Apple Hill Adventure

After a tiny bit of planning which orchards to check out we headed up to Apple Hill for a bit of frugal fun.  Our first stop was Apple Ridge Farms to check out the petting zoo and nature trail.  They had goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits.  The nature trail was a nice little walk around part of the orchard. When we got there  we tried to get Rachel's picture in one of the cute cut outs, but she had other plans and demanded to see the goats instead.

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

Our second stop was Denver Dan's Apple Patch.  We saw and petted more animals including goats, donkeys, alpacas, ponies, and a goose.  After finishing up with the animals we grabbed a bucket and headed out to the orchard to pick some apples.  Rachel loved walking around the orchard with her apple while Brian and I picked a few pounds worth of apples.  Before piling back in the car, we enjoyed the typical Bjork picnic lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

After finishing lunch and checking the time we decided to make one final stop at Rainbow Orchards since it was on our route back to Highway 50.  Rachel enjoyed the hay bales.  They are fun to walk around and on, sit on, and hop from one to another with help.  We also looked at the numerous types of pumpkins/ gourds and sampled some fresh apple cider.  Then it was time to convince Rachel it was time to go to the car and head home.  Rachel didn't like this idea at first, but after we found the perfect rock in the parking lot to take home she willingly got in her car seat.

From Life with the Bjorks

It was a fun day followed by a good nap for 2 out of 3 of us. 

Tahoe Trip

Last month we spent 4 days in Tahoe playing, hiking, splashing in the lake, and having tons of fun.

From Life with the Bjorks

Let me out.  I'm ready for fun.

From Life with the Bjorks

A splashing good time at North Tahoe Beach

From Life with the Bjorks

Petting a tree on the North Tahoe Regional Park Interpretive Trail.  This was a great toddler and stroller trail - very flat and wide and not too long.

From Life with the Bjorks

Whee!  Checking out the playground at North Tahoe Regional Park

From Life with the Bjorks

Riding in style on the Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Trail.  Another great toddler and stroller friendly trail.

From Life with the Bjorks

Family Photo Op

We didn't get any pictures, but we also checked out the Taylor Creek Visitor Center.  Rachel loved the Stream Profile Chamber where she could see the fish swimming in the creek through windows.  Her favorite part of the day was watching a helicopter close up drop off new power poles along the trail to the Stream Profile Chamber.  It was pretty neat to see.

We all had a great trip and found plenty of toddler friendly activities to keep us occupied!  It was especially fun to spend the trip with my parents.  Rachel enjoyed playing with them and sharing lots of rocks and other treasures from our hikes with them.

"Paw"-ty Time

Rachel turned two earlier this month and her friends joined us for some tail-waggin' fun.  In case you didn't guess she had a puppy party.  Rachel's little guests enjoyed running around the yard, sliding down the bus slide, splashing in the water table, throwing a ball, hiding in the puppy house (pattern from nothingbutcountry.com), and snacking on fruit, veggies, and cupcakes.  Rachel had a blast at her party after she warmed up to all the people invading her house.  We still need to work on her hostess skills because when she got tired of her guests she headed in the house and told me, "I go inside."  I guess she is not as much as an extrovert as she led us to believe.  She did however do a nice job of thanking her guests for coming by letting them take home some scooby snacks and a balloon animal dog.

So here is what Rachel has been up to as a new 2 year old.  She still wears some 18 months outfits, but mostly 24 months.  We have started potty training because she really enjoys using the potty, but does not quite get the feeling of when she needs to go and relies on me to remind her.  She uses 2-4 word sentences to communicate and narrates pretty much everything she or we do.  I have heard her count up to 6, but usually she just counts to 2 or 3.  She recognizes the letters "r, a, c, h, and e" and will label them if she is in the mood.  Don't count on her showing you that skill any time soon since she likes to answer "no" to just about everything we ask her.  After all, she is a big independent 2 year old.  She loves to dance, paint, read, and play outside.  She is starting to tell simple stories during pretend play and "read" by describing pictures in books.  She continues to show us new aspects of her personality.  She is typically pretty easy going until she is not and then she can be determined and dramatic.  She likes to test the limits and sometimes lets defiance take over.  After those moments with a little prompting she will sweetly come over with a hug and say "sorry for ___."  She is still very active and often times too busy to slow down and look where she is going which results in some pretty good bumps and bruises.  Rachel has gotten more cuddly lately.  I cherish those brief times when she slows down long enough to sit in my lap for some love.  It is such a joy to get to know more about Rachel every day and to help mold her.  Thank you God for trusting us with your precious child, Rachel.

Creative Movement

The other day instead of wearing our belly dance coin belts while we danced we tried some ribbon dancing.  Check out Rachel's fantastic moves complete with hopping, galloping, and even a somersault.

Say, "Cheese"

How do you make a strong-willed, independent active toddler smile for the camera?  In short, you don't.  No amount of asking, coaxing, pleading, or silly faces are enough to make this toddler give in and smile.  So what is a parent to do?  Resign oneself to accepting pleasant looking faces and try to catch a natural smile while playing.  We took 97 pictures for Rachel's 2nd birthday photo shoot and got a good amount of decent ones, but only a few in focus ones with a smile.  If Rachel is smiling she is usually running, hopping, dancing, twirling, etc.  The photos were all taken by Brian (except of course for the one he is in).  He is an excellent photographer and very patient.  He gave me instructions for no more black and white outfits next year.  The two extremes are harder to shoot than colors.  Maybe next year I will branch out from black white and red next year; although, I did have every intention of using blue this year.  That has been the color scheme of choice for both of Rachel's birthdays.

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

From Life with the Bjorks

Now about Rachel's outfit.  I bought and made it the day before we took the photos.  Had I been paying attention to the calender I would have started sooner because shopping at multiple stores, designing and sewing the applique, and turning a basic white t-shirt into a cute girly shirt is quite the arduous process especially with a toddler in tow.  Once again I must mention how awesome Pinterest is for inspiration.  Thanks to Pinterest I got the chubby puppy pattern from nothingbutcountry.com and the t-shirt directions from blog.birdsparty.com.

Surviving and Enjoying Sly Park

From Life with the Bjorks

Last weekend we headed up with our church group to Sly Park.  Last year I was freaked out about taking a baby camping.  This year I was less nervous because I had come to terms with the fact Rachel and all her clothes would be filthy.  Several times throughout the weekend I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that the dirt will wash off, she is having fun, and being dirty will not kill her or me.  We don't have any pictures of it but take my word for it Rachel was covered in a fine layer of dirt and food by Saturday evening.  The trip started off with a lovely tantrum that seemed to last forever.  I know it didn't only because it is not still going, but it was a long one.  Rachel was over tired and over excited which was not a winning combination for a nap.  She finally fell asleep for a very short nap and after that our weekend improved drastically.  Here are Rachel's highlights:

1. The Lake:  We had a great time swimming in the lake both days.  Someone even brought up a baby raft that Rachel was still small enough to fit in.  She loved being pulled around in it.  The lake while murky was an excellent way to wash off the dirt and make room for new dirt.  The lake was also fun to throw big rocks in.  Big rocks are more fun to throw in than little rocks even if you can barely lift them because they make a way better splash.

2. The Hill: Near the fire pit and eating area there was a great little hill that made an excellent ramp for rolling a ball down.  After the hill the ground was such that the ball would stop rolling so Rachel could go get it and do it all over again.

3. Camping Chairs:  Just like Goldilocks and the three bears, Rachel had to try out many different chairs before she found the one that was just right.  Some were too big to get into and some were too easy to pinch finger in (Rachel luckily did not discover this on her own).  Actually, she found 2 perfect chairs: a little toddler one and a medium sized one.  Both were great for climbing up and down on and even sitting in.

4. S'mores:  Rachel was introduced to toasted marshmallows and s'mores this year.  Not surprisingly they were a hit.

5. Playing outside all day long!
 

Little Lessons and Life

As summer vacation nears an end Rachel and I decided to resume tot school with a month of activities revolving around pond animals.  I found a blog with lap book printables geared toward toddlers.  In case you don't know a lap book is basically a file folder with activities glued inside.  Rachel's pond lap book includes a pocket with letters to spell her name which we use to sing, "there was a girl who had a name.." (the BINGO song), a counting mini book, a who lives in ponds mini book, and a coloring directions worksheet.  Each day we do tot school we start with her lap book.  Then we do a craft or coloring activity followed by either a bible story or other story about pond animals.  Rachel knows the routine, and if I try to change up the routine she lets me know that it isn't right.  Rachel loves routines and schedules.  When I ask her if she wants to do tot school she yells out, "tot school" and runs to her table to start.  I love that she is developing a love for learning.

Rachel is also learning to use the potty.  She has been super easy to potty train and has given me unrealistic expectations regarding how easy it is.  Rachel had been interested in the potty for months, so we finally headed to the store for a potty seat to fit on our toilet.  We soon noticed that while she really liked it her success was limited by her petite size.  Even with a stool she was just too short to reach the potty or the sink.  I broke down and bought her froggy potty chair which she loves and made a sink extension from an old lotion bottle (yet another great idea from pinterest).  About every 30 minutes she sits on her potty and goes.  At this point she primarily relies on me to remind her to go before it is too late.  In fact, the little stinker loves her potty so much that if she doesn't like what is for lunch and dinner she will claim she has to go potty and go sit down on it with a book.  There is now a rule of no books when you go potty during meal time.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment:

 

From Life with the Bjorks

We took Grandma and Grandpa to Fairytale Town when they visited.

From Life with the Bjorks

We had a tea party and she helped all the dolls by eating their cookies and drinking their water.

From Life with the Bjorks

Isn't she adorable!  As you can see we are still battling a rash that appears to be caused by the heat.  Only a month or so more until it should start cooling down.