Here we go!

We're (especially Kate) counting the days, hours and minutes until we leave for Grandma Star and Grandpa Bobby's house on Sunday. Kate asks every day when we are leaving, and she is truly over the moon about also getting to see "those funny guys" her great Uncles Ross and Ray. I hope they're ready to entertain her at Great Grandma Alice's birthday party because Kate is expecting big things. In the time since Christmas, they've pretty much achieved God-like status in her mind. So, let's just say it again, WE CAN'T WAIT for this trip. Poor Ryan will be away working so Kate, Will and I are doing our first solo voyage. I'm not too worried as we have added the essential portable DVD player to our family. :) A big thanks in advance to Grandpa Bobby for being willing to ski with my just-learning self and to Grandma Starla for watching the kiddos.

Sunshine, glorious sunshine!

Is there anything better during the doldrums of January than a week of warmer-than-average weather with--wait for it--actual SUNSHINE?! Not my much by my estimation. Don't get me wrong, we think the snow is fun, but we've also been enjoying the mid-50s we've been having the past few days. Yesterday we played outside for a couple hours, by far the longest since last summer. Kate's also gained some new outside abilities in the last few indoor months: she can walk all the way to the mailbox (a ways from our house) by herself, she can pedal her tricycle and she likes to play pretend outside as much as inside. Yesterday, she wanted to hunt for dinosaur bones....grandma Connie, did you teach her this? :)

The wonders of a blanket

I walked into Kate's room this morning and found her with a blanket around her neck. She said, "Look, mommy, I have a scarf." Then followed my favorite morning monologue yet: "Mommy, a blanket can be SO MANY THINGS. It can be a scraf or a shower hat or a pirate hat. Or it can be a picnic place or a dinner party place. What a celebration!!" I have no idea where she gets this stuff, but I'm pretty sure "dinner party" and "celebration" must have come from a TV show as I know I don't talk about dinner parties very often!

Kate's words of wisdom

Since I know I'll forget what Kate's little talks were like in the years to come, I think I'll post some of her morning "words of wisdom" from time to time....just have to remember my notepad and pen when I go wake her up (easier said than done for me lately!) Today I got: "Will's mostly a cute baby, I think. Someday Will will have a little brother. It could be. Someday I'll have a baby named Will and someday I will get married. Probably I will marry daddy. And my name is Kate Singleton, also Boom Boom Singleton and Will's other name is David. Mommy, now is the time to go eat because my tummy is so, so, so, so hungry." Aaah, yes, she's now entered that sweet time when marrying daddy is not only a possibility but the best thing she can imagine. Well done, daddy, because I think it's a sign that you're doing a very good job! :)

Three kids is a lot more than two

Kate wearing hand-me-down pjs that I told her might fit her when she's four. To this she replied, "okay, mommy, I think I'll be four now." Can't argue with that toddler logic!

Yesterday our friends Heidi and Ryan were moving to a new house so we watched their daughter Addie for the day. She's the same age as Kate and was a complete angel all day but, man, I did learn that three kids is somehow waaaaay more than two. It just seems like a lot more people, for some reason. Plus, it's a lot harder to get places because two fit in a stroller better than three, two fit in a car better than three, etc., etc. It was a fun day, though, and it was super fun getting to see Addie and Kate start to understand how to play with eachother rather than just along side eachother. They got along almost all day. The only hiccup came at the library when we were doing the United States puzzle. Kate claimed that she lived in Oregon, then Addie claimed "NO, Addie lives in Oregon." This went back and forth for awhile while I tried to explain that we all lived in Oregon--to no avail. Hey, that's what I get for trying to reason with two two-year-olds!

Accessories by toddler

Yesterday Kate decided to dress herself in black pants and nothing else, except some underwear for accessories. First, she put mine on as necklaces because "they are really big big-girl underwear" (thanks, Kate!) Then, she decided to go all out and pile on 7 pairs of her own underwear. Not sure if she has a future in fashion design ahead of her. I'm just hoping that this signals that she might actually wear real underwear as a first layer in the near future......

Make-believing memories

When I think back on being a kid, what really stands out to me is all the pretending I did. Playing pretend is just so essential to being a kid, isn't it? I remember feeling a funny sense of loss when I got to that in-between almost-a-teenager age when you no longer called up your friends to "play," no longer made up games or played store or house. It's just such a wonderful, amazing thing that kids can create something magical out of, sometimes literally, nothing. In the past couple months, Kate has gained the ability to pretend. It wasn't long ago that she just looked at me with confusion when I pretended to do something. Now, she's making things up all day long. It opens up a whole new world because pretend play doesn't require toys! Right now, her favorite thing to pretend is that our little stair landing is a swimming pool. She spends a long, long time putting "magic goggles" on her animals and making them dive into the pool. I'm seeing many more wonderful years of make believe in our future!

Morning monologue

Each morning, one thing I look forward to is Kate's daily monologue. She delivers this morning talk-fest each day upon waking. Of course, all she does all day is chat up a storm but, in the morning, it seems that a whole bunch of thoughts have built up all night long and she just has to get them out in one big, looooong rush. All you can do during these monologues is sit and listen because she's definitely not looking for input. I'm not sure where the topics come from....what she was dreaming about before waking, perhaps? Whatever the inspiration, I totally love listening to her sweet voice go on and on and on.... Today, for instance, her speech went something like this (and, no, she doesn't pause for breath): "Mommy, Will is a baby but he's not really a little baby anymore. Cooper's brother is really little but Will's only kind of little and he has a round head. Babies can't talk, though. They can't talk because they don't have teeth. Everyone needs teeth. I used to not have teeth but that was when I was a baby and now I'm big so I have teeth and I talk. Someday Will can talk but not now. And remember when we went to Grandma's house last week and Will cried and we had to say hush, hush and then I ate bunny crackers? Yeah, probably we should do that again." It went on from here, but I was taking notes this time and this was as far as my paper went. Will likes to watch in awe as Kate talks, but he waits until she's otherwise occupied to give his opinion. Wise boy--I'm fairly positive she will always be the boss in this relationship!

Sitting up!

Okay, no, not exactly. But he really wants to and he tries so hard. To help him along, we dug out the Bumbo chair yesterday. When I got one for Kate, lots of people told me it was THE BEST thing so, naturally, I thought she would love it. Not so much. The second time around I'm much wiser about baby stuff and realize that every baby likes different things, and not for any logical reason. They just like it or they don't. But you never know until you try, right? This is a long-winded way of saying that I purchased a lot of things that I didn't use that much. Oh well. Will, though, seems to like the Bumbo so we may get some good use out of it after all! Last night we all had dinner together, Will on the table in the Bumbo (I'm sure the directions say not to do this but, really, who can just use it on the floor? Babies like to SEE what's going on!) I'm really hoping he can sit up on his own fairly soon. I'm ready for it whether he is or not! In other family news, we are FINALLY getting over the marathon cold and cough bug that has plagued us for near a month. Ugh. Kate had it bad, but she is finally coming out of it. It didn't really phase her at all, but the hacking cough really got to me! It's so hard to listen to them cough when there's nothing you can do. I can't wait for it to be totally out of her system. Her little school starts up again today and she's well enough to go, so we'll finally get to play outside the house!!! Freedom!

Will's four months already!

4 months
1 week

Can you believe how much babies change in the first few months?? It's crazy. Will's like a completely different baby! He turned four months on Sunday and had his check-up yesterday. He's still topping the growth charts at 17 lbs 2 ounces and 26 inches. I looked up Kate's stats at four months yesterday and she was 15.5 lbs and 24 inches. Boys grow like mad!! Funnily enough, Will loves to watch football. Obviously, he doesn't really watch TV yet (thankfully!) but whenever football's on, he can't get enough. If he keeps growing like this, I'm seeing many football games with a worried mommy in attendance!

Pure joy

I know this photo is blurry but I still LOVE it because Will has this look of complete happiness on his face. Who wouldn't love being surrounded by Kate and Aunt Courtney? By the way, we're missing you something terrible Aunt Courtney! Kate keeps asking: "when is Aunt Courtney coming over? Today?" Another reason I hope you're back closer to Oregon someday....no pressure! :)

Attention Bob, Jay and Cyndi....

Tada! Here are my new skate skis (the Rossignol ones)!! Ryan and I went to HooDoo on Friday and tested them out, and I skated a whole loop (albeit a short and flat one) without stopping. To me, that was great progress! I can't wait to go to Shasta with you all again soon!!

What a difference a year makes

One year ago tomorrow, I found out I was pregnant with Will. In some ways it seems a long time ago, but it's hard to believe that in 12 months, I was pregnant and had a baby who's not so tiny anymore! We've moved states, had a second child...I'd say it was a busy year. I can't wait to see what this year will bring. For Will, I'm sure it will bring many big milestones. Currently, he's working hard at rolling over. He also started belly laughing recently, which has to be one of the world's BEST sounds. I'm so happy he's joined our family. We had a good year last year and I'm hoping this one's even better!

Happy New Year!

Is it really 2011?! I think I say it all the time but, my, how time flies! We're back from Christmas in Yreka, but it's still a winter wonderland around here. The night we got back we had 7 inches of new snow! Ryan's built a great sled run in the front yard for Kate and we have Aunt Courtney visiting, so our New Year is looking pretty good already. Here's to everyone having a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!! And here are some scenes from Christmas 2010....

Will likes his first stocking!
Daddy and Kate showing off some reindeer head gear

Chatting with Aunt Donna and Great Grandma Alice

Kate bonded with Ryan's Uncle Ross. She saying, "he's a FUNNY man!" He was game, too, and even had a ride on her new bike. Ryan and I are already adding him to our mental list of family babysitters...

Kate's big kid bike and helmet, just like Uncle Jay!

How did Santa know Kate REALLY wanted a tool bench?

Kate loves, loves her Uncle Jay...

...and also Grandma Star

The first thing Kate opened was her Lightning McQueen bath stuff, so she took a bath about 10 minutes after waking up on Christmas morning. The other presents could wait!

Santa was good to us!

Will's turn with the antlers. Clearly, he's thrilled!

Great handmade hats from LeiAnn and Randy!