While daddy's away....

...girls try on shoes!! Ryan's away for the night and Kate seems to be taking it as a cue to indulge her girly side. I found her pulling shoes out of my closet and trying them on (herself and her stuffed cat). Perhaps she'll have some girl in her after all!!

I sleepin'

Kate loves, loves to pretend she's sleeping. Ironic, coming from the girl who doesn't nap! All day long, she finds pillows, blankets (or, obviously, the floor) and says, "I sleepin'", "cat sleepin'", "Hick sleepin'" and on and on.... She likes to direct me to sleep as well, showing me where and then telling me "momma sleep." This WOULD be about the perfect game on days mommy is tired, but as soon as I'm down she wants me back up to "sleep" somewhere else. I still like the momentary rest, although I highly doubt the cat appreciates the game as much!

Hmmm...what HAVE we been doing??

Early-Spring cleaning....

Well, somehow the last few days have gone by and I'm not sure where they went! Here's a brief recap of our seemingly-busy-yet-uneventful lives of late:

1. Last week, we went to visit a daycare that I've heard good things about from a friend. I'm thinking of taking Kate there a couple hours a week so that she can really get used to being around other kids, without me. To my surprise, she took to the place right away. I was still there, of course, but at least she wasn't clinging to me. She played for awhile and told me "no" when it was time to leave. Good signs, I think. We're going to try it again together a few more times and then let her have at it on her own. Fingers crossed.

2. Kate LOVES Starbucks. Or, at least, she loves the lady there who gave her a balloon. I took her with me to meet a friend, and was hoping to get to talk to her at least a bit. Thanks to the balloon and the new all-fruit, squeezable puree things they sell, Kate sat for an hour and half without making a peep. People were commenting on how well-behaved she was. I just smiled and hoped she wasn't about to prove them wrong!

3. I think Kate definitely has the competitive gene. Why, you ask? Well, in the bath, she has taken to grabbing a duck and a boat and saying "Duck, boat...racing!!" She'll even declare a winner. Yes, she's our child, for sure.

4. It was SO nice out on Saturday that Kate got to ride her bike outside. Of course, all she really wanted to do was go as fast as possible down the driveway. But, what a luxury to get to play outside and not be freezing. Ryan even had the lawnmower out and I smelled a barbecue. Is this really January?? I'll take it.

And that's about all I can think of for now. Not much, but we're looking for a bit more excitement this week. :)

Spring-like weather makes us very happy!!

To whatever/whomever we owe these amazing, warm temperatures, THANK YOU! It's been in the mid-50s the past few days which, in the middle of winter, feels like absolutely tropical. It was so nice today that we went to the park, something we haven't done in a few months. Kate had a ball running around and going down the slide a bazillion times. It was funny to see how much she's grown since the last time we were there; she couldn't stand up in all the tunnels she used to run through! After we played for awhile, we watched some people play tennis and Kate was enthralled. Her little head went back and forth, back and forth, intently watching the ball. Good news for Ryan and I as we plan to put her in tennis lessons as soon as she's old enough!

Bye bye, Ga Ga!

We just said goodbye to Grandma Connie and we are SO sad to see her go. We had a fantastic week, though, and it was wonderful to watch Kate bonding with her grandma. Kate and Grandma did lots of cooking together, and by that I mean that Grandma cooked and Kate tried her best to undo it! She was quite accomplised at throwing mushrooms around like balls. It's a wonder Grandma got any cooking done at all but, she did, and we all enjoyed having a chef for a week! We spent lots of time in the gymnastics room, where Kate showed off all her tricks, and also took lots of walks to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. The sunshine is back today, so Kate and I will be heading out in just a bit. We're already looking forward to the next grandparent trip!

Kate's new hat & scarf!

Thank you, LeiAnn, for knitting Kate her fabulous scarf and hat! She was definitely in need of a new hat, and she's never had a scarf before. Perfect for chilly Northwest weather!! Aside from wearing her latest accessories, Kate has been having a fabulous time with Grandma Connie. Ryan and I got back from Seattle yesterday. We had a great weekend away, and Kate looked at me when we got back as if to say "go away, Grandma spoils me MUCH better than you! If he hadn't had to work today, Ryan and I just might have taken another day away! We had a really fun time being "grown ups" and commented on what a luxury it was to have a dinner which we could finish in a leisurely fashion while having an actual conversation!! More on our activities with GaGa later....

Rain, rain....

I don't care if you go away!! With the dig pit and the gymnastics room, our wintry, rainy days are passing by with ease! Yes, we went to the "nack" room again yesterday and, as usual, had it all to ourselves. Kate has already been asking to go again this morning, but I think we'll save it for later in the week when Grandma Connie is visiting. Ga Ga is coming tomorrow and we can't wait! I think Kate misses all her grandmas and grandpas because whenever she sees a middle-aged man or woman anywhere, she says "Gumpa" or "Ga Ga." She's trying very hard to conjure them up. More than a few fake Gumpas in town have thought it's pretty sweet to be confused for one. Living near Sequim (retirement haven), Kate does not lack for Gumpa and Ga Ga "sightings." But, tomorrow, she'll get at least one of the real thing. And so will mommy and daddy! As for right now, Kate is making a Hansel and Gretel-like path of diapers all over the upstairs. She definitely thwarts all my efforts at keeping the house clean!

Hoops with Daddy

All around, it was a pretty uneventful weekend around here. We took in some of the football playoffs and explored a new area to run with the stroller. We all enjoyed the latter because it was followed by doughnuts! Yesterday, we took Kate to the Y to play in the gymnastics room. She definitely gets excited about going now, and calls it "nack." She's developed a fondness for the hoola hoops, which she does by putting it around her waist and then spinning her whole body around while holding on to it. I can't do much better, to be honest!! Since it the big gym was pretty empty, we let her play on the basketball court. She always wants to do this but usually there are too many people. I think she was pretty mesmerized by watching daddy shoot baskets--I could definitely see the worship in her eyes!

"Foke, pees!"

In the playgroup I go to with Kate, the topic that brings up the most confusion (aside from sleep, of course) is what and how to feed a growing toddler. I know that I'm constantly trying to figure out how to get nutrients into Kate. There are days she'll eat a lot of pretty much anything and days when all I hear is "no!" She is very reticent about putting things in her mouth, which is good when it comes to small objects and things she finds on the floor but is less handy when it comes to trying new foods. She is especially wary of foods that are not in a neutral color, like blueberries. She'll eat and like blueberries if I smoosh them up and feed them to her, but there's no a way she'll put a whole blueberry in her mouth. But, the other day, she ate roasted broccoli like it was going out of style. Go figure. I've stopped making big batches of anything because one day she loves something and the next she acts like I'm trying to kill her by making her eat it. For now, the trick seems to be giving her a "foke" (fork). She likes to poke at things, unfortunately she only has success about once every thousand tries. Oh well, at least it keeps her busy while surreptitiously shove green beans in her mouth!!

You know you're a grown-up when....

you schedule a pelvic exam on your birthday!! Yes, that's what I get to do today! But, actually, so far I've had a nice birthday morning, waking up to a nice surprise from Ryan and Kate as her usual silly self. Ryan and I are planning on celebrating both our birthdays in proper fashion a couple weekends from now when Grandma Connie comes to watch Kate for a night so Ryan and I can go to Seattle. Yippeee! FUN grown-up activities will abound then, I'm sure. So, on to Kate and her bik-a. Obviously, she loves it but, as the photos show, she has taken to riding it in trick-style fashion. Ryan and I are seriously starting to see our future, watching her ride like a kamikaze at the X-Games. Starla, I KNOW you know how this feels!! :) I started to see shades of the X-Games girl in her a couple weeks ago when she discovered the climbing wall in the garage. THANKFULLY, she is too short to climb it and not strong enough, but she is starting to get her hands on hand holds and gaze longingly at the top. Then, yesterday, she decided to start riding her bike standing up on the bar under the handles. I told her to sit and she looked at me derisively, while saying "stand, stand." This backfired on her when she took a header over the handle bars and landing on the kitchen floor. BIG ouch. It's difficult to achieve such a fall on a bike that doesn't even have pedals!! But she recovered quickly and wanted right back on--to stand, of course. Also, she likes ramming into things, saying "crash." Lord, help me. Starla: any advice??

"Pees?"

I learn more everyday about just how sly kids are! We've been working really hard to teach Kate about saying "Please" when she wants something, and it has finally taken! There is not much sweeter than seeing her say "pees" as she rubs her chest (the sign for please). But, of course, she quickly figured out that, since we like it when she says please and it gets her what she wants, she should say it about everything--especially things she knows she's not supposed to have! It's a little hard to explain to her that saying "please" doesn't mean she gets everything she wants, mostly because she looks so cute saying it. I've encountered the same issue with the concept of helping. She loves to help do things, but has taken to saying "helping?" whenever she wants to do anything, as if she's trying to convince me that I should let her do it in the name of being helpful. Again, hard to say no, but I'm trying to remain strong!! Ah, what else? Kate is getting really good at her shapes and colors, and this morning we were talking about animal sounds as well. She's not taking to these as quickly. If you ask her what a cow says, she replies "mulk" (milk). At least my dairy-loving daughter knows where her milk comes from! As for today's agenda? Well, the recycling truck went by just a minute ago so Kate is still basking in the joy of seeing a "tuck". I think we'll succumb to the foggy dampness today and make our first voyage (of many, I'm sure) to the gymnastics room at the Y. For now I best sign off as Kate is laughing gleefully as she shouts "bumping" (jumping). Since she's on the bed at the moment, I'd better go catch my little "bumper"!!

My rainy days are saved!!

I am very, very pleased to say that, although the Y has decided to cancel it's gymnastics program (no more Wiggle Worms!), they are keeping the gymnastics room and are now leaving the door open for families to play--ALL DAY! When I heard there was no more gymnastics, I lobbied hard for some sort of open gym and even volunteered to run it and, if that wasn't possible, I asked if I could buy some of the equipment so even more of our garage could be given over to entertainment for Kate. But this is SO much better! Now, we can go any time AND Ryan can keep most of the garage for actual garage-worthy projects. We just might be there all day, everyday!! That is my most exciting news; not much else to report as this was a organizing-the-house weekend. We did get a lot done and now have yet another donation to make to Goodwill. I think half our possessions are now there. There isn't much more satisfying than a good organization-fest to start the New Year. Our house looks much better, even if it is still dominated by baby toys!