Christmas

Christmas was so much fun! It took Kassi 2.5 hours to open her presents, and it wasn't because there were just too many. Okay, so there were a lot Santa went a little overboard this year... The main reason it took so long though was she would open one and want to play with it and not open anymore. We could have spread Christmas out over several days! Here are just a few pictures from the weekend.


The best part was we got to spend five days at home together. That makes it really hard to want to go back to work...

First Candy Cane

Kassi got her first candy cane the other day. This was a big thing and now the Christmas tree is covered in candy canes.

Notice the sticky shine all down the chin and the red spots on the shirt. Fortunately she managed to keep the sticky on her and not all over the house!

What a weekend!

I absolutely love long weekends! They mean more time with my family and more time to get things done around the house. Kassi had a runny nose and was pretty grumpy during the day on Thursday. She has decided that taking naps is for babies and she is not a baby, so she says"NO nap, NO sleep" and while she does still get at lest 12 hours of sleep at night the afternoons can be a bit dramatic. We did however manage to get the Christmas tree up and had some friends over for supper.

On Friday Wes and I decided to chance the crowds in Billings and try to get our Christmas shopping done taking advantage of the Black Friday deals. We found some really great prices and are about 90% done Christmas shopping. Yeah!!!! We were also able to find some great prices on things we had been looking for, but were too cheap to buy. We finally bought a microwave hood for above the stove. All of them we had looked at had been over $150 we bought this one for $68! Wes had been looking for a new drill, we found a new drill on sale with a battery operated saw included for free. We also found a 6volt jeep for Kassi half price. Most everything we bought was between 50 and 75% off.

On Saturday my dad came in and we installed our new microwave hood. I LOVE it and for the price it is awesome!! It also helped to clean up the look of the kitchen. Before it looked a little cluttered with the microwave on the counter since we just don't have much counter space. We also put up a couple of Christmas decorations outside.

On Sunday the Disney Channel kept advertising that the three Tinker Bell movies would be on that night. Kassi kept asking to watch them. Well remember I said before that she has stopped taking naps. We decided to do what all the books tell you not to do and bribe her. We told her we would let her stay up and watch all three of the movies if she would take a good nap. We could even set up downstairs and watch them on the big screen and eat popcorn. Bribes work really well, rather you are "supposed" to do it or not, it works. She laid down without a fuss and took a two hour nap. When the first movie came on we were eating supper. This one was the original Peter Pan movie. She wasn't so excited about it. The second one was Tinker Bell and for this one we moved downstairs and set up a comfy spot on the floor and had snacks in our jammies and slippers. The third movie didn't start until 9:00 p.m. I figured Kassi would be out before it even started. I fell asleep before she did. About 9:30 she woke me up and wanted to lay next to me. Once she got snuggled in she fell right asleep as well. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to lots of movies nights at home!

Pet Updates

So far Kassi's water pets are all hanging in there. I am really impressed, but I will admit I am a little surprised. You see when she had the goldfish I cleaned the tank every two weeks, changed the filter all the time, etc. With these I haven't cleaned the tank, do water changes when the water level gets low and the filter rarely gets changed. So since it seems to be working I am not going to mess with a good thing!



The other night we had a surprise in the tank. The molly's had a baby. It was the cutest little thing swimming around like crazy trying to eat all of the little bits of food. When I saw it I thought I had better separate it so that the crab or frog don't eat it. So Kassi started getting ready for bed and I figured I had a little bit before she would want to go to bed. Well she decided to go right to bed so I didn't get a chance to try and put it in something else. So sorry to say baby fish ended up as someones supper. Now I wonder how many baby's there have been? I have noticed frog is getting really big. I mean he has grown incredibly in the past few weeks?



In other pet news. Poor Daisey seems to be getting blinder, if that is possible since she had been blind for awhile now. Other than being blind and getting really disoriented she is doing better than I thought she would be this winter considering she is at least 13 years old. We got word to expect our new puppy to likely be born sometime in March and we can pick her up in May. This is exciting, but I worry what Daisey will think. Kassi doesn't yet understand the concept that there will be a new puppy next summer. I think she will really enjoy her though once she gets here.

Phrase of the Week

"Mommy, something is wrong here. Mommy, something is really wrong here."

Just Being Silly

I'm not sure what the fascination is with wearing two pairs of sunglasses, but apparently it is way fun!

This night Wes had her pick out her own jammies and this what she ended up in!

A Few Updates

So what is new for our happy little family?


-Grandma is still back in Iowa so Grandpa is babysitting. Kassi always says great grandma sick, grandma take care of her, bumpa take care of me.


-Kassi and I went in yesterday and got our H1N1 vaccinations. Since I fall in a high risk category I was able to get the inactive vaccine, Kassi was just out of the high risk, but they went ahead and gave her the inactive vaccine as well, per my request. Wes says he won't be getting his since he would get the active he doesn't see the point. I guess I agree with that as well. Just take his chances at least Kassi and I should be safe.


-Kassi refuses to use the potty for my dad. Yet she still tells me and uses it when I ask her to. Today he set a pair of her panties in the bathroom as a reminder for her. She knows too, she looks and them and says "wear those when I use potty all the time."


-Wes has to go to Billings three times in the next two weeks to take ASE tests. Each time he will be driving home late. This always makes me nervous, but at least he is not gone all night then.


-Kassi's new things: "Hello, my name is Kassi Hanson." She almost has her address down too. Usually it ends up something like "13 2 street cody." She can count to 15 now! She sings many songs now. She tattles on bumpa "Bumpa watch Gunsmoke all day long." I know there are many more things, but right now that is all I can come up with.


-I have been busy at work planning our Christmas and Awards Banquet, trying to transition someone new into my place as the chair of our Christmas Decoration Committee, working on annual reminder letters for residents/business owners and trying to find time to update my ever growing and changing list of how to's with the hopes of taking vacation someday and not needing to worry about logging in to do this or that while I am off.


-We will be getting a new puppy in the late spring, early summer. I put a deposit on an English Setter pup from a litter that is planned for that time. The place we will be getting her from had some puppies available this fall, but we decided it would be better to wait until Wes is off of snow call and it is a little warmer outside. They will likely have a couple of litters available to choose from. Our poor Daisey dog is completely blind at this point and I am not sure how she will react to the new addition, but it may help her out. Maybe the puppy can be a new set of eyes for her and help her get around.

Still Swimming

Tuesday's are Kassi's swimming days. I know she really enjoys this and she is actually learning something too. I wasn't so sure at first that she would really learn how to swim at such a young age. Today her instructor said she really is starting to pick up on things and is doing really great. She is starting to remember to hold her breath and blow bubbles when she goes under and today I guess she kept saying she wanted to jump and go under. I am really proud of her. I definitely think her instructor is part of the reason she is doing so good. Miss Pepper is wonderful with her and Kassi talks about her a lot. Pepper was telling me today that Kassi kept talking about something today, but she couldn't figure out exactly what she was talking about. Still don't know what she was telling her? Kassi calls her, "my Pepper". I am getting better too about going out of the pool area. This seems to help Kassi keep from getting as distracted as when I am in on the pool deck.

I figure as long as Kassi is having fun and Pepper thinks she is advancing we will keep up our Tuesday swim lessons!

Halloween

Kassi chose to be Little Bo Peep for Halloween. She really enjoyed getting to wear makeup and have her hair done! We did the downtown trick or treating and she walked the entire way. She was very tired by the time we got done, but she did not want carried and there was no way she was going to let either of us carry her candy bucket. There were times she would stop and set it down for a second then pick it back up. What a doll! She is growing up so fast!

Halloween House

Yesterday Wes and Kassi built a Halloween House. I think they had a lot of fun! Kassi was very particular about where the candies went. They had to be in just the spot she thought was perfect, which usually happened to be in the valley of the roof. There ended up being a large pile of candies stacked in there. Notice the purple lips in the ending pictures. Of course the best part of all this was eating the frosting. She also sucked on or took bites out of all the spice drops. Maybe that was the wrong thing to let her do, and yes I am a big softy, but hey it's her house if she wants half eaten spice drops on it who am I to say any differently!
Well I could write more about this experience, because it was rather fun, but I have little girl snuggled up as close to me as she can be without being right up on my lap! What great way to start the day!!

Posing Cutie

I have no idea where Kassi has gotten this from, but now when you go to take her picture she poses. Not just a little tip of the head, she uses her hands, moves her shoulders, sits sideways, lays down on her tummy, just all sorts of things. The other night she was sitting in one of her stuffed animal bins (this is something new too, apparently this is good fun) and asked me to take her picture. Remember I did not show her how to sit or what to do, I just took the pictures, this was all her!

Jacks 3rd Birthday

Our nephew's 3rd birthday party was over the weekend. It's kind of funny that our kids were born almost exactly one year apart. Who would have thought especially since there really wasn't any planning that we could do. It was just simply up to God to decide when Wes and I would become parents. It is really great getting to see the two of them interact.

Watching people arrive out the front window. She kept asking when her friend, Ed, was going to arrive for the party. Kassi just adores Ed. He is almost like a big brother to her so whenever there is something going on she thinks he should be there.

"A ball." "No a football."

She pulled the chair to the middle of the room and just watched everyone and played with a couple of toys. She also knew this would make her the center of attention, because it did not take long and she was posing for the camera!

Gotta love those Elmo cupcakes!

This is one very tired little girl.

What's a birthday without a tongue colored from the frosting on the cake?

What's New?

I have seen so many changes in Kassi the last couple of weeks. It is just amazing to watch her mind grow. The people who had done Kassi's developmental screening were back the other day to redo Kassi's hearing test, the machine wasn't working right the first time, and we got a chance to ask some questions about some of Kassi's behaviors and learning level. We got a little bit clearer picture of why there are the "terrible twos" and where Kassi is at really at developmentally. It was great. They said that right now she is actually where most 36 month olds are at, but she is still just 24 months so certain things, like self control are not at the same stage. So we ask what exactly does that mean, well they explained it as she is sitting there and for no reason just hits, she has not gained the self control to stop herself before she does it, the 24 month old side. She does however recognize after she has done it that she should not have done that and will say she should not have and that she is only supposed to tickle, rub, pat, hug, kiss, give Eskimo kisses, this being the 36 month old side. It was good to learn more about these things and how children develop.





Some of the newest phrases we hear are:


"Bye, Mommy, Bye Daddy, have fun at school." (Not sure why she says school, but when we leave for work this is what she says.)


"Okay, let's go now."


"Daisey sheds a lot."


"My playroom is incredible."


"Never, never, never, never."


"You okay Mommy/Daddy, okay good."


She also now pulls kitchen chair to where ever she wants it so she can get up and get something. Most commonly she pulls it to the kitchen sink and washes her hands. It is just amazing how fast they learn things and put them to use.

2nd Birthday

hHere are some pictures from Kassi's big day! I think she had a lot of fun. It is so hard to believe that she two already! Wow how time flies. When we asked Kassi what she wanted on her birthday cake this year she said penguins so we did a penguin themed party. It was funny when we did the pinata all the other kids were standing there and reaching down to pick up the toys and candy, not our monkey she sat right down and scooped it all into her lap!

Swimming

Last week I started taking Kassi to a parent tot swim class. It is only for two weeks, but I don't think we will be able to stop taking her swimming when the class ends next week. It is really great having the job I do, because I have been able to take long lunches and go to this class with her and then go back to work. LuAnn meets us at the pool and then her and Kassi swim for a little bit after class is over and I have to get back to work.


Kassi is doing pretty well. On Thursday she learned how to use her arms to swim. Last week she also learned how to jump in, climb out of the water and blow bubbles. She wanted to show daddy what she had learned so Wes and I took her to the pool today. It was a lot of fun.

Night out on the town, or should I say mountain...

Wes and I had a big night out on the mountain while baby girl was camping with grandma and grandpa. We took off early enough that we could be up there with plenty of daylight left to wait until dark and see what all we could find.


First animal spotted...a black bear. We sat and watched this guy or gal for a long time. It walked along a cliff edge for awhile then came down onto the cliffs and rolled some rocks looking for food and then came down into the berry bushes for some sweeter goodies. While we sat and watched two other people drove by and had no idea what we were sitting out on the hill for. When I turned around to come back down I thought it would make a neat picture, town is at the very bottom. It was really smokey up there and you can see it in the pictures.


We went up a little further and sat and watched a lot of elk. Listened to them bugle and talk and even a couple of bulls fighting. We sat there for quite awhile, while sitting there as it was starting to get dark we heard a mountain lion and then a bunch of turkeys. What a night. That's what I call a good night out on the town. We were back home in time to blog about it and watch a movie on the couch!

Town is way back in there.

Can you see the bear? It was rolling rocks off the cliff.

Skyline picture of the black bear.

I really need to download a good photo editing software. Some of these are super clear and could be blown up.

Town on the way down.

So Very Proud

Wes and I always hear about the free developmental screenings offered through the Children's Resource Center. They say it is a good idea to do one before a child turns two. They test all sorts of skills, their hearing, their vision and other aspects of their development. Well we decided that since we don't have Kassi around many other little kids and we aren't around very many others that are her age to "compare" where she is at that it would be good to schedule one of these. So on Thursday night they came to our home and tested Kassi on a multitude of things, her imagination, cognitive skills, attention span, physical abilities, fine motor skills, hearing and many others. They were at our house for right at an hour. I was not sure that she would stay interested for very long and was really curious to see how she would react to three complete strangers asking her questions and telling her to do things. She did so great! Through the screening they kept saying "wow she is really smart. "


They called back today with all of the results, but the vision which will be reviewed by the University of Wyoming and the results mailed to us. As for the other results they said there are three levels that children score, I don't remember exactly what each of the levels was called, but Kassi scored the highest she could in every single thing!!!! We are so very proud of her. They said it was real joy to this screening because she did so well and actually completed everything and completed it correctly. Apparently not many kids make it through everything. Wes watched all of the things they did as I filled out paperwork and he said that at one point one of the ladies doing the testing said that there are 3 and 4 year olds that cannot complete the one test that she just flew through.


We also discussed what interaction she does have with children her own age, and I did tell them that it is very minimal. It was suggested that grandma start taking her to a toddler time at the library. I said that she had taken her in the past and it did not go very well. Kassi was very outgoing and social and trying to share and get the other kids to play with her and they all just backed away from her and wouldn't really play with her. After discussing this they said that they could see that happening since she is big for her age and a little further ahead than some children her age, so they suggested that we look more at taking her to groups for children ages 3-5 instead of toddler groups.


We are so very proud of our beautiful Kassi Ann. It makes a parent feel really good to know we are doing something right! I also know that we owe a lot to Grandma (LuAnn) for everything she does with Kassi during the day and of course some of it I'm sure is genetic so we have Kassi's birth mother to thank as well. Of course we thank her everyday for the decision she made the wonderful gift that she gave us, the gift of a beautiful baby girl and the chance to be parents!!

So Proud

I am so proud of Kassi. Last night we had a lot of errands to run so we left the house at 4:00 p.m. First stop bank number one, second stop bank number two (I know that seems weird but there is a reason for two banks), next stop Walmart. After Walmart we headed to see the antelope Bryan got that afternoon, then to a restaurant for supper (that's our treat on errand/pay days), after supper one last store, then stop to deliver a birthday present to one of Kassi's friends, finally home by 8:00 p.m. So during this entire time Kassi stayed dry and asked to use the potty when she needed to. Amongst all the commotion and change to our normal routine she did so good. I am very proud of my "big girl" as she corrected me the other day that she is not a baby, but a "big girl now".

Potty Training

Well I think we can say we have officially actually started potty training. Kassi has had a potty since she was a year old she has used it some, and we haven't really made an issue out of it as we knew she wasn't able to really hold it. Well she is now able to hold it some so over the last week or so we have been in potty training mode. We got a DVD from pull ups that has potty songs on it and she loves to listen to them, I think they have helped.

Now in the evenings she wears panties for about 4 hours with no accidents and goes in and uses the potty consistently. During the day when things are a little busier she is still using pull ups, but yesterday she didn't have any accidents from about 3;00 until bed time. This is big because we even went to a friends house and she stayed dry while there and used the potty as soon as we got home. Only one dilemma she still does not do this consistently for Grandma or Daddy. She now uses the potty for Grandpa, of course he bribes her with jelly beans! O-well still not even two yet and they say it takes an average of eight months to get fully potty trained. So we will continue on!

Fun Trip

I planned a surprise trip for Wes, to the Big Horns for a couple of days. We took out a Polaris RZR for the day on Friday. We had a lot of fun. Did miss baby girl though.
During our venture on the RZR we took some really great trails and one that I would not ever recommend anyone going on. How we made it up and then back down I am not sure. Needless to say I got fired from ever getting to pick the trails we take again. I wanted to go up to this mine that was listed on the map. Well after several miles of horrible terrain, large rocks, narrow trail and slow going we got there and they had signs posted all over saying the area was closed and we couldn't even get back into where the mine was.
We ended up putting 70 miles on the RZR and saw a lot of really neat country. The owner of the resort said the average usage of them in one day is only 30 miles. I think we will probably make this an annual trip for a couple of years, but have a feeling that Wes may start liquidating the dirt bikes to come up with the funds to buy one of these news toys.

Us at Duncan Lake

Trail going to Granite Pass

On top of trail headed to Granite Pass Road.

The RZR

So, how did this log get here?

This deer walked right up to us.

Up near the top where the mine is.