Aunt Teen Days

Kaia Bear,

We had quite the Vail extravaganza together. I was lucky enough to get to drive up to Vail with you and spend TWO WHOLE DAYS with you while your mom worked. You are hysterical and really fun to hang out with. Not just because you're the cutest thing ever (and you know it), but also because you are just really fun to be around. You're generally pretty happy and if you're not, it's usually fairly obvious as to why. The all-out breakdowns are almost as funny as when you're a happy camper and I really enjoy messing with you. Your mom doesn't really enjoy it, but I think it's really fun to see how far I can go before you completely lose it. We usually make up pretty quickly.

So we spent the first day in Vail doing all sorts of fun things. We started off by going to the pool where the event of the trip happened. We grabbed some snacks before we headed out to the pool and left a granola bar and water by our chairs while we went and played. We were on the other side of the pool when a bird started picking at our food. Despite our protests, the bird picked up our granola bar and just flew away with it. You protested with "NO NO BIRDIE, NO NO!! That's our NOLA BAR!" and every bird we saw for the rest of the day would get a "BAD BIRDIE! NO NO BIRDIE! You made bad choices!" After the pool we went shopping, got some lunch, played in the water, watched dogs play in the river, and got some ice cream before we headed back.

That night we got to meet up with your mom and did some swimming and got dinner and by bed time, you were nowhere near ready to go to bed. I had to get some things from the car so I came  back to the hotel room with your mom hiding in the bathroom, pretending not to be in the room so you would fall asleep. Instead we listened to you sing to yourself, say, "You made bad choices birdie. No NO birdie" over and over again. So of course, I joined her and we sat in the bathroom for a solid 30 minutes until your mom got tired of waiting and she ran out and hid on the bed. After hiding there for a little, Kaia stood up in her bed and simply stated "Mommy's on the bed, Aunt Teen's in the bathroom." You're a pretty smart little girl and we didn't fool you for one second.

The next day you were not in as good of mood given you went to sleep pretty late, but we still had a good time. We went swimming in the morning and you had fun playing with your new buckets that you got as an early birthday present from your brothers. Then we walked around Lionshead while you napped in the stroller. The ride home was a blast with you repeating, "I'm a BABY! No... I'm not a grandma, I'm a BABY! No... I'm not a teenager, I'm a BABY!" It was hysterical and the more we laughed, the more you would get into it.

You have the most personality of any 2 year old I've ever met. You love to make people laugh and you're very good at it. I had so much fun with you, little bug, and so glad we got to spend so much time together. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

PICTURE

Can't believe how lucky I am to have such an amazing little niece! Love you little girl!!

Father's Day

Baby doll,

We had Father's day, you gave Daddy a hand made shirt from school. For his day, we went to the Rockies game, where you mostly slept. 

You adore your Daddy, even though you like to shoot him down when he messes with you in the morning. You guys like to go get strawberries from our garden, and you have Daddy so wrapped that he buys you a case of blueberries every time he goes to the store, because he knows that's your favorite. You are a ver lucky girl sweet pea. 

 

Wacky Bug

Baby girl,

I cannot believe how entertaining you are. The stories are endless and every night me and your Dad laugh over you latest antics as I reiterate for the millionth time how much I adore you. Here are some of the latest:

We went to a gender reveal party on Saturday where they served hersHEy and herSHEy bars depending on your guess about the baby's gender. I asked if you thought Kynlee was getting a baby brother baby sister and you said baby sister so I gave you a herSHEy bar. The rest of the night you kept telling me how much you wanted a baby sister...finally you elaborated.."I want a baby sister, I want to eat it!". Apparently we've now taught you that a hershey bar is called a baby sister. Could lead to many the awkward moment as you age.

You like to growl in the back of the car, then exclaim "there's a tiger in the car! Watch out Caleb!"

Those are just two of many. You have me cracking up constantly. I hate my commute, but I look forward to it every day because me and you get to chat about rainbows, horses, cars that need baths, and the goats that we sometimes catch a glimpse of on the way home.

You love making people laugh, but you're also fairly shy. It takes you time to warm up to people you don't know. You love animals, playing with your dolls, reading, hot tubs, playing outside and slides. You're still an amazing eater, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables.

We took you to Elitches, you pretty much only like rides that don't have something big in the center of the ride. You hate most of the baby rides because they're generally attached to some large pole in the center. You do seem to like the roller coasters.

Here are a few pictures from our latest adventures. Your bday is coming fast so we'll have another post after that. You love to tell me that your birthday is coming soon and you'll be 2, so you're all over this one.

wacky pizza eater

Boys kindergarten graduation

upset because you couldn't go on the ride

putting on your own sunscreen

Spring Antics

Bugs,

I am so incredibly lucky to be your Mom. There is truly nothing else in the world that has made me even a fraction as happy as having you in my life. I love every minute with you, even the tough ones, and I wouldn't trade it in for anything. I know Mother's Day is technically about me, but in all honesty...having you is celebration enough (though I may be singing a different tune in a few years so don't think you're out of the woods yet).

I did just hear from your daycare that you've taken it on yourself to start potty training on you own. You used the potty all by yourself for the first time today, not a bad present for your 2nd Mother's day :).

You radiate personality. We are constantly getting comments from strangers on how happy and adorable you are. You love life. You love your siblings. You love your family and friends. In fact, one of you new favorite sayings is..."oooooh...I love it!" . You are a great eater, though you've learned the phrase "I don't like it" from school, so every once in a while we hear a bit of that. You are extremely verbal, not so advanced on your gross motor skills. Your jumping, while adorable, does not actually see either foot leaving the ground. You are so tiny that I think that has a lot to do with it.



Here are some pictures of your latest antics. We've been out and about as usual. Denver Outlaws games, playing outside, lots of trips to Home Depot (the water heater broke), and general causing havoc with Emma, your brothers, and our neighbor Kynlee.

painting Mommy's nails (hands)

Rockies game

testing Daddy's wheel barrow

Eating markers...a top 5 favorite past time

Making Mommy's picture frame present

There have been a lot of videos lately, but here's the most recent of you cracking yourself up.

I adore you sweet girl. Thank you for making me a Mom.

Easter bug

Baby doll,

You had quite the eventful Easter. One at our house in the morning, then one at Gammie and Popo's and a final one at Uncle Byron & Aunt Melissa's in the mountains. You liked searching for eggs, but weren't such a fan of braving the elements to pick them up yourself. You did a lot of pointing them out for me to go retrieve for you.

I'm continuously in awe of how much I love you. anyone that knows me knows how much I have always wanted to be a Mom, but it's incredible that it can still feel so perfect. You love your siblings and playing outside. You also like bubbles, singing, dancing, and slides. I love chatting with you in the car on our way to and from daycare. You love to be "wacky" and crack yourself up saying silly things. You learned the word 'booty' at school so you like to chat about that, but I think it's mostly because you know it'll make me laugh. You also hate when the sun 'gets you', so you have to have sunglasses in the car or you'll lose it. You are one very spunky adorable little girl and I love you so much.

March update

Oh little bug, I just adore you. You crack me up constantly. Your daycare calls you sassy, I'd call it spunk, but whatever it is you are full of personality. You love being the center of attention and like to act especially goofy when you know people are watching. You're still a pretty good eater, though you seem to have slowed down a bit from you old eat everything days. You've started dressing yourself which has been endlessly amusing:

You especially love boots...snow or rain, you don't really seem to care which. And you LOVE wearing sunglasses, a lot. 

We celebrated St. Paddy's Day in style, as usual. We went to the parade downtown with all of your siblings. You liked the floats and dancers quite a bit:

In other March news...we celebrated Mykiah's birthday, you've been helping me with my work, and we've been going to Nuggets games/hanging out at home:

You've been working on all sorts of new words, you're extremely verbal. You love reading, your siblings, and slides. Your favorite foods are peas, blueberries, and oranges. 

Here are a few of the more amusing videos from the month. You HATE cotton candy on your hands (you hate messes on your hands in general):

You also had a lot of fun playing boats with Daddy as the snow melted in front of our house:

I adore you little girl, I am so lucky o have you in my life. I love you Kaia.