Ride 'em Cowgirl!

Just a quick break while P is asleep and in between the chores I am attempting to tackle. Presley is finally discovering some of the toys she received for Christmas and her birthday. Today, the dinosaur rocker from Sandra and Great Grandpa--she was having soooooooo much fun!

All geared up and ready to ride with the 'Arizona' cowgirl hat (a gift from grandma and grandpa's recent RV visit to the Grand Canyon) and her purple, fuzzy bunny (birthday gift from aunt Krista). "What does a dinosaur say???". Yes, she is still in her PJ's.

Growing up.

Yesterday Presley had her 15 month check up (after a long morning of swimming at Seven Peaks). It turns out that she still has a very large head and is very tall. Presley weighs 21 pounds 12 ounces and is 32 inches tall. She also had her last round of shots until she goes to kindergarten--thank goodness, those tears are unbearable! Here are some of the new skills she has learned:

• Open the doors in our house, which means she can get into any room
• Says 'me' in the right context (when pointing to pictures or "me up")
• Repeats almost any word we say, for example "Yamaha", but only once and probably never again
• Walks about 97% of the time
• Had her toes painted for the first time (ok not a skill but pretty cute and pink of course)
• Loves to spend most of her time at the pool under water
• Getting good at saying people's names (no ma ma or mommy yet)

This morning we all took a 4 mile hike in the mountains above the our home. It was beautiful and some-what cool. I think Roxy had the most fun sniffing out the deer and chasing squirrels! Presley enjoyed the bumpy, off-road ride in the stroller while Chris and I pointed out trees and butterflies. We are lucky to live in such a spectacular place.

Itch.

I am not sure if anybody else gets this itch. The itch to change things up, decorate, or simply add beautiful things to your home. I get it more often than not, and today I scratched that itch a bit (but I am sure it will be back, soon).

I completed a small painting project I had been wanting to do for quite some time--I had the samples and the tools but it took me forever to pick the shade I was going to go with. I went with a color called FLAX (from Restoration Hardware) but instead of a flat finish I had a paint store match the color and put it in a suede finish.

It didn't take too long and thank goodness I finished earlier today before it got unbearably hot. I am sure Chris will be surprised when he gets home on Monday--at least he wasn't here to endure the project. I still need to get those speakers painted though . . . maybe next weekend.

In the leafy tree tops.

I can't tell you what I enjoy more than spending time outdoors, especially in the summer. Here in the mountains there is usually a light breeze to break up the heat and I can't tell you the last time there was a cloud in the sky. Chris left early this morning for Boston so Presley, Roxy, and I are on our own for a few days. This morning we spent time exploring the backyard and soaking in the summer bliss (because before you know it we will be sitting inside bundled by the fire or flying down the mountain on skis).

Even Roxy found something to play with--the neighbor's motion detecting frog. It "ribbits" anytime you get near. Before long it got too hot and we were back inside for lunch and an afternoon nap.

Busy summer days.

Well, today was a fun day for Presley--time with all 4 of her grandparents and her great grandma! While Chris was off to the Home Depot for TV supplies (I am the proud new owner of a 20", LCD television in my kitchen) and out on a bike ride Presley and I visited Grandma and Grandpa (my parents, who conveniently live within walking distance). Presley enjoyed her time at grandma and grandpa's by walking all over the backyard and eating strawberries--with a fork! Chris would be so proud!

Later this afternoon Chris' parents--Grandpa and Mor mor (Swedish for 'mother's mother' which is what Chris called his grandma) dropped by for a visit and brought with them Grandma Jo (Chris' dad's mom, she is 92 and Presley is her only great grandchild). We spent time at the pool showing off all of Presley's daring moves--which include hanging on to the side by herself and then letting go, jumping off the side, blowing bubbles, and swimming underwater. Presley was also excited to open up a present that Mor mor brought her. A lavender top with matching pants and a sparkle butterfly. Thank you!

Tomorrow will be a busy 4th of July with 3 different family functions--hopefully we all make it through! A a bit of good news, the carpet repair guys came today and replaced the pad as well as tacked everything back down. All we have to do now is get the carpets cleaned and get the plumber back from vacation to investigate the problem further.

Auntie Tara!

Well, it has finally happened . . . I am going to be an    A U N T ! Congratulations are in order to Becka and Eric--my little sister and her husband are expecting their first child in early February 2008. This new addition will be Presley's 1st and only cousin (on both sides of the family) and we are all looking forward to the blessed event!

On the bright side.

Despite all the craziness with the overflow I was able to get Presley a new pair of shoes. She has mastered the skill of standing up from a sitting position on the floor! Last Friday at Chris' parents house she did it for the first time--it was a very wide-legged stand but she was up for a couple of seconds. Now Presley will stand on command, if she is in the mood.

With her new ability I decided Presley needed some shoes that had a better sole for walking outdoors. So far she has had several pairs of soft-soled crib shoes and a couple of darling pairs of Robeez but no real shoes to wear outside. With such a narrow and small foot for her age I was lucky to come across a near by outlet that sold Stride Rite shoes--the very shoes I wore as a child!

Here are the shoes we purchased--they are perfect for her in between stage. The rubber toe is great for those times she decides crawling is best (so she won't scuff up the toe) and the flexible sole will still give her the control she needs when walking. And of course they are PINK!

Disaster (round 2).

Thursday morning started out like any other--up at 7:30-ish, feed the baby, eat my own breakfast, and then get ready for the day. With the morning rituals behind us I began planning the errands and projects I would tackle. Today I was going to paint the new in-wall speakers we had installed back in February.

I had all the supplies I needed and the only obstacle was getting the 5 gallon bucket of paint over to the Home Depot to be shaken up. Chris offered--though somewhat reluctantly (he does not like my projects especially when they involve him, which more often than not they do). So I ran downstairs to the mechanical room to bring up the paint.

When I opened the door I could immediately smell the water. You see back in January the same thing happened . . . the drain line from the kitchen/laundry area of the house had overflowed! At least this time it didn't happen after boiling 4 gigantic, live lobsters (something I will never do again) and dumping the leftover water down the kitchen sink

• Last time this happened the plumber had installed a plug that was supposed to be pushed to the top of the drain and plug it up if the water were to ever get near the top--this plug failed to operate correctly.
  
• When the mechanical room drain overflows the water spreads all across the floor, seeping under the walls and into the hall way and spare bedroom.

As you can imagine it was quite a mess! The carpet was ripped up, the soaked pad cut away and discarded, and fans put in to dry everything up. Things like this are NOT supposed to happen in a brand new home--I hope there is a better solution than last time and a permanent one, we cannot have this happen again. Needless to say, the speakers are still not painted.

Play time!

Today was a busy day. Tuesdays are usually our day to relax at Seven Peaks (the local water park) but with one of my friend's children unable to swim for 2 weeks we decided to try something new. We ended up at a place called Kangaroo Zoo. The "zoo" was really a large open warehouse filled with gigantic, inflatable toys. Slides, castles, animals, and obstacle courses--all filled with air and bouncy--were everywhere. No bare feet are allowed (socks are a must) and hand sanitizer helped to keep every one and everything clean.

Presley had so much more fun than I thought she would! She loved the inflatable "ocean" complete with an orange alligator slide, pink sea monster, and a purple dolphin. I took Presley down a couple of the bigger slides and she didn't hate it--maybe it reminded her of all the times she went skiing with Chris and me in the Baby Bjorn this past winter. The Kangaroo Zoo is definitely a place we will need to visit again (I suggest arriving as soon as they open, the closer to lunch-time it got the more crowded it became). You can visit the Zoo here to see more of what there is to do.

Some sort of developmental milestone??? Presley has become obsessed with looking at and pointing to her belly button lately. She will stand in front of a mirror, lift up her shirt and proceed to push her stomach in and out as she points to her belly button. It is quite a site!

About time.

The time has gone too quickly! When I first thought about starting this blog I was so excited to out my thoughts into actual words on a page. Well, as you can see that really hasn't happened. It has been quite a while since my original "test" and finally I am going to get this thing started.

The summer has flown by and I can't believe we are in the last week of June. Chris has traveled a bit this summer but it hasn't seemed as much as I had originally thought--in fact I think he only has two more trips scheduled and then he is home for a long stretch. It is great having dad around so much!

We have had many adventures to report for the summer--to many to list them all--but here is the short list. Many trips to the local pool and near by water park, golfing with dad, many hikes/walks in the jog stroller in the mountains we call "the back yard" with Roxy, and lots of trips around town.

Presley has been walking (although pretty unsteady) for about one month. She still prefers crawling but each day seems to test the waters a bit more on her two feet. Her words keep coming but not fast enough . . . saying "please" and then pointing to everything and anything seems to be her way of letting us know what she wants. She is the joy in my life as she discovers everything in her little world.

Just getting up from a nap--ready for an adventure.

Talking on the phone (one of her favorite things).

Anything to keep her occupied during feeding time.

Sitting with the frog in Park City after a healthy lunch at Wild Oats.

Photo shoot in grandma's back yard--she is a pro!
(my sister takes these wonderful photos visit her site here)