SO Much To Catch Up On...And Therefore REALLY Long

Kallie learned how to say 'cheese' for the camera, this would be mid-'eee'

Well, not SO much, but I haven't blogged in awhile, soI figure our lives must be exciting enough to have SO much to fill you in on:)

First, Kallie turned 16 months old today! Not really a 'milestone' age, but as I'm sure every parent can attest to...EVERY age is a milestone:) I thought I'd take the chance to do a quick update on Kallie, in the form of a list...not necessarily new things, but just facts about her:) We'll go for....10!

1. Kallie LOVES (I'm all about the caps today:) SHOES!!! She is obsessed! Anytime she's sees them off feet, she talks about them and MUST wear them!:) It's pretty cute...but can also get tiresome, when she wants to put on 5 pairs at the same time, or ones that are ridiculously small or big. And she does not give up easily.

2. Kallie loves singing. In daycare we sing lots of songs, and lots with actions, and she's always right in there singing and dancing away:)

3. Kallie loves playing with older kids. In daycare each day she has the chance to play with pre-schoolers, and she's just fascinated! And thankfully, for the most part, the 'big kids' have a lot of fun with her too:)

4. Kallie is a social butterfly. She loves meeting new people, playing with any child who will look in her direction, and she's always a little sad when the kids leave at the end of the day. It's really nice for us, b/c we can drop her off in the nursery at church, or leave her with friends, and there are no problems.

5. Kallie has FINALLY started getting more teeth! She only had FOUR TEETH when she turned 15 months, but has gotten at least 3 more that we can see (two way in the back...which I found odd), and she's definitely still teething (lots of drool and sleepless nights;)

6. Kallie has learned almost all of the kid's names in daycare and uses them properly! In fact, she woke up at 6:30 this morning asking for 'Izshy' (Izzy:), and was just thrilled when she arrived almost three hours later...it was a long three hours:)

7. Kallie feeds herself with a spoon. It can get a bit messy at times, but she will eat entire meals all by herself.

8. Kallie loves snuggling and kissing her baby doll. She always says, 'awww, baby' when she sees it, and then proceeds to kiss it over and over, and encourages us to do the same:)

9. Kallie is, and I'm sure will continue to be, a daddy's girl through and through. She and I enjoy lots of time together, but daddy is definitely the one she holds most dear:)
10. Kallie has had a major growth spurt! She now weighs 25 lbs! and I'm not sure how tall she is (she still doesn't seem that tall compared to the kids around her), but she's outgrown all of her 12 month pants, and I just bought her 18/24 month ones, which are still pretty long, but she can get away with wearing them! 24 months...that's a TWO year old!

K, that was the longest post ever...I was going to write more about my trip to Wpg. a few weeks ago, but at the risk of boring everyone to death, I'll do a very brief summary. And for more pics, check facebook, they take way less time to upload;)

Spending time with Kelly and Patti-Ann

Our trip was truly amazing, it was a real vacation for me, as I don't believe I changed more than 2 diapers all week, and I got to sleep in almost every day (thanks a million times mom, I love you!). I got to spend time with my absolute best friends, have really amazing conversations and meaningful times (and lots of fun of course:), and two of those friends had just had babies (Sadie was 7 weeks old when I got there, and Anthony wasn't even 1 week!) so that was really amazing, getting to spend time with 'new' (again) mommies and love on those little babies:) I was able to spend time with friends I hadn't seen in a long time, and catch up and re-connect. I got to spend lots of time with my family, go out with my sister on more than one occasion (mmmmm.....Romaritas!), which is always so much fun:) I love my family so much, it was just amazing to hang out and talk...and talk...and talk:) And I actually got in a decent amount of downtime for myself. Our trips are usually so rushed that I never relax, and with a full daycare waiting for me here, I needed that time to myself.

We went to Stonewall and visited my great-aunt Geordie on my mom's side, it was a good time together with family.

Making a break for it after Grandma gave her a bath!

I know I'm not being brief, but I figure ppl can stop reading at any time:) The other AMAZING thing that happened while I was 'home', was that for the first time since I moved away, I was in Winnipeg, and didn't wish that I lived there. Don't get me wrong, I love everyone there so much, and I miss my family and friends on a daily basis, but I am so settled in Thunder Bay, and finally truly happy here! I have been happy here all along, but it's been a process to totally adjust. And it was a very peaceful and settling feeling to realize that I was ready to go HOME at the end of the trip (although I do wish everyone would move out here...think about it, inexpensive houses, beautiful scenery, Lake Superior, it's calling your name:) I'm starting to make some really great friends here, we've found a home church that we absolutely LOVE (and has made all the difference in the world), and I just know that we both know we're going to be here, and happy here, for a veeeeeeery long time.

Kallie and Grandpa reading the paper together:)

Well, enough of all the rambling, sorry my posts are so sporadic, life as usual is still crazy, but again, I know it is for everyone else too:) Hopefully now that we're settling into fall, and more of a routine, life will follow suit:)