Daddy and I have to take shifts on Saturdays that I work. He works 3rd shift so when I get home (12:45 today) he goes to bed. I try to keep things quiet so he can sleep well, and the easiest way to do that is to just spend the day out of the house. Today Kerry and I spent the afternoon at Bernheim. I have lots of great memories of this place as a child, myself, so I wanted to introduce Kerry to it.

This one's for Jessica =)

She had a great time playing in the visitors center. The toys and books are all inspired by nature, like these wood building blocks.

She loved the little bugs on the floor

And the coloring wall.

Did I mention she wants to climb everything these days?


We did a lot of walking (and stroller riding) and exploring, too.

She wasn't sure what to make of the "grasshopper man"



She kept walking with her hands clasped behind her back, not sure what that's all about.



I am one blessed Mama

We've had quite a bit of rain this week. Kerry decided not to let that stop her from getting outside and enjoying her daily walk. She hasn't quite gotten the whole "splashing in the puddles" thing down yet but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

It didn't rain the whole week. She got to play in the back yard with her car a bit.

She figured out how to make this bottle squirt water..

And thought that was fantastic!

Kerry was placed in our arms three months ago today, on Fathers Day. Where is the time going? She picks up new words and skills , it seems, every day. She wants to climb and balance on everything (I see gymnastics classes down the road). Some of her newest words are "joo-sic"(music), "walk", "up, up", "plll.." (please), "curl"(squirrel), "dog" and she tries to say "thank you". She still babbles and jabbers all of the time, and I'm pretty sure some of it is simple Chinese. This child brings me such joy. I am almost overwhelmed, sometimes, I feel so blessed. I love everything about her. I love that she gives the best baby hugs, I love the way she cracks herself up and invents little games for Mommy and Daddy to join in on and when we do, she gets so tickled. I love the way her cheeks jiggle with each step she takes. I love her adventurous, independant spirit. I love that she loves to cuddle with her Mama and Dada. She is such a happy, spunky, smart, funny, friendly, spicy little girl, and I still can hardly believe she's mine. She really is an answer to many years of prayer. My mom got Ker-Bear this little mechanical dog the other day. You know this dog...it yaps and walks, and yaps and walks. Well, she loves it, as you can see. She thinks it's so funny to put her fingers in it's mouth when it barks.

Kerry showed her support for the hard working 'Cards' yesterday. It was a great game.

My mom watches Kerry while I'm at work, which is such a blessing, and sometimes tries to do cute things with her hair. Earlier this week, she had it fixed with a little "water spout" on top and when she started playing with her CP doll with matching hairstyle, I had to get pictures.

Ker-Bear went to Mommy's office yesterday for her 18 month checkup and more shots. She weighs 23 1/2 pounds and is just over 31 inches tall, so she's gained about a pound and an inch since we were China. She got 4 shots and only cried til we left the room. Last night though, she acted like her legs might be a bit sore and started running a low grade temp, but that can be a normal part of the body's immune response to shots, so I wasn't too worried. That lasted til around lunch time this morning and she's been fine since. Today was Doug's off day, so she got to be with Daddy all day. He said she laid with him on the couch after breakfast (which she didn't finish) and felt a tad bit warm. She never just lays around, she's either busy, or passed out sleeping, no in between. But after about a half hour she was up and playing and babbling, and by lunch was fever free.

Speaking of Doug, Kerry adores him. She lights up when he comes in the room and get's so excited when it's time for him to wake up in the afternoon ( he works nights). She runs in the room and has to be helped up on the bed, after which she tackles him with hugs and squeals "da-da!".

Here's a cute pic that was taken on Sunday. Kerry and Salem were mesmerized by Daddy's juggling talents =)

Kerry and I "did some shopping" after work on Saturday. We have a shopping center here in town that is perfect for leisurely outdoor strolling and entertaining a toddler who loves to walk and meet/charm the socks off of, new people. Plus it has a couple outdoor water fountains and a few stairs to practice climbing ( which is actually what we spent the majority of time doing). We also managed to pop in to a few stores.

And after reading Jill's post yesterday, I decided to take Kerry to a local bookstore today where we spent a couple of hours in their children's section.

We went to a Bluegrass Festival over the Labor Day weekend and enjoyed a couple of hours of live music.

Kerry loves to dance to any kind of music

Some of the buildings at the festival site had great old architecture


This is Dancin' Dave. He shows up at all of the blugrass festivals around town and does his thing. It's not a bluegrass festival without Dancin' Dave.

We also took a walk around the neighborhood

And teased Salem through the door

And guess who fell asleep during dinner tonight. She must have been worn out from the holiday weekend.

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Little Miss K got herself locked in our bedroom last night. We found out the hard way it cannot be opened with a credit card (like the bathroom door). In fact it can't be opened with a screw driver... or a pry bar... or a hammer, either. We thought we were going to have to call the fire department down the street. It took nearly a half hour to get her out. The poor little thing was sobbing and had her little arm stuck under the door holding my hand. I felt so bad for her. Luckily our neighbor, David, was able to pick what was left of the mangled doorknob assembly and we got her out. She just kept hugging me and waving at everyone, she was so relieved ( so was Mama). We were starting to get a bit concerned at one point because she cried so hard she exhausted herself and finally passed out asleep on the floor with her little hand stuck out. Even with the banging and rattling she wouldn't wake up. I had to stick my arm under the door and physically shove her away from the door so I could open enough to shimmy in and still she slept. I grabbed her and picked her up and she finally woke up screaming until she realized she was rescued. The door sustained a little damage but now boast a brand new, non locking, doorknob. And Kerry is no worse for the wear.

Moving on, how about some pictures from the last couple of days

Just because I love the lighting in these pictures...

Kerry loves her books

And is starting to show more interest in playing with her dolls and stuffed animals, lately

And, as always, she likes listening to, and making, music ( which I LOVE!) And the girl's got rhythm, too.

S She loves Kai-L*n and gets so excited when the theme song comes on =)

And here she's playing with a little vintage FP record player, just like the one Mama had when she was little. It actually functions more like a music box... but let's not get into technicalities.

Yeah, it kinda makes me feel old to realize the toys I played with can now be considered vintage.