Surprise Parties!

Cali and I went to 2 surprise parties today!  

The first was a wedding shower for Eric and Allison (the same couple who had a shower yesterday).  Only this one was a surprise.  Somehow the entire church was in on it and no one said anything!  It was great when they made the announcement at church and Eric and Allison had no idea!  How we kept that secret I will never know!

Our second party was a surprise 80th Birthday for Nick's Grannie!  She is an amazingly sweet woman who raised 5 wonderful children, the oldest of which is Nick's mom.  This is Grannie once she walked in the door, she didn't know what to say, it was so precious!

Cali had fun showing off for everyone.  She got to meet lots of extended family for the first time.  It was great to show her off to all the people that came to our baby shower 18 months ago!  Cali also had fun playing with her toddler cousins.  I can't wait till Christmas - it will be pure chaos!

Here she is with Uncle Andy.

Aunt Jen-Jen and Cousin Leigha

Once Uncle Andy showed her the balloons it was over. 

She bribed her Great-Aunt Pam to give her one.   She then ran all over the room with it.  

We unfortunately lost it on the way to the car.  You can imagine Cali's reaction, it wasn't pretty.

After Cali concluded her social appearances, we came home to rest and play.

Centerpieces

Cali and I went to a wedding shower today for our friends Eric and Allison.  Nick will be a groomsman in their wedding in September.  There were a bunch of people there so they had a TON of presents to open.

Cali showed off for everyone the whole time!  She kept walking in front of the crowd and smiling at everyone.  I did get her slowed down long enough to have a snack.  

After snack she stole a centerpiece.  Here she is running off with her prize!

She loved the balloons. 

17 Months Old!

Cali is 17 months old today.  She is so full of life these days!  She has such a sweet personality.  It is such a blessing to be a part of her life and watch as she learns new things and experiences life.

17 Month Stats:

• Walks, runs, climbs
• Loves to twirl and dance
• Loves to walk backwards
• Loves to play outside - she will point on the door and say "Go!"  if you aren't paying attention she will bring you your shoes and say "Go!"
• Favorite foods: MILK! pasta, cheese, peas, green beans, carrots, cookies, fruit, ground beef
• Sleeps from 7:30pm - 8:30am, takes a 1.5-2 hour nap
• Has figured out how to make her toys work instead of just playing with them.  Example:  put the block in the square hole rather than just play with the shapes.
• Wears size 5 shoe, 18 month clothes and size 3 diapers
• Likes to pet Harley & Jack
• Will blow you a kiss 
• Is playing with other kids instead playing next to other kids, solo play
• Loves to read books
• Words: Mama, Dada, go, dog, bye-bye, no

Family Portraits

Last week we got my whole side of the family together for some family portraits.  It was very entertaining with 2 toddlers and a 6 year old!

Here are some of my favorites.

Cali 16.5 months

The Vitkus, Tomczak and Jordan Family

The Jordan Family

Trying to get the 3 kids together - it didn't work

Michael's face is so cute, he was tired of getting his picture taken.  

New Toys

We have neighbors that used to run a daycare out of there home.  Their kids have grown up making the toys in their yard lonely.   They were nice enough to give Cali a police car and wagon.  She loves them!

The police car

The wagon

Cali and I like to walk around our block with the wagon.  As we walk Cali moves from the back seat to...

The middle seat to ...

The front seat

I try to stop when she moves but sometimes she is too fast!

She mostly likes to get in and out of the police car.  We are working on her driving skills!

Tim's Birthday

We celebrated Tim's birthday this past week.  It seems like everyone in our family has a birthday from June to August! 

While Tim opened presents the toddlers played.  I don't know why Cali was lying on the floor.

Grandma went in for a closer look.

Grandpa and Michael playing with a toy together.

Kimmie and Cali dancing!  It was adorable.

Slide

Cali has been loving trips to our local park.  It is only a .5 mile walk from our house so we go a couple times a week.  Cali's favorite part are the slides!

I just love the black and white photos of her!  They just capture her so well!

On this particular day my parents camp to play too!  They were able to see Cali in action.  She is fearless and just starting to dive head first down the slide!

 The family at the park.

** I forgot to post earlier, but we head back from the Dr. and Cali's heart is just fine!  The Heart Echo came back normal.   God is good!