Peri's 2nd Birthday Party

Peri turned 2 years old in July! We threw a small party for her, which was a lot of fun! We decided to do a ladybug theme for the party, because Peri's favorite book series right now is Ladybug Girl. It took us a week or so to get all the decorations and things finished, and then we totally forgot to take pictures of them before the party. Oh well.

I did get a picture of Peri making off with one of the cookie favors I made for the guests to take home with them. Peri thought they were pretty scrumptious!

These cookies were hard to do, but I think they turned out all right in the end!

Just about a week before Peri's birthday, her newest cousin Danae was born! Peri loves her to pieces and always asks to hold her when she comes over. We're still in the process of teaching her to be gentle. Danae is a trooper and takes it well though! Here she is being held by her daddy.

We made all the food ladybug themed too! I was able to finally use my oval cupcake liners for their intended purpose! They made really good ladybugs! 

 

We also made ladybug crackers. My sister and niece Jeilyn were instrumental in getting the whole box done!

Jeilyn also helped me make these apple ladybugs! I thought they were really good! And fun to make too. I think we'll make them for snacks again sometime.

 

 

Gary was in charge of making these strawberry ladybugs! They were also a lot of fun to make and eat! 

 The only thing we didn't make was the cake. We ordered one from a bakery that we like to go to for cupcakes when we're on a family date. It was so pretty and so yummy to eat too! And it had edible glitter on it!

  

We couldn't keep the candles lighted because of the wind, so Peri just had to pretend. She didn't seem to mind, as she really just wanted to eat the frosting on the cake anyway. 

 Gary made a ladybug corn hole game for the kids to play too. My mother made some beanbag spots to throw.

That was really the only ladybug themed game we had. For other things to do we just brought out Peri's slide and filled up the pool, and everybody had a good time with that. 

Peri was really jazzed to have so many other kids to swim with! 

 Peri got a ton of great gifts, including books and dress-up items! She loves all of them and plays with them daily. Gary and I got her a balance bike that she is really starting to take to. She's still just a wee bit small for it yet, but she's still learning how to use it, and in another six months or so, it'll be perfect. She likes to take one of Gary's wrenches and bang on the bolts a little bit to "fix" it after she rides it.

 So Peri's birthday was a blast and everyone had a lot of fun! We still have yet to give out our thank you cards, but we are very happy to have been able to celebrate with everyone!

Fourth of July

So we're a month late with this update, but here is what we did for Fourth of July. We were thinking about leaving town and heading out somewhere we could actually light fireworks, but in the end we decided to stay in and just make the journey downtown to watch the fireworks in the park. It was a pretty low key day.

Gary decided to start the day with a bike ride. He went with my aunt and uncle to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and rode 50 miles. He had a lot of fun. 

We ended up spending most of the evening with my sister and her children, which was a lot of fun for Peri! She loves her cousins. We braved going downtown to find a parking space, but it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be to find a space. The prices were actually pretty reasonable too, so that was a bonus.

We found a spot on the grass just a little bit away from where the  fireworks launched, and had a fun time waiting and chatting and playing. After a while we decided we had the munchies, so we got some mini donuts (6 dozen) and a bag of kettle corn. They were really yummy!

Peri and Jeilyn. They are best buds.

Gary, Peri, and Kinton. Also best buds.

Gary's goofy face.

Having a good time posing for the camera. Kinton took this picture of us!

Peri thought the fireworks were really pretty and very loud, but she had a good time. She even figured out when to say "ooooo" and "aaaahhh". It was pretty cute.

Then it was a made hike to the garage, and when we got to our cars and were ready to leave, there was some kind of stall and nobody was going anywhere for some reason we still haven't figured out. So we got out of the car again, and waited inside the mall, so we wouldn't get carbon monoxide poisoning from all the idling cars. And other than possible death-by-asphyxiation, we had a really nice time out with the cousins.

Old McDonald Had a Farm

I've been working diligently the last few days on framing up the second basement room. I've been working with deliveries of twenty sticks of 2x4 at a time, and I'm making short work of it. The outer walls have been replaced and I've even sectioned off the new "sleeping nook" and "crawl-in closet". This I finished yesterday to the sounds of Peri singing with her mom and aunt somewhere upstairs. We were able to closely replicate it yesterday for a video, which is below. Note that Peri is very aware of the camera when we record, and she usually won't do any of her tricks, so I was very surreptitious and got the audio.

It brought a great smile to me to hear my daughter belt out "EEE-IIII-EEE-III-OOOOOOO!!!!" at the top of her lungs, out of time.

Also in Peri's repertoire: "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", "Lullabye, Lullabye", and "Ring Around the Rosey."

Anyways, I just wanted to share this quickly.

We've Added to Peri's Backyard Playground!

Naomi and I made some additions to Peri's backyard play area. We were at the Home Depot, and in the cull bin was a big group of pressure treated 4x6 timbers for $2 per stick. A length of pipe, some clamps, and several bags of cement later, Peri has an awesome horizontal bar to swing on. She promptly figured out the best application for it:

We originally thought that the next addition would be a balance beam, but that was superseded by a push-cart. See, we found an old, old riding lawnmower on the side of the garden shed, and Peri immediately jumped up into the seat and grabbed the wheel. She wouldn't let go. I peeled her out of it and she ran right back to it as soon as I put her down. Peri just loves to drive. I wheeled her over to the playground area and a half-hour later we finally went inside. Later, after dinner, Peri went back out with me and my wrenches so we could "fix it." I removed the cutting deck and the engine, leaving the wheels, seat, frame, and steering. Peri was glad to help and kept asking me if I was "fixing it."

Now Peri has always been inclined to help me on projects. At six months, she was very adept at setting screws for me while building shelves. She really loved using the wrenches on this mower. When we were done, she was really happy to hop up into the seat again and steer.

So, next week, we'll get back to the balance beam project. In the mean time, we're driving.