Diversity Day

Nathan had the afternoon off of work so we took advantage of the break and headed to Swope Park to attend the Ethnic Enrichment Festival. It's an annual event (35 years) but it was the first time we've been. It was a small event that had food booths, crafts, and some small items to purchase. There were also non-stop dancing, singing, and performances occurring in the pavilion in the middle of the event space.

The festival is held by the Mayor's Ethnic Enrichment Commission, and with members from 50 countries, the event is a huge success each year.

There wasn't a Netherlands or Canada booth but we had a fun time walking around. It was only $3 to get in and all the tents had reasonably priced food. We got a sampler plate from the Israel tent, and samosas from the Kenya tent.

My favorite part of the day was watching the dances. I love costumes (no surprise there!) and synchronized dancing and I'm always impressed by people who can get on stage and perform for large groups of people. . Allison liked it too and clapped along with the crowd.

 

 We stayed for a couple of hours before we should get Nathan home for a nap before he starts the night shift. 

DIY Baby Gate

The weather has been great so far this week. It's warm and enjoyable to be outside. I love having an outside place to take Allison. I really missed having a porch/yard when we lived in an apartment. Since we can't go in the grass because we will be eaten alive by chiggers (a tiny mite that lives in the grass and delivers bites that last for 2 weeks and are twice as itchy as a mosquito) we've been spending a lot of time on the front porch watching the cars go by.

Allison is really good about avoiding steps but I don't want to take any chances. I've seen baby gates for sale online (but meeting strangers really freaks me out) and buying new doesn't seem worth it so this morning I made this really simple (reversible) fabric baby gate. It's just 2 pieces of fabric sewn together with a tie at each corner to attach to the railing. Allison can't use it to stand, but it's tight enough that she can't pull it down and can't climb under it so it's doing it's job.

I know Allison isn't ready to feed herself but I try to give her an opportunity to practice - usually before bath time. She's getting better but by the end she's just lifting the bowl/plate to her face rather than use the spoon.

Yard Sales

When I went to the pool this week, I saw a sign advertising a community garage sale. I've said it before but it's so strange that there are garage sales during the week here in KC!

Nathan was able to come with me today because he is on a unique work week. This medical year (July-July) residents work something called 4 and 1. This means that the residents work 4 weeks in their rotation//in the hospital and then for 1 week they run a clinic (similar to a family medicine doctor seeing patients). Last year Nathan had clinic every Thursday but he likes this makeup much better. He's been home so much this week because clinic hours are 9-5!

Today he didn't have to be in until 11am so he tagged along to help me with Allison. The community had more than a dozen garage sales set up. We went to about 7 before we got a little bored and Allison got cranky. I love reading the prices on the items- one guy wanted $10 for each pair of his old shoes, and one lady wanted $3 for each CD in her collection.

I hit the jackpot when I found 5 bags of $1 thread in a rainbow of colors.I would have bought 4 additional bags but another crafter got there before me and when she turned her back to tell her friend, "look what I found!" I bent down and gathered up the rest.

We didn't need anything and it was more about spending the morning together and going for a long walk. Allison didn't mind being carried but by the end she was ready to run. She's becoming very independent and today we noticed that we have a climber on our hands.

Clifton Family

Poor Allison is having a rough 24 hours. She's teething (4 molars coming in at once) and just all-around cranky and sulky. When she gets moody she likes to give up mid-activity and it usually ends with her crying. She'll be pulling herself up, give up, and her feet with slip into a James Brown split and she'll start to wail. Today she bonked her head 3 times, the poor thing. I tried to comfort her the best I could but she was just fussy.

I was happy when JM called and asked if I could take a few pictures of his grandson who was visiting (along with his parents). I thought the distraction would be good for Allison so at 1:30pm we met the Clifton's at Loose Park.

We had a really quick shoot but I think I got some really cute pictures of Jackson.

 

 Allison even helped Jackson get warmed up for the camera.

After the Clifton's left, Allison and I stayed in the park and I let her crawl around in the big open space until she got bored. 

Nathan is at the Chiefs game tonight so Allison and I had no where to be and no dinner to make so we enjoyed getting some fresh air.

 

Let It Go

Finally...someone asked me to make an Elsa costume. I mean- that movie has been out for months and no one thought to add a costume to the numerous "Let it Go" performances I've had to watch?

My sister-in-law Shelley asked me to make a dress-up (and possibly Halloween) costume for Scarlett. I haven't been to Joann's in 3 months so I was itching for a reason to go. Allison and I went early so we could wander the store and not have to wait in lines. I usually get everything cut and then remember one more thing. I've become better at preparing what I want to get ahead of time. I get all my coupons ready, measure my patterns (so I'm not overbuying fabric) and write down ideas (in case the fabric I want isn't there or is out of my price range.

Even though I hate using tulle, it made sense for the project so I worked through it and I think it looks pretty good. Elsa wears a long cape/train thing but I wanted to make it detachable in case Scarlett gets it caught or doesn't like it. I even added a dreaded zipper to the dress! I took it outside to take a few pictures and a car actually slowed down as they were passing - they probably had a 4 year old in the car.All that's left to do is stick it in the mail!

I've been trying to get organized since Allison and my sewing machine share her room. The more projects I do, the more the piles build up so I've been working at putting everything back in its place. This organization was what spurred my initial desire to go to Joann's because I needed some paper bobbins for my embroidery thread. I bought 130 of them and thought that was a crazy amount but I ended up using them all! 

Pink and Park

Something really strange about Kansas City is that school starts in early August! All of the public pools close this week because all the kids go back- even though we're just moving into the hottest part of the summer.  April mentioned that she'd be heading to the Mission Pool since today was going to be a scorcher and we decided to join her.

I knew that April had her mid-pregnancy ultrasound yesterday and I've been pestering her to take a gender reveal picture with her son. It wasn't really her style, but I eventually wore her down. We arranged to meet a half hour before our swim at the adjacent park to have a mini-photoshoot.

April pulled in a few minutes after me and when I saw her step out of her car with a bouquet of pink balloons I started to tear up! April really wanted a girl (my guess was another boy) and I'm so happy for their growing family. We managed to get Griffin to pose and smile (even though I'm sure he'd have rather have been playing) and got some cute pictures before we headed to the pool.

 

 

Allison hated the pool the last time we went. She cuddled into me and wouldn't touch the water. Today she loved it! maybe it was because it was so hot and she needed to cool down but she sat in the water and every now and then crawled into the deeper water. She played for over an hour and passed out in the car ride home - still holding onto the pink balloon April let us take home.

 

Fifteen Months

I don't usually post outtakes from Allison's monthly pictures but she was so adorable in this little dress and hat that John Mark and Jill gave her for the 4th of July. I just had to share more!

Luckily I had Nathan to help me keep Allison in one place - and make lots of funny faces.