horse back riding??

Lilja and I stayed with my friend Shawndell, and on Sunday we got to meet her horse Cash and one of her friends horse harley.. Here Lilja is waiting patiently to get inside the stal.    


                

Lilja rode a horse!! By herself!! yes.. she did!!! Ok a little finger help from Shawndell, but she was not afraid at all!! When Harley (the horse) stopped, she would say :" Go Harley, Go!"

Momma, how can  I make Harley go? just kick your legs... Tada!!!

 Riding back to the car.. Lilja was very dissapointed she could not go with the girls on their ride.

 

 How soft is his Tail?

 Here Lilja meets Cash, Shawndell's horse. he was very gentle with lilja, Lilja even got to give him some apples.

Shawndell is getting ready to go on her own ride with some friends. Lilja was very comfortable sitting in front of Shawndell.

Lilja was not done after her ride, she wanted to walk Harley..

Thank you so much Shawndell for such a great experience.. ! You are a wonderful host and a great teacher!! Can't wait to do this again!

Jasmin

Luckily, we got to see Jasmin this morning. We were supposed to meet her on Saturday, but she was sick.. So glad she was feeling better. Lilja asked me while we were driving to see Jasmin....: Is that my Jasmin?".. Yes a tear jerker!! Lilja is really connecting with Jasmin and it is cute to see how much she is starting to look like her.. evident in the following precious photos.

Thanks again Jasmin, for meeting us.. We love you being in our lives and look forward to the next visit!!

Ingrid and Charlotte in Ouray

I met a woman Ingrid from Holland at the airport going back to Colorado. She lives in Ouray with her little daughter charlotte and her husband Hans. they own a B&B , the China Clipper Inn. Ingrid and I stayed kind of together throughout our adventure going back home with two toddlers in tow. She and Charlotte were a big help keeping Lilja entertained.. So we kept in contact and I visited them today with lilja in Ouray. I was very impressed with their B&B, it was wonderful, cozy and cute.. http://ouraylodging-inns.com/
we had coffee in the sun and ended up going to the ridgeway statepark.. (we were going to the hotsprings, but they were closed) It was a gorgeous day and i will definitely come back to that park. Very clean water, nobody there right now and a beautiful little beach. Lilja had a blast. She really is our little eskimo as she did not mind the FREEZING water.. she would go back and forth, from the water to the towel to warm up..
Unfortunately Ingrid had to get back to the B&B with an emergency, so we''ll just have to meet up again..

Charlotte is on the left, Lilja on the right and Keelie in the middle (a little girl that joined the fun, she had all the toys)

Lilja first kind of needed her quiet time..

Running from the water......

to warming up on the towel.. or just sitting in the FREEZING water!!

We had a wonderful time and will definitely be back..

The little rabbits..

Lilja LOVES to play with this playhouse she got from a friend of mine.. These videos really show how her language has improved in just the last couple of weeks.. People tell me this age is the hardest.. well, it s not hard yet.. Lilja is such a smart little cookie, and I think because she has such great language , those terrible two's never showed up.. not yet anyway..I love that little mind.

music class

we went to a music class last friday.. Lilja slept till 8:30 that morning which was a surprise so the day changed a little bit. (we found out later that she had an ear infection) The woman in this video is a teacher singer and author.. I bought the CD and this song was Lilja's favorite..
Lilja seems a little young for the class, but talked about it all day..

Hmmm, where is the teacher, Lilja?? It's not momma right now..


Dancing with the shakers..She got to keep them and played with them all day..

This song is Lilja's favorite and I will add it to my Tumbling Tots classes.. too cute.. As you can see in lilja's face she was tired already.. poor thing.. she does not act sick, even when she is.. she is a trooper!!

beautiful day!!

We went to walk the doggies today and it was finally a really beautiful day..
Lilja walked all the way down and back up the hill. ready for Spring!!
Come on Momma!! remember a similar picture a while a go.. Does she look bigger to you too??

Momma, what are the doggies doing??

OK, she really looks big in this picture.. Lilja would say.. No Momma, I am little and smart!!

the view every day!! Can't get sick of that!!

night night.

Sorry no pictures today, but I had to share this cute little anecdote that happened tonight.
Lilja did not have a nap today, so her evening was a little dramatic. I went in to help her calm her body a little as it seems she just get wired the more tired she is.. so I am rubbing her tummy and her forehead and she is slowly relaxing.. then suddenly you can see her think..
Lilja:" momma, I have little ears. me;"yes, you do"
Lilja:" I have a little head". me:" yes you do"
Lilja:I have little foots .. me:"yes, you have little feet"
Lilja: "and momma I have a little fancy bird on my wall too". I could not help but laugh..
now she is asleep.

Easter

Ok, there were a couple of easter egg hunts around town so we hit TWO!!! the first one was in Ignacio and Lilja was pretty quiet and overwhelmed.. Per age, the kids are allowed to find as many eggs as they can.. Lilja found 4!! there were little candy eggs in them, so Lilja got her candy fix that day!!
Here comes the Easter Bunny... in a firetruck.. funny I did not know they could drive!!


Lilja was pretty timid and would not let me get too close.. the Easter Bunny blew a cute kiss to her though.

EEn. twee drie vier!!!

Daddy was the supporter!!

Ummm, Mama!!!

Second egg Hunt. In Bayfield this time.. This was the first time Lilja ever had her face painted.. She sat oh so still..

She wanted a blue balloon.

This time she got the hang of it and did not need any coaching.. 6 eggs this time ;) and after all that candy.. no nap... ofcourse not!!

videos, Oma!!!

Misc..

Look mama, baby Mojo!! (The ranch I work at has new cows and one of them is named Mojo and she is pregnant..)
The three girls posing nicely...

But this is the way Lilja likes to show off. Another favorite of mine with the baby goats.

Lilja on the playground. The sand was her favorite.

The Blydorf Zoo

I have been to some Zoo's in my time, but this one is my favorite so far. The enclosures were beautiful and the animals were up close and personal. My favorite was this oceanarium.. You walked through a tunnel with sharks swimming right over you.
Mama, there is a blue fish!!


Lilja just wanted uppie!!


wow.. yes only wow!

And the pinguins

This big guy's name is Bokita, he was the one that attached a lady last year and escaped out of his enclosere.. Him staring still gives you an uneasy feeling, plus that enclosure still looks way too close..

Lilja loves turtle, so she became one..

Buddies!

Miss independent..

What a great Zoo.. Lilja's favorite.. the monkeys.. Mine? the polar bear that would dive down to see you nose to nose.. really a fun day!

The Petting Zoo

t'Geertje is a very famous petting Zoo, so my parents and I were very excited when we heard that there were little baby goats that you could feed. Lilja was pretty timid at first, hence the holding of Brigitte's finger. But pretty quickly she got the hang of it. You can buy bottle of milk for them and then feed the little ones.

First she fed them through the fence, but pretty quickly...

she was right in the middle of them.. there were some pretty little ones.

Lilja was so quiet and gentle with them, it was amazing to see. We overheard her say " you need to share!" and ' does that feel good for you body?" I can just get tears in my eyes..

Look at her petting the little one on his nose, soooo cute!!

This was the best experience and i have sooo many more photos.. i almost could not chose. Opa and Oma, next year, definitely this will be on our list of things to do with daddy too this time!!!