Strawberry Picking

Last year Don and I took Rainah to Krupp Farms to go strawberry picking, despite the fact that neither of us are very fond of the fruit. Rainah, however, likes it quite a bit, so this year I took her with our Bright Beginnings group. Thankfully last week's group was full (it was in the 90's and VERY humid). Today was much more tolerable... windy and bordering on chilly, but better than the oppressive heat. We got to go on a hayride out to the field and as soon as we got there, Rainah took right off with her basket. I couldn't pick fast enough to keep up with as fast as she was eating them- she seemed to be determined to not bring any home. At some point I was able to get both of our baskets filled up and get a few photos before getting back on the wagon. Afterwards the kids got ice cream as well as some animal feed to give to the animals over on their petting farm. Rainah was MUCH more enthralled with the "spring" horse and riding on that then seeing the real animals, but she did stop riding long enough to chuck her cone full of animal feed into the goat pen. We had a really nice afternoon and Rainah should be set with strawberries for quite awhile!

Just before the bird struck... she got quite a bite on the arm- didn't even phase her

Riding out to the field










She wasn't crying- her eyes tend to run when it is cold and/or windy

Gotta love that face

Sharing some ice cream

I think this was her favorite part of the day

Sneaking a few more before we go home

Two and a Half

Tomorrow Rainah will turn 2 1/2 years old. We can't believe how quickly each month goes by and how much she is learning. We laugh so much every day at the things she does and says... she has become so inquisitive and asks countless questions- she needs to know everyone's names, what people are doing, why they are doing it, what things are for... and she just soaks it all in. She remembers things that I don't even remember telling her!

She loves helping out and she can be heard several times a day saying, "Here you go, Mommy", as she brings me something she thinks I might need. She helps Don water the trees and plants, and always comes in coated in dirt- she loves playing in dirt, sand, woodchips... anything dirty. Her imagination has just taken off, and she pretends to be a doctor, checking out her baby dolls. She still loves reading and we attend story time at the library every week, coming home with lots of books that we read over and over throughout the week. She also still loves doing puzzles and amazes everyone who watches her put them together. She is bored by the frame puzzles that usually say they are for ages 3-7. She has moved on to the boxed puzzles, some of which have up to 60 pieces. We'll help her the first time putting it together, and after that she can usually do the whole thing by herself- it's so crazy.

Lately her love for Dora has waned a bit and she is now all about Blues Clues. She has her own handy dandy notebook that she likes to draw in.

She is such a happy toddler- though she has her moments- she generally spends lots of time laughing and smiling. She loves learning and just amazes us constantly with what she knows and picks up.

Tonight I asked her if she wanted to put on a pretty dress and go take her picture and surprisingly she excitedly said yes! So we headed out to Townsend Park and I tried to get some shots of her - it was a bit early in the evening, so the lighting was a bit too bright, but I got some good ones to commemorate her at the age of 2 1/2! Enjoy!

Trying to hold off the Mamarazzi

I think this is my favorite!