all of a sudden, I'm a big girl

Their first attempt at cooperative play -- all THREE!
Lydia: No, Kate, don't take it from Lauren.
Kate: If I run fast, I wonder if I could get this away from Lauren without Lydia knowing?
Lauren: I can't believe that they are playing with me!

Bath time brings about the question: should mom go to cosmetology school? Answer: NO!

Hmm, this water looks really tasty, maybe while mom tries to take this picture, I'll take a leetle taste. Sidenote: Look how long 'some' of her hairs are. I just don't have the heart to cut the few whispy long hairs, even if it would even things out.

If this doesn't make you laugh, nothing can! I wondered why all of a sudden she started squinching her nose, and I realized that I do it, too!

Mom tries a new hairdo on me. A little sprig! (I got the idea b/c she found one of my hair ties and tried to put it in her hair.)

Hmm, is that all you got mom?

going places

Isn't this where this goes?

Taking a few unsteady steps. :-) All of a sudden about a week ago, Kate's mental switch flipped & she started walking as a first choice. She had her month of rehearsal down, so she was ready to get ready go! She's also started talking up a storm. It seems like I just turned around and there she was, a real, authentic toddler!

I've got something for you, mom. I think you need this on your camera!

Bailey Look-alike Meter

A few friends of mine had one of these on their blog, so Josh and I thought it'd be fun to settle the debate once and for all. . . I guess everybody's right! She looks like her dad & her mom! Well, I guess it doesn't really surprise me, but it was easy & fun to do.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Geneology

snowflakes at night

yup, you guessed it -- it snowed in our little sleepy town of dacula tonight. Fun!

An Hour With Grace

Yesterday, Lydia came over to spend the day, and while Kate napped, we got to do some things we don't always get to do.




Check out the improvised winter wear. :-) Who says 2 year olds can't fit into adult glubs (as Lydia says it).

Lydia learns from the master painter.

Brittny & Jake's Wedding

Here's a link to some pics from the wedding. We sure had a great time & the photographs came out really well, and many of these are pre-edit!

And, for Stephanie: Our date night was great. Apparently there was another Kitchen, party of two eating at Provino's Italian restaurant tonight. I looked around, but it wasn't you. The food was pretty good, but it's very basic Italian food. I had trouble finding things to eat on the menu given my restriction. We had TRIED to go to the Bonefish Grill, but the wait was 60 minutes, and we just weren't willing. We then went to see National Treasure -- and it was great! Good fun, clean, and funNY, too. Yes, we did talk about Kate a few times, but it wasn't THE WHOLE TIME. She was a little ill today, so I felt really guilty for leaving her, but she WAS with her grandparents, so that should be pretty good, right???? She also said the word no today. I was so thankful that she learned the word yes first, but I guess the her saying yes exclusively had to end sometime, right?

what i'm up to

Life sure is different for my one year old girl than things were last year. She has learned to do so many things for herself and doesn't depend on mom (and dad) for taking care of need. We've taken care of eating, drinking, locomotion, communication, and entertainment -- she does most of those pretty well for her age. It's amazing that 12 months have changed

this
(sleeping most of the day, nursing exclusively, reliant on mom and dad for everything else including putting to sleep, making silly noises, and changing gobs of diapers)

into this
(feeding herself, eating all sorts of grown up foods, loading the dishwasher, playing by herself with dollies, strollers, push carts, necklaces, and books, crawling and walking on her jelly legs from place to place wherever her own whim takes her, and relying on mom and dad for many things, but not everything)

Kate's personality has taken an interesting turn here in her 12th month. She has started to become a little explorer. I believe I mentioned that she was discovered eating dirt on her birthday -- well, that encapsulates this new aspect of her personality. She wants to explore every corner of the house and often isn't content to explore the ground level corners -- she wants to go UP. So, in the above photo, she attempts to climb into the dishwasher. She wants to climb into her mail cart walker (NOT a ride on toy), onto the hearth, into adult chairs that are too large for her, etc. It's hilarious to see that leg hike up when the object isn't climable (like through the backdoor). She explores the cabinets in the kitchen, she "discovers" and "rediscovers" all of the clothes in the bottom drawer of her dresser by strewing them all of the floor. She has a little intrepid streak that is quite likable, and thankfully hasn't led to any injuries so far.

Besides taking her first shaky steps, she has just turned another corner in her quest for independence. I decided to see what she thought of a spoon in her own hand two weeks ago and this was the result!




I couldn't believe how well she did! She hasn't let go of the spoon since (figuratively) and feeds herself at every meal. Sometimes it's time for a bath afterwards, but it's fun to see her wield that spoon like a real tool! Of course, it's really funny when she sets the spoon down; I can just see her thinking, "Now I need to bring out the big guns -- my fingers!"

Another fun aspect of her personality that has really grown this last month is her sense of humour. She has always loved to laugh, but she has recently started making her own jokes. Most recently, when we play the "Where's so and so game?" she consistently points to herself and loves it when we say "No, that's not momma, that's Kate." She giggles with glee that she's has told a little joke. So, now matter who we ask about, this is always her answer.