Kassy Play Kassy Speak

I have learned quickly where to search in our house for my missing daughter. If she's too quiet for too long, I can almost always find her hiding in our master bedroom closet behind her daddy's shirts. They are just the perfect height for hiding behind as there are lots of shirts and they hang just so they almost touch the floor.

One day I was looking for her, calling her name over and over. I just happened to hear her cute little giggle and figured out that I needed to investigate the closet. She was so well-hidden that I didn't see her until I called her name again and she wiggled and giggled. Who would have imagined that a 19 month old would love to play hide and seek?

This morning she again went missing. I headed to the closet right away. I stood in the doorway, and noticed that none of the shirts were moving. I called her name and she giggled--I jumped and screamed. She wasn't hiding in the shirts but "hiding" in plain sight, lounging on the winter comforter for our bed. When I screamed, she jumped and laughed, and promptly scooted for the safety of the shirts. This was the first time I gave her a lecture about responding to me when I call her name. At least now I know I need to also check the comforter!

Tonight for supper we had rump roast, carrots, fresh bread, and potatoes (for the kids). I was trying to eat and help Kassy too when I noticed that she kept repeating the same phrase over and over again--totally undecipherable to me. I had no idea what she wanted--she had the same stuff on her plate that I had on mine....her sippy cup was within easy reach for her....I had no idea what she wanted. It was my wonderful, brilliant husband who was sitting 10 feet away from her who suggested, "maybe you should check to see if her fingers are being pinched." Sure enough, when I moved the sippy cup, I could see that her little fingers were stuck between the try and the tray plate. She was still repeating the phrase and looking at me like "What's your problem? How can you not understand that my fingers are stuck?" I released her fingers, gave them the "Mommy will kiss it and make it feel better" kiss and the whole incident was basically forgotten. Then, our little David speaks up, "Mom, was Kassy telling you that her fingers were being pinched in her own Kassy language?" Oh my. Can't get anything past that kid!!!!

Zoo Fun!

We had a wonderful Sunday afternoon at the Bramble Park Zoo in Watertown! We met my folks and Sabrina, Jonah and Caleb there after naptime. Matthew was headed to Rapid City with a couple of campers for kids camp, so he missed out on the fun. Of all the birds and animals there are too see, the biggest hit with all four kids was the cute little 3-horse carousel! I can't begin to count how many times David and Jonah asked to go back and see the "fake" animals!

Kassy and Caleb share a merry-go-round pony.

Jonah and David wrestle a turtle

David and Kassy enjoy an apple juice break

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David and Jonah go for a dinosaur ride

Free Pee

Tonight we had friends from Bible Study at our house for fellowship and snacks. The kids had fun playing in the yard while most of the adults stayed on the deck. We were chatting and all of a sudden we could see 2 little boys with their pants down, relieving themselves. Everyone had a good laugh over that one. I sure am glad we live in the country!

Today's Adventures

Today started out a little like crazy, reminding me of how this year has been. Kids slept pretty well last night and we didn't get up until 8:30. After breakfast we headed into Lead with the water tank and trailer to get water to fill the tank at the cabin. We spouted at a gas station to put air in one of the tires on the trailer. The chuck was broke, so on to the next gas station. No air hose there. Stop number three took us 3 miles out of our way, but at least the tire got aired.

Next stop was at Alco to get sheets for David's bed at the cabin. He and I went into the store together. We were almost done shopping when he had an accident that totally soaked his pants and shoes and even managed a tinkling sound as it puddled on the floor. I was a little embarrassed as I told the clerk what had happened. She was really nice about the clean-up job. I called Allen to bring in David's bag with extra clothes and I cleaned him up. Next we needed to get shoes for him. I searched the shoe section and finally came up with a pair that would work but couldn't find the box for them. Oh well. We all headed for the checkout. Poor Allen made the mistake of calling the clerk "sir." She was quick to correct him! It was super hard to tell though, because I'm sure she could have sung bass! Masculine watch and glasses, short hair, hawaiian-ish shirt, deep voice.... Anyway it was certainly ackward when she had to call for help because the box for the shoes was missing. I've never been so glad to get out of a store before! We did eventually get water back to the cabin, and it was a relief to be out of the public eye!

Rolos and Hiking

It's official! Kassy likes Rolos (chocolate-coated caramel candy)! Today she and David were riding in one of the shopping carts that have steering wheels at the grocery store in Sturgis. Allen and I had just finished unloading the cart when I saw Kassy stick something into her mouth. A closer look revealed that she had just taken a bite off the end of a package of Rolos. Needless to say, we bought the package!

David and I veered off the beaten path on or short hike tonight. Allen and Kassy pointed out a small stream and David and I couldn't resist. David was a little hesitant to leave the road but he had no problem waging in the stream. He doesn't want to wash the 4 wheeler because he'd get his hands dirty but just can't seem to avoid water in the stream!