Kate's new buddy, James
Little lights: as interesting as any animal, apparently!
Lions (or to Kate, CATS)
The new baby elephant
Riding a hippo with Grandpa Mac
The "dig pit"
We're back from our fun weekend in Portland and, as with all trips, it went by way too fast. As usual, Kate made a beeline right for the piano as soon as we got to Grandpa's house. What she lacks in musicality, she definitely makes up for in enthusiasm. We went to a McMenamin's for dinner on Friday and Ryan and I now officially realize that the day's of sitting down to eat are over! Kate had a great time visiting all the other diners, though--she looked like she was at a cocktail party making her social rounds. Luckily, nobody seems to mind when a chubby cheeked little girl interrupts their dinner. On Saturday, we met Ryan's friend from college, Amy, and her family at the zoo. Amy and Kevin have Josie, who's four, and James, who is just five days older than Kate. They're zoo regulars so we had the perfect tour guides. Kate enjoyed herself, but she seemed just as interested in the people, trees, etc. as she was in the animals (hence the photo of her checking out the little light bulbs--they seemed to be her favorite exhibit!) Ryan and I really enjoyed seeing the animals, though. The zoo has just gotten lions again and they were definitely the highlight. SO regal looking. Even Kate got into the lions, thinking they were just enormous cats. One walked right past us and Kate's eyes were as big as saucers. I'm sure she'll be more interested in the zoo when she's a bit older, but it was still a really fun visit. On Sunday, in our quest to become Children's Museum connoisseurs, we visited the Portland version. It was sort of a spur of the moment visit, so we didn't stay for a really long time, but it was long enough for Kate to enjoy herself. Her very favorite part was the "dig pit" which was a completely cool idea. It was a big "pit" filled with what looked like broken up tires, so it was all really squishy. There were tons of trucks, shovels and buckets. We tried to show Kate how to use the shovel, but she had her own method. We're discovering that she is very detail oriented, and always examines things before she does them. So, she got the idea, but wanted to pick up one "rock" at a time to fill the shovel. She threw a tantrum when we left the pit, so it must have been a hit with her. When we were out and about, we were playing at Grandpa's house and enjoying all the wonderful cooking he did for us!! One thing I'm really thankful for is how much less nerve wracking it is to travel with Kate now. I used to worry if I brought all the right stuff, if she'd melt down in the car, etc. but now it's so much easier. Thanks to books, snacks and Raffi, she rarely cries on the long car rides, and she's easy to take places. Although there are days I wish she was a long napper, I think we really benefit from her not relying on naps. She can just kind of go with the flow and we don't have to worry too much about when we go where. It's so nice to feel more relaxed about being a parent!
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