Barnyard Trifecta

Bridget has a barn and animal set that she got for her first birthday and continues to play with it often. She loves playing with the animals and showing us all the noises they make.



A few weeks ago Bridget and Nathan found an add-on set that just so happened to include her three most favorite animals. A Chicken, a Rabbit, and a Llama.

- She helps raise chickens at her daycare, and if you ask her she will tell you she likes chicken's better than ducks (and she doesn't like geese at all).
- Rabbit was one of the first animals she ever learned (she calls them Zaza's in Russian).
- And there is a Llama at her Uncle Pete and Uncle Brian's house.

What an odd combination, what are the odds? But here it is, and she loves it.

The Bird Feeder

Bridget loves to steal bites off of whatever we eat. It is really hard to resist sometimes, like this weekend when Nathan was eating cereal and Bridget walked up in this pose and held it until he put a spoon in her mouth.

Kid-friendly Napa Valley. Who knew?

It has been super hot in the North Bay the last few days. We wanted to get out of our non-air conditioned house for the day on Sunday so I turned to the trusty old Internet. I discovered the "Old Faithful" Geyser in Calistoga, which is cool enough in itself, but it also has goats, sheep, and llama. We packed up and headed out early so we could get up there before the heat got too unbearable. The geyser was pretty cool and the animals were great. Bridget got to feed a few goats and has been talking about it all afternoon.








After we left Calistoga we got back into our air-conditioned car and headed to St. Helena for some lunch. We found a cute cafe and also wandered along the short stretch of downtown Main St. She was very well behaved and we really had a pleasant day. By the time we got back to San Rafael Bridget went down for a looonnng nap, while Nathan and I did the same.

I'm Princess

I had to make a quick trip to the mall to make a return on Friday night. Bridget was still wide awake so I let her come with me, pink boots and all. We passed by a really cool play area in the mall so we went back there after I was done with my return. There were a few other girls playing, and they introduced themselves to Bridget. When they asked her name, B of course said, "I'm Bridget." Except the girls' mom thought she was saying "I'm Princess." It made me laugh because I could totally see her saying that!

The camera wasnt with me while we were there, but I did grab this shot of her before we left. Two years old and she already knows how to strike a pose.

These Boots Were Made for Walking....

I have been out of town for the last week which explains why we haven't had a new post in a while. I went to Austin, TX (for work) and the last time I was there, I brought Bridget back a stuffed armadillo. This time I asked her what she wanted mommy to bring her, and without hesitation she said she wanted "Pink Topkeys" (Topkey is the way B learned how to say shoes in Russian).

I filed her request away in the back of my mind and resolved to bring her home a new t-shirt or stuffed animal of some sort. That is, until I had lunch with some good friends on the last day of my trip. I was relaying the pink shoe story and they said, "Why don't you bring her back some pink cowboy boots?". WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?!?!

So off we went to Cavender's Boot City.

And I found the perfect pair of "pink topkeys" to bring home to Bridget.

And boy does she LOVE them!


Thanks Kris and Chad for the great idea! I sure hope you guys can make a trip back to the Bay Area sometime soon so Bridget and Sam can wear their Pink Boots together.

Getting Bridget's Goat

Bridget learned a very important lesson the other day. When you throw something off the back porch, it's GONE. We were enjoying a nice evening outside when Bridget thought it would be fun to throw her Navy Goat off our back porch. As you can see by the picture below, Bridget got very sad when she realized it wasn't coming back.



After she wen't to bed, Daddy braved the backyard wilderness and fetched the goat. We havent given it back to her yet - we don't want her getting any ideas...

Just Beachy

Last Monday, as the Birthday celebrations died down, Bridget went out to the Marin Headlands and down to the beach with her daddy, Grandma, and Papa. The original plan was to take her to the Bay Area Discovery Museum, but we unfortunately found out that morning that it is closed on Mondays.

She still had a great time playing at the beach.




She always walks with such purpose. If you look closely, you can see a flower in her little hand.

Birthday Celebration Cont.

Last Sunday was Day 2 of this year's Bridgapalooza celebration. We had some local family over to the house, as well as the Oregon Foley's. It was a fun afternoon of opening presents and eating cake (ICE CREAM cake!!!). Unfortunately Bridget had a bit of a fever and was not as energetic as usual. But that didnt stop her from enjoying herself.

One of her favorite gifts was a lollypop drum from Uncle Pete and Uncle Brian. She loves running around the house and makeing music with it. Gee THANKS guys!!



She also got a lot of educational toys including an alphabet puzzle from her Grandmother. She is really good at puzzles and loves learning her letters, so this puzzle is a big hit.


Another favorite gift was the dancing Elmo doll, dressed as a chicken. She LOVES chickens. Maybe because she helps raise chickens at daycare? You can also see her new "high heels" that she is wearing in this picture. They are Disney shoes, and the heels light up when she walks. Words cannot begin to explain how much she loves these shoes.


And what birthday celebration is complete without a cake? We opted for ice cream cake this year and she loved it.