Penelope's Life of Late

 Penelope has become mobile (in her own right) in the last few weeks.  She now scoots on her bum to get wherever she wants.  If I ask her if she wants to take a bath, she starts scooting towards the bathroom (and flailing).  She scoots to wherever I am in the apartment.  And, of late, she loves to scoot around on  the linoleum in the entryway and kitchen.  Sorry that P looks a little ragged in these pics--she's got another double ear infection, so really we're just coping with her frustration and pain right now.

 A lot of times she just sits near the front door playing with whatever she can find. In this case it was her shoe holder and the Sam's club freezer bag that is waiting to get put back in the van.  In the above picture you can see one of her new favorite toys--a doll.  It has a binkie, which she is obsessed with taking in and out of the baby's mouth.  

 The inner lining of the Sam's bag was quite fascinating, it is silver and kind of like bubble wrap, after all.  That makes it perfect to put on your head!

 Because of Penelope's new found love of the linoleum and kitchen we finally had to break down and get a baby gate.  Yesterday she started opening cupboards and pulling stuff out, and we don't have enough cabinets to keep the unfriendly baby things out of her reach.  Hence, the gate.  She hasn't figured out that she can still access the kitchen from the other side.  She prefers sliding along the linoleum.  Up until yesterday she would just hug my legs or pinch them when I was in the kitchen doing the dishes or making dinner.  We'll get a second gate when she figures out that there is another entrance!  Look how sad she is that she's locked out.

But, then she realized I was taking pictures, so she perked up.  What you may not be able to tell from the picture is that she scoots up to the gate, grabs on, and shakes it.  Let's see if this gate lasts very long--we just bought the cheapest one to see how it goes.  We'll upgrade if we need to.  Last night after we put it up she did enjoy pulling herself up (she was sitting on my lap close to it) to a standing position.  Then she'd stand there and squeal--and shake it.  Like I said, we'll see how long it lasts, I get the feeling P will quickly learn to pull it down if she can get enough momentum!

A Short Saturday Hike

 Saturday we took a few hours to go hiking (walking) at a nearby state park, Mason Neck State Park.  We borrowed a backpack from a family in the ward and set off.   Along the way we let Penelope touch the tree trunks and leaves.

 This "moderately difficult", 2-mile trail goes through forest, over swampy sections and has a stretch along the bay (I think it's Pohick Bay).  We let Penelope put her feet in the water.  She kept watching kids who were swimming, but we weren't about to let her try that.

 Instead, we let her play in the sand.

 Which she thoroughly enjoyed.

 Dave showed her how to pick up sand and let it sift through your fingers.

I even remembered to take a family shot.  It's the awkward "I'm holding the camera" type, but hey, we're all there!

Getting Ready for Baby Boy

 We've started a few projects around the house to get ready for baby boy.  That means Penelope has re-discovered her infant toys, specifically the bouncer.  She still likes to spin her carrot and waffle-carrot (aka corn...thanks, Varinia!).

 We also went to IKEA to get a second, affordable crib.  When P gets a little bigger we'll convert the IKEA crib to a toddler bed for her.  We got rid of our desk and chair so there was space.  The crib is currently storage for P's blankets.  I may not get any boy quilts sewn before baby boy comes, but he can always borrow P's blankets and baby supplies.  We have plenty of pink and purple for him!  I also need to make curtains to block out all the light...it's nice and sunny in there, but with the 2nd crib right under the 3 windows, it has become a necessity.  Don't worry, I've got some cute IKEA fabric in mind!

You can also see the lack of storage in our apartment.  There are boxes of P's outgrown clothes, books, craft projects, etc. piled all around the kids' room, and their closet is completely full of more boxes, so much so that should we stay in this apartment another year, we are debating getting a storage unit so we can actually store the kids' toys in their bedroom.

Shelby in DC

 Shelby came to DC for a national theater competition at the Kennedy Center.  She actually was out here before we left for Utah, but was too busy to see us.  (Did you hear she won a trip to South Korea at the competition?) She arranged her ticket so that she could stay and hang out for a bit afterwards.  So, what did we do?  Mostly hung out.  By the time we got home Shelby had seen everything in DC.  So, we chilled at home with P.  And, of course, we went to Mount Vernon.

 Penelope enjoyed her day at Mount Vernon, looking at George Washington's home, once again. 

 The baby goats were roaming free, and Penelope went crazy for them.  She was still used to playing with Bud, and I think she hoped they would stand still and play with her like Bud did.  But, no luck.  This is the closest she got to the goats.  All the other goats ran away at her approach.

 By afternoon she was all tuckered out, so we sat on the porch and enjoyed the view of the Potomac while P slept.

 On Saturday we went to the zoo, which you all know is one of her favorite things.  The animals weren't as active as they were at the Hogle Zoo, but she still enjoyed herself.  This bear was especially fun for her to look at.

Shelby was trying to get a video of P freaking out, and Dave is just enjoying the spaziness of our daughter when she sees animals. 

While Shelby was visiting, P had lots of fun playing with her.  P started a new game with Shelby--I think she knew Shelby would be really good at it.  Penelope would slyly look at Shelby and then growl.  Shelby would growl back, and it would escalate growl after growl.  Now Penelope likes to initiate growling and groaning contests.  She's been quite fascinated by the new sounds she can make!  Shelby has a good video of it.  If she sends it to me, I'll post it.  It was SO funny!

Penelope's Obsession with Ashley's Dog Bud

 When we were in Utah we stayed at my sister Ashley's house down in Payson.  I didn't take any pictures with Ashley or her kids, except for this one of Dave playing with Owen (he was loving it), and you can vaguely see Tyler sitting next to him on the couch.  I'm pretty sure Tyler was playing Angry Birds.

 Penelope has always liked dogs on TV.  The few dogs she's met in our ward scared her.  One was a little too excited to meet her, and the second one she met made her think of the first, I think.  All her fear of dogs in person disappeared when she met Ashley's dog, Bud.  He is super mellow, rarely barks, and is very patient with kids.

 Bud is well-trained.  At first, Penelope simply got a kick out of watching him walk around the house--probably because he sufficiently ignored her so she could just observe for a few days.  Penelope quickly wanted to be more hands-on, so we had to call to Bud to "come" so P could get her fill.  We started by letting her touch him and pet him while sitting on Dave's lap.

 She soon tired of that, and wanted some alone time with Bud.  Bud was SO over being manhandled by P, but when you tell him to "lay down" he patiently obeys.  This allowed P to have some fun with the dog who got her so excited!  She tries to touch his mouth...

 Pulls him closer...

 Pats his legs...

 Poses with him...

Grabs his collar...and much, much more!  She also tried to grab his tail whenever he walked past, or when he was sitting next to her.  She now thinks every dog is as nice and patient as Bud.  We'll have to consider getting her a dog of her own, maybe.  And that's a big maybe.  There's no way I'm having a dog in an apartment.  I want an outside dog!

A Trip to the Zoo with Collin and Kayleigh

 Saturday after all the graduation festivities had ended Dave and I went to the zoo with Penelope, Collin and Kayleigh.  Nicole met us there later in the day.  Our friend Caren also stopped by to hang out.  Hogle Zoo is the place to be!  This is a picture to see how excited Penelope was!  She LOVED the animals.  Here she is looking at some sort of monkey.  Notice how her arms and legs are flailing and stiff.  She was THAT excited at anything that moved.  She would groan, moan, squeal, flail and anything else you can think of to show her excitement.  It was a full-body experience for her, and a lot of fun for me and Dave to watch.  We love experiencing new things with our little boddler (baby + toddler)!

 I made everyone take the "Do you measure up?" pictures.  I have these pictures from every time I went to the zoo as a kid.  It's fun to see yourself grow when you look through the photos over time.  Penelope was the star of every picture.  Dave is taller than an adult male, but his arms are a little too short.

 Kayleigh is already taller than an adult female.

 Collin got photo-bombed by this kid, who would NOT get out of the picture!

 Group shot near the orangutans!

Family photo in the small vertebrate house.  As you can tell, P's attention is directed at the animals, not the camera.

Nicole's Graduation Lunch

 After graduation, Lesleigh and Brandon were gracious enough to host a family lunch.  It was yummy!  Penelope was pretty mommy-clingy during the trip, so I wasn't able to take any pictures.  I was at the mercy of other people taking pictures.  We did, however, manage to get a few important shots!  Here is Penelope with her Grandma and Grandpa Kay.

 Penelope was much more sure about sitting on Dad's lap for a picture with her great-grandparents.  She even decided to smile!

I have no pictures of anyone else at the lunch, but Collin and Kayleigh were good cousins.  They found her two squishy balls to play with and she was in heaven...as long as she was with me. :)  Obviously, I didn't know the picture was being taken.  We had a great afternoon with the family.  Hopefully next time Penelope will be more amenable to being held by someone other than me.  She literally didn't even want Dave to hold her.  She wouldn't sleep in the pack and play, we had to kick Dave to the couch and she slept in bed with me.  It was an exhausting trip, but great to see the family!

Nicole's BYU Graduation

 We went to Utah at the end of April for Nicole's graduation from BYU.  She earned two master's degrees. Congrats, smarty pants!  The desire for two master's must run in the family.

 I'm pretty convinced by looking through all the pictures that were taken at graduation that NO ONE knew when pictures were being taken...ever!  Here is Nicole with Lesleigh, and thinking they weren't in the picture: Dave's dad, Duane and his parents, Grandma and Grandpa Kay.

 Unfortunately this was the best group shot.  Nicole's eyes are closed, I'm not really looking at the camera, and it looks like the sun is in Dave's eyes.  The grandparents are spot on, though!  Hooray, Grandma and Grandpa!

 The Kay siblings: Dave, Nicole and Jonathan.  Penelope likes them all (when I'm nearby).  I think it's because they all look related.  The same thing happens with my siblings when Penelope hangs out with them.

Jenn, Dave, Duane, Nicole and Jonathan