July 14- Captain America is E's favorite superhero.  Apparently, she plays with one at Target every time she and her dad go, and today, when we all were in the basement, she got to play with one of her Dad's Captain Americas.  She also pulled dada's Star Wars DVDs off the rack, so I can tell that dada thinks he's turning her into a mini Star Wars/comic book fan.  E also spent a lot of time playing with her play kitchen, every time she turns on the "faucet" she made a little shhhhh noise like water was coming out.  She loved putting the fake food on plates and carrying around the pan, but we could tell she was frustrated that no water came out of the faucet.

July 13- We had dinner with Grandpa and Teddy since Teddy is moving on the 14, E went to the ba (playground) with Teddy, and had mostly a good time.  She also got to blow bubbles with Grandpa and listen to her favorite CD.  Before dinner Teddy took her to play disc golf in the back yard, E is a good disc retriever, Teddy tossed them and E ran, picked them up, and put them in the basket.

July 12- E is helping dada sign his teaching contract for next year!  We've been waiting to get in the mail all summer!  Because everyone was up early (5 am), I got a ride to work, and they handed in the teaching contract in person, right when the office opened.  E also got to visit her uncle Teddy.  After work, E and I did our usual circuit. We sit on the stone edge to the garden and blow a few bubbles, then we run over past the neighbor's house to the pool and swings.  E tries to open the door to the pool for a while, then she swings for a few minutes.  After that its back to the pool door.  Then, we go look at Jim's flowers and say hi to his garden decorations (two bunnies, a Dutch boy and girl, a duck, and two solar lights). After that we run over to the ramp leading into the community room, E runs up and down the ramp, and then sits in the middle.  After all that, momma usually carries E home to wash up!

3 Bears

We spent the weekend at 3 Bears Lodge with my friends from college and their kids (and baby to be) and Ama and Grandpa.  All the kids loved the water park, although it took E a little time to warm up to it.  E's word count has grown in the past week or so to include "milk", "up", "hop" (as in "what does a bunny say?" "hop"), and "meese" (milk please).

July 11- Here's E kicking back and doing a little reading!  She laid out her changing pad very nicely, and collected a newsletter to read. It was another busy day for E and dada, they played around the house, played on the swings, and ran a few errands.  After work, E and momma took a walk and after dinner we got to play with our neighbor A.  A and E played on the swings, watched people swim, and chased each other. E tends to push, so we had to watch her pretty closely.

July 10- the whole crew at the 3 Bears.  E is in one of the water swings, which, along with the lazy river was her favorite part. She doesn't like getting her face wet, so the splashing in the park was a little overwhelming for her. She loved seeing her little cousins and I think even had a little crush on P, she followed him around and gave him a couple of hugs.

She had the best time playing on the bottom bunk beds with the other kids, watching movies and climbing up and down.

July 9- E is back in the water swing, she never wanted to get into the swing, but once she was in, she had a pretty good time.  Her favorite was riding on the lazy river on either my or her dad's tummy, although when she and I were on the ride, she got splashed with a wave and she screamed! I don't think E has ever spent more time in the water then she did the weekend.

July 8- E is helping dada unload the luggage, she's really been interested in climbing lately, and this was no exception, she didn't actually get to ride down the hall on the luggage cart, much to her disappointment.  She had a great time exploring the hotel room, one of her favorite parts were the kitchen cabinets that were empty so she could open and close them as much as she wanted.

Bed time

July 7- Bed time had been going smoothly for a few weeks now, but suddenly took a turn for the worse.  We aren't sure why, nothing in the routine has changed, just the falling asleep!  Today was probably the last Ama, Teddy and Ellie day and they made the most of it, after her swimming lesson, she took a stroller ride to the library and then played in the pool, she is getting brave enough to put her belly in the water.

Concert on the Square

July 6- E and I went to her first Concert on the Square today and she had a wonderful time. She got to play on the top of the capitol steps with a bunch of other kids, we walked around the capitol and looked at dogs, had a drink from a bubbler (one of her favorite things to do), and had snacks with both Ama and I. Some other kids brought sidewalk chalk, which E loved. She colored very nicely with the other kids, she liked throwing the chalk, which we tried to stop whenever possible.  But, E loves to throw.  The concert ended with the 1812 Overture which included a live cannon, the explosions didn't bother E at all, she kept on coloring.

E has really been missing momma while she is at work, it has been particularly difficult in the afternoons, when she has napped and is able to use her energy to cause trouble.  She also got to play at Westmorland Park and took her first ride on a merry-go-round!

July 5- E is playing ghost again! She ran around her room, and her dad and I took turns catching her, so the she didn't crash into anything.  This evening E only wanted to be outside, I took her out three separate times, once to blow bubbles, once for a walk and a swing, and once to look for dogs.  She really wanted to see a dog and refused to go inside until we found one.  Once we finally did, she was scared of it!

She and her dad went to the Geology Museum today and E was scared of the dinosaurs, they also went and toured the new Union South, which E enjoyed.

Holiday weekend

July 4- Today E marched (or rolled) in her second 4th of July parade, it was so much fun watching her watch the other kids this year, last year, she was just a little baby, and had no idea was was going on.  I'm sure that next year, she'll be one of the kids on the decorated bike! After the parade, she got to play on a playground, and  walk around a park, she had a great time.  Her favorite part of the park was playing with the tire pieces which protect kids from the ground. 

After the parade, an exhausted E fell asleep in the car, and after a relatively short nap got to go swimming with both mom and dad, and got to play in the neighbor's sprinkler. To top that off, she had dinner with Ama and Dad-ee.  Some how, Grandpa's name got changed from Ada, to Dad-ee.  We'll see how long that lasts.

July 3- We went to one of dada's second cousin's cabin, E didn't get to ride on one of these ATVs, but she loved sitting on it, and playing with the buttons, it kept her occupied for quite some time.  E spent pretty much the whole day outside, playing on the ATVs, in the grass, and going on walks.  We had a great time spending the day with Dada's family, some of which hadn't seen E since she was small.

We learned that E is still afraid of dogs, she wouldn't go near the two big huskies, and even when being carried near the dogs, wanted to be up as high as possible.  We did learn that E likes beef tenderloin, she ate quite a bit of dada's dinner.

July 2- We went over to Great Grandma's for our traditional 4th of July dinner this evening.  Great Grandma's house is near a big fireworks display, so E spent quite a bit of time people watching, here she is getting ready to blow some bubbles, while sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, so that she doesn't miss anyone. 

Aside from the dinner, E also went to the farmer's market, where she picked the garlic herb cheese curds, which are her favorite and got to go swimming, she is turning into quite a little fish!

E also got really good at saying "animal" she has an animal magnet that her dad got her at the zoo, and she is now able to go to the fridge and ask for it.

July 1- was the hottest day of the summer, the picture on the right captures it a little, the camera fogged up when I took it outside.  To beat the heat, E and I decided to play with some water in the front yard, E dumped it out right away, and I made a mistake, I showed her that we had a hose in the front yard.  From that point on, she had to have the hose (with the water running) and used it to fill her bucket, and just to pour on herself.  She then went for a walk and tried to use our neighbor's hoses too!

E and her dad also visited me at work today, which I loved, E showed off her animal sounds (cow, dog, cat, and sheep) for my co-workers, and showed off how good she is at saying hi and bye.

 

June 30- E absolutely loves to brush her teeth.  Unfortunately, we accidentally taught her to say che-che-che (from the Rafi song, brush your teeth) instead of a word for brushing, so now, she walks up to us and says "che-che" instead of  something else.

June 29- According to dada, E never makes a mess when its just the two of them, he things I bring it out of her.  I'm not sure how this could possibly be my fault!  E had a very, very busy day today, she went to the zoo, played at the Vilas park playgrond, visited the kids at her old daycare, and played outside with some of the neighbors.  But, after all that, she still had the energy to empty the bookshelf.



June 28- Going to work everyday is hard in the best of times, but leaving behind a little girl who is ready to snuggle, as opposed to her usual desire to run around non-stop, makes it particullarly difficult. E is still sleeping with duck duck and elephant blanket.  After a cozy start to the day, got busy playing and refused to nap. After I got home we went wading in the swimming pool where E practiced her kicking, and played on the swings.

E had a wild streak in the evening, having two separate crashes, one on her cheek and the other on her nose.  Luckily nothing a little cuddle and ice couldn't fix.

June 27- E discovered that the area behind the chair works as a tunnel, she also figured out that going behind the chair is a good way to reach things that have been pushed back to the back edge of the coffee table.  E had both parents home today, and had a nice visit with Grandma, and then showed off for Grandma at dinner. 

June 26- E has started to learn to care for things and people.  She gives pats to kids, touches flowers gently, smells the neighbor's flowers, and other small things. On Wednesday, when we visited Great Grandma, E shared her sippy cup with a baby doll.  Today, she found a wash cloth and used it to put her toy elephant to sleep.  She covered it, and gave it pats.  Later in the day, she also put the TV remote to nite-nite.  Today was also an odd one for E, she ate like crazy!  She had a full breakfast, then she ate my breakfast, lunch, cheese curds, crackers, slices of cheese, a good dinner, and then half a piece of pizza. I'm guessing a growth spurt is on its way!

June 25- We all got up early today and went to the farmer's market (E loved eating fresh snow peas) and then went to Hilldale, E helped dad push the shopping cart.  After a very short nap, E and I went for a walk outside, when E decided that we had to go swimming.  So, she went into our condo complex's pool for the first time in her life.  She loved it!  There were big kids to watch play and E was able to go up and down the pool steps and practice kicking and digging with her hands.  After all that swimming she zonked out for an extra nap. We had her friend A and her parents over for dinner, and the girls had a wonderful time together, with only a few bonks and tears.

June 24- Blowing bubbles is one of E's favorite activities.  She can say the word bubble too.  Although I've started to think that bubble just means outside to her!  We blew bubbles while dad cooked dinner, and then went off exploring.  We went for a nice long walk with A and her dad.  After dinner, we went outside again for just a little more outside time.

June 23- Another day of swimming lessons, and E had a wonderful time.  She got a little off kilter today, since she woke up a little too early.  She and her dad ran a few errands and then E took her nap too early! After swimming she spent the afternoon with Ama and Ted, and even went to the park with Ted, a big step for her! We celebrated dad's birthday with dinner at Outback, and E made it through most of the meal.  Everyone took a turn carrying her around the restaurant.

Here she is "talking" on the phone, although she is less likely to pretend that things are phones, she still loves to play with real phones, she prefers my cell phone, but the house phone is good too.