Friday, June 26, 2009

Are my kids' ears going to grow long and floppy?

Carrots.

Katie loves 'em, Jacob seems to like them. What's going on here?

I'm not a carrot person but boy, give Katie a bag and she eats her way through. Jacob's just starting to eat baby food and his first official food was carrots.

He at the whole little container in two meals. And opened his mouth and held still for each bite! I gave him some on Tuesday and some last night (PARADE night!) and he ate and ate. And got messy. Katie didn't get as messy when she was a baby but I guess it's to be expected that after a very dainty baby girl, I'll end up with a hearty baby boy!

Already he's been pushing himself back in his walker and it took her awhile to even want to put her feet on the floor!

The differences are a little bewildering but I look forward to the other "firsts" that will be only Jacobs. Messy eating, "standing up",... what's next!?

Katie and Jacob at the PARADE

Last night was the city parade and everyone met at our place since we're so close we can smell the fumes coming from the floats! After some pizza (thanks Pizza Hut) and salad (thanks grandma!) we headed off to find our chairs everyone had used to reserve our spot earlier. Me and grampy stayed home and grampy held Jacob. Jake got to practice his standing up. I don't usually do that for too long because he is just a little heavy! But Grampy held Jake up till he got tired of using his little baby legs.

We left the house with the usual flurry of activity; potty breaks, water bottles filled, strollers packed and Katie pushed Baby Doll (that's her official name) in the smaller stroller, until gramma and grammy got her to ride so we could go faster!

We had a perfect spot - right behind a huge tree so we didn't have much sun till it found a couple of branches to sneak through. Dad brought an umbrella so I used that to block us a little.

The police car with a very loud siren led the parade and drove sloooowly past us. I looked over at Katie and she had her ears covered but was taking it all in. Mom covered Jakes ears and I guess he did fine, even though there were a few pouty lip moments!

Both kids seemed to like the parade. Jake watched everything... till he fell asleep... and Katie waved at the queens and princesses and we pointed out the twirly dresses. I think Katie will think that the reason for parades is to facilitate the dispensing of candy into her little bag! She waved at the people with candy and would usually get a few of whatever they had thrown into our area. She was a little quicker at getting it picked up than she was last year. A little pickier too! There were some that she didn't pick up and when mom or dad told her to get those too! she looked at them and told them that those candies were dirty with sand. So she wouldn't pick them up till everyone told her that grampa and grampy could clean them off.

Partway through the parade one group was giving out carrots. It was verrrry strange but cute! They had bunny ears on and I don't remember who they were, or what they were promoting, but I remember those ears and the carrots! Well, Katie had to eat her carrot right away. So dad cleaned it off and she ate almost the whole thing... till someone tossed her a sucker. Then the carrot went into the bag.

After the parade we headed home for ice cream and cake. Jake ate his baby carrots in his walker while we enjoyed our dessert.

Once dessert was over, at about 9:30, Grammy and Grampy left and mom and dad took Katie to the carnival. Oh, Baby Doll had to come too, even though she is about the size of a 2 month old baby! (I know this because she wears Jacob's clothes whenever Katie can get her into them.) They got home at around 10:45 or so and Katie was full of energy. :0(

I saw some cute pictures and will try to post them.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Outing with Gramma

Earlier this week we went to Costco, then Texas Roadhouse, then Kohls. Well, at Texas Roadhouse Katie stepped on a cement parking spot thing and immediately fell on her side and slid down - it was slippery because it had been raining. I was carrying Jake in his carseat and thought "Uh oh... any second she's going to start to cry" but she didn't. I looked back to see her get up, shake it off, and keep walking! Her forehead didn't even crinkle like she was upset!

Then we got to Kohls and shopped. She got some new Hello Kitty underpants and I got a new nightgown. We were on the way to the checkout and Katie was riding on the front of the cart... just like in the pictures they put on the cart with the little line drawn through it. You know, becuase they aren't supposed to do that! Well, I stoppd to look at a shirt, gramma kept going pushing the cart and Katie stepped off to see what I was looking at. Gramma ran over her just the tiniest bit and Katie started to cry. I started to laugh, gramma headed off down the aisle and Katie was telling me "It NOT funny. Don't laugh!" which of course made me laugh more. I was trying to keep it in, really! But it was even harder when she put her arms on her hips and started to stomp her feet.

She was fine and was happy when I told her I would carry her. I pick her up under her arms with one arm and then I swing her around saying "Where is Katie? She was right here, where did she go?" She loves it... then I look down and act surprised that I'm holding her.

The evening was fun but we're not going to Texas Roadhouse with the kids again. It was so loud and Jake didn't really like it. Which meant Katie didn't like it. Which did not make for a relaxing dinner.

Katie and her manners

Katie has been a regular Miss Manners these days. At a certain point, I start to feel like we're in the Brady Bunch episode where one of the kids gets to be safety monitor at school. Katie tells me "It not good manners to talk with your mouth full" or "It not good manners to put your elbows on the table." Thanks mom and dad for the Strawberry Shortcake video that put all these ideas in her head! :) Just kidding. It's really kind of cute when she does it.

She's started to tell me "Look at my face mommy." When I look, she's got her mad face on. She just wants me to know she's not happy with me for something. Just a few minutes ago she showed me her mad face because I made her stop watching her shows so she would go potty.

Jacob has teeth!

Last week I noticed that Jacob's hands had some scratches. I thought it was odd but that maybe it was his nails scratching his hands. I realized that was not the case when I let Jake use my finger as a chewie. It hurt! I got him to smile at me (not too hard since he's such a smiley kid) and I saw it... one tiny tooth had broken through! That was so cool. Katie was much older when she got her teeth.

A few days later, I was admiring his tooth while he was smiling at me and I noticed another had come up. Now I have two beautiful baby teeth to ooooh and ahhhh over! Jacob doesn't seem to care that he's done something fabulous. He just wants something to chew on or someone to smile at!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

What a fun weekend!

On Friday me, Katie, and Jacob (kind of a silent participant) had a Pizza Picnic in the living room. Katie was struggling to move a TV tray closer to where we were sitting and once she huffed and puffed and got it in place, she patted the top and said "you can put the box there mommy." I laughed (to myself so she wouldn't feel bad) and told her that we were having pizza from the oven but we could put our beverages there. We watched The Borrowers while we ate and when we were done, I pulled out some nailpolish and put it on the side table. It was only there for about 5 minutes before Katie walked over and picked it up and showed me what it was. I asked her if she wanted me to paint her toes and she was very excited. I did hers and then she did mine. It was a little messy but she had a lot of fun!

The next day John was outside doing some sweeping and cleaning up and Katie was with him. When it was time to come in, she was not happy - she was pouting just a little. John asked her if she wanted to go to the park and OF COURSE she did! She got her shoes and socks on very quickly and John fixed her hair so it was in a pony and off they went! They got home about 2 hours later... they changed plans and went to the beach with Katie's bucket and shovel. Katie had so much fun and pouted when they got home. I decided we should eat a late lunch outside so we spread out the blanket and put Jake in his little seat and enjoyed the beautiful day with delicious Zantigo. John got a haircut and went to pick it up. Jacob was smiling and pushing his little seat backwards and Katie really thought it was something special to be outside and having a picnic!

On Sunday we drove to Bayport for Hunters 1-year birthday party at 2:00. We ate lunch, watched him eat his little cake and really get into it; he made a MESS! and then he opened presents. In between, me, John, Katie and Jacob went for a walk. We ended up at the park and John took Katie in. She went over the bridge, climbed the stairs, ran to the teeter-totter and it was funny to see them both on that, then I saw her point to the little animals on springs and they rode those then she went on the swings and John pushed her. She had so much fun and was laughing and laughing! Finally mommy had to put a stop to it. I had to go to the bathroom so I figured she would too. She said she didn't want to but I made her leave the fun swing and go into the bathroom. Not a prett place to be. Sand everywhere! Well, she didn't think she had to go but she tried and sure enough! She's getting so big - going to the potty wherever we are! Then we washed up and went back to the party. After everything was done, we went to the beach and Katie and John swam and I sat with Jake. We finally left at around 5:30 p.m.

On the way home we stopped at Savoy... yum!... and I tried to take Katie to the bathroom but she was NOT interested. So we got our pizza and headed home and about 5 minutes into our drive Katie tells me, "Mama, I got to go potty" and she said it very quietly and then she told me again so I kind of figured it wasn't a "let's see if you can make it home". John found a gas station and in we went. She went in and went. She stopped so I asked if she was done and she said "Not yet..." and went more. I thought she was done again and she said "Not yet mommy" and went again. Finally she was done and we were on our way.

She hasn't had any accidents at night either and she's been wearing underpants for about 5 days now! I keep telling her I'm so proud of her.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Katie and a visit to Grammy and Grampy's

Katie got to spend a day with Grammy and Grampy yesterday. She had such a fun time baking and running and playing and I guess she had grammy hopping! The night before though, she decided she didn't want to go. I asked her why and she said "I scared" which surprised me because she's not scared of Grammy and Grampy's house or of Grammy and Grampy! Well, maybe of Grampy when he snaps his teeth out at her. :)

I asked her why she was scared and she said "Because someone will grab me and keep me and I won't see mommy or daddy again." I realized that Grammy had told her that when we were at Walmart and she was hiding under the clothes racks... I tell her that too but I guess she listened to Grammy better! (Grandma told me that when they were in the cart to check out, a man was behind them in line and he was flirting with Katie and she asked him if he was a man who took little kids... or something like that.) I told her that no one will grab her if she stays with Grammy and Grampy and keeps an eye out for them. After that I may have also mentioned her toy tiger and the dice and the other fun toys at grammy and grampys. She changed her mind about the visit pretty quickly. Then she was very excited. Good thing too, she had a great time and Mommy got some delicious rhubarb crisp Katie helped to make (see grammy's note below).

Grammy sent this to me:
"Katie was a blast yesterday. We had a lot of fun. On the way to our house after picking her up yesterday morning I noticed a pink ice cream truck parked in a parking lot. I wasn't sure if she could see out the window to see it but she did. I told her the story about ice cream trucks going through the neighborhoods selling ice cream to people who came out to get a treat when they heard the bell announcing they were coming. She piped up and said she has ice cream cones and ice cream at home and she didn't need that guy. I thought that was so cute.

We played "Katie says" and she had grammy jumping, hopping, walking, running, etc. I found out how out of shape I am when it comes to jumping and hopping. She helped grammy make Rhubarb Crunch. She is going to be quite a cook if her interest keeps up when she gets older."


We (Grammy, Grampy, Katie, Uncle Mark, Mom, Dad, me and Jake) met at La Casita for dinner last night and had a fun time. Jake was quiet most of the time, just on the verge of falling asleep. He actually did doze off as soon as it got louder in the restaurant. I don't know how this kid does it... it seems like every time we're someplace loud, he falls asleep.

After dinner, Katie got some coins for the fountain from Grampy and mommy and tossed them in. We got them as high as the second from the top tier. Then we went into the bathroom and I answered many questions, including "why we don't touch things in the bathroom mama?" and I kept asking her if she had to go potty and she didn't. So I washed my hands and finally got the towel dispenser to work. Those things need to be tweaked so they all work the same. You shouldn't have to wave your hands around like a crazy person to get it to "sense" that you are there. By the time you're done waving, your hands are dry anyway. But I finally got it working and Katie was impressed.

We went back to our table and sat for awhile and I asked her again if she was sure she didn't have to go but then decided that she really should at least go in and sit down to make sure she didn't have to go. So we did that... and she went (YAY! I'm so proud of her!). She didn't even have to wave her hands in front of the dispenser to get it to work... it was on it's best behavior for her. She got her towels, dried her hands, threw them in the trash and got more dirty pennies to throw in the fountain. I guess clean hands at that age are a loosing battle. Everyone met us there and Uncle gave her more coins and he held her up so high that she could see the top tier. I don't know if she made any in but she sure liked that.

Earlier, before her bathroom visit, I told Katie we were going to go to Sams Club with Gramma and Grampa. She said "and Mommy and Jakie and Gammy and Umpy?" I told her that Grammy and Grampy were going to go home to bed (not really but she understands "night night") and that we were just going to go with gramma and grampa, she was mad. She said so... lots... while we sat at the table. She wanted to go home with Grammy and Grampy and said that too... lots. I finally got her to agree that maybe Sams Club wasn't so bad.

Katie had her baby doll so we were all lucky when Grampa found a cart with the plastic seats because baby doll has to have her own seat AND be buckled in AND be able to sit up. We got both of them in and baby doll settled and headed into the store. Katie sat in her seat till we started to look at the outdoor furniture. Once I sat on the comfy chair, she wanted to also. So we sat, for 3 seconds, till it was time to look at strawberries and that was more exciting than the chair. Soon baby doll wanted to get out to walk around. Really. Katie puts her feet on the floor and holds her hands and baby doll walks. At a snails pace but Katie has fun with it. She talks to her and encourages her to keep walking. It's funny to watch but you can't laugh because she takes this seriously.

We finally got home and got settled and went to bed. Well, Katie fell asleep on the couch but John carried her to bed. It was a fun evening.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Sometimes I love you.

We were all hanging out in the living room when Katie leaned against my side and said "Mommy, sometimes I love you." I laughed and said I love you too. Then she said "Sometimes I love Jakie and mommy." I asked if she loved daddy too and she said "Sometimes I love daddy... when he puts Caillou on."

Then last night we had a pizza party (we sit on the floor on a towel and eat our pizza) and after we were done, Katie told me "Mommy, thank you for my pizza party. I had fun." She's so good about saying thank you for stuff that we do that's a little different. I hope she's learning it from us but it's probably a little bit from Dora and Caillou too.

Later in the evening, about 8:45 p.m., she wanted to be loud and I told her that it was inside voice time and that mommy was off duty. She asked if she could go into her room and be loud and I said that was fine. She played for a bit and then came out and picked up the step stool and started to go into her room. It took me a few seconds to really start wondering what she was going to do with a two step step stool in her bedroom... then I decided that it probably wouldn't be a good thing and I called her and asked her to bring it into the living room. She did it but not happily. When she was done, I asked her what she was going to do with it and she said "Mommy, don't ask me those questions." So I guess I'll never know. I can speculate though and I think she was trying to reach the burp cloths in the closet that I had to move to a higher shelf because baby doll was going through them at a fast rate... or the baby blankets that are stacked high so she can't reach the top to pull one off.

Friday, June 5, 2009

More bathtime emergencies!

Katie's bathtime - lots of imagination!

I was doing my usual hustle and bustle to get things cleaned up during the only time (not after 10:00 p.m.) I know Katie will be otherwise occupied and I usually get called in for emergencies but never this one... I heard Katie call me from the tub... "Emergency, emergency, Mommy - Honey bein' real cute!" That Honey.

She has the three friends, Honey, Gaga, and Lola and these friends are actually pretty well behaved though sometimes they do get time out. But not lately. They do call pretty late at night though. I'll have to talk to them about that when I see them...

There is a time and a place for a smiley face...

Grandma and Grandpa hosted my birthday party at their place on Monday. We had lasagna, mandarin orange salad, bread, cake (Jenny makes a delicious milk-free cake!) and ice cream. It was so good!

We visted and Katie played with her grandpa and Uncle Mark and Paige and just generally caused a ruckus and had a blast. We were there till almost 10:00!

When we left Katie said "Thank you for having me at your birthday party... I had fun." Awww. That's so sweet.

Then we got in the car and I saw the smiley face she had drawn on the car window with green crayon. Not washable. We were on the way to the party and she told me "Mama, don't look at me... close your eyes" which should have been a sign that I really needed to watch her. Well, I told her that I was driving and couldn't close my eyes. She told me to "just look out the window then." Which I did, cause... driving. I asked her what she was doing and she said drawing a smiley face which I was fine with because she had been coloring on a green balloon just seconds before. I looked back and saw that she had indeed drawn a smiley face... just not on the balloon... on the car window.

Are you a curtain? Are you a light? Are you underwear?

Katie has a game she likes to play... and for the most part, it's not too bad. She asks "Are you ______ insert any noun here." You answer "No" and she asked another question. The other night, we were playing that game and she asked me "Are you a house?" "No." "Are you a window?" "No." "Are you ... polka dots?" I paused and wondered what she was talking about when I realized she was looking at my ... freckles!

Then she asked "Are you hips?" which doesn't mean hips it means upstairs girl parts! She just started calling them hips, which I don't understand but oh well!

Then she asked me "Are you ... underwear??!!" And I said, of course, "No." and she said, "Because if you are, I might put you in my drawer and I might wear you sometime!!" And she laughed and laughed.

Katie is NOT the mama

Mike and Paige were over for a couple of hours last week so Mike could work on mom and dads computer. Paigey and Katie got to play together and it was so fun to watch them. At one point, I heard Katie say "Mama, Paige call me her mama and I NOT her mama..." I told her that maybe Paige misses her mama. (My attention was distracted for a minute because I was watching an audition on So You Think You Can Dance.) Well, that seemed to be an okay answer because I didn't get the 500 "Why"s. A little later, I heard Katie tell Paige "Follow mama..." Ha!

Memorial Day at the Lake

We had a great Memorial Weekend! Drove up with dad since mom went early and Katie and Jacob were really pleasant (any drive without crying kids is so much more than pleasant and I can't think of another word). I don't remember what we did on Saturday but Sunday I know we had fun.

Uncle Mark, Aunt Colleen, Kayla, Cole, and Cam (Kayla's friend) showed up on Sunday while we were all outside. Jacob was laying in his bathtub and sitting on the picnic table under an umbrella, Katie was playing with her shopping cart of groceries and eating fruit snacks, Grammy and Mommy were just sitting enjoying the day. I think Grandpa and Dad were hanging out and Mom was doing some gardening. It was such a beautiful afternoon! When everyone arrived we had introductions and then the kids headed to the dock and Katie went too, happily holding on to Cam's hand.

After awhile, while Jacob was being cuddled, me and Katie tried to replant some geraniums. She was very busy getting the dirt in the pot and whenever I tried to get the plants to put in the pot she would tell me "Not yet." Finally I just decided to plant some seeds with her (I figured I could sneak those in a little faster since it's just dirt and seeds). That worked well. She finally got all of her dirt "just so" and in the seeds went. I'm not a gardener so who knows if they will grow. Katie was so cute using the kid rake and kid gloves from Grandma!

On Sunday evening, Katie got to go out on the pontoon with me, Uncle Mark (who's really MY uncle but I let her claim him too), Kayla, Cole, and Kayla's friend Cam, who Katie took to right away. The kids jumped into the coooold water and Katie had so much fun watching them swim out from under the pontoon. I told Katie that we could put our feet in the water but once we got out there, I realized that the only way her feet would even come close to the water would be if I held on to her and dangled her over the edge and that was so NOT happening! So we compromised and when we went back in we sat on the dock and put our feet in. She gave me a side hug and we sat for a few minutes just splashing our feet. Then it was time to go in for supper. On Sunday after Mom, Dad and Katie got home from church we had lunch and there was more hanging out. I have to admit, my memory of the weekend has gotten a little hazy over the last week or so but I do remember that we had fun!

Monday was the big day. Family started arriving at 11:00 or so and I had told Katie that if there are too many people and she wanted to have some quiet time, she could go into our room or into Grammy and Grampy's room. And she did. I went to find her when I saw Keaton (she played with him last year) and told her that there was a little boy here for her to play with. She asked me if he was tiny like her (and she put her thumb and finger close together to give me the visual) and I said that he was about her age. She decided to come out to see him. She got an introduction but for some reason it didn't quite stick. Keaton was "Kevin" for almost the whole day... and they were together for at least 4 hours! It was so funny to hear her say "Kevin, look over here..." They played outside and both went to the boutique we go to every year. When we got home, we ate some more.

Monday evening the kids and Uncle were going back out but I couldn't because I was holding Jake. Katie was already at the dock and ready to put on her life vest (the one that goes around her torso and has two arm bands that get in the way of her lowering her arms... it's funny) when I had to tell her no. It was just going to be Uncle with the kids and if something happened he would have to deal with the emergency. Well, Katie was not happy. She was down at the dock standing with her hands on her hips, leaning forward, yelling at me. I even saw a few foot stomps so she could truly show me her displeasure. When she finally did start to walk toward the house, she was stomping and yelling and her hands were pumping at her sides... ohhh, was she ever mad! Aunt Colleen saw what was happening and she offered to go to keep an eye on Katie. After that everything was peachy. Katie was thrilled and her mood changed in about 2.7 seconds to the sweet little girl she usually is.

Monday night we had a bit of a scare. John was supposed to pick me and the kids up on Monday but for some reason he DIDN'T SHOW UP! At first I was mildly annoyed but when it got to be about midnight, I was getting really worried! We called the neighbors who told us that the cars were in the driveway and the lights were on but no sign of John. We waited till Tuesday morning and then Mom and Dad decided to drive me and Jacob home to see what was going on. The whole drive home I expected to find John injured and so relieved that we were home. I envisioned a hospital visit and maybe surgery... or at least stitches. When we got home, what did we find? John. Standing, walking, moving. And very shocked to see us in the morning when we usually come home at night. I was relieved to see that he was okay but I was very angry. The least he could have done was be laying on the floor with a broken leg, a concussion... a splinter, something! Something to validate all of our worry! Well, he had lost his cell phone and didn't have my number... and he didn't know he was supposed to pick us up, even though he had planned to come to the lake for the day and BRING US HOME - I guess that I'll need to tell him 15 times instead of the 10 times I mentioned it! Grrr. Well, I'm glad he's okay but next time I'm going to put a postit note on his forehead and I'm going to include a list of injuries that make it okay to skip an event. And they are going to be very painful injuries.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Potty Chair / Baby Shower / Playtime with Lori

Katie has kept up with the potty chair and is very excited each day to show mommy that she's wearing underpants. We had to have a talk about "appropriate" clothing for visits and I think she finally understands that appropriate clothing involves a shirt, pants/shorts, AND underpants or she might not get to go to gramma and grampa's. She's been wearing them lately so I'm not sure if she realized that it's important to wear underpants, or just important to wear them so mommy will let her play at gramma and grampa's house.

We also went to a baby shower on Saturday (the 30th) for Rachel. I brought Katie and Jacob and they were both so well behaved and I was so happy! Katie even went potty on the toilet (on Donovan's potty seat)! She enjoyed the food... she did only eat crackers but she ate at least 40 of them so I guess that qualifies as lunch? Jacob watched everything going on from the comfort of his bathtub. After holding him for about an hour, my arms were ready for a break! He sat there and looked around and smiled... and then fell asleep about 2 feet from the loud action! When we were leaving, Katie told me "That fun mommy, I come here again."

We went home and waited for Lori to come over so we could go to dinner for my birthday. When she got there, we sat and talked then got going to TGI Fridays. Had a nice dinner - Jacob was smiling and Katie was eating her chicken tenders and carrots. She drank two cups of chocolate milk... I even had to pay another $.99 for a second cup because, well, it was milk and it was good for her and I figured it was better for her than the slushie she was pointing at on the menu. I managed to convince her that those were no good and she was happy with the milk.

We also stopped at Don Pablos. Now, I absolutely do not like the food there... but their tortillas are something I could eat EVERY day. And at $2 for a dozen... well, yummmmm. We got home and had hot tortillas with butter and cinnamon sugar. Then Katie and Lori colored. Katie was telling Lori what she should draw next and before we knew it, we had a castle, a princes, a storybook, a prince, an evil witch, a horse, and muuuuch more. Then it was time to draw an ice cream cone (this looked an awful lot like a circle when Katie drew it) for everyone she knows. She would do her circle and then draw squiggly /\/\/\/\/\ after it... She would say that this one is for Grammy... then Lori wrote Grammy and Katie said I already wrote that! I figured it out after the second or third one that she was "writing" their names! After a looong coloring time, Lori read Katie "The Cat in the Hat." She told Katie that after the book was done, she would need to go home. After the book was read, Katie sat on the pink bench and said "Lori, come here..." so they sat together while Katie talked and talked about her castle and monsters in her room making noise and her castle being moved (I told her that it was just mommy... that I go into her room sometimes at night to put things away.) and she went on and on. Finally I asked her "Katie, are you telling Lori a long story so she stays longer" and she paused... looked at me... and said "Yes." After that, the gig was up. Lori left and Katie had to stand at the window to wave bye.