Vedauwoo fall

We've made a few trips to Vedauwoo over the last couple of weeks, and have a few pictures to share!

Last week Saturday, when our husbands were out hunting, Jo and I went to Vedauwoo with the kids. We took a little walk, then had a picnic lunch, and played on the rocks with the kids. Great day.

Fall colors

Our little rock climber

Exploring

With my girl

Then earlier this week, we went to Vedauwoo with the Ennist in the evening to take their family pictures (which I'm sure you ll see on their blog soon!). Sean also took some pictures of us:

The fam.

Andi loved (giggled the whole way!) "running" down the hill on momma's hand.

Times with daddy of course are the best!

And then, two of the cutest pictures:

Weston and Andi

Friends :)

18 months

Andi's 18 months old! :)

Like I said in the previous post, we're enjoying this "boom" in language development toddlers this age seem to be having, and it seems she s learning new words weekly, or mimicing ours. I love how she tilts her head when she asks me (in her own language) a question, and have to say it is quite convenient sometimes that she can obey more of the simple commands ... yay for her starting to put her own toys back!! Another big step: first solo down the slide at the park! Feet first, on her belly, smiling all the way down.

She still has *quite* the intense personality sometimes though, which can result in quite the temper tantrums. No, I don't like to say this, but it makes her look possessed sometimes :)

She's got 3 molars now, and 6 going on 7 teeth. She's also still not always a fan of having to eat her balanced meals and would rather eat crackers, bread and cereal all day long. But, she loves to eat raisins, and we recently also discovered her love for black beans. A true surprise to me since I hated them as a kid. I even ended up having to peel them out of a burrito I was eating (and licking of the cheese sauce, because "no mom, I don't want the cheese sauce") because she saw them in there and wanted some. I felt like a bird regurgitating food for her baby :) I guess it's good to have found another protein source for her, because I guess she's quite petite! Makes me wonder if she'll take after the women on her dad's side of the family, and turn out shorter and curvier than her mom! (Ha, maybe she will be happy to know that she actually has a chance of developing boobs when she grows up, unlike the ladies on her mom's side of the family :) ) Anyway, that is besides the point ... at this mornings checkup:

Height: 30 1/2 inches (15th percentile, dropped from 27th)

Weight: 21 lbs 9 oz (12th percentile, dropped from 25th)
Head: 47 cm (steady at ~64th percentile)

And of course a few pictures:

18 month shot with Slungel

I've got teeth on the top and bottom!

Our cutie :)

Trying on her mamma's shoes for size :)

Playdate with friend Weston

She also her her first overnight away from mom, so that mom and dad could go on a date. It was a grand success if you ask me, sure to be repeated! Her grandpa took these pictures as she was helping grandma in the garden:

Picking and sorting green beans.

With grandma in her garden.

Andi is also starting to copy me doing things around the house. She's a pro at talking on the cell phone (Hi!), and will have whole conversations. She likes to help feed Sage, and, since last week she "helps" me vacuum! I take an extension piece off of my vacuum for her to pretend with, and it is too fun!

To the birds

I'm loving this new stage we're getting in with Andi. As she's moving and talking more and more, there are just so many more things she can do and understand, uncluding communication!

This morning at breakfast she had her usual slice of bread with peanut butter (which, btw she now eats with a fork herself! :) ). Apparently she was loving it this morning, because she ate it really fast, and when I asked her if she wanted another one, she replied with "please". Just as a side note, she doesn't know how to say "yes" yet, though "no" is unfortunately a big part of her vocabulary.... Anyway, so, I made her another one and cut it up into small pieces.
As we're eating breakfast, birds are starting to show up on the deck to eat Sage's food, which Andi loves to watch. After a while, Andi was done eating after all, so I suggested we cut up her leftover bread into even smaller pieces and give it to the birds as well. She happily helped me set out the plate, and we waited for the birds to come. However, as soon as she really realized what was going on, she wasn't having it! "I'm not sharing my bread with the birds!" I opened the door back up for her, and she quickly grabbed the plate, set it down, and started eating it all again, whether hungry for it it or not :)