Air Travel

Ramona has always been a good flyer--she flew at 2 months, 5 months, and 7 months--but I was a little nervous about flying with a toddler. She's much squirmier than she was as an infant, and less content to stay in one place for long periods of time. But on our recent trip she was great, in spite of a few unexpected challenges.                                                                                                                     Of course, there were lots of things to explore at the airport, including the terminal. She crawled around, climbed the seats, played with other kids, and generally had lots of fun in the terminal. We also practiced pointing at planes through the window!

Once we got on the plane, Ramona tried to claim her own seat, but I explained that we had to share. I bribed her with animal crackers, and it was a deal.

The two biggest challenges were because of mechanical issues and weather. Our very first flight had some mechanical issues, so we were rerouted to the east coast. That meant we had a loooong cross-country flights (5 hrs, 45 mins), which was nearly three times longer than our planned longest leg (2 hours). I had no idea how Ramona would handle such a long flight on my lap, but she was a champion. She stood up to wave at the little girls in the row ahead of us, sat on the floor to play with toys, looked out the window, took a nap in my arms, and read lots of books (or, more accurately, a few books MANY times). We were both very glad when we finally landed, though. The second problem was at the Denver airport on our way home. There was a tornado warning (with funnel clouds seen a few miles away) so we were evacuated into the basement of the airport, down where the baggage carts and security cars live. After 40 minutes wondering if we would ever get home, the warning was over and we were able to board the last flight home, only a little delayed because of the weather.

   
This is why it's good to have a seat on the plane--she was very comfortable sleeping in her car seat, definitely more comfortable than when she had to sleep in my lap! Plus it was so much easier for me. (We managed to snag an empty seat on two of our four legs.)







Our flying days were long and tiring (and only made more so by our "adventures" which delayed us both directions), but Ramona was such a great traveler. And it was so fun to visit all six grandparents on our trip!

Edmonds

We had such a good time visiting Lee and Sue in Edmonds! Ramona loved playing on the playground, and brought along a little duck as a companion. She dipped her feet into the ocean for the first time (I don't think she was a big fan--it was pretty cold, plus there was a lot of seaweed) and climbed to the top of the playground several times.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures WITH Lee and Sue (although their shadows are in one of these pictures--can you spot the shadows?) but we had a wonderful time, and I'm sure we'll be back soon!

Coloring

Ramona really enjoys coloring with crayons. She isn't quite so good at coloring on a piece of paper, and she usually tears up the paper and crumples it up (I guess she's not satisfied with her creations?), so I tried this trick that I read online. I put her in a cardboard box, and she can color on the sides to her heart's content. She had lots of fun recently coloring in this diaper box. As you can see, she also enjoyed showing the crayons to Indy. We will definitely keep making "box art"!

Hiking

We went for a wonderful hike today at the Jefferson Memorial Forest. The forest is only about a 20-25 minute drive from our house, and most of it is inside the city limits. Pretty cool! We decided to check out a new part of the forest, where we hiked to the beautiful Mitchell Hill Lake. 

We strapped Ramona into one of our many baby carriers--we really like being able to carry her around! This is the Bjorn One, which can be used to carry kids in multiple different ways (including facing out or in on the front or doing a back carry). Steve started out carrying Ramona on  his back, but the hike lulled her to sleep! From that point, we decided to wear her on the front, where she could get a good view of the forest. 






Once we reached the lake, we found a really nice little picnic area, perfect for a mid-hike snack. Ramona was very helpful--she pointed at everything, and then did some hiking of her own (holding our hands, or the picnic table). Indy mostly hid under the picnic table and barked at all the other hikers.

Ramona also had her first taste of trail mix--her version was goldfish crackers and craisins. She really liked the combo! She also gobbled up a bunch of animal crackers on the hike. I guess hiking is pretty tiring work!

We looked for fish in the lake and saw a few minnows!

Also, can I just point out that there are a lot of bugs in a forest? We were almost attacked by a lizard and I screamed when a moth startled me.

Ramona also loves wearing sunglasses lately. She has a hot pink pair of sunglasses, which she wears to and from daycare every day. Recently when her daycare class was going for a walk, she grabbed the sunglasses out of her cubby and insisted on wearing them. I always thought toddlers hated sunglasses, but not this one! (as you can see, she is working on some really cool poses)

We had such a wonderful family hike, and can't wait to do more hikes with Ramona!

Playground

Ramona has really been enjoying the playgrounds in our neighborhood lately. We are walking distance from a big playground at our local park, where she loves to swing and climb through the tunnels. We are also around the corner from an elementary school that has a "little kids" and a "big kids" playground, and since school is out for the summer Ramona's class has been visiting the playground at daycare.

She loves to climb up to the highest level and then go down the slide! (and check out her super cool Mickey Mouse t-shirt)

Ramona and the Rain

It's been raining a lot in Kentucky, and we've had almost-daily summer thunder storms. As a good Seattleite, I'm training Ramona to enjoy the rain. We step outside on the porch during thunderstorms so we can point at the rain, watch the lightening, and listen for the thunder. She likes to watch the leaves blow in the wind. We stick our hands over the railing to feel the raindrops. She usually lights up and sometimes claps. She always laughs when we carry and umbrella, and she likes to help by holding the handle.

My work here is done!

Checking out the rain from our back window

It's really coming down! 

Ramona says "Can we go play in the rain?"
and I say "No."

Water Play Wednesday

This summer, Ramona's daycare is hosting outdoor water play every Wednesday (weather permitting). What a great excuse to buy a cute swimsuit!

I stuck around to watch the first day of water play, and took some cute pictures of Ramona playing. Her daycare set up a fun water play area on the rooftop garden, with tubs of water, tons of toys, and a cool sprinkler. All the kids had a fabulous time and got pretty wet! I'm sure they will have lots of fun cooling off all summer.

Everyone hanging out in the water

 Ramona had lots of fun splashing in the tubs of water and pulling out toys. She also crawled away and tried to eat a rock. Whoops!

Steve says she looks like a little flower in this one.
I think next week we'll send her with a smaller hat!

She snuck in a little solo play time when everyone else packed up to leave. Of course, that's when she was accidentally attacked by the sprinkler. She didn't mind getting sprayed!