Hope: One Less: Day 17

We had a late night last night. We departed from our normal routine and did not have bathtime before bed. She wanted to sleep with her new stuffed animal.

Posing with her new stuffed cat, Tundra

As soon as she woke up, she wanted to take a bath. Chris gave her a bath before church and she picked out her clothes (jeans and a shirt). For breakfast, she had white rice and half a banana. Once she saw I was wearing dress pants, she said "wow" and made me follow her into her room so she could change into her pretty dress and accessories. As we were pulling into the church parking lot, she raised both hands in the air and shouted "yay." She has only been there twice but immediately recognized the building (she also knows how to get to the bathroom). She was very-well behaved and enjoyed "singing along" to the worship songs. I'm sure she enjoys the attention too. After we got home, she kept saying "cheese" because she wanted her picture taken while she was all dolled up. She also kept saying "Kinsley" and making her car motions. My sister and I made last minute plans to take the girls to the Children's Museum of Illinois in Decatur this afternoon. Chris and Dale opted to stay home. As soon as I told her we were going in the car to see Kinsley, she started yelling "yay." She had a quick lunch of scrambled eggs, chicken strips, and applesauce and we headed out to pick up Brooke and Kinsley.

This was our first time at the Museum (thanks for the suggestion, Jen), and I think the girls had fun. There were lots of interactive exhibits and activities for them to do. As soon as we arrived, she spotted the Air Supply. This one was a little different than the one in Champaign because it used balls rather than fabric. We spent lots of time grocery shopping at Johnston's Market. The girls loved having their own shopping carts and pulling items off the shelves and into their carts. She actually filled her cart and then practiced checking out and putting the items into the bags. We also had a photo op with Ronald McDonald. The next popular spot was the bubble room. She kept trying to use the big wands and blow her own bubbles. She also started saying "bubbles." We spent time playing with the water table and floating ducks and boats down the river. She also got to paint on the paint wall. We rode the elevator to the 2nd floor and spent time trying on costumes and playing on the stage behind the curtains and lights. The girls drove an airplane, an ambulance, and a car. We visited the Ready. Set. Build! exhibit and the girls went down the slide. She was not a fan of the one in Champaign but she did great with this one. I think it helped to watch Kinsley and that it was a straight slide. They made pizzas and went to an ice cream parlor. She tried on a fireman's outfit and a construction outfit. We made once last trip down the slide and through the bubble room. Both girls (and the mamas) were getting tired so we decided to call it a day. While Kinsley got her diaper changed, I convinced her to go a couple of platforms up in Luckey's Climber. She was pretty hesitant when she saw it at first, but as long as she held my hands, she was okay. It was a great afternoon!

When we got home, we had a quick dinner. She had white rice and mini corndogs. We worked on putting the sheets back on our beds and she helped put away the folded kitchen towels. She also kissed our dog, Bessie, on the back three times. The first two were out of the blue and the third one was just so we could get it on video. We are going on an overnight trip before her doctor's appointment on Tuesday so she also helped to pack her bag. We told her we were going on vacation and Chris showed her a picture of the hotel pool. Hopefully she understood. We also worked on playing Go Fish and she is really good at matching the animals together. Nana and Smitty stopped by to pick up Bessie. She immediately asked Nana where her earrings were. She was a big helper to get all of Bessie's things packed up and kept saying "bye, bye Bessie." For her snack, she had vanilla yogurt, string cheese, and a banana. She must have been starving. She has also figured out that she can tickle Chris' feet and she thinks it is hilarious. In fact, she has been bouncing off the walls this evening which seems odd considering she had no nap. She has picked up some more English words including Kinsley, Nana, sorry, awesome, and bubbles.