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".