Now . . .

Perhaps you guessed . . . Vanessa can get on counters and scale walls. She'll even stand on her head, using a wall or chair (or play yard for Grandma) and her feet to put her in the position. Her mommy was just thinking we could put away a gate or two, but now that Vanessa tries to help herself to everything in the kitchen, we'll leave the kitchen gate up a little longer. (Our knives are now on top of the fridge, but I'm not sure it won't be long before she finds a way to climb up there.) The drawer Vanessa is climbing into is without a safety latch because it's just toddler spoons, containers and bibs.

I would imagine some of you are wondering why I'm not intervening rather than taking pictures . . . Vanessa moves fast and she had already been caught getting into the drawer earlier in the day, so when I saw the wheels turning in her head, I pulled out the camera really fast to take the pictures, trying not to make it obvious that I knew what she was up to. Here's the first picture where I'm telling her that it's NOT okay to be up on the counters and in drawers. She explained that she just wanted to sleep in the drawer. :) When she knows she's not to be doing something and she gets caught, she then does whatever as fast as possible so she can complete her mission before being grabbed. (I get a little scared when I think about her adolescent years to come.)

Then . . .

If our little gymnast was doing this a few months ago, what do you think she's doing now? Stay tuned . . .

Does she have an inkling?

It seems maybe someone has been preparing for her birthday for several weeks now . . . while her daddy was in Canada, Vanessa displayed an amazing fascination of making "happy cakes." She spotted things in stores that might be considered similar and would yell out "Happy cake?" I thought for sure her grandmother had been talking with her about her birthday, but Grandma said no. My answer for a lot of things now -- must be the TV! :) On this particular day, Vanessa announced impulsively with finger in the air, "Happy cake?!" She then ran into the kitchen and grabbed some of her bowls and stacked them into a happy cake. She played out the whole thing -- she sang Happy Birthday and then blew out her candles. If you ask her how old she is, she answers, "Almost 2." We're using this week to practice answering with just "2!"

She's one crazy character . . .

County Fair

Vanessa visited a county fair for her first time yesterday. (We live a couple hundred yards from the Franklin County Fairgrounds and we've never gone.) Our friends Becky and Megan joined us. Megan enjoyed being snuggled up to her mommy in her sling while we walked the main drag a few times, checked out the animals in the 4-H barn, went to a petting zoo, kind of watched a clown show, enjoyed an overly sugary elephant ear (the best kind, right?), won a ginormous blow-up princess gavel, and -- best of all -- RODE A PONY!!!!!!

The bison eventually made it over to greet us. The llama and deer remained eager for attention and carrots. There were all kinds of cool animals at the petting zoo – llama, bison, a rare miniature cow, a huge python, a huge tortoise, a pig, a kangaroo, the standard goats . . . Vanessa went up to pet the animals but she was a little hesitant in having the animals eat carrots from her hand.

The pony Vanessa picked out was the only black one. There were four or five ponies, all brown and white except for Midnight. Vanessa didn't have to think about it, she went straight to her and hopped right on and was so proud to be sitting tall and holding on tight. She gave Midnight gentle touches and we talked about the coarseness of her mane. They became instant friends. Vanessa loved to point up to the tent and announce that it was a big umbrella.

Vanessa was also interested in the rides, but her mommy didn't feel like she could get on and go in circles with her. Vanessa would point to the ferris wheel and talk about the "circle going up." We could've done the ferris wheel but her mommy was afraid the little daredevil might get the bright idea to stand up or climb all over the seat. :)

The Franklin County Fair is quite small compared to the Gallia County Fair, where we are from. I'm sure that has something to do with the area and there being lots of options for live entertainment and outdoor festivities here in the Columbus area. The FCF still had the smorgasbord of food vendors, though, and we went there thinking we'd eat all the junk we could get our hands on, but once we came down from the elephant ear sugar high, we were ready to go home to cool off and drink lots of water. Then for some reason a salad sounded the best and Vanessa was happy with cottage cheese, pineapple and toasted pita bread. :) Maybe more grease and junk next time . . .

Mandy's Race for Celia

To track Mandy during her race for Celia on the 26th, you can visit www.ironman.com, go to Live Race Coverage Ironman Lake Placid, and then to Athlete Tracker. Type in Burlile for her last name. The race starts at 7am and her projected splits are: swim-1:20; bike-7:00; and run-4:30. She will be on the course around 14 hours!

Zach!

Vanessa's cousin Zach turned 12 this last Saturday. Although we talked with Zach, we still have to share wishes in cyber world! Happy Birthday Zach! Hope it was grand, as we're sure it was. It’s perfect that you can celebrate over a few days! We thought we'd stretch it out even longer . . . :)

So I thought I'd share a little more on the "pilot" tree discussion . . . just what you wanted, right?! -- a lesson on trees. :) Humor me . . . :)

Silver maples grow to 50-70 feet. Did you know the "pilots" are called samaras or keys? So the winged seeds or fruit are called samaras or keys. And the extra cluster of leaves on the twigs and branches are called leaflets. Makes sense.

We're used to Andrew asking about plants and trees, and he participated in this conversation, but during a recent visit Zach began the discussion on what he refers to as "pilot" trees. We had to end the discussion with a few lingering questions about those silver maples.

Peanut Butter, Circle, & Peekaboo

Vanessa doesn't like to stop to eat. She'll talk about eating but gets distracted easily. Today for lunch we tricked her into eating peanut butter off a spoon while she played outdoors. :)

Vanessa took a break from peanut butter to play with circle. She'll call it a hula hoop but hearing "circle" is much more fun. Mommy helped her move her hips today and we pretended to hula hoop.

And who can resist a game of peekaboo when hanging out by big trees?!

I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air . . .

Vanessa could blow bubbles all day. She tries really hard with the wand, too, only producing one or two small bubbles before she covers her lips with the solution. Her fascination with using this electric bubble blower to create bubble mountains is really fun to watch. She discovered that she could blow the bubbles on a surface like plastic or rubber and build them up to make piles and piles of them. She first discovered this on a play ball. It's definitely a theme to her summer . . .

June, 2009

May, 2009

700 + Miles Away

Just a few days ago Vanessa's daddy returned home from his annual fishin' trip to Canada. This is a very special trip for the Betz Boys (Adam, Andy and Tim). They drive to Sudbury, Ontario and then fly to a secluded area on Scotia Lake ~ a place where you are forced to become one with nature ~ and take full pleasure in eating man food, drinking man drink, and making man sounds.

The big fish swallows the little fish . . . (the poor little bass had no hope with the northern pike ambush . . .)

A New Exciting Chapter

Vanessa's daddy is beginning a new chapter to his life tomorrow. We're very excited for the many opportunities and peace of mind this new adventure will provide, not to mention extremely grateful. He's sure to get off to an impressive start.

We'll miss the extra morning hugs and kisses but look forward to the exuberant ones that will surely come each night when he returns home. Vanessa and Mommy are so appreciative for all Daddy sacrifices to allow Mommy to stay home. He goes above and beyond.

Seth Abram Mollohan

Our newest nephew arrived early this morning, quite unexpectedly! Seth is several weeks early but he and his mom are doing well for the circumstances. Vanessa is anxious to meet the little guy, but we're waiting till it's safe for him to be mauled by an almost-two-year-old. (Slight contradiction to how she's been with babies lately, but she is a toddler, making it hard to predict how she'll be with a baby who, at least for now, needs extra, extra gentle touches.) He's cute with his big chipmunk cheeks and light fuzzy hair. His two older brothers, Joel and Luke, are quite proud, and his big sister Rachel is already making a plan for how to keep three little brothers in line. :) Seth is so incredibly blessed to have such a loving family. And we're blessed to be able to share in his life!

Sincere Sentiments

(Taken at the beginning of May -- Great Grandpa and Aunt Sally)

We like birthdays. In fact, celebrating a couple in a row usually encourages Vanessa to sing the Happy Birthday song a lot, and at the oddest moments. At the end of April Vanessa spent one morning singing it to Elmo and Daddy. (Vanessa used to insist on singing the birthday song to her daddy a lot.) At that time she would ask others to sing it with her more often than singing it alone. A little later in the day Vanessa was having lunch when she began insisting that I sing Happy Birthday. She likes to fill in the name and started singing to Aunt Sally. I think at the time it seemed really random since we hadn't seen Aunt Sally in a few weeks.

Today is Aunt Sally's birthday! Happy Birthday!!!! And since Vanessa was playing bashful last night . . .

Happy Birthday Megan!

Vanessa had a new little friend come into the world today. Our good friends Mike and Becky delivered a beautiful little girl named Megan Elizabeth. We were pleased to see Vanessa being so gentle and cautious with her.

(Sorry for the poor picture quality -- batteries died in the still camera so we had to use the video camera to capture a few shots.)

Beads for Sale

Vanessa has the shop open! Put your orders in now! No guarantee Buckeye necklaces will be ready in time for football season, but our production rate has increased significantly!