New Fireplace!

We decided to upgrade our fireplace for the winter.  We only used it a few times in the winter of 2010-11, the first year we moved in.  The fan was loud and it wasn't very efficient.

Here is the after picture.  It was quite a mess of dust when they put the rock on, but we are pleased with the work and look forward to being cozy and cuddling in this winter!  The mantel is alderwood, as are the window bench seats that we upgraded as well.  We found some leftover carpet in the garage and have since gotten that patched in.

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2012 was again hosted at our house.  Grandpa and Jason, Nana and Papa, Scott & Jenn and Max and Magnus were here along with the current fellow Jesse, Cristin, and Emerson.  The Kelso family went to Minot, ND to be with Katie this year.  TJ was on-call again this year but, amazingly, didn't have to go in once.  We watched football, had a wonderful turkey dinner and the kids played well together--and quietly.

This family photo was taken at the Festival of Trees 2012.  Used by permission from photographer Chris Ennis of NuVision Productions.

Sydney 17th months

Hugs Play and other stuffed animals.  Loves to dance to Any Man of Mine and Call Me Maybe.  Very chatty.  Loves to take a big step off the little red couch folding back.  And when she stays upright she gives out a big yell.  Shakses her head "no" a lot when she doesn't want a particular food or drink, or to not do something (she doesn't want your hand to go downstairs).  Can go downstairs all by herself.  Must shut the gate at the top and push the clip down, before going down the stairs.

Understands, face, head, hands, car (makes a "vrrrrrrrooommm" sound), cup, water, arms, owie (as she fell at Aiden's baseball game on the path and scraped up her knees).  When she hears "potty" she runs to the bathroom and slaps her hands on the toilet lid.  When she hears "brush your teeth" she runs to the bathroom and gets the stool so she can reach the water with her toothbrush.  When you ask her "where's Bailey?" first thing in the morning, she runs to her bedroom with a big smile on her face, waiting to see her big sister.  Loves to "brush" her teeth.  As soon as she hears the water running in downstairs bathroom, she comes running and brings the stool over to the sink, grabs ANY toothbrush in the drawer, and puts it under the water.

Says: Mama, Da (Dada), uh-ah (uh-oh), duh (duck), ump (jump), ot (hot).  Lots of consonants and making sounds while wiggling her tongue around.  Lots of grunting and pointing.

Camping at Warm Lake

Thursday 9-23-12:
After TJ had his upper endoscopy, we left after lunch with Bailey and Kenzie in tow.  Mom and Julie were going to share babysitting duties with Sydney, as camping with a 15 1/2-month-old would not be fun for either party.  We were loaded up with the kayak and the tent trailer behind the truck.  The girls watched Tangled on the way to the cabin.  TJ and Bob left with the trailer to scout out Horsethief Reservoir and then possibly Warm Lake camping, as it was the last weekend before school started.  Due to the proximity of the reservoir for fishing and swimming, they decided to just go straight to Warm Lake.  They found a decent spot that had been reserved, but cancelled that very day.  They parked the trailer and paid for 4 days and came back to the cabin, as TJ had his Cascade Clinic Friday morning.  While the guys were out, the girls stayed around and played.  We went exploring outside and looked out in the back field.  We saw a wreath with flowers on it, a barbed-wire fence, sap oozing out of a tree, an owl statue to keep the woodpeckers away, and a water pump that was enveloped by a wooden "wishing well."  The girls put the flowered wreath on top of the water pump and made a wish: Kenzie's wish: money for a party.  Bailey's wish: flowers!  We walked across the lane down an overgrown grass road and Kenz sliced open her fingers - it was sharp!  We decided to head indoors and the girls played upstairs with toys they brought while I read a book on Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest.  Bailey and Kenz discovered banana chairs and TJ's holographic pig saucer toy.  We all played Sorry! while listening to a record of the Grease Soundtrack.  We headed back outside to check out the garage and all the toys in there.  The girls sat on a 4-wheeler and were excited about a ride with TJ later that night.  The girls were getting hungry and we tried to stay busy.  TJ and Bob returned home a little after 6 and we had a pork roast with carrots and potatoes from the crockpot.  It was delicious!  After dinner, TJ took the girls on the 4-wheeler to check out the boys' old tree house.  The wood was rotted out, so (thankfully) someone had removed the boards on the tree trunk that made a ladder so nobody could get up there.  They putted over to the creek and threw some rocks in while the sun was setting.  TJ came back to get me and take me to the creek.  We took some cool pictures as the sun was setting.  We then headed back to make a fire for S'mores and the girls crashed by 9:30pm.



Friday 9-24-12:
Kenzie woke up at 7:30am missing her mama.  She got in bed with me and cuddled while TJ got up to get ready for Clinic.  The girls cuddled in Grandpa's heated recliner while breakfast was made.  Turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, tomatoes and toast.  It was excellent!  TJ left for Clinic and I packed up our bags.  The girls had a shower and played with the pig magnifier, couch pillows, and the banana chairs.  TJ returned and we ate lunch and headed to Shoreline Campground at Warm Lake.  About a 45-minute drive.  TJ dropped the 3 of us off at the trailer and went to check with the Camp Post to see if we still had our spot.  Whew!  We did!  We set up camp and changed into our swim suits to go find Molly's Tubs Hot Springs, on the road to Stolle Meadows.  About a 15 minute drive.  The pull-out on the side of the road was small, maybe enough room for 3 cars.  The trail was pretty steep and rocky with dry dirt.  TJ took each of us girls down one-by-one.  We didn't see any tubs, however.  The water was HOT!  Too hot for the girls.  TJ braved the South Fork of the Salmon River and moved some logs and rocks to divert some colder water into the man-made rock-lined pools.  Kenzie and Bailey loved picking up the silt and rocks at the bottom and letting it float away through their fingers.  We were there for about an hour.  Just before we left 2 volunteer forest service workers came for a soak.  They had been building the first new trail in over 40 years in the area.  They informed us that the tubs were gone from this location as the forest service kept taking them out after people brought them in.  When we left, we drove further up the road and saw probably 5-6 more hot springs coming out of the huge granite rocks.  We turned around and headed back to camp as the girls were hungry!  They explored a bit while TJ got the campfire going to roast some hot dogs.  We saw a lot of chipmunks running around...although Bailey says, "chickmunk."  The girls loved, loved loved playing in the camper.  They wanted to be in there all the time.  After dinner the girls had a warm rinse-off shower in a bucket.  We made S'Mores again.  Kenzie didn't want a true S'More.  She wanted to eat all the ingredients cold.  Roasting that marshmallow was just too messy for Fancy Nancy to eat!  I stayed at camp and attended the fire while TJ took the girls on a walk through the campground and to the lake.  Before they left, Bailey said, "We're not going over in those mountains because there's 'anmals' out there!  Wolfs and bears and tigers and wolfs..."  Bailey found a "wood lollipop."  They came back and we all watched the stars come out (first was Vega) before retiring to the camper.  Kenzie was so tired though.  She asked if we could go to bed earlier on Saturday night.


Saturday 9-25-12:
Bailey awoke at about 2:45 AM with a bloody nose.  Of course.  Luckily we had a roll of toilet paper in the camper because we had the portable toilet inside.  TJ helped her get it stopped.  When we woke up at about 8 it was so cold we could see our breaths from breathing!  And there was frost outside.  TJ got the food from the truck (stored there due to the bear sighting on Thursday) and started boiling some water on the portable Coleman stove for some oatmeal.

(We didn't have heat in the camper because there was something wrong with the line or regulator.  This was discovered earlier in the week but we couldn't get it fixed in time.  It turned out to be the pressure was set/fell to low so when the gas was on, there wasn't enough pressure to get it to the indoor stove/heater.)  We ate oatmeal or cereal and toast from a frying pan.  It was our fishing day, but it was too cold to get on the lake just yet.  We bundled up for a walk to the North Shore lodge and dock.  We hiked on a trail and played on a huge rock that had a 2 foot crack in it.  Kenzie wanted to go back, so I went with her while Bailey wanted to go a little further.  Not much further!  She and TJ turned around about 5 minutes later.  We all headed back to camp to meet Bob, as he was the fisher-supply man.  When we got back to camp, TJ noticed there was bear poop and pee about 15 yards from our fire pit!  It was not there the previous day!  The girls were a little freaked out.  But then Bob arrived and it was time to prepare to fish.  The girls were interested at first, in getting the poles ready, but then got bored.  They pretended to be witches on a broomstick and "flew" all around camp.  We ate lunch and packed up our fishing/swimming/kayaking gear and headed to the Billy Rice beach.  A great little beach and swimming area - only about a 5 minute drive, but with all our gear we needed the cars there.  We drove up and got the last 2 parking spots.  TJ asked the girls if they wanted to swim or kayak or fish and they wanted to FISH!!!  Grandpa and TJ found a fishing rock next to the swimming area but weren't getting any bites.  The girls were playing right on the shore and probably scaring the fish away!  TJ noticed about 100 yards further down the shore some fisherman were catching fish every few minutes.  They decided to move closer to that fishing hole.  I was paddling around in the kayak and looked on from the lake.  I made a supply run of drinks/snacks and sunscreen, as they were on that rock for most of the afternoon.  Bailey was so excited for Kenzie to hold a fish.  She kept saying all weekend, "Kenzie you're gonna hold that fish!"  To which Kenzie would reply, "Nooooo!"  Bailey was the Bait girl (Power Bait) and Kenz was the Pole Holder girl while TJ got the line ready to cast again.  It was a successful day!  Each girl caught 3 fish and reeled them in.  The first one was a double - both Bob and TJ's pole got bites at the same time!  Then another one separately, then another double.  Kenzie did hold on to that fish she caught and Bailey kept saying over and over, "Kenz, I'm so proud of you for holding your fish.  It's your fist time holding a fish with a head!"  (Last weekend in McCall they fished off Boyd's dock and she held the beheaded fish.)


Finally we were all ready to swim - except Bailey.  She sat on the beach and watched TJ and Kenzie swim to the rope.    Then I got in (Bob was with B) and was slow about getting all the way wet.  TJ swept my feet out from under me and down and under I went!  That made Bailey want to get in!  TJ carried her out into the water and stopped when it was to Bailey's waist, just letting her get accustomed to the water.  What do you know....Bailey tooted on TJ's arm!  Which she said slyly with a smile....TJ's reply: "I just peed on your leg!"  We were all laughing about that one for a while!  Finally Bailey rode on TJ's back and we all made it back out to the rope.  She let go of TJ and was cold and shivering and paddling like a doggy but she was smiling the whole time and giggling.  We all swam back to shore and got dried off.  TJ gutted the 2 fish that we kept and I started loading the car.  We went back to camp and Bob joined us for a hobo dinner (ground turkey, potatoes, baby carrots, and onions) and fish and hot dogs.  While dinner was cooking the girls played in "sandbox" that was the tent pad.  Bailey was showing some crack from behind, which we mentioned to her, and what does she do?  Yep!  She mooned us all!  Needless to say the girls were dirty.  This time we put up our utility room/shower and the water was very very warm--borderline hot--as it was warming up in the black solar bag all day.  The girls went first, then TJ and I each had a shower.  It felt great!  It truly was a hot shower!  We got dressed in our jeans and sweatshirts and made S'Mores again.  After some reassuring that she would be okay in the camper alone, Kenzie was ready for bed and asleep at 9:40pm.  Bailey wanted to stay up and see ALL the stars come out.  Ten o'clock hit and she was done.  She crashed without a fight.

Sunday 9-26-12:
It was much much warmer upon awakening today.  No breaths visible in the air.  The girls slept side-by-side (instead of head-to-feet) and were warmer with hoodies on and a blanket over their sleeping bags.  They were much more comfortable during breakfast.  Nobody was shivering!  After oatmeal/cereal/toast breakfast it was time to pack up camp.  The girls stayed out of the way while TJ and I put things away.  Between packing up the bags and such inside the camper and taking everything down around it, it was a good 2 hours.  We drove to the cabin to pick up some item we left there, ate some lunch, then headed down Highway 55 back to Boise.  TJ jerry-rigged the iPad holder in the middle so that both girls could watch a movie with the headphone splitter.  That will probably be the last time we use that camper, at least until our girls are older.  Three times up and down for each trip. First to get ready, second to camp, third to clean.  It certainly takes a lot of time and work. However, we all had a wonderful time and made many great memories.

Sydney @ 15 months

 

Sydney is now 15 months old.  Wow.  Time flies. Syd sleeps from about 7:45pm to 7:30am. She naps from 1pm to 3 or 4pm.  We are so thankful that she goes to sleep so easily. We lay her down (or stand her up in her crib) and she finds a binky, the satin edge to her DeeDee, and cuddles up and goes to sleep.  She says Mama, Da (Daddy), and uh-oh (after dropping a crayon). Though she says few words, she can communicate with us pretty well. She loves to raid our water bottle cupboard (baby-proof latches to be installed this weekend, as this Mama is tired of cleaning up her messes) and walks to the fridge when she is thirsty for water.  Her favorite books at night are Little Gorilla, Goodnight Gorilla, Baby Colors and Is Your Mama a Llama?

Kid Poses

We had the good camera at our house so I tried to get some good pictures of the girls in their "twiner" outfits.  Very tough to get them both together.  Bailey was posing in front of the fan...hence the windblown hair.

 Sydney hamming it up.

Sydney doing her grunt with parted pursed lips...she was reaching for her water cup on the window ledge.

Bailey found a warm spot in the living room today.  I came out from the kitchen and saw her perfectly situated  on the carpet where the sun was shining through the window.  She was cozy!  Her Mama used to do the same thing when she was a little girl.

Here is Sydney pretending to be on the phone.  Looks like she is talking to some lions on a Fisher Price App!  Hello?

Bailey Quotes

I took a weekend to visit my friend Michelle in Coeur d'Alene.  The night of my return, after Syd walked right past me and went straight to my mom, Bailey said, "I want to cuddle with you....ya...cuz I haven't cuddled with you around cuz you were with Michelle...ya"

In the car Sydney was getting a little antsy.  I asked Bailey to reach her a toy.  She tossed Freddie the Firefly (a favorite toy months ago for Syd) over to her and she said, "Here Syd, it's not a real bug!"

Bailey and I went in to Syd's room as she was waking up.  Bailey was so excited to see her, jumping up and down and saying Hi and Good Morning.  She said, "My favorite part of her body is her chubby chubby neck!!  What's your favorite part, Mom?"

Sydney @ 13-14 months

Syd is definitely a walker.  She prefers to walk than to crawl.  She walks around the couch.  Around the island in the kitchen.  Around the kitchen table.  She'll walk to the toy room and play.  Then come back out and check on me.  She understands lots of words.  Splash - Hide (she'll raise her DeeDee up over her head) - Cracker - No - Book - Point - Raspberry (as in blowing bubbles on someones skin) - Kitty - Yes - Head - Teeth - Tongue.

She has a real preference for the books that she wants to read at bedtime.  If you grab a book she doesn't want, she'll lean forward on your lap and look toward the book shelf on the changing table and point to one that she wants.  She wants to turn the pages herself.  Her favorites now are Little Gorilla, Goodnight Gorilla, The Big Red Barn, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?,  Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Where is Baby's Pumpkin?

Sydney loves to eat.  She eats Bailey under the table.  She'll eat anything that we put in front of her.  Avocados, cherry tomatoes, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, hummus on bread, pancakes, crackers, cheese sticks, Carving Board turkey and ham, pizza, craisins, salmon, bananas, cherries, cake, ice cream...

Sydney @ 14 months

Sydney has given up her morning nap, with a little help from me, for the last 3 weeks.  It makes for a (usually) better afternoon nap and easier to get errands done in the morning.  If we are home in the morning she does get a bit stir crazy by 10ish, so we usually go out for a walk.  That calms her down.  She loves to play dress up with skirts or anything else that she can put on.  Swim goggles, Bailey's shirts...anything.  She is eating very well--pretty much anything we put in front of her she'll eat.  Right now she loves blueberries...which turn her BM's VERY VERY black!  It scared me at first, but we figured out it was the blueberries!

Bailey and the Banana

So. The Kemps were entertaining with a nice dinner party last night so the Kemp girls came to Nana and Papa's house. Syd sweetly went to bed before 8.  Bailey and I took our time after bath reading books and  making sure she went potty one more time. One of the books about gorillas was about banana peels and where they could be found.  After B finally crashed I put a banana on the bed knowing she would find that entertaining.  At 4 a.m. Bailey tried to wake up Papa, but tapping on his shoulder did not awaken him.  I, however, was awakened to a tapping on my face. Bailey was munching on the banana and said "Nana, I wet the bed"!!  After jammy changes and the rest of the banana was consumed, she hopped in bed with us to finish the night. Not sure how she found that banana in the dark!!! She's a pip.


Nana

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.