June Lake

We went hiking at June Lake this week, which is close to Mt. St. Helen's. Although Katie has walked on parts of hiking trails, she has never participated in a full-blown hike. June Lake seemed like a good place to give hiking a shot with her. It's a hike that's about two miles in each direction. We took turns carrying Katie for part of the walk, but she walked a lot of it on her own. When we reached the lake, she enjoyed walking through some of the ash that was close by. It probably felt pretty good on her feet. At first, Katie didn't seem all that happy up there, but she warmed up pretty quickly and had fun in the end.

About to Begin - Don't they know that I really, really don't like hats! 

I'll let Grandma wear my hat instead! 

I think we made it. I'm not sure if I like it here or not. 

I found some pretty yellow flowers to pick. This place is getting better! 

I put all of my flowers on the log for you, Grandma. There's a flower stuck on my hand though. 

I can't believe I have dirty hands. I don't like dirty hands! 

Thanks for cleaning my hand! This is a fun way to get clean hands! 

(Katie went on to want her hand washed about 10 more times. Touch dirt. Get hand cleaned. Touch wood. Get hand cleaned and on and on.) 

Look at this path I can walk through. If I hold my arms in tight, the branches won't hit me! 

Those are tall trees up there!

(Katie kept pointing to the tall trees on the hills next to us. Then she would hold her hands up in the air to show us how tall the trees were. It was all pretty exciting for her.) 

I love you, Grandma! 

What else can I look at? 

Look! A waterfall! 

One of the waterfalls Katie found was through the trees. 

This is peaceful. 

I found a whole bunch of rocks on the way back. I had to turn them over before the trip home. 

Nothing beats putting your face on the air conditioner vent after a hot day in the sun!

Copycat

For the past several months, Katie has been more and more interested in copying behaviors she sees from people around her. The other night, I was getting ready to give Katie her bath, and she decided to copy her Aunt Jennifer reading the paper. She would very seriously pretend to be reading the paper and then look up at Jennifer over the top of the paper and burst out laughing!

This is an interesting article!

More Fun at Story Time

This week during Story Time, Katie got to play with a parachute to go along with a song about the colors in the parachute. She thought it was so much fun. She had a hard time letting go of it when it was time to clean up!

After the stories, the kids were given a chance to finger paint. Katie tried touching the paint, but didn't really like the feel of it on her hands and quickly wanted to wash her hands. We ended up spending the rest of the time with the exploration toys.

This parachute is so much fun! 

I've never been inside here. The sound echoes! 

I really like to play with this! It's so much better than getting my hands dirty!

A Trip to the Zoo

My mom, Jennifer, and I took Katie to the zoo this week. She was so much more involved than the last time we visited. She easily found the animals and practiced making their noises at them. She liked seeing most of the animals, but her favorites by far seemed to be the bears. She growled a lot at the bears, entertaining the people next to her! By the end of our day there, Katie was wiped out and ready for a long nap!  It was a fun day!

Watching the Black Bear - Grrrrr! 

One of the Black Bears We Saw 

Watching One of the Polar Bears

As we entered the area for the African animals, there was a little area with some instruments. Of course, we had to stop and let Katie bang the bells and play the drums. She would have been happy to stay there all day to play the drums! 

Trying Out the Bells 

Loving the Drums

Loving Bingle

Katie has loved Bingle from day one, but she doesn't get to see her that often. A few months ago, Katie got so excited to see Bingle that she screamed a high-pitched squeal that rattled the windows. On top of that, she shook her arms up and down while she screamed. If Bingle had ignored Katie and acted calm, everything would have been just fine. Bingle, however, reacted by jumping up as fast as she could and darting out of the room. Katie thought it was so funny when she saw Bingle that she decided to squeal and shake her arms up and down every time she saw her after that, so she could see her react. With that, Bingle has chosen to mostly stay on the other side of the baby gate until Katie goes to sleep at night!

Even though we've been working with Katie to meow nicely or pet Bingle gently when she sees her, sometimes the squeals still escape.  One morning this week, Katie found Bingle on her side of the gate. She was actually pretty nice to Bingle, but Bingle didn't quite trust the kindness.

Bingle! You're here! 

I'll just watch you for awhile! 

Why are your eyes so big? Why are you glued to the wall? 

I'll pet you gently! 

It's okay if I let out a little, tiny squeal! 

C'mon, Bingle! Stand up! 

Look what I found in the drawer! It's a cloth to clean the computer! 

Or it could be the perfect blanket for you!

Lost Lake

Jennifer always likes to go to Lost Lake for her birthday. This year we went a few days early. The day at the lake started off pretty cold, but it was really nice by the time we left. Beautiful as always!

Checking Out the Lake with Aunt Jennifer 

 

A Picture with Grandma, Mom, and Grandpa

My mom helped me walk on the trail. 

I don't need any hand-holding. I can handle this on my own.

Hiding

Katie likes to try to hide from people lately. She's so funny. She thinks that as long as she has her eyes covered up that no one can see her. This week, she hid from everyone under the lunch box she found.

I bet no one even knows where I went! 

Peek-a-Boo!