Thursday, August 20, 2009

Latest Adventures with Kaylee

Kaylee is so funny sometimes. I got a movie of her escape from prison...



She got a new chair for her birthday (an early gift from us)...


And she tried her first Freezie Pop this week at Nana's house. It has been so hot here... Yay!


Until next time!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Yo Gabba Gabba!


I don't often advertise stuff, but when I find something I really love, that I think others might also love, I want to pass it on.

Well, I should clarify: I don't really *love* this per se, but Kaylee sure does.


Yo Gabba Gabba is a young children's show on PBS Sprout on our cable, and Kaylee is MESMERIZED the entire time it's on. So much so that as soon as D.J. Lance walks onto the screen, she smiles and is totally sucked into the TV.
I love that it's hugely musical and teaches good values, self esteem, and social skills. I also love that it can instantly cure a tantrum or mischief.


There are some segments that are pretty hilarious... and there are some pretty fun guest stars, too. The show contains visuals reminiscent of 70's and 80's videogames, and there are tunes also reminiscent of the games... and there is a sort of techno undercurrent that helps move the show along. Also, the songs are sort of repetitive, which both helps the concepts be easy to learn, as they just vary the lyrics to similar songs. Kaylee always bops around to the music and watches intently. I am impressed to see a TV show hold the attention of a 9-11 month old. She's been watching it for a couple months.We have 17 episodes on our DVR if you need further convincing...

Go search out clips on You Tube. "There's a Party in my Tummy" is pretty fun...


Here's a couple links for more info:

http://yogabbagabba.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_Gabba_Gabba!

Madame Blueberry

The namesake of this post: Madame Blueberry is a character from Veggie Tales. She's so blue-hoo-hoo, blue-hoo-hoo, blue-hoo-hoo-hooooooooohhhh, she's so blue, she don't know what to do....Anyhow, Kaylee is not blue in the same sense, but when she eats blueberries, she sure gets a lot of blue stuff on her and makes a fine mess for me to clean up.

Blueberries EVERYWHERE.

This is after one small 5 inch blueberry pancake. It's EVERYWHERE. I even had to wash the blueberry stains off the floor, chair, tray, and Kaylee's legs and arms and face. :) Cute, smells, good, but VERY MESSY.
Our own Madame Blueberry.

A close-up of the mess. Good thing I had her wear a purple shirt to eat this.

Until next time...

A Road Trip with Papa and Nana...

On 8/2, Mommy and Kaylee went on a long road trip to just north of Montreal, Quebec, to a village called St. Sauveur-des-Monts. Great Aunt Rela lives in a wonderful cozy cottage on Lac Breton. We experienced some traffic delays due to construction and weather, but finally arrived in the early evening. Ms. Kaylee had a long day, and really doesn't care for being confined for so long, so we had to stop a few times and let her stretch.

Kaylee thrilled to be out of the car FINALLY.
This is a terrible picture, but look at her TEETH!


Kaylee snuggling with Nana on the deck
early in the morning...


And snuggling with Papa later when it was snack time...

Isn't she a cutie?

I mean, really?! Check out that crinkly-nose smile!
And TEETH. She's been practicing biting on my shoulder.


Mom and Rela looking at the flowers as we
make our way down to the lake.

Aunt Rela, Papa, and Kaylee standing on the dock
in front of Aunt Rela's rowboat on Lac Breton.


One of Aunt Rela's "pet" squirrels...

He was just having a snack, not too concerned
that we were only a few feet away...


Kaylee sitting on Nana's lap reading her
favorite book, Peekaboo Baby. There is
a mirror on the last page and she was
"kissing" her reflection.


Late afternoon. Cousin Cliff came up to visit with us
as well. It was so nice to spend time with Aunt
Rela
and cousin Cliff.


Driving home the next day... Papa drove,
Nana sat in front with him, and Mommy
and Kaylee sat in back...

Papa driving...

And Miss Kaylee, still smiling...

It was good to see everyone and nice to get away, but it was good to come back home again and sleep in our own beds and see Daddy. Daddy didn't come on this trip, and we missed him.

A la prochaine...

Another campfire...

On 8/1 we decided to have another campfire and evening outside. It was a nice sunny evening, and we even decided to cook our supper on the fire. We built up a nice roaring fire with both wood and charcoal, and cooked chicken, burgers, and red hot dogs. We had that with beans and chips, and had S'mores for dessert. What a nice evening... Kelly and Molly joined us for the festivities, and we even lit some sparklers to top it all off!

Kaylee playing in the grass.

Miss Molly looking for some goodies...

Miss Molly relaxing after Kaylee "played" with her.

Our happy little family...

Ian holding a sparkler as it burns...

It was really a fun evening and we hope to do it again soon... Kaylee seems to love being outside, and she sleeps really well once we finally go into the house. We love summer!

Just hanging out...

Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime......

Just a few more pics...

Kaylee in one of her cute sundresses
playing with the electronics.


Random shot of Kaylee staring at me.

Kaylee in her cute little purple tye-dyed
surf shirt with one of her favorite books...


Kaylee eating homemade pasta with alfredo sauce
and chicken. We are at Aunt Joanne's in this picture...


Kaylee with Aunt Donna and cousin Brenda.

On the Sandy Shores...

On the weekend of 7/24-7/26, we took a trip to Saco, ME to visit our dear friends and former next-door neighbors, Mike and Carla. It was a long drive to a gorgeous seaside community, and Mike and Carla's new home is beautiful and very close to the interstate and only a few minutes from the beach.

Instead of busily running around shopping and exploring the busy-ness that is a city busy during tourist season, we had a wonderful picnic lunch on the beach.

This was Kaylee's very first time at the ocean (unless you count our camping trip to New River Beach, NB while I was pregnant...). The water was pretty COLD, and Kaylee wasn't too sure if she liked having her toes in it. I know her Mommy didn't...

Mike holding Kaylee just above the water, as the
waves were washing over their toes...


Mommy holding Kaylee close and enjoying the warm breeze...

Daddy's turn to hold Kaylee...

Sitting on the beach on the blanket...

Carla playing with Kaylee...


And a few shots of Kaylee as she contemplates the beach and quietly explores...








Daddy holding Kaylee out in the surf...

Mommy, Daddy, and Kaylee...

Seagull...

Another seagull...

After our picnic lunch and some beach time, as soon as we felt well-baked by the sun, we left the beach and went for a little drive exploring the coastal communities in the Saco area, UNE's campus, downtown Saco, and then we stopped for ice cream. We went back to the house to relax for a bit and get cleaned up, and then went out for seafood for supper, and back to the beach for some evening exploring at low tide.

Daddy and Kaylee...

Mommy and Kaylee...

Daddy, Mommy, and Kaylee...

Self-portrait...

There's a bit of a story here... we took LOTS of shots to get a couple good ones... and thought we were had made sure nobody was walking behind us. There was this cheeky little twit that was walking by, saw we were taking pictures, and made sure to STAY AND POSE for SEVERAL shots. Ugh!!! Ian thinks it's hilarious, and I'm looking for someone with mad Photoshop skillz to see if they can remove her by cloning the background a bit. How rude.

One of the shots we got without the random girl posing in the background.

Overall, it was a wonderful (but fast) weekend. It was so wonderful to see our friends again, and to relax at the beach and watch Kaylee explore... Thank you, Mike and Carla, for such a great time. Can't wait to see you again!!!