Happy Birthday, Kate!

Dear Kate,
We can hardly believe you're three years old already! How time flies when we're having fun. You are an absolute joy to us every day. You challenge us and entertain us more than anyone we've ever known. You are our own unique Kate and we love watching you grow, learn and change with each passing day. We love you from the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes!! All our love, Mommy, Daddy & Will

My tiny dancer!

Whew!! It's pure craziness around here as we prep for our move (which should happen later this week). In addition to the move, we had a great visit from Jay and Cyndi last weekend (more weekend photos to come...) and this week we have: a swim lesson, three dance classes, a doctor's check-up AND Kate & Grandma Star's birthday. So it's busy, to say the least. But it's also incredibly fun, especially Kate's dance class. She had her very first ballet class ever yesterday and I was such a proud mama that she tried everything and had a great time. There are four other girls in class who are all five, so Kate is much younger and there's just a lot of stuff she can't quite do yet. But she tries it all and does her own thing a bit, too. The teacher is fantastic and makes it fun for all of them. It's got to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen, to see her strutting her stuff in her little leotard. Today, she got to do tap dance and she was pretty much in awe the whole time that "her shoes made NOISE!" For a girl who still loves tools and cars, I wasn't sure she'd ever try dance but, selfishly, I hope she keeps doing it!

Spiderman. Spiderman?!

So, I had these grand plans of actually throwing Kate a 3rd birthday party but we're still not sure of our move date and it's a bit difficult to plan a party when you're not sure what house you'll be in. Since all she really seems to want is "frosting and balloons," I thought we'd better at least get her one of those obnoxious, inches-thick frosting cakes that they make at the supermarket. I took her to pick it out yesterday and she went through the whole book of pictures. There were Cars cakes, princess cakes, and all sorts of ones that I thought she'd like. What did she choose? Spiderman. Nevermind that she doesn't even know a thing about Spiderman. She told me, "but, mommy, I'm really going to like superheros pretty soon." I'm not sure where she even heard about "superheros" but a Spiderman cake is what she's getting. Which will go great with all the Cars plates and cups we already have... She's still excited about the cake, though, because this is the stream of conscienceness I got this morning when she woke up: "When is the day I get that Spiderman cake? Am I going to wear a party hat when I blow out the candles? Grandpa Mac didn't have candles at his party because he only had cupcakes. And he was busy. I think because he had TWO parties because it was retirement and a birthday. I think that's it. My birthday is July 28 and Grandma Star is July 27. I get three candles and Grandma Star gets....(long pause)...seven. Yeah, seven. It's because Grandma Star isn't a little kid, she's just kind of medium." So, Grandma Star, how does it feel to be "medium"? :)

My favorite insult of the day

Kate is still always using words she doesn't understand, in all sorts of crazy ways. Today I was, apparently, not playing play-dough correctly and she slung this dagger my way: "mommy, you are NOT a good centerpiece." I'm not sure what she thinks it means, but it is something very, very bad!

Crazy summer!!

Whoa--the past two months have been nuts around here and, with an impending move, it's just about to get crazier. In all the hubbub, I forgot to post this photo from when Uncle Blake was visiting--Kate always loves it when Aunts and Uncles show up, which is why she'll love this weekend, too, when Uncle Jay and Aunt Cyndi come! They will be thrown in with the craziness as we are going to move the next week (luckily, it's only about a quarter mile away!) AND it will be Kate's birthday! We spent this past weekend having a garage sale to try to clear out some stuff before we go, and it went well. There's still a lot left, though, so we'll probably do another one in September. I could get addicted to having garage sale because, as I am the ultimate anti-pack rat (I can't even watch commercials for those "hoarding" shows), I love getting rid of stuff while making money at the same time. Okay, off to try to get a few things packed before the kiddos awake to "help." With Will into everything now, we're not getting much done during their waking hours!

Just a little nibble...

There are many moments during the day when I think these two might drive me truly bonkers but, when they're in the bath, I could just about eat them up. (Yes, even Kate, who's making faces and sticking her finger up her nose....)

Will's on the move!

After what seems like months of rocking back and forth on his hands and knees, moving backwards and dragging himself forwards, Will finally started crawling last week! Now, there's no stopping him. I'm afraid that what he really wants to do is walk, though, because he's always preferred standing and is now trying to stand on his own (with only a certain amount of success). He's happiest when he is on his feet, so I'm not sure if he'll be crawling for long. We shall see! For now, it's time to secure the house because he has already figured out how to go through all the drawers and how to unplug things (we have plug covers on all unused outlets, but he likes to unplug the things we need plugged in--not sure how to stop that!) He also puts anything and everything in his mouth (including dirt) so I'm finding it much harder than it was with Kate to keep him away from choking hazards. I didn't know how easy I had it with her! For one, we simply didn't have any small toys since she was the only kid in the house but, secondly, she really never put anything in her mouth. I've come to realize that she is totally not an oral person which, it seems most people are--and most all babies seem to be. This lack of interest in putting things in her mouth could also explain why she's so uninterested in food. I guess her other senses are more important to her but, for Will, the mouth is THE thing so I'll be spending my days trying to keep one step ahead of him...but, really, isn't that what parents are doing all the time? If you're not one step ahead, you're in for it! :)

Fun in the sun

Can the fun a kid's been having be measured by how many times you have to change their clothes in a day? If so, Kate had a VERY successful 4th of July. She wore four different outfits thanks to: washing the car, playing in the dirt, eating chocolate ice cream and visiting the creek. She loved it, but I'm not sure her sun dresses will ever be the same! We had a nice day at home on the 4th, since it was the first day we were all back home together after our week of travels. One highlight for Kate was that we went to a lemonade stand in our neighborhood--now, all she's talking about is how she wants her own lemonade stand. She says: "mine will be so, so, so, so great and let's have cookies!" I can see what we'll be doing a few summers from now. Ryan, get your woodworking tools out because this girl is dreaming big! The fantastic, finally summer-y weather has been sticking around which means we've been spending a lot of time in water of various sorts. We took Will to the athletic club pool a few days ago for his first swim in a real pool. It was a hit; he gets these frantic frog-leg kicks going whenever he hits the water. He also likes to stick his face in, so maybe he'll be a water baby. Today, we're going to an awesome outdoor pool that has a big slide and a whole bunch of water tables. Thanks to Grandma Connie for once again giving me a hand--and for being willing to don her swimsuit. As she says, "only for these kids." My sentiments exactly!!

Good times with old friends!

We made it back from Port Angeles and, although it's a lot of driving with two kids, I must say that it was a completely worthwhile trip. We basically packed in back-to-back visits with people the whole time we were there, and we still didn't get to see everyone! More time is always needed, I suppose. Anyway, it was a great road trip with Grandma Connie (who is a saint for coming along to visit people she doesn't know AND for sleeping in the same hotel room as Kate!) We stopped at Grandpa Mac's on the way up and back and both Kate and Will LOVED playing the "pinano," as Kate calls it. I can't say that what they play is "music" but they do play it with gusto. Most of the time was spent with Kate telling us all when exactly we could stop and start playing, while she danced (again, I'm not sure it's really "dancing" but it is done with vigor!) Kate had one of her defining comments, I think, when we were out on a walk on a path that goes by Grandpa's house. People kept coming past us and, as one passed, Kate announced, "well, I sure hope no one else gets in my way." Seriously, that could be her life motto. Today, she expanded on it, making it even more "her": "mommy, I sure hope no one gets in the way of all the plans I'm making." Well, no one got in our way on the way up to P.A. We made it just fine and the highlight for Kate was playing with Kevin, who was her first real friend. I don't know if they could possibly remember eachother, but they hit it off right away and were holding hands and hugging eachother. This is WAY out of character for Kate so I know she must REALLY like him. It definitely made me miss the good friends we made, but I've made them all promise to come visit and I'm holding them to it!! On the way back from P.A. we were able to stop by Grandpa Mac's retirement party (which was also on his birthday). It was a fitting end to a great career (he'd be modest and say it was no big deal but it most definitely was!) The next day Kate told Grandpa that she, too, wants a birthday and retirement party. When we told her she had to retire from something she said, "okay, I think I'll retire from Will." Poor Will--and all he does is smile at her!!