Wiggle Worms

Kate had her first "gymnastics" class this morning and, not surprisingly, it was a huge hit. It's for one and two-year-olds and she's the youngest by almost a year, but this didn't faze her a bit. There's not much "gymnastics" going on per say, but it's a room with squishy mats, bars, beams, trampolines and all other measure of bouncy apparatus. For Kate, it was one big wonderland of kamikaze fun. She loved the trampolines, the balance beams and the hoola hoops most. I had to drag her out at the end of class, so I think it will be a great weekly event for us. I've often thought it would be nice to put her in a padded room and now I can!

In other Kate "news," she seemed to say her first real word yesterday. She babbles a lot and says typical things like "da, da" and "bye, bye" but most of her other words are not really intelligible. I can't say if I can truly call this her first word since she may never utter it again, but if it is, Ryan and I may be in for it as her first decipherable utterance was "bank." I was telling her what we were going to do in the afternoon and I said that we were going to the bank. Clear as a bell, she repeated "bank" and proceeded to chant it for the next hour or so. Guard that wallet, Ryan, our girl's on the loose!

Is Kate the only kid...

who simply cannot (will not) sit still in a shopping cart?? I don't want to be the crazy woman, apparently so obsessed with her child that she takes a camera to the grocery store, so I have no photographic evidence, but it does approximate her position in the wheelbarrow. Shopping has become a feat of epic proportion of late because I spend most of the time trying to corral this wiggle worm. I've heard the expression that some things are as difficult as "herding cats," which is a pretty apt description of how I feel. Many months ago (before Kate was mobile), I was the mom who was NEVER going to let her child touch a dirty shopping cart. I planned to neatly use a shopping cart cover and had visions of us rolling easily along. Like so many other parenting visions, this one was not realized. In reality, I have bought two different shopping cart covers and Kate has figured out how to take both of them off the cart. It became a tangled mess of limbs and fabric, so I gave up on that idea. Fine, I'll just use disinfecting wipes, I'll strap her in and we'll be good. Not so much. No matter how tight I strap her in, Kate can wriggle her way into a multitude of contortions. She first enjoyed putting her legs up over the bar so she could hold her feet--a wonder of flexibility only achievable by the very young. She's moved on now, though, preferring to turn around and stand up in the cart so she can pretend that she's piloting her own chariot. Other shoppers find this extremely humorous and I can't say I blame them. Seeing a little girl "driving" her own cart while babbling LOUDLY must be funny. I, too, find it entertaining, but not easy....I'm wondering what contortion she'll discover next. I find myself wondering that a lot, actually!

Who needs a fancy highchair?

Not Kate, apparently. She's taken to sitting in baskets. Granted, this is likely because we have been pulling her around the house in them. She loves to "sled," so we think she'll be ready for the snow this year. Kate sits quite contentedly in the basket, and we're happy with whatever contains her crazy self for a few minutes!!

Walk softly, carry a big stick

I've said it before but, seriously, why do we buy kids toys? Kate loves to carry this stick around, mostly back and forth from the garage door, where she knows daddy goes sometimes. She's becoming more and more of a Ryan mini-me each day! I got her a little tool apron and, not surprisingly, she's quite fond of the hammer. She's nearly "fixed" the whole house by now. Whether he wants help or not, I think Ryan's going to have a wood-working partner in the garage soon. As much as I'd love a little girl to do ballet, I'm thinking delicate pursuits are not Kate's thing. If she inherited as of Ryan's talents, though, I definitely wouldn't complain!

I can't say that Kate is sweet and nice all the time, but when she's sittting "reading," laughing at the pages, I think she is so sweet I could just about eat her. I adore her love of books and I hope it continues forever! Her milestone of the day: figuring out how to climb up the stairs on the slide and go down all by herself. That's big around here. She knew it too because she clapped for herself when she figured it out!

Daddy's home!

Kate was incredibly happy to have her daddy back. In fact, she couldn't stop laughing at everything he did. Ryan is the only one who can keep her in stitches like this. Thank goodness he's back; he was definitely missed!

A baby no more

Kate's left babyhood behind and become a toddler--and she toddles just to prove it! She is becoming a more confident walker each day. She's definitely getting faster. We're fairly certain she would win a crawling diaper derby with her speed on all-fours, so I'm guessing she's shooting for sprinting rather than simply walking. She tried to "run" yesterday, but it was more of a high-knees wobble. I give her an A+ for effort, though. She doesn't give up and never gets discouraged when she falls...a good lesson for all of us. Kate and I have had a girls' weekend since Ryan went to Yreka early on Thursday. She's been good for me; it's so much easier than it was when she was younger. We've spent lots and lots of time at the park, where she has discovered those bouncy, suspension-like bridges. I think we bounced back and forth a thousand times yesterday. I also ran into a girl I worked with when we first moved here in 2006. At the time, she was pregnant with her first baby. Now, she's pregnant with #3!! It made me feel like having one is nothing, but she must be half crazy! I know one thing for sure: Even though Kate is usually good, I'm tired with just one and I'm REALLY happy Ryan's coming home tonight! We miss daddy!!

Ba, ba, ba, ba....

Kate must have heard the news that sitting on a stability ball is great for core strengthening...she's adapted the exercise for herself and repeats it all day long. She's taken to sitting and bouncing on a ball, while chanting "ba, ba, ba, ba" (I think it's her word for ball and balloon). It's quite the feat when she does this on the kitchen floor without anything to hold on to. Ryan and I wince, waiting for the crash when the ball rolls out from under her or she falls backwards but, surprisingly, this barely ever happens. She's also gotten good at using the ball as a launching pad to stand up and start walking. I guess there are some muscles in those rolly legs and tummy after all!

Our little diva

We recently overcame one of our "biggest" hurdles: getting Kate to hold her bottle herself. Contrary to her otherwise independent personality, she has staunchly refused to do this simple task. This is the girl who swats away help when on 10-foot-high slides, yet will not hold up 6 ounces of milk. We figured it was the diva in her coming out and wanting us to serve her properly. She doesn't have many bottles now, but it had become such an ordeal to feed her squirming self that we finally set her in her saucer with the bottle and left the room (having Baby Einstein on to distract her also helps...). With no one around to serve her, she quickly did it on her own. Today, though, I discovered that she's invented a new way to be fed without having to do any of the work. She propped her bottle up on her saucer where it's tipped down just enough so that she can simply lean forward and take a drink. I laughed when I saw her, to which she smiled as if to say "Look, Mom, no hands!" Also, note the laundry basket in the background. Another of her day's discoveries (all before 9 a.m!) was that she could drag the basket to the couch, turn it over and climb up on the couch. A major victory for her since she's been trying to get on the couch for months....I think it may be a major headache for me!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Kate is! She was all decked out in the Seattle Seahawks jersey our friends Kate and Jim got her last year when we had a VERY fun day watching the Seahawks play. As a special "treat" for them, perhaps we'll get her a Sea Gals outfit this year! :) I don't think any of us sat down long enough to watch much of a game, but it's always a happy day in this house when football returns. Plus, Ryan and I both made it out of the first round of the football pool this year--better than I did last year when I lost the very first week! Aside from the onset of football, we had a running-filled weekend. We're only a month out from the Victoria marathon, so we've reached our serious long runs. Ryan and I did them on separate days this time, which made Kate happy because both runs ended at a park in Sequim. Two runs means two days of playing at the park--on Saturday, there was some sort of dog festival there, too, and I thought Kate might pass out with excitement. It must have been pretty close to her idea of heaven.

On a more serious note, Ryan's grandpa is in failing health and our thoughts are with him, Grandma Starla and Grandpa Bob while they're going through this. We're hoping he finds peace, and we're so thankful that Kate was able to meet him in healthier times.

Best laid plans...

It was a bright, sunny and warm afternoon in P.A. today, and we were determined to take full advantage since the really nice weather is bound to end soon. Well, I thought it would be a great idea to let Kate play around in the back yard--in the buff, I might add, since it's her favorite state. Things began to go awry when I (not very smartly) took her diaper off before we went outside. Oh, what a difference a few seconds make. I was throwing said diaper away when I heard a suspicious splashing sound. Yes, Kate was splashing in her own self-made pool. Lovely. Easy enough to dry off, though, as she was, thankfully, not on carpet. We made our way outside, where her favorite new activity is to swing on the swing Ryan made for us. Ryan came to join us for a quaint family swing, but as soon as the three of us began swinging the swing cracked and crashed to the ground. We just started laughing because, really, what else can you do? We made the best of it, enjoying "swinging" on the ground. I think Ryan's got his work cut out for him making the swing stand up to a family of three!

Kate's first "job"

Kate may have found her first summer job today: blueberry picking. We went for one last round before the season ends (and also because a farm is always a good way to kill time with dirt-loving Kate!) This particular farm is really great because they provide buckets and shovels for kids. I thought she would love to dig in the dirt and mud, which she did, but what she loved even more was picking the berries. She plunked herself down next to a bush and methodically stripped it of berries. More miraculously, she was silent the whole time (if you've spent time with her you know this is an extreme rarity). I showed her how to put them in the bucket, but I must admit that not too many ended up there. Oh well, she has something to perfect before it's time for her first summer job!

Kate's vacation!

I don't think Kate missed us too much--and that's putting it mildly! She spent the time playing outside in the dirt and water, mostly, making great discoveries like the wheelbarrow, watering can and MUD. Poor Grandma Connie had to change Kate's clothes about 5 times a day just to keep up with all the playing she did! They went to the park multiple times and had a great time wandering the aisles of Costco (Kate adores this, for some reason). I think (I KNOW) Grandma and Grandpa let Kate run the show, so she was very lucky to have such a fun week. The biggest thing she did while she was there was start walking! Somehow, I just knew she was going to take her first unaided steps the moment we left. It was really funny to come back and see her toddling (stumbling?) along. She still crawls some, but is getting more confident with each step. True to her nature, she is tenacious and doesn't mind a bit when she falls. Between all the playing and walking, I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa will enjoy the rest and quiet now that we've gone. Grandma said she'd love to keep Kate full-time---as long as she could hire a nanny to help her chase the little whirling dervish around! :)

Best. Trip. Ever.

Or, at least, one of them. Ryan and I have taken some amazing trips, and this definitely ranked right up there. We had SO much fun, and packed in a lot in 7 days. We visited Donner Lake, Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and Mammoth Lakes, spending our time hiking, lying on the beach and, basically, just doing whatever we pleased! We missed our little Kate, of course, but we thoroughly enjoyed spending time alone together. I'm always amazed that there are conversations you've never had and things you've never known even about the person you know better than anyone else. We found that many people were surprised that we were already going away without Kate, but we're firm believers that time alone is important, too. It may have been our first "vacation" from Kate, but it was also her first vacation from us--she had a great time with Grandma Connie and Grandpa Bill! She transitioned smoothly into her time with them and, luckily, seemed to transition just as easily to having us back. We can't thank Grandma and Grandpa enough for giving us this past week. I really think it was one of the best weeks I've ever had. And, in her short life, I think Kate would agree....more photos of her vacation to come!