The zoo and a fat lip (not necessarily in that order)

Delaney took her first good fall here on Saturday. She decided to play daredevil and kneel backwards on her little chair. As Dan and I were telling her to get down, sure enough she tipped over (in slow motion it seemed). She did a faceplant on the floor and I rushed over and picked her up to comfort her and a few seconds later, noticed the blood on both of our shirts. She cut her lip and it immediately started swelling up. She had to cry for a few minutes, but then it was over and she forgot all about it (although she did stay far away from the chair the rest of the day). If you can take it, here are some pictures of our poor little girl. It still makes me cringe to see it.

So now, to make up for that horror, here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo on Sunday. Delaney's lip was MUCH better the next day, and by today, it isn't even noticable except for the cut on it. She took it like a trooper and has already made up with her chair.

Delaney always likes to look at the meercats. They are so cute and they come up to the window when you bend down. Delaney thinks they are quite funny and giggles at them no matter what they are doing.

She calls them

"kitties". I guess I could see that. They were adorable all looking out the window.

Of course we saw the goats.

Help! Our dear sweet baby girl is being eaten by a hippo!

The zoo isn't complete without stopping for some snacks.

Fort Worden

We spent Friday night and all day this last Saturday up at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend with the Bell family. The last two years, we have rented a big place up in the state park and the whole family has gotten together for Grandma Bell's birthday. Last year, Delaney was only 8 weeks old, so we didn't spend the night. This year, we were able to spend Friday night there and stayed until around 8 pm on Saturday. Delaney absolutely loved all the fresh air. She spent most of Saturday outside. Plus, that was the only way she would fall asleep. Once we got there Friday night, she wouldn't fall back asleep (she fell asleep in the car). We finally got her back asleep around midnight and sure enough, she was back up at 6:30. My dad was up too and made me a good latte to keep me going in the morning. It was a great time hanging out and having fun with the fam. Yes, I have included a ton of pictures. Be thankful I didn't post all of them. Here is a pic of just about all the Bell's (we missed those of you that weren't there!).

Yes, we did this to her. She actually didn't seem to mind the ears. It was just past her bedtime.

My goodness, she is cute.

Holly and Matt and the scooter. Once Matt got a hold of it, Holly never got it back.

Delaney and her Grandpa Bell enjoying their walk.

My cousin Holly came in from Boston again this year. She even brought her boyfriend, Matt, and subjected him to a whole weekend of the Bell family.

Delaney was tuckered out from all the fresh air. Plus, the fact that she only got a little sleep the night before. She slept like this for over an hour out on the back porch of the house.

These are just some cool pictures I took around the park. Some are from the bunkers that are located over Fort Worden that were built back at the beginning of the 20th century with the purpose of warding off any invasion attempts. The places where the guns were located were huge and it is amazing that anything that big could even stay anchored once it fired. It was a really fun exploration and I highly recommend it if you like military history or just a little kid who likes exploring. The bunkers are abandoned so you can explore all the dark hallways and stairwells. A little creepy, but very cool.

An actual picture of just Dan and I without Delaney.

Delaney took right to Uncle Bob. He was her buddy from then on and she thought he was hilarious.

Dad and I on the walk to the bunkers.

Kim and I on the hike back down from the bunkers.

Aunt Kathy and Maddisen teaching Delaney how to jump on the bed. You don't think they are having any fun, do you?

First steps!!

Delaney took her first steps today. In the same manner that she does everything else, it had to be her idea and it had to be on her terms. Mom and Dad were not right there desperately pleading with her to take steps or trying to help her along. No, she stopped by the couch to eat a couple graham cracker bunnies, made sure both Dan and I were watching, and then let go and took three steps before falling over. It was as if she was telling us, "See, I can do it myself". Then then just to prove that it wasn't an accident, she crawled over by me in the chair, pulled herself up and took another two steps. That has been it for the evening. Dan and I now know that we cannot persuade her, cannot coax her, and cannot bribe her to walk. She will do it when she wants and she will do it herself. That is our independent little girl.

The sneaky candy eater

Hope everyone had a great Easter! We had a great weekend at Fort Worden and with the family on Easter. Pictures are coming. I need to get some pictures from others as well (hint, hint for those who promised me their pictures!!) so I can put them all on here. Delaney had a little Easter party at her new school on Friday and she got a little treat bag filled with eggs filled with candy. I walked in to pick her up right as they were sitting down for snack, Angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries as a treat for Easter. It melted my heart as all these 1 and 2 year olds sat with their hands folded and recited, "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. Amen." Precious. We took Delaney's treat home since we had to get on the road for Fort Worden. We were getting in the car and she wanted to hold one of the eggs from her bag. My mother's intuition made me think twice about it knowing that she could pop it open and get the candy out, but I pushed it aside and let her have one, hoping that any candy was wrapped if it did escape.

Well, we got about halfway home and sure enough, open pops the egg. I am watching in the rearview mirror as she pulls out a sixlets pack wrapped in plastic. Phew. She can play with it but not eat it. Perfect. We keep driving and I look back and see her little fingers pulling some green foil off a chocolate egg. I am driving with one hand, reaching back with the other demanding that she gives me the chocolate egg all while watching the road and the rearview mirror to see if she complies. In true fashion, our little D stood her ground and quickly shoved the egg into her mouth. I pull the car over and she immediately spits the egg into my hand. Foil was not exactly the taste she was hoping for. I searched for any more candy that fell out, but I didn't come across anymore. I pull back out into traffic and not 10 feet down the road, I see another piece of candy quickly shoved into her mouth. We pull the car back over and I look back to see a little stream of pink spit from the jellybean she just ate running out of her mouth. I feel around her carseat again to find about 8 other jellybeans just waiting to be sneakily consumed on the way home. We made it home without any further candy capers, but I guess I will need to be on the look out from now on. Delaney is not a big sweet eater, but I guess it is more fun when she can do it while mom is demanding for her to stop, but can't do anything about it.

Easter pictures to follow :)

Well, it's about time!

Yes, Delaney's third tooth has finally made an appearance. This thing has been causing grief for months and it is finally through the gums. Most parents would not be quite so excited about the third tooth, but teething really does a number on D and it takes months of them pushing and then receding for them to finally break through. Plus, at almost 14 months, we were hoping for a few more teeth. She won't let me get a good look at it and keeps her lips glued together anytime I try to sneak a look at it or try to feel it, but I have managed to get her laughing enough that I can see her gums and there it is. The little tiny tooth that caused so much pain.

Mommy's little helper

Delaney is learning to be quite the little "helper" lately. Anything that I do, she has to help with. She has to close the fridge and freezer doors if I open them also. She gets very upset if I close them for her. She is getting quite the little personality (and temper). She has also started narrating everything she is doing and we can hear this adorable babbling all over the house. This is Delaney helping organize the can drawer. Notice the stockpile of cans she has next to her that came out of the drawer.

This was the aftermath of Delaney "helping" put away Costco stuff.

Here she is helping make dinner.
And this isn't her "helping", but we did have our first beautiful spring day today so we had to go outside and play and try out her new pair of "big girl" shoes that we got this morning.

Some march randoms

It has been quite an eventful week for our little D. On Friday, we said goodbye to her daycare, Good Beginnings, and Monday said hello to Immanuel. Good Beginnings closed down as of yesterday. We were so very grateful that she spent her first year at Good Beginnings with very caring teachers and lots of attention. They were a smaller daycare and once they announced they were closing a lot of kids left then. So, the last several months, Delaney has gotten a lot of special time with her teachers. While we were sad to say goodbye, we are so very glad she is at Immanuel. For those who don't know, my little sister Maddie (or Auntie Maddie to Delaney) has been going there for the last 7 years. Delaney couldn't start there until she was one, so the timing was perfect. The teachers say she is adjusting very well and I think she enjoys the more structured setting. She has to get used to a lot more kids around, but I think she is doing great so far. It is so nice to walk by and get a hug from my sister when we pass by her class in the morning and I know she is very happy her little niece is there in the Red group. I took Monday and Tuesday off to let Delaney ease into her days there, but today was back to the normal routine. I think it will be a great place for Delaney.

This was Delaney "helping" with laundry. After I folded and put all her clothes away, this is what I came back to two minutes later.

Delaney and I spent the night at Grammie Charlene's house on Friday night for some girl time. Delaney had fun swinging out back, even though it was very cold.

I love the cute innocent look. Don't let it fool you!