 22 year old anymore.  I have a husband, a kid, responsibilities, etc etc.  I can't just do things spontaneously anymore. Nights out require planning, preparation, fore thought.  And for the most part, that really doesn't bother me.  Because a lot of my friends are in the same situation.  But every once in awhile, I hear the theoretical call of the wild and I want to go out and be free.  (Within reason.  I was never very wild and crazy.)

So I decided to go out with my two best friends, Stef and Niki, on my birthday.  I've known them for a very long time and we all went to high school together.  Now they are both getting married this August.  We don't often get a chance to hang out just the three of us.

Love these girls!
Our first stop was Rosita's.  Rosita's is this little Mexican place near Greenlake.  They have three very important things: amazing margaritas, made on the spot tortillas, and an awesome tomatillo salsa.   Stef and I used to go there all the time...like 8 years ago!  With the except of NOT having my favorite margarita anymore, it was as good as I remembered.  After a stretch around Greenlake and some truffles from Chocolati, we hit up Murphy's Pub.  Murphy's is an Irish bar in Wallingford.  I like it because it is unassuming, has a slightly older crowd, and usually not too crowded.  Plus, they have darts!  Ahhh many a night have I played darts at Murphy's in my youth.  You'd think I'd be better at it.

It was a very fun and happy night.  Nothing too crazy, but nice not having to worry about getting home by a certain hour.  Plus my friends are awesome.  You can't beat that.  I love them both to bits.

Also, here is an adorable video of Kaylee wishing me happy birthday:


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Kaylee's Box!




We ordered something that came in a really big box.  So we made it into a play box for Kaylee.


She loves it!  She wants to be in "Kay-ee Boc" (Kaylee's Box) all the time.

Its especially great to read books in

And for playing with toys in!

And of course, throwing toys OUT of!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Kaylee at One and a half!

Its so hard to believe Kaylee is 19 months already.  She is such a funny, funny girl.  She has a ton of personality.  I thought I would catalog some of it here.

Obsessions:
* LOVES "Baby Signing Time".  She knows the signs for "baby" and "signing" and will sign for it.  We have to watch this video everyday.  Because she asks for it.  Insistently.  With signs.  As soon as I put her in the car after picking her up from daycare she starts saying "baaay-beee" and signing.  How can you say no to that?

*Yogurt.  "Yo-yurrr".  We should invest in it with the amount she consumes.

*Blankets/stuffed animals/binkies/hats/jackets or anything else she can carry around.  Kaylee always has about 15 things she decides are essential personnel.  In the morning when I take her out of her crib, she needs binkie, blankie, and her stuffed "doggie".  When we leave from daycare she needs her blankie, jacket, and hat.  And again, she is nothing if not insistent about these "essential" items. 

*Putting things in other things.  Give the girl a basket and you will find a collection of toys, papers, books, and clothing.  And she will drag it around the house for hours.  Well, ok, minutes.  But that's saying a lot for Kaylee.

*Dogs.  Or as she calls them "Daaahhh-ggeeees!".  Poor Chiquita.  She can't catch a break.

*Brushing her teeth.  Sometimes I think she wakes up early just so she can "get ready" with me.  She stands on her little stool and brushes her teeth with me.  

New things:
* Signing.  Kaylee's has signed "more", "milk", "eat", "all done" and "water" for a while now, but she has definitely been adding to her repertoire.  She now signs "dog", "cat", "horse", "frog", "cereal", "hat", "shoes", "sleep", "cracker", "socks", "raining", "yogurt", "please", "thank you"...and probably a few more I'm forgetting! 

*Body parts.  Kaylee knows her body parts pretty well!  She knows: head, hand, feet, hair, eyes, ears, teeth, mouth, belly. We enjoy having her tell us where they are. She also like to demonstrate on us.  Especially eyes. She like to show us where our eyes are by gauging our eyes with her finger.

*Dancing.  Kaylee doesn't dance so much as twirl and stomp her feet.  Sometimes she'll put her arms up over her head and twirl like a ballerina.  I have no idea where she learned that! 

*Words. Her vocabulary just keeps expanding.  Some of my favorite words she says are "grandma" and "grandpa" because she always says it with a growl for some reason. 

*Hugs.  Kaylee has never been an especially cuddly baby, so we take a lot of delight in her desire to give us hugs when asked.  But our favorite is the run and hugs we get. 

*Yes/No.  Kaylee has always very clear in her desires, but now she will say yes and no.  Well, actually yes is not spoken, but just a short nod of the head and and a "mmm".  No, of course, no is WAY more dramatic.  No is usually this drawn out "nnnooooooo!!!"  or now she wags her finger and say "nah-nah" with some major sass.

*Water.  She always does this super exaggerated satisfied "ahhhhh" whenever she drinks water.  Its hilarious.


Overall, she is full of personality, happy and curious.  She's a little reserved in new situations or around new people - she prefers to check it all out before joining in.  She leans a lot on us when she is insecure, seeking comfort and assurance, but she is also extremely independent around the house.  She knows what she likes and dislikes and not afraid to tell you exactly how she feels.

Contents of one of Kaylee's baskets

I don't want my picture taken!


Walking the dog was probably the best part of our vacation

Kaylee demanded the hat, jacket, purse, slippers and graham crackers.

Peas in yogurt - the best!

All Done!  Let me out!!
 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Snow!

We survived the Great Snowstorm of 2012!

Things started to look grim Sunday evening.  I was supposed to go to Sequim early Monday, but that quickly changed once the snow started falling.
Monday - more snow.
Tuesday - more snow.
Wednesday - more snow.
Thursday - Ice!  Oh, and more snow.
Friday - finally a thaw! 

All in all, we only got about 6 inches, but it was enough to keep us all home all week.  I couldn't make it to work on Tuesday, and the UW closed its campus the rest of the week.  I ended up having a bad cold, so I couldn't take advantage of the snow days.  One of these days, I WILL finish unpacking!




Kaylee mostly enjoyed the snow.  Or at least, she liked preparing to go out in the snow.  She would bring us her hat and coat and boots.  But once she was out in it, she didn't like walking around too much.











Oh.  And sledding can be scary:

Click Here to See Kaylee's First Sledding Experience


Probably my favorite part of snow in Seattle is the region's reaction.  From fear to excitement to disappointment to anger and to relief, I find the whole thing hilarious.  I find it so funny how we all FREAK out and then get mad when people make fun of us for FREAKING out.  But, in reality...snow in Seattle is a scary thing.  Its slushy and quickly turns to ice.  It is impossible to navigate the many many steep hills and lets be honest...most of us are not used to driving in it.  We're a city that gets snow about once or twice a year.  And it doesn't make us wimpy...it makes us inexperienced.  I'm ok with that.  But I don't think you can compare Midwest to Seattle.  I'm sure those Minnesotans would have issues too here.  But still, the hoopla?  More entertaining than some recent movies I've seen.