A Dream Come True

Last night we went to the Chukars baseball game with Rich's firm. We were able to sit right by first base in the BBQ area. For those of you that remember our experience from last year, you will remember that Kinley thinks that Charlie the Chukar is the greatest thing in the world. All day long she talked about "Charlie the Chukar the bird" and the many thing she was going to say to him and get to do with him. Mostly, he was going to eat dinner with us. When Charlie finally came over before the game, Kinley was beyond excited, and for those of you that have seen Kinley recently will know she is always super excited. She put both of her hands over her heart and just stared at him in amazement. If only there had been a Celine Dion or Mariah Carey song playing in the background, the moment would have been sheer perfection.

Kinley ran right up to Charlie, gave him a huge hug, hand shake, high five, then sat on his lap and just stared at him. I think you can tell from the picture that she is rather excited. Charlie even gave her a kiss. When she ran back to me, she just kept saying, "Charlie the Chukar the bird is my very, very best friend."

Kinley asked Charlie to sign her hand, she thought it was so cool. She also got a tattoo from some bank and the wrist band got us into the special reserved section. She was just so proud of her treasures.
Then to make a wonderful night even better, after the game was over one of the Chukar players tossed a ball to Kinley. She then ran to the fence and had several players sign her ball. I am positive she had no idea what was going on, but the other kids were doing it, so she thought it was pretty cool.
I thought the first picture with her baseball was kind of scary, so I told her to try again. I don't think this one was much better.
The Chukars game was just the beginning of what I am calling "Kinley's Birthday Palooza". Today is Kinley's birthday. I still can't believe she is 3. I know it is so cliche, but it really seems like just last week we were bringing her home from the hospital. She is such a sweet little girl, very stubborn, very energetic, but super funny and deep down, she has a sweet little spirit. Happy birthday to our Boogs, Chica Lica, Cupcake, and just Kinley.

New Slogan

Today while having lunch, Kinley asked me to "eat the yucky part of my chip". Without even really thinking about it, I just munched off the corner that was kind of black. Then I asked her, is that what mom's are for? She said, "yes, mom's eat the yucky stuff." So there you go, my new slogan. Motherhood - it's all about eating the yucky stuff.

Vacation

We have just returned from our first real vacation in quite some time. We took a trip to Island Park and Yellowstone with some good friends (the Warners and Hinkins for those of you that know them). We had a weekend filled with great food, great company, great scenery, and 3 little kids that played together extremely well. I don't feel like typing a long narrative of the trip, so just enjoy some pictures from Bear World and Yellowstone.

Bear World

Old Faithful

Hiking in Yellowstone

Kinley's new best friends

A Princess and her Prince Charming

Kinley has a new friend, Logan. He is so cute and ridiculously coordinated for an almost four year old. Kinley was able to talk Logan into dancing with her. She was the Princess, of course, and he got to be Prince Charming. I think they make a pretty cute couple, don't you? I think we are really going to enjoy having Logan and his family living across the street from us.

Slightly inappropriate story

On Saturday night we went out to dinner with some friends at our favorite Chinese restaurant. After dinner, Kinley decided she wanted to ride with Angie and DeLynn (pronounced Duh-Lynn if you are Kinley, emphasis on the "Duh") and they agreed to drive her to the gas station so we could get some ice cream and treats. When I noticed them getting out of their car, something seemed a bit off and DeLynn was carrying something in his hand. My first thought was that she had puked in their car, their brand new car. When I asked what happened, Angie said that they heard a pop and Kinley said, "I have balls and goo all over". Apparently Kinley was squeezing the squishy ball a bit too hard and it exploded. Still, that just doesn't sound right coming from your 2 year old. To make matters worse, Kinley just kept saying it over and over.

Here is my new favorite picture of Kinley. I took her to the zoo last and she insisted that I take a picture of her with the tiger statue. I apparently was not paying good enough attention and managed to capture this moment.

It looks like she is trying to pull a baby tiger out. Maybe she has been spending too much time with Grandpa Reed on the farm. However, if I remember correctly, I believe I was told to take a picture while she "smashed the tiger". I am guessing this is not quite what she had in mind.

They're Back!

Just when I thought Kinley had transitioned into the world of real life friends, her old stuffed friends came calling and sucked us right back in. We've had a couple days lately where Kinley's friends were either out of town, unavailable, or Kinley made too many bad choices to get to play. So, instead of normal human conversation, Kinley did the following.

First, she drags out all of her stuffed animal friends making a huge mess. Then she picks five to cram into her stroller and take to lunch.
Then she insists that I give each of them crackers and drinks, and of course, they need to be buckled in for safety.
After everybody is in the right place, Kinley takes each animal and smashes their face into the crackers, makes chomping sounds, and then says how much they each like their lunch.
Once everybody has had their crackers smashed in their face, I mean, eaten their lunch, it's time for a quick nap. Of course, this takes like 15 minutes because they each need a story and a song.
Finally, lunch and nap time are done and Kinley wants her picture taken with her friends. She looks super excited to be there, but her "friends" seem to be saying something like, please shoot me now. I think I was thinking the same thing.
Thank heavens we live in such a great neighborhood that is filled with fun little kids. I am just not a fan of Kinley's stuffed friends, they are far too needy for me.

Brutally honest

After I got myself dressed and ready yesterday, I was looking in the mirror to make sure my new pants fit okay. Kinley told me, "Mom, your bum looks ridiculous in those pants." I told her that I appreciated her honesty but maybe she could sugar coat it a bit.

Then, while driving to the playground today, a Britney Spears song came on the radio. Kinley said, "What's wrong with her voice. She sounds like, wah wah waaahhhh." I thought it was pretty funny and a rather accurate impression. I'm hoping that as Kinley gets a bit older she will learn to be a little more tactful.