"I'll be back!"

Callie and I stopped by Drenda and Lonnie's house the other night.  As we were pulling away from their house, Callie says "Good bye Drenda.  Good bye Lonnie.  Good bye Missy." and then a long pause followed by "I'll be back!" repeated three times.  In case you can't tell, she loves going there. 

Christmas Trees

Today we went with some friends to pick out their Christmas tree at a tree farm. 

 Callie was very happy to carry Mike's coffee around.

 Petting the "little tree" as she called it.  Then she turned around and saw the "big tree" behind her and starred in awe.

Callie's new "smile" for the camera

 This was the first Christmas decoration to come out.  She walked around with it and cuddled it until we finally convinced her the bear could sit and watch us. The bear is really cute and does read "The Night Before Christmas" to you though.

Investigating how the nutcracker works and pointing out all the nutcracker's body parts to us.

Callie's First Haircut

After trying to avoid it for a very long time, we finially decided to take Callie in for her first haircut.  She was great!  She loved playing with the toys and getting a "bow" at the end. 

 All she cared about was the Elmo computer, and didn't care what the hairdresser was doing.  She occasionally looked up to see what was going on.

My First Attempt at a Family Photo

I decided I was going to try and use the tripod and the timer to take some family photos of the three of us. 

It was a humorous experience as a random dog joined us.  And it was a freezing cold day with quite a breeze, but I really wanted "fall" pictures.

 Hello random dog.

Just the three of us, with Callie looking at the camera.

Belated Halloween

When looking at pictures, I realized I never posted any Halloween pictures, so here they are. 

This year Callie loved carving the pumpkin, including scooping out the guts.  She really enjoyed sorting out all the seeds.  She "helped" draw the face before Mike carved it.  She also picked out the shapes for the eyes and nose.

Callie was able to go trick-or-treating with Maya,  and she had a blast.  She has fallen in love with Maya, unfortunetly, Maya lives in Vienna, so we won't be having too many play dates.

Callie Will Do It

"Callie will do it" is a very common phrase in our house right now.  This means anything from Callie will climb into the car and into her car seat, Callie will climb up onto the changing table, Callie will put her own shoes on, Callie will try to put her socks on, Callie will take a dish to the kitchen sink, Callie will walk down the stairs without holding any ones hand, and many other things.  And if Callie says "Callie WILL do it" with a very strong emphasis on the will part, she fully expects to be allowed to do it all on her own.  And she is adamant about this.  We are working on learning that if Callie will do it, then Callie needs to do it in a timely manner.  We don't care if it takes her a while to do something, but you have to actually do it.  She likes to say Callie will do it while climbing into the car or onto her changing table and then stop midway and play.  So she now has from 10 to 0 to make it happen.  Today when I told her Callie needs to do it, she replied "Mama count." And I did and she happily climbed in.

Callie also has a new obsession with washing dishes after dinner.  She takes a plate out to the kitchen, and climbs up on her stool and starts washing.  She would stay there all night if we let her.

"Reading"

Callie continues to love books.  One of her current favorites is "Duck and Goose: A Book of Feelings."  There is one word, a feeling, on each page along with a picture that illustrates it.  Callie has started "reading" this book to us.  You can watch her here.

Two Eyebrows

My "conversation" with Callie while she was eating a snack before dinner.

Callie: Mama help.
Me:  Okay, Mama will help.  ( I lean in as I reach for her fork)
Callie: Mama eye. (She reaches out and touches my eye)
Me:  Yes Callie.  That is Mama's eye.
Callie:  Mama's eyebrow.  (She reaches and touches my eyebrow)
Me:  Yes Callie.  That is Mama's eyebrow.  (I think, when did you learn this?  Most kids know body parts like eyes, ears, arms, and you know rib cage and eyebrows)
Callie: Two eyebrows.  (She touches both of my eyebrows)
Me:  Yes Callie, Mama has two eyebrows.  (I'm thinking really? Where does this stuff come from?  We have said two eyes before, but apparently that wasn't good enough)

Leaves

This year, Callie loves the leaves.  Picking them up off the ground, raking them into piles, walking through the pile, and throwing them up in the air.  She was devastated when Papa cleaned up all the leaves and there were not any to play with.  Fortunately, the next day there were many more.

Who knew how much fun the big rake could be.  She no longer will settle for her little rake.

How can you not love that face? And we tried to get rid of the water bottle, but she has fallen in love with it and wouldn't put it down.

Pure joy.

Just can't get enough.

Pumpkins!

 Over the last two weekends, we have taken Callie to several farms, mostly looking at pumpkins.
Last weekend was a beautiful, sunny day. This weekend was a typical, rainy, cool fall day. Just like last year, she loved the pumpkins. 

As she was petting one (yes, she pets pumpkins) that was still growing, she hit the vine and got poked.  Then she was crying "nice, nice" as she reached out to pet the pumpkin again.  I am not sure if she was telling the pumpkin to be nice, or telling it that she is nice.


Callie loved all the animals and was mesmerized by them.

 She loved to kiss the pumpkins...and kissed lots of them.

 Getting ready to kiss the pumpkin...

 Leaning in closer.

And a big kiss for this pumpkin.

We discovered that she does not like fork lifts.  Like freezes and says "No tool" over and over again.  Yes, I am the idiot that told her a fork lift is a tool.  Not sure where that one came from.


Rocks are still very interesting, and she picked up many along the way.

Having fun running by the pumpkins.

Callie adores her family

We have always known that there is not a shortage of people that love and adore Callie. This week it has become very evident that she also loves and adores these people.

While driving home, we passed the entrance we usually take the Grandma Mary and Grandpa Stu's neighborhood. All the sudden I hear "Mary's house! Grandma Mary's house!" followed by some upset sounds when we did not turn to go to Grandma Mary's house.

Callie went to Drenda and Lonnie's house for the day today. As soon as she got there, she started saying "Drenda fun," and "Drenda happy." Last week before going, she kept saying "Drenda's house."

It fills my heart with joy to know she is building relationships with so many wonderful people, and to know that she appreciates them as much as we do.

Camping in the Rain

 We went on our last camping trip of the summer...and it rained, and rained, and rained. Fortunately, we went with some friends who have a trailer with an awning that provided us shelter, and we were able to seek refuge inside their trailer. Callie LOVED the rain boots our friends were kind enough to buy for her. So much so that she insists on wearing them around the house as well and wanted to take them to bed. I had to tell her the boots needed to go night night to get her to leave them alone.

Splashing in the puddle.

At home helping unload the cooler in the rain boots and tutu dress she insisted on wearing.

Although it was fun to splash in the puddles and try and take a shower in the drip from the corner of the awning, I think she was ready to go home by Sunday. The rain had slowed down, so we figured we would pack up our stuff. Every time we opened the car door, Callie said "car seat?" So we ended up leaving a little earlier than planned. And she was tired because she slept for almost 2 hours in the car, which is unheard of.

After our last long car ride, we decided to buy her an MP3 player in hopes that we could sing just a little less. We love singing to her, but one can only sing "The Wheels on the Bus," "Ring Around the Rosie," and "Elmo's Song" so many times. It was a huge success. We didn't have to sing once!

Enjoying the MP3 player.

Cuddling her MP3 player as she sleeps.  

End of Summer Adventures

Last weekend we went camping in Westport. Of course, Callie loved it. We lucked out and our campsite had a little sand pit in it for Callie to play in. While there Grandma said "Callie, I would feel better if your were farther away from the fire." Callie responded with her first sentence, "I say no." Se expanded on that that back at home to include "No, no. I say no." Yet she says this with a sweet, calm and quiet voice. But there is nothing tame about her intentions. She has said a few more sentences including "I eat" when she wanted breakfast and "I want more milk."

Callie had fallen in love with "Ring Around the Rosie" and "The Wheels on the Bus." She asks continually for these songs in the car and wants us to sing them to her. This weekend we went to Pasco for Julien's first birthday. On Friday, Callie and I left to pick Mike up from work. We hadn't been in the car for 3 minutes before she says "ashes, ashes" which is her way of asking me to sing "Ring Around the Rosie." I think we sang it 100 times before getting to our stop in Ellensburg. We stayed the night with David and Joyce and Callie got to really see stars for the first time. She was impressed with them.

And to finish off a busy weekend, we met with our baby friends play group at a spray park in Tacoma. Callie is not such a fan of the spray parks. I think this is because they are not predictable and she doesn't know when they are going to spray. And they spray cold water, and she likes to be warm. So she had fun playing on the toys. At one point she was walking around, watching her shadow (a thing of GREAT fascination). She was so busy watching her shadow, that she walked into the spray that was coming out of a bears mouth. She backed up, looked at the bear, pointed her finger at it and loudly said "NO!" I don't think she liked it surprising her and getting her wet. Later at the park at home, she would ask for my hand, and as I walked closer, pull hers away and just giggle.

She continues to amaze us with the amount of personality someone so little can have. And we are enjoying all aspects of her personality, including the stubborn, independent side.

More fun at parks

Callie LOVES going to the park, going for walks, and playing on the toys. If you tell her we are going to the park, you better be ready to head out the door almost immediately. Or she will be at the door trying to open it.

Climbing up the little step things she just figured out at Coulon.

Enjoying the stairs at Coulon.

She has gained enough confidence to go down the slide fast...no more slowing herself down with her feet.

As you can see, she enjoys anything that involves climbing, sliding, or swinging. Her coordination is improving daily as well as her confidence. Her personality is really exploding right now as well.

This morning Mike told her he needed to get shoes before they could go on a walk, so she grabbed him two. Unfortunately they didn't match. But they were both tennis shoes and he had a right and a left. She also loves crossing the street. On her walk this morning with Mike, all they did was cross the street. About 7 times. She gets to the curb, looks both ways, says "No cars" and sticks her hand up in the air for you to hold. We are hoping these good, safe road crossing skills last a while :).

She is also enjoying picking out her own clothes. She is very adamant in what she wants. Especially when it comes to accessories. Bows, bows, and more bows. If she finds a hair rubber band or headband, she tries to put it on several times. After finally giving up (they just don't sit on top of your head no matter how hard you pull down) she will hand it to us. But telling her thank you isn't enough. She then takes your hand and puts in on top of her head. In other words, she wants that thing in her hair. And it doesn't matter if she already has several items in her hair. And as you put them in her hair she says "Pretty." We can thank Lindsay for that one.

The obsession with airplanes continues. Every time she hears one she will tell you there is an airplane. If we are inside and near a window, she will try to look for it. If we are outside, she will find it and point it out to us. I think she said "airplane" at least 100 times each time we were at the airport on our trip to visit Lindsay. So of course we bought her a toy airplane when we saw one at Costco. We thought it was really cool because it was also a remote control airplane for toddlers (think really slow and only forward and backward). She did not agree. The airplane was really cool. Then we made it move and she was terrified. Like we have never seen her before. So the remote control is put away and she just pushes the airplane around.

She has started trying to sing The Wheels on the Bus. The only words she can sing are the noises and "all day" She also thoroughly enjoys the motions that go along with the song and eagerly does them. But she tries to skip the round and round verse. She greatly prefers "the people on the bus go up and down" and bouncing. After that, any verse is fine.

Spray Park Adventures

This weekend we had a play group date at a Spray Park. I was excited because we moved away from the spray park before Callie ever got to enjoy it. Well, it turns out she isn't so sure of the spray park when it is a little chilly out, and she really didn't like it after she fell down. So I guess we aren't missing much!
Very cautiously checking out the sprinklers. She was not one of the kids running around and screaming.
Looking a little worse for the wear after a "small" face first tumble off the step. And yes, it was MY fault. I was setting her down and as I let go she leaned forward and there was a loud thunk as her head hit the ground. Oops. I don't think this will be the last good fall that happens.

Fun in the Yard

Callie is truly loving all the fun adventures she can have the front yard. It is going to very hard for her when summer ends and she can no longer play outside all the time.

The dirt has been a huge hit. Callie can dig for hours. We bought her a little wheel barrow, shovel and rake and she loves them. Grandma did comment the other day that she was glad she put beauty bark down since Callie digs in it and soon all the bark will be gone.


She is also enjoying her wadding pool when it is warm enough. She loves pouring water, splashing, and going down her slide into the pool.


Helping Daddy wash Grandpa's car.

Summer Advnetures

We have had several summer anventures so far. Here are some snapshots of all the fun we've had!
The deck is now Callie's world. It is fenced in and she can go out there when she wants. She is enjoying the freedom of outside.
Callie took her first awake trip to Woodland Park Zoo. Unfortunately, it was hot so most of the animals were resting and not visible. Shockingly, the penguins were her favorite and she waved to them.
She also really liked the flamingos. Which is shocking considering they are birds.

What a night!

This has been a busy week for Callie. She started "dance" class on Monday with Grandma and Grandpa Krisel, and restarted swimming lessons tonight. She thought dance class was really cool until the other kids showed up and then she was more into watching than doing.
Tonight was our first time with swimming lessons at Lindbergh. I went to change and Callie was on the deck (totally child proofed and fenced in). I come back 2 minutes later and can't find her. I then see she is sitting in the middle of the dinning room table playing with my pop can. We will have to work a little harder and keeping her from climbing. We then walked to swimming lesson, which was far more exciting than the lesson. Callie was not so fond of the cold pool. She started out happy, and then progressively got grumpier and colder. She was shivering and covered in goose bumps before class was over. She was also extremely clingy and any time I said "Are you ready..." she started violently shaking her head no. We will be looking for a way to keep her warmer!
Callie also got to eat whole strawberries for the first time tonight. She hasn't liked cut up strawberries, but really enjoyed them whole. Here is she eating them.

Callie got a tricycle!

We had been thinking about getting Callie a tricycle for a while, and we did. It took her a little while to warm up to the idea of a helmet (okay, a lot of us setting the helmet on our heads was needed), but now she asks to ride all the time.

Ridding a trike is such serious business.

Daddy pushing me down the street for my first outside ride.

Posing with my brand new tricycle.

Tricycles are also good for pushing rocks around.

A Busy Weekend

As usual, we packed a lot into this weekend. Saturday Callie helped Mike and Grandpa finish getting the gate installed on the deck (that is now completely Callie safe, as long as we remember to close the gate so she can play out there to her hearts content). Callie really liked the tools, screws, and spare boards.
Then it was off to Kirk's for Phoenix and Christie's graduation party. There Callie met her cousin Grace who is four and visiting from Montana. Callie had an instant best friend whom she adored. Sunday was a trip down to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium for a Baby Friends get together, lunch, a nap in the car, then to Coulon Park to meet up with Grandma, Grandpa, Josiah, and Julian.

Daddy's little helper. She was really proud of her self when she got the screw to stick in a hole. And she had been watching Daddy use the drill because she grabbed it, and put the tip into the wood. Also notice the mallet right by her...I am sensing a fascination.

Callie loved feeding the budgies, even if she wasn't always so sure about them.

Cousins enjoying the water.