July

I realize it has been a long time since I posted. It has been a busy summer. After our trip to Colorado, we visited my sister in Jacksonville, had our house painted and carpets replaced with wood floors (during which we stayed at Gran and Granddad's), Daddy interviewed for a few new jobs (he chose one in the area so we are staying), Mommy sprained her foot and was in crutches... Soooo, without any more excuses, here are pictures from July:

Playing at the beach at Gran and Granddad's

Fourth of July was rainy, but we had a few breaks in the rain.

Our yummy barbecue had to be eaten indoors because of the rain.

Colorado

We're back after 2 weeks vacation. We had a fabulous time in Colorado with family. There are too many pictures for the blog so they are on Flickr, arranged in sets. The sets from Red Rocks to Family: Colorado 2010 are the sets from the trip we took May 1, 2010 to May 15, 2010.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/keri-matt/sets/

Here are some of my favorites of Caterpillar Girl:

What Do Kitties Say?

Kitties say "AAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIII;" at least according to Caterpillar Girl they do. Very recently she has determined an ear-piercing shriek most closely resembles the "meow" of a cat. Every time she sees one of the cats now she begins to shriek at him. She smiles grandly as she talks to the cats, but they just run away. Apparently, they haven't realized that they are supposed to sit around to chat.

Exploring the Fort

Caterpillar Girl, Ahma, and I visited Fort DeSoto on a lovely, spring day.

Peeking through the bars

Cavernous rooms provide excellent echo chambers for screeching

Wow, that is a big gun!

Through the barrel of a cannon

Beachside

Please Read to Me

Caterpillar Girl is such an active child, I despaired of ever being able to read to her. She couldn't sit still long enough to get past a page or two. But the time has arrived when she likes to sit for a short story. She carries a book to you and hands it over. Then she uses her sign language to say "up" so you will pick her up onto your lap. Then she wants to page through the book with you...sometimes staying on each page long enough for the story and sometimes just flipping through the pages to point out different pictures that interest her. Her favorite books right now have parts she can touch, such as fur for animals and scales for dragons.

Problem Solving

Today she is 14 months old, and she is busy learning and growing. Caterpillar Girl loves to solve problems. It is amazing to see how she figures out what needs to be done. At gymnastics, she was holding a ball in two hands but she also wanted to go up the steps to the trampoline. For a few seconds, she stood at the foot of the steps contemplating how she could climb them while still holding the ball. Then she determined she would have to put the ball down. She put the ball on a step that she could reach, climbed up, and then moved the ball higher. She had some trouble keeping the ball from rolling off as she came up but after a few times she reached the trampoline, picked her ball back up, and ran joyfully along.

Puddle Jumper

It has been a while since the last post. I have a few coming up. For now, here are some recent pictures playing in puddles at a local park. (Geek points to anyone who can name the sci-fi show with puddle jumpers)