Case Life: a little update

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

a little update

sorry there will be some older pictures in this blog.. because the batteries in my camera are dead. Batteries has been on my shopping list for a couple weeks and I keep forgetting them! We went to the Lion Country Safari last weekend and that was tons of fun. We had a couple other kids with us so that made it so much more interesting! At the safari, we get to drive through and see animals outside.. really close! There was a Rhino that crossed the street right in front of us, zebras eating right next to us, a big turtle mating with a smaller turtle right next to us, also! haha the birds and deer were all watching, too. Then there is a walk through part that is more like a zoo but there are little rides and a fun splash pad. The kids pretty much just wanted to play in the splash pad, which was fine cuz they were fun to watch!
Dan is going to camp out tonight for the new iphone 4, but he is without a phone today so he took mine. I keep thinking that I hear mine ring like a text is coming.. but then I realize that can't be.. my phone isn't here! i think that is a sign that I needed a day without it!
I had a goal before I came out here to blog about my ancestors and their stories, because there are some really neat stories out there, but I didn't realize how jammed for space I would be flying out here. So I had to leave all of the papers/books in Utah. I really want to do it because they are so inspirational, but for now, I think I will do something else. I will probably start that "something else" tomorrow...
As for now, I will update you on "the girls"
Bailee just keeps maturing and maturing.. she, of course, has her harder days.. but for the most part I am constantly watching her and thinking "is this the same girl that used to have 5-10 screaming fits a day?" There will be times when I'm telling her something that will let her down and I brace myself for the tantrum, and she maybe just whines a little and then thinks of something else that will make her happier.. Those times I think "What just happened here.. does she really understand what I just told her?" Now, like I said, she does have her harder days, so she still has some tantrums, whiny days, and she still likes to say things JUST to get a reaction out of me or Afton, but compared to how she was 1 year ago from today.. I am amazed! She helps with Afton and LOVES to play with the other little kids here. She will sometimes "complain," but I know she really likes having these kids watch and follow her. She is still having a hard time leaving places.. even our own apartment. Then once we get to where we're going, she has a great time and doesn't want to leave there. It is kinda funny, but it does make it a longer time to get out the door.
Afton is talking so much more. She understands most of what we say and if she doesn't, she will continue to ask until we can explain it to her. She gets upset when we are in the car and Bailee point something out, but Afton isn't tall enough to see. So she will unbuckle her top harness and then sit up and lean forward to see.. I think Dan might have scared her one time, because now she will say that the police will come if she unbuckles. And whenever I say something like "oh no" in the car, she will ask if it is the police! haha She is such a water babe! In the swimming pool she will just dunk her head under over and over. she is very good at staying on the stairs so far.. hopefully she doesn't get bored and start venturing out from there. she does NOT like floaties on her arms, though! when she is tired, she will have one of the biggest screaming tantrums. It probably sounds to other people like I am beating her or something and it will only be about something like we can't find the tape. But she will not let me put her down. If she gets a nap, its because she just fell asleep in the car or on the couch while reading books. Well this has definitely turned into a long update.. I will finish with some pictures from the safari!

These little guy's antlers were soo cool!

Afton looking through the alligator's mouth!

Bailee did some cute faces at this part..

We had to keep our windows up.. even though some in the car didn't follow that rule haha :) so my pictures are a little fuzzy

I felt like I was in highschool again laughing at this.. I don't know why I still think it is soo funny to see animals mating! All the kids just said "That mean turtle!" The really funny thing is that there are so many other spectators.. the birds, and look at the deer in the background! hahaha

PS I have been meaning to blog about this: EVERYWHERE I go, at least one person comments on how blonde my girl's hair is! I don't know if it is because it is usually unkempt, so it draws attention to it, or if there really isn't a lot of blondies out here. but I am not exaggerating.. everywhere. If I go somewhere, I know someone will say something. They love it! There have been a couple of hairdressers that have stopped me and told me that they get paid some big bucks to make other girl's hair look like my girl's! and I will bet money that when I am in the checkout of Walmart or especially Target, the cashier will say something about it. haha I just smile and say something like "yeah, I hope it stays a while because it is very striking." or "yep, both my husband and I had really blonde hair as kids, too." I try to come up with different things to say every time, but I am running out!

2 comments:

Dave said...: It is really cool that you can recognize the forest while you are traveling through all of the trees. It was something that I did not do very often as my kids were growing up.

Thanks for the update. Give everyone a hug for me.

Dave; June 23, 2010 at 4:37 PM
Jaimee said...: I loved reading your update and I agree with Dave- it's great that you are cherishing this time. I think your girls are so beautiful and THAT'S the reason you get so many comments on their hair! :); June 23, 2010 at 7:48 PM

Bailee-isms

12/20/08 We were at the annual Case Christmas party. Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dwayne were nice enough to buy us Sizzler lunch and then had a program at their home. Before I tell the story, I need to clarify that Grandma Betty is from England and still has her accent - which I love! Bailee wanted to ride in Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dwayne's car from Sizzler but we told her no since her car seat was already in ours. Bailee: "I just want to go with them because I love them so much." Grandma Sue : " I know, and they love you, too." Bailee: "But Grandma Betty says it weiood" (wierd without the "r" sound)
11/10/08 We were "puppy sitting" for Dave and Sue overnight so they could spend a night in Midway. Part of Bailee's bedtime routine is that she gets to have "snuggle-wuggles" right before bed every night. Snuggle wuggles started as being a Backyardigans show but has evolved to being a choice between playing make believe with toys, a show, or something else she really wants to do before bed. Well this particular night I gave her the choice between Dragon Tales or going to the store with me and she chose the show. When it was over and I said it was time to brush teeth and go to bed, she started to cry and throw one of her tantrums. She said she wanted to go to the store with me, I then reminded her that she chose the show over going to the store. She replied very seriously that when she chose the show, she was just teasing me. Very smart response.. it didn't fly and she was not a happy girl going to bed that night
11/12/08 We were driving home from Dave and Sue's and Bailee said "What does 'age' mean?" Dan and I weren't quite sure what she said, so we asked her to repeat it and she did. We still weren't sure if she said "H" or "age." Usually she can explain what she is saying by thinking of another word or saying it in a sentence. We asked her to say it in a sentence or tell us when and how she heard it. She stammered a little, then said "You know, like my feet are big." Dan and I tried very hard not to laugh and she finally said "Like I am a big girl." So then I said.. "Okay, you mean 'age'. That is like how old you are, so your age would be 3. When someone asks you what your age is, you would say 3." So Dan said "Yeah. It is like someone asking you how old you are. What are you going to say when someone asks you what your age is?" and Bailee said, "That I am a big girl!" Maybe you had to be there or it was pretty late, but it was very funny.
Grandma Sue bought a doctors kit for the grandkids. It came with a couple of cards that showed what to do with the "tools" - kind of like directions. When we were cleaning up all the parts to it, Bai couldn't find the cards and she was saying over and over.. "where are the indirections? " I think she was mixing up the words "instructions" and "directions." It is very cute that her vocabulary is growing so fast that she just has a ton of information to sort through. I am biased, but I definitely think she is a smartie!
Bailee was trying to get Dan to fill up her aqua-doodle pen with water so she could color on her mat, but apparently Dan wasn't jumping on the task. He continued to get ready for work and gather his things when Bailee said very demandingly "Dad, when you are all done with this world stuff, will you please fill this up with water?!" It definitely got his attention and he filled it up with water and she went on her way.
Bailee was talking with her cousin, Aliyah, and her grandma Packer about places they have been and things they have seen. My mom brought up that Aliyah was in a whale's mouth at Storybook land and Bai was in a shark's mouth in Disneyworld. They were laughing about that and my mom said, "Weren't you scared in the mouth?" and Bailee looked at my mom with her index finger pointed at her and said, " Remember grandma, those things are just PRETEND!" My mom thought it was very cute how Bailee was trying to comfort her on the scary pretend things that are out there.
Bailee is pretty much a vegetarian and refuses to eat meat - except for chicken nuggets and taco soup). In colorado, they took out a lunchable jr. and she wouldn't eat the meat. Well, someone told her that the meat would make her jump higher. She had a couple bites of the meat and walked away. Sue asked "Did you like it?" and Bai said "yeah, I am going to see if I can jump higher now, though." She jumped and everyone cheered - Maybe she will continue to eat meat and end up in the olympics!
Bailee was riding home from a dinner in the back seat of papa Dave and grandma Sue's car. Her uncle Andy was sitting next to her talking to her when the sun came shining into the car all of a sudden and her grandparents both burst into song "Here Comes the Sun, do do do do.." Uncle Andy then whispered to Bai "Grandma and Grandpa are getting old." and bailee replied, "Grandma's not old, but Papa is."
Being the great English buff that he is, Bailee's uncle Jason was trying to enhance Bailee's vocabulary by teaching her some new words. One of the words was "plump." He told her about having a nice, big, juicy, plump apple. Then he went on to explain that it meant "big." Bailee then was able to catch on and said, "Like you, uncle Jason?"
When Bailee says prayers, she really lets Heavenly Father into her heart. She has said things like, "please bless that I can watch a movie tomorrow. Please bless that I can get tinkerbell makeup at the store. Please bless I can sleep the whole night in my bed. Please bless we will grow up healthy and go to heaven."
Bai was helping grandma Sue wrap some baptism gifts and asked her what they were for. Sue said that they were for her primary kids who were going to be baptized and when Bailee turned 8, she would also be baptized. Bai looked at grandma like she was out in the night and said " Oh, no, grandma, I am going to be a doctor when I grow up!"
We were leaving grandma Sue and papa Dave's so Bai went and hugged grandma and said "I love you, grandma." Dan told her to go and tell grandpa the same thing so she went and hugged grandpa and said " Papa, I love grandma."
Bailee thought her pee would be pink after she drank her strawberry milk. After I told her it would still be yellow or clear, she still had her hopes up. When we got home, she ran to the bathroom to go potty and we heard her disappointed voice come from the bathroom saying "Yep, it's still yellow."