Wow, what a year it's been. Plenty could be said about the state of the world and America these days but we'll save that chat for another day. All in all things are pretty good in the Ladd house. We've had a lot of fun and first times since our last post in April. In no particular order, here's a bit of a recap.
- Went to our first carnival, rode some rides and had some carnival food in April.
- Payton has started to show interest in potty training. Still a bit early in the game, but she's got a great sister/coach to show her the ropes.
- Dylan drew her first picture of identifiable humanoid shapes. Some with 3 heads, but it's a start.
- First haircuts at a salon. Not as good as their first real haircuts from cousin Tina, but a cool milestone.
- Dylan started taking dance classes once a week. She was pretty nervous (looked like a statue her first time) but is really getting the hang of it. First dance recital should be in the spring! Payton goes along for moral support and tells us she wants to do gymnastics next year.
- Got our first fish tank. Then upgraded to a 55 gal tank a month later. Nobody told Mom and Dad how much work it takes to keep an aquarium from becoming a cesspool.
- We visited and registered for Dylan's preschool, she'll go for one year August 2022 before starting kindergarten.
- Speaking of Dylan, she gave up her pacifier one morning, declaring she was all done and was rewarded with a cool little bike. Payton wants a bike too, but she still wants her "bop" (what we call a pacifier for some reason) more at this point. Maybe next year.
- First family trip to Mt Lemmon. It was probably 20 degrees cooler than our 100 degree summer day, so that will be the first of many trips I'm sure.
- Mt Lemmon is about a 2 hour ride, and was good practice for our 6 hour trip to San Diego! We rented a place on Mission Beach in July and had a great time. Dad and the girls first time in the Pacific Ocean.
- We had some awesome storms and had the 3rd wettest Monsoon in recorded Tucson history.
- Mama was diagnosed with a Melanoma, had it removed and is doing fine now, but a good reminder it pays to protect your skin.
- The girls have graduated from baths in the sink to a real live tub. They've also moved into a full size bed, leaving the crib and toddler bed in our memories.
- Mama's Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill came for a visit from Illinois. Grandma and Grandpa Ladd came in the spring and fall all the way from Maine.
- We went to Rocky Point, Mexico in October. The 4 hour drive went well, but the last hour or so in Mexico was a little scary. We learned to keep your head on a swivel, some people are apparently quite anxious to reach their destination. But we had a ton of fun and will be going back next year at some point.
- We went to our first hot air balloon festival, our annual visit to the Marana pumpkin patch and another trip to a street carnival.
- We've seen plenty of wildlife around the house, catching a lot of bobcats and coyotes live, and even captured a mountain lion on video. You can see some videos here
Here's a photo album capturing some of our better times in the past 8 months. Here's hoping for a great 2022!!!!
PS: I started an education savings plan for the girls, if you ever want to throw a few bucks their way, you access Dylan's here and Payton's here.
December 2021
98 new items added to shared album
