Glimpses from the Beginning....

... of last week.

Kaitlyn and I had a pretty low key week. We had a wonderful playdate at Josie's on Monday. The girls played so well together; we even stayed for a yummy lunch.

On Tuesday, K and I stayed home and played and played. She stayed in her pjs all day long until we ventured in the pool after her nap. We had a picnic lunch in the backyard. Kaitlyn was concerned that the wind would blow over her lunch so we rigged up a little shelter to stay out of the wind.

Kaitlyn is grabbing snacks for she and her dolls and carrying one in her mouth like she has seen her Grandpa do.

Kaitlyn with her favorite things.... paci's and her blankie

Church Festival

Sunday was the annual summer festival at my parents church. All of the games were catered towards kids under 8 so Kaitlyn had a great time! The weather was very comfortable for being outside so that was a blessing. Besides the games and all the candy and prizes she won, Kaitlyn got to see a magic show and a clown. She is still talking about the "red bird that came out of the cup" and the clown with "the big, red nose and big, red shoes". Her favorite thing to do, however, was the cake walk. At one point I think there were five of us playing trying to win Kaitlyn the little, pink cupcakes that she eyed at the beginning. Good thing she is easy to distract because after $5 of tokens, we were all still cupcake-less.

Picking the lucky duck from the duck pond ....

Playing the four wheeler game with Daddy....

After winning a game, Kaitlyn munched on each candy prize before playing another one....

Watching the clown make her a balloon fish - Nemo!

Squirming at the magic show....

Bouncing ...

The cake walk...

All of us trying to win a cake ... Mary in the blue shirt, My mom in the print top ahead of us, Mommy and KK and Grandpa in the strip shirt a couple people behind us.

Pretending to Camp...

I think Kaitlyn is ready to go camping again. We camped for a week in June and the motorhome has been in our driveway since. Many times it has been a source of entertainment for us, including this past Sunday when Kaitlyn wanted all of us, including all her dolls, to go to sleep in the motorhome. Kaitlyn loves to play in the "fort" (the bed above the driver and passenger seats). And then Tuesday night Kaitlyn requested that we have dinner in the motorhome, so of course, we did. Lucky for her, our next camping trip is just a few weeks away!

Pool Fun

A few weeks ago we got a great deal on one of those popular Intex pools. It is just the perfect depth for Kaitlyn and is big enough for Mom and Dad to float so it was a great buy. The water finally got warm enough for us to swim on Saturday. It was so much fun; I've dreamed of having a pool in our backyard. The cool nights from this week have dropped the water temp quite a bit but K and I braved the 72 degree water yesterday afternoon and went for another dip. Refreshing!

More Kaitlyn-isms

- Mommy, are you checking the internet? - Look, there's a co-vert-ible (convertible)! - I'll be there in just a couple "whiles" .... (I think that means "a few minutes") - My Grandpa always sings me "Old MacDonald" - Is my Daddy home? (... what she always says to me when I wish her good morning each day) - I'll be right her if you need me... ok, Dirds? (Kaitlyn talking to her baby while playing pretend.) - The cars are going big "longs" away. (Kaitlyn playing cars, telling me they are going a long ways away.) - Mom, those wheels match your car. (Kaitlyn recognizing that the car parked next to ours had the same exact rims as our car. And she was right. Amazing! And so many more.... and oh so cute....

Our Growing Girl

Here are some of Kaitlyn's 2 and 1/4 year pictures! I can't believe how she's grown in just three short months! The summer sunshine has given her hair a beautiful blonde glow! Keep shining for Jesus, sweetheart! We love you!

She loves to play the "Here is the church, here is the steeple game. It wasn't till we picked up our pictures that I noticed her fingers in this picture."

End of the Week Stuff

Thursday was a home day; K and I played and played, indoors and out. We tried swimming in our new "big" pool but it was too cold. So then we tried the lake across the street but K wasn't in to it much. So we played indoors. Kaitlyn's hiding spot. She loves to play hide and seek but she hides right out in the open! Thursday night we went with my mom to visit my Great Grandma F. Kaitlyn loves visiting her at her assisted living condo because there are lots of fun "toys" to play with in the hallways including a dog that has a wobbly head and a baby in a cradle.

Great Grandma enjoys watching Kaitlyn play too so it was a fun visit for all of us. The only bad part was that I brought along the portable dvd so that K could watch it on the way home but the battery was dead so it was a "long" 25 minute ride home.

Friday morning signalled the start of Allendale Boulevard Days. K and I had planned on hitting he garage sales mid-morning. We got a surprise phone call from Grandma saying that she wanted to go with us. So the three of us ventured out in the ominous weather to garage sale. We hit the jackpot at the first one and just as I was trying to put stuff in the truck, it started to downpour. I got "soaky poked" as Kaitlyn said because it took me a couple tries to fit stuff in the car. We had to go home and switch clothes, cars and strollers before we headed back for more shopping and then lunch.

Daddy was home when K woke up from her nap and we were both glad to see him!

Midweek Happenings

On Tuesday we had some friends over for a playdate. It was supposed to be a pajama party playdate but they forgot to wear their jammies. Oh well! K had fun playing in her jammies! In the evening Kaitlyn and I went to the elementary school to play on all of their playgrounds. We brought her baby and had a great time. It was a nice cool evening. After playing we went and got a slushie and then went home for our first girls night.

On Wednesday, after doing some morning crafts, K and I went to the beach with "Aunt" Mary (she'll be K's aunt in a few months). We splurged and stop for beach treats on the way to Millenium Park. We got popcorn and spice drops and m&ms - yummy! It was a pleasant morning for the beach - a bit on the chilly side. We visited the splash park first and then played in the water and snacked and snacked. Kaitlyn had fun playing "Alligator" with Mary in the water. Mary would be the Alligator and Kaitlyn would "swim" to me so I could rescue her. We stopped for some fresh blueberries on the way home from the beach to top off our great morning.

Wednesday night my friend Maria joined us for dinner. Kaitlyn did great at the restaurant, although I had to take her to the bathroom three times and she only really had to go once - that is her new game to play when she is bored! Maria came and played with us until K's bedtime. It was great to catch up with her!

Playing road with Mommy and Ms. Maria.

Kaitlyn's Jelly Tower.

A not so usual week.....

I'm a bit behind on posting this week and I am blaming it on our "not so usual" week. Jeff was out of town for work from Tuesday through last night so it was a girls week. I tended to forget the camera or have my hands too full to snap a lot of pictures. Monday we went to the conference grounds and had a great day visiting the snack shop, playing on the playground and lounging in the kiddie pool. Kaitlyn shared her toys so nicely with a few little boys; I was so proud of her. She has really taken a liking to floating in a ring in the pool so that is what she did most of the time. Of course I forgot my camera!

Kaitlyn making a seahorse craft on Monday morning.

Kaitlyn's cute little habit of bending her leg back and playing with her toes.

Interview with Kaitlyn: Picnic

Mommy: Kaitlyn if you could go on a picnic anywhere, where would you go?

Kaitlyn: To the bouncy place (aka Crazy Bounce - I think ...)

Mommy: Who would come on the picnic?

Kaitlyn: Mommy, KK and Daddy. Only three.

Mommy: What would we eat?

Kaitlyn: PIZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Mommy: What would we do after we ate?

Kaitlyn: Play music class with our dollies.....

.... priceless!

Kaitlyn is 2 and 1/4

Its hard to believe that our sweet princess is already one quarter of the way past her second birthday. Where has the time gone? She is certainly growing like a weed; we are calling her our string bean as she is tall and very narrow and thin. She talks up a storm, carries on conversations with her dolls and even makes up answers for them to her questions.

She is very independent and is enjoying some new found skills such as opening the fridge and freezer, turning lights on and off, using the remote control and opening doors by herself. She is very well behaved so none of these new skills are causing Jeff and I any grief - actually just helping us out with another spare pair of hands when we need her.

We love you sweet Kaitlyn and we praise the Lord for you everday! Your innocence, compassion and gentleness melt our hearts.

Super Saturday

Saturday was the third gorgeous Saturday in a row! Thank you Jesus! (as Kaitlyn says!) What beautiful weather we have been blessesed with this summer! Saturday morning we went to a "Fun Day" event at a new church in our area. They had some craft tables and games and a free hotdog lunch. We had a great time. Then, after K's nap, we went to an Old Fashioned "CountryFest" at another local church. This time, there were more crafts, more games, and an old fashioned thrashing machine. On top of that, we got a free dinner which consisted of hamburgers, grilled corn on the cob, watermelon, chips and homemade ice cream! We saw lots of Kaitlyn's friends from Kindermusik there, as our Kmusik class is held at the church that sponsored this event. All in all it was a great day filled with smiling faces, fellowship and lots of friends in Christ. And to top it all off - all of it was free! :)