20 Months

Today is Mayson's 20 month birthday!  We celebrated with a concert in the park and a visit to the zoo with Jenny and the kids.  She has been talking up a storm and has been learning a ton!  In the last week or so she has done so much: She can repeat after us the entire alphabet.  She has learned most all of the letters and can say them when she sees them.  She will go up to signs we see outside and point at all of the letters and say them.  When we were camping with Jennie and Mike around Mt. Baker this weekend, she went up to all of the number signs at the campsites and tried to say all of the numbers.  "Two" is her best talent.  She has been repeating lots of words, and she loves saying hi and bye to everything.  Tonight in the tub she said, "Bubble" without being prompted.  She is most excited about the fact that she can fasten the strap on her seat belt in the car.  She can't get out of the car until she does it at least 5 times.  She even let me do a photo shoot today without running away!   My favorite thing she did today was say "Ellen" when I turned on the TV. 

Home from Mammoth

We had a great family vacation to Mammoth Lakes and are now home enjoying summer.  Mayson is so fun right now!  She seems to be picking up new words every day, and even knows several letters of the alphabet.  We have checked out two concerts of her favorite: Casper Babypants.  We've played at UVillage, gone to a dance class, and played at lots of playgrounds.  Tomorrow is her first art class!  Here's some of her current favorite words: Apple, Mo Mo (our cat), Up, Ma Ma, Bubba (the orangutan), Barney (we accidentally have been playing a Barney ABC video that she loves), Daddy, and "Deb Peas" we think this last one might mean "that please?"  Any other guesses are welcome.  Letters she can identify and say: B, M, O, T, D, E, A.

Yosemite

We drove to Yosemite for a few days during our Mammoth Lakes trip.  What an incredible place!  We drove in from the east, passing Tenaya Lake, getting back views of Half Dome, and then finally reaching the valley and looking up at the massive rock faces.  We did a small hike to the lower falls, and marvelled at all the views.  While we were there we stayed in Curry Village in a canvas tent. 

Mammoth Lakes: Top of the Mountain

We rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain ski area at Mammoth Lakes so we could check out the view and Keri could go mountain biking down the hill.  A great view at over 11,000ft!

Mammoth Lakes: Crystal Lake

One of our best outings while in Mammoth was our hike up to Crystal Lake.  The hike started climbing up overlooking stunning views of Lake George.  Once we got to the ridge, a whole new view of Crystal Lake emerged with the backdrop of the rocky mountains.  We hiked partially around a the lake and found a great beach spot for Mayson, who ran right into the water.  Apparently her new sport is climbing because she loved bouldering all over.  We even got to see a bear on the way down the trail! 

Mammoth Lakes: Devil's Postpile

While in Mammoth, we took a bus ride to Devil's Pospile, a National Monument that features a special type of "columnal basalt." Basically the rocks look like long hexagons.  Anyway, the area was beautiful and we were able to see a fantastic river valley that was one of my favorite places.  Mayson tolerated her backpack for a bit and then took off running on the trail. 

4th of July

We had a great 4th in Mammoth Lakes.  We went to the town parade and concert in the park, which were super fun!  Fire trucks, horses, kids on bikes, candy, and a beautiful sunny day.  Our condo had a fun pool, a playground nearby, and we visited the main ski village to enjoy great snacks and sandboxes.  Mayson even found her new friend orangutan: Bubba.

Summer Vacation: Mammoth Lakes

We're back from our summer adventure to Mammoth Lakes, CA.  The journey included planes, trains, and buses.  Mayson was not a fan of the small commuter plane or her first bus ride.  Both were a bit rocky and she kept on trying to sit on the floor to center herself.  But we saw some amazing sights and incredible lakes and mountains!  The Lakes Basin was a frequent stop on our itinerary as we hiked around Twin Lakes and played at Lake George.  Mayson was a trooper in her backpack and loved jumping into the freezing lake water to splash around and dig in the mud. 

Adventures at 19 Months

Mayson turned 19 mos old ( a while ago now, but who is counting)? and we had some fun weekend adventures.  We went out to the beach at Kayak Point State Park and also went for a day outing in downtown Seattle.  Mayson rode the Monorail for the first time and checked out the big fountain. You can't tell by our attire that it is actually the beginning of summer.