the family that wendt: August 2013

Friday, August 30, 2013

(re)union

The aforementioned family reunion came and went and everybody more or less survived (though there were a few hair-raising moments). This was Squirt's first big trip away from home! This was the first time she's ever been in the car for longer than about an hour and the first time she spent more than one night away from home since her birth. It was pretty tricky - she had some pretty big emotions and thoughts about the whole thing; but it was also pretty fun. On the ride there and back, we stopped at the halfway point for lunch and hikes, which was really fun. It was also neat to introduce Squirt to family members I hadn't seen since before she was born. She wasn't sure what to make of that weird bunch of folks and felt it very necessary to remind them (often) that I was her mommy. Not theirs.

The trip there

Views of the lava flow and sandstone bluffs.

Munching on liverwurst and explaining how she is going to climb up the rocks "with [her] feet".

The approach.

The ascent.

The view.

That face...

Marvelling at the tiny frogs in the rainwater accumulated at the top.

The time there

First things first. Play time! Also, her first time on a tire swing.

The morning fog rolling through the canyon.

It's just gorgeous out there!

Learning to pan for gold with Papa (she still calls him "grandma").

He's pretty proud of his little prospector!

Riding the "train" with daddy.

Cheese!

Being silly with her great Uncle D.

Playing on the "train" with her great Auntie P.

Very seriously driving the "train".

Meeting her great, great Uncle B.

She insisted on playing in the rain, then got upset that she was wet.

The sunlight through the trees (taken by a cousin).

It rained and rained and rained, but was still so lovely.

The trip back

Hiking up to the big arch.

Showing off her big muscles.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

gearing up

We're gearing up for a big family reunion out in the mountains later in the month. I'm pretty excited to see family I haven't seen in years and get out of Dodge for a while (I haven't been further than ~an hour or so drive from home since before she was born, which really sucks for someone with wanderlust). This will be Squirt's longest (in both time and distance) trip from home, so it's pretty exciting (and nerve-wracking)! She's not crazy about being in the car for very long, and really hates people getting in her space right now (unless she wants it, then she wants it), so it's going to be a very interesting experience. I hope Squirt enjoys the long, long (long) drive and the excitement, though I'm not terribly optimistic. I've never travelled with her, so this is all new territory - what should I have in my medical kit? what kinds of snacks and activities should we have in the car? how many different pairs of pants (or should they be shorts?) should I pack for her? what if she gets carsick? what if she doesn't sleep? what if...

This past weekend, Squirt's grandparents stayed with us for a night. The three of them had a blast playing and being silly. Squirt all but talked their ears off (in her jibber jabbery way)! After they left, she prattled on and on about them for the rest of the day and seems excited to see grandma and "grandma" (they're both "grandma" to her right now, which is pretty funny - heck, most of our male friends are "grandma" to her, too!) again soon, so I'm going to try to play that up until the trip and hope it helps keep her spirits high on the drive. Here's hoping everything goes smoothly and everyone has a fantastic time!

One must always swing from the bar at the top of the slide before going down.

She said going down the slide like this was "not cumfabuhl".

Her first time on the ropes at the playground - learning the importance of foot placement.

Her first fro-yo date with Momma.

Laughing hysterically while playing "catch".

Being two is really hard work!

Friday, August 2, 2013

lazy days

Shortly after Squirt's second birthday, summer hit, and hit hard. With record-breaking high temperatures, and a continuing drought, followed by a hard and heavy monsoon (read: flash flood) season, our usual summer activities had to be curtailed. Since the mountain hiking areas were closed due to the extremely high fire danger until just recently (and it was too darned hot to scramble up a mountain, anyway), we've been spending our weekends at home being lazy, gardening, and generally trying to keep cool. Meanwhile, Squirt has been growing like a weed and is looking (and acting) more and more like a "big kid" and less like the little snuggly bundle she seemed to be just yesterday. As always, she is such a bundle of energy! She loves to play in the water, climb anything, and "read". Like just about any other two-year-old, she wants to do everything (and do it herself). One of her more common phrases right now is "stay back" as she conquers the world one bit at a time. She kisses boo-boos and loves the rain. Any time it gets cloudy, she asks to "see" the "dundah", despite being told that she can't see, but can hear, the "dundah".

Squirt's favorite things right now are My Little Pony anything (and every afternoon, without fail, she asks to watch it), "reading" her Richard Scarry book (for the gazillionth time), and pizza (which she asks for almost every day; she happily sings a little "pizza day" song whenever I aqcuiesce). She also loves, loves, loves blowing bubbles, but can't seem to do it without putting her lips on the wand... She likes to be outside and "help" in the garden; interestingly, though, "creepy crawlies" freak her out - even cute baby frogs, lady bugs, and teeny snails.

Some of my favorite things right now:

Every night (almost), she runs out of her room to give Daddy hugs and kisses.
She goes *pleahhh* after kissing Daddy.
She always tells me "ni-ni, Momma. I ya you" before falling asleep.
After daycare, she'll sing stories about her day.
Sometimes, she'll sit next to me holding my hand, doing nothing but being together. <3
More often than not, she wants to hold my hand as she falls asleep.
She gives the biggest, sloppiest, most heartfelt kisses you'll ever get!
She can already identify every C on the new piano.
Every evening before bed, without fail, she starts jumping - on the bed, the futon, the couch... anywhere.
More often than not, when I realize she's been a bit too quiet for a bit too long, I find her curled up somewhere quietly flipping through one of her books.

Here are some photographic memories of our summer so far. My, how fast she is growing!

At the garden
After Squirt's birthday, we visited the city's Botanical Garden just once. We met up with one of her sweet little girlfriends and enjoyed a lazy summer afternoon before the heat really ramped up.

Watching the butterflies.

Flasher!

This always seems to happen...

4th of July
Since the day after the 4th was a work-day, we decided to just take it easy. We spent the morning at her favorite park and then just relaxed at home. That night, we had one of the first big thunderstorms of the season, so we got our own special light show, anyway.