Canobie Lake

OK, of the entire week, I only managed to take pictures yesterday...but what a doosie! I took 60 something pictures, and I saved about 40 of them...and I'll share with you now...a bunch of those!
We took Kaylee to Canobie Lake Park yesterday which is a relatively local amusement park. She had so much fun...I just cannot wait to take her to Disney World! (But I guess I'll have to since the soonest that will happen is fall 2009.)
So anyway...Kaylee, Mommy and Daddy met up with our friend Henry and his Mommy and went to explore the toddler part of the park.
First up: Firetruck ride...does Kaylee look like she's having fun? She sure does to me!
"Henry, make sure you're steering this thing right," proclaimed our little backseat driver.
"Oh wait! It seems I too have a steering wheel," said Kaylee. So away she went.
Daddy's arm was slightly in the way here...but you can sure see that smile now!
And here Mommy was just a wee bit quick with the shutter finger...but again, you can see the pure happiness. It was really great watching her have so much fun. I was sort of afraid that she really wouldn't like going on the rides without Mommy or Daddy, but clearly my fears were unwarranted. Having Henry with her probably made things a lot better too.
Next up: Pony Cart Ride. Again, sheer joy! Although while she road the firetruck ride 3 or 4 times, the pony cart was a 2-timer only.

"High-ho Silver, Away!" Kaylee loves rides.
Of course, the waiting while kids got off and on the ride wasn't as fun...*sigh.*
Next up: the Car Ride. We hit this ride 6 or 7 times I think. The nice thing about the toddler park is that while the rest of the amusement park was very crowded there weren't a lot of toddlers, so Kaylee and Henry basically got to stay on the ride for as many turns as they wanted.
"If you're driving, Henry, I better hold on tight," Kaylee smirked.
But according to that smile...Henry's driving can't be all that bad!

"Weeeeeeee. Faster," she seems to say.

As I said, they went on this ride the most...so they got to try out all sorts of cars. Here Kaylee takes a solo ride in a truck...she seems to enjoy it quite a bit.

And then it was on to the boat races.
They only went on this ride once...it just wasn't that exciting.
That, and Kaylee kept trying to reach in and touch the water and then drink it off her hands...ewwwww!
Then, there was the jeep ride.
And the tank ride, which bobbled up and down.
Kaylee liked how the tank moved...and that Canobie had abandoned such drab colors as green and brown for tanks...in favor of the much splashier pink. Henry tried to explain to her that in reality pink just wouldn't work for the purposes of a tank, however, Kaylee thinks that the power of a tank goes beyond its color, and therefore that it no excuse to be fashion-unfriendly! Nice try though Henry!
Then it was the race-car ride. This was the only ride they had to wait in line for. And, again, from that smile you can see it was a big hit.

Henry and Kaylee prepared for the green light that would let them know it was time to go.
Kaylee kept an eye out for Mommy and Daddy through the whole course.
Alright, lets do this ride 1 more time...this time in the orange car! They are really cute aren't they?
And as they neared the starting line, Kaylee was all smiles.
So we had a lot of fun yesterday! And now I have to wrap this up because we're heading up to Maine this morning. Ciao.

Lots of time outdoors this week!

Alright, lets see...On Friday we went to the local beach again. This time we met up with our friend Henry. Even though the water was beautiful both kids were far more interested in playing in the playhouse with a few others around their size.

Kaylee really likes this playhouse a lot, perhaps it doesn't get as warm as hers can with all the windows on this model.
Kaylee caught 1 of her house servants trying to escape, "Haha, you didn't think you could escape my rule that easily, did you?"
Of course, running a household isn't all fun and games..."sometimes you have to be serious, Mommy," Kaylee told me.
Henry, on the other hand, was more than happy to give a big smile for the camera.

On Wednesday, Kaylee and I trekked down to Newburyport to visit my family...the whole gang was there, including both aunties! So we all made a family pilgrimage to the park.

Kaylee loves those swings, especially when Grampy stands in front of her and lets her kick him and then makes a big deal about it...Kaylee thinks that part is hysterical!
On Tuesday, we hosted playgroup, and as per usual, her friend Emily stayed just a little bit later so that the girls could catch up on all their personal gossip and such. The girls wound up telling their stories to their reflections while on Kaylee's stool in the bathroom, it definitely merited a few pictures.
These 2 are just too cute aren't they?
Kaylee clearly found this story really amusing...Emily on the other-hand doesn't seem quite as thrilled!

Last Sunday, we were once again at the beach...this time with our neighbor-friends. Kaylee and Bailey clearly got the memo to wear matching swim-suits!

And while Bailey ventured a little farther into the water than Kaylee cared to go...Kaylee insisted Daddy take her on the swings...again!

Then the girls shared a snack. Well, let me rephrase, poor Bailey had to share her snack because Kaylee was far more interested in her graham crackers than she was in the lowly Cheerios Mommy had brought.

Bailey was a pretty good sport about it though...she must know that someday, Kaylee will have the coveted snack and she'll know she'll be able to cash in this favor then.

Last Saturday, (after I last posted) we headed down to Connecticut for a special day. Why its "Gumpa's" surprise 60th birthday party. Kaylee had no clue what was going on, but she got to play Ba's piano, so she was alright with it.

And a cupcake too! "Wow, this was definitely a worthwhile trip," said Kaylee.
"Delicious," Kaylee proclaimed, "Compliments to chef and party-planner Auntie Abbie!"
Kaylee even managed to sit still for the birthday song.
Even though the star of the show was supposed to be "Gumpa" Ron, I personally think little Kaylee did some upstaging!
However, today, the 20th, is the real birthday, so again, Happy Birthday to Gumpa Ron.

And that...was our week!

from the 4th till now

OK, well our big plans for the Fourth of July were to get Kaylee into her big girl bed so that the crib could be moved back into the nursery. That being said, we made no plans that would require us to deviate from any of our sleeping/napping routines (ie we made NO plans.)
We did however, go grocery shopping.
As you can see we decided to tucker Kaylee out so that she would indeed sleep, no matter where. We put her right to work with her very own Kaylee-sized shopping cart.
She loved it, zooming through the aisles and wouldn't even look at Daddy for a picture!
Then on Saturday we went up north a bit to my cousin's place on the lake. They use a golf cart to get around up there, so Kaylee had to try that out.Kaylee was having a good time coloring and playing and exploring a new house.
However, things took a turn when Kaylee spiked a pretty high fever, so home we went, much earlier than expected.
Sunday we laid pretty low, monitoring Kaylee's fever which at times spiked over 104 degrees! I guess I should get used to this, Daddy spiked and still spikes very high fevers when he is sick, and apparently Kaylee is going to take after him.
However with some Children's Motrin...Kaylee wanted to get up and dance.
The Hot Dog Dance from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to be specific.
So dance she did!
And here was her "tada" at the end of the dance.

"Thanks for dancing with me Daddy!" said Kaylee.
Then it was time to rest again.
"Ack, oh no! Its the tickle monster," Kaylee shrieked with glee.
As you can see, she just wasn't fast enough to get away. How disappointing!
Yesterday, we went to our local beach with Daddy. Kaylee was very brave and even ventured into the water by herself all the way up to her belly button.

But mostly she stayed near the shoreline.
We met up with Kaylee's friend Sophie and her Mommy there. Sophie really wanted Kaylee to try the slide that went right into the water. But Kaylee wasn't so sure...
"Fine more turns for me then," said Sophie. Kaylee was glad to just watch.
Then it was time to build some sand castles...or something!

The girls worked together to make something alright...a big mess! But a good time was had, so nobody was complaining.
This morning we thought we'd try another shot at Kaylee the Grocery Shopper. So here she is again, taking in the cart.
And picking out our fruits and vegetables.
"Gosh, Mommy and Daddy sure do make me work hard," thought Kaylee. Well, we thought it was about time she learned to earn her keep!
And that, as they say, is that!