Cousins.

Today is yay for cousins play day!

Tanner, William, and Nathan are really fun cousins. They are so fun that they don't stop moving. Ever. 

I like trying to run around the circle after them. I start running toward them and pretty soon they are running behind me. They pass me and almost knock me over every time. I like them, but they are scary. I stop and cry for a minute. Then, I see what Nathan is playing with. It reminds me about I have the music maker at Oma's. I love that. The boys keep running and I sit and play with Nathan. Mama has trouble getting pictures in all the chaos. I sing "Old MacDonald" for a little while those boys keep running.













The only time everyone sat down is for a snack. Apples, carrots, and muffins. I ask for "wa-wa" and Mama finds my favorite pink water bottle. I sit in a big girl chair, but really just want in the high chair Nathan is using. He doesn't use it for long because he wants to sit with his Mama. Good, I get the chair now. Sometimes I'm not ready to be a big girl.



Before we go home, it is reading time. Oma is the best story teller. She never says the real words, I know because I bring her the same 2 books every time and the story is always different. Maybe I'll teach her to read someday. It can't be that hard. I can already sing the first part of that ABC song. Reading must come soon after that. 



Sometimes it's fun to have your own book. I can read all the words myself. Sometimes though, I like to lay in the middle of it all while Oma and Tanner try to see the pictures around me. Tanner is so patient and lets me do whatever I want. He got up to pick a new book when he was tired of my shenanigans. 



Uncle Scott likes to help us read too. Tanner turns the pages and Uncle Scott reads the words. We all laugh when we can't find the puppy under the first few flaps. Uncle Scott says, "yep, a lion!" Tanner says, "Wait, we skipped a page." I say "Monkey, monkey, lion, rawr," the whole time we read. It is fun to read.

Beach.

Today Daddy Bear and Mama Roo took me to the Beach.

On our way they always talk about Grammy. I don't know exactly who Grammy is, but she sounds wonderful. Daddy says Grammy made the beach a place for popsicles, boats, rocks, chips and salsa, swimming, clams, and laughing with family. I don't understand everything he was saying, but it all sounds like a great story straight out of one of my books. He says that this summer I will see more of what he is talking about. Grammy won't be there, though. She went to live with Jesus. I know who Jesus is because I sing him happy birthday all the time.

When we drive for a long time, Mama Roo always packs me snacks. She gives me two choices and I refuse both of them. Two minutes later I ask for nuts, cookies, and "Wa-wa". I stack the snacks on each side of me and my water in the middle. Now days, I like to hand stuff back and forth with Daddy while he drives. Mama says that's not safe, but Daddy and I have it under control.

Soon, we get out of the car and go straight to the rocks. Daddy calls this a beach, but I am confused because the last beach we lived by has sand. I just keep saying, "Rock, rock, here hold it, two, hold it." There were LOTS of rocks. Mama says we have to say cheese.

Next, we stack rocks, throw rocks, push rocks over the edge, and try to lick a few to see what they taste like. Then I need my water. Mama Roo says, "Kami, not food." I just look at her and laugh.

After a while, I noticed I could climb this bulkhead quite easily. Up, down, backwards, sitting, up, up, down, down. Delighting in all the ways I could figure out how to get up and down, Mama and Daddy just smile.

Next we want to check out the inside of the cabin. Daddy Bear says that there is a picture of Grammy that looks just like me. While Daddy finds the key, I take interest in the statues on the porch. Now, I decide I'll stay out here instead of going inside. This little girl statue is the cutest! I ask Mama if I can take her home!

Inside, we find the picture and sure enough, I look just like Grammy at my age. I wish I would have seen her in person to see what I'm missing. Mama Roo says Grammy can see me from heaven and is so happy that I'm such a nice girl. Daddy Bear just smiles as he looks out into the sound while nodding in agreement.

We take a family picture to remember this beautiful day in February. Apparently, it doesn't happen here as often as in San Diego, so Mama says it's important to get outside as soon as the sun peeks through those NW clouds. "You never know how long it will stay out," she always says.

The great thing about visiting this place is that it holds so much meaning to our family. Whenever anyone comes out here, they retell the stories they know. Stories they have heard from grandparents and cousins, stories filled with laughter, stories about family, and stories about how things were. Every time I come Daddy Bear will tell some of the same stories I have already heard, but he will also slip in a few I haven't. He remembers them because his Daddy told him so many. It's like the walls speak to him when he comes here. Just looking at one chip in the paint, one rip in the carpet, or one flickering light sends a cascade of memories to him.Though is seems like just a location, the spirit of our family lives here, I can feel it. I see it in my Daddy's eyes.

The trip to the beach has been fun. I put down my rocks and sticks, kick the sand off my shoes, and run the length of the sidewalk one last time just like all the kids have before me. I insist on kissing the statue babies goodbye.When the sun comes out again, we will come back.

Big girl

Today is the day I want to do ONLY big girl things. 

Some days I like being Mama's baby, but some days I want to do everything by myself. Most days it's split fairly evenly. At 19 months old, I realize that acting like an adult can be fun sometimes, other times it means doing really boring things like clipping toenails or laying down to rest after dinner. Who wants to rest after dinner? Only boring people.

Today, I started out by standing like Mama Roo stands sometimes. I am playing my bird whistle that Oma got me for Christmas. I really love to whistle it over and over until Mama says, "It's time to find a different toy," and takes it away. 

Once we changed out of our jammies and got going for the day I wanted to take pictures of Isabella. I kept saying, "Boo, boo, boo," to try and make Isabella smile. "Picture, picture, cama, cama, boo, boo, boo," I said the whole time Mama did dishes. 

After a while I ask,"Wa-wa, please." Mama ruined my plan and poured it for me, so a pouted for a minute. At least she poured it in a big girl glass instead of one of those ridiculous baby cups with a lid. I hate those. 

 I drink my water out of these green, big girl cups now. When I'm done, I set in one the "little table". I nod yes when Mama asks me if I can carry it into the living room by myself.

There is one other thing I like to leave on the table with my water, my phone. Daddy Bear was cleaning and organizing last week. He found a phone just for me! He and Mama keep calling it a calculator, but that's weird because it looks just like Mama's phone. I have been texting and calling Oma, Opa, and Grandma every day. Daddy shows me how to push numbers and they come up on the screen, just like Mama's. 

I'm definitely a big girl.

Boat.

Today is the day I took Mama Roo on the ferry. It's our second time this week!

Back when I was a wee little thing Mama took me on the boat LOTS, but I kinda forgot what it was like. There are so many noises! I kept saying, "noise, noise, BIG boat, noise, backpack, baby, noise."

We sat down on a bench close to the window. "WA-wa, WA-wa, bird, kack, kack, kack," I said over and over. Then I saw a doggie. Mama Roo said, "Actually miss Lou, that's a seal. Do you remember those from the zoo?" To show her I remembered the zoo, I say, "HIPPO! ZOO!" She smiles and says yes. I relax against the back of the chair for 3 seconds before I decide to climb up and down for the remainder of the ride.

On the way back, there were lots of old people and only a few kids. Mama Roo found us a cute little girl to sit by. The girl told us she was 8. I showed her everything I had in our purse. Then I put on the purse, because I love to be just like Mama. The girl was so nice and ate all the snacks I gave her (Mama told me later that she was just pretending and just stuffing the snacks into her pocket). 

**Note from Mama: This little girl on the ferry amazing with Kami Lulu. She was patient and played with her the whole time we sat there.Watching the communication between them is the best part of seeing Kami with older kids. In this particular case, they were negotiating who would put on the "backpack" (ergo carrier) and who would buckle it. I try not to interrupt because I think it's important for little K to be able to express herself effectively to a person of any age. Both girls seemed grateful to have a moment to themselves in the middle of all the adults. :)

A few days ago when we came on the boat, Mama took me into the bathroom. Next to the toilet is a high chair. I thought it was strange, but Mama Roo said I was going to sit in it for just a couple minutes. She said last time I sat there, I was barely 4 months old. Now, I don't remember how I felt about the chair last time, but THIS time, it was so fun. Check out me saying, "HEYA, I'm on the chair!"


I sat there while Mama tried to get a better picture, but I just kept talking and dancing. Come to find out, that's not the kind of picture she wanted. Ah well, I guess we will just have to go back on the boat and sit in the bathroom chair again. 

While we were in Seattle I had lots of fun too! We should have pictures, but Mama Roo always has so many things in her hands that she doesn't have an extra one to take pictures, even when she remembers to. Sorry, I look sleepy in this last one. Mama realized she hadn't taken a picture of us together, so it "had to happen" in her words. I fell asleep in the car right out of the parking lot.

Usually, we are having too much fun laughing, talking, and eating with her adult friends to take pictures. I practiced on the boat and can say Aurora, Teanna, and Toria. The girls we have lunch with never seem to remember to bring a baby for me to play with. It's ok, though. I like to pretend to be like them. I like to sing and dance a little to make Mama's friends laugh. Usually, they try to feed me too. "Bite, please," I say. Sometimes make funny faces when it's food I'm not used to. Those faces make those girls laugh even harder. Often I make funny faces even if I like the food. I love making adults laugh.

I'll be ready to go back to Seattle soon. I already told Mama. 

Isabella.

After a probation period deemed necessary by me, I renewed my friendship pact with Isabella. Surprisingly, she tricked me into it.

See, we have been in SD for 6 months and Isabella was making new friends. She stayed back home with my Russell cousins. Then, all of a sudden we picked her up on the last leg of our journey home. Mama Roo and Daddy Bear brought her right home and acted like we've had her this whole time. They are petting her and feeding her treats. Telling me I love her and encouraging me to pet her, I decided they were trying too hard so I revolted. Refusing all  contact was the most obvious choice. Isabella ignored me and I ignored her. The setup was genius and figured we could just keep it going for a year or two. After my slight run-in with a large overbearing dog, they have all given me a little bit of anxiety. Just when I was coming to terms with the fact that I'm not a dog person, those blasted french poodle eyes got the best of me.

It appeared Isabella had a plan for our friendship (or lack thereof). The interesting part is that she was all secretive about it. She didn't act like she wanted to be friends, but I guess there were some outward signs. For example, sometimes she will just get really close to me and lay down. Here and there she would sneak in a lick right on my face. One time I caught her waiting outside my door after my nap. Mama Roo and Daddy Bear must have been in cahoots with this animal because they would always talk about coming home to the puppy and how cute she is. Apparently, she had them laying the groundwork. 

Today was the day I caved.

Mama Roo heard me saying, "nice, nice, doggie, nice" and she walked in to see me petting Isabella by myself for the first time since we have been home. I thought it was a valid moment to preserve, so I just let her snap away. Once I gained some courage from petting Isabella, my natural thought was to share some kisses.Realizing this was fun, I even let out a few giggles. Maybe this whole "a dog is a girl's best friend" thing can all work out.

Now that I'm thinking about it, this friendship could be very beneficial.....hmmmm. Off the top, I'm thinking table scraps, blaming her for things I did, talking the pup into doing something I don't want to do.....smart move Lulu, smart move. She might have tricked me into all this, but the joke is on her. This is going to be a great arrangement.
-Lulu

Chairs.

Today I can't get enough of my little recliner chair.

Great Grandma Sue and Grandpa Don got it for me this Christmas. I loved it the moment I saw it. It is just my size. Luckily, it's not pink and purple, princess, or Dora, so Mama Roo likes it too! I can climb in it all by myself and put lots of toys in it too. 

Mama says I have to "sit on my knees or my bottom," but that doesn't ruin all the fun. I like to sit backwards and forwards. I like to launch myself over the side only to land sideways on the cushion. I'll never let her get a picture of that, though. When she sees me playing all cute, she runs quickly to this spot where she always keeps one of the cameras. By the time she gets back with the camera, I'm sitting fairly still and ready with a smile. I know she wants to get some "action" shots, but I like to make it as difficult as possible for her to capture those. 

While we have been unpacking I have been playing in my old baby chairs. I can't believe I used those so long ago. Daddy Bear thinks it's cute when I climb inside, so I do it just for him (and maybe a little because it's fun). When climb in, I like to spin myself around to the giraffe and the lion. If you RAWR it makes the chair much more fun! The more you RAWR, the more fun it gets. Sometimes Mama Roo and Daddy Bear join in with the RAWRing and that's when we have a GREAT time! 

There is this one problem.This chair is a TRAP, I discovered I can't get out. A few times, I tried and got stuck with one leg in and one leg out. Mama Roo tried to help me without laughing. It didn't work. She took so long and was laughing so hard she had to sit down. My leg was just hanging there and I felt like she would never stop laughing. Parents can be so useless.

My other old chair is for the car. I like to yell, "Carsi, Carsi," whenever I see it. Daddy Bear smiles when he sees me playing in it. When I ask, "RIDE, RIDE," he scoops up the chair and swings me around like spinach in a salad spinner. I squeal and giggle enough so that he usually will do it one more time after he sets me down. It does make me a little dizzy, so when he insists on a hug at the end, I let him told me a little longer.

I can't tell you about all these other chairs without mentioning the red chair in San Diego. It was the first chair I ever climbed and kind of like my Mount Everest. That chair taught me everything I know about climbing. Duck your head when you go under chairs until you know you are all the way out, in best practice wait until you are a foot away to lift your head. You can go out the side of chairs, but the difficulty level is a 10 instead of a 2. If you wiggle your legs just right, you can get your whole belly onto the seat, once you do that, it's cake. If you haven't noticed, I spend lots of time climbing. There could be a whole post about climbing other hurdles, but I never stay in a spot long enough for Mama Roo to get the camera. When she comes back with it, I refuse to climb again. It's part of my charm.

My favorite part about different chairs is the challenge to climb them with no help. Of course, if Daddy Bear or Opa are looking at me, I whine like I need help. Opa ALWAYS scoops me up and sets me wherever I want. It's hit and miss with Daddy. Forget about asking Mama Roo. She tells me I can do it and sometimes offers tips like, "try using your foot," or "maybe the corner will be easier." Usually they help, but I like to look at her like she is crazy. 
At other people's houses, I prefer rocking chairs. They are so fun! I just dance in them and they move like a swing. Have you climbed into a rocking chair recently? You should, because you are missing out. Here's a smile to prove it.

The last chair has been a favorite for a long time. EVERY time I sit in the chair, they give me food. I'll eat almost anything when I'm in that chair. I tell Mama with sign language that I'm hungry. Just to hit the point home, I say, "hungry, hungry" or "eat, eat". She sits me in that chair and offers me lots of things. My favorites are noodles, pancakes, pears, mango, and chicken. Today we had Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, yum! 
- Love Lulu

Home.

Today is the day we came HOME. 
Well, not that I remember this home, but this is what Mama Roo says is home. She says this is where she got my room ready and this is where I learned to talk. She also said this is where she rocked and rocked and rocked me some more until 2am. That sounds fun, maybe I'll see if she'll do that again for me sometime. 

We spent 3 days in the car. It wasn't terrible like I thought it would be. I figured Mama Roo and Daddy Bear would drive me crazy talking and singing to the radio. Mama sings to EVERY song (how does she know them all???seriously???) and Daddy changes all the words because he thinks it's funny. I'm.not.amused.

I developed a plan to help me get through this. This is a rough outline. Please don't tell my parents. They are starting to suspect I know more than I tell them.

Day 1: Stay awake when I "should" be going to sleep. Talk to myself incessantly. Act like my car seat is a vice grip, squirm and whine until someone comes back here. Read books (a girl has to get some real work done at some point). Insist on making silly faces and laughing like a hyena while meowing on and off for 30 minutes or until I or they feel like I'm going crazy. Demand snacks. Refuse all snacks offered. Finally accept most messy snack offered. Act entertained and lovely for a bit so they don't leave me at a gas station (I know what happens to really naughty babies). Pretend to sleep for 10 minutes or until they stop for gas. Repeat as needed.

We stopped to eat dinner and checked into a big building that looked like the house we just left. Mama Roo and Daddy Bear call it a hotel. There were new things to touch everywhere! Naturally, Mama repeated, "Lulu, you must play on the bed or with your toys," a few times while I pointed to the garbage and plug ins. Oh boo. She just sucks the fun out of the room sometimes. All was not lost, Daddy played with me for a while and Mama brought back some delicious Panda Express. All I wanted to eat was chicken, but I gladly swirled the green beans in sauce on the table while they thought I was getting ready to eat them. Little did they know, I just wanted to make a mess. I also helped them unpack. I'm really good at that.

Day 2: Act entertained with books for a while. Demand snacks. Refuse snacks. Demand water. Take a sip and toss it aside. Demand "team". Say "team, team, team" until Daddy Bear figures out I'm asking for a GAME. They showed me the Kindle yesterday when they were trying to entertain me. Now, I think I'm addicted. I want to play the barn animal game ALL DAY. Not really, but at least for 10 minutes. I had more of a plan for today, but yesterday was so exhausting, I'll just sleep.

We stopped at a house with a little boy and a little girl. Brandon and Kallie are so fun! It was SO nice to play with some kids for a change. I love my parents, but man, they were starting to wear on me. We played and played, but then Mama Roo sucked the fun out again and said it was time to go. She said we could have dinner, so I didn't put up a big fight.

Then we went to Rocky's house. Originally, I thought they were talking about a rocking chair, but turns out it's this big guy's name. I said, "Rocky," over and over because they all kept laughing every time I said it. Something about my teeny, tiny, voice. I don't know, it's hard to follow adult conversations sometimes. Rocky fed me lots of little oranges. I decided he wasn't so scary.

Day 3: Sing loudly for a few songs to try and do it better than Mama Roo. Watch out the window and yell, "BUS!" Read. Talk to myself to try and stay awake (it didn't work). Make animal noises. Read more. Yell, "team, team, team!" until they ask me to use my gentle voice, which I do, then they give me the animal game, so I can learn new sounds. Sleep. Demand pizza. 

We saw Aunt Kelley, Auntie Kayla, Uncle Karl, Aunt Jadie, and baby Kashton. It was great to see them and let them smoother me with kisses. I would only let Aunt Kelley kiss me after she promised to go find the kitty for me. I really didn't care about anything but the kitty and grapes. Isabella came home with us from Uncle Karl and Aunt Jadie's house! Kashton seems to love her, so I'm sure she'll grow on me. I acted scared and screamed when I first saw her because I wanted her to know my Mama Roo and Daddy Bear love me more, so they'll pick me up first.  I do like her, I just want her to stay on her pillow. Mama says she is my puppy and I loved her in Washington. 

Finally, we arrived home. I watched Daddy Bear unpack the car, taking lots of trips back and forth.  It seems nice. There is a big bed. Mama says we are all tired. I believe her and want to go to bed now.

That is all for today.
 Kami Lulu