Turning Two!

Somehow, my baby girl has gone from this to this:

And so we get to celebrate! First on the list, presents!

With her haul.

Not quite sure what to do with this stuff still.

Stickers from Aunt Loradona!

I want that one, Dad.

Sticker on the hand!

Loving the card from Grammie and Grandpa May.

She likes the bike and the thought of her new "hat"...

...but isn't so sure about being forced to wear it.

Hanging out with just Dad and the bike (sans helmet... for now) is pretty great, though.

Going to be a while before she is able to peddle on her own, but that's all right.

And trains! Yay! Choo choo!

Her birthday dinner ended up being take out pizza and wings, rather than homemade enchiladas, as planned, but oh well.

She enjoyed it.

And the carrot cake, too!

She's 2!

Happy birthday, Calista!

Zoo Talk

In honor of and sadness about the Calgary Zoo being flooded and thus closed the next two weeks,* I present "Conversations with Calista:"

'Po! 'Po! Two 'po!
Yes, there are 2 hippos at the zoo.

RAAAAH! Ohne, two RAAAAH!

Yes, there are two girl lions in front of us. And what's over there?
RAAAAH! Ohne, two RAAAAH!
Yes, 2 boys lions! How many does lions does that make?
.........
Four! 1, 2, 3, 4! Can you count to four?
........

Keacock! Keacock! KEACOCK!
Yes, that's a peacock.

Calista loves the zoo!

*Yes, Calgary is flooded! Downtown and about 25 neighborhoods got evacuated - about 75,000 people. We are fine since we are further away from the river. The zoo, which has a bridge spanning the river connecting the two main areas, was not so lucky. All of the animals are fine and uninjured, though. Oh, the zookeepers, too! Exhausted, I'm sure, but fine. So in two weeks or so whenever the zoo opens again, we will go and celebrate/support them!

Hypno musings

As I am preparing for the birth of my second child, I am a little anxious about labor and delivery. Calista’s birth was a long and difficult process, and I would like Craig’s to be a little different in a few ways. Some of them are simple: I don’t want my labor augmented or induced with pitocin... unless it’s absolutely necessary. Some things are harder to control: I would prefer not to push for 3.5 hours this time. Some things are a little more abstract: I want to be calm about the process. In my preparation, I am reading a book on hypnobirthing. 

I’m not sure I completely buy into it, but it doesn't hurt to read it and see if anything will help me. As I’m reading it, I have a few thoughts. 

The first one is this: I can do this. I can do hard things. I survived last time, and I can bring a baby into this world. No, last time wasn't the ideal, it wasn't perfect. But the baby girl that I held in my arms, she was perfect. Well, other than her blue hands, but that only lasted a little while. :) Even if it’s hard, I can do it.

On a related note: no matter what happens, he’ll be worth it. If I have a long, difficult, tiring labor, if I throw up repeatedly and push for longer than even my doctor (or midwife, this time) thinks I possibly can, holding that little boy in my arms will make it worth it. No, I won’t forget the difficulties (if they occur), but they will be worth it for the little man growing inside me.

I can read as many books as I can find, or take classes, do yoga, and practice my breathing. These things are good. But more importantly, I need to trust in the Lord. "Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. " Reading up on hypnobirthing and everything else is great, but ultimately it is up to the Lord. 

I never understood the atonement and what the Savior must have felt better than during and after Calista's delivery. The love I felt was so strong that it didn't matter how tired I was, how much I wanted to give up, I couldn't. This little girl needed me.

Her brother will need me just as much. And no matter what happens, I can do it, he’ll be worth it, and the Lord will be there for me.

A picnic in a park

Instead of Memorial Day, Canadians celebrate Victoria Day. It's basically the exact same day if you don't know the significance behind either holiday. It marks the beginning of the summer season, and probably white pants? I don't know. I don't own white pants because they would never stay white for long. I am seven.
For our long weekend, we relaxed a lot, walked to the park close to our house, and on Monday went on a picnic at one of the parks here in Calgary on the river. It was a beautiful day!

We had a ton of fun walking around the park. Calista especially enjoyed the off leash dog area by the rivers. She loved watching the dogs go swimming after a ball! We also let her go into the water a little bit...

She wasn't so sure.

And quickly decided it was "cold."

She took off her hat a couple of times, and would generally put it back on when we asked her to...

...albeit backwards. Such a stylin' kid.

After our picnic dinner, we let her play at the playground equipment. She loved the slide.

She can do it all by herself! Where has my baby gone? Such a big girl!

I hope everyone has a happy Memorial Day this weekend, and that no one gets stains on their white pants.

We're going to the ZOO! How about you?

Last week, I finally bought myself a zoo pass. I did the math: if I go three times in the year, I'll break even. If I go more, well... yay for going to the zoo for free!

So last week and this week, we have gone to the zoo.

And Calista loves it.

She spends a lot of time pointing, like this.

At the bison...

At the heron...

At the penguin...

At the hippo...

At the condor...

If she can point to it, she will.

We are having so much fun going to the zoo and seeing all the animals. Her favorites last week were the bison, giraffes, and penguins. This week, it was the giraffes, elephants, and lions.

She's getting pretty good at saying "giraffe," although her way sounds more like just "affe."

Calista also roars like a lion every time she sees one, real or a picture, or if you say the word.

And elephants... she has started sticking out her tongue. I think it's to be a trunk? She does it every time, so it obviously means something...

The gorillas and peacocks she's not a huge fan of.

While we were watching the gorillas, one came over next to the window where we were, and she backed up and climbed on a bench to get away.

When we encountered a peacock, she wouldn't walk around it or be near it. Instead, she got into the stroller and I was able to protect her.

I'm excited to go to the zoo, hopefully once a week, and let Calista run around, play, explore, and have a good time. And it means I get a bit of a work out, too...!

A mixed pair

I had my anatomy scan ultrasound today, which means we have news...

That's right! End of September/beginning of October, we will officially have "one of each."

Little Boy Rasmussen likes his hands almost as much as his older sister did, it seems.

Study hard, my baby girl!

Calista is studying hard...

because...

 as you can see...

she's going to need the practice!

That's right. Rasmussen baby #2 is on its way!

A new addition

A few weeks ago, our family welcomed a new addition:

This is Maiev (pronounced My-ev). Kyler named her.

She's a curious kitten, wanting to check everything out.

And Calista just loves her!

Sometimes, in fact, Calista loves her too much and we have to separate them.

Maiev is really rather chill about it, though.

When Calista is at her wiggliest and loudest, that's actually when the kitty comes running.

Plus, she likes the food opportunities that Calista represents.

Like licking off Calista's yogurt spoon (and fingers) after she was done.

These two are going to be best of buds, I think.

So much fun and giggles!

Happy Sunday

We busted out the next size dress for Calista today. This particular one my mother bought her, so I wanted to make sure to get pictures for her!

 She insisted on wearing a butterfly in her hair.

 Playing coy.

She was spinning in circles!

The verdict: Cute dress! Cute girl!

We love our little girl.