Happy Birthday Girl (on her day)

The week of her birthday, Kate had a nasssty cold that seemed like it would never go away. That week was also the last week of school where I had to give exams, so somehow, I didn't plan very well for a birthday breakfast, lunch, or dinner of any special nature. (Bad mom!) Finally, we came up with the idea of doing French Toast for dinner, so dad & Kate ran to the store & picked up the appropriate items. We made it Birthday French Toast by adding raspberries (Kate wasn't impressed so mom & dad finished the whole pkg by themselves!) & whipped cream. Yum! Kate LOVED the whipped cream so much, that was practically all she ate for supper. Then, daddy bought an ice cream cake for her to celebrate, but I couldn't find any candles. So, yet another improvisation was made, and Josh used a match. We let her open all of our presents on her birthday & she had such a great time. Kate & dad are going to start their own garage band. I promise that next year, I'll have a better plan for her day!

This year has gone by so quickly (and slowly), it seems. I cannot believe that one year ago, Kate was barely learning how to walk and talk! She now plays pretend and runs all over the place and talks a mile a minute when there's no one else around! She is still a sweet little girl who likes to read & cuddle with mom & dad. She is starting to learn patterns of the day and frequently asks, "What's it time for, mom?" Lately, she's been more attached to her dad than ever. Sometimes the first question out of her mouth in the morning is, "Where's dad?" She is turning into the consummate mommy & homemaker. She loves to make food sometimes pretend and sometimes with mom! This morning I told her that Dad went to the store to buy some oil, and she told me that the oil was in the pantry! I mean, how did she know that?? Well, I told her that it was oil for the car, and she wasn't sure if she could believe me. I'm always amazed at how much she knows about caring for a baby and can't wait to see her learn even more when her baby sister is born. We learned something else about her this year -- she doesn't particularly love to be the center of attention in a large group. She can be really shy, even around people that she knows, and it seems that it can take her awhile to warm up to people that are her favorites (like Mima or Auntie Jen). Someone she never takes ANY time to warm up to is Lydia. She adores her cousin Lydia & learns so many things from her. She's taken to talking about Costco (It's so fun, They have everything!). We haven't been there in over a year b/c my membership is expired; Lydia however is a frequent shopper with her mommy and apparently has been passing on the information to her little cuz. At the same time, she LOVES to make people laugh. At school, she has lunch in the room with all of the students. They don't usually sit in there, but prepare their lunches & pass through on their way to the outside or a classroom. They love to talk with her as they pass & sometimes she says something that really tickles them. She'll repeat it over & over just to get the same reaction! She's a little ham!

If you haven't already seen it, I posted her slideshow on Facebook.