Yes, our little monster is (almost) 2 1/2 years old! If you ask her how old she is, she'll even tell you 'two half'.
Our (not-so) peanut:
- knows her first and last name
- will call me Desca (Jessica) if she isn't getting my attention by calling me mommy
- can almost count to 15, usually 12 or 13 will get left out
- knows blue, green, yellow, pink and sometimes orange colors
- is talking SO much more! Of course, most people probably can't understand her but it is fun trying to figure out what she is trying to say! Some of her words :
Ga - Grandma
Pa- Grandpa
Bossy - Boston
Sa - Sam
Haee - Holly
Buoy - birthday
pan pan - pancakes
fipfops - flip flops
wo ruck - work truck
mil a cra - milk and cracker
It's awesome listening to her try to tell you something in sentences, like every morning when she tells Steve to put a shirt on, or when she says 'I do it myself' or 'help please, mommy'.
- loves singing and dancing! And she is very particular on whether she wants you to sing with her or not! She'll say 'Daddy, not sing Barney!' or 'Mommy, quiet!'......she is the boss!
- will now sit and watch a movie! Especially Monsters Inc. or Toy Story 3 and she loves the cartoons Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Super Why. Not that we want her to get in the habit of watching TV, but at least she is learning with some of these cartoons!
- still loves to eat! She is getting a little picky and I wish she would try some new stuff, but I guess I can't complain b/c our chunky monkey seems to eat more food than most kids her age!
She is so fun and such a trooper when we drag her to all the things we like to do. We believe in including her in all sorts of different activities and she does so good! We are hoping in the next 6-12 months, we can sign her up for another waterbabies class and hopefully a tumbling class too! Wish us luck!
Overall, she is happy, healthy, the boss and spoiled rotten! She has a new found liking for her mommy, even though a lot of times it is a love/hate relationship. I'm slightly scared for all of us during her teen years, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself here! HA!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
A and P
Presley and her cousin Ava are 3 months apart in age and on vacation they ignored each other until Tuesday night. Then they thought they were pretty funny together. The chased each other, blew bubbles, played frisbee and copied everything the other did! Presley had on her water shoes...so Ava went and got her water shoes. Ava put on her life jacket...so Presley wanted her life jacket! They were pretty cute and funny together! They have the same exact curly hair, except Ava is Miss Blondie!
Laughing at each other
Laughing at Steve (who was trying to get them to smile) while eating the frosting off their cupcakes.
Their crazy, wind-blown hair!
Yeah, I think they'll like each other from now on!
Laughing at each other
Laughing at Steve (who was trying to get them to smile) while eating the frosting off their cupcakes.
Their crazy, wind-blown hair!
Yeah, I think they'll like each other from now on! Spirit Lake in 300 degree heat
So we love nice weather on vacation, especially at Spirit Lake when we spend most of our time outside! So when it is over 95 degrees with a heat index of over 100, we did our best to cope. Of course, you would sweat just sitting there in the shade, getting in the water sounded good until you realize that getting in the water was more like a luke, warm bath instead of a nice, cool down.
We could've spent more time in our 400 sq ft cabins, that have a small air conditioner (but at least there was one!) but having it set at 63 degrees still couldn't keep that cabin under 80 degrees during the day...it just couldn't keep up. Plus, these cabins aren't exactly similar to hotel suites. There are ants and flies (and ants trying to carry dead flies back to their homes), dead mosquitos smashed against the walls that have probably been there for years (don't think I'm exaggerating!). The bathroom has a tiny stand up shower and a bath rug that has probably been there longer than those dead mosquitoes (gross!). Really, why take a shower at anytime during the day? The only time you should shower is right before you go to bed b/c the minute you step outside you are covered in sweat, spraying yourself with bug spray or sunscreen and then sitting in front of a campfire (gotta love that smoky smell!).
Despite all of these things (which I'm used to by now), we have a great time! We take it easy and are able to keep ourselves occupied.
Lots of sunscreen (or sunburns) on the beach.
Steve and our nephew Derek had a kite making/flying contest one day. Steve's kite flew a little better. He made it of sticks, string and a garbage bag!
And Derek with the smallest fish he caught! It's smaller than some of the lures they use!
We could've spent more time in our 400 sq ft cabins, that have a small air conditioner (but at least there was one!) but having it set at 63 degrees still couldn't keep that cabin under 80 degrees during the day...it just couldn't keep up. Plus, these cabins aren't exactly similar to hotel suites. There are ants and flies (and ants trying to carry dead flies back to their homes), dead mosquitos smashed against the walls that have probably been there for years (don't think I'm exaggerating!). The bathroom has a tiny stand up shower and a bath rug that has probably been there longer than those dead mosquitoes (gross!). Really, why take a shower at anytime during the day? The only time you should shower is right before you go to bed b/c the minute you step outside you are covered in sweat, spraying yourself with bug spray or sunscreen and then sitting in front of a campfire (gotta love that smoky smell!).
Despite all of these things (which I'm used to by now), we have a great time! We take it easy and are able to keep ourselves occupied.
Lots of sunscreen (or sunburns) on the beach.
Steve and our nephew Derek had a kite making/flying contest one day. Steve's kite flew a little better. He made it of sticks, string and a garbage bag!
Austin climbing the tree
And as always there was LOTS of fishing! Enough that we had our fish fry on Friday night! Yummy! Sam holding a big fish that was caught.
And Derek with the smallest fish he caught! It's smaller than some of the lures they use!
Beersbee was played on land and in the water. Our nephews Jake and Jordan.
Steve and Jason with matching farmer tans. I tried to tell Jake and Jordan that this picture is their future....them 10 years from now!
We love this week of vacation! So calming, relaxing. You don't keep track of time, we drink too much beer and sleep in! Speaking of sleeping in....Presley slept until at least 9:30 every morning! Score!
July 28th, 2012...already booked for next year!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
There's nothing like a sunset!
I think we took pictures of the sunset every night we were on vacation at Spirit Lake, every night was different and every night was beautiful!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Sometimes it's hard to see the other side.
The Blind Men and The Elephant
Once upon a time there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, "There is an elephant in the village today." They had no idea what an elephant was, so they decided, "Even though we cannot see it, let us go feel the elephant." And each of them went and touched the elephant.
The first man, who touched the elephant's leg, declared, "The elephant is a pillar."
The second man touched the tail and said, "The elephant is like a rope."
"Oh no," the third man said, touching its trunk, "It is like the thick branch of a tree."
The fourth man touched the elephant's ear and said, "It is like a large hand fan," while the fifth man felt the belly of the elephant and added, "It is like a huge wall."
Finally the sixth man touched the tusk of the elephant and said, "It is like a solid pipe."
The six men began to argue about the elephant and every one of them insisted that he was right. They were becoming quite agitated. Just then a wise man was passing by, and witnessing the dispute he asked, "What is the matter?"
"We cannot agree to what the elephant is like," they replied, and in turn each man told what he had experienced of the elephant. "Which of us is correct?" they asked.
"All of you are right," the wise man explained, "for it has all of the features that you have described. And if you put your partial views together, you will have the idea for what a whole elephant looks like."
"Oh!" exclaimed the six blind men, and each of them were happy within their experience.
The moral of the story is that each of us sees things through the eyes of our own experiences and points of view. We can gain perspective by understanding and respecting the experiences and beliefs of others, so rather than arguing like blind men we could simply say, "Maybe you have your reasons."
--Indian Teaching Story
I love this! I think it is so easy for all of us to judge (and of course, I am guilty of this also). The truth is, everything seems so easy from the outside looking in. You can never truly know what another person is going thru or what they are thinking or feeling unless you have been there before. We all think we have the answers, we all think what we know or feel is the RIGHT way....we might think it is the right way, but that doesn't mean it is the ONLY way.
Once upon a time there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, "There is an elephant in the village today." They had no idea what an elephant was, so they decided, "Even though we cannot see it, let us go feel the elephant." And each of them went and touched the elephant.
The first man, who touched the elephant's leg, declared, "The elephant is a pillar."
The second man touched the tail and said, "The elephant is like a rope."
"Oh no," the third man said, touching its trunk, "It is like the thick branch of a tree."
The fourth man touched the elephant's ear and said, "It is like a large hand fan," while the fifth man felt the belly of the elephant and added, "It is like a huge wall."
Finally the sixth man touched the tusk of the elephant and said, "It is like a solid pipe."
The six men began to argue about the elephant and every one of them insisted that he was right. They were becoming quite agitated. Just then a wise man was passing by, and witnessing the dispute he asked, "What is the matter?"
"We cannot agree to what the elephant is like," they replied, and in turn each man told what he had experienced of the elephant. "Which of us is correct?" they asked.
"All of you are right," the wise man explained, "for it has all of the features that you have described. And if you put your partial views together, you will have the idea for what a whole elephant looks like."
"Oh!" exclaimed the six blind men, and each of them were happy within their experience.
The moral of the story is that each of us sees things through the eyes of our own experiences and points of view. We can gain perspective by understanding and respecting the experiences and beliefs of others, so rather than arguing like blind men we could simply say, "Maybe you have your reasons."
--Indian Teaching Story
I love this! I think it is so easy for all of us to judge (and of course, I am guilty of this also). The truth is, everything seems so easy from the outside looking in. You can never truly know what another person is going thru or what they are thinking or feeling unless you have been there before. We all think we have the answers, we all think what we know or feel is the RIGHT way....we might think it is the right way, but that doesn't mean it is the ONLY way.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Mr. Boston
or Bossy, as Presley calls him. They LOVE each other! It is adorable to watch them together. Presley loves helping to take care of him and loves even more to boss him around...ironic that she calls him Bossy!
Isn't he just adorable!
Isn't he just adorable!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Boat, boats and more boats!
Today we headed up to Ankeny for Summerfest! Steve was participating in the cardboard boats races in the company division with some of his coworkers! It was hot and it was a blast! The creativity was awesome in some of these boats! I highly recommend going to watch these races!
The Des Moines Register staged a waterproof camera on the top of this boat to record the race!
I loved this Candy Land boat!
And this was the Edge Commercial boat....with Iowa and Iowa State painted on the back. So Steve refused to sit on the side that had Iowa State on it! LOL!
The Football Diva boat with the daughter of Steve's coworker...they came in 2nd place in their division.
Not sure what these guys were thinking with the design of their boat?!
A convertible car, paddled by ping-pong paddles!
The guys didn't sink, like I thought they would. They were so tired before they even got to the half way mark! They did a good job and came in 2nd place in their division (but out of 4 boats, the other 2 boats didn't finish the race!)
Of course, not all of the boats stayed afloat....and they were actually more fun to watch!
I'm pretty sure they finished this race in 1st place! With half the boat under water!
Notice the 4th guy in the back of the boat.....sinking out of the back of the boat!
and lastly...the Big Red Nebraska boat, that barely made it off the starting line before flipping on it's side. The waves carried this boat out of the race, without a chance to win.....just how we like Nebraska to be!
The Des Moines Register staged a waterproof camera on the top of this boat to record the race!
I loved this Candy Land boat!
And this was the Edge Commercial boat....with Iowa and Iowa State painted on the back. So Steve refused to sit on the side that had Iowa State on it! LOL!
The Football Diva boat with the daughter of Steve's coworker...they came in 2nd place in their division.
Not sure what these guys were thinking with the design of their boat?!
A convertible car, paddled by ping-pong paddles!
The guys didn't sink, like I thought they would. They were so tired before they even got to the half way mark! They did a good job and came in 2nd place in their division (but out of 4 boats, the other 2 boats didn't finish the race!)
Of course, not all of the boats stayed afloat....and they were actually more fun to watch!
I'm pretty sure they finished this race in 1st place! With half the boat under water!
Notice the 4th guy in the back of the boat.....sinking out of the back of the boat!
and lastly...the Big Red Nebraska boat, that barely made it off the starting line before flipping on it's side. The waves carried this boat out of the race, without a chance to win.....just how we like Nebraska to be!
After the races all the boats were allowed to go back into the water for a little extra time to have fun. Of course, the boys decided to try to sink their boat. They broke it in half and Presley DID NOT like it! She was very worried seeing her daddy sink into the water! People turned around looking at the screaming, crying kid! It was so sad to see her that way! (if he didn't have a life jacket on, I might have been a little worried too!)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
401
I just realized this is my 401st post on this blog! Crazy!
- My sister and dad are in Peru for 10 days! Jealous but I know they will have a blast and enjoy every minute of it! I'm sure hundreds of pictures will be taken
- Presley and I were playing, she stands up and says 'I poop' and runs to her room. I asked if she wanted to go on the potty and then heard her closet door slam shut (her personal pooping hiding spot)....guess that's a no. Though she did just walk out of her room with a diaper and wipes though, guess that is sign she is done.
- Presley was singing Barney so I started singing along with her. Here is how the rest of the conversation went...
P - mommy, not sing (which really meant....mommy, you have a great singing voice but please don't sing right now)....So I stopped singing.
P - mommy, cose eyes (which really meant...mommy, please close your eyes. B/c she really is that polite!)....So I closed my eyes
P - nigh nigh
- She is getting better a counting too, we now include 4 and she is slowing learning up to 15. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15
- Whenever P leaves the door open to the deck we always tell her she is going to let bugs inside and let her know the bugs need to stay outside. We had a fly in the house a couple days ago, a big horse fly that was buzzing around my head and driving me crazy! I folded up a newspaper and was on a mission to kill the fly! She followed me around saying 'fly, where are you?' Too cute! Well, today there was a fly buzzing around her head. She said 'bug stay outside!', then she looked at me and said 'mommy kill!' Hmmm...guess I really need to watch what I say ALL of the time!
- We've been working on her hide and seek skills recently. She occasionally will be quiet under the blanket now....but now if she is hiding and you find her, she'll come out and say 'I found you!' She is confused with this process.
- Another conversation P and I are having right now.....
P - daddy not home?
me - nope daddy is on his way home
P - why?
me - b/c he went to get something to eat
P - why?
me - b/c he is hungry
P - why?.......Yep, I'm done responding
- My sister and dad are in Peru for 10 days! Jealous but I know they will have a blast and enjoy every minute of it! I'm sure hundreds of pictures will be taken
- Presley and I were playing, she stands up and says 'I poop' and runs to her room. I asked if she wanted to go on the potty and then heard her closet door slam shut (her personal pooping hiding spot)....guess that's a no. Though she did just walk out of her room with a diaper and wipes though, guess that is sign she is done.
- Presley was singing Barney so I started singing along with her. Here is how the rest of the conversation went...
P - mommy, not sing (which really meant....mommy, you have a great singing voice but please don't sing right now)....So I stopped singing.
P - mommy, cose eyes (which really meant...mommy, please close your eyes. B/c she really is that polite!)....So I closed my eyes
P - nigh nigh
- She is getting better a counting too, we now include 4 and she is slowing learning up to 15. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15
- Whenever P leaves the door open to the deck we always tell her she is going to let bugs inside and let her know the bugs need to stay outside. We had a fly in the house a couple days ago, a big horse fly that was buzzing around my head and driving me crazy! I folded up a newspaper and was on a mission to kill the fly! She followed me around saying 'fly, where are you?' Too cute! Well, today there was a fly buzzing around her head. She said 'bug stay outside!', then she looked at me and said 'mommy kill!' Hmmm...guess I really need to watch what I say ALL of the time!
- We've been working on her hide and seek skills recently. She occasionally will be quiet under the blanket now....but now if she is hiding and you find her, she'll come out and say 'I found you!' She is confused with this process.
- Another conversation P and I are having right now.....
P - daddy not home?
me - nope daddy is on his way home
P - why?
me - b/c he went to get something to eat
P - why?
me - b/c he is hungry
P - why?.......Yep, I'm done responding
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Red, White and Blue
The Fourth of July! My favorite holiday to live in Urbandale, we live 3 blocks from the parade and we have a good hook up for watching the parade from our friend Eric's house who lives on the parade route! Presley was not so excited about the parade or the candy, but she was excited about the banana she got. Figures. (I'm not sure she is my kid!)
Then we walked up to the carnival and had some lunch and Steve took P down the big slide! She liked it, but didn't want to do it a second time!
We were exhausted by Monday evening, we popped in a movie and hung out. They moved the fireworks to another location an about 8:30 we decided we'd try to go watch them. We went and got ice cream and found the perfect location. Another great end to a great night!
Then we walked up to the carnival and had some lunch and Steve took P down the big slide! She liked it, but didn't want to do it a second time!
We were exhausted by Monday evening, we popped in a movie and hung out. They moved the fireworks to another location an about 8:30 we decided we'd try to go watch them. We went and got ice cream and found the perfect location. Another great end to a great night!
Attack of the little girls!
So we had our annual party Sunday evening, the weather actually cooperated! No 90 degrees or rain! We had a great turn out and we realized the amount of little girls Presley's age was a little out of control. Her 'boy' friends that we invited weren't able to come but the girls pulled threw!
Here is Presley and her bff Amelia (who is 2 1/2 years old). They don't get to see each other very often any more, but they get along so good! Presley really looks up to Amelia, even though she is only 3 months older!
Here is Sadie (who turned 2 in May) and Boston.
Miss Breanna (who was 1 in December)
Cousin Ava (who turned 2 in May)
and last but not least, Bridget (who turned 4 in March)
Don't get me wrong, we had plenty of other kids around too. A lot of little boys 1 year and younger (Boston, Brody, Conor and Isaac) and some of Presley's older cousins too (but I didn't get pictures of everyone!). It was like a daycare in our backyard for a couple hours!
Here is Presley and her bff Amelia (who is 2 1/2 years old). They don't get to see each other very often any more, but they get along so good! Presley really looks up to Amelia, even though she is only 3 months older!
Here is Sadie (who turned 2 in May) and Boston.
Miss Breanna (who was 1 in December)
Cousin Ava (who turned 2 in May)
and last but not least, Bridget (who turned 4 in March)
Don't get me wrong, we had plenty of other kids around too. A lot of little boys 1 year and younger (Boston, Brody, Conor and Isaac) and some of Presley's older cousins too (but I didn't get pictures of everyone!). It was like a daycare in our backyard for a couple hours!It was fun and nice to see everyone. The good thing about having people over is that we clean our house...the bad part, we have to clean the house again the next day! ha!
The swing set was a hit, bubbles were blown, lots of food inhaled, it was a good night!
Loving summer
We started off the weekend doing a little of nothing but a little of everything. I will admit, Steve got a lot more done around this place than I did. But he doesn't like to sit still, so he doesn't mind! Right?
Saturday Steve went to the Good Guys car show with my dad, Samantha and Boston. Presley and I went to a baby shower for a family friend. She was pretty good despite the large crowd of people she didn't know, she had fruit and cookies to make her happy!
Of course, we had a lot of play time outside too.
Saturday night and Sunday during the day we spent cleaning, shopping and trying to get organized since we were having a bunch of friends over on Sunday for our annual party. Of course, Steve was busy, busy doing a lot more than I did (including an 8pm trip to Home Depot for something he needed (wanted). I was trying to NOT fall asleep before 9 pm!
Saturday Steve went to the Good Guys car show with my dad, Samantha and Boston. Presley and I went to a baby shower for a family friend. She was pretty good despite the large crowd of people she didn't know, she had fruit and cookies to make her happy!
Of course, we had a lot of play time outside too.
Saturday night and Sunday during the day we spent cleaning, shopping and trying to get organized since we were having a bunch of friends over on Sunday for our annual party. Of course, Steve was busy, busy doing a lot more than I did (including an 8pm trip to Home Depot for something he needed (wanted). I was trying to NOT fall asleep before 9 pm!
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