First Bath -- August 25

Vivian had her first bath.  It seemed fitting somehow that her first bath happened to coincide with the day she was baptized!  Vivi seemed to enjoy the bath, she was a little fussy beforehand and calmed down entirely for the duration of bath time.

Vivian's Baptism -- August 25

Vivian was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Laramie on the 25th of August.  One woman at church gave us a homegrown zucchini and some yellow squash.  Vivian wore the same dress that Hazel wore last summer, and the same socks that Andrew wore at his baptism.  

Vivian was a sleepy little girl in church, and pretty much slept through everything.  Grammy, Nana, and Grandad were all there to celebrate with us.

Camping Trip #2 -- August 23 to 24

Our second camping trip was more ambitious.  We went out to the Snowies, which is closer to a 45 mile drive from home.  It was cloudy and bleak looking, but we went anyway, and it was worth it in the end. We left when Andrew got home from work on Friday, and barely managed to get supper eaten and the tent set up before it rained.  It rained pretty hard that night, but we stayed dry.

Hazel and Andrew read Grandfather Twilight  in the tent before bed.  Hazel slept just as well in the tent as she does at home.  

In the morning, this is what we woke up to!  The place where we camped is quite a few miles down a road that warns travelers "4WD Only" at the turnoff from the highway.  It's beautiful, and not too many people wander out that far.  

We took a two mile walk in the morning to keep warm, and brought our breakfast with us.  We walked to Silver Run Lake, which is the least popular of the two lakes out there.  It was lovely and quiet, and even Hazel walked quite a ways on her own.

Because of the rain the night we got in, we didn't have a chance to make our s'mores.  We ate s'mores for lunch, and then headed back home.

Sleeping Vivi -- August 19

Finger Painting -- August 19

We made our own finger paints, and tried them out.  We haven't been able to find real finger paint paper, so the final product is lacking in style a bit.  Hazel liked to play with the paints and squish them around.  She was so serious for most of the time we had the paints out, which reminded me that play is in fact work when you are 16 months old!

You can't tell from the pictures, but Hazel is wearing my "A Child Is More Than a Test Score" shirt.  It seemed a fitting choice for the activity.

Splash Pad II -- August 18

We made it to the splash pad one last time before it closed for the season -- apparently summer ends when school starts.  Who knew?  We had a good time.  Vivian slept through most of it, and Hazel had fun splashing.  We were the only ones there for a while, so she had the run of the place.

Camping Trip #1 -- August 17

We wanted to make sure we went camping this summer, and this was our first time.  We went to the Happy Jack area just east of town, and found a nice little spot in a creek bottom.  Hazel helped set up the tent, and Emma helped keep an eye on Vivian.

Playing Catch -- August 17

Hazel and Andrew were playing catch, a game she is finally catching onto.  

Vivian Helps With Laundry -- August 15

Telander Montessori -- August 13

Hazel and I have been working on doing activities in the afternoons most days, instead of wandering around the house and finding the bunny on the R page of her Animalia book for the umpteenth time.  We have made our own play dough, practiced putting pom poms through a hole in a jar lid, put pipe cleaners into the holes in the colander, played with ice cubes, and we have beads for stringing on shoelaces thanks to Grammy.  The activity above is Hazel playing with oatmeal.  She had a measuring cup to scoop it with, and when she got tired of scooping it in and out of the loaf pan, she spread it all over the kitchen.  Next, we're going to make finger paints and sidewalk chalk.

Kisses -- August 12

Vedauwoo -- August 10

WEST, Inc. had their annual summer barbecue at the CEO's cabin in the Vedauwoo area, and after partaking in the barbecued pig, homemade ice cream, and other yummy things that folks brought to share, we went for a walk at Vedauwoo itself.  All of the kids were given a little slinky and a bottle of bubbles at the BBQ, and Hazel was carrying hers around all afternoon.

We had quite the time getting the slinky out of the necklaces, but it was fun to watch it sproing around as she walked.  

Tea Table -- August 9

We decided that Hazel was big enough to bring this table out, and she has been eating her snacks and playing at it happily for a few days now.  The table was her Great Grammy's as a little girl, and is super sturdy.

Vivian in the Cradle -- August 9

Vivian in the cradle made by Andrew's Grandpa Dale.  Abbi, Andrew, Erin, and Hazel have all had their turn before her.

Hazel Vocabulary Update -- August

The list is starting to grow too long to keep track of, but we're still writing down anything new that we hear.  She has more verbs now, which is exciting.  The new words since the last time we posted them are:

bear
juice
ear
bike
mouth
mail (as in the mail that comes in the mailbox)
chin
banana
wheels
sneeze
butterfly
turtle
lion
monkey
bark (as in the verb)
cookie
star
Vader (she also imitates Darth Vader's breathing sounds)
deer
sheep (this is like cow, where her word for it is her imitation of our sheep noise)

Two word sentences we've heard include "dogs barking" in reference to dogs barking in the alley, "more crackers" as a request for more crackers, and "no down" as Hazel stating a preference to not be put down.  

Out for a Walk -- August 3

We took the girls up to Happy Jack for a little walk.  They both fell asleep on the ride up.

 Hazel got to walk on her own two feet, and she had a good time investigating flowers and bugs and the many rocks on the path.

We knew it was time to turn around when Hazel abruptly stopped toddling along merrily and laid down in the middle of the path.  

Eyes -- August 2

Vivian sleeps a lot, so it's always fun to catch her with her eyes open.  

Good Dog, Carl -- August 2

Hazel's favorite book right now is a collection of Good Dog, Carl stories.  She has favorite pages that she will turn to over and over again, including the bunnies in Carl Goes Shopping, the balloons in Carl's Afternoon in the Park, the kid dressed as a turtle in Carl's Masquerade, and the little girl who looks like Nellie in Carl Goes to Daycare.  

Silly Sneezer -- August 2

"Sneeze" is one of Hazel's most recent words, and she gets the biggest grin whenever she sneezes herself.  She also gets a kick out of anyone else's sneezes, including her sister's.  Hazel and I were taking pictures of Vivian when we happened to catch a sneeze in action, and Hazel was delighted.  Vivian didn't look very excited about sneezing, but it doesn't seem to bother her as much as the hiccups.  Despite what the pediatrician will tell you about how babies aren't bothered by the hiccups, this one is clearly bothered by the hiccups.

Sisters -- August 1

Regarding each other on the couch.  When this picture was taken, Hazel had just finished explaining in 

her 15-month old way that one does not put feet on or near the 

baby's head.  This involves her saying "no" while putting her foot near the baby's head.  We're happy that she understands the concept, and are generally impressed with how quickly Hazel is learning to be gentle around the baby. 

Helpful Hazel -- August 1

Hazel has become pretty helpful over the past few months, she likes doing things the rest of us might find a little dull or annoying.  Nellie was over the other day and the two were playing with a castle that was Andrew's, and Hazel kept putting the knights away as Nellie was trying to play with them.  Nellie kept telling her that it wasn't time to clean up yet, but for Hazel, picking up the toys is the game. 

Hazel likes to put like things together in baskets and boxes and bags, she likes to put clean clothes from the washing machine into the dryer, and she revels in the opportunity to put garbage in a trash can (as demonstrated above).    Garbage is otherwise off-limits, but if she finds something that needs to go in the garbage, we open the cupboard door so that she can put the trash where it belongs.