Reagan

Still working on getting her to coo on camera...much more difficult than expected!

So you'll have to settle for her looking all over. And yes, she's hanging out on the bath mat. It is one of her favorite places. Either bathroom will do. Calms her down right away. Don't know why, but it's great when you need to take a shower!

Reagan hanging out

The Bell is Ringing

After seeing The Nutcracker, Callie has taken to putting on several ballet shows a day. She will announce that the bell is ringing and we need to then take our seats. We must so be quiet (including Reagan and the dog) and watch her dance on stage. When she is done she sometimes tells me I can sweep the stage now (we did see this happen at The Nutcracker). And Greg and Nancy gave her a pair of ballet shoes for Christmas that have onl added to the fun. She may wear out the shoes before she can start classes when she turns three in February.

Here is a video of her dancing (missing the shoes and her tip toe move). She really did pick up a few new moves from watching the ballet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xjrqZ9s4Ug

Her other favorite saying these days is "I'm not feeling well. Making cookies will help me feel better."  It has never worked, but she keeps trying.

Reagan now has total control of her head, is smiling, cooing up a storm, napping in her crib, and very happy to lay on the floor by herself. All things we enjoy. My next goal is to catch Reagan cooing on video.

Callie's Likes

Callie has taken to stating things she likes or loves lately.  They often start to come out in list form.  Today it was:
Pizza, pizza.  I like pizza.
Work, work.  I like Daddy's work.
Cookies, cookies.  I like making cookies.
Cookies, cookies.  I like eating cookies.
Park, park.  I like going to parks.
Grandma Mary. Grandma Mary.  I like going to Grandma Mary's house.
And several more that I already forgot.

While talking in the phone to Debbie tonight, she told Debbie she was going to eat dinner at home.  And that dinner was going to be brussel sprouts and couscous.  And she often BEGS me to buy broccoli at the grocery store...as is we will be on the other side of the store and she is still asking for it.  Doesn't matter that we have a bag of it from Costco at home, there is something about a fresh head of broccoli for that child.

She still desperatly wants to be a ballerina.  Seeing the Nutcracker today only added to that.  She has told everyone that she will be a ballerina when she gets bigger.  And she will dance on stage, turn around, and be Cinderella, Snow White, and Clara (the little girl from the Nutcracker).  All of these are ballets we have been to see.  Tonight she was dancing around the living room to "ballerina music" (classical music for those of you who don't know what "ballerina music" is).  It was amazing to see how much she picked up from today.  She started standing on one foot with her other leg in a coupe position (toe on ankle) and turning, jumping and turning, and straddle jumping.  Until the ballerina fell down and smashed her cheek into the wooden jeep that  Great Grandpa built  She hit it hard!  Like the cry where no sounds come out.  There was a bruise before she went to bed. we'll see what it looks like in the morning.

We often no longer have a human child, but a dog.  She is constantly pretending to be a dog.  All the dogs have names that she makes up.  For a while it was Mafa, Crafa, and Fafa.  Each was a different color and size.  The other night it was Chum Chum Ruff.  Who knows where these names come from!  But she will tell us what she wants to say.  Such as "Mama say 'Do we have a doggy in the car?'" if we don't respond appropriately.  She also barks when she is excited.  And sometimes pants as well.  Yep, that my girl!

Callie also adores Christmas lights and has labels to describe them.  There is the humongous tree (it is at least 150 feet tall), drop lights (icicle lights), string lights (regular lights) and the infamous "humongous blinking tree" that she keeps asking to see, but none of us know where to find it.

Sisters

On this wet, rainy, dreary Black Friday, we decided to take some pictures of the girls together.  We were hoping to get Reagan awake, but by the time we got the camera out, she was fast asleep-which did make it easier to pose her and move her around!

Reading

Callie has taken a strong interest in "reading" herself.  It started last week as her getting her face really close to a book and repeating what we had just read, or stating a line she knows well.  Tonight she was sitting on my lap at the table and grabbed her book and said "I'm going to read."  This is what happened next.  I apologize for the horrible angle, but I was scared if I got up, she would stop. And I apparently have difficulty typing on my phone, hence the title of the video being "Callie Reading Pete's Buttobs" and I don't know how or have the time to investigate how to change it. 

Reagan

Here are a few pictures of "Little Miss Rea" as Callie calls her.

Minutes old

Not so sure about what is going on

7 lbs 13 oz!

 

This bath stuff isn't so bad after all

Meeting Reagan for the first time

 Callie insisted on helping carry the car seat out of the hospital.

 

The fish tank in the lobby.  Before we could leave, we had to take a picture of the fish. 

And here is a video of Callie reading to Reagan the first night we were home from the hospital.  And every night since then, she has wanted Reagan in her room to read books with us.

Welcome Reagan!

Reagan Justine was born at 2:00 am on Wednesday, November 7th.  Official due date was Sun, Nov 4th, but she didn't care too much about that.  At my doctor appointment on Monday, everything looked good, and she estimated Reagan to be about 6.75 pounds. But she wanted me to get an ultrasound and be monitored at the hospital for about 30 minutes to check fluid levels and have a better idea of baby's health since I was over due.  I called to schedule the ultrasound and was able to get in the next day.  So Tuesday I leave work and head to the hospital with a book that I needed to read for a meeting on Wednesday.  While being monitored, everything looked great so I head over to get an ultrasound.  During the ultrasound, the technician said several times "She has no extra room in there!"  The technician said she thought she was done, but was going to go make sure she had everything she needed.  A few minutes later she comes back and tells me that she is sending me back to labor and delivery because of low fluids.  So I dove the 500 yards back to labor and delivery.  About 30 minutes later a room was ready, I was admitted, getting an IV and talking to the doctor.  I ordered dinner, ate, and then they started the pitocin.  Just after that Mike arrived with my somewhat packed hospital bag.  Mom, Dad, and Callie got dinner and then sopped by.  Callie was super excited that Reagan was coming-she stated that I was "going to let Reagan out of my tummy because she is too big."  She also said "This is so exciting." Callie was also very interested in everything the nurse was doing.  Within 5 minutes of being back the next morning, she asked where the lady was.  Callie was also very concerned when I got out of bed to use the restroom.  She quickly told me to get back in bed.  Mike then took Callie home to put her to bed.
I decided to get up and walk around.  I was just starting to feel the contractions around 8:30, but had to confirm that they really were contractions by checking the monitor.  But there were still many more I was not feeling.  At 10:00 the contractions became intense with no breaks in between and I asked for an epidural   It took at an hour and a half for the epidural to begin working and I was hot, sweaty, and nauseous. When it finally kicked in after lots of medicine, I took a nap.  The nurse came back and asked if she could check me because babies heartbeat was very low on my body.  She quickly ran out of the room saying don't cough or sneeze or that baby might slide out as she ran to get the doctor.  Less than 10 minutes later and 2 pushes, Reagan was here.  She was born at 2:00 am on Nov 7th, weighing 7 lbs, 13 oz and 18 inches long.
Callie has been an amazing big sister. She was so excited to meet Reagan, hold her, and is very protective of her.  Callie is not one to be generous with her kisses, and Reagan has received more in the last 4 days than I have received in the last month. Callie wants to share her toys with Reagan and I found a bouncy ball in the cradle.  When I explained to Callie that we had to be really careful with small toys because they could hurt Reagan, she ran out to the living room, grabbed a car out of the car seat, and frantically started looking for the bouncy ball in the cradle.
Saturday night Mike was at a fundraising event, so it was my first attempt at putting both girls to bed.  Reagan was in her crib and I was helping Callie put on her jammies (that she had Reagan pick out for her) when Reagan started to cry.  I asked Callie if she wanted my help or if she wanted me to go get Reagan.  She looked at me and said "Mama, go get Reagan.  She's crying."  In the 30 seconds it took me to get Reagan, Callie finished putting on her jammies and was ready to brush her teeth.  We are very proud of what an awesome big sister she is.

Space

This summer Callie fell in love with all things space...the moon, stars, planets, rocket ships, etc.  And then she discovered Mike's telescope.  She is in love.  And constantly talks about looking at Venus.

The facts she randomly tells us include:

We live on earth.

Venus is a planet.

Mars is red.

The sun is hot.

Saturn has rings. 

Venus is far away.

Baby Sister

Callie is getting more and more excited about the impending arrival of her baby sister.  She is showing more and more affection towards her.  Last night we were sitting on the couch and the cat came and sat on my stomach and she freaked out.  She yelled at the cat to get off because she was going to hurt baby sister.  She has also lifted up my shirt several times to kiss her and randomly feels my stomach and tells me that she felt baby's foot, regardless of what body part is actually there. 

Pumpkin Carving

We finally got around to carving pumpkins tonight.  Callie helped scoop out the insides, drew the design, and helped carve the pumpkins.  She was so excited to get to use a knife to help carve.  We heard many squeals of "I did it Dada!" as she was able to successfully use the knife.  She is very proud of her creations. 

The artist hard at work designing her masterpiece.

Getting to use a knife for the first time and loving it.

Wiping her slate clean because the marker was not showing up. 

Callie's pumpkin.

Remlinger Farm

Today we visited Remlinger Farm with our friends Paul, Gina and Ryan.  Callie had a blast and came home exhausted. She has turned into one brave girl who went on all the rides, fed the animals, rode the ponies, and jumped into the hay without hesitation.  All of these are things she would not have done just a few months ago.  But her self confidence has just exploded lately.

 Climbing on the pumpkins.

 She is currently fascinated with real excavators, so to find one she could play with was amazing.  We had to pull her away after 15 minutes.  Her and Mike dug out a "basement."

 Driving the car.  She was adament that she drive it herself and told Mike no when he tried to help.

The World From Callie's Perspective

Callie is becoming quite sure of her take on the world and is happy to share it with us.  Here are some of her views of the world that randomly are shared throughout the day.

While out looking at stars at nigh (which is a favorite activity and clouds are quite disappointing)
Venus is a planet.
We live on earth.
The sun comes out in the morning and then goes behind the clouds when it's time to go night night.

While driving in the morning and noticing that the streetlights are on:
Callie:  Mom, why do we have street lights?
Me: So when it is dark out people can see to walk and drive.
Callie: No!  It's so airplanes don't hit them (since that is why the radio towers that we also like to look at night have lights on them, it must be true for the streetlights as well).

Baby sister is going to be impressed with me.  We ask why, but never got an answer.

Callie was dressed in her "wedding dress"
Grandma: Callie you look pretty.
Callie: I look beautiful!

Callie:  I want to give baby sister a kiss.
Me: You can kiss my tummy to give her a kiss now.
Callie: No!  I want to kiss her when she is born!

A Few Videos

Callie has been going to gymnastics class with Drenda.  I was able to take her to the first class since it was before school started.  But I have not seen her since.  I took her to the gym today for there play time.  She has become much more comfortable there and is willing to try many more things.  Here is a video of her falling backwards into the foam pit.  I think she played in there for 20 minutes today.

She also has rediscovered coloring.  The other night she wanted the cat Grey, or Heidi, to color with her.  And the cat cooperated.  See them here.

And one of these days I will upload some pictures from this summer!

Halloween Costume

For weeks Callie has been telling us that she does NOT want to wear a costume because she is a Callie.  We have told her that it is fine if she doesn't wear a costume, but she can't go Trick-or-Treating without a costume.  And she desperately wants to go trick or treating...but she is a Callie.  Round and round we have gone.  Looking at pictures of herself dressed up and costumes in the store did not help.  Until finally today I took her to the costume store.  Even after she told me she didn't want to buy a costume.  I told her we would just look.  Trying on the costumes is what it took.  We started out with a Snow White, a Cinderella, and a Mr. Potato Head.  She quickly ruled out Cinderella.  And Mr. Potato head was a close second-the pieces velcroed off and on!  But we thought Snow White was the winner.  Until on our journey (and yes, it really was a journey because she wanted to know what everything she saw was) to the cash register, we saw a "mermaid" or Ariel, another Cinderella, and Abby from Sesame Street.  And we made our way back to the dressing room.  You should have seen us in there with them all laid out on the floor.  I was telling her she had to pick one to buy and take home.  She grabbed all three of the final contenders (Snow White, Cinderella, and the mermaid" into her arms and told me she wanted to take all of them home.  I explained again that she could only choose one.  She looked at me with her big eyes pleading for all of them.  And finally decided on the mermaid.  She put it on as soon as we got home and didn't want to take it off to go to bed.  But don't call her a mermaid, she will adamantly tell you she is a Callie.  But we did find it was acceptable to say she was wearing a mermaid.  And when I told her she had to take it off to go to bed, she laid it out on the floor next to her so she could look at it.  I think it is a success.  Yet she has no clue who Ariel is!  And none of us know how she knows what a mermaid is.

Cinderella

Last week we went and saw Cinderella at the Pacific Northwest Ballet.  Callie loved it.  She was exhausted at the end and didn't have the energy to clap for anyone...until the prince and Cinderlla came out.  Then she shoved her wand into my hands and eagerlly clapped away. 

We bought the Dinsey version when it came out this week.  She was mesmorized by it until the scene when the step sisters tear Cinderella's dress apart.  To say Callie was tramutized by this would be an understatement.  We had to have a long talk about how since Cinderella was a good person, she was going to be taken care of and it would all end well.  She was also very close to tears when Cinderella was locked in the tower, but we were able to talk our way through that one since I was expecting it.  I love the heart this girl has!  Going to do everything we can to encourage this and keep it!

Baby Sister

Callie is getting more and more excited about baby sister.  The other night was full of quesions about baby sister.  "What will baby sister eat for dinner?"  "What is baby sister wearing?"  "What will baby sister do?"  We went shopping for some clothes the other day and Callie knew exactly which outfit she wanted to buy for baby sister as well as which teddy bear.  She is getting excited!  Crossing our fingers that the exciement continues!

Conversations that make me smile

While on a walk with Scoshe (the dog), we had to stop because he pooped and I needed to pick it up.  Callie looks at it, and very matter of factly states "Schoshe went poop in the street.  That's what doggies do.  Mom will pick it up because that's what responsible pet owners do."  Can you tell what I have told her each time she asks why we are stopping :)

The airplanes have been louder at our house lately, and the noise is really bothering Callie at night.  Enough to wake her up terrified at times.  We have been working on coping strategies and realizing that although it startles us, we are safe in our home and the planes (which she loves) won't hurt us.  This mornign while snuggling in bed, I hear "Opp.  Plane, you scared me.  But I am safe in my house."  I quickly told her how proud I was of her for realizing she was scared, but knowing that she was going to be okay.  She looks at me and says "Was I polite?"  Um...I guess?  Not really, but you wern't rude either.  Qucikly followed up with "I was polite to the ceiling.  I was polite to the wall.  I was polite to Daddy (who is still out cold)." And many more things that were visible. Can you also tell that we have been working on being polite?

Callie is repeatedly reffering to herself as the girl or this girl.  At breakfast she told me "A differnt girl is going to go to the bathroom." Okay, go for it!

We are going to the zoo today and she is excited.  She is currently walking around the house in just her underwear (her almost favorite way to be, naked is even better) and walked up to me and said "I need to get clothes on to go to the zoo."  Yes you do.  "And I need shoes to wear to the zoo."  Yes you do.

And while just sitting here, a plane took off.  "Ohh, airplane...Trees...OHH!  Did the trees talk?...I don't think they have mouths."  You are oh so correct my dear.

Carrot Chips

Callie: Can I have some carrot chips?
Dad: I don't know if we have any carrot chips.
Callie: We might have some carrot chips.
Dad: I don't know what carrot chips are. Can you show me what they are?
Callie: (walks to the kitchen and points) See, they are right there!
Now she is happily enjoying carrot chip s, aka Cheetos.

Honey, your getting big!

While playing at a park, Callie looks at the larger of two rocks and exclaims "Oh honey, your getting so big!"

Both the Krisels

Me: Callie, do you want Mom, Dad, or both of us to go down to the water with you?
Callie: Both the Krisels to come with me!

Narration

Currently, Callie narrates much of her life.  I will be sad when this phase passes as it is entertaining to listen to her though process.  

Some of the more recent statements include:

"Do you need to go potty," (yes, that is a statement, we haven't moved passed this particular question used as a statement), as she literally sits down for dinner.  We tell her to go, and we will wait for her.  She says "First she is going to take one bite." Takes her bite, and then goes to the bathroom.

Everything is currently a need.  Such as "I need to go to the park," "I need to go swimming," and "I need a treat."  Yes, all very genuine needs.

"Oops she forgot..." is another common one.  Fill in the blank with just about anything.

And my personal favorite is that anytime you ask her if she needs to use the bathroom, she says "I ALREADY went potty!" Like it is something we only do on a rare occasion.  

There are many more, but I need to be getting them written down sooner so I don't forget them!

Bedtime

Callie has typically been very good about bedtime.  It takes her a long time, like 1-2 hours, to fall asleep.  But she is happy, stays in her bed, reads, sings, and cuddles her stuff dog Violet.  I think it helps that Violet talks to her and sings :).  Last night was a more difficult night.  We couldn't find Violet.  We searched the house.  And searched.  And finally found Violet in the mass of blankets in her bed.  Yes, we had already looked there, and even taken the blankets out.  But when you sleep with 20 blankets, things can get lost.  And then Violets batteries died.  Callie couldn't handle Mike going to fix Violet without her watching.  When he gave the now working Violet back to her, her face lit up and she had a huge grin as she hugged Violet all the way upstairs.

And about the blankets, the kid has a sixth sense about it.  I tried taking a putting one or two blankets away during the day, and she realizes they are missing!  It probably doesn't help that she still doesn't have closet doors and can see in her closet where the blankets are stored, but she can't actually see the blankets.  And she takes her shirt off every night so that she can feel the "comfy blanket" on her tummy.  Some nights her shorts or pants also come off at some point.  This morning I went to get her and she had on a diaper and socks.

Tonight while going to bed, I gave her a kiss on the head and told her good night.  She responded with "I don't need a kiss."  I told her that I kiss her because I love her so much and kisses are a way of saying I love you.  She immediately says "I need a kiss," and as soon as I give her a kiss, "Say I love you."

At another point she also asked to see the sheets and blankets in the closet (to make sure I hadn't take any away, but I've given up on that) and then asked for her bucket which contains all the empty Easter eggs.  I told her we don't take the bucket night night and she said "Only Daddy does."  Hum...I guess we are not on the same page on that one and she knows it!

Lemonade

Oops...this has been sitting as a draft for a month or so!

Papa: Callie, what do you want to drink with dinner?
Callie: Lemonade
Papa:  Callie we don't have any lemonade
Callie: (very exasperated) Papa, you have to MAKE lemonade.

Poor Papa is a sucker, and didn't realize she meant crystal light lemonade, so her gets out the lemon juice and sugar before Grandma rescued him.

Alligator Slide Right In

Tonight started out with Callie telling me that "She needs to go swimming!"  So we pack up our stuff and head of the the Y.  While there Callie tells me "To swim over there," meaning way across the pool while she stands on the opposite edge.  After once again telling her that the rule is I have to stay close so we can be safe, she quickly decides it is time to go to the shallow end where I don't have to be so close.  While doing "alligator slides" right in (she lays on her stomach on the edge of the pool, and the slides right into the pool head first), she tells me to back up and not grab her.  Next thing I know, my little girl is going headfirst into the pool, kicking her feet, and coming up to stand up all by herself.  Needless to say, I was a little impressed and very proud of her!

A Few Random Updates

Once again, it has been a while so here a several updates. 

Callie has a new "big girl bike."  If you can't tell, she loves it and is super proud of it.

Rolling down the hill is super fun!

Callie got to spend some time with her cousins.

Walking two dogs (even if only one of them is real) is hard work.

And Callie continues to make us laugh with her comments and thoughts on the word.  Here are some of the more recent ones. 

Is there a baby in Daddy's tummy?  No!  Is there is a baby in Papa's tummy?  No! Is there is baby in Grandma's tummy? No! Is there a baby in Daddy's pants?  No!  Is there a baby in Daddy's shoes?  No!

While we were at the ultrasound, Callie stood about 3 feet away for the first 15 minutes.  She watched, but was not going to get any closer.  Callie stated "When she's (Callie) older, she will lay on the bed too."  Then she decided to come up onto the table with me.  She laid down next to me just like she was getting an ultrasound as well.  We asked Callie what color hair she thought the baby would have...pink.  What color eyes do you think the baby will have...pink.  Then she asked herself what color the baby's cheeks would be...pink.  Turns out she knows something because it is a girl!

When I told Callie she needed to get dressed, she responded with "She's working on it."  Guess I need to watch what I say!

It's been a while...

So much has happened in the last few months.  We moved and the fun never ends.  Someday the to-do list will become more manageable and things will slow down a little bit...at least I hope so!

Callie is growing and maturing so quickly right now is is scary and adorable all at once.  Here are some of her newest things:

• Pedaling her trike-but only down the hill so she can "go really fast."  Apparently it is too much work to pedal up the hill, so she will get off and push her trike up the hill.
• Still loves dancing.  We went to see Sesame Street Live last weekend and she is "dancing like Zoe" all the time now.  We are going to the ballet this weekend and she is super excited.
• The little potty is no longer acceptable.  She wants to use Mamma's potty, i.e, the toilet in Mom and Dad's bathroom.  I guess it doesn't belong to Mike.
• She is now is a toddler bed and loves being a big girl.  So much so that she kicks us out of her room so she can climb in and put herself to bed.  She even tells us where to go-Mama and Daddy will go to the living room.  On that note, she sleeps like a big girl now.  Under the blankets, facing the right way, on her side.  There is no more crazy, all over the place, butt up in the air sleeping.  
• She loves to help.  She will stop playing outside to come and help make dinner.  Papa bought her a pair of garden gloves and she immediately put them on and went to "do work."  The work consisted of pulling blades of grass out of the yard, but it was work in her mind.  
• She loves anything outside...walks, her trike, shovel, and the beach.  So much so that she even brought the beach home one time by filling her bucket up with handfuls of sand on the way out

And I am sure there is more that I can't remember right now.

Independent Dresser

Independent dressing is currently the theme in our household.  As is Callie DOES NOT want help.  And don't even think about helping her, because that will result in it taking even longer as she loudly, and sometimes while crying, repeated tells us she does not want help.  And while telling us this, whatever process she was is has been completely stopped only to have to start all over again.  Don't get me wrong, I admire her independence and determination.  I mean, really, would you spend 10 minutes trying to get a pair of underwear of correctly?  Would you insist on pulling up your own pants when it requires a little dance and I am pretty sure she pulls hard enough in the front while trying to get the back up that it cannot be comfortable.  But she insists on continuing to want to try.  She wants to do it by herself.
The positive side to this is she is really becoming much more independent.  She can go to the bathroom, wipe, dump her potty into the big potty, flush, and wash her hands all by herself.  She can also get most of her clothing on by herself.  She still has a hard time with shirts.  And an even harder time taking them off.
This independence in dressing also extends to her choice of clothing.  We have left the house in some interesting outfits, but she us happy :)   Accessories are incredibly important.  She will go all day without taking her sunglasses off.  She loves wearing a bracelet and necklace.  And why not throw in a scarf while you are at it?   I know the rest of the world may not appreciate her fashion sense, but it always makes me smile.

Love of Books

Fro quite a while now, our nighttime routine has consisted of reading three books.  Tonight that was such a hard choice that resulted in a few sets of tears.  Every time we would start to read the "last book" she would look frantically at her bookshelf and ask for another one.  After lots of explaining, she was able to calm down and read the last book.  Typically we then talk about her day and what we will do tomorrow. Then she picks out two books that are not "fragile," i.e. not an expensive hardback book, to take to bed with her.  Tonight she was so distraught over not being able to read all of her hardback books that she looked at me and said "I just want to go night night" with the saddest look in her eyes.

It melts my heart over and over to see her so invested in her books.  She loves them, and knows them all by title.  She is starting to "read" some of them out loud by retelling the story.  There are also a few lines that she knows and will state when we get to her favorite parts.  I hope this love of reading will continue for years and years.

And another random note-potty training is going GREAT!  After getting another bad rash, we decided to just go with it and try potty training because I didn't want her to have to end of on oral antibiotics again.  She has been doing really well, but was still having about 1 accident a day.  Today was our first totally dry day that included a large amount of time in the car which is typically her downfall! And for the first time ever, she told me in the car that she had to go (which is ironically stated as a question: "Do you have to go potty.") and was able to wait until the light changed and we went through the intersection, pulled over, got her potty set up, and got her out of the car seat.  Not the biggest deal to the rest of the world, but this is fantastic news in our world!

Play Times

This weekend we took Callie to the Tacoma Children's Museum.  And she insisted on wearing her sunglasses and never took them off.  It was not a sunny day.  She also wore her raincoat.  And her silver sequined shoes.  It was quite the outfit that got lots of "compliments."

 All serious tasks involve some form of sticking her tongue out to concentrate.

Drenda has been taking Callie to a gymnastics center for an open playtime.  I keep hearing all about it, and since I don't work this week, we decided to go.  She has a blast climbing, jumping, running, and playing.

 She can jump! And she loves to.  She probably got her feet at least a foot off the ground with the support of the handrail.

 She loves to swing on the bars. 

 Climbing is serious work.

 Running down the long tumble trampoline.  This is probably her favorite activity.  At least 15 passes today.

 I told you she loved jumping!

And right up there with jumping is throwing yourself onto your stomach on a soft surface.

At the end, all the kids get stamps.  As soon as the music stopped, Callie started pulling up her pant legs to get her stamps on the tops of her feet.  Her pants were loose and would not stay up.  So she pulled them up again.  And again. And again.  Until her smart mother figured out what she was trying to do and rolled them up for her.  She was not going to walk over to the stamp area without being prepared. 

Some Callie Quotes

Callie has really started saying some things that make us smile and melt our hearts.  Here are a few from the last couple of weeks.

While walking home from the park we walk past a man in his garage.  There is also a motorcycle in the garage.
Callie: He wants to go for a ride on his motorcycle.
Mike: Maybe he does.
Callie:  He needs to wear his helmet.
Mike: Yes he does.
Callie: He needs to wear his coat.
Mike: Yes he does.

While riding her trike (or at this point pushing it) in the street.
Mike: Callie you need to turn around.
Callie: Callie will not turn around.
Mike: You can turn around or we will have to go put the trike away.
Callie quickly turns around and continues playing.

On the way to go shopping for more "big girl underwear" and pants that fit with big girl underwear which is MUCH smaller than a cloth diaper and therefore all her pants fall down.
Callie: We can look at dresses.

Friday night at bedtime.
Me: Callie, what do you want to do tomorrow?
Callie: (leaning forward and grinning at Mike) Do you want to play (which is really a statement in her words).
Mike: Okay.  We can go play.  Do you want to go play at the Tacoma Children's Musesum or the Seattle Children's Museum?
Callie: (leaning even farther forward, grinning, a batting her eyes) Go play with firemen (with a dreamy look in her eyes and emphasis on the firemen part).

Seriously, I don't know where some of this comes from.  But she cracks us up!

Callie's 2nd Birthday!

This weekend we celebrated Callie's 2nd birthday.  We started the day by visiting the Museum of Flight to "go see airplane engines."  While there, they had a family activity to make a rocket ship.  Once the rocket ship was made, she walked all around the museum counting and yelling "blast off!"  We then came home to try and take a nap and get ready for the big party.  When Callie came out of her room from her playtime in her crib, she was delighted to see streamers and balloons up in the living room.  Her jaw dropped, eyes opened wide and then a big smile came across her face.  I think Callie's favorite part of the night was when everyone sang happy birthday.  That was all she talked about when we were putting her to bed that night.  She has asked us to sing happy birthday many times since then and is having a hard time understanding that we can only sing happy birthday on someone's birthday.

 

 Fascinated with her rocket ship.

Doing her "Marilyn Monroe" walk over the heat vents.

 Callie's Clifford cake.

Enjoying every one singing happy birthday.

Opening presents.

Reading a card.

 Checking out her baking set.

A Growing Imigation

Callie is starting to get an imagination.  The other week she was playing with her Play Doh and said "See Callie's dog."  You might not be able to see the dog, but Callie was certain she had made a dog.

 Callie's dog.

 Making Elmo cupcakes.

 Showing off her creation.

Smiling with Lindsay.