She had a couple gems over the past few days that we felt deserved to be written down. These may not be amusing for others but it helps give us a clue as to what she is hearing from us. And it's even cuter when she doesn't quite all the words right, too.
Can you do me a favorite?
(putting the phone down) Ok, I'm all done talking on the phone, I can talk to you now.
It would be a big help if Zetta would come downstairs to play.
Regarding that last one, Audrey has discovered the joy of giving the cats treats. But today she asked to give Zetta some treats after she had just given her about 6 or so. So instead of more treats we got out the cat toys. Zetta was a willing participant for a while but then got a little tired and retreated to the safety of the upstairs.
Spring is here and it seems as though we have survived our first wet winter back in the Pacific Northwest. All three weekends thus far in April have been sunny in this normally soggy Seattle and we decided to take full advantage of our mini heat-wave.
We started our weekend off by using up our soon-to-expire Groupon for Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. Growing up near Tacoma, we frequented the Point Defiance Zoo when I was little, so this was my first visit to Woodland Park. I was definitely impressed. I was even more impressed that Kelly (due in less than 2 weeks) managed to hike over every square inch of the park. We easily covered a couple miles that morning.
Not much in the way of pictures, but these little guys definitely turned a lot of heads:
And a little foreshadowing of Sunday's events, here is Audrey enjoying the carousel:
We managed to sneak a trip to a Seattle mainstay on the way home: Dick's Drive-In, supposedly one of the best hamburgers around. I hadn't been for years, but I quickly remembered why. For someone who likes his hamburgers "dry", the "no special orders" rule isn't very welcoming. Yup, it's mustard/ketchup (or mayo on the Deluxe) or no hamburger at all. Of course Audrey wasn't nearly as whiny as me and enjoyed her cheeseburger thoroughly. I think she's a convert.
After nap we took the tricycle out for a spin around the neighborhood. Audrey has a few toys requiring steering and she had yet to figure it out but we had a big breakthrough this time and she is now staying on the sidewalk with ease:
Sunday was even warmer and while Kelly took a much deserved break, Audrey and I slathered up with Sunscreen and met Nana, Aunt Lala, cousin Owen, and cousin Adam at the Puyallup Spring Fair.
I had visions of a day filled with cows, sheep, and Elephant Ears. Instead, after a quick visit at the Dock Dogs competition, we made a beeline for the rides. Even with her baseball hat worn high, she didn't quite make the "you must be taller than me" height requirements for the rides, but the morning crew was more than happy to let her slide through (the later crew got a bit more strict).
We definitely have a future thrill-seeker on our hands - she loved, loved, loved all the rides. It's hard to see the enthusiasm from the following compilation, but "Can we ride it again?!?" was the first thing out of her mouth after each ride.
I'm not sure if it was her cold this week or the fact that she missed going to my appointment and hearing the baby's heartbeat, but the doctor tools have been out in full force. And she is checking everyone's heartbeat - mine, the baby's, elmo's, and even the cats (poor Kilo and Zetta have been such patient patients recently).
On the Saturday before Easter, we traveled a couple hours north to Birch Bay to spend the weekend with Grammy, Papa, and Aunt Katie. A detour on the drive up to pick up a baby book for Baby Sister (with some beautiful daffodil fields along the way) meant we arrived a little late in the afternoon. But Audrey was just in time to help Papa decorate some mini egg-shaped cakes for the next day. She needed to taste every color and of course, Papa was all to happy to oblige.
We also managed to dye a few Easter eggs. I was impressed that only one cracked.
Her most favorite activity of the weekend, however, was going to the beach. We were so happy to have such good weather (even more so since I forgot all of our coats at home - oops!). She probably could have spent the entire trip out there but a chilly wind and soaking clothes usually dictated shorter visits.
Since we were so close to the border we had to go see it at least once. I'm pretty sure the whole Canada/U.S. thing wasn't the coolest aspect of our trip for Audrey but I find it amusing to see how relaxed this border seemed compared to the one down south.
On our last day we went to a really cool park. Audrey thoroughly enjoyed her time in the trees and even took some time between swinging and slides to hug a few...I've taught her well.
Ever since Audrey was deemed old enough to have something in her crib, Bunny and Otter have kept her company during naps and at bedtime. At some point Kelly found Otter Number Two (O2) - a Beanie Baby otter holding what appears to be a piece of seaweed.
O2 has been treated like a second class citizen, delegated to keeping her baby doll company in the "baby crib". Recently, however, Audrey has shown a bit of renewed interest when she realized he is holding one of her favorite foods.
Audrey: He's holding a pickled green bean!
Not just any green bean, mind you, but a pickled green bean.
Quote #2 came while we were making an after-dinner trip to Trader Joe's. We were driving past Sea-Tac airport and we had fun looking at all the airplanes:
Me: Audrey...What's that?!? Audrey: An airplane!!! Me: And, what's...that?!? Audrey: Another airplane!!!
On our way back past the airport, a Southwest 737 with big huge winglets took off:
Me: Hey Audrey...What's that?!? Audrey (a little less sure of herself): A...uh...funky airplane!
Mega bonus points for using "funky" correctly in context. I'm not even sure where you learned that word. Maybe we should get her doing a Bill Murray "I feel so funky" impression from Ghostbusters.
I can't tell you how many times Audrey has said something that put me in stitches and two days later I couldn't remember what she said. Hence, this new series of posts.
I've been reluctant to do something like this because I realize the humor in some of what she says can only appreciated with a full grasp of her current personality and stage of development. I guess that is my preemptive apology for not-so-entertaining quotes. But like a lot of what appears on this blog, it's just another page in her digital "baby" book.
So, without further ado, quote number #1 came when talking to me while riding her tricycle. Noteworthy because she is just starting to show the first seeds of being considerate towards others and is becoming aware of others being considerate towards her:
Audrey: Santa brought me this tricycle. Me: Yes, yes he did. Audrey: That was very nice of him. Me (with a big smile): Yes, he's a very nice guy.
