20 Months!

Adalyn turned 20 months old today! It is hard to believe that in four short months she will be a two-year-old! We went to our neighborhood park yesterday and took some cute photos of her playing in the sandbox, swings and slide.

She is such a little sweetie. We tell her "I love you" all the time and she tells us "love you" back or she just says it and gives us a hug out of the blue. It melts our hearts, of course! We have been working on please and thank you for quite a while and now she says thank you herself without any prompting when you give her something. She has had please down for quite a while, especially when cake or other "num-nums" are involved :)

She is a little sponge, and picks up on things we say all the time, so we have been spelling words out already. We are extra careful not to say something about bananas or another favorite food when we have just run out, as she will immediately want one! Lately, our dog Bailey has been kind of stinky after she spends time outside. She normally doesn't smell at all. We haven't had the energy or patience to give her a bath yet and I have said, "that dog stinks!" on more than one occasion. Tonight, Bailey walked by and Adalyn pointed to her and said, "dog stinks!" It was hilarious!

Independence is such a big issue at this age and recently I was sitting with Adalyn as she colored a card. When she was getting kind of crazy with the markers, (easily washable, of course!) I capped a few and set them aside. She wanted those ones opened again and when I wouldn't help her, she pulled and pulled until the cap popped off. She exclaimed, "I did it!" and was so proud of herself. That was the first time I heard her say that. Since then, she has also said it after a few more accomplishments, like when she yanked the latched entertainment center door open by herself and when she carried a large full toy box across the room. We love watching her as she gains more independence and confidence. Our little girl is sure growing up!

Sand, dirt, rocks, sticks and leaves are the coolest things around right now! She carries them around as little treasures and loves playing in the sandbox.


Swinging with dad or mom is as fun as swinging by herself


Such a cutie in her hat




Weeee!


She loved going down the slide by herself, which we usually don't allow since she flies down so fast, so we had to be sure to catch her at the bottom half so she wouldn't land on the ground!

Western Montana Fair week

We visited our local fair during the week of August 11th. Our fairgrounds is in the middle of town, just blocks from our house and it always brings back that nostalgic feeling when they set up at the end of summer. It is really enjoyable to bring Adalyn to the fair and experience the magic and excitement through a child's eyes again, it is more fun than I remember from my childhood! Adalyn really enjoyed the animals and the bug carnival ride. We took her on it several times and she didn't want to get off when it was time to leave.

Jamey and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on August 12th and we attended the Sawyer Brown concert at the fair that evening. It was a great concert. They are known for their energetic performances and we enjoyed a wonderful time. Sometimes it is hard to believe three years have passed so quickly!

Also, I attended the Chicks N Chaps rodeo clinic with my mom and sister on Friday. This event is a newer yearly fundraiser for breast cancer research with the Tough Enough to Wear Pink organization. Although the weather was not typical for the time of year, it rained and was quite cold, we had a fun time! We watched rodeo demonstrations, enjoyed refreshments, got cool swag bags, entered raffles, had photos taken with cowboys and then watched the fair rodeo performance. I'm looking forward to attending again next year!

Tasting some fair food


Look at the animals, Daddy!


Being cool in the cow barn


The cow barn dance!


They say "Baaaa baaaa!"


Ready for a buggy take-off


This ride is going to be so fun!
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Jamey waiting for the concert to start. For some reason, we forgot to get a picture of the two of us together :( I also didn't get photos of the stage, only some short videos.


My mom watching the bull riding demonstration at Chicks 'N Chaps


Dana enjoying the festivities while wearing her special name tag ;)


Mom standing in front of her favorite bull

Spokane and Silverwood

Since it is officially the first day of Fall, it is about time I finish updating on the rest of our summer! We headed to Spokane and Silverwood Theme Park for the weekend from July 31st--August 2nd. Dana and Justin went with us and we had fun staying in Spokane, visiting Toys R Us, dinner at Olive Garden and a day spent at Silverwood playing on the rides and slashing in the water park. Although the day was a little long for Adalyn, she LOVED the rides and playing in the water. I wasn't able to go on many rides of course, but Adalyn and I waved to Jamey, Dana and Justin as they tried out the new roller coaster and other rides.

A fun horse in Toys R Us


And a penguin among many other toys we played with there.....let's just say Adalyn had so much fun she did NOT want to leave!

Jamey, Dana and Justin getting ready for their first ride!


Going up, up, up.....then down!


Adalyn and I had a great spot to watch the ride. Jamey rode in the very back of the ride, so you can see him in the top of the photo. Dana and Justin were right in front of him.


Dana, Justin and Jamey after their ride


Adalyn cheering the coaster on as it loops the loop


First of many times on the Elephant ride with Daddy



First time on the train ride


Off to conquer another ride


Riding with Aunt Dana


Hold on Dana and Justin, Adalyn is a pro at this ride ;)


Wow, I actually rode on the carousel with my little Punkie!


We didn't get many photos from the water park but we had fun splashing around. We all formed a chain and rode around the long lazy river on inner tubes. The water park is pretty big and has a lot of slides, tube rides, two large wave pools, play areas for toddlers and kids and the long lazy river. There are life jackets available for kids and we felt much more comfortable taking Adalyn on the lazy river and in the wave pools with a jacket on. You can stay really busy in the water park. The theme park now has two wooden and two metal coasters as well as a lot of other rides and shows. Next time we make it over to Silverwood, we'll try to spend two days there to get it all in:) We all had a great weekend and hope to visit again next year if we can!

A little secret Adalyn wanted to share....

Of course, it is not much of a secret anymore but I had to post the cute way she told the news to our families! It was fun to surprise them with our big news :) We had to come up with something since we really got them good with the news when we were expecting Adalyn! I found this cute shirt on Etsy and had it personalized for her :) Adalyn's new baby sibling will be arriving around mid-February 2010!

Also, I realize I am way behind on updating this blog again...and it is not really summer anymore so I need to change the background too. I'll post some cute pictures of Adalyn riding fair rides and dancing at more weddings soon :)