Necessity being the mother of invention...

...here's our red-neck swimming pool! Nearly as good as the real thing.

Busy weekend (Part 2)

Forgot to add this one to the wedding post...Kate loved dancing with daddy!

Gumpa Bob by his name on the wall

Commemorating Kate's great-grandpa and his brothers

Today we went to a ceremony to honor veterans, especially Gamma Starla's dad and his brothers who served during World War II. Their names were placed on the Veterans' Memorial Wall, along side Gumpa Bob who served in Vietnam and Gumpa Bob's dad. The memorial is set at the base of Mt. Shasta and it couldn't have been a nicer day to honor all the men and women who have served throughout the year. We were fortunate to have been able to attend, and for Kate to know a piece of her family's history. On a different note, I forgot to mention in my wedding post how excited I was to get to visit with Ryan's cousin Cindy at the wedding. We have daughters the same age and now we're both pregnant and due only a week apart! I'm putting it out there right now that I hope we have babies the same day!!

Busy weekend!

Clint & Laura's first dance

Our little party girl!

Two mommies toting babies!

Gamma Starla & Gumpa Bob

Wow--what a fun weekend in Yreka!! The weather has been marvelous, and we've had two big events to attend. First, Ryan's cousin, Clint, got married yesterday and we had a great time visiting with all the family. The ceremony was lovely and the reception was quite a party. Kate hung in for hours of partying, and took quite a few turns out on the dance floor. Clint and Laura make a wonderful couple, and I know it made all their family and friends so happy to see them so obviously in love. There were many highlights to the whole day, but one had to be when Uncle Ray challenged Laura's family (the Brays) to a Singleton-Bray dance-off. The DJ called it a tie but, personally, I think that Ray's moves put the Singletons over the top! The party is NEVER dull with Gumpa Bob, Uncle Ray and Uncle Ross in attendance. I can't wait until the next big Singleton event!

What's better than a big pile of dirt?

Here comes the storm!

Thanks for the lift, Gramma!

To Kate, not much! Today was an exciting day for the little one because she got to see a big, green dump truck deliver a load of dirt for the garden. Then she got to dig in it, and watch the Bobcat transport it to the backyard. After that, she helped Gramma Connie put it in the raised beds and helped mommy spread it around with a rake. It was fun for all of us until we got chased in by a thunderstorm! At least the new dirt will get a good dose of water!

Modern technology is amazing!

I just got back from having my first (and only, probably) 3-D ultrasound and it was totally mind blowing!! The baby appears from all measurements to be normal and healthy and, as the ultrasound tech said, "one of the most active babies she's ever seen" (hmmm...sound much like Kate??) The first part was in traditional 2-D, but when she got to the head, she put it into 3-D and it looked just like a "real" baby! I mean, I know it IS a real baby, but I could see exactly what the baby looks like at this point. She estimated he/she was about 1 lb 10 ounces right now, and I could totally see all the facial features and every little finger curled up by the face. He/she was even sucking his/her thumb!!! This whole he/she business is cumbersome, but I'm glad we're going to be surprised. I showed the pictures to Kate and all she said was "it's a baby" and didn't appear very impressed. My mom, on the other hand, reacted with the appropriate "oohs" and "aahs"! :) I can't wait until Ryan gets home to show him!

Some kids like youtube....

photo courtesy: www.deere.com

photo courtesy: www.bobcat.com

...ours likes online videos of machinery. Almost all the parents I know entertain their toddlers with online video clips, mostly, it seems, of Sesame Street and the like. Kate, however, likes to watch videos of Bobcats and John Deeres. She recently informed Ryan and I that she "wanted a new Bobcat and a new horse." I think she might be waiting awhile for those, especially as she went on to ask if "they came in blue" (they don't--we checked the website). She found the fact that they don't come in blue mildly disturbing, so I told her that, should she ever actually get a Bobcat, she could probably paint it. Problem solved, for her at least. Ryan and I may be at a loss if she's still asking for farm equipment and farm animals come Christmas......

Fun with "big kids"

Kate had a great time playing with her "big kid" friends, Shaun and Ryan, this weekend. They came out to see us on Dusty Loop and, despite the less than warm weather, they all enjoyed playing with buckets and buckets of water. They also helped feed the horses and dogs, so they've become "farm kids," too. Shaun and Ryan's dad Josh has been friends with Kate's dad Ryan since pre-school, and it's so fun to watch their kids play together. We were talking about how it seems not long ago that we were at Josh and Jen's wedding, and that they were at ours, and now there are almost four kids among us! Now that we're living close to them, all the kids will get to grow up together, just like Josh and Ryan. A fantastic example of history repeating itself, I think!

First swimming pool, first gambling lesson....

Yesterday, Ryan and I took Kate for a dip in her first "real" swimming pool (other than the backyard variety). She's probably a bit late on this first, but the pool in P.A. was really cold, so mommy never wanted to go in it! The pool for little kids here is warm and fantastic. Actually, there's a couple indoor pools and, once it gets warm, there's a huge outdoor area that looks like it will be great. We were wondering how Kate would take to this experience, which she called "a big bath" and, to our relief and joy, she seemed to like it a lot. To her delight, the pool had a whole bunch of watering cans (her favorite "toy" of late), so she was immediately drawn in. There is also a duck slide made just for little kids, and she went down it with some aid from daddy. She was NOT happy when we had to leave, so it must mean that the pool is a success! We've got a whole Saturday out in front of us now, and I'm not entirely sure what we'll do, but I'm sure it will involve the outdoors even though the weather isn't the best. We've already done our daily "chores," of feeding dogs, cats, getting the newspaper and checking out the horses. Kate's already dirty, so it looks to be typical day at Dusty Loop!

New town, new doctor

I saw my new doctor today for the first time, and he seemed really nice. He said he was partial to red-heads, having three daughters with red hair, so he can't be bad, right?! The baby's heartbeat was strong, and he said my belly is measuring exactly 23 weeks along. I must say that my belly feels HUGE. I often marvel that it can keep stretching since I know I'm going to get MUCH larger in the coming months. I wondered the same thing with Kate, though, and somehow the belly just keeps expanding. Skin truly is an amazing organ! Kate is still complaining that she "can't see" the baby, and looks at me accusingly, as if I'm intentionally concealing a playmate from her. As she is sure that when the baby comes out (is "done cooking" in her words), she is going to: "take baby in stroller," "go outside," and "play toys," I'm certain that she is going to be shocked to see that the baby is not quite able to keep up with her. It seems not long ago that Kate was a tiny, tiny one, so I know that it really won't be long until our two kids really are playmates.

Wait a sec....

Kate's all into saying, "wait a sec..." now, along with all sorts of other phrases like, "it might be...," "probably, it is....," and "I think so..." I'm really learning what I must say to her all day long! Ryan and I DEFINITELY had to say "wait a sec, is this OUR child??" a couple nights ago when we went to a bar-be-que and Kate threw an enormous, epic-length tantrum. We knew she had a set of lungs and could protest, but this was at a whole new level. She got herself into a complete tizzy over who-knows-what and we finally had to leave so as to end both our suffering and that of the other guests! I must say it was quite embarrassing to be the parent who had no control over their child, but it was one of those times when NOTHING pleased her. I'm not sure we'll be invited back! My mom always told me I threw one huge tantrum in public and never did it again. This was at a Farrell's restaurant and, even though I have no memory of the tantrum, I was always afraid to go back there in case they recognized me as "the horrible child" or something. Ryan and I are hoping that this was Kate's one big incident, but we're a bit worried that her personality might indicate otherwise!!

Kate (A.K.A. Don King)

Seriously, is this not the most impressive display of bed-head you've ever seen?? I don't know if it's the dry Bend weather or something Kate is doing in her crib at night, but she has been waking up with some of the most outrageous hairdos I can imagine. I couldn't achieve this if I tried (I'm not sure why I ever would...Halloween?), but it is quite a treat to see what I will find each morning. Not as much fun to dismantle, however!

Good-bye Great Grandma Helen

We had the sad news this morning that Great Grandma Helen (or mom or just grandma, depending on your generation) passed away. It was expected, but that did not seem to make it less sad. I was so glad that Kate, my mom and I were all together today. We looked at some pictures and Kate surprised us both by pointing out "Great Gamma Helen." It seemed such a nice sign that Kate will know about her even if she didn't get to spend much time with her in person. Someday, we'll tell Kate all the fantastic, zany and mischievous things Great Gamma did (and, as anyone who knew her knows, there's quite a lot to tell!). As for today, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we spent most of it outside, where Great Grandma would have been on a day like today. We took Kate for a walk along the river, and Kate dug around the apple tree Ryan and my mom planted for Great Grandma. There is something about the joy of the newest generation that does help soften the blow of losing the eldest generation. On a light note, and just to prove that Kate can make me smile on the saddest of days, we stopped by a maternity store that is right by the river trail. I had to take the leap and just buy a swimsuit (who likes to do this, ESPECIALLY when pregnant??) because I want to put Kate in swim lessons this summer. Kate was in the dressing room when I put it on and, without any prompting whatsoever, she looked at me and said, "mommy look good." If she's not perfect, I don't know what is. Grandma used to call me her "SPA" (Smartest Person Alive) and now I feel just that same way about little miss Kate. Great Grandma Helen will be watching her grow and loving every minute of it.

Lost in translation

I got a good lesson today in the literal nature of toddlers. We have a Berenstein Bears book called "New Baby" which I've been reading to her. I loved these books when I was little, but I did notice that either this wasn't one of their best adventures or my tastes have changed because it's, well, a tad weird. Papa Bear takes the Brother Bear out into the woods one day to chop down a tree and there informs him that there will soon be a new baby in their house (which Brother Bear has no inkling of despite Mama Bear's enormous mid-section). By the time they're back from the woods, by golly, there's a NEW BABY right there in the house (about the size of a toddler, mind you) and already with the ability to playfully pop Brother Bear right in the nose. Perhaps in bear country this sort of gestation/birth scenario is quite plausible but in humans, not so much. We all joked that Kate was going to have quite an impression about the birthing process, so we shouldn't have been surprised when she looked at me this morning and said, "I go outside and new baby comes," and "daddy go outside and new baby comes." I told her it wouldn't be happening today because the baby had to spend more time growing in my tummy, to which she demanded that I pull up my shirt and "show her baby." I showed her my belly and she looked at me as disparagingly as a toddler can and said "can't SEE baby, take off skin." All day long, she kept telling me that the new baby was coming when she went outside, so I guess the Berenstein Bears made more of an impression than any of my explanations did. She cleared things up a bit at bedtime, when she looked at me while I was reading to her and said, "new baby go outside. Not now. Cook longer." Hmmm, sounds about right to me!

It's in the genes

To me, my grandma Helen in one of the most tenacious, determined woman ever. I'm happy to say that I think these qualities have been passed on to Kate; everyday, I see shades of my grandma in this pint-sized package. This morning I had to chuckle at the very evident expression of her great-grandma's genes. We went out to take a walk to the mailbox to pick up the newspaper. Kate wanted to carry to watering cans with her. When I suggested she might want to leave them, as the walk in over a half mile round-trip, she said, "I do it myself." I already know that I will not win any battles that include her saying "I do it myself," so I didn't fight it. Lo and behold, she hauled those cans in her tiny hands. We must have been quite a sight: a toddler with two watering cans, a pregnant mommy, five dogs and Frank the cat. How nice to think that I'll see my grandma every day just by looking at my little girl.

A kid's rite of passage

Ryan, Kate and I had a really lovely Mother's Day today, just hanging out with our little family. It's hard to believe that, first, I am a mom at all and, second, that I'm nearly a mom of two!! Unbelievable. It's also my grandma's birthday today, so my went to Salem to spend it with her. We all know that these are grandma Helen's final days, but I thought of her a lot today, knowing that she has had quite a life. She is one of the people I admire most in this world, and truly one of the most caring, hard-working moms and grandmas there could have been. My mom, Kate and I weeded some in the yard yesterday and decided that we were weeding in grandma's honor since she loved being out in the garden more than anything. It is a sad time, but I cherish all the memories I have of her. She was one of a kind, I know that for sure. On a much lighter note, Kate a had a kid's rite of passage this weekend: her first ice-cream (or "ice-ceam" as she called it). Her verdict was that it was "yummy." My sentiment's exactly! We made a great discovery because we ordered a cone from McDonald's to let her have licks of, only to be offered a baby-sized cone for free. We don't frequent McDonald's, but that was quite a deal!

The biggest event of the day

Kate's favorite moment of the day at Grandpa Bill and Grandma Connie's house is when Grandpa feeds the horses. She asks "Grandpa feed horses with Bobcat?" all day. When he does fire the Bobcat up, she watches in complete awe. As soon as he's done, she says something like, "again, pretty soon?" I think she--and the horses--would love it if they were fed all day long. While she waits, she likes to go down and check all 7 of the horses out. She never tires of watching them, and has even gotten brave enough to touch them on her own. I'm sure it won't be long before she's asking for a pair of boots and spurs of her very own!

Hello, Bend!

We made it to Bend yesterday afternoon, and Kate must have been tired out from the journey because she slept hard--and woke up with the most fantastic bed-head I've seen on her yet!! She is happy to be here with Grandpa Bill and all the animals, but she is really missing Grandma Starla and Grandpa Bob. She's been asking for them over and over again, and spent quite awhile on our car journey saying "I don't know where Grandma Starla is," "I don't know where Grandpa Bob is," "I don't know where daddy is...." Poor thing! I feel so bad that she is confused, but she is handling it really well so far. She's definitely missing her friend Kevin, and keeps asking "if Kev's sick" probably to figure out why she hasn't seen him in so long. Making everything even more confusing is that Grandma Connie isn't here. My grandma Helen has taken a turn for the worse and my mom went almost straight from her plane to Hawaii to Salem to be with her. We're not sure what is going to happen, but it's where Grandma Connie needs to be right now. We'll be excited to see her when she gets home, hopefully on Friday. It's quite a time for everyone right now, but we are lucky to have such a strong family to help each other through everything. Ryan and Bill are at work (they go EARLY), so it's just Kate and I today. We'll be doing chores, checking out the horses and hoping for better weather than yesterday's random snow flurries and incredible winds!! If the weather doesn't cooperate, Kate will likely be happy to entertain herself as she did yesterday for over an hour: with a dryer sheet and some animals, playing "bed time." Kids are creative, for sure!

Bye, bye Yreka...

Halfway there!

Helping Gumpa

Fun with Cali

We've had such a fun, relaxing time in Yreka, it's hard to believe we've been here 10 days. Tomorrow, we're moving on again, to our third temporary housing with grandparents! What would we do with all these willing hosts?? Our menagerie is heading to Grandma Connie and Grandpa Bill's house in Bend, where we will add ourselves to 4 dogs, a cat and a whole bunch of horses. We'll officially be moved to Bend, but we have a lot of work to do before we get settled---namely, finding a house! Everything else has fallen into place, so we're hoping the perfect house finds us as well. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the "ranch" life for a bit!