Yesterday we took our first trip to Jetty Island. It's a man-made island, and a failed attempt to create a harbor for the Port of Everett. Anyway, you jump on the ferry and take a maybe 5-minute ride over, and there you are! Sandy beach, warm shallow water...I'm not sure if we were in Washington or Florida! You're really roughing it over there...no paved walkways, one pit toilet, a first aid station, some volleyball nets and a few fire pits...that's it.
It was a blast!
After we claimed our patch of sand, Blake got down to business.
Oh hello there.
Side note - Walking is not far off! All at once, in the past few days or so, she has been stringing together more than the usual 2 to 3 steps. Try 9 to 10 steps. Well, they go something like: step-wobble-step-wobble-step-wobble... She's still crawling primarily, but when the mood strikes she can wobble-step her way across a room (in a few minutes!).
So, we played in the sand for a while, and then went down to check out the water. Hollie put her toes in and admitted that it was warm but didn't want to go any farther. I was ready to jump right in, so I convinced her to let me carry her out. We waded out until I was in up to my waist, and then the water started getting a little cold, so we went back. Daniel was standing a watching us, and Blake was holding onto his legs and watching too, and it was so cute that I told him to wait there while I went to find the camera. Then I remembered...
...it was in my pocket.
Along with my phone.
So, they're pretty much useless. We tried the bowl of rice trick overnight, and it hasn't helped either of them. We think the salt water must have corroded them, so just drying them out doesn't help. Somehow I still got the beach pictures from the memory card. I'm really glad I spent a little extra on a warranty for the camera!
We will definitely be going back.
Today, Daniel had to finish up a presentation for work on Monday, so I took the girls to the Mill Creek Festival. We went specifically the watch the dogs dock-jumping competition. Daniel and I had seen it once a long time ago on TV (a slow day on ESPN, maybe) and were intrigued, and this was our first chance to see it in person (and Daniel missed it). One at a time, the dogs get a running start and leap off the end of a platform to retrieve a lure at the end of a 20-foot pool, and are judged on their time or distance, depending on the competition. The winner of the time competition was about 5 and a half seconds, and the longest distance was 7 feet, if I remember right. After the competition, they allowed any of the spectators who had brought a dog to try it out. One dog refused to jump, and just ran back and forth across the platform, evading his owner! Most would run down, screech to a halt at the edge, and fall timidly into the water. Hollie and a bunch of other kids were lining the edge of the above-ground pool, waiting to be splashed after every jump. So much fun!
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So, here's something I've been meaning to do for a while. I've taken some great video over the last few weeks. Enjoy...
July 1st - Blake's birthday party!
There were so many little kids and adults (big kids) running around that I decided not to try my luck at getting everyone together (and quiet) so I could take video. I knew we'd be doing this again on her real birthday anyway.
PS - I keep all the videos and pictures that Hollie takes when it's her turn with the camera. Really should post them sometime. :)
July 5th - Blake's ACTUAL birthday!
Skyping with Pepere...
and birthday cookies...
Yesterday - Miss Blake has a little fever. :( I think she's teething again - four isn't enough, she wants more!
She started making this silly noise, and we all agreed...she's loopy! Poor girl. She's been sleeping a lot, and cool baths are really helping. Despite feeling bad for her, I could watch this video all day long. :)
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I don't think I ever mentioned...
Hollie's first week of school went great! On the last day, I went to observe her class. She still hadn't been telling me much of what she was doing. She had fun, she played...that was all I was getting. Everyday when I picked her up, the teacher would tell me, she's so sweet, she did great! but I still wondered, and I realized that my underlying concern was: yes, she's sweet and doing great, but she's three, and she's new at this school thing...so I think what you mean is that she struggling just the way a new student is supposed to struggle...and I want to know just exactly what she's struggling with! Not because I'm going to fix it at home, but just because I want to know!
It was really nice. She went right in and passed the spot by the door where she needed to leave her backpack, so I reminded her. After that, she knew just where to take off her shoes and put on her slippers. She hung with me a little bit, hung with the kids a little bit, then wandered by herself for a minute before getting out a beading thing. She took it to a table, used it for a minute, then got up and put it back.
Then, the teacher, Miss Cindy, showed her how to pour water into a little three-dimensional land form to create a bay (there were other forms for rivers, lakes, etc.), and place a few small objects in it (some animals, a train, a boat) based on whether they belong in the water or on land. Hollie put the giraffe in the water and when her teacher questioned it, Hollie said he was taking a bath. Miss Cindy got up to help another student, and Hollie moved the pieces around for a while before cleaning up. She asked me if she could do another one, and I said yes, but she still went to ask Miss Cindy if it was okay!
She needed some reminding from me about where to put everything away, and a reminder (on a few occasions) from Miss Cindy to push in her chair (before you pick up the thing you're putting away!).
Next she had a snack. There was a bowl of goldfish crackers (Hollie's crazy about these) with a cup for scooping and a little paper with a number "1" and a single line (for the kids who don't know numbers yet), indicating everyone is allowed one scoop. Hollie apparently hadn't been taught about this yet, and wasn't willing to take my word for it, so she had two scoops. She needed some guidance from me to wash her dish, and I could tell she was losing focus quickly so I didn't even mention pushing the chair in.
Next she caught sight of a whole cup-full of kid scissors. Irresistible. Miss Cindy showed her where to find strips of paper that were just wide enough to cut with one snip. Hollie took it to a table and got right to work. Her teacher commented on how good at it she was...I didn't mention that I never let her use scissors at home (I'm kind of paranoid about it). Maybe it's time to start. She put all the tiny snips of paper into an envelope and gave them to me to send to Grandma. I'm sorry Mom, I was really going to send them to you but I lost the envelope! :(
After this (and another reminder to push in her chair), she began wandering again, so I decided it was time to leave (just enough time to run one quick errand...). She's just the same Hollie that she is at home. I should have known. Feels good to have seen it though.
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