Growing up fast

I really did write this letter before left on our trip, but have had so many other things to share this past week. Lesley is growing up so, so fast! It's hard to believe that in 8 weeks she could be a big sister and more changes will occur for our family. We moved her into her new room today. She helped by moving books and inspecting Daddy's work on the crib. She picked out her pajamas from the new dresser and located the diaper champ with her old diaper. I think she is getting acquainted with the room and we are hoping for a sound night. We need to hang some things on the walls, but then we can start focusing on Baby C's room.

I'll post some pictures of her new room at some point, until then enjoy more snapshots from Colorado.





July 16, 2010

Dear Lesley,

Yes, I know, I’m a little late with your 16 month update. But at least I remembered to put something down before you reach another month of milestones.

Some of your favorite foods these past few months have been apples, strawberries, yogurt, cheerios, and pizza. Just the other night you refused to eat pieces of pizza we had cut up for you and instead reached over to Daddy’s plate and grabbed an entire slice to take a gigantic bite. Mommy and Daddy were cracking up. Oh, and warm milk in the mornings. It must be warm or you won’t drink it and throw a bit of a fit. Grandma Nancy introduced you to cherries and you are a big fan of those as well.

Plus, let’s not forget how much you LOVE your blankie. Another reason I sometimes feel like I’m raising Abby Jr. You actually have two blankies, they are basically the same, but one is yellow and one is green. At first you didn’t seem to notice there were two, and one was really meant to be a back up, but now you are well aware that you have two blankets and sometimes you insist that you sleep with two blankets or you carry two blankets around. We try our hardest to make you leave them upstairs, either in your room or Mommy & Daddy’s room, because you like to cuddle with Mommy & Daddy in the morning after you drink your milk. A lot of times this allows us to have an extra hour or more of sleep so we are okay with it. And, who wouldn’t want to cuddle with their sweet baby girl most mornings.

Just the past few weeks, you sometimes show a preference to your Daddy which is both a relief at times and sad too. You have been a Mommy’s girl for quite some time and when you get upset or tired, you typically want Mommy. But, just recently, you show a preference for your Daddy. Mommy knows how much you love him and it’s sweet to now see you “cling” to him at bedtime or when you just want held. And, it’s nice for Mommy to have a break. Let’s not kid ourselves, you are getting bigger all the time, and so is Mommy since Baby C is growing quickly. It’s more and more difficult for Mommy to carry you around and I actually avoid carrying you up or down the stairs if possible.

You still don’t say many words. I guess that’s okay, but I really wish you could communicate a little better. Trying to interpret your grunting and pointing is becoming more and more difficult and you are showing less and less patience for us when we just can’t figure it out. We read books and we have “normal” conversations with you which includes asking you a lot of questions. But, you just haven’t shown a lot of interest in using words. Hmmm….we’ll have to touch base with our parent educator next month to make sure you are still on track with your language development. It’s very clear to us that you understand a lot so I’m hoping it’s just a matter of time before you start spitting out complete sentences. 

We’ve been able to enjoy both your baby pool in the backyard and the neighborhood pool. You really like swimming and we enjoy taking you. Usually, we don’t stay too long but you like to splash and kick your feet. We even ran into the neighbors at the pool last weekend and you thought it was great that Greta was in the big girl pool with you. We need to find you a beach ball since some other kids had one and you really, really wanted to play with it.

Potty Training. I’m just not sure what to do about this. You certainly can’t be ready yet. You are only 16 months old. But, you are showing a lot of “signs” and interest in it. You have started to pull at your diaper when you are poopy, and every once in a while you go through the night without wetting your diaper which I’m told is a sign. The other morning when I walked into the room to get you dressed, you were standing in the crib and I could see little pieces of poo in your bed. I asked you show me your hands, and sure enough you had been digging in your diaper and trying to get it off. You are now banned from wearing two piece pajamas for the time being. We got you a potty chair and right away you wanted to sit it in before and after baths, now you aren’t quite as interested, but it’s still around in case you want to use it.

Your new room is almost ready. Just need to get the missing piece to the new crib and a new mattress. Plus, hang things up on the wall. Our goal is to get you moved before the end of month, but with vacation coming next week, it might not happen. I really hope you like your new room and adjust to it quickly. I don’t want you to think we are trying to get you out for the baby, because we really aren’t. Mommy just wanted to keep the baby close to her bedroom since you are getting to be such a big, independent girl. And, I thought you would rather have a pink/green bedroom instead of another Sesame Street nursery.

You just keep growing and getting older. I love your shaggy hair and hope Daddy doesn’t take you to get a haircut like he keeps threatening. We think you are also getting taller and recently moved to a size 5 shoe. Part of that was because your size 4 shoes came back from your stay in Iowa a MESS, a sure sign of fun at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. You also are requiring less and less sleep. Maybe it’s just the summer schedule, but lately you don’t go to bed until 9pm and still get up at or before 7am. That just doesn’t seem like enough nighttime sleep for a toddler but you seem to manage. I guess maybe the 2 hour nap during the day is sufficient for your little body…or, again, you are like your Mama and don’t require a ton of sleep.

Lesley, we are so excited to give you a little brother or sister in a couple months and we hope you know that there is more than enough love to go around. How awesome will a family of four be! I’m sure you’ll have your moments adjusting and getting used to some new routines, I know Mama will, but we are confident you will make a great big sister and love Baby C like we already do. Be ready, fun and crazy times ahead!

Love you more today than yesterday and the day before that!
Mama

Lesley's Colorado Favorites - Part III

Nature, specifically ROCKS!

She picked up so many rocks and carried them everywhere. Colorado was like a gold mine for Lesley with all the rocks she could find.



Notice the dirt on her face, this was after she fell down and rolled around in the dirt and we tried to clean her up. She didn't care, and got an extra long bath that night.


Nature can be exhausting!










We didn't see a whole lot of wildlife, but managed to get a few snapshots. The tracks are elk tracks in case you were wondering.





We didn't get a picture of the wild animal that we probably managed to get closest too. I'll explain why. On our way home, driving through Big Horn Sheep Canyon, we were about 3 inches from hitting none other than a big horn sheep who was trying to climb the rock wall. Basically, we came around the corner, Dad saw some rocks in the road and noticed the oncoming traffic had stopped completely so he was slowing down (which is a big task with the rig we were driving and weight we were pulling). We eventually realized the traffic was not slowing because of the rocks in the road, but rather because there was a BIG HORN SHEEP on the side of the road. Ahhhh! My dad couldn't get the truck stopped in time, but luckily the sheep stayed on the side of the road and when we eventually came to a halt, my mom could have rolled the passenger side window down and petted the creature if she wanted. Let's imagine that call to Rhonda, the insurance lady..."Yes, we hit a big horn sheep and no, the mileage on the brand new truck has not yet reached 2,000 miles." Oh, and I almost forgot the mention the line of cars/motorcycles behind us that probably didn't even see the big horn sheep but luckily was able to slow down and not rear end us. Close call!

You are probably sick of our vacation pictures, but I'm not done yet...Lesley still has more favorites to share!

Lesley's Colorado Favorites - Part II

Riding the four wheelers.

Every morning she would walk to the back door and look out to make sure the four wheelers were still there. And, every night she required a ride before bed. She was caught falling asleep on a four wheeler or two while riding with daddy. Possibly one of his tactics to get her to sleep since bed time was a struggle most nights.

She did a lot of asking for rides and going up and down the lane with Grandpa and Daddy. We would wrap a blanket around her belly and tie it around the back of the driver.







This was not a Lesley ride. Grandpa was having fun! Notice the tow hook on the front of the four wheeler and the angles of the Kawasaki. Dad didn't get too far up this trail before abandoning. He claims he is going to add a wench to the jeep and take it up the trail next year. Hmmm...we'll see about that.





This was her ride when the four wheelers weren't an option.


A quick snapshot before my parents left our house on their way back to Iowa. Lesley had a small meltdown as they drove down the street. Not sure if she was upset that Grandma and Grandpa were leaving or her beloved four wheelers didn't get to stay in KC with us. She's never going to want to ride her little Kawasaki again.

Lesley's Colorado Favorites - Part I

Visiting Parks. A lot of them. Some of them multiple times.

Hey, toddlers aren't quite as impressed with the scenery or relaxation part of vacation so we had to entertain somehow. And, the many, many trips to the parks worked well.

Salida City Park

I think her expression says she is enjoying herself.


Of course she had to go down the BIG slides. No baby slides this day.


She also insisted that Mommy swing with her.


Then there was the horse rides...


...which Mommy also had to ride. This toddler is very persuasive.


Buena Vista City Park

Lesley loved it when we would reach in and tickle her while she crawled through this tunnel.


Peek-a-boo!



We all needed a rest after the adventures at this park.

Salida's Riverside Park

Yes, another horsey ride. Jason and I took her back to this park a couple days after this photo was taken. She rode the horse then we said, "let's go walk by the river." She got off the horse, stood about 2 inches from his face, and said "dye" ("Bye") whiling waving frantically before turning and walking away. It was hilarious.




This is fun! I can outrun Grandma AND Mommy.

Stay tuned for Parts II and III...more photos to come!

Chugga, chugga, choo, choo

Our first big stop on vacation was the Royal Gorge Railroad. We went on the Durango/Silverton train probably 15 years ago, and the Cumbres/Toltec scenic train about 10 years ago. So it was fun to go on a new route with Lesley.

Preparing for the ride required a 2.5 hour nap in the car from Burlington, Colorado almost all the way to Canon City. Yeah for everyone else to have a sleeping toddler in the truck!

When she woke up, we were driving between Colorado Springs and Canon City. She immediately was pointing and saying "Oh!" I think she noticed the mountains right away and realized something was different from flat old Kansas.

While we waited to board the train, Lesley played with the train table at the depot. She was a big fan of pushing the train cars around. And, I think Daddy had just as much fun as Lesley. :)

Maybe if Baby C is a boy, we can get a train table someday.


Almost ready to board the train...


Grandpa had to point out the different cars. Not to mention complain that I didn't purchase the "Vista Dome" seats for $20 more per ticket. Seriously would not have been worth it. I promise Dad, you could see just as much from our car and the open car.



This is fun!


Grandpa, I want to go on those rafts and through the whitewater rapids next. Please!


Daddy bought Mommy and Lesley Shirley Temples from the Bar Car. They were tasty, although the Blue Moon looked pretty darn yummy as well.


You can see the bridge over the gorge in the photo. I remember visiting the gorge when we were younger and walked across the bridge. We also took the ride down the tram from the top to the river. Now I can say I've done both those things PLUS ride the train through the gorge.

By the way, the guy with his back towards the camera was an OB from Lincoln that had attended Creighton. We made friends with him quickly. You know, just in case. :)


What a fun trip! I already have a train ride picked out for next summer.