Christmas! Take Two

We spent Christmas Day in Olds with Nanny and Grampy Brend. Our little sleepy head slept in, as per usual. When she woke up, she was amazed to see that Santa had put gifts under the tree. She is also now 18 months old.

Hmm, what to open first??
Ryan bought her a rocking horse, and it was an instant favorite.
She only needed a minimal amount of help opening presents. She knew all about the ripping and tearing stuff.
Cailin got two babies from Nanny. She pretty much hasn't put them down since she got them.
Christmas was very nice. Next year Cailin is going to know all about Santa! I can't wait to tell her Christmas stories, hang her stocking and wait for the sleigh bells.

Christmas! Take One

We celebrated Christmas with my family early this year. It was the only weekend in December that we could all get together, and it was just fine by us! The kids were super excited to open their presents. After the dust had settled, Cailin modelled her new camo overalls and Grace's new Dora doll. For the record, Dora is Evil.Cailin and her cousin Odin are mighty interested in Kelli's Webkinz...
Cailin was pretty attached to GG. They opened Cailin's first Christmas present together.
The rest of the weekend was really nice. Lots of food, visiting and good company. I can't believe it went by so fast!

Christmas Pics

Cailin wasn't feeling well when I decided to take her picture for our Christmas card this year. She did everything she could to avoid the camera, but I managed to get a few shots that I ended up using. She's not looking at the camera, but cute anyways.I apologize for her elf striped stockings. I thought they were cute, but perhaps they were a little much with her pretty dress.
Bailey even posed for me. She should have been wearing some type of Christmas doggie finery, but alas - she ate her reindeer antlers and bow many years ago.
Of course Cailin was more interested in tearing the set apart than posing in it, but it made for some cute pictures.

We put the tree up and Cailin is super excited about it. Every single morning she asks for it to be plugged in. "Tree? Tree?"

Also? I have said the words, "Get away from the tree" approximately 4 billion times. Cailin picks the Christmas balls off the tree like they are apples. And throws them under the couch or at Bailey. The excitement never stops around here for that poor dog.

Update!

This month Cailin has been growing in leaps and bounds. After noticing a lot of her clothes were too short and getting tight, I cleaned out her closet and removed all the 12 month clothes and anything that no longer fits. There were two grocery bags full of too-small clothes. She now has two pairs of shoes that fit, plus her winter boots. I was so sad to see some of those items go into storage. My sweet baby is growing up so fast.

Cailin was introduced to the potty earlier this month. She has a frog potty with a pink insert and it's kind of cute (for a potty that is). It was with great trepidation that I put her on the potty for the first time - and she peed. Nearly every day since then she's managed to use the potty. Last night she ventured into the bathroom by herself and rattled the potty until I came to help her. She then proceeded to use the potty to do all her business. So she is getting it!

And the talking! It continues. She says 'there', and 'that' a lot. She shakes her head no in the proper context now. Yesterday she actually said the word 'no' several times. She brought me a tractor and said, 'truck'. She picks stuff up and puts it away when directed. I told her to throw a sleeper in the laundry basket and she skipped off to do it this morning. She is learning by leaps and bounds every single day. And every day is a new thing.

Also this month, we had our first doctor's visit that wasn't routine. Cailin had been feeling sick and wasn't getting better and it didn't seem to be her teeth so off we went. Her diagnosis was a slight ear/throat infection along with pretty heavy teething (three molars and one eye tooth). So antibiotics it was. Dosing her was interesting. She would run the second I brought the medicine out of the fridge. It was a fight every time, but I'd usually get it into her without a big mess. She had two doses left when she reacted to it with hives, vomit and uh, back end issues. She is feeling much better now.

Cailin is so busy and active. She gets into everything now. She brushes her teeth twice a day. She's given up her bedtime bottle. She loves to go to the mall and shop. She loves music and dances and sings when she hears it.

Quiet Days (Winter Begins)

Things have been quiet around here. It's getting colder and we've been more housebound. I'm not really looking forward to the inevitable cabin fever. I am however, really enjoying Photography and have been putting my digital camera to good use. Since I've been learning about the settings and how to do more with it, I've been taking tons of pictures. Sometimes though? I go days and entire sessions without getting a good shot. I guess that's what happens when your target - I mean subject - moves at approximately the speed of light. And avoids the camera like a plague.

In her defense, that flash is extremely bright.

Giving her baby a kiss.
Bailey avoids the camera like the plague as well. It's pretty rare to get a shot of her. But she's never too far from Cailin. Those two are attached at the hip.

Halloween 2010

Halloween was a blast! Cailin was a strawberry. A few days prior to Halloween, we did a test run in her costume. Thank goodness we did it before the big day because she was not a fan of the bulky suit at all! She downright hated the hat. So on Halloween I did her hair in cute pigtails and didn't bother with the hat at all.

It turned out to be 10 above and a gorgeous day for trick-or-treating. Here she is trick-or-treating with her daddy for the first time ever:
Then we got ready and went over to our friends' house and went trick-or-treating from there. Cailin got a lollipop at the first house and I opened it for her. She loved it! She proceeded to make herself a happy sticky mess as we went around the block.

I managed to take a few photos before retiring the strawberry suit (hopefully it still fits for next year, it was so cute!).
She ditched the hat, but I managed to get a portrait first.
Looks a little mad there doesn't she? She was.
"How long I gotta wear this??"

What a perfect Halloween. I'm really looking forward to it again next year.

Food Fight

Every day I wage war. The second I crack an eyelid, the battle begins.

The battlefield? Anything that is not gated off in the house, but usually and most often, the kitchen.

The players? These two adorable rascals:

The objective? FOOD.

We have a three way battle going at mealtimes every.single.day. I have a real food hound on my hands. Well, make that two food hounds. Cailin is a fantastic eater. She sits in her highchair and eats her meals nicely. Usually. Therein lies the problem. I could lose my mind the way Bailey jumps around the highchair begging for tidbits. Cailin thinks feeding her is hilarious and throws her stuff constantly. Which makes Bailey go into a feeding frenzy and double her efforts to get more. It can get loud. Cailin can get carried away feeding the dog and not eat herself. Then I have to fight her to eat the food and to stop throwing it to Bailey while trying to make Bailey behave her damn self. Usually while I'm trying to quickly eat a bite or two myself. Standing up.

I've tried putting Bailey on the other side of the baby gate at mealtimes. Occasionally it works. Usually the fussing, pacing and yelping that comes out of that dog from beyond the gate is so annoying, it's not even worth the effort. Sometimes when the food frenzy gets so bad, I pick her up and toss her over the gate mid-meal so Cailin can concentrate on eating her own food.

Usually I make Bailey sit on the rug in the living room while we eat. This involves a lot of patience, reminding her to get back to the rug constantly and catching her while she sneaks back into the kitchen. Sometimes it gets out of hand with me yelling at Bailey to go sit down. Cailin doesn't help much, she tries to entice Bailey back by throwing food off the highchair.

I swear the words I say most in the day are, "Don't feed the doggie!"

Mobile snack times are bad too. Cailin asks for num-nums and I'll give her a cracker. Then she runs around the house eating it while Bailey follows along behind begging. It's okay when Bailey follows because Cailin thinks it's hilarious and laughs herself silly; Bailey also cleans up the crumbs left behind. It's not okay when Bailey gets overzealous and steals food right out of Cailin's hands. It's also not okay when Cailin asks for num-nums specifically to feed the dog.

Luckily she doesn't seem to get that upset when Bailey steals her food. And for all her noise and irritation, Bailey is gentle when she takes the food from her hand. Just very, very fast.

When Cailin has something good and she doesn't want to share, she knows how to handle Bailey.

"Back off, get your own cookie!"

I think the worst though, is the fact that Bailey decides when Cailin should wake from her nap. She knows that it's lunchtime immediately following naptime, and gets excited for the chance to stuff her expanding puggle belly with ever more num-nums. When she figures it's time, she paces around outside Cailin's door, toenails clicking frantically away on the floor whilst making a horrible keening whine, trying to purposely wake her up. We've taken to locking Bailey on the other side of the baby gate while Cailin naps. This also means that we must be on the other side of the gate as well, or the whining and fussing and barking would never stop. We spend naptime downstairs everyday. Which is fine because it gives me a chance to catch up on the laundry and Facebook.

Still.

Every day, the battle rages on. I'm getting tired of the food fighting.

Playing Outside

For my next photography assignment, I had to do action shots. I took Cailin outside and let her run around while I clicked away. She loved it out there! I haven't taken her out in the backyard much, it's something I never think about. It was chilly, so we didn't get to stay out there for very long.
She did manage to keep her hat on most of the time.
Cailin can climb the slide ladder and slide down all by herself now. She is able to do so many things now, I feel so privileged to be able to be with her everyday and see what she can do.
This is definitely the best job I ever had.

Crazy Child and The Blanket

One of Cailin's favorite activities as of late is to run across the entire house dragging her blanket (The Blanket). She watches it drag behind her and whips it around towards Bailey when the mood strikes. This is all sorts of fun and crazy for the two of them and Cailin laughs like a lunatic the whole time she's got The Blanket out. Which is pretty much all the time. She's a happy kid.

The Blanket is a nice soft blankie that was easy to wrap her in while she was tiny and got used a lot. When she became aware of comfort blanket-ness, it became The Blanket. She was pretty young to know about a comfort blanket, but she's stuck to the same blanket ever since. Aside from one small injury sustained from catching in the stroller wheel (ahem, GG) The Blanket is without a mark. But oof, it smells like a teenaged boy.

A few days ago, The Blanket was in dire need of a bath. I will let little food stains go for a while but I draw the line at spit up. Once there is barf on The Blanket, it goes directly to the washer, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Unless of course it is at bedtime. Then the barf can stay because holy cats, there is no sleeping without The Blanket.

Anyway, I spied my chance when I found The Blanket discarded in the kitchen. I snuck up on it, grabbed it as inconspicuously as possible and made a beeline for the laundry room. I'm sure the 10 million germs on it screamed a collective "NO!" when I tossed it in the washer. Because Cailin sure did.

Naptime found me pulling The Slightly Damp Blanket out of the dryer and presenting it to an extremely happy baby in her crib.

So. Who wants to attempt the chocolate removal from The Blanket now? Ahem, Papa.

Happy Birthday Nana!

It's Mom's birthday today. We gave her an album of all sorts of pictures (mostly of Cailin) and a big framed pic of her favorite picture of Cailin from the pumpkin patch.

Uncle Duster and Grace are here too, and tonight we're all going to have a nice turkey dinner. That Mom cooked. On her own birthday. Sorry about that! (insert comment about bad daughter here).

I made a chocolate fudge cake with real buttercream icing for dessert. I didn't happen to get any pictures of it before it was devoured though. Grace loves the icing and scooped a bunch off the cake when no one was looking. Reminds me of a similar incident from this summer:

Nana: Gracie, where are you?

Grace: Eating cake Nama! *standing on the bottom rung of a stool wearing only a diaper whilst eating cake off the kitchen counter*

Hope you had a wonderful birthday Nana, we love you so much.

Words

The talking, it continues.

Cailin is starting to say more and more words that make sense to us. She talks about Papa a lot of the time, and calls for him even when he's not around. Of course, a lot of what she says is just babble to us too, but she laughs at her own jokes all the time so at least she gets them.

Today she walked over to me and lifted her arms.

Cailin: UP!

Me: *picks her up* Good girl, you said "up"!

Cailin: *points at pantry* Num-num!

Me: *shocked (she's never asked for anything with words before)* Good girl, you want a cookie?

Cailin: *shakes her head 'no' (which can mean either 'yes' or 'no')* *points emphatically at pantry*

Me: *gives her arrowroot*

Cailin: *pats my back and wanders off with blanket and dog in tow*

Bailey's Home!

This morning we packed up and drove to meet GG and Papa Ray at the halfway point to pick up Bailey from them. They were looking after her while we were in Nova Scotia.

Bailey got to sit in the car while we all had a nice lunch. Cailin played with crayons and kept throwing things on the floor for the waitress to pick up. She was a good sport, even though we all know that game gets old fast!

Once we got home, Bailey was shocked to learn that Cailin was walking. Her confusion was written all over her wrinkly sweet face. Oh, but those two missed each other! They were all over each other for the rest of the day. Bailey quickly learned that Cailin is fast now. She still hangs around Cailin's door when she's sleeping though.

Cereal Anyone?

So the other morning I was making banana bread when I heard a spill from behind me. I turned around and this is what I saw:Cailin had poured out the entire box of maple nut flakes cereal from the cupboard all over the kitchen. Nice baby! Once I started to clean it up she started to shovel the cereal in her mouth as fast as she could. Much like Bailey would do if she was here (she's still at Papa Ray and GG's house).
I drew the line at dumping the bag of sugar on the floor. I stopped that right away!
"Come on mom! What's a little sugar on the floor??"

We're still finding cereal in the kitchen. Also? My broom vac smells like maple when I use it now.

And Home Again

We said our goodbyes to cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Saying goodbye is never easy and this time was no different. Off to the airport and flew home.

Cailin did really well on the plane again. She travels extremely well. Towards the end of our incredibly long day she started to get fussy, but by then it was a short 45 minute flight home. She had a couple naps and a snack and before we all got too frazzled, we were home.

Nana and Papa were there to pick us up and Cailin was ecstatic to see them. Once we were in the truck Papa gave her a chocolate soy Booster Juice. Which she promptly guzzled as much as she was possible. I'm sure she gave herself a nice little ice cream headache, but she didn't show it. However, she did get all revved up on that Booster Juice. Once home, she tore around playing with her toys and showing off. She wasn't walking when she left Alberta, but she was sure walking when she came back!

When Papa went to leave, she demanded he pick her up and started waving bye to the rest of us. It was clear that she was NOT leaving Papa for one second. So she got to go for a ride with him. Ryan brought her home later. She is such a sweet baby. Such a Papa's girl!

Victory!

Cailin got another top tooth!

Farmer Dill's Pumpkin Patch

While in Windsor, Pammy took us to the pumpkin patch for some pictures. I loved it there, it was so pretty to see the harvest and amazing to look at the giant Atlantic Pumpkins. This one is over 500lbs! Cailin enjoyed herself too, and even walked around the yard a little on her own.I love this pic of her. She's borderline cranky and seems fairly sure we will be taking that enormous squash home...
There were rows of pumpkins set up in the barn. Cailin said the hay was prickly on her legs and she wasn't impressed. But oh, the cuteness!
It was pretty hot that day, so we didn't get to stay for long before we needed to get Cailin home out of the heat. Of course while we were there, there was a heat wave! It was in the mid 30s nearly everyday.

Once we had these gorgeous pictures, I made an album for Nan for her hospital room and got her two framed pics of Cailin. Hope they cheer her up!

Happy Birthday Grampy!

The day after we got to Windsor just happened to be Grampy's birthday. We managed to be there for both Pammy and Grampy's birthdays this year!

We had a nice dinner and Cailin amazed us with her cake handling skills. Then, of course, off to the tub.

While in Windsor, Cailin would insist on rolling around and playing on the bed with Grampy and Pammy every night before bed. Wonder if she'll remember that next time we're there?

Back to Windsor

Ryan's Nan is very sick. We flew back to Windsor to visit her in the hospital and stayed for a week. Despite the difficult circumstances, Cailin and I managed to have some fun and go for a few walks. We went over to the barn to see the lettuce eating goat.Cailin loves the horses. She poked this one in the eye but it seemed to forgive her.
While there, Cailin started walking for real. I was cleaning under her highchair when she walked by me. She loves to open and close the patio screen door and wander around on the deck. It was so cool that she started walking and hasn't looked back.

While we were walking around on the lawn, she reached down and picked something up and brought it to her nose. I thought she was picking and sniffing clover. Aw, how cute! I pulled something mushy off her nose. Strange, I thought, that doesn't look like clover. Then she bent down and tried to pick something off the lawn again - and I realized that she had stuffed a mushroom up her nose. Yep, only my kid would do something like that.

On the Edge

So Cailin was sitting on the couch playing with remotes when she decided that this was much more fun:She climbed up the couch and looked over the ledge into the dining room effectively giving mommy a heart attack. She's not scared of anything! Except walking of course.
The protesting was long and loud when I took her down from there.

Walking Continued... and School!

Cailin has officially scared herself off walking without help. She won't walk by herself anymore except for a few short steps between furniture or to me from her walker toy. The walker seemed like a bad idea when I bought it, but it's become Cailin's freedom in house. She walks everywhere with it and can maneuver it around corners, toys and other obstacles. She chases Bailey with it and laughs and shrieks when cruising around. Poor Cailin has a bit of a cold so it was declared a pajama day and we don't plan on going anywhere today, except maybe the movie store.

Exciting news! I got accepted into the Black and White Film Photography course. I've been to two classes so far and I love it. Yesterday found me outside quickly shooting my first roll of film in the park and other places around the city. Next week we get to process film in the dark room and I'm both excited and nervous to get started.

Today I got out the digital camera (instant gratification!) and tried to apply what I've learned in class to photos I took around the house. I decorated these letters to spell Cailin's name for her room.
I love Cailin's room. I worked hard on it in March and can't wait to put out her big girl bedding (Hello Kitty) because it matches perfectly with the paint colors I chose. Cailin loves to play in her room. It's right off the kitchen so I can keep an eye on her.
I took over 50 pictures this morning trying to apply the rules. That's easy enough to do with landscapes because your subject doesn't move, but Cailin is sure wiggly. Wonder if they have any advice on how to keep your 14 month old to stay still?
I hope she starts feeling better really soon. Also? I gave her bangs a trim. They are pretty straight-ish. It grows back right?

Cailin is WALKING!!

Well folks, she finally did it. Cailin is officially walking on her own today. It started with her letting go of furniture and simply taking a few steps this morning to full on walking across entire rooms tonight.

She started walking at Nana and Papa's house, and they were really excited! They were sad to miss her first steps while at Nanny and Grampy Brend's house over the weekend.

Of course, Cailin still wants help walking across the entire length of the house. While walking through the bathroom with me, she let go of my hand and made a dash for the tub but completely missed and hit her head on the edge of the tiles surrounding the tub on the way down. A nasty blue welt immediately began to form and she cried hard. It must have hurt, poor baby! The only way she calmed down was for Papa to take her outside and distract her while barbecuing dinner on the grill. She loves Papa.

After that, I didn't think she'd want to try walking again for a while, but she proved me wrong and started walking on her own in the living room. It's absolutely amazing when your sweet baby hits that milestone. Wow, walking! I can't believe it. This is definitely the start of a new era.

Baby Steps

GG and Papa Ray stopped in for the night on their way home from camping. It was such a nice surprise to see them!

Cailin knew who they were immediately and met them at the baby gate to greet them. She insisted Papa Ray pick her up. Then she tried to dig in his shirt pocket for his pen and notepad (pen = fun). Bailey was also ecstatic to see them. Secretly I think Bailey would go home with them and never look back.

Then Cailin took her first real steps on her own to GG. She let go of the ottoman and walked right over to a surprised GG. No one could believe it! She is so ready to start walking.

Labor Day Long Weekend

On Thursday we loaded up the car and took off to Olds to visit Nanny and Grampy Brend for the long weekend. The trip down was pretty smooth and uneventful. Cailin was really good and Bailey behaved herself nicely. We stopped at Pizza Delight for dinner and Cailin found her new love - garlic fingers (glorified pizza bread with cheese). She tossed her own dinner aside and ate a surprising amount of garlic fingers instead. We got into Olds late and went to bed.

The next day Cailin surprised us by napping for nearly 5 whole hours! She loves Nanny's chocolate lab, Tucker, and played with him quite a bit over the weekend. And by play, I mean she layed in his bed with him, stole his toys and pulled his tail and paws. Lucky dog! She would also get in the doggie toy basket and sit in there amongst the toys.

On Sunday we drove to CrossIron Mills Mall. Wow, I love that mall. Of course we hit up the GAP, Gymboree and Toys 'R' Us. We spent a small fortune on Baby GAP stuff. Cailin got sick of riding in the stroller and insisted on walking while holding my hand through the stores. She pulled a bunch of clothes off tables in American Eagle, but no one thought twice about it. Guess she got away with it because she's cute. Also because I picked up all the clothes.

Later that night, Cailin took her first guided steps between Nanny's and my arms. She's almost walking!

Monday saw us going for a long walk around Olds with Grampy Brend and the dogs. Bailey really enjoyed herself. Cailin had a nap in the stroller. It was so nice to be out in the fresh air and to admire the leaves turning colors and bask in the fall sun.

Tuesday came too soon. We packed up the car and headed for home. Bailey didn't make a peep the entire way home and we wondered if she was even in the car. Cailin fussed a little, but with two quick pitstops we were home in record time. What a nice weekend had by all!

Cakes!

For my parents' anniversary, I made them a mini wedding cake. I used real buttercream, and it was so hot that afternoon that it started to melt. If you look closely you can see a rose in the steadily melting swirls. The cake was chocolate, made from a recipe from my GramE. I call it Norwegian Chocolate cake because the recipe calls for strong coffee and sour milk as ingredients. I used vanilla biscotti coffee and it turned out delicious. Paired with that buttercream, this cake was pretty awesome. Except for the melty parts of course.
My friend had a baby girl this month. For her baby shower, I made this fondant teddy bear cake with royal icing drop flowers. Her shower ran late tonight and Cailin was fussy so we had to leave before sampling it. Hope it was yummy!

Our 1st Anniversary

Today is our first wedding anniversary. Last year we tied the knot in front of our friends, family and 8 week old daughter. It was a blurry and rushed day that went too fast. It was the only cold day of the entire summer (good for the gents wearing suits and jackets, not so good for the ladies in sleeveless dresses). I got to wear my beautiful gown for a whole 4 hours because nursing the baby through the satin and sequins was not an option.

It was a wonderful day filled with love, friends, family and grandparents. Our nieces were the only ones in our wedding party and they completely stole the show with their cuteness. We had a BBQ after and everything was super relaxed. Thank you to everyone who made our day happen and for traveling so far to make our day so special!

To celebrate our anniversary we were going to drop Cailin off with my parents and go for dinner and a movie (first time alone by ourselves since she was born and Cailin's first night away from us ever). Ha ha ha. The second we made plans, the sore tummy I'd had for a few days manifested itself into a righteous flu bug. I spent most of our anniversary whining on the couch. So much for date night. Sigh.

Cailin and The Orange

While playing at Nana and Papa's house, Cailin found an orange. A plastic play food orange. The Orange. It fits perfectly in her hand, looks exactly like a real orange and now it never leaves her hand for more than a few minutes at a time.

Cailin takes The Orange to bed with her. It's in her hand when you pick her out of the crib in the morning. It sits on her tray while she eats. It waits with her pajamas while she's in the tub. The Orange accompanies her on treks around the house. She takes it in the car. She takes it to restaurants. The Orange is with us wherever we go.

The first few days it was a funny novelty. Now The Orange is a fixture. We are all constantly saying, "Has she got her Orange?" to each other, making sure it's in her hand or at least nearby. We're not sure how long this will last. We're sure she will drop The Orange for something more exciting when she's bored with it. But until then, we'll indulge her with including The Orange in our plans.

Cailin - An Update

Cailin is almost 14 months old now. Time sure does fly! I can't believe last year at this time we were frantically trying to throw together our wedding (hello procrastination!) and getting to know our 7 week old baby. One year sure makes a huge difference in our lives.

Now Cailin:

- has 5 teeth, two on top, three on bottom (and more on the way)

- is 21lbs and 30" tall

- can pull herself up with ease and cruise along furniture, walls, bathtubs or cabinets

- can now reach the taller drawers and empties them in mere seconds

- climbs up the stairs all by herself

- stands by herself for a few seconds before realizing that she's not touching anything

- says lots of words and talks constantly

- laughs a lot and is very happy most of the time

- loves to eat, and eats a huge variety of food

- sleeps really well

- is extremely attached to her blanket

She is an amazing little person and we're so blessed to have her. Everyday she learns something new and exciting. Watching her grow and learn and become a sweet little person has been an amazing journey for us.

The Raspberry Facial

Cailin has decided that raspberries are about the best thing you could ever eat. She loves them, eats them for snacks and at meal times. This morning I plunked a bunch on her tray and continued to wash dishes. When I looked back at her, she had a big handful of squished up raspberries in her hand. Then she got a huge grin on her face, looked right at me and smeared those raspberries through her hair, all over her face, on the highchair and countertop. Then proceeded to belly laugh about it. Should I point out her light colored clothes? No need? Okay then.When I posted the pic on Facebook, some friends immediately thought she had hurt herself and was bleeding! I was horrified! So, just to recap, that's raspberries all over my kid, not injury!

And Another One! VICTORY!

Cailin got another front top tooth! Wonder why she always waits until we're away from home to pop those ouchy teeth out??

The Memorial at Charlie Lake

The sky was unreal one night with a lightning storm brewing across the lake. I had to get out my camera and take a million pictures of the memorial, the lake and the wet lands beside them. This is my favorite one. It shows the lake, the memorial and the sky (photo is not edited in any way). The memorial is for the American soldiers who lost their lives on the lake while building the Alaska Highway in 1942. The posts around the center have the names of the men who died, 12 in total. It is a beautiful and somber place inside that ring.

The lake is surrounded by wet lands, home to birds, ducks and other critters. Kelli, Grace and I had a great time exploring, watching the ducks eat and playing on the dock.
Grace was scared of the ducks until I showed her that they bob head first in the water to eat and show their little bums in the air. "Look, Grace! Ducky bum!" Then it was hilarious. Potty humor never fails when you're two. I'm such a great Auntie. Sigh.

Kelli's 8th Birthday Party

Way back in May, Kelli asked me to make her birthday cake. She wanted Hello Kitty with a halter top dress, a picnic table and watermelons. Since we were camping, I made everything before hand and decorated her cake on a real picnic table at the campground. After a run-in with the table cloth, a huge gust of wind and some smashed cake followed by bad words and frantic repair work, this is what her cake looked like:
I think it still turned out cute despite its issues. Kelli loved it, so that is all that matters, really. Her birthday party was lovely. After losing her iron will power, she begged to open her presents. I think her favorite present was a tie between a certificate to get a mani/pedi with our cousin Dani and a Webkinz from her sister and brother:

As following tradition, Cailin, Grace and Odin all got little presents as well for Kelli's birthday. It was a really nice party and a good time was had by all. Kelli had a great day too.

After the party, everyone came out to the campground and we played at the playground and had a great time at the campsite. It's hard to believe that summer is winding down!