Things I Never Thought Would Come Out of My Mouth #237

Padyn, don't water your sister.

And her response?

Because Kate doesn't grow?

That's right. Kate doesn't grow. Now go water the flowers.

Fun in the Sun

Since I'm working tomorrow and we're getting on a plane early Friday morning, I thought I'd better post these now since there will be no Photo Friday again. (I know, very lame, but what can you do? Us jet setters have to post when we can...)

Here's a few highlights of our trip down south last weekend. It's only a few of the 370 pictures we took in 3 days. I love that camera. You can tell pretty clearly that everyone had a good time. In fact, as soon as we got home, Padyn asked me, "When are we going to see Bella again?" Too bad she doesn't live closer. Although, then they might not like each other as much.

Padyn's favorite thing to do this trip was "swim" back and forth on the top step of the pool like a dolphin. Or, as she said, like a dolphin who talks.

Bella, who was afraid of the pool earlier in the year, was suddenly in love with the water. She could not get enough of Papa throwing her through the air. Padyn, on the other hand, would have none of that. That's funny, since she enjoyed the same activity in our pool last summer.I had been doing Padyn's hair (french braids...they looked really cool) and Kate was concerned that there were no barrettes in P's hair. That's what she's trying to give us.

There's a mirror that runs the length of the dining room wall at the condo. Kate thought it was the best toy in the place. Well, that and the remote to the really expensive TV.Kate managed not to tip herself over in the floatie this time. She was a bit hesitant about the water. She didn't want to get in at first due to it being cold on her little toesies. But if you eased her in slowly, she didn't seem to notice that suddenly she was submerged up to her waist.

Kate was really into taking her hat off and on. Of course, she didn't want to leave it on when she really needed it...
And the main reason for the trip....introducing Dr. Christie! What will she be doing next year, you ask? How about hanging out at home with her new baby BOY. (And Bella, of course.) Yes, one of us in our large family dominated by girls has managed to break the gender barrier and conceive a boy. That also deserves some congratulations, as well.

First Steps

It's late, and I'm wiped out, but I thought I better let you know of a very excited happening from this weekend (I mean BESIDES my sister graduating from Medical School). Kate took her first steps by herself! Now, this happened on Friday, and of course, it has yet to be repeated. But I wanted to post it now before I completely forgot. I mean, you know it's going to be months before she actually does it again (stubborn kid...where does she get that from?), so it's very possible that by Wednesday it will be completely erased from my memory.

Look! Here's proof!
Maybe grass is the answer to getting her to walk. All those blades to squeeze with her toes. I'm sure she thought it was helpful.

Photo Friday-A Day Early

Since we are leaving today to go down south for my sister's graduation from med school (Holy Cow! Dr. Christie!), there will be no Photo Friday. So instead, enjoy these pictures of the girls from one of our two princess parties last weekend on Thursday.

Do you see Padyn's shoes? She wore those all day.Only Padyn dressed up as a princess. Katelyn slept through most of her bud, Kelsey's, first birthday party. But that just means Mommy had more fun!

Kate's Utterances

You may have noticed my new "labels cloud" over in the sidebar. Thanks to The Girls' Moma and a very detailed web page, I managed to put this on without blowing up my entire blog. I was a bit worried when I started that I would completely lose everything I've written in the last year. Fortunately, that did not happen this time.

Anyway, if you look closely, you'll see a label titled "utterances." In the past, this has only applied to Padyn. In fact, in the beginning of posting about things Padyn said, I didn't even add a "Padyn" label to it (every blog post can have multiple labels) because there really was no need for clarification; only one of my children produced utterances of significance. Well, not anymore. Here's what Miss Kate is uttering these days. And when I say "these days," what I mean is "suddenly, as of this past weekend..."

Uh-oh: At first she only imitated Padyn, who of course, said it repeatedly. But tonight at dinner, she used it appropriately and without prompting every time she "dropped" her cup on the floor.

hi-ee: Hi, but with a long e added to the end. She only does this when you say it first.

Duh-duh: Duck or Duckie. She actually pointed to Padyn's duck tonight and said it. Obviously, this one is spontaneous.

Bah-bah: This word has multiple meanings. It might be anything from milk to paci to bear. Most often it means Bear-Bear.

Dah-dah: On Sunday we were at the mall and she repeatedly pointed at things and said this. Later that afternoon we were over at someone's house and she did it again, but this time I could see she was pointing at a stuffed dog. When I thought back, I realized we saw a few dogs at the mall, plus a stuffed dog in the bookstore. Clearly, she knows what dogs are.

And my favorite...
Ah-duh: All done. Empty milk bottle? Hands it to me and says, "Ah-duh." Doesn't want anymore yogurt? Waves her arms around and says, "Ah-duh." Tried of being in her highchair? Starts pulling frantically at the straps and shouting, "Ah-duh! Ah-duh!"

Oh, and these aren't utterances, but they are also new as of this weekend...

She can blow a kiss, and she waves "hi" to everyone who walks past her. Today she waved "hi" to the outside through the window.

I love this age.

Conversations with a Three and a Half Year Old: Part 3

Looking at a picture of J and I from our wedding in which we are feeding eat other cake:

Mommy! Daddy has paint on his nose!
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While admiring my brown Reef flipflops:

P-I like my flippies better.

M-Why?

P-I like the back.

ok, one, she has no flipflops, and two, there is no back on flipflops.
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I didn't finish my macaroni last night because it was stuck to the bowl.

For all You Keeping Track...

...no pun intended...

Four miles today...
39 minutes and 30 seconds...
Treadmill...
Not so fun, but I wasn't dying, nor wishing I'd fall off so I could stop. That's something.

Not as good as this, but 2/3 of the way to this.

I need to do 2 more miles in about 20 more minutes.

I can do it, I can do it, I can do it...eventually.

Conversations with a Three and a Half Year Old: Part 2

We had this exchange in the car this morning. It reminded me of this one that I read last night.

P-I had a silly dream last night.

M-Really? What was it about?

P-I don't know.

M-How do you know it was silly if you don't remember it?

P-Sometimes in your dreams monsters are silly. That was my dream. About monsters sillies.

M-Your dream was about monsters sillies?

P-Yes, Momma.

Photo Friday: Mother's Day Card Photo Shoot

99 pictures taken

4 cards made

I love my camera...

You can check out all 99 at Flickr in a few hours.

Conversations with a Three and a Half Year Old: Part 1

P-Mommy, why do you have the hiccups?

M-I don't know.

P-It's probably because you're getting older. Sometimes that happens."

___________________________________________________________

Later in the day, in no way connected to anything else we were talking about...

"You always need something for the job."
___________________________________________________________

And since we've been home from school today (yes, I said we. I got to help all morning in Padyn's class. Very fun.) she's been imitating her teacher, Mrs. L.

"I want to hear a feather drop." (a.k.a. BE QUIET!)

My Reasons for Today

Happy Mother's Day!

Cuteness

The other day Kate was sitting in her highchair eating lunch when the phone rang.

She immediately put her hand to her ear, tilted her head and said, "Ah-dah."

I looked at the caller ID and decided I was not going to answer an Out of Area call. (Stupid telemarketers).

The phone continued to ring. Every time it did, Kate pretended she was answering it. After the third time she gave me a look that suggested if I wasn't going to answer it, then she would. Clearly, she knew what the protocol for a ringing phone was and I was not doing it right.

Maybe I should let her answer those calls.

Random Things the Come From Padyn's Mouth #342

Currently, Padyn is in her room not taking her nap. I've already been in once to scold her for playing. I may have to go in again, but first I have to stop laughing. Over the monitor I just heard this:

No, Mommy, no. I don't want to go to outer space. Never, never. I don't want to go never.

Don't you just love three year olds?

Photo Friday: Dorthy and the Stroller Princess

Happy Friday. I took a TON of pictures today at Padyn's little Mother's Day performance at her preschool, but those will have to wait until later. I have to sort through and find the ones where you can actually see Padyn's face. She was in the second row and the children in front of her were a bit taller, so I have many great pictures of other peoples' kids. But unlike her last performance, Padyn actually participated this time. She even looked like she was enjoying herself. She sang, danced, did all the motions...not once did she sit down, turn her back to the audience or lift her dress up. I was so proud. Too bad I couldn't get a great shot of her.

For now, you can enjoy the shots I took of our children last weekend. Padyn combined three of her favorite things-water, dresses, and her new "ballet shoes" for some nice photos of her watering the plants out front. She really reminds me of Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz. If only

her shoes were red. (They do make those ones in red, but she preferred the pink ones.) Can you tell they are sparkly? She wants to wear them all the time. I'm sure the sparklies will be completely worn off by June.
And little Miss Kate. She loves the baby doll stroller. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite grasp the concept of it being for Baby Doll. She thinks she should be able to sit in it. Actually, it's not that unfortunate, as it made for some hysterical pictures. I know, I know...mean, mean Mommy. But I bet you'd do the same thing in my position.


Have a great weekend.

Comparison at Thirteen Months

Padyn at 13 months: crawled, climbed in and out of baskets and her portable high chair, loved reading books, loved watching Baby Einstein videos and Elmo. Ate almost anything except baby food and milk. Couldn't get enough of the pool or anything that had to do with water. Slept with only her paci. Had some hair and about 8 teeth with her molars on the way. Spoke a few words (mama, dada, papa) and used signs for "more" and "all done" regularly. Was one of the cutest babies I knew.Kate at 13 months: crawling but could walk if she wanted to, climbs on EVERYTHING, knows how to climb off the couch and Padyn's bed, is started to be interested in books, and does not care for TV. Will eat only crunchy food and yogurt, but LOVES milk. Thinks water is the greatest thing in the universe and gets upset if she doesn't get a bath. Sleeps with her paci, Bear Bear and a blanket. Has no hair and 10 teeth. Calls everything "baba" and says dada with regularity. Only signs "milk" even though she knows the signs for "thank you," "more," and "all done." Is one of the cutest babies I know.

What Did We Do Before the iPod?

For all you out there keeping track, here's what's been keeping me going on my runs lately. It's my new "Faster Farther" playlist on my iPod Nano. So far, I've only made it through 10 songs. The eleventh one might not be upbeat enough to keep me going after 3 miles. Today while I was doing weights, a Seventh Day Jesus song came on while I had the iPod on random shuffle. It might be a good replacement. But let's see if I can get through 11 songs first before I go changing the list that so far is really working for me.

1. Message, Sanctus Real
2. Harder to Breathe, Maroon 5
3. Here it Goes Again, OK Go
4. Hollaback Girl (the super clean version), Gwen Stefani
5. All the Small Things, Blink 182
6. Smooth Criminal, Alien Ant Farm
7. My Own Worst Enemy, Lit
8. Jump (the extended version), Madonna
9. Do What You Want, OK Go
10. Be My Escape, Relient K
11. Things Like You, Sanctus Real
12. Stars, Switchfoot

And for cool down...

13. Over My Head (The Cable Car Song), The Fray
14. Mrs. Potter's Lullaby, The Counting Crows

Any other suggestions?

Going the Distance

Over the last couple weeks, I've slowed up a bit and have been unable to run as far as I wanted due to illness, travel, and time constraints. But I decided on Saturday that it was time to get back in the game if I was going to stick to my newfound goals. Here are my current stats. I'm feeling pretty good about them. It's nothing excellent, but then again, I don't strive for excellence...just endurance.

Saturday, May 5th 3:30pm
distance: 3 miles
time: 30 minutes
venue: outdoors
songs listened to: 9

Monday, May 7th 9:45am
distance: 3.5 miles
time: 34 minutes
venue: treadmill
songs listened to: 10

Oh, and now I have a new goal. 6 miles. I need to get ready for this in July. J and I signed up a couple weeks ago. I'd like to be able to say I ran the whole thing.

Watery Girls

Kate has a new love. It's the water table. We bought it for the girls for Kate's birthday, but we didn't show it to them until today. Today was the perfect day to bust it out seeing as how it was in the 80's. Padyn has played with one before at her friend Gan's house. She is a big fan. How appropriate that Gan was here this afternoon to help them break it in. But getting back to Katelyn. She stood and played at this thing for at least 30 minutes. That was long after the other two went back to the slide and the bubbles. The only reason she didn't play longer was because it was time to eat dinner. She just stood there and splashed and splashed and splashed. She was soaked front AND back. I'm not sure how she got the back of her clothes wet, but she did. You should have seen her smile and heard her squeals. You would think there was no better toy in the world than water.
Can't wait until the pool is heated. Then we'll really see what this water girl can do.

Here's what the other two were doing while Kate continued to soak herself.

Fully Loaded

I've finally uploaded all my current pictures to Flickr. They have no titles or descriptions, but they are there. You can go see them. Just click on the Flickr badge on the sidebar and you can see pictures of Easter, Kate actually eating, Coley and Jalyn's visit, the beach, playing with friends, and even watching TV.

Enjoy.

Because it wouldn't be a true Photo Friday without a picture of the Friendly Lion

That's how Padyn is referring to herself these days. Don't ask because I really have no clue. Today when she told me she was a friendly lion, she assured me that she was not a scary monster, just a mommy monster. I said that I thought she was a friendly lion. She rolled her eyes and sighed in that way that only 3 year olds can and said, "I am, Mommy."

Glad we got that cleared up.

And here you are. You can view the friendly lion/mommy monster in all her glory...And here's where she's acting like a freak, I mean, a lion. Yes, that's a sock in her mouth. And yes, it's filled with Little People toys. Again, I have no idea. I just live here.

Kate's Updated Update

I forgot a few things in Katelyn's 12 and 13 month update that I feel are worth sharing. Well, really it's that I think I'll want to remember them later on when I can't remember anything about her at this age...

She loves peanut butter toast. That is another staple in her limited diet. I never ever gave Padyn peanut butter this young. I think I waited until she was two years old, so fearful of peanut allergies was I. But with Kate, I'm a bit desperate.

She nods her head. Very emphatically. And correctly, most of the time. Like last night Joel asked her if she was ready to take a bath. She nodded that noggin of hers up and down so stiffly and forcefully I thought she was going to bust her chin on her sternum.

Lastly, she loves rolling around on the floor on her back. She kicks her feet around and slams them up and down onto the floor. Then she laughs and rolls over and rubs her face into the carpet. It reminds me a dog rolling around in order to scratch itself. I don't think this is what she is doing, but it's still pretty hysterical.

OK. That should be enough until next month.

Photo Friday: The Ballad of a 13 Month Climber

I took these this morning. Kate is really honing her climbing skills these days. Not only did she climb in and out of the block basket and the dishwasher effortlessly, she also managed to climb up onto the kitchen table (no picture, for obvious reasons) and off of Padyn's bed without harming herself. But really, the kitchen table? I still can't quite believe it. She managed to climb onto the bench by stepping on Padyn's booster seat that was on the floor. From the bench, the table was a piece of cake. Fortunately I was sitting right across from her and could react quickly. Kate, my dear, are you trying to kill me?This one is my personal favorite:
Happy Friday.

12 and 13 Month Update

Today is Kate's 13 month birthday, therefore it is time for her 13 month update. And seeing as how I was a REALLY BAD MOMMY and completely missed her 12 month update, I'll just pretend I meant to do that and give you a combined update right now.

Weight (at 12 months): 21lb, 6 oz
Length (at 12 months): 28 3/4 inches
****I don't remember the percentiles on these. They aren't written down on my paper. I think one is 50th and one is 60th, but I couldn't tell you what is what. Probably 50th on length and 60th on weight since that's been her trend over time.****

Health: Kate still had fluid in her ears on the 12 month visit. I put her back on antibiotics a few weeks ago because she was so congested and drippy from her nose that I figured if she didn't have an ear infection yet, she was bound to get one soon. The doctor will check her ears again at the 15 month appointment. If there is still fluid, then we may have to talk about putting tubes in.

Eating: Katelyn's eating habits continue to be stressful for me. She loves her milk and would be happy to get it more than 4 times a day. If she was willing to eat normal foods, then maybe I would indulge her. But, the fact remains that I need this girl to be hungry at mealtimes. Isn't that sad? Her favorite foods continue to be anything crunchy-crackers, veggie booty, snap pea crisps, and dehydrated fruit. Coming in at a close second is still yogurt. This is my lifesaver. At least I can mix some vegetables that she would never willingly eat into the yogurt and feel better that she is getting a teaspoon of green vegetables everyday.

And interestingly, as much as she loves milk, she is not excited about drinking it out of a sippy cup. She wants it in her bottle, heated for 30 seconds. Any less than that, and she won't drink it. What is that?


Sleeping: Kate is still at 2 naps a day and sleeping at night for 10-11 hours. We did have a few nights before the antibiotics where she was up screaming at 4am every morning. Sometimes milk stopped the tantrum and sometimes it didn't. Of course, a day or so later, I saw a new tooth breaking through the gum line, so I attributed the tantrums to that. Kate and Padyn still share a room at nighttime and that seems to be working out very smoothly. Both are sleeping fine at night. Occasionally we're still up with one or the other of them, but for the most part, them being in the same room has been pleasant.

Speaking of teeth, we are now at 10-four on the top, four on the bottom and two molars.

New Skills and Habits: You know when Kate wants something because she either points at it and says "BA!" or she signs "milk." I'm not sure where the connection between "milk" and "I want that" came from, except that she always wants milk. Sometimes she demands things by grunting and reaching, and other times by banging. It's pretty easy to tell when she wants something. It's just not always easy to tell what it is she wants.

She's still not walking, and appears to have no interest in it. Now, if it's something she can climb, she's all about that-the couch, her stroller, the laundry basket, Padyn's little white chair...even the coffee table. She wants to be up on everything that she can be.

She LOVES dogs. She wants to follow them around and hit them. Not that safest maneuver. It's not one I let her do very much. Fortunately, we aren't around dogs much. Maybe that's why she likes them so much.

She continues to love her big sister and copy her whenever she can. Yesterday in the car, Padyn was dancing to her new favorite song and told Kate to dance. (This dance entailed waving your arms up and down to the beat.) I looked back in the mirror and there's Kate, copying her sister. Her pudgy little arms were pumping up and down as fast as she could make them go. It was the cutest thing ever.

Yesterday she discovered the spoon. She doesn't want to have anything on this spoon, but she enjoys putting it in her mouth and banging it on her tray. I'm sure there's a way I can use this to my advantage in the eating department.

Lastly, she seems to enjoy cuddling. She'll bury her head in my chest and make cooing noises for about 5 seconds, then pick her head up and look up at me with a huge smile. It makes my heart turn to mush.

Just a Bit Bumpy

Wanna see what Kate did to her forehead last Thursday? Granted, she only got one goose-egg herself. The other one was put there by a 3 year old and a very hard plastic Curious George toy. I don't know which one was the coffee table and which one was George, but they happened within 20 minutes of each other. Did she cry? Oh yes. Very long? Oh no. Did it seem to bother her ever again? Not even.

Here's the super close-up:Oh, and the same day? She woke up from her nap with these:Yes, those are hives. They were all over her legs and arms on Thursday, then they were everywhere by Friday. Saturday? They were mostly gone. They didn't ever seem to bother her. No crankiness or trying to scratch herself. But they sure were ugly. Never again will she eat a Gerber Toddler Fruit strip.