OMG- A New Baby is Coming

Check out Mommy's tummy... it is only a little longer before I will be a big sister!!

Walking Trevor

Mini-Midwife

Mommy is using a midwife to deliver her baby. Her name is Geraldine- she is the same midwife that delivered me at the Puget Sound Birth Center. Since Mommy is planning a home birth this time, Geraldine has come to our house for home visits instead of Mommy and Daddy seeing her at an office somewhere. Ever since Geraldine has been coming to our house, I am a lot more interested in Mommy's tummy. I like feeling for the baby with my hands, kissing Mommy's tummy, and doing all of the things Geraldine does. At Mommy's last appointment, I got to use a tape measure to see how big Mommy is getting. I also watched very carefully when Mommy was getting her blood drawn. I am a great observer and am learning a lot about taking care of Mommy!

Potty Training

While Mommy and Daddy have been trying desperately to potty train me, I am just not ready yet. I will tell them when I am going poo-poo, but I just don't have time to tell them every time I am peeing. They have tried the "hanging out in the bathroom" method twice. The first time resulted in me peeing on the floor and the second time I got a red ring around my bottom from sitting on the potty for so long! Hopefully, once I go back to daycare and see the other kids using the potty, I will be more motivated to use it, too!

Speech Therapy

I have been talking up a storm in the last couple of months, but I mostly like saying one word sentences. I guess I am supposed to be saying things in two or three word sentences instead. Apparently, I am also hard to understand (for the record, I know exactly what I am saying!). So, Mommy and Daddy took me to a speech therapy office to have my speech progress officially evaluated. The tests told us that what I can understand is above average, but what I am able to say back is below average. As a result, I have started going to speech therapy sessions once a week. Last week, I worked on the letter "p" and saying things in two word sentences. It is actually a pretty fun experience- I get to play with all sorts of different toys. I will see my therapist, Miss Amy, again this Friday. Before you know it, I will be saying complete sentences!!

More Summer Fun

This summer has been full of adventures for me. Some things Mommy and I do every week and others are just one time activities. The things we do every week are the church playgroup, Farmers Market, Farm Tots, and concerts at Pine Lake Park. These are all really fun things that I look forward to doing. Some of the other things we have done include the wading pool and playground at Greenlake, meeting Daddy at work for lunch (Monday is mondo burger day and Tuesday is two taco day), Woodland Park Zoo (I got to see a giraffe and elephant up close!), lots of different parks, shopping, and nature walks (I love picking berries and looking for/touching slugs). On the really hot days, Mommy and Daddy let me have a popsicle to cool down- I really like eating popsicles!

Trevor is Still Alive!

I know that recently, someone asked if Trevor is still around. Here are some pictures of me hanging out with Trevor in my sandbox. Despite his diabetes, blindness, and near deafness, Trevor is still getting around quite well. My favorite thing to do with Trevor is pet him- sometimes, when I can't sleep in the middle of the night, I will get out of bed and give him quiet pats in the hallway. That is a very comforting thing.

Montana 2009

Last Saturday night, Mommy and Daddy drove to Montana while I slept. When I woke up in the morning, we were in Bozeman and I was ready to play! During our three day visit, we went to the Children's Museum, took at GPS challenge, visited Grandpa Kiemel's grave, went the Farmers Market, played at three parks, went to an Art Walk and railroad museum, and played in the pools at our hotel. I have to be honest, I am not much for swimming in cold water- a hot tub is way more my style. I know, I know... toddlers should not go in hot tubs, but I managed without any trouble. It was so much fun staying in a hotel! I cannot wait to do it again soon! Then, on the way home, I got to watch movies on a portable DVD player, while also receiving little gifties every time I got a little wiggly! I really made the trip a lot better!

Summer Fun

Here are some pictures of me having fun this summer. I am becoming quite the baker (incidentally, Grammy just sent me my very own apron so that the next time I bake, I am ready). I am also having fun in my little pool- check out my super cool tattoos! I love asking Mommy and Daddy to put new tattoos on my arms. Finally, I have promoted myself to Frequent Farmer at the Farm Tots program- that means, I get to go five times before I have to buy a new card- check out the picture of me riding the hay bale. My favorite part of Farm Tots is feeding the goats and alpacas.

Farm Tot

Today, I got to be a Farm Tot. That means I visited a local farm called South 47 and got to act like a farmer. I dug in compost for worms, picked an entire head of lettuce, went on a hay ride, fed goats, and pet a chicken (feet and all!). It was so much fun! The best part about the whole day was when Mommy told me that the Farm Tots meet every week during the summer. I can't wait for next Thursday!

My New Outfit

Look at this super cute outfit my Grammy made me! Pay close attention to my baby doll- Grammy made her a matching outfit, too! I have the best Grammy ever!

Licking the Batter Bowl

Ah... the Great Outdoors

Can I just say, I LOVE camping. There are many reasons to love it, but my favorites are the tent, being outside all day long, and staying up late! I have already been camping two times this summer. The first time we went to Camano Island State Park. Look at me having fun on the beach. Something really funny actually happened there- Daddy was giving Trev-dog a bath in the water and I decided I also wanted to go in, too. I quickly pulled off my socks, shoes and pants. It only took two steps into the water before I realized I wanted to go no farther. That water was freezing cold! The second camping trip took us to Mt. Saint Helens. Unfortunately, Mommy and Daddy forgot the digital camera so we don't have many pictures from the trip, but the one we do have is from the Ape Cave (I will have to add this one later). The Ape Cave is a 1.5 mile lava tube that runs underground. It was a difficult hike, but I had a great time! How many two year olds can say that they made it all the way through the difficult side of the Ape Cave?! I hope we will go camping again before the end of the summer!

Shared photo book from Tasha

Click here to view this photo book larger

Birthday and Other Stuff

So you are probably wondering why I let another month pass since my last update. Well, I have been sick- I mean really sick since the 2nd week in April. It started out as just a cold with a cough. Then, just when I thought I was all better, I caught another cold- runny nose, coughing until I gagged, and a fever. Mommy and Daddy did what they could- took me to the doctor twice (once on my actual birthday), bought be natural cough medicine (children under 4 are not allowed to take regular cough medicine), bought a vaporizer, gave me lots of tubbies, and tried to let me sleep whenever I wanted. Honestly, it seemed like the sick would never go away. On top of all that, I was wiping my nose so much I got a huge sore spot. I wiped, it hurt, I cried which made my nose run more so I wiped... you get the picture. Anyway, six weeks later, I am finally all better and ready to add some pictures to my blog. I am posting some from my 2nd birthday and some taken of me on my new big bed. Mommy and Daddy decided it was time for me to move out of my crib since the new baby will be here in just a few months. I have to get used to the fact that the crib is for babies and I am NOT a baby anymore!