Bye, Bye Binky

First night falling asleep without the binky  =) yay!

We decided it was time for Nelli it give up the binky.  I thought that the longer she has it the more attached she would become. It has been both sweet and heart-wrenching journey. I did a little research on helping a child give up their binki and I found a lot of ideas.  I started with cutting a small piece of the rubber tip off of the two binkys she had left.  The idea was that the baby would try it and realize it didn't work like before and give it up. This did not work for our Nelli.  She would hold it between her teeth and use it as often as before it was cut.  She was a little disappointed and say that hers had a "hole" and  would ask for he cousin Thayne's binky. We gave it a little over a week and it was just too hard to see her still trying to use it (I'm sure it wasn't comfortable biting it between her teeth for so long...).  I did a little more digging and decided to call my cousin, Amber. She had an idea that I really thought Nelli would relate to and as I tried it, I found that she did :)!  We decorated an envelope with some star stickers and put her last two binkys inside. I told her that babies need binkys when they cry, but Nelli's a big girl now and she doesn't need a binky (babies are a big topic around our house.  Nelli is a born little mommy, who's always feeding her dollies, taking them for stroller rides, or something of the sort. She also talks a lot about the baby in aunt Ali's tummy).  Nelli readily gave up her binkys (after one last suck/bite of each one in her mouth).  She suggested we throw them away.  I told her if we did that, then they were all gone, all done forever because the garbage is where diapers go and we will never get them out again.  She said "away" and I helped her throw them in our garbage can. That was Tuesday.  She's done wonderful since then. She has been falling asleep so well and not asking for her binky now that they're gone.  She did find Thayne's binky yesterday and that was quite the temptation for her. I distracted her and she gave it up.  

Yay for Nelli!  She's been extra cuddly and loving which Tay and I don't mind a bit =). After this experience I realized again that for Nelli's personality she likes things straight. She copes with it and gets over it.  It reminds me of when I weaned her off nursing. On her 1st birthday, I told her we were all done nursing. She asked a few more times and I told her the same thing and she did great. It's the same for any rule. If I am indecisive, she pushes and cries. If I'm clear and determined, she may cry a bit but most the time deals with it and is fine. Oh, my sweet little lady. I love her so much!

Our Neighborhood

 Some of our neighbors provided a BBQ in the alley behind our house where all the kids ride bikes and play. It was great to get to know some of the neighbors we hardly see.  We were babysitting 4 kids that night. It was quite the experience to keep track of all the kids at once. My eyes were darting around like crazy the whole time.

Gabby, Nelli's favorite neighbor, reading her a book.
  Who wouldn't favor someone who gets you a seat , a drink, and reads you a book?

The playground at our complex.

  Nelli nicknamed this the "turtle".

Her favorite thing to do outside aside of swinging is talking one of her dolls
or stuffed animals for a walk in her stroller. 

Ensign Ranch

We camped at Trilliam in Ensign Ranch, that's about an hour east of us. It was a ward campout for Tyler and Ali (Taylor's twin brother and his wife) and they invited us to go. It was a great way to ease back into camping with Nelli. The food was provided and the weather was good. Nelli and Thayne (Tyler and Ali's son) loved being outside playing in the dirt.

Thayne loves his uncle.

Canoeing on the little pond in Ensign Ranch.

Then we drove to Yakima to meet up with cousin Anne. Where we had some yummy Mexican food, went swimming and then grabbed some ice-cream. Taylor all the while feeling nastalgic (this being the city he lived in until he was 6 yrs old).  He also loves getting together with Anne whenever he can.



We failed to grab Nelli's swimming suit...



Thayne loved the slide.



L-R Anne, Anny (Anne's friend), and Ali

New Bikey

I've been looking for a bike for Nelli for a while and I finally got one!  I was dropping off some things at a thrift store near our house when I saw this gem.  I asked if it was for sale and the guy said, "ya, I'll give it to you for 9 bucks." I told him I'd give him $8- so dorky I know... Well he said he'd stick a tag on it for $8 and it was mine.  I was so excited!  Nelli has wanted one for a while now and I wanted one that had the tall handle bars so I could use it like a stroller.  The bikes I was looking at were over $100, so I feel like I got a great deal.

The first time she saw it she said, "bikey, bikey." So now we call it her "bikey" and my bike is just "the bike." That makes it pretty nice because we go for "bike" rides most mornings around the lake and she plays on her "bikey" with her friends or when we go for walks.  I even mix up my running and take her on her bikey instead of my jogging stroller. She loves watching the pedals go around so fast (she can't quite reach them so she puts them on the foot rest).  We also walk to the library and sometimes the grocery store with it, which are within a half mile from home.

Another cool feature of the bikey is that you can remove the tall handle bars when she's big enough to ride it on her own.

Just a funny face :)

Lake Washington

It's been great to live by Tyler and Ali again.  We've been having them over each Tuesday for a TV show we all enjoy called White Collar.  We usually have some dinner together and relax.  Some of our Tuesday get togethers have turned into some fun long discusions about various topics.  It's wonderful to get to know Ty and Ali better.

Today I invited Ali to came up for a play date and take the kids to the lake. We live about a half mile north of Lake Washington and on my bike ride this morning I saw a little clearing along the trail and thought we would all enjoy the relief from the few hot days we've been having. We ploped the kiddos in the bike trailer and rode our bikes down to the shoreline. It was super fun to hang out and let the kids play in the water.  Ali's pregnant with her 2nd and handling the first trimester so well. I can't even say how much I enjoy being with other moms who love being a mom and are trying to make the most of life. There is so much divinity in motherhood that I get a glimpse of every once in a while.  The more I look to God for direction in this special role and calling the more I feel how special motherhood is to God.

So, after taking Nelli's wet swimsuit and diaper she ran for it as fast as she could...that girl!  I eventually put a dry diaper on and we headed home for bath time to avoid swimmers itch. 

Martha's Birthday Bash

Taylor put a lot of thought into my birthday activities. We got up early and took a ferry to the Olympic Peninsula for a hike on Mt. Zion trail.  It was about 2 miles to the top and we were virtually alone.  It was beautiful and fun to talk as we hiked. Nelli took to running most of the way up after we ditched the stroller about a half mile in. It was too steep for a stroller. The weather was awesome! It was foggy as we drove to the trail head, but when we go there it was clear, sunny and in the 70s.

We stopped at a cute little town and had lunch and played in the Puget Sound. Look at this view:

On the following Tuesday, Tay invited Ty, Ali, Siri and Chris over for dinner and Ali's delicious ice-cream cake.