Fourth of July Happenings

This morning we decided to take Rainah to her first parade. We drove over to Ada and staked out a spot. We were early so we walked around a little bit. It was a beautiful morning and Rainah was happy just being outside. When the parade first started she didn't seem too impressed, but much like a Pavlov experiment, she soon figured out that if she stood up and waved at the cars and floats going by, they would throw stuff at her... and Rainah loves to collect things. It's amazing how many things she can pick up and carry around at once. So she had a blast picking up as much candy as she could. I gave her a few pieces, but it usually ended up on the ground. She was happy just collecting it and putting it in the diaper bag.
After the parade, they had a really nice area set up with small carnival rides and games for kids, food, and music. We let Rainah play in the bounce house and she just loved it. When we finally got her out, we took her to a little ride with swings that went around. I wasn't sure how she'd do, but she of course loved it, and had a fit when it was time to get off.
We considered going to see fireworks, but I didn't think she would last that long, so we'll wait till next year for that.
Of course, here are some photos of the highlights:
















Here it comes?








The kids had to fight Don for the candy!
































A horse just her size

Camels and Lions and Goats, Oh My!

Today we met up with some friends at John Ball Zoo to hang out for a little while. There is a new lion exhibit and I figured Rainah would love that, plus it would be fun to play with some other kids her age. Rainah had a great time and even got to go for a ride on a camel! Didn't quite compare to the Cheyenne Mountain zoo, but it was still lots of fun.


Those are some big fish


Will


Will watching the fish


Cairey, Lucas, and Rainah


Rainah checking out the otters


Cairey bought the kids some super cool suckers that they just loved! Rainah made quite a mess of hers... why do I even think about dressing her in white?


Rainah and Will


Will working on his sucker






Petting the goats; she loved them!


Will










She tried picking this one up!




Cairey really wanted to ride the camel, but her son, Lucas wasn't too keen on the idea, so I loaned her Rainah, who is usually up for anything!












Jen and Will's turn








The new lion exhibit; there are two females and one male, but the male was hiding in his enclosure; apparently last nights storm spooked him


















Will checking out the chimps


Lena sleeping away

18 Month Stats

Today we took Rainah to her 18 month doctor appointment. When the nurse called us in she commented, "Oh, Rainah's gone blonde!". Everyone is commenting on how light her hair has gotten. I'm not sure if it's the sun or if it's just changing.
She didn't need any shots, so that was a good thing! The nurse weighed her on the baby scale and it showed 23 pounds. Later I put her on the standing scale and 3 times it came to 25.4 pounds, so I'm calling it that! Her height came to 33 inches, which puts her in the 90th percentile in height. We didn't get to see our regular doctor, but were told that everything looks great with her. She won't go back for another well visit until she is two and she'll have to get another shot then. Otherwise, they recommend she get a flu shot in October.
Here are the few photos I got:








And to compare her to one year ago...