A toddler's honesty

You've got to love the things that come out of kids' mouths. Now that Kate's a pretty good talker, her opinions are really coming to light. Just a few minutes ago, she was playing with my ponytail. She swished it around a bit and, in all seriousness, said "momma wag tail." I can see I'm just at the beginning of many toddler ego-blows to come! What else? Well, not much, because the house is just too quiet and empty now that Bob and Starla have left. Kate asked for them all day yesterday, and kept thinking they would be showing up any time. When she got up this morning, she asked "GaGa sleeping? Gumpa sleeping?" It was so hard to explain that they had to go back to their house. I'm sure that she's wondering why they would ever want to do that when they could be sitting on the floor playing Legos with her for the rest of their days!! We'll get another grandparent fix in about a week when we go to Bend---here's hoping this week flies by!

GaGa Star & Gumpa Bob-a

We can't wait for this afternoon because Ryan's parents are coming to visit!! For a whole week!! Kate woke up excited this morning, telling us that GaGa Star and Gumpa Bob-a were coming soon and that she wants them to "sit." Hmmmm??? Your guess is as good as mine about that one. Probably they'll do a bit more with her than sit! Right now, she's trying on the dress-up shoes that GaGa Connie sent her from Hong Kong. They're miles too long but pretty narrow. Chinese girls must have a bit more delicate feet than Kate! :)

Being a parent....

...teaches you many profound lessons about unconditional love and all such great things, but it also teaches you many smaller lessons. Like not judging people who feed their toddlers in grocery stores. Before having Kate, I admit that I'd see kids munching away on something that had been opened for them and I'd think, "Seriously? Your kid can't wait until you've left the store?" Now, I sing a completely different tune. When you've got a squirming toddler, singing an incessant chorus of "Cracker please! Cracker stuck!" you learn to choose your battles. I won't buy her everything she points at, but I certainly will let her have a cracker if it buys me five more minutes!! What else? Well, last night in the bath Kate said something I found humorous, but it may be too much information for some. So if you shy away from talk of "private parts" stop reading here. Otherwise.....Kate was sitting the bath, examining herself very quizzically. Obviously, she's taken notice before but not in an actual information-seeking sort of way. She kept looking down and then looking at me, then she looked at me with a confused expression and said, "Tush? Butt?" as if she was trying to figure this strange thing out. Then, she pointed to her actual tush and then looked back at me in wonderment and said "TWO butts?" as if this was about the most amazing discovery ever. I told her, no, and told her what she was really looking at. Then I told her that's just what girls have. She said, "man?" and I again told her, "just ladies." Well, after all that explaining, she just looked at me as if she got it and said, "lady two butt." Hmmm....maybe I need to work on my explaining skills before she gets any older......

First "big girl" haircut!

Kate had her first real haircut today. She's had about 5 trims around the front, but this was the first time the back was cut, too. It's a little sad to see those long curls go, but it was getting so shaggy that I knew it was time. She had more than an inch taken off the back! Now she has a chic toddler bob. I can't say that she loves the experience, but she didn't cry. All day yesterday and this morning, I kept telling her that we were going to get her haircut, that she would sit on mommy's lap, that Kim would cut her hair and that Kim was really nice. So, by the time we got there, Kate was like a little robot, repeating "sit mommy's lap" and "Kim nice." I don't know if it helped prepare her, but we made it through without tears, so that's a victory to me!

SUNSHINE!!!

Oh, how I love, LOVE this sunshine. Seriously. I cannot get enough. Isn't life just so much nicer when the sun is out? I would completely be one of those people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder is I lived in Alaska in the winter (Port Angeles is bad enough!!) But, anyway, we have truly been enjoying this weather. It's supposed to start raining next week, so we're not taking a moment for granted. This afternoon will be the third day in a row that we've been to the park, and Hickory has benefited from lots of walks. These past few days at the park I have really seen that Kate has absolutely no sense of self-preservation. None. There is one slide that is really high and twisty, and has about 20 stairs to climb to the top. But was she scared? No. Did she want my help? NO. In fact, she was absolutely livid that I tried to go down it with her. She said, "No, momma, no!!!" So, she went down on her own, in her own way (on her stomach, feet first) about 100 times. The other slide (in the video) isn't very high, but it's fast. Or, at least, it is when she goes down head first, on her tummy. She slid off the end once and hit the rocks with, pretty much, her face. She wasn't really visibly hurt, but the shock made her cry. I thought she'd be scared after that, but when I picked her up she said, through tears, "more!" I'm guessing our first trip to Disneyland will be a blast!

Reasons Kate makes me laugh today....

Kate cracks me up in new ways each day; don't you love the things that come out of toddler's mouths?? Here are the reasons I'm laughing today:
1. She loves to call the cat (who sleeps on the couch at least 8 hours per day) "lazy cat." She also likes to tell me to sit on the couch and then laughs while she says "lazy momma."
2. If you ask her what any animal says, she makes a growling lion-like noise. This is true for all animals except turkeys, to which she'll say "gobba, gobba."
3. Her favorite new animal is the kangaroo which, in Kate-speak, is a kangaMOO.
We're about to head to the park since it's one of the nicest days we've had yet this year. SO thankful for all this sunshine. And, the absolute coolest part of the day, was that I just found out Ryan's cousin, Cindy, is pregnant and due in September!!! We very well may have babies on the same day! We've both been suffering nausea in silence, but now we have eachother to share food-aversion stories. :) Her daughter, Caitlin, is just a few months younger than Kate, so all our kids will be able to grow up with family members their own age. How neat is that?!

Our big (growing?) news!

Drumroll please....we're having another baby!! Kate's going to be a big sister! I'm almost 10 weeks along and due in September. My second doctor's appointment was today, and I heard the baby's heartbeat loud and clear. My own heartbeat was quite audible as well when the midwife was listening away and then paused and said "I think there's a possiblity there might be TWO in there." I think my heart may have actually stopped beating for a moment. I had to wait about a half hour to have a real ultrasound to see, and I've never been so fidgity and anxious in all my life! In the end, there was only one little bean to be found, so I guess it was just a bonus that I got an extra ultrasound and got my first glimpse at our new addition. He/she looked like a little jelly bean with tiny buds for arms and legs. The doctor said the baby was "swimming" around, and I kind of like knowing it's in there bopping around, happily, I hope. So, we're all very excited, although I'll be even more thrilled when the ever-present nausea passes. Whomever named it "morning sickness" was a moron! I'd feel lucky if it was only in the morning. Nonetheless, I do realize nausea is a sign of a vital baby, so I'm happy. We think Kate's happy, too. She looks for the baby in my (and her) tummy, loves to read her book about being a big sister and today told me "baby suck toes" as she demonstrated this fine art. I think that's about all we can ask from an 18-month-old. We have told her that her life is going to change!!! Our whole world is going to change, in fact, and we couldn't be more excited!

P.S.....

We don't want to forget to wish Uncle Jason a VERY happy birthday!!! Enjoy it, Uncle Jay, you deserve it! We hope the year to come is the best you've ever had. We love you!

Daddy & daughter weekend

Kate and Ryan spent the weekend together while I went to a yoga teacher training this weekend, and it sounds like they had quite a good time! Kate took over Valentine's Day duties by making daddy some cupcakes and decorating a card for him (which she promptly reclaimed after giving it to him). It was the first time I've been away from both Ryan and Kate for a whole weekend but, with daddy in charge, I didn't worry one bit. I was sure they were having a great time, so I could really enjoy the weekend and take in all there was to learn. It was completely bizarre to have two whole days without being mommy, but I must say it was nice to feel like I was giving all my focus to something that I enjoy (not nearly as much as being a mommy, of course, but still...) I went with a friend who has a five-month-old and it was quite a treat for her, too, especially since she got a full night's sleep for the first time in many months!! I can honestly say that I know exactly how that feels. I would have been over the moon at the idea of an uninterrupted night's sleep when Kate was five months!! We do start to appreciate the simple things more as mothers and fathers, don't we? It's definitely one of the gifts--and one of the challenges--of parenthood. At any rate, I am so thankful that I got to have this experience and am now refreshed and ready to be full-time mommy again. I'm not sure Kate's ready, though, because she was definitely preferring daddy this morning! As well she should: he's an amazing dad in all ways. Thanks, Ryan, for my weekend away!!

Goats?

Kate thinks her bike needs an engine....

This morning when Kate woke up, we were talking and I told her that "mommy loved her." Then I asked her "who does Kate love?" clearly assuming my sweet angel would say "mommy." But, no. She just looked at me thoughtfully and said "goats." Oh well. Better luck next time! Well, today we had a VERY exciting morning. I took Kate to the Y Playcare because I haven't tried her in it for quite some time and I'm subbing a class on Monday, so I had to make sure she would be okay with it. She did like it, and just called it "diff (different) daycare." Smart, I thought! After that, I took her to Live-Yers which is a playgroup we haven't been to in awhile. We were definitely in luck because the Y just bought a huge bouncy castle/obstacle course type thing. It is HUGE. Literally, it is as long as the baskeball gym. You go in one side and crawl through all these obstacles and then reach a really tall slide at the end. Best of all, it's filled with air so the kids can't get hurt!! I thought Kate's eyes were going to pop out of her head when she saw it. All the kids were looking at it in awe, not sure if they could actually go in it. Once Kate learned she could indeed go into it, she was a wild woman. It was hilarious to watch all the kids be really cautious at first, and then just go nuts when they'd been through it once. The kids would get to the end and then just sprint back to the beginning (Kate included). I think all the parents enjoyed it as much as the kids. Who doesn't want to jump around in a big bouncy castle??!!

Juggling your toddler's social calendar....

is no easy feat! Kate's only 18 months and she's already got multiple play dates and classes every week. I can only imagine what it will be like when she hits school-age! It's good preparation, I'm sure. She's way busier than I am! :) We had a play date at the park with her buddy Kevin yesterday. They always want to switch back and forth on the swings, in case the one they're not using is better. Early lessons in wanting what we don't have! They also love racing down the slides, although one of them always goes before we say "go" anyway. I'm just glad that we're able to get them outside to play....I'm so thankful we're not in the Northeast blizzard right now!! People could actually be envious of the Port Angeles weather this winter, and that's not something we can say very often! The sun's peeking out right now, so I think we'll go out in the stroller. Oh, and Kate had a second very great day (hour) at daycare, so the first time wasn't a fluke--she loves it!

First day of daycare!

Kate went to daycare on her own for the first time today, and she had no trouble at all adjusting to it. She didn't cry when I left; in fact, she immediately started playing and didn't even look at me! I really, really like the daycare and the women who run it, so I felt completely comfortable leaving her there. When I came back, she was playing and told me "no" when I said it was time to go. The toddler teacher remarked that Kate "talks A LOT"...tell me about it! Usually, she clams up when we're out of the house, so she must be quite comfortable there. It did feel strange to leave her and actually have a whole hour to myself (!) but I can definitely get used to it.... For now, she's going to go two times a week for an hour, but I'm already thinking she might rather stay two hours! At any rate, it's a great step in her becoming more independent and confident when I'm not around. Other than the big daycare news, we did have a fun weekend. Saturday was gorgeous, so Ryan and I took Kate to a park in Sequim that has a whole bunch of slides. Naturally, she tried every one of them multiple times. They also have a zipline, which Kate was enthralled with, but couldn't quite get the concept of actually holding on to it. Perhaps that's for the best because I don't think I'm quite ready to watch her come whizzing by!! Yesterday, we celebrated Superbowl Sunday by having a few friends over. My, how times change once you have kids, don't they? There were two 18 month olds and one 5 month old, so the grown-ups' conversation drifted toward getting infants to sleep and how horrid childbirth is!! We did manage to see some of the game or, at least, we saw who won!! It was nice to have friends over, though, and even nicer to have found friends with kids who know the need to end the party by 7 pm!!

The track....

...was a hit! Kate loved it. She went all the way around a couple times, which I thought was pretty far for a person with such little legs. Her favorites were the football pads and the hurdles. Mommy regreted showing her how to "jump" over the hurdles because my arms were aching after all that "jumping." Not surprisingly, her legs were still fresh. Kate does love racing and didn't cut mom any slack at all. She seemed to relish beating me each time!

Much better....

Kate had her second Music Together class today, and I'm pleased to say that it went MUCH better than the first. Last week, she threw an epic tantrum when she had to give back the egg shakers she was using, and she never recovered after that (too bad egg shakers came at the beginning of class....) There were about 15 other kids in the class, seemingly enjoying themselves or, at least, not crying, and then there was Kate who was giving them all a great lesson in lung-power usage. Despite many of the other parents telling me their kids did just the same thing the first time, I still felt mighty embarrassed!! There's no way not to feel that way because you just know you'd be thinking "I'm glad that's not my child" if it were someone else's kid stomping and screaming! Anyway, Kate seemed fairly indifferent to the whole class today, but at least she didn't have a fit. She's already done two rounds of Kindermusic, so this is the third music class she's attended. If she never gets into this one, I may just wait before doing it again. She LOVES any class that's physical, and actually likes the parts of music class where she gets to jump around, so I think she's just more into the gross motor skills right now. She's already trying to hit stuff with rackets, so I'm counting the days (months, years?) until she can start tennis. I hope she'll at least tolerate this class because it's 8 more weeks and the gymnastics room is not open anymore. You may have heard my screams of horror when I heard this news. My go-to activity is gone. Oh, I moaned about it quite a bit (ask Ryan) but easy come, easy go and don't cry over spilled milk and all those other cliches....we'll search out other activities. This afternoon we're taking some balls and trucks to the high school track. I don't know if Kate will like it, but at least she'll run off some energy! Wish us luck.

Mama's a masseuse

Yesterday, Kate came up to me and said "mama 'sage." I just smiled and nodded because I hadn't a clue what she was trying to tell me. She kept grabbing my hands and saying "mama 'sage." Finally, in exasperation, she got down on the floor and started rubbing her chest with her hands. I figured out that she wanted a massage! What a little diva. There was a massage time in her Kindermusic class, so that's where she picked up on it. All afternoon, she asked me for 'sages. Hmmmm, I thought, perhaps this will work to MY advantage. I asked her for one of my own and she obliged--for about 3 seconds. Oh well, something's better than nothing, right? :)

Vashon Island & spaghetti!

My little yogi!

Is the weekend over already?? We had a great one, and we're always sorry to see it over, especially since daddy has to go back to work. Kate says "daddy vork (work)" like it is something that leaves a disgusting taste in her mouth. I agree! So, how did we spend this nice weekend? We started it off with a bang (note the sarcasm here) by taking a Friday night trip to Costco. We didn't even end up buying anything, but Kate really liked sampling some yogurt and toast. Ryan and I remarked that we must be getting old if our wild Friday night is a trip to Costco!! Saturday proved much more exciting since we took a trip to Vashon Island to see some friends who have a two-month-old baby. We've never been to Vashon Island, and we're always up for seeing new parts of Washington. Our friends, Zach and Ellen, have a house right on the water that can only be reached by a pedestrian boardwalk. Everyone has big wheelbarrows for hauling in groceries and such. It was very peaceful, but I was just thinking it must be quite an ordeal when you're trying to lug a baby in a carseat along with your shopping! Their baby, Delia, slept most of the time and Kate just kept saying "sleeping" as if she's already learned that babies don't actually DO much. We went out for a nice lunch, and then hopped the ferry back to the mainland. Kate was asleep before we'd even reached the ferry, so I think she had a nice time. Yesterday, we had a relaxing day and then went to a spaghetti dinner benefit for a friend of ours who has cancer. It's such a horribly sad situation, but it was heartening to see so many people there supporting her. Kate sat nicely all the way through dinner, and then really hit her stride at the silent auction, where she started running around like she owned the place. Overall, a very nice weekend and very successful in our opinion: two meals in restaurants during which Kate sat quietly and Ryan and I actually ate our food!! This is a major milestone for us (and, no, I'm not being sarcastic this time!)