Father's Day 2012

We woke up early on this Sunday morning to get our annual Father's Day hike in before Sydney's morning nap.  We've been going to Military Reserve, but today TJ choose a new hike:  Camel's Back Park.  We certainly didn't hike straight up!  We made a couple of switch backs and took some stairs to get us to the top, and it was a great view!  Bailey did great.  Sydney was in the Kelty pack.  After heading down, we let the girls play on the playground and they had a blast.  Neither wanted to leave!

Tonight, we had a pool party at the Kelso's to celebrate Father's Day, Kenzie's birthday and Aiden's birthday.  Three-in-one party.  The forecast is to be in the 90's, however a wind advisory began at 5pm.  Sustained winds of 30mph with gusts up to 45mph!  Needless to say, it never really got that windy.  It was Sydney's first time in a pool (outdoor) and she did great!  She loved the water and even tolerated her hat and sunglasses.  Bailey didn't want to leave...but then she realized she was so very very very very hungry, it was time to go.  We went back to Kelso's house and BBQ'd hamburgers and hotdogs.  The kids/ opened their presents from the family - and they were so excited - then we had Angry Birds cake and ice cream.  Bailey loves cake!  If she could have cake for dinner, she would.

Our Baby is From....

Syd likes boxes.  (See earlier post.)  Today Sydney got out a shoe box from the closet and she proceeded to sit inside of it.  As you can see, she kind of stretched it out a bit to fit inside.  Bailey grabbed the lid and put it over her head and said, "Here's our present from R.C. Wiley!!!"  I hope we don't have to return her 3 times like we did Bailey's dresser!

Summer Program

The St. Al's ELC had their Summer Program for the graduating Pre-Schoolers.  Even though she wasn't graduating, Bailey's class got to sing a song (Any Man of Mine, by Shania Twain) and dance to a song (Suds in the Bucket, by Sara Evans) with the older kids.  She has been singing this song for weeks at home, as they practice everyday at school.  I asked Bailey if she was going to sing tonight.  (In her Christmas Program, she just stood there and looked out at all the people.)  I said, "Bailey, we can't wait to hear you sing tonight!"  She replied, "I'm not going to sing...you can listen to my friends." I said, "But oh!  Bailey!  We want to hear YOU sing!"  Bailey said, "You want to hear my beautiful voice?"  Me: "YES!!!"  Bailey: "That just doesn't make any sense!!!"  She ended up doing a lot of singing and dancing and we have the best video to prove it!  Great job Bailey.  The whole family was proud of you tonight.

Sydney in a Box

 Sydney loves boxes.  We have a box of give-away items in our dining room and we seem to always find her sitting in it.  Just looking around and holding an unopened baby bottle.

Transit of Venus

The historical Transit of Venus occurred today, June 5, 2012, beginning at 4:10pm MST.  It lasted 6 hours.  The next time this will happen will be December 2117.  So, it is very unlikely that anyone alive today will witness this phenomenon again.  We turned on the NASA channel and saw the beginning.  Bailey was showing Sydney where to look.  Love these pictures.  Too bad it was such a cold, rainy day here and we couldn't see it with our own eyes.  The high temperature today was 57!  After yesterday's 93!

Sydney's Shoe Fetish

Sydney loves shoes.  Perhaps it started when she saw Bailey's ruby slippers.  I was getting the girls ready for a bath and Bailey's ruby red slippers were in the bathroom.  Bailey was running around down the hall and taking her clothes off.  Sydney (at ~10 months) saw them and crawled toward them.  Just as she picked one up, Bailey came running into the bathroom and Syd held on to that ruby red slipper and made a bee-line to me for safe-haven.  She was keeping that shoe!  Ever since then, she loves to get a hold of a shoe - Crocs and sparkly shoes are her favorite - and proceeds to put them in her mouth.  The sole too.  Best part.  Mmmmm.  We have to keep our shoe closet by the garage door closed at all times.  When she notices it is open, she now walks very fast to that blue shoe bin of Bailey's.

Bailey Quotes

Our Bailey is quite a pip! While hanging out with Daddy in the morning as he was getting ready for work, she put on quite an act. All of a sudden she runs out of our room saying "don't go...don't go...don't go...".  She was headed to her room to get her stool.  She brings it into our bathroom to get on the toilet.  As she sits down, she says, "ok peepee, you can go," with a sigh of relief.  Explaining why she can't go to the bathroom in the middle of the night: "so tired....I have lots of yawns."

"If you want to lift a head over your chair, you have to be very strong.  See?" She flexes her biceps for me.

Racing to the mailbox one afternoon: "Look how run I can fast!!!"

Sydney's First Bike Ride

Monday May 7th  - We decided to take a picnic dinner and ride our bikes to Municipal Park along the Greenbelt.  It's a quick ride from our house.  Ten to fifteen minutes.  We put Sydney's new helmet on and got the girls loaded up.  It's fun to see the picture of both of them in the Chariot.  Almost 3 years ago we started Bailey in the same carrier.  Syd gets to have a buddy next to her.  She did great on the ride to and from.  Trying to feed a one-year-old while she has free rein on a blanket is very difficult (and messy) to do.  After we ate we let the girls play on the playground for a bit.  Syd had fun going on her belly down the slide.  She sure was giggling.

Sydney Turns ONE!

Sunday night May 6th - Sydney turned ONE on Friday the 4th.  Wow, this year has gone fast.  TJ was in Sun Valley with the Coughlin Fellows for a retreat over the weekend, so we celebrated tonight.  We made things pretty simple.  We ordered pizza from Smokey Mountain Pizza and I made white cake cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  Nana & Papa, the Bells, the Kelsos, and Grandpa and Jason helped celebrate.  The kids played outside and rode the Jeep around.  We opened a few presents, had some cake and ice cream, and took some pictures.  It was a great night.  Time for whole milk and to lose that bottle Syd!  We look forward to this next toddler-stage in your life.  You walked before your first birthday (about a couple of weeks ago).  We had your 12-month checkup today and you weighed 20 pounds, 11 ounces (45th %). You were 30 inches tall (80th %) and your head circumference was 18 &1/4 inches (80th %).

Last Night of Skiing

 TJ took Bailey skiing on Wednesday evening, probably the last tracks of the year.  It was a beautiful night to ski.  Just look at this sunset!  Bailey is definitely getting the hang of skiing.  What a difference a year makes.  She still loves to have some snow on her glove so she can eat some while going down the slope.  On this night, Bailey was skiing in "mashed potatoes," as TJ called it.  It had been warm that afternoon to melt some snow, causing it to turn into slush.  One time down the slope, Bailey started yelling and screaming, "Ahhhh, it's a bear!  It's a bear!"  She was pretending that a bear was chasing her down the mountain.  TJ was skiing behind her, getting some looks from the other skiers on the mountain.  It was very amusing.  In the lodge for some dinner, then back out for a couple of more runs before they headed home from Bogus.