Wordless Wednesday: Backyard Rainbow

Robot Doggie

Here's is our Piper and her friend "Robot Doggie." This is a cheap little pull toy I bought for Morgan ages ago when she began to walk. Morgan liked playing with it, but it went by the wayside with a bunch of other toys a while ago. In fact I tried to sell it to a consignment store and they rejected it on the basis that they had too many baby toys. I put the doggie and some other rejected toys in Morgan's closet with the thought in mind that if a friend with a baby comes over we'd have something for the baby to play with. I forgot about these toys until Piper found them. About a two weeks ago she appeared at bedtime with the doggie and said "Look, it's Robot Doggie!" Though, the way she pronounces it, it sounds more like "Robodoggie". So, that is it's name. We're not sure where this name comes from, but it makes sense as all the dog does is make a mechanical "arf" sound when you pull him by his leash (no batteries required either).


She loves to pull him around the house, feed him at meals and brush his teeth before bed. Even the first night we "met" him he had an unfortunate incident. Piper took him in the bathroom while Morgan was finishing her bath with David. She said "Uh oh, Robot Doggie's sick" and proceeded to lean him over the edge of the toilet, complete with barfing sounds. Morgan was so amused by this that she asks if Robot Doggie is sick almost every night. Most of the time Piper obliges and makes Robot Doggie "get sick" in the potty...and we all laugh. Hilarious.

Honestly Robot Doggie is currently getting a lot more love than any of the dolls/babies in our house. He sleeps in Piper's bed at night as well. We'll see how long the Robot Doggie obsession lasts, but in the meantime it's very entertaining.

A Park Surprise

The area of Spokane Valley that we live in is known locally as "Greenacres". Yes, cue song from old TV show... it is a lot of old farm land. Some has been developed into small single-family homes, like ours, and some is still farmhouses on larger plots of land. When we first moved here we heard there was a group working together to build a neighborhood park. It was still in the funding/design stage. Last summer they had some of the roads around the designated plot of land repaved...but for some reason, besides the annoyance, I didn't give it much thought. I thought the potential park had gone by the wayside with the lovely economy.

Then, to our surprise, this weekend our neighbors told us the park was almost completed! What?! The plot of land happens to be off our main route home, and conveniently blocked from view by a few farmhouses. After church on Sunday we took a drive by and found this:

I can't even tell you how excited I am! My pictures do not do it justice at all and they are taken through a bunch of chain link fence as the park is not yet open.

There is a huge play structure (the barn), restrooms and a splash pad!!

View from the entrance, next to the restrooms. That guy in the foreground is "Ferdinand the Bull."

The lighting is all wrong, but on the post reads "Ferdinand's Farm." When I saw this I realized it is based on the book "The Story of Ferdinand." It is a book that is about a bull who does not want to fight in bull fights, he wants to smell the flowers. And, in the previous picture he is doing just that. We purchased this book for David's sister's kids for Christmas, but we don't have it ourselves. I think we need to find it soon and get the girls familiar before the park officially opens. So cute!

The farm play structure....there are cool "hay bales" on the other side to climb up. Morgan always loves a swirly slide!

And the best part...for Morgan....the swings! There is another small set with baby swings next to Ferdinand as well. So much fun!!

There is also a large plot of grassy field surround  the park, complete with a huge shelter for picnic tables as well as a disc golf course! We did this some when we lived in Eureka, so we're looking forward to getting our discs out soon! We are planning on spending a lot of time here this summer. It is just a bit over a mile from our house, so walkable....but we'll see how that goes when we have two tired girls wanting to get home after hours of playing in water, sand and climbing things. It is an exciting addition to our neighborhood, so I'm also hoping we'll meet more families who live close by.

Character

We have lots of names for our Piper girl... Biscuit, Miss Mess-a-mess, Baby, Pipie, the Piper Pooper...but lately she's just blossomed into what we can only call "a character."

She's basically confirming that she's definitely (so far) a "typical" child, known as "neuro-typical" or NT in the special needs world. But, for us she seems like she's just brilliant! We are amazed everyday at how she learns something new completely on her own or busts out with something amazing verbally.

As for the verbal dynamics, on Sunday we arrived at church and I took her to her Adventureland classroom. As we were getting close to our turn to check in she wanted me to put her down. As soon as I did this, she did a cute little "jig" and said "I so excited!!" Huh?! Cutest thing ever! Also, this coming from a kid who three months ago would cling to me terrified that I was leaving her in that class. I'd say she's adjusted well.

That night I was making dinner and accidentally splashed a bit of boiling water on my arm. I let out a yelp of some kind and a few seconds later she shows up in the doorway and says "What's wrong, Mama?!" I was able to explain that I was okay and she went back to playing.

We've also had several instances of times she will get a bmp or bruise, then she'll cry for a bit. Then, once she calms down some she says "I feel better."

Today I got her out of the car and set her down in the garage just as a FedEx truck was pulling out across the street. She kind of freaked out and as soon as I picked her up she said "I too little, I so scared!" The fact that she can express her feelings this way is invaluable! We are constantly amazed, and a lot relieved, that she is showing these skills.

Our girl is also a character because she is so creative. She has a sense of humor too! She was so proud of herself with these two pairs of sunglasses on. She laughed and laughed and I had to pull over the car to take a picture.

She has also blossomed with her imaginative play. She found this binky in a cabinet in her room and brought it and a blanket downstairs. She plopped herself down on the kitchen floor and said something like, "Look, I a baby! Waaaah Waaaah!" Incredible.

And, the best for last...this morning I was doing Morgan's hair and as soon as I was done Piper gave her a big hug and said "I love you Morgan!" So sweet!

But, don't be deceived, this character has her sassy, defiant side. More soon...