During the most recent camping trip we took all of the little kids fishing. They loved it! I do, however think the big kids had the most fun though! Desiree, Robert, Matt and myself had contests to see who could cast the Spiderman and Scooby Doo fishing poles the farthest! it was great!
With the littler kids we did not put hooks, or bait on their lines. they had dummy weights that came with the poles and they all just practiced their casting and reeling in. They were none the wiser and they were all really happy when we left. No fish were caught on this trip but a good time was had by all nonetheless.
Adriana enjoyed casting much more than reeling. Part of the problem was that she uses her left hand most of the time as her dominant one and i did not get a left handed fishing pole for her. She did still reel in her line most of the way though. I wasnt sure fishing would live up to her expectations, but she really had a good time and was very happy when we went back to camp.
For some reason Adriana insisted that Aunt Desiree take her potty. She did not want Mommy to take her.
Chris and I took Adriana to Bounce last week. When we got there to our surprise there were about 4 day care centers there as well so it was CRAZY! I was not super enthused and Adriana about got run down on the first slide she tried to go down. However, she entered the next one and it was like an obsticle course with a wall that was too high for her to climb. As Chris was getting ready to go help her we saw a little boy about 8 years old pick Adriana up under her armpits and help her up over this wall. He proceeded to follow Adriana wherever she went, helped her and made sure the bigger kids let her have her turn and did not knock her down!
This boy's name is Christopher and he took her hand and waited in line with her for the slide and went down with her.
It almost seemed like he was stalking her. In a very nice way of course. This was an area for toddlers only, so he just watched until she was ready to go somewhere else to play. He was very sweet and we were very touched watching him with her.
Chris' parents and our little family all went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. It was a very fun day! Adriana walked a lot, saw a lot of things and had a good time. She didnt even have any meltdowns or anything as she sometimes does on a long day. This zoo had so many more things to do compared to the Denver Zoo. I think i prefer the exhibits in the Denver Zoo but the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo just had SO much for the kids. They had several animals you could pet: goats, a baby wallaby, you could feed the giraffes, pony rides, face painting, a carousel, a little train that went in a circle. Here is a picture of Adriana with a green butterfly she had painted on by some girls there. It did not stay on long however, because there was a misting thing that i encouraged her to run through since it was quite warm that day. I wanted to help cool her off a bit.
Adriana with her Grumpy and Nana at the Zoo
Our little family
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Adriana really liked the pony ride. She is always asking me to take her to ride horses.
Riding the kiddie train with Nana
Feeding the giraffes was one of the favorites on this day. Adriana would have stood there and fed them all day i think! She didnt even cringe at their long creepy tongues!
A few months back Adriana asked me everyday for two weeks to buy a bike for her. So one day when she came down the stairs from nap there it was! a pink and purple bike just for her! Daddy had it all put together and everything for her. She was just soo thrilled and is always saying, "thank you Mommy or Daddy buying new bike for me!". Such a sweet little girl. So this was a day we went for a ride on her bike around the block.
Chris is so great about building little forts for her to play in and arranging the couch cushions in a goofy fashion for her. What a great Dad he is!
Chris has also built a gorgeous pond in our backyard! He worked so hard on it and it looks wonderful! it has a waterfall that we keep running all the time. It is one of the best sounds in the world. Makes me feel like i am in the mountains all the time. Adriana and i have been to Mommy and Me swim class. Man, did she find her home there! She loved going everyday and all the songs we sang were again requested during bathtime. On the last day she even plugged her nose and put her whole head in! I had been trying SO hard to get her to do it and she adamantly refused and then on the last class she did it over and over again! She beamed with pride as she showed her swim teacher! I was so very proud of her during this class. She was happy just to be there! we would pull in the parking lot and she would yell, "YAY for swim class!". Her enthusiasum is just awesome. Swimming with Candice, Grandma and the kids has really helped her too. At first she would only go in with the floaties on if she had a ring around her waist to help her. The other day she discovered that she can swim and kick herself across the pool with just the floaties! Good times. She is eligible to advance to the preschool level for swim class but not until she is 3. the classes go by ages and not skill level. i wish it were the other way around but oh well! So i will probably do one more session at the current level just before she turns 3 as a refresher.
Last week we started Mommy and Me tumbling. Adriana really likes it and there are a lot of kids in her class. Running around and jumping on things is right up her alley! I am a little disappointed in the class because they are not really teaching her how to use the bars or anything. I am hoping that once she is 3 and we can take the next level that part will improve. Despite this or in spite of this it is just fun to watch her run and play.
Not too many other things to report. We are busy as you can see and just plugging along. Work is going well for both Chris and I. I am a mentor at my work for some interpreters that need a little improvement with their skills so they can work independantly. It's been a really good experience for me and helps me really analyze my work and find ways to improve my own skill as well. I love the company i work for and my boss is awesome. There is a lot of support and encouragement. Our center has held quite a few workshops that give us CEU's for our certifications and it's free for us as employees. i love that part!
Ok well i am going to wrap this up! See you in about a month or so for another update!
I do update my facebook pics regularly so feel free to catch me there too :)
