Charge!

Poor Willie - Kailyn's latest "game" is charging him with her cart. It is absolutely hilarious, though I do feel bad for poor Willie, who has learned to listen for the "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeg, heeeeeee" that means Kailyn is coming. I'm not sure if you can really tell in the picture, but he is getting ready to run hard left to get out of her way, but he has to wait till the last possible second or she turns, too. She thinks this to be sooo funny & squeals her excitement when he darts out of her way. And me, supposedly the mom and protector of all in the family, can do nothing but belly laugh every time she does it. Oh, poor Willie and the torture to come for him!

Kailyn recently decided that she doesn't like broccoli. After Dad took too long to take each piece from her, she made a little pile on the side to be sure that it didn't accidentally touch the yummy chicken fettucine. I am kind of wondering if it's a color thing now, though. Tonight, she kept all of her peas (I was so scared she would decide she didn't like those either, and I'd never get to make them since Brian doesn't like them either) until last, and ate all the yellow corn first, then the orange carrots, then all the peas.... does she not care for green?

The big girls helping out in the yard picking up Willie poo - I made them a deal - $1 a pile (thinking I might have $15 piles, so $7 or $8 a piece, that was worth it to me. Well, 5 minutes later, Tori came in with the totals: Mikayla 30 piles, Katie 26 piles. I almost fainted. $56!!!! So.... we renegotiated - $5 each and an ice cream cone - they were happy, and of course, so was I. I haven't been taking Kailyn out in the rain when Willie goes, figuring I'd get it on the next sunny day.... who knew a little guy like Willie could make so much poo!

Of course, you know Brian thinks this is great - Kailyn slams her milk, and then throws the cup down when she's done with an "aaaaaahhh." Some of the guys want to teach her to crush the milk cup on her head, but I've drawn the line. Mean Mom is no fun!

Sometimes I like to sleep like my cousin Kate - check out her website at

http://web.mac.com/gravitino/iWeb/Larsons@mac.com/Home.html

Party Central

A little different than our college days - now most of our invitees are under the age of 10! Funny enough, these times are more fun than those (Brian might argue the point, but he's lying!).


Today was a great day - Kailyn and Willie are in HEAVEN! I started watching Katie, Tori, & Mikayla yesterday, and can tell it's going to be a fun year for all of us. Today wasn't quite sunny, but it wasn't raining, so we went for a walk and then over to the park. Each girl took turns pushing Kailyn or walking Willie while I kicked back and did pretty much nothing! It is so funny to think that Kailyn will be like this one day. They remind me of the slumber parties that I would have and all of us girls would giggle and talk a mile a minute until mom, and finally dad, would tell us to "GO TO BED!!" I can hardly keep up with their conversations!


In case Kailyn didn't have enough fun partying with the big girls, we had a little get-together for Brayden's first birthday. He is such a stud - we put on some eighties rap, and these two were throwing their hands in the air breaking it down to LL Cool J! After dinner and dancing, we let the kids have some cake - Brayden really liked it, even if he had to wear a pink bib!

Congrats to Alisa - who has her third interview for Deal or No Deal tomorrow! I'll keep you posted if (when) she is going to be on!

A Day of Sunshine (finally....)

Well, I had just about given up on this blog thing... I have checked every day to see if my pictures would post, and everyday have been deeeeenied. I had several pictures to post with the last entry, but none would show up, making me so frustrated. Now that it has allowed me to bring some up, watch out! There are quite a few to make up for the lapse in time; maybe I can start posting regularly again. It's not nearly as fun with no pictures!

I'm not sure what I want to write about first, but I guess I'll start with my shorts. Mom saved these from when I was a baby, and it was really neat to put them on my daughter knowing that my hiney was the last one in them! I can't believe they actually fit her - they have always looked so big to me! Mom says they were my favorite pair, and I believe it! They are pretty well worn (loved), and they look SO CUTE on Kailyn!

What is most exciting about fact that she wore my shorts is that SHE WORE SHORTS! It was hot enough to wear shorts! While the rest of the States have enjoyed a hotter than normal summer, we have not enjoyed a wetter than normal one. It's been tough on us - Kailyn and I are both suffering from cabin fever. One of the greatest things about living in Valdez is the great scenery and all of the stuff to do outside, but we have been robbed of that most of the summer. I did get Kailyn a raincoat, so that helps when it's just drizzling, but when it's really raining and a little chilly, I don't want to go outside, let alone bring my 1-year-old out. So when the sun peeked out from the clouds yesterday, we JUMPED on the opportunity to get outside. I told my friend Katey that it reminded me of the Rapture, where one second we are all here going about our business, then the next , we are whisked away to meet our Maker. Well, most of us =) are taken to Him. I was right in the middle of taking the laundry out when I heard Kailyn's squeak, indicating she was up from her nap. Even I didn't know that I could run up the stairs, get her changed, coat & helmet on, and in the bicycle that fast. We were off!

Our first stop was the boring post office, but then we went over to Ruth Pond and fed the ducks. Kailyn loved watching them swim and chase each other, racing to the bread I would throw. When it was her turn to throw, she would hold the bread high as if she were going to zing it over to the ducks, then stuff it in her face as fast as she could and laugh. I love these little games, when she tries to "trick" me, and thinks she's hilarious (she is). After the pond, we rode over to the docks and watched Pat Olsen gut some fish. Gross, you would think. My daughter thought it was great. So did I, really, since hopefully this means she'll be taking on that job when we go fishing!

No story to tell about this picture - just thought that it was funny. I actually thought that Kailyn was starting to like Cheerios - she normally gives them to Willie. I guess her new trick is sticking them in her high chair when I'm not looking since we are working on not throwing food on the ground. She is such a little stinker! When I first saw her tights, I thought to myself, "how cute! I didn't even realize those were polka-dotted." Then, it seemed the polka-dots were 3-dimensional, and I laughed! What a goofball!

Boat Rides & Anchorage

So much has happened since our last post. As we were packing to head to town on Thursday, the 28th, Katey Connell called to ask if we'd like to go out on the boat. It was one of those gorgeous days that make all of the yucky, rainy days in Valdez worthwhile - perfect blue sky, bright, white clouds, birds singing.... it seemed like paradise. On days like those, you can hear the waterfalls in the mountains and it always makes me feel oddly insignificant. These things have been here for people to enjoy so long before I was born, and my children and their children will have them to enjoy long after I am gone. I have no part in them, only get to be amazed by them for a few years until my time here is over. Hmmm.... Anyways! Kailyn LOVED the boat! It was a little chilly that day, but she wanted to stay up top with Bill and watch everything - the boats, the water, daddy's work. I grew up on boats all the time, and I am so happy to see that she enjoys being on the water like I do... maybe one day we'll be able to buy a boat and spend lots of time out on the ocean together. We only went out for a short trip to pull up shrimp pots, and it was really cool to see the Connell clan work together as a family - each member had an important and specific job to do to make everything run smoothly. Once we got close to the harbor, Kailyn had a chance to check out the shrimp and crabs that came up. We had to throw the crabs back since they still haven't recovered from the oil spill in '88, but the shrimp were HUGE and jumping around like popcorn. I let Kailyn touch each of the creatures, so scared that I was going to be cleaning crab guts off of us when she squeezed them to death, but, thankfully, she was very gentle. I love to watch her little brain processing everything - so intently absorbing the smoothness of their little backs and the ridges on the little (BIG) shrimps. I hope that we get other opportunities to join them; we had a lot of fun!

Once back on shore, we had to rush home, finish packing, and hit the road to Eureka to see Daddy, who absolutely walks on water in this house. Jared and Brian are standing walls already, trying to get as much of my Dad's cabin built before the snow flies. It's looking really good, but going a little slower than we all hoped with our lousy weather this year. After spending a night with Brian, we went the rest of the way to Anchorage to start looking for a dining table, office furniture, and a guest bed, and amazingly, found all three in one trip. We couldn't believe it! It was a quick trip, but quite productive. My favorite purchase was definitely my new dishwasher!! I am so happy - it's great!!! The top shelf drops down so you can put plates on the top when you have a lot of pots.... I am so pleased! We really like our table, and it's nice to be able to sit together like a family. I think Brian feels like the king sitting in his armchair at the head of the table - makes us feel like a real live family, with us as the grown-ups.

While in Anchorage, Mike and Erin (Brian's brother and his wife) celebrated their anniversary and let Tyler spend the night with Tom & Peggy. The kids took a bath together and had so much fun splashing and sharing their toys. Both of them are so funny - Peg and I couldn't stop laughing at how they interact together; Tyler wondering what the heck those things are coming out of her head, Kailyn amazed at how cool her big cousin is, already going to college and all!

A Triple Date at Ernestos!

Brayden and Alisa came over this afternoon and we ended up making an evening out of it - we all had a great time out to dinner at Ernestos. Brayden is sooo cute! He's standing and crawling around super fast, and Kailyn loved sharing her food and toys with him. In a few weeks, she'll also be sharing pre-school stories with her big cousin, Tyler, who had his first day of school today.

Flip flops & convertibles!

She's 1/4 Florida girl! Never even tried to take off her first pair of flips! She has a few sandals, but these actually go between the toes like big-girl flip flops, so how was I to resist? Impossible, I tell you!

As usual, when I splurge I buy something like $3.99 flip flops. And Brian's splurge... a new car! Jeez Louise! He calls me an impulse shopper! It is so cool - it has a little trunk with tools in it, and the engine has spark plugs and can all be taken apart. They already had it jacked up working on it tonight, dad & Kailyn. She sure loves spending time with him!

So, today was a big day! She also took a bath in the tub today. She LOVED it! I figured she was ready a while ago, just have been too busy with other things to clean her tub out. She soaked the entire room, splashing and kicking. It was great! I'm not sure if you can see the water in this action shot, but at least you can see her wave pool.

Bears!

We all agree, Kailyn says "dad" now. I guess it'll be going in the book... I was really hoping for a "mom," but I think I'm just chopped liver. She even got a "briiiiiii" out for the babysitter, Britni. Isn't that swell?

The pictures are of the bears, a mama and a cub, that have been hanging out in the field next to our house. It's kind of cool, but I am a little scared of them to be honest. I cussed Willie when he had to go out tonight in the dark!

Where's the light?

Kailyn has begun pointing at things, which is so fun! "Where's Willie, Kailyn? Where's Daddy?" But, does she know where Mommy is? The one that feeds her, bathes her, changes her ever so stinky diapers??? Nah - just the important people. I'm just the hired help, as my dad says. Oh well, someday. "Please, Kailyn, say Mommy," I tell her all the time. Ornery girl, never listens. I am pretty sure that she has been saying Willie for a while now, and I swear she said "Dada" to Brian last night. But when do you count it as their first word? I don't think it's until she says "Mommy," is it??

Luckily, she is crazy for my cooking, and it does not matter what I give her. Occasionally she'll inspect a food parcel, but mostly she gobbles them down, sticking a few crumbs and pieces on her shirt and in her pants for a quick snack at a later time. She eats onions, chili, eggs... I even gave her a lemon on the way back from Anchorage, and she ate that with no complaints! She also enjoys feeding Willie, but hasn't caught on that he's not always with us; I feel so bad for the waiters and waitresses that have to clean up after us. I try to at least get the big stuff, but I can never get it all! Something that I find interesting is that we seem to have the same taste thus far. She didn't like the potato salad I pawned off on her, and I figured she would love a french fry from my stash, but neither of us liked them. It is so neat to watch her little personality develop!

And she's off!

I finally dug deep in my soul and found the strength to encourage the Little Miss to try walking - Oh Jeez!!! She took right off! We have a push-behind walker that Kailyn usually tips over, so I've kept it in the floor position thus far. Of course, we've done the whole finger walk deal and Kailyn loves it, but she usually decides it's easier to go where she wants if she just crawls (Mom never takes her to the electric socket). But she's really been standing on her own alot, and with Sophia over a couple of days last week, she has been more and more brave. So, I made a make-shift gate for our wider-than-normal stairs (4 gates later, we still don't have one that fits correctly), and set her free. She loves it! I got an "eh, eh, eeeeehhhhh," when she hit the couch and couldn't back it up, but a quick turn and off she was. Now, I have discovered, or rather, Kailyn has discovered, that we have many "walkers." Every empty cardboard box is now a mobile balancer, and Willie has even learned to beware when Kailyn start putting a little weight on him. She tries to push EVERYTHING.

No More Monkeys...

...Jumpin' on the Bed!

Extreme Shopping

Kaliyn was attacked by a dog today. Okay, not really attacked, but it really really felt like it to me. I am still a little shaken up by it. We were in the thrift store (it's half off day) and I set her on the floor to go through a bin. This lab puppy (who happens to be super cute) that I didn't even realize was out came running up to play with her and scratched her right on the face. I was so scared - of course Kailyn cried, making me all the more upset. You can see the little red mark by her eye, but I think that she will live... I am a dog person and totally understand all of this. I still think that it's great that the dog is at work with the owner, but can't help but be a little mad at the situation. Of course, I shouldn't have set my daughter (right next to me) on the floor, but I didn't expect a puppy to come pouncing on her, either. I know that I'm partly in the wrong, and am torn about calling the manager. I don't want the dog to have to stay home in a kennel all day. But the clerk/ dog owner didn't even say a word about it, though we were right at the register when it happened. A quick, "I'm so sorry, can I get you a wet paper towel to wipe off her face," would have made me feel so different about the situation. What to do?

On to a lighter note, she's officially out of 3-6 months clothes! It was so sad, but I had to put away some of my favorite little pants. Although our skinny minny has become a chunky monkey, she's still been wearing some 3-6 month tops that really showcase her buddha belly... hmmm... maybe I will put those away, too. The shirt she has on is even a 12 month! It's a little big, but looks really cute with her new tenny shoes.

Giving it a try...

I am hoping that I stick to this better than I did to the myspace blog. The thing with that account is that I always get sidetracked emailing and looking up old friends, then realize that half of my break time is over. Here I have no distractions... maybe that will help...

We've had a super busy summer - starting with a trip down to Florida to visit Papa and Mema. I bought tons of sundresses that are so beautiful on Kailyn, but have proved useless here in rainy Valdez. Bah! Back to jeans and t-shirts! We took Kailyn to the zoo for the first time and met up with Jina, her mom, and the kids. For me, the most interesting thing was seeing my Alaska baby with beads of sweat on her nose and face for the first time! Up here, we don't get to test those glands too much, so it was weird seeing them working on her.


Kailyn also got to see the beach for her first time, and sadly, was quite wary of it all! She was scared of the waves at first, and didn't like the feel of the sand until she realized she could play with it. Maybe next trip when she's walking it will be different. I hope as she grows up she can come visit her FL grandparents each year and come to love the beach as I do. I hope my dad will take her to the beach like my Papa did. I loved when we would sit and just listen to the waves crashing and look for the men on the moon. Other than shopping and day trips, it was nice to see everyone, and I think that Kailyn helped cheer my dad up, if only a bit. She was her normal, cheery self, and after his hospital stay, I think that he needed some cheerfulness. He's doing better than I thought, but the chemo is really kicking his butt. Now that the cancer in his esophagus is gone, at least he can eat again, so he is just working on building up his strength for round 2 - going for the lung cancer. Go figure - never smoked in his life. Brian's been working on their cabin, trying to get it as close to being shelled in before winter as possible. It's looking great - the sub floor is down and the walls should start going up next hitch off.

Since getting home, it's been go, go, go. We moved in to the new house on the 16th. I'll post pictures once we are a little more settled, but so far there are boxes everywhere. The most wonderful thing about this house is that nothing needs to be changed. I am so tired of remodels!! Peggy helped me to paint Kailyn's room to match all of her ocean critters, but other than that, if this house stays unchanged for 10 years, I will be OK! Well, maybe 5 years... you know me! The dining room is a little more formal than Brian and I's taste, so we will probably change that and do a few other minor things, but we are excited that they are just projects that are there when we feel like it - nothing needs to be done right away.

Other than that, I started my bookkeeping job and so far, I really like it. I'm even considering taking on another client or two. I'm working almost exclusively from home on Kailyn's nap times, so other than needing to find a new time to do dishes, it has been really nice to be home with her. I've also been babysitting a past coworker's daughter, Sophia, who is 16 months old (just 5 months older than Kailyn). We've had so much fun together - it's really cool to watch my daughter interact with another little girl. They are constantly imitating each other, from Kailyn trying to walk like her new friend, to Sophia going back to crawling, and then they have contests back and forth with all kinds of goofy noises, making each other laugh. I hope that Kailyn has as many wonderful relationships as I am blessed with... maybe this will be the start of one. We went to the park on Wednesday and the girls had a blast swinging together and even got some of the big girls to take them down the slide. Kailyn wasn't too crazy about it - but Sophia apparently liked it; she kept going back down over and over again.


I am heading off to bed. Kailyn is back to her normal 7am wake-up time (no matter when she goes to bed at night), and I like to get up a little earlier than she does for a little quiet-time before the craziness that is our lives begins. I doubt Ash would believe that I do this without an alarm clock!

Please let me know what you think of this - post comments!!