Happy Birthday Lansing!!

Today we went to the capitol to celebrate the 150th birthday of Lansing. It included a picnic lunch on the lawn of the capitol building, dance demonstrations, music from the Boomers (JNL corporate band, w00t), story time, and much, much more.

Immediately following lunch (including birthday cake!), Kiki tried out the bubbles provided in the kiddie bag provided to her. She approved of them immensely.


Then we went over to the Kid's Tent to play in the sensory table, filled with dried beans, macaroni and rice. Fun!! After that, it was over to the merry-go-round. Yes, this was the hit of the day. It was smiles all around for the Kikster.




Then we shared some ice cream...


Then we played peek-a-boo on the capitol steps...



Finally, we watched the Nakomis dance and drum demonstration.



We had so much fun, we went straight home for a nap!

Summer Cousins

Today Rae came by and asked if Kiki could go on a quick bike ride with her cuz. Here's a picture of Kiki and K, post-bike ride. I think they both had fun, despite the look of puzzlement on both their faces.

Yay! She's Learning Words *grimace*

Kiki's vocabulary is really blossoming these days. She is learning lots of words, some useful that help her ask for things she needs or wants, others are just fun to say. I revel in every new words, each one a little miracle that passes her lips...until I've heard it the 1000th time in about 5 minutes.

Yes, Kiki has a favorite new word, or name I should say. This little story starts with a little application called YouTube and my idea that watching YouTube videos would be a great way to keep Kiki occupied and have a little connection with her extended family.

But then she realized that is was the same people that she was seeing in the videos, and one little cousin in particular. And that cousin has an easy to say name. And say it she does. Here is a brief summary of the first 20 minutes of Kiki's day today.

6:15 am - Mommy goes into Kiki's room "Good morning, Kiki" "Nea? Nea? Nea?"
6:20 am - "Would you like some yogurt?" Points to laptop. "Nea? Nea? Nea?"
6:30 am - "Time to get dressed, Kiki." "Neeeeeeeee-aaaaaaaa!!"
6:35 am - "Would you like to watch Tigger and Pooh, Kiki?" Climbs up on couch and sits in front of laptop. "Nea? Nea? Nea?"

Thanks for the videos, GreggR. You keep us connected and entertained!!

Little Miss Firecracker 2009

We had a relaxing July 4th at home this year. Nothing too exciting, but I thought I'd post a few pics.

Here is Kiki cheesing it up. She was working on an art project while I made dinner.


Here is her final "Fireworks 2009" masterpiece.

Just Goofin' Around

My favorite times with Kiki are when she is just being silly.

Easter

Happy Easter!!

It's been a long day, but fun. Ray and I were up early to get ready for church and for Ray to make brown bread for dinner at his uncle's tonight. We got Kiki dressed up because it's a special day, and let's face it, she looks adorable. Pictures below.

Kiki played in the living room while Ray and I were getting things together, and she accidentally found (they were on the living room table) the hollow, plastic carrots I stuffed for a hunt in her room. Luckily, she's little and didn't realize what they were.

Shortly before we left for church, we got a great surprise. The doorbell rang and as I walked past the bay window, I saw a 6 foot rabbit running down our driveway to a burgundy Saturn Vue. On our doorstep was a special basket with candy and dyed eggs. Thanks Farras!

After church, Kiki hunted for the stuffed carrots in her room. She was excited to find that the carrots held her favorite treats (baby goldfish, honey Teddy Grahams, mini Oreos).

In mid-afternoon, we headed for the east side of the state for dinner at Uncle Joe's, a yearly tradition. We had a few great hours of fun with family. Kiki visited with her cousin, which is always fun (the highlight being the few moments they spent in belly shaking laughter because they were just staring at each other).

All in all, a full day, a fun day, a tiring day. But a good day.


"Are these for me?"


Who says you can't be naughty in a pretty dress?


Kiki at church


Watching Daddy make bread in the kitchen

Just A Quickie

Kiki getting ready for school with big girl hair.

Two For One

I have been meaning to post something FOREVER!! We have been busy, busy, busy with life in general. But since I haven't posted in a while, you get a two for one this time around...

HITTIN' THE GYM

A friend of mine told me about a local gymnastics company that holds an open gym every Saturday. They have one gym for the bigger experienced kids and a smaller gym for smaller kids who are basically just running around and experiencing the equipment in a very rudimentary way. We thought it would be a good way to get Kiki out of the house on the weekends without throwing her into the alternating snow and the mud puddles in our backyard.

We have taken Kiki twice and she LOVES it. The first time, she really just had fun collecting all the hula hoops she could find. She wandered a bit, checking out the trampoline, balance beams, and the flexible tunnel. Ray got some great pictures that time around. And when the session was over, Kiki was ready for a nap.

We took her again his past weekend, and she got a little more adventurous. She swung on the rope swing (that will take a little practice), jumped on the large trampoline, and ran into the foam pit. And the second time, when it was time to go, she screamed and shouted all the way into her car seat.

Here are a few shots from our first trip.













CALLING ALL PARENTS (and other wise ones)

Here is the biggest parenting question I have had to pose so far. This is serious. Are you ready?......How the heck do you get a toddler to let you brush her teeth?

When she first got teeth, Kiki was more than willing to have her teeth brushed. In fact, she seemed to love it!! That is no longer the case. She has 10 teeth and they need to stay clean, but she is having none of it. We now have to fight with Kiki twice a day to get a few swipes at those pearly whites. She does whatever she can to prevent us from succeeding.

We have tried everything we can thing of. Toothpaste, brushing in the bath, letting her have one brush while we use another, letting her watch the tooth brushing process in the mirror, EVERYTHING!!

Does anyone have any suggestions, methods that worked especially well for you?

If anyone has an idea, PLEASE leave a comment. I don't want Kiki losing teeth before she has to!!!!

V-Day Baby

Kiki had her first ever Valentine's Day party at school yesterday. She and her friends exchanged valentines and had lots of fun snacks. I arranged to leave work early so I could be at the party and see Kiki and her friends in action. Although I hadn't planned to get Kiks all dolled up for the party, I happened to get her some pink and red pants during a recent shopping spree, and she and I found some bows for $1 at Taget last weekend...so she was a bit girly for the holiday. Here's the final product...

Superbowl II

Hard to believe how much Kiki has grown in a year!!

Superbowl 2008


Superbowl 2009

Our World Should Be For Everyone

As most of my readers know, my sister is a second grade teacher. Her first year has been full of challenges, as her students are not the easiest bunch to teach. But the more stories she tells me, the more I realize how much the environment that we live in influences the way we learn, what we learn, and which tools are available to teach us.

But a shortage of resources doesn't mean a teacher can't be resource-FUL!! My sis told me about donorschoose.com, and that she had something posted on it. When I went to the website and read her proposal, I wanted to cry!! Aside from being a great teacher, my sister is a wonderful writer and I think she has really conveyed the needs of her classroom. It just made me so sad that there are kids who don't know about their world! Our world should be available to everyone!!

In any case, I would encourage everyone to check out the website. Even if her proposed donation item is not for you (but I hope it is) maybe you can find another proposal that speaks to you, a way that you can help kids prepare for the world around them, and to know that there is even more world beyond them.

An Appeal

We have canceled our cable. It will save us money, and hopefully help me save brain cells. I'm trying to get away from the habit of watching TV at night, and to start reading more. I used to read all the time and have just gotten away from that over the years.

But I don't know what to read anymore!! What is relevant? Topical? Just plain good? What are my friends/family/peers reading?

So, I have recently signed up for Good Reads (goodreads.com). It is a website that lets you "friend" people, similar to other social networking sites. But here you can see the "bookshelves" of your friends, what they are reading, what they have read, their reviews and comments about books, etc. It's pretty cool.

I invite anyone who is willing to share their literary experience with me to sign up for Good Reads, and friend me. Just search for me by first and last name. There are currently only two of "me", so I shouldn't be too hard to find.

I look forward to reading with you!!

Christmas Fun

Phew!!! The holidays are behind us and I can take a deep breath knowing that there are no more parties to go to, presents to wrap, or trips to take (although, I wouldn't mind a few more days off from work!)

All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas. Good company, generous gifts, and Kiki was especially fun this year. Though I don't think she really grasped what was going on, she enjoyed her time with cousin Ev and her new toys are lots of fun. She also perfected her "camera face", which I think is a combination of her knowing she should smile and also anticipating the flash. It's so cute, and cracks me up EVERY time!!



While we waited for people to arrive at Grandpa and Grandma's Christmas party on Christmas day, Kiki tried out one of her gifts from Ray and I. I think she liked it.



Here is a video, so you can see her in action. Listen closely for the giggles.



When we got home, Elena enjoyed her other gift from Ray and I (on sale for $30 bucks, score!) I think Elena and her cousins M and L might have to get together for a bake-off, as they are all now equipped with the proper tools.

A Year in Review

Kiki's First Halloween

Kiki had a very eventful first Halloween. Her school had a costume parade, followed by a party.

When we got to her classroom shortly before the parade, there was activity everywhere as kids got into their costumes. The room heated up very quickly, so all the kids had some water. Halloween is hard work!



After everyone was ready, the little ones got strapped into the buggy for their big debut, and parents lined the sidewalk in front of the school for the parade. There were some great costumes. Kiki was a bit indifferent to the situation...until she saw Mom and Dad with the cameras. Then she really started hamming.






Once Kiki's buggy reached the end of the line, there was a period of waiting around as the other kids paraded. Kiks got a bit impatient and started crying.



When the parade was over, everyone went back inside. The babies were stripped of their costumes and treated to pizza. Kiki learned the lesson of sharing when she was asked NOT to take pizza from other children (she does love pizza).



After the party, we headed home to get ready to welcome trick-or-treaters. Kiki used the trip as an opportunity to "refresh" herself before the evenings festivities.

Aunt Rae came over for a bit to help prepare for the candy distribution portion of the night. Unfortunately, just about the time Kiki was going to hit the sack, her cousin made Aunt Rae want to do the same, so it was a short visit.

There was one little pack of 4 trick-or-treaters that came right before Kiki went to bed. She just smiled, happy to have more visitors.

All in all, we only got about 20 kids. What a disappointment! We saw tons of kids in the neighborhood, but they all went in the opposite direction of our house!! Not even Ray's super-awesome jack-o-lanterns could attract them to our house.





I think we will need to advertise some good candy in the week before Halloween next year.

Taking orders!!

Just a quick post.

We got Kiki's school pictures today. SO CUTE!!! We order the digital version instead of old school printed pictures. We figure this way anyone who wants a picture can just let us know what size they want, we will custom print, and then we don't have extra photos laying around for eternity.

There are two available images: Image 1 or Image 2. If you would like a print (or prints), just let me know which image(s) and which size(s). Available sizes are:

Wallet (2x3)
4x6
5x7
8x10

Kiki in the 9's

Kiki is now 9 months old. It's so hard to believe, but she's come a long way in 9 months. She had her 9 month well baby visit yesterday, and we got nothing but good news.

She is currently 19 pounds 5.5. ounces, 29 inches long. The Dr. was pleased with how she looked in every way, and was very happy on the motor progress that she has made, as well.

Kiki is all over the place these days. She started the army crawl several weeks ago, with the occasional on-the-knees crawl thrown in for kicks. She also started pulling herself up on furniture about 2 weeks ago. She is now cruising around the room with some significant speed. She walks along furniture to move about the room as much as she can, and otherwise uses the on-the-knees crawl. She will occasionally take the daring step away from the furniture. Terrifying for us, and often painful for her, but I think she is well on her way to taking the plunge into walking. As her school said, we will probably begin to see an increasing amount of "Ouch Reports" coming home.

Poor Squirt is terrorized. Kiki LOVES to pet him, and advances upon him whenever possible. He, on the other hand, misses the days when she could only look from afar.

The most exciting news to come out of Kiki's appointment was the info on new foods. She is now encouraged to start having dinner with Mom and Dad. For the most part, she will be able to have a smooshed version of our dinner. The meal that the Dr. specifically mentioned was pot roast and veggies. I was super surprised to hear this, but it is also very exciting. We are anxious to start trying her with some real foods, but it will also be a bit of adjustment for us, as we have grown accustomed to not even starting preparations for dinner until she is in bed.

Overall, she is a happy, growing girl. She recently discovered the joys of clapping, and clapped the entire way home from school on Friday. She has also taken an extreme interest in her books lately, especially the Touch and Feel Baby Animals Book with the soft bunny she can kiss (read slobber on). She is growing out of her clothes like crazy, largely due to her length. We even had to retire one 12 month outfit yesterday!!

An update

I know it has been forever and a day since I last posted, so let me bring things up to date.

Kiki is growing like a weed. 18 lbs. 3.5 oz as of Monday. She has been fighting a sinus infection for about a month now. She is also officially out of the incubation period for chicken pox, so she weathered her exposure with NO POX!! YAY!!!!!!!

Kiki's top two teeth are peeking through, so I think we will start getting a bit more adventurous with the new foods we try. She has pretty much been restricted to baby mush and her baby puffs to this point. Kiks has also begun the "I like to see how far I can spit my food" phase, so THAT'S a lot of fun!

We have had to move into super-baby proofing mode recently, as Kiki is mastering the speedy-tummy-scoot and has started pulling herself up on shelves/furniture/anything she can get her hands on.

Things have been busy around the house, with work, school, house/yardwork, and general summer fun. The Olympics have been on pretty much constantly. I will be happy to see them end, Ray will be very sad. He has enjoyed watching the pursuit for American gold.

Props to my fellow Blogger blogger

This blog is hilarious. Professionally decorated cakes gone terribly wrong. I warn you, read only a bit at a time, or you will get a laughter tummy ache!!

Cake Wrecks

My New Passion

I have been introduced to a new social networking tool, one that I LOVE!!! It's called Plurk, and if you like Twitter, Plurk might be right for you. It's easy to use, visually interesting, and VERY ADDICTIVE!!!! Check it out, sign up, and be my friend!