27 July 2012

Happy First Birthday!

It's happened. The little girl I carried inside me for 9 months, the little girl I labored with for two days, the little girl I struggled to push out of me for 3.5 hours... she has turned one.
 The first thing we did when she woke up yesterday morning was show her all the presents she had waiting for her.
She liked that idea (or maybe just the camera) a lot. But before we let her open presents, we took her to go get her 12-month vaccines.
 When we got home and let her open presents, she wasn't quite as excited about them.
Poor sad baby. 
She kept pushing the presents away from her.
 We'd give them back.
And then she'd push them away (and onto the floor) again.
 Eventually, I helped her unwrap one.
She liked what was inside, but not the paper!
 This car is fun!
 It clicks every time you move it.
 The hat didn't last long.
 Because of her post-vaccines fussiness, we only unwrapped a couple of presents at that time.
 But the ones we did unwrap, she liked!
After presents, it was time for birthday cake!
 I made a chocolate chip cheesecake for her, because, you know, she likes cheese.
One year old!
 She didn't know how to blow out the candle, though she was interested in the flame. No, Calista, I won't let you burn yourself.
 Still a little hesitant...
 Um, yeah, this is good.
 I'll just put the entire thing in my mouth, okay?
Birthdays are tasty!
 Can she eat the entire thing? 
 I don't know, but she's going to try...
She's starting to slow down.
So we took the cheesecake away.
Messy, happy birthday girl!
All that remains of the cheesecake.

In spite of her vaccines, it was a good day. Maybe next year, we won't be so mean and get her poked and hurt on some day other than her birthday.

24 July 2012

We stand on guard for thee

Okay, so this post is only, what, 3 weeks late? ...not too bad?

For Calista's first Canada Day, and for the first time in years, we were able to be in Raymond with the Rasmussen family. It was nice to see all of Kyler's family, and Calista enjoyed some more cousin time.
The Saturday before Canada Day, we went with some of our nieces and nephews to the pool. Calista enjoyed herself, until she got hungry, and then she enjoyed her cheerios and goldfish. While we were eating our snack, I realized I hadn't taken any pictures yet. 
Calista tolerated the photo shoot.
After her snack, we went back into the pool to get a few pictures.
The Babe and me. What a silly girl she is. After Kyler took the above picture, our niece Abby offered to take one of all three of us.
Calista's not looking, but what do you want from an 11-month-old? She's not screaming, either.

While we were away from home, having Calista sleep in different cribs and different places, she didn't always sleep that great. The morning of the parade, she woke up before 5, thinking she should be awake for a while. After trying to convince her to go back to bed for an hour, I woke up Kyler, gave him a baby, and went back to sleep for a bit.
Apparently Kyler has the magic Sleep-Touch.

After Calista and I both napped a little, we all got ready to head to the parade.
Canada Day outfit! Because it was hot that day, and because she pulled off the bow, neither the sweatshirt or the hair accessory made it through the day, but she looked dang cute in the pictures!

We parked Calista next to her closest cousin (on the Rasmussen side), Bryce.
He's a bit of a ham.
And he enjoyed playing with his hat.
When he offered it to Calista, we took him up on it,
snapped a picture, and then gave it back.

The entire family was there.
See? Scarlett, Katelyn, and Paige.

The parade was fun. Not too long (though everyone said it was the longest one yet), and somewhat entertaining.
This guy was my favorite. Who can go wrong with a kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing, cool hat-wearing, volunteer fireman?

Calista's favorite thing?
Stealing candy and trying to eat it. Yum!

17 July 2012

On our own trail to Oregon

Another road trip! Calista has done a lot of these, she's getting to be quite the experienced traveller, at least by car. This time, we went to Oregon for a family reunion of sorts. On our way, we stopped in Sparwood, BC to see a huge mining truck.
We listened to a retired man prattle on about driving the truck, searching for diamonds in NW Territories, and inspiring runs on books. Calista really just enjoyed the break from the carseat and the chance to eat some oatmeal.

We also stopped at Multnomah Falls, because Kyler had never been there.
Sadly, the trail to the top was closed due to landslides, so we only went up to the bridge. Still, a nice little walk and, again, break from the carseat.

The purpose of this trip was to go to the BEACH and see family.
Look! Beach + Family!

We  did a lot of different things the week or so we were in Oregon, all of it with my family. It was nice. So, let's review...

We went to Tillamook Cheese Factory - yum!
Calista absolutely loved the cheese, both real and toy. She also loved her first taste of ice cream (thanks, Aunt Loradona) and freaked out when she didn't get more (...thanks, Aunt Loradona). Kyler and I came back to Canada with quite a bit of our favorite cheeses, so everyone is happy.

We went to Seaside. It was a little rainy that day, but still fun.
We took our picture next to Lewis and Clark, because, you know, why not? We also went into this free, and a little lame, shark "museum"? "display"? Something. Since it was free, though, we don't have too many complaints.
Calista wanted to touch the sharks, maybe even eat them if we let her get close enough. What can I say? She likes seafood.
In general, though, she was unimpressed with the shark displays.
Kyler thought it was scary, though.


One of the biggest highlights of the trip was introducing Calista to the ocean and beach.
Where we stayed was only a couple blocks from the beach, so the second day of the trip, we took Calista to experience the sand and water.
At first, she was a little unsure of the sand.
Then she tried to eat it. She was only mildly successful. After attempting to eat sand, Kyler and I let her walk towards the ocean.
Calista didn't seem scared, so Kyler took her to see the waves.
She absolutely loved it!
It seems like we have a beach baby on our hands!

One of my goals for the trip was to go to the beach every day we were there, and I am proud to say I was successful! On days that the weather was like this:
it was easy. On other days, when it wasn't quite as nice, it was a little more difficult. But we still did it! We went to some really fun beaches, like Hug Point,
which had a pretty waterfall we simply had to take pictures by.
We saw some fun tidepools and an Oyster Catcher my sister named Oscar.
The beach that was my personal favorite of the trip, though, was Oswald West State Park.
It had some fun tidepools, and Calista loved playing in the waves.
She would try to run towards to ocean, as if to greet the incoming waves. Sometimes it seemed like she was yelling "back" at the waves as they roared towards her.
She loved the ocean so much!
All the playing in the water and sand exhausted her, and she fell asleep in the carrier.
So cute!

Since we were at the beach, we also ate a lot of fresh, tasty seafood.
I, uh, don't have any pictures of the food. We ate it too fast. But Indiana Calista enjoyed it!

One of the best parts of this trip was that my brother and his family were able to come out, too. This meant Calista got to play with the Cousins, Lilia and Ivy! They had some pool time together, since Oregon's ocean isn't the warmest.
Lilia and Ivy have matching swimsuits. They're adorable! It was so entertaining to watch Calista and Ivy interact, since they are so close in age. And Lilia, she's just a really funny girl.
Pajama'ed Ivy and Calista enjoying each other's company.
Calista and her Koosh. It was the one thing she didn't let Ivy steal. Ivy and Calista sometimes at least appeared to cooperate.
Alphabet puzzles are fun!
Maybe even more fun when you don't have a cousin you're competing with?

One of the last things we did in Oregon was after we got back from the beach: we went to the Rose Garden.
We pretended to be Royal Rosarians, because, you know, why not?
Calista was... less than thrilled. In this picture, at least.
She did get to touch the water in the fountain, though, so life's not all bad.
Our family at the Rose Garden!

All in all, it was a good trip.

Next up in the blogosphere: Canada Day and time in Raymond with the Rasmussen Clan!
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