The end of January we got the keys to our new apartment. It's bigger and much nicer than where we've been. And Kollyn had a lot of fun "helping" us pack and unpack. As you can see, she's a master at it. ;)
This is our new entertainment setup, though it looks much nicer now that David has done some changes to the crazy wire fiasco. ;) We got the shelves at Ikea, designed ourselves, and they were cheaper than anything else we were finding. :) We are really happy with them. Since moving here, I have discovered a very real love for Ikea.
February 13 we went out to dinner at Olive Garden (one of my favorites)with a few friends for my birthday, an early birthday celebration. It was fun and we really appreciated having friends that we knew we would be able to get together with and have fun.
Valentine's Day was also my nephew's birthday and the day of my nephews' basketball tournament in Salt Lake. We went and K loved being showered with attention from her cousins and my dad and aunt. It was so fun to watch the boys play, even though they didn't win, and I think it's good to expose Kollyn to all kinds of different situations. I was nervous about how she'd do with the noise and the crowds, but she did amazing. It was a lot of fun!
These are the flowers that David got me for my "ValenBirthday" present. ;) I like having my birthday after Valentine's because that means flowers are typically cheaper.
I love watching them together and it's so fun that we get to have David home some days during the day. Kollyn loves to be outside. She'll bring me her shoes and want to go outside all the time. If she's upset, that's something that seriously helps her calm down. And being able to be outside with Daddy is a double win in her book, though this swing in our complex was not a big hit.
For my birthday we got a baby free night thanks to my parents and we went to PF Chang's and saw a movie. At PF Chang's we got the Great Wall of Chocolate for free just because we got lucky and the manager sat us and David asked him about it. And we got our drinks for free because the waitress spilled the water on David's leg. He took one for the team. And it was awesome! It was a fun night at dinner with him and being able to stay out as late as we want! Oh the luxury!
We also went and saw the Imitation Game. It was a great movie! I really enjoyed it. Such a fascinating time; I'm constantly amazed by the thought process some people have. I definitely wouldn't even have thought of building a machine for that. I will probably be buying it when it comes out. :) David and I were both really sad that it didn't win any awards at the Academy Awards.
We also went and saw the Imitation Game. It was a great movie! I really enjoyed it. Such a fascinating time; I'm constantly amazed by the thought process some people have. I definitely wouldn't even have thought of building a machine for that. I will probably be buying it when it comes out. :) David and I were both really sad that it didn't win any awards at the Academy Awards.
On the 25, Kollyn and I joined my mom and dad, sister, and 3 of her girls on a trip to Arizona to visit my grandpa in an RV. I was glad to see my grandpa and spend time with my family, but it was a really hard trip for me and Kollyn. I think if we do that again, it'll be once naps are no longer needed. But it was a fun trip.
She had fun not having to be buckled into her car seat and being able to sit and eat her snacks on the couch. And the stop at gas stations made her want to expand her already huge stuffed animal collection. :) Luckily we were able to get her away from the giant Minnie without any serious emotional damage.
She had a lot of fun running around in Gramps' yard with her cousins. She would chase them and they would run. She thought it was the best game ever. And probably could've done it for hours if we'd let her.
We went to the Camel Farm while we were there. It was a lot of fun! Decent price, lots of different animals, and for $1 you got a cup of feed, and it was a good sized cup. They had camels, obviously, and K was a little afraid of those because one of them tried to take the food cup out of my hand and it scared her. They also had birds, a white ferret, a kinkajoo, coati (like Talula that we met in Belize), a hinny (a mix between a male horse a female donkey) and a Zedonk. :)
It was fun to see the reaction of K to all the animals. She was very...indifferent to most of them. Which was very strange because normally she loves animals. I think it was just her initial fright from the camel.
And, at the end of our little excursion, she's finally starting to warm up to the animals and walks up to the donkey family, and they started braying,which resulted in the face in the last picture. It was so sad, but kind of funny too.
We went out to dinner twice while we were there. Both times helped me realize how strange this child of mine can be. She has no aversion to spice, in fact she loves it, and never was bothered by sour. How not bothered? Take a look at the pictures and video.....
That's how not bothered by sour she is.....such a strange child! Also, I didn't put those pictures up, but she DEVOURED the lemons.....like, rind and all. Needless to say, I brushed her teeth twice those days to hopefully get all the acid out. This is the first time she's ever eaten a lemon slice whole, and kept reaching for more of the lemons....she's so strange. But we love it! Keeps us on our toes, that's for sure!
We got to go swimming at the pool in Gramps' neighborhood. Kollyn really enjoyed it. We got some new balls at the flea market and she carried them around, threw them at my dad who watched from the side of the pool, and laughed and giggled the whole time. We swam around, she had a lot of fun jumping up and down in the water, and she finally started kicking when I told her to. Thankfully we have a pool in our complex so once it opens, we'll get to go swimming a lot.
And some swimming videos, for your listening and watching pleasure. :)
This girl loves the water and once she got use to a pool again, since we hadn't been swimming in a while, she was so excited!
We got home from our excursion on March 1 and have been recovering ever since. ;) Not really but I was glad to be home again with David. I sure did miss him, even if it was only for a few days. I hope that I always miss him when I go on trips without him. :) Love it!
And love all of you!
