I’m in love with this beautiful new addition to our dining room! It’s called an orange star flower, and and I believe it originates from Africa. According to one website, it can be planted outside in zones 7-11. I live in northern Missouri, which I believe is more like a zone 6 – can anyone confirm? Will this plant die outside in the summer, or will it just not come back next year?
Yesterday afternoon we attended Kansas City’s Cycle in the City, where they close down the city’s prettiest street for an afternoon of biking/walking/skating. As a cyclist who always feels in the minority, it was great to see so many families out riding their bikes. I was amazed at how many little 3-4 year olds were riding without training wheels! We also discovered balance bikes, which you can get for toddlers as early as 18 months – it may be our next big splurge for Lil’ Miss K! We had a lot of fun checking out the event – next year we’ll be back with our bikes.
Lil’ Miss K loves playing with Daddy’s sunglasses, but she hates wearing her own!
Hanging out at a beautiful fountain along Ward Parkway
Lil’ Miss K turned fifteen months old yesterday! I think she’s grown a lot since last month – what do you think? She doesn’t stand still nearly as well now, and she was talking and shaking her arms in the second photo. 🙂 I’m glad I continued these photos past one year since she still seems to be changing so quickly.
I’ve loved every stage of Lil’ Miss K’s life so far, but I’m really savoring this time. I can see the wheels turning as she thinks, learns, and explores more every day. She repeats words we recite to her all the time now. My favorites are “cracker” and “magnet” and “owl”. I’ve been taking her to the park near our house almost daily, but it has mulch, so it’s not easy for her to run around and play freely. (She likes to sit down and attempt to eat the wood chips.) The playground at the zoo however, is paradise. She had a blast! The slide is her favorite.
We recently made our first trip of the season to the zoo! We went first thing on a rainy, dreary Friday morning, thinking it wouldn’t be crowded at all. We were wrong! There were tons of school groups there. But we still enjoyed ourselves – spring and fall are by far the best times to visit the zoo. The animals were so active! We got to see two monkeys jumping furiously from branch to branch chasing each other for several minutes, and my favorite moment was when Lil’ Miss K walked up to the glass at the penguin exhibit and the penguins immediately hopped out of the water and waddled over to check her out. We have season passes to the zoo, so we’ll be back several times this year.
I’m always excited to visit to the hospital when my friends and family give birth – there’s not much better than holding a sweet newborn baby. I got to meet baby Caleb when he was just two days old. He was absolutely perfect – not a blemish to be found. He’s one week old today, and I’m sure he’s already changed! His mama went through a lot to bring him into this world – it’s the beginning of a lifetime of love for this little one.
Lil’ Miss K is currently taking an “Aquatots” swim class at our community center. I was a little taken aback that in the first five minutes of the first swim lesson, I had to dunk her underwater! But she’s doing great – she doesn’t mind going under or lying on her back, and she loves “jumping” off the side. I can’t wait to take her to the pool this summer!
These photos turned out pretty decent, despite the fact that we shot them right before bed, and she was diagnosed with bronchitis today (poor baby). Lil’ Miss K is a trooper in my book!
My daughter’s daycare does “school” photos twice a year. I sent her to school with her Easter dress, hoping to buy a cute pose for the grandparents to hang on their wall. We ended up with four proofs – the one everyone liked the most was the one with a giant tear in her eye. She cried the entire time! So, I set up a sheet and had an impromptu photo shoot in the middle of our dining room right while we were all trying to get our Easter meal together. (The light was good!) Luckily my family expects no less of me – they were patient and supportive and kept cooking right around us. Lil’ Miss K wasn’t very smiley since I was delaying her lunch and nap, but I still got a few cute shots.
We had a beautiful day celebrating Easter with family! Little Miss K was only about 6-7 weeks old last Easter, so it was fun to see her enjoying her Easter basket and eggs. 
Photographic Rhodes 