Grand Coulee Dam

For a long time, Travis and I talked about visiting Grand Coulee Dam in Eastern Washington but had never made the trip.  Well, last weekend, as we left Moses Lake we decided to make the trek.  It was a gorgeous day to be out for a ride, and we saw some beautiful country.  Here are a few pictures of Kyle and I at Lake Roosevelt.

The Girls

Our PEPS group officially ended several weeks ago, but we have enjoyed hanging out so much that our weekly evenings continue.  It is so fun to watch all the girls grow and see how they start to interact more.  Each one is displaying her own personality.  

These are a couple pictures from our last official meeting.  I'm anxious to see how each of them grows as the year continues.

As a reminder, here is a picture from our early weeks together nearly three months earlier.

Perhaps we can keep her

Since the day Kyle came home from the hospital, Mischief - our cat with a personality all her own - has been rather suspicious.  In fact, she has preferred to be outside more, which pleases Travis.  I guess you could say Mischief has not been a fan of the hairless cat that has come into her life.  However, in the last couple weeks, she has started to warm up to this new invasion.  Here is a rare moment of Mischief enjoying some time with Kyle, from a distance.  She would not want me to say this but Mischief was even purring.

Kyle was actually more interested in her playmat.

Look, she's sitting (sort of) all by herself.
For those wondering, Mischief was out of there once Kyle was allowed off the mat.

All Dressed Up

If you were to ask Travis, he might say I have become obsessed with purchasing adorable baby clothes.  It is true - I love getting to pick out what she is going to wear the next day.  I only fear she is growing too fast that she will not get to wear everything.  Anyhow a friend gave Kyle this extremely adorable party dress as a gift.  Unfortunately Kyle has not attended many parties yet, and it is already getting a bit too small. She loves wearing it though and feeling the skirt in her fingers.

Four Months

Technically, Kyle turned four months on March 11.  However, I wanted to wait until her check-up today so we could all know her stats.  Kyle is 27 1/4 inches tall, which is greater than the 98 percentile.  She is actually the height of an average 8 month old.  For now, I think we can say she is not following Richards' genes in heights.  Her head circumference, which could be either a Richards or Watson feature, is 17 1/2, again in the greater than 98 percentile.  She is now a chunky 16 pounds 15 ounces, which is in the 95 percentile.  As for shots, Kyle took them like a champ and barely made a peep.  She even smiled at the nurse afterwards.  This is one jolly baby! 

This past month, Kyle has changed extensively.  This month she has started talking up a storm, having conversations with anyone and everything.  Each morning as we head to day care, she is the back seat just chatting away.  She laughed for the first time and will giggle any time her beloved dog, Ace, is near.  Kyle is a super happy baby so this her many chuckles and moments of excitement have been such a pleasure for us.  She is so close to rolling over but can't quite seem to get there.  I suspect by next month she will have conquered that.  Kyle took the big initiative and began sleeping in her own crib, adjusting like a champ.  She learned to splash in the tub and absolutely loves it, especially when her mommy encourages it.  She grasps onto just about everything including your hair and likes to give a mighty tug.  She continues with large gummy grins and flirts up the personality with anyone.  Kyle loves being outside and now constantly is watching everything in sight. Walks in her stroller have taken on a whole new thrill.  In the mornings, she loves to snuggle between her parents, constantly looking from one to the other with big smiles.  Then once we finally gets up, she settles down for a nice rest. 

Travis and I could not be more blessed.  We truly love this little lady and everything she has brought into our life.

Holiday Weekend

For the Fourth of July, we all traveled to Lake Chelan to spend the holiday weekend with Papa John, Grandma Donna, and cousins Rache and Riley.  Kyle had an amazing weekend, although she did sleep through all the fireworks.

Checking out the new surroundings

Lounging with Dad

This is the Life!

Contemplating

One of our few moments of being a crabby pants!

Quality time with Ace

Who couldn't love this dog?

Prepping for our first swim

A moment of hesitancy and then loving it.

Family pic before the fireworks.

Being entertained.

Trying to stay awake but getting very, very sleepy.

Sharing a laugh with Riley

He's so goofy!

We'll be back!

Where you from?

Kyle is a Washington native; however, she loves to show her appreciation for her Mommy's roots - the great state of Iowa.  Kyle realizes this fine state is part of the reason she is so wonderful.  It is also why her Mommy suspects one day she will be a Hawkeye.  Below Kyle models from of her stylish Iowa wear.  Just wait until football season when she gets to wear her lucky black and gold leg warmers. 

Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July.  In honor of this day, Kyle exercised her own independence and spent her first night sleeping in her crib.  It went great!

"Guard Dog"

Ace, our beloved chocolate lab, is in absolute adoration of Kyle.  When she is out with us, he is always sure to keep an eye on her.  Kyle in turn is fascinated with watching him around the yard.  Her parents appreciate the fact that Ace tends to ignore us less when she is around as well. Last week, Ace was pretty excited when Kyle tried out her exersaucer and came down to his level for a change.  He sat like this for quite some time.  I can only imagine how excited he will be once she becomes mobile.  We are hoping she learns early on to throw the ball for him, then we won't have to continually do so.