Blog is Moving!

We are moving to a new blog with a more appropriate title for both little people in the family.  Any new posts will be at http://growingtelanders.blogspot.com.

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Grete & Andrew

Splash Pad -- July 15

We went to the "splash pad" with Grammy and Nellie, and had a great time.  Playing at the splash pad is kind of like running through the sprinkler, except better.  The bigger kids were pretty careful around Hazel, and they self-policed about spraying her with water, which was impressive.   Hazel giggled a lot, and enjoyed being able to toodle around on her own. One of the great things about this particular kind of summer fun is that it would be very difficult to drown, so even a kid her size can pretty much have free reign of the place.

As you might guess, for the little girl who is really excited about splashing these days, going to a splash pad was pretty much the best thing ever.  "Splashy!" indeed.

Even once she was clearly cold, Hazel was not particularly willing to leave.  Eventually, she decided to go visit the playground to climb the slide and swing on the swings.  She also spent some time opening and closing the gate to the splash pad area before Nellie was finished playing.

Glacier Lakes -- July 14

We wanted to make sure we got to the mountains this summer, so we took time this weekend for a nice picnic lunch in the Snowies and a hike to a pretty mountain lake.  Emma was excited to be out of the house, and she took advantage of the opportunity to swim a bit.  Hazel really wanted to splash along with her, so we tried to appease her by making splashes with rocks that we threw into the lake.  

All through lunch, she kept insisting on going over to the water, "splashy!" was pretty much all she would say.  She did like throwing the rocks into the water, but it wasn't quite as good as getting in the water.

Jubilee Days Parade -- July 13

We watched the parade on Saturday morning, and stopped by a playground on our way back to the car afterwards.

Corn on the Cob -- July 10

Mutton Bustin' -- July 9

We all went to the Junior Bull Riding, which is part of Laramie Jubilee Days every summer.  The 4-6 year old kids ride sheep, and as the kids get bigger, the stock does too.  Hazel enjoyed watching, clapping, and noodling around the stands.  Overall, a good evening.

Wyoming's Birthday Party -- July 10

Hazel and I went to the birthday party for Wyoming at the Wyoming Territorial Prison.  Wyoming became a state on July 10, 1890.   Admission was free, and they provided a hot dog lunch complete with watermelon and birthday cake.

They make brooms at the prison, because the prisoners once did that.  Hazel picked up a small broom in the gift shop and has put it to good use at home.

Splashy! -- July 9

We met Grammy Frieda and Nellie at the wading pool in Washington Park in the afternoon, and had a great time.  Hazel was a little timid in the water at first, but she got used to it quickly and would have none of it when someone tried to hold her hand.  One of Hazel's favorite things to do right now is splash, so she had a great time.  The deep end is a whole foot deep, which is pretty much perfect for someone Hazel-sized.

We heard a lot of "splashy!" from Hazel.

There was a bit of the in-and-out of the pool game, which also involved some splashing.

Eventually, we left the pool and spent some time at the playground before heading home for an afternoon nap.

Reading -- July 8

We have a new twin bed set up for Hazel in her room now, because we're hoping to transition her to a big girl bed sometime over the next 4-6 months or so.  So far, it has made a great place for a little girl to climb up and read a book, or look out the window for bunnies. 

She can get up on the living room furniture now too, and we often find her flipping through a book on the big chair or on the couch.  Here, she was joined by a chicken.  

Outside - July 6

Hazel really likes going outside right now.  She will find her shoes, put them on her feet (usually the right way, oddly enough), and head over to the door saying "alright, alright, alright" in a hopeful sort of voice.  This afternoon, she spend some time playing with cars on the deck and then climbed up into a camp chair.  She even kept her hat on.

Independence Day -- July 4

On the 4th, we went to Freedom Has a Birthday in Washington Park.  Hazel got a balloon from the Laramie Police Department, and we supported the local Boy Scouts with an early hot dog.

The Wyoming Tea Party gave Hazel an American flag and a small copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Later, we visited with Nana and Grandad for barbecue and United States shaped Jell-O. 

Hazel lost her balloon up the stairs, but her dad was clever enough to get it down for her using duct tape and a long stick.

In the evening, we did some more grilling.  We spent some time outside in the backyard, and Hazel had a great time playing with Emma, playing with sticks, and helping with the grilling process.

The Laramie fireworks display, Fire in the Sky, was at 10 PM.  Hazel was worn out from a long day, and she was in bed at a reasonable hour for someone her age.  We thought maybe we could see the fireworks from the backyard, and we were right.  A giant cottonwood tree was right in front of the display, though.  We had fun anyway, the fireworks lit up the tree pretty well and it was fun to just sit on the deck and watch!

Vocabulary Roundup

This is the latest list of new words.  We're pretty sure we're missing some, but the list has gotten a little more difficult to keep track of!  Some of the new ones are a lot easier to understand.


chicken -- As in the feathery creature and not the meat on the plate at supper time.
penguin 
flower -- "Flowers" is really more like "ooooo," which is probably leftover from either "tulip" or is a reflection of how we respond to flowers, as in "ooo, what a pretty flower."

brush - Hazel is quite fond of both her toothbrush and her hair brush, and she uses both every day.
car -- This applies to both toy cars and our actual cars.
door
window -- Hazel is especially fond of the windows in the ceiling in the house and the car

splash -- This is generally a bath time word.
bubbles -- "Bubbles" is very clearly bubbles.  Nellie got bubbles from her teacher at the end of the school year, and Hazel has enjoyed bubbles ever since.
balloons -- Hazel first enjoyed balloons at her cousin Eric's high school graduation, and we still have one of the balloons from that adventure.  Now she can say the word, and balloons are one of the highlights of going grocery shopping.

brush - Hazel is quite fond of both her toothbrush and her hair brush, and she uses both every day.  

broom -- Hazel has child-size brooms to play with at Grammy's house and at Nana and Grandad's house, and she helps them sweep when she visits.  

eyes -- "Eyes" is brand new, and unmistakable.  We have been having fun pointing at eyes in books, and eyes on stuffed animals.  The lesson that it is important to be gentle with eyes has been fairly effective, and that may be part of why she often says "eyes" in a very soft whispery sort of voice.
toes --


milk
berry-- Berries are one of Hazel's favorite snacks, if she gets to pick her own snack out of the fridge right now it generally includes
cracker -  Hazel has discovered that this genre of food is generally worthwhile.  Any kind of cracker or chip, and some kinds of snacks that would be difficult for anyone to classify are currently crackers.

more -- a very useful mealtime word.
alright  -- This one is really sweet.  Apparently we say "alright" a lot when we're transitioning activities, and that's how Hazel uses it.  Sometimes she'll go to the front closet, find her shoes, put them on, and then go point at the door saying "alright, alright alright."  It sounds more like "aight."

Van-- as in Grandpa Van.  Hazel figured this one out over Memorial Day weekend, and she still - recognizes Grandpa Van in pictures, including older pictures.
Emma - Hazel not only knows the dog's name, but she can say it now.
Mimi- Grammy's new cat is named Mimi, and Hazel has picked up on that.  Sometimes other cats are "Mimi" as well, including a mountain lion in one of her books.

Mitten -- July 1

This morning, Hazel found a mitten that fell out of the closet and promptly demanded that it be put on.  The result was Hazel's Thorin Oakenshield imitation, or Captain Hook, or something like that.  She was happy in her one mitten for quite a while.

Hazel in a Box -- June 28

It took her a while in the morning to figure out how to get into this copy paper box, but now she's quite proficient and climbing in and out with minimal mishaps.

Escape? -- June 27

Hazel moved her stool over to the back door, got up on top of it, and was fiddling with the knobs.  She likes to go outside, so we can only guess that she was trying to make it outside on her own.