Our week started off with a second "1st birthday party" celebration full of prizes. My parents were unable to attend A's 1st birthday so we had a belated celebration. She enjoyed the wrapping paper a little more than last time and was thrilled to add four more baby dolls to her growing collection (two are mini dolls for travel). You can only imagine the delight in her face.
A bit of sentiment for my blog as well. When I was a little girl, my dad built a wooden cradle for me. This cradle has been through the years and put many dolls into a sweet slumber night after night. As a surprise for not only me, but for little A, my dad took apart my cradle and repackaged it for A. Definitely brought a few tears to my eyes. To see my daughter play with the baby doll cradle that I loved and treasured so much as a child - and that my dad made for me - brings absolute delight to my face. 'A' enjoyed using her new Fisher-Price tool set to help grandpa put the cradle back together.
Is this possibly a little curl in her hair? The Iron Chef and I were planning to chop off her baby locks and even things up a little (at the hair salon), but the ends are starting to curl. My mom convinced me to keep it a little longer in case it does start to curl. This may be the only time she'll have a little "curl" to her hair. We shall see.
We went on a little adventure every single day. Our first trip included: Portland Saturday Market and Portland's Rose Festival and then in Vancouver, we went to the Farmer's Market and visited the historic Ft. Vancouver. The fort was the equivalent of the biggest open play area Ms. A has enjoyed and beautiful gardens that caught her attention as well. She loves the outdoors and gardening. Who knew? Good thing I only spent money on a few marigolds and pansies for my potted plants this year because A is quite a helper and loves to pick bouquets for her mommy. How nice! Actually, the fort was quite nice and we learned a bit of history about the Vancouver area. As for the farmer's markets, not so nice. Ms. A had a little meltdown. Too many people she didn't know and didn't like was not the equation of a relaxing afternoon that she was looking for. Needless to say, we didn't stay long.
We also headed out to drive along the scenic highway in Portland, which is absolutely gorgeous. The Chef Family has already been to this area several times this year already, but it never gets old. The natural beauty of the area simply cannot be ignored. We also ventured to a few new falls this time and hiked a few new trails as well. Thank goodness for our backpack for little A because she definitely wouldn't have made it walking.
Another mini-adventure day was to head out to the zoo. Bad, bad, bad decision. Being the last week of school AND $2 Tuesday at the zoo meant hundreds of kids all over the place. We found a parking spot (after a 20 minute traffic jam into the zoo) and stood in line only to watch bus after bus pull into the parking lots. After 20 minutes in line and barely seeing the ticket booth, we decided to go with plan B - the Children's Museum. Actually, we didn't plan on going there at all, but were willing to take the chance. We thought 'A' would be too young for the museum, but she had a blast!
'A' had a meltdown after this picture (see below) because she didn't want to leave the baby dolls. :( This was the imaginary hospital and we put the babies to "sleep" back in the nursery. That was definitely not what she wanted to do. We're learning to share babies. Although she's not too good at it yet.
We also visited the International Rose Test Garden in Portland's Washington Park. This park is absolutely amazing this time of year with 10,000 roses! And apparently rhododendrons as well. Mostly roses, but tons of beautiful foliage and greenery as well. Just plain and simply one of the prettiest places in the city.
Goof-ball, goofy and goofier! Bunnies by the Bay has one of the best blankies for babies on the market. This bunny was given as a gift to 'A' when she was born and has become an absolute favorite. The bunny is silky on one side and soft on the other and (obviously) has a bunny on top. And, as can be seen, she enjoys this blanket for more than just naptime soothing.
And this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of BOB! Yes, this is a favorite addition to the Chef Family and our day to day activities just wouldn't be the same without this stroller. 'A' and I use this stroller almost every day. Whether at the park or for a run, we've definitely put the miles on this one.
1 comments:
What a fun time!! The cradle story made me cry...how sweet!
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