SeNsOrY tImE!!!!

Being a special education teacher I'm okay with children being messy and exploring with their five senses. Now that Rosalee is getting into EVERYTHING I figured it was time to start giving her things that will hopefully satisfy her curiosity! Last night Rosalee got to play in a tub of spaghetti at our friend's house (and then promptly went in the pool!) and in a tub of rice today on our front lawn.

Thank you Kris and Melissa for letting us come over!

The utensils were in the way of her playing!

Having fun dropping the rice in her tub

Rosalee LOVES sharing with Trouble...
She likes to play with the cooking spoons while I cook dinner so I thought I'd change it up and add some rice to her tub. She was more interested in the rice than the spoons. She kept trying to climb in so eventually I gave in and let her sit in the rice. Later Jesse found about 1/2 a cup of rice in her diaper... :)

Pool party

For Family Home Evening last night we took Rosalee over to our friend's house and let her play in the pool with their daughter Mia. The girls are about 6 weeks apart so it's fun to see how they interact and play together. We hope the weather stays nice for a few more weeks so the two can play together more.

She wasn't too sure about the pool because the water was cold, but the rubber duck was enough to distract and win her over.

The dads with their daughters

Rosalee and Mia

She was happy to get out of the cold water!

Ms. Rosalee

This blog should be titled The Rosalee Show so here are some updates on the wee one!

Rosalee had her 1st play date at the park with Michaela. She did better with the swings this time but she started to fuss when I pushed her out of arms reach.

After playing on the swings we took the girls to the petting zoo. Rosalee would get SO happy every time the miniature horses walked by. She would lean out of my arms and try to hug and pet them. I tried letting her sit on one, but the zoo worker asked me not to. She was a lot better at petting the animals this time instead of just pulling on their hair.

We think Rosalee is FINALLY getting some teeth! She's been drooling, biting everything, had a slight fever, and calms down when we give her something cold to chew so we're pretty sure that's what's happening. Yesterday we were driving during Rosalee's nap time and she wouldn't stop hollering. She was biting her fingers and crying at the top of her lungs. I tried giving her toys and snacks but NOTHING worked. Finally out of desperation I took my sunglasses and put them on her. She instantly stopped crying. She just sat there for a minute or two and then pulled them on and off her face. As soon as she was done playing with them she threw them off and went to sleep. At times like that I can either choose to laugh or cry... thankfully I choose to laugh.

On the move!

She crawls, she climbs... it's SUPERBABY!!!!!!!!!!!

Rosalee has now taught herself to climb the two stairs that go from the living room to the bedrooms. If we turn around for just a few seconds she's up the stairs and headed off to her bedroom to get into something new!

Birthday trip to...

The bottom is the view from the top of the parking garage

Having fun in downtown Chicago

Best pizza EVER!!!!!!!!!!

Random statue downtown near the NBC studio that Jesse was excited to see

A GREAT musical!! We both loved it and HIGHLY recommend it to everyone

Good ol' Dairy Queen cakes...
This is Jesse talking to his brother on the phone while his "candle" was burning away

Camping

We went hiking this weekend at Turkey Run State Park and Shades State Park in west central Indiana. We were hoping to camp at Shades, but they were full so we stayed on Waveland Lake in a tiny campground. We went with our friend Kevin and his two daughters. I think they were glad we stayed on the lake because they got to go swimming and the place had a water slide. Here are some pictures from our adventures. DISCLAIMER- what you see may not look like Indiana, but I promise it is. Indiana does have a few hills and trees. Weird, yet true.

Turkey Run State Park

We went on the "rugged" trail which consisted of stairs, ladders, and dirt paths. Jesse and I kept laughing that "rugged" outdoor trails had handrails and stairs.

Some more hiking pictures

We had to climb some ladders up a waterfall during part of the trail. Just imagine trying to get Trouble (who weighs 50 pounds) up these... good times, good times.


This place is called The Punch Bowl and Trouble had SO MUCH fun splashing around chasing little fish. Jesse was really cute with Rosalee all along the hike. He kept teaching her about the trees, rocks, birds, etc. The above picture is Rosalee's lesson on moss. :)

Coming out of the creek on our trail. We had fun splashing around and hiking up rocks along the canyon sides. Rosalee liked dipping her foot in the cold water in the waterfall.

We were SO shocked at how green and beautiful it was! We imagined all the water would be dried up and the plants would look yellowed and gross.

Climbing up, over, and around rocks

Crossing the suspension bridge at the end of the hike

Relaxing after hours of hiking in the backseat of the car
Camping @ Waveland Lake

Our camp site!

How's this for camping!?

Rosalee and I played in the pool while Jesse and the girls went on the water slide

Jesse and Rosalee playing in Waveland Lake. The water was pretty warm so Rosalee had a great time! She also kept us on our toes by trying to put EVERY rock in her mouth. We forgot her swimming diapers so by the time we were done the diaper was HUGE and melting off.

The grill we cooked our corn and some hot dogs on. Look at Trouble staring at the plate wishing it was for her!

Jesse doesn't consider it a real camping experience if he doesn't cook some beans in a pot on the fire. The other picture is of Kevin eating corn in what he calls "true redneck fashion".

Isabelle reading us Indiana ghost stories by the fire

Snuggling by the campfire

While we packed up the car Rosalee took a nap redneck style! In the close up shot you can see her Elvis curl that Jesse gave her.

Shades State Park

Some shots from the trail we took that lead us through the creek and along some amazing waterfalls

Trouble enjoying the waterfall and Kevin being goofy

Jesse and Rosalee taking a break along the side of the creek

Hanging out down by the creek

From a distance it almost looked like a pickle in the trail. I'm pretty sure this is the largest caterpillar any of us have ever seen!!

Kevin and his girls

Playing in the grass with Isabelle before having to drive back home