Wild Things

Issaquah Salmon Days parade was a fun event we attended on October 1st. The Little Gym Laine attends invited all the students to walk in the parade and dress up or decorate their wagons and strollers. We jumped at the chance for a new experience, and Laine ended up having a good time. There was a long, long, long, wait as we stood way at the back of the parade line...it must have been at least an hour after the parade started that we began walking. If I remember right, the parade route was 2 miles. We did walk most of it, a big portion carrying Laine. (She sat in her stroller FOREVER as we waited to start.) We bailed near the Taco Time on Gilman Blvd, but as I discovered later we only had a block or two until we would have come to the end!

Laine in her Monster Stroller.

One photo I wish I'd gotten was Laine and this little boy wearing a costume from Where the Wild Things Are. The boy never took off his furry, somewhat scary mask--and Laine was in love with it! As we walked the parade, she kept asking "Where Laine monster friend?" She talked about him for days afterwards!

Kitty-cat whiskers were a big hit.

Biggest lineup of DeLoreans I'd ever seen. One even had a flux capacitor!

(Back to the Future for those of you not in the know.)

There's Always Room For...

JELLO!

We made Jello Jigglers...Laine liked the dog bone cookie cutter we used the best.

Building Bigger and Better

Laine has once again taken a renewed interest in her blocks. It's amazing to see how her mind changes over time--she used to simply stack one on top of another and go up, up, up. One day, I noticed she was building a second tower on the same base--a change that is now consistent. Daddy certainly enjoys building with Laine, too!

While making an adjustment, tower #2 toppled!

It's All About the SCONES!

We were excited to visit the Puyallup Fair this year where we introduced Laine to the famous Fisher Fair Scones...

hitched a ride with a Saint Bernard...

and saw giant vegetables!

Zoo Day

Jayson had some time off so we hit up the zoo one weekday morning. Laine had a great time (she could have ridden the carosel all day,) but was ready to go after a few hours. She was most excited about seeing the emu! (She likes the Wiggles song about them.) Daddy bought Laine a souveiner on the way out--a small stuffed ostrich! (He thought it was an emu!) Afterwards, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Buechler's instead of home, however, as we had a surprise showing that afternoon.

Getting tired...lucky we had the night-night in the bag with us!

This is why I love her so much...

Laine is so caring for everyone, including her dolls. She served up this cake for Dolly, and made sure she had a fork. (I had no part in this!)

Olivia Turns 2!

Laine had a great time bouncing at Olivia Woodruff's second birthday party. It was another beautiful summer day (not as hot as last year!)

Auntie's Pool!

I am so embarrassed to say that this was Laine's first experience swimming. Almost two, and never been in a pool! We kept planning to sign her up for swim lessons, but Jayson wanted to be able to participate too, so that meant Saturdays--and the sessions were so many weeks that we hesitated to go ahead--we didn't want every single Saturday to be eaten up by one thing.

Well, we were a little nervous about how Laine might react to a big pool, but she LOVED it! She was in the float for literally three minutes before she wanted out and to be free. By the end of the hour and a half, she was putting her face in the water!

Relaxing for a brief moment before demanding to get back in!

Double Birthday

Daddy and Grandpa Good have birthdays two days apart. We had a nice celebration at the Buechler's...and Laine had a blast. This kid LIVES for birthday parties! She was on hand to help blow out the candles, too.

August?

We spent a good portion of August wearing sweatshirts! Lots of time outside, but not a lot of sleeveless days.

Discovered Mommy's jewelry! Laine is so good, however--she looks to me before she opens the cabinet where I keep it all, and asks "Yes?" before she starts pulling it out. If I say no, she moves on to something else. She's pretending here that my pendant is lipstick.

Leslie Got Married

Leslie and Charles had a lovely wedding the first weekend in August. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony and super fun reception. I think she's found a great partner in life, and I'm so happy for her!

Warm(ish) Days

Our hot summer days were few and far between this year. We brought out our pool just twice! Even then, it was pushing it. I had to warm the water and still the little lady didn't want to sit down in it. She had fun watering the plants with the pool water, however!

Amma Good and Papa Good

Another weekend spent in Gig Harbor--we are taking advantage of our short months with Grandma and Grandpa Good. Laine now deciphers between her Grandparent's names. Amma Good, Papa Good, Amma Beekle, Papa Beekle, and of course her own name: Yaine Beekle.

This photo makes me feel as if I know what Laine will look like as a teenager.

Lots of book reading...

Morning tea on the deck with Grandma.

Auntie Turns 30!

Auntie's birthday kicked off the long string of summer birthdays. Once again, Laine dictated how things will go...due to her love of a silly book called "My Birthday." It's a phonics book (about "ir" words such as "birthday," "circus," and "bird,") and Laine loves it. Loves it--as in, we couldn't leave the house without it for a week or so this past summer. She's learned that birthdays involve hats, balloons, candles, and "happy cake," as she calls it.
We made sure there were hats and balloons on hand, and Auntie even got Laine a gift! It was a play cake, with plates, forks, candles, and a silver cake server. Laine spent the afternoon passing out cake to all of us--very carefully scooping up slices and walking very slowly across the room, so as not to lose her dessert. We hope Auntie had a great day--we sure did!

Around the House

While Daddy played golf with Grandpa one weekend, Laine and I read lots of books.
Then Laine and Daddy washed the car...

Our little helper.

Holding the hose is an important job.

Then Laine watered the plants. And herself. Her skirt weighed about five pounds by the time she was done.

Gardening

We didn't have much of a vegetable garden this year. Back in April when I planted things, I pictured us moving in August and I didn't want to leave amazing produce behind for someone else. We planted some flowers and some onions, and two pumpkin plants. Oddly, the pumpkins didn't take off, so most of one of the beds was just dirt. Laine sure doesn't mind! Plants would get in the way of her dirt scooping and transfer from one bed to another.
At least we have our perennial chive plant, which Laine has thoroughly enjoyed. We visit the garden at least daily, sometimes multiple times a morning, for her to pick a "chibe" and nibble on it like a bunny.