Our little Spartan!

She was pretty excited when her dad taught her how to climb up the chair!

Kez loves to read to herself. Couldn't make her parents any prouder:)

Yeah! Spartans are number one!

Sunday Best

You try so hard to get her to pose, and it just doesn't work.
But when it comes to jumping on the couch, that's no problem!

Visiting our friends again!

While Isaiah was loving the coziness of the couch, Kez did NOT...this is my best picture, even with Mary's flash on Kezzie's face:)

The apple-picking didn't work out too well because the weather was SO cold. So instead we went to the Liberty Science Center and explored! Kezzie had her first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. I must say, she didn't seem all that impressed. Selah on the other hand was extremely excited to spot Lady Liberty.

Kezzie was enthralled with these rat-like creatures. They were on her level so she could stand and watch them run around and gnaw on the metal cage. She thought they were great!

The little fashionista sometimes decides she wants to wear a hat.

Elfreth's Alley: the oldest inhabited road in the United States.

Kez playing on the steps that George Washington climbed. This is Congress Hall; it's pretty important because this is where the first peaceful exchange of power took place (except for royal progression of course). People were really nervous that Washington would want to continue presiding over America. But he said a few words, passed the power on to John Adams, and walked out of the building. Kezzie had an obsession with the steps, she kept trying to crawl up them. I think she wants to be president. Poor girl, she doesn't know she was born in Canada so she can never be president. Ah, the poor choices of her parents!

From the look on Kezzie's face, she was really impressed with the Liberty Bell. She must have thought it was broken.

Kez and I in front of the Swann fountain downtown.

Good old Ben. Did you know he was only about 5 feet tall? Can't really tell from the statue:)

Kez getting out of an old airplane.

Our future musician...she can keep a beat!

Today I officially packed up Kezzie's summer clothes into the retired box. Last week Friday the temperature soared to 79 degrees, but I'm pretty sure that was the last time this year she can sport the shorts. Since then the temps have been dropping. The leaves haven't started changing colors yet, but that will likely change over the next few weeks.

Now that we have a child, we've started doing "family" things. A few weekends ago we went down to the Franklin Institute (mainly because it was college day and Bud and I got in for free). Kezzie was about as impressed as a one-year old should be. She saw the big train-a real train that they brought into the basement. She crawled through the arteries of the human heart; she watched a demonstration on liquids and gases (got really excited for the balloons-which she pointed at and yelled "Baa, Baa" because she thought they were balls). She even went on a tour through the human heart (which Bud said had a strong smell of body odor, strange for a human heart).

Cracking herself up...

Kez was very interested in helping Bud take apart the baby toys. And check out the free kitchen set I scored:) I was taking a run and saw it on the side of the road, so I booked it home (sorta...if you were randomly driving by on the road you would not necessarily have looked at me and thought, "Wow, that lady is hauling." it would have probably been more like, "Do you think we should stop and offer her a ride?") anyhow, I got home, grabbed the keys and flew out the door to claim my prize. It didn't fit in the trunk so I had to do some backseat cramming, but it was worth it. It even came complete with a box of dishes and food! After a quick run over with the dust rag it was ready for action. Of course, three minutes into playing with it, Kezzie ripped off the sticker on the front-the only damage to the thing and my destructive child does it in three minutes. Ho-hum. Anyhow, she loves the doors and spends most of her time opening and closing the doors. Bud and I spend our time trying to interpret the French and Spanish buttons-both claiming to have an interpretation, but both realizing the other is most likely only guessing.

Back Home

Someone learned how to be cheesy in front of the camera.
She was pulling the funniest faces...

Her birthday party with Cameron.

Well, the summer is officially over and we are back at home. I think Kezzie recognized her old stomping grounds right away. We drove through the night and pulled up to our place at 4 am. We were discussing how to get her up to bed when we heard a little voice singing "Da-da-da-da" from the back seat. That was the only noise she made the entire ride! We walked into the living room and she said "OH..." when she saw her toys in the corner. Then she went right to sleep!!

It is still nice and warm here-today was actually hot. The first few nights Bud and I felt like we were in the jungle because of all the noises from outside. It feels like a rainforest with all the crickets and other creatures singing away-but now we are totally used to it. Kezzie had to adjust to all the sounds too. The train is one of her favorites-she gets so excited to hear it come past. She also is just starting to sing along with the church bells, and she giggles at the many horns we hear each day.

Cake and more cake...

"Who me???"

Letting everyone know how much she loves the cupcake.

Happy Birthday Kezia!

All this with no practice beforehand:)

Kezzie's Fake Laugh

Kezzie heard Auntie Carol laugh, thought it sounded cool, tried it herself, got a great reaction...and the rest is history. Now she not only fake coughs, but also fake laughs. It is so amazing to see how fast she realizes she is being funny...and how much she thrives off that:)

When Auntie Ashley Gets Ahold of Me!

Oh no! I see her coming...I don't trust her:)
She did my hair at the pool and it stayed like this for two days...all by itself.

Visiting Great-Grandma Swann

Someone thought she was pretty cool!
It was a race! Kezzie had to use the "bumpers" quite a bit to stay on track...hey, it's hard to walk on tippy-toes!
Great-Grandma, Kez, and Auntie Ash