The Lincoln County Fair

We took a little trip down to my hometown this weekend to take Kaitlyn to her very first fair. We took her to the livestock barns to see all the farm animals. She loved watching them from a distance, but she didn't like getting too close to them. Notice the look of fear on her face as we try to get her to pet the pony!

We also had this grand notion that she would get to ride her first merry-go-round. After all, merry-go-rounds look pretty harmless, especially when a parent rides with you! But then we looked at it from a toddler perspective...loud music, bright lights, lots of strangers, weird horses that suddenly start moving...and we started thinking that the merry-go-round probably wasn't such a good idea after all. Plus, those things spin surprisingly fast (funny how you notice these things as a parent!). We decided that there was a very good chance that she would start screaming as soon as the ride started, so we just skipped it this year. Besides, she was perfectly content to just sit and watch the action from the safety and comfort of her own stroller. And it was a lot cheaper too!

The Agriculture Building was much more Kailtyn's speed. There were all kinds of vegetables and plants for her to explore...and nothing that mooed at her! She was pretty fascinated by the prize-winning pumpkins!

Here's a video clip from the fair (thanks to Jeff for the editing!). You can see for yourself what she thought of the cows and horses. She was a little more tolerant of the goats...I guess they were a little smaller. And at the end, she got to enjoy some quintessential fair treats!

New Skills

Apparently Kaitlyn learned a few new skills while we were away. She learned how to lock the deadbolt on our front door. Unfortunately, I learned about this skill when she locked me out of the house! We had just returned from the grocery store. I took Kaitlyn inside, and then I ran back out to get the groceries (a routine that we do every time I get back from the store). We play this little game where I ring the doorbell and knock on the door and she comes to the door and jiggles the handle, trying to open it. But this time when I tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge because she had turned the deadbolt...who knew she could even reach it?!?! My keys were inside, the back door was locked, and the spare key was in a very "helpful" location inside the house!

For some odd reason, I happened to have my cell phone in my pocket. So I was able to call Jeff and tell him what was going on. Since he had the only other key in existence that wasn't locked inside the house, he rushed home from work. Meanwhile, I was sitting at the back door watching Kaitlyn though the glass. She was crying because she couldn't get to me, and I was desperately trying to think of any kind of song, game, trick, or funny face that would keep her close to the door and out of trouble!

Fortunately, there's a happy ending. Jeff made it home in record time, Kaitlyn never left my sight, and the spare key is now back in its normal hiding spot outside. I think we'll have a couple of extras made just to be on the safe side!

Malibu Vacation

Jeff and I returned from our Malibu vacation yesterday afternoon. We had a wonderful time! We stayed right on the beach and enjoyed glorious sunsets, walks along the beach, beautiful mountain drives, and even a couple of hikes. The above picture is taken from Santa Monica looking up toward Malibu.

We stayed at the Casa Malibu Inn, and this was the view from our room. You can't get much closer to the beach than this! In fact, during the peak of high tide, there wasn't much room to walk along the beach.

With the new baby on the way, we probably won't get this type of vacation without kids for at least a couple of years, so we decided to thoroughly enjoy ourselves. We had breakfast at the super-nice Hotel Bel-Air. We'll never be able to stay there, so we decided to enjoy the restaurant and garden grounds instead.

This picture was taken at sunset from the cliffs of Point Dume. This has always been Jeff's favorite Malibu spot, and he shared it with me the very first time we went to LA in the early months of our dating. Since then, we make it a point to watch a sunset or two from "our spot" every time we're in the area.

Those of you who know Jeff and I well know how much we love to explore, especially when we're on vacation. I lost count of the drives we took through the mountains and canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, oohing and aahing over the ocean views and the mansions clinging to the sides of the hills. We also spent a day or two driving through the winding roads of Beverly Hills and Bel-Air. On Sunday, we bought the LA Times and found some multi-million dollar estates for sale that were having open houses that day. So we picked out the three most expensive ones that we could find and went "house hunting" in Beverly Hills. The picture above is one of those houses (we didn't take this picture). It's listed at over $12 million and it was incredibly gorgeous and opulent. It was perched on the side of the mountain with amazing views. 10 of our houses could have fit in this one! While we'll never live in a place like that (who really needs 9 bedrooms and a guest house?!?!), it's always fun to sneak a peek into the lives of the rich and famous.

While we enjoyed our time in California immensely, it was nice to get back home and see Kaitlyn. We knew she was in good hands with Gran. In fact, she had so much fun with Gran that I wonder if she really even missed us at all! But she was happy to see us when we got home, and she got lots of hugs, kisses and attention for the rest of the night! We look forward to a time when we can take Kaitlyn (and her brother/sister) out to California and share our special places with her.

Such a Girl

The differences between girls and boys start to emerge at a very early age. Even now, Kaitlyn is very much into hats, shoes, and purses. Where she got this fashion gene is beyond me, but it's cute to see her personality and preferences emerging. She likes picking out her own shoes to wear when we go out, and she tries on all of her hats several times a day. Lately, she's started strutting around the house carrying my purse (after emptying out all of its contents!). So I pulled out an old purse from my closet and designated it as Kaitlyn's very own purse, complete with some "necessities" that every girl needs...hand lotion, make-up brush, keys, etc. She thinks she's hot stuff now!

Hours of fun!

Picking out shoes to go with her outfit

And more details regarding my last post (although we've talked to a lot of you already!). The new baby is due on March 15. So far, I'm feeling pretty good. The 1st trimester fatigue is starting to subside. Certain smells can still make me nauseous at times (especially poopy diapers!) but my wonderful husband has been so good to lend some extra help when needed. And Kaitlyn is blissfully unaware that her world is going to change drastically in a few months!

Jeff and I are going to take a much-anticipated trip out to our beloved southern California later this week. This time, we're actually staying on the beach in Malibu! Gran has graciously agreed to come up and take care of Kaitlyn while we're gone. I'm sure Kaitlyn will be good and spoiled by the time we get back--after all, that's what grandparents are supposed to do! :) Hopefully we'll have lots of pictures of sunny beaches to post when we get back.

Kaitlyn has a secret

Play Date with Kaleb

Kaitlyn's friend Kaleb came over today for a play date (while his mom and I got in a fun visit!). Now that Kaleb can crawl, he and Kaitlyn were able to interact a little more. Kaitlyn kept offering to "share" her toys with Kaleb, and then would want to take them back as soon as he started playing with them. Fortunately, Kaleb is too young to really get upset about that yet, but we'll need to work on the concept of sharing as Kaitlyn gets a little older!

We tried to get a decent picture of the two of them together. But these little wiggle worms would just not sit still together. At least we got some humorous ones!

15 month update

I took Kaitlyn to the doctor today for her 15-month check-up. She weighs 28 pounds (97%) and is 33 inches long (97%). She got a clean bill of health and only one shot! Unfortunately, Kaitlyn is at an age where she remembers what happened at the last visit and does NOT like being in the exam room. She's fine in the waiting room, and she's fine when it's just the two of us in the exam room. But as soon as a doctor or nurse walks in, she starts wailing and doesn't stop until the offending medical person leaves the room. It's quite challenging to have a conversation with the doctor when your daughter is screaming and clinging to you :) Even her favorite toys couldn't soothe her today! Hopefully this will be a short-lived phase. We have one more round of shots at 18 months and then no more until she's five!

A Family Wedding

This weekend, we celebrated the marriage of Andrew and Lindsey. It was a beautiful evening ceremony that perfectly reflected their personalities and hearts. After all the stress that goes along with planning a wedding, these two are now getting some much-needed rest in the Caribbean sun!

Since Jeff was a groomsman, and I was taking care of Kaitlyn, we didn't get many pictures of the happy couple. But here are some of the festivities after the ceremony.

Andrew and Lindsey listening to her father offer a toast

Andrew and Lindsey toasting their new union


The cutting of the cake

The Krinks' siblings (both Jeff and Jess were in the wedding)

One of the great things about a wedding is getting to spend time with family. Most of Andrew's extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) were able to come to the ceremony, as well as several beloved friends from the church in New Jersey. It's always fun to reconnect with loved ones that you don't get to see often!

Kaitlyn got to spend time with some familiar faces. She loved all the extra attention! She had lots of people who were willing to read with her...one of her favorite things to do!

Reading with Mimi


Reading with Gigi


With Papa Greg (melting his heart with her affection!)

A Family Picture

Miscellaneous Fun

These are some various pictures that we've taken of Kaitlyn in the past few days. Kaitlyn has figured out that crossing her arms at random times (especially when she's asked a question) gets a big laugh out of everyone. So now she crosses her arms many times a day and looks at us with this huge grin, waiting for us to laugh. We can't help ourselves. She's just so cute and prissy when she does it.

When I was changing her sheets, I put the mattress on the floor for a while and let Kaitlyn have some fun. She wore herself out bouncing up and down on the mattress.

And she didn't even cry when she bounced off :)

She's very curious about the camera and looks intently at it whenever I pull it out...

...and then makes this face when I won't let her play with it. I get this face a lot during the day now :) She's become much more aware of her independence and doesn't like it when I stop her from doing something. And since her only words so far are "Mama" and "Dada," she can't really express her feelings and frustrations in any other way. In her defense, though, her gums are very swollen right now with incoming teeth, so she's been unusually grumpy lately. She's cutting a couple of those big premolars. Ouch!

Crossing Arms

Last night, we had Andrew and Lindsey over for dinner. It was so nice to catch up with them and hear all about the latest wedding plans. It's hard to believe that they'll be married in a couple of weeks! Of course, Kaitlyn was loving all the attention. Her newest thing is crossing her arms like a grown-up in order to get a laugh. Here she is imitating Uncle Andrew and Aunt Lindsey: