Deliciousness and Drawings

Dear Kate,
We've been having some delicious snacks lately.  Sarah gave you and Sister this really cool Popsicle maker for Christmas.  You keep the "maker" in the freezer and you just add your juice recipe and in less than 10 minutes, you have a delicious popsicle!  And, she was smart enough to give us 2, so you or Sister don't have to wait another 10 minutes for the next round :)  AND, she's even smarter than that because she gave us a recipe book to go along with it.  Since someone had to make a decision on which recipe to try first, Mommy just went ahead and decided on the Whoppers Popsicle, which for the record, happens to be my favorite candy.  To say the least, it was deliciousness!!!!  And I'm pretty sure the pics of you prove it!

 You sister has been doing really good, or at least trying really good, getting back in the groove of sleeping in her bed.  On Tuesday night, Mommy and Daddy went on a date and Miss Lauren watched the two of you and Abs did fantastic with going to sleep for Miss Lauren, so as a reward for all the splendid work she has done lately, I took the two of you to Sweet Cece's!  You deserve ice cream every day because you are a rock star at the sleeping gig, but your sister deserved it this week for sure.  You were pleased with sharing a little of your yogurt with Mom, but insisted on sitting in the chair by your self like a big girl!

 And I also got a few pics of you enjoying your peach yogurt.  Abby likes the blueberry and Strawberry but for some reason doesn't care for the peach so you get to eat those :)  We buy the multi package from Costco, so we'd have a lot of peach leftover if you didn't enjoy it!!!  But I'd say you do...

Mommy saves all your sister's art work on Artkive, an app, and I finally got to save an art piece made by you! I think it's just beautiful and love that you love to draw all the time.  It's a new favorite hobby of yours for sure.

 Another favorite hobby is playing "ship" with Sister.  It's usually her idea, okay, always her idea, and I'm not real sure you know what's going on, but it usually involves blankets or chairs.  Lots of blankets or chairs.  And, well, you are on a ship.  This is a ship in the kitchen.  Although it uses every chair, and Daddy would have a heart attack if he knew you two were dragging those chairs all across the hardwood floors, I don't mind it too much because both of you enjoy doing it.  And it keeps you both occupied!

Love watching the two of you play, whether it's ship or house or whatever!!!  Love you, too!

Baths and Bouncing!

Dear Kate,

This week flew by so fast that I can barely remember what we did, but I do remember you having a good old time.  Wednesday, we went to Christopher's house while the cleaners were at our house.  You accidentally dropped a bookshelf thing on Mommy's foot earlier that morning and by the time we got to Aunt Steph's, my foot was swollen and I could not walk on it!!  I say accidentally because, well, I'm not sure it was a true accident.  You were kind of angry that I wouldn't pick you up so you swung your arms around and found the closest thing to throw down.  I have to admit, I cried a little.  Mainly because it hurt, but also because I think we are going to have some major anger issue steps to overcome in the near future... SO, back to Aunt Steph's... So we decided to head over there for dinner and some fun, rather than me trying to walk around a store with both of you.  You played with Kipper while the girls were upstairs getting into other trouble, and after dinner, you had your first bath with your cousins!! It's a milestone, indeed :)  And look how cute you all are!  

And even cuter with your hair all standing up.  Sister likes to sing "Happy Birthday" when she sees your hair like this!

We did gymnastics on Thursday and our usual Mexican on Friday night and then on Saturday, you played Play-doh with your sister and Ryan.  Jake was not feeling good at all, but you didn't mind playing with the big kids.  Mommy even let you go upstairs with them while the adults stayed downstairs.  You fit right in with those big kids!!  So proud, yet a little sad...

Sunday, we toured our neighborhood looking through all the new houses being built.  You enjoyed walking rather than riding in the wagon, or Mommy holding you, which was quicker most of the time!  It was a cold day, but a really sunshiny day, too, so it was so nice to just be outside.  Later that day, we sold your plastic playground to your second (??? I think, maybe once removed, maybe not...) cousins.  While you and sister do play on it, you also have mastered climbing up the wooden playground and there is no need for both, huh!  You were napping when we packed it up and when we walked outside later that day, you were totally looking for it.  It was sad, but you got over it quickly when you found the wooden one.  Mommy knows what she's doing :)

On Monday, we met Aunt Steph and the kiddos at Pump It Up.  While you did go there for Ryan's birthday party, I felt like this was your first time really playing on everything.  You immediately found the highest "ladder" to climb and found your way to the top with no problem...

The honest truth is I did not even have my shoes off when I looked up and saw you climbing away!  I was a bit nervous, but you made it up fine, but the coming down part was trickier.  You just didn't want to.  I had to climb up there and slide down with you (Mommy didn't mind that part!).  You had fun just running around everywhere, climbing in one thing and out the other.  You were hard to keep still until you climbed back up that ladder and got a little freaked out by the large amount of kiddos that were following you.  See, it was MLK day, and well, we weren't the only ones with the idea to come to Pump it Up!  The kids were nice to not skip you, but they were following you very closely and didn't let you go at your own pace.  You were not happy by the time you reached the top and Aunt Steph was nice enough to come after you (in the mist of all those kiddos! I think she wanted to slide!!) and after that, you thought clinging to Mommy was much better.  You did get down some, but you avoided that ladder like the plague!  Here are some highlights!

You got the 3 yellow balls from another inflatable and would not let them out of your sight, or hands for that matter!

Kipper had fun, too!!!

Aunt Steph decided to hang you upside down, which you enjoyed (and still holding those balls!)

And Mommy had a little fun, herself!!

You (and your sister) loved getting in this new cyclone blast thing, and finally at the end of the day, we let Abs and Ellie do it.  I think they had fun!!!

I think we all did!!

After jumping, we headed to lunch and then home for a LONG nap!  A fun day, although by the end of the day, you had two knots on your head.  I guess I should not worry, but you fell on your head climbing in the chair and then less than 30 minutes later, Sister accidentally opened the door with you behind it and put another pretty little knot on you!  You didn't seem to mind for too long, and, well, it isn't your first and at the rate we're going, it will not be your last.  The lady at the Y nursery told me yesterday "Kate is the climbingest child we've ever had.  Do you have to move your furniture?"  I just laughed.  Very loud.  Then grabbed my little bundle of monkey joy and said "yep, but she just finds a way to move it and climb where ever she pleases!"Love you monkey girl.  

Catchin' Up - Again!

Dear Kate,

2013 has proven to be as exciting as expected!  It had been pretty rainy and gloomy the last several days, so the first spot of sunshine, and we bundled up and headed outdoors.  You and Sister were thrilled to be outside (and Momma, too!) and since your sister had her first basketball game on Saturday, we decided to have a little practice.  

 It was pretty darn cold out there, if I do say so myself, but we still lived it up and even got a little swing time in! 

So on Saturday, we went to Abigail's first basketball game.  It was your first and most likely your last one to watch for this season.  You were determined to NOT sit still and to play ball with your sister.  It was a nightmare trying to keep you confined to my lap in such a small space.  The nursery is right there, and my darling, sweet sweet Kate, you will be there next game.  Fo sho!  But eventually you will get to watch Sis shoot some hoops :)

Saturday afternoon, we headed over to Christopher's house just to hang out (i.e. the Daddy's wanted to watch football together), and we ordered pizza and did just that - hung out.  You two played (along with the sisters) and eventually we put you down over there.  A lovely Saturday night. 

Sunday was pretty low key and just spent doing things around the house and running a few errands.  

On Monday, we had a birthday party to go to!  Jacob turned 4 and had a Mickey Mouse birthday party at his house.  You kiddos had a great time jumping on his bounce house and playing with all the toys, not to mention eating some delicious pizza and Miss Kristin's ridiculously good chocolate cupcakes!  

I was a bit concerned about getting you home without you taking a nap.  You did fall asleep but you were super easy to transfer to the crib.  I am learning you are much better at that than your sister ever was.  Tuesday was sister's first day back at school so we were back on our routine.  We did our typical "Go to the gym, come home and play for a bit, take a nap, wake you up to pick sister up, quickly eat lunch, head to gymnastics and go to Costco" Tuesday.  Mommy hearts some routine. 

On Wednesday, we had a fun day planned!  We headed to meet Pinkalicious at the local toy store!!!  While your sister was excited, you didn't know what was going on, but you sure did have a blast at that toy store!  You found this fun thing and enjoyed listening to the 3 stories read by Pinkalicious herself!

After our meet and greet, we headed to Jason's Deli for some delicious lunch, more importantly, delicious ice cream in a cone that your sister was kind enough to share!!!!

At some point during the week you decided to floss Kitty's teeth...

 And throw all your food on the ground and pitch a nice little fit...

Friday night we went to Mexican and you got to run all around outside - crazy weather outside right now, as in very warm for this time of year.  Saturday was low key for the morning/afternoon, but that evening a co-worker of Daddy's came over for dinner.  It was the first time we (aside from Daddy) had met and it was perfect.  She has a little boy, Cameron, who is Abs age and a little girl, Skylar, who is your age!  So that was perfect huh?!  Skylar loved playing with your toys and you showed off your climbing skills early on.  You also showed off your 'early to bed' skills after a yummy dinner :)

On Sunday, we had a little family reunion with Daddy's Mommy's sister, Aunt Patsy and her family.  It had been WAY too long since we saw them (you had never met them!) so we all gathered at Uncle Jaybee's house and had lunch.  You hung in Mommy's arms most of the time while the grown ups looked through lots and lots of old pictures of your grandmother (Daddy's mommy) and her family.  She was one pretty lady, which I assume is where you got your prettiness from.  You did play with Kipper for a bit, building tall towers, then smashing them  down...

After lunch, we hung out on the back porch because the weather was so bizarre and warm.  Eventually, most everyone left, but we hung around so the Daddy's could watch the football games and you took a nap.  And then 5 o'clock rolled around and, well, we decided we'd just stay for dinner too!  We had been there since 10 that morning, but it's like a second home for us.  And, you and Christopher did so well playing together upstairs.  It was kind of a breakthrough moment.  All four kiddos playing down the hall in the playroom while we (the adults) watched the ball game.  And for a long time, too!  So nice.  But then dinner rolled around and you wanted to be downstairs with Mommy.  The daddies promised if we hung around for dinner they would help with the kiddos.  You made it clear that you were not happy with that plan!  But once you were downstairs, you were fine and we had a nice healthy dinner - salmon and quinoa.  You were not fond of the salmon, but are always fond of quinoa.  

On Monday, we had a play date with Jacob and Anna.  You 4 had a ball, but the highlight of the date was the chocolate cake for dessert...

Notice how neat Jacob's face is.  Girls and their love for chocolate is all I can think of!!!!  It was a fun play date and we already have another on the books!  I'm going to guess chocolate will be involved, too!

That pretty much catches us up, or close enough!  You are showing us all new tricks on a daily basis including 'being sweet' where you rub Daddy's face, gently or showing us where our eyes and nose and hair are.  You understand so much more than we give you credit for and I'm slowly learning this.  I can say "Go do blah blah blah" and you absolutely understand me.  You get your shoes and sit down to put them on, you get your jacket on, you go to your highchair.  All kinds of things.  You may not be able to talk much, but you sure do listen well!  You also are sitting at the table like a big girl.  That was a lesson learned the hard way.  For several dinners in a row, you have just screamed and screamed the whole way through.  I don't get you down until I'm done and then you stop once you are in my lap or sitting with sister in her chair. So, I thought, let's just put you in a booster seat and pull you up to the table like the rest of us sit, and wa-lah, you are one happy dinner eating camper now!!  You still sit in your high chair for lunch and breakfast and mostly when Mommy is cooking dinner because I can't keep you from climbing otherwise!  

You also love to draw.  You love to take a marker and just draw all over the paper.  Sometimes your hands, too, but not often.  Again, you understand being told things, which I need to do more of.  You still love you anything pastaish and, of course, fruit, and let's not even mention chocolate (as seen previously).  You love running to Daddy when he walks in the door and you love to put your head on Mommy's shoulder if you are sad in any sort of way.  You are very dramatic with being told no, still, but Mommy has learned to just walk away, even if at gymnastics :) 

You are the same sweet, sweet Kate that was born 15 months ago, but you are changing into your own person at the same time!!! Love you sweet Kate!!!

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Dear Kate,

We finally made it to the big week!  Christmas is here!!!  We headed back early Sunday morning (from Mimi's house) and, since we don't get to have a private family Christmas moment with just the four of us (we are either at Mimi's house on Christmas morning, or with the Clark family), a couple of years ago we started a Christmas tradition where just the four of us go out to eat somewhere nice, or unique or just whatever we feel like doing as a family and then afterwards, open up the presents from each other.  This year we went to Stoney River, a nice steakhouse that usually we wouldn't take 15 month old children to, but since A) it was Christmas and B) we made reservations for 5:30, we thought we'd be fine.  And, we were!  You did great.  You also LOVED Mommy's blue cheese salad wedge (and so did your sister) and that just thrilled me more than anything else.  By the time we got home you were ready for bed, but we forced you to stay up just a bit longer to help open presents.  You could not care less about opening presents.  You want them open, you just don't want to open them, so your sister had the pleasure of opening yours and hers!  You got some pretty neat things including a cute little bag to take to the gym nursery...

And this lovely zebra, bought specifically for you by your sister!  She was very proud.  

You also loved your new shopping cart riding toy thingy, that makes LOTS of noise.  Like lots.  Didn't know that prior to purchase, but I guess I should have known...

Sister got a basketball, but I'm thinking you were more interested in it!

And at this point you just wanted Mommy to put you to bed.

You were sound asleep in no time, which was good because we had a big day ahead of us.  Christmas Eve!  Now, when we do Christmas with the Clarks, Christmas Eve is our big night.  And this year, we got to have Christmas Eve at our house for the first time EVER!  Mommy was super thrilled for this long awaited event and what a treat it was! Everyone (all the Clark family) came over on around 4 and we just had tons and tons and tons of fun laughing, eating, playing, laughing more, eating more, and playing more!  We ate a lovely ham that Daddy cooked along with a couple side dishes and Mommy loved her table setting.  So much that I did NOT get a picture of that either.  Things are a little calmer when you are not having events at your house, I have concluded :) Aunt Carly got a picture of all of us, but other than that, this is the only picture I got of you on Christmas Eve!

Part of that is, like I mentioned, because things were a bit crazy trying to get dinner ready for 22 folks but another BIG part of that was because you were having MAJOR mommy issues, as in you didn't want anyone else to hold you except Mommy.  You carried this issue through Christmas day and into the day after, just FYI.  It was ever so exhausting and while I want to blame it on teeth or fevers or something, I got nothing.  I mean you are getting every possible tooth in, but still, I think you just love you some Mommy :)
To say the least, we did not keep you up to open presents on Christmas Eve with the family.  As seen from the previous night, you didn't care to even open any and it was past your bed time anyway, so you and Christopher went on to bed while the rest of the crew stayed up opening gifts and playing games.  Maybe next year you can stay up.  Maybe :)
BUT, you were up early as can be for Christmas morning.  Like as in 5:45.  You slept in the pak n play because Christopher was in your bed then Aunt Jill was in there after he left (your room, not your bed!) so I'm hands down blaming that early sunrise on that!  HA!  You were content on rolling around in Mommy's bed for a bit then we got up and looked at all the presents Santa brought you, while waiting on all those sleepy heads to wake up!!  Boy, did you rack up.  Santa clearly thinks you are as sweet as I say!

Sister got a whole bunch of spices (for her 'pretend' soup) and you loved putting them in your new wagon with your twin babies!  

We had a delicious Christmas morning breakfast with all the family and shortly after you were down for a much needed nap!  Eventually we all needed naps and/or to rest a bit so we either napped (little ones) or watched Christmas Vacation in the media room.  We had lunch at some point, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't the appropriate lunch time, which makes it all the better that we just chilled all day long.  And later that afternoon, the adults (and Harrison and Spencer) decided we needed to head out to see a movie, so we asked Miss Lauren to watch you and Abs and Caroline while we caught the late showing of The Hobbit.  But before that, Kipper and his crew popped back over for some yummy ham and beans!  A wonderful Christmas day!!!! Oh, and you did finally get to open all your presents, or well, Mommy and Daddy opened them for you.  You were blessed with all kinds of gifts including your first pair of Toms (pink sparkly!!), new books, princess little people castle, this really cool activity cube, and your very own power wheels four wheeler thing that I'm pretty sure you won't ride until Spring/Summer, but now you can ride along your sister in her jeep!  Blessed, I say, very blessed!
On Wednesday, the day after Christmas, we hung out most of the day doing nothing other than straightening up and resting.  The Ing crew stuck around another night and left around lunch time on Wednesday, so after they were out of there, we were absolutely pooped!!!  I am pretty sure I was sound asleep by 7:30 on Wednesday night.  I was that tired!! 
Thursday probably goes down as one of the the worst days ever for Mommy.  It started off with me waking up in a twin bed, so that didn't feel too good (see your sister's blog...).  You, Abby and I were trying to head out of town (back to Munford for more family Christmas events!!!) and were trying to leave by 12:30 because we needed to be leaving Mimi's at 5 for dinner reservations with the entire family.  Well, sweet Katie Bug, darling precious daughter, you were not feeling it that morning, to say the least.  Daddy had to go to work, so he left that morning and Mommy scrambled around trying to pack bags and bathe everyone.  You, in the mean time, just screamed.  A lot.  I know it may seem like I am complaining a lot about you being needy or whiny, and while you are going through a pretty tough stage right now for Mommy, nothing prepared me for this type of morning.  I tried as fast as I could to get us in the car, and, alas, we made it but you and Abigail were still in your pajamas, no teeth brushed and I had wet hair that had not been brushed.  And it was 12:30.  You immediately fell asleep, thankfully, and I just prayed that I packed what I needed.  Well, we weren't even half way and your sister said she had to potty and I noticed we were low on gas.  You were waking up already (boo!) so I went ahead and stopped at the truck stop.  Well, sometimes things work out for a reason, sort of.  We walked in the truck stop and before I could look up Abby was running towards the corn dogs and about that same time you, my dear sweet Kate, decided to throw up all over yourself and Mommy.  In the middle of the gas station.  With nothing but my keys in one hand and my credit card in the other.  It was awful, to say the least.  I stood there for a minute (or well, like 15 seconds) just stunned, and then you vomited again, on you.  And me.  So I quickly yelled at Abigail to follow me to the bathroom.  You proceed to throw up again so I try to lean you over the garbage can but unfortunately it was one of those small  hole garbage cans and well, my aim wasn't at it's finest.  At this point you are soaked with throw up, my sweatshirt is covered along with my hands and my feet, that had flip flops on them (because I didn't even have time to put tennis shoes on, it was that bad that morning!).  Again, I'm kind of standing there stunned because I'm just not real sure what I do since I don't even have a diaper bag on me.  Abby needed to potty, and that was the only reason we were in the gas station.  I decided to TRY to take a few paper towels and wipe what I could off while Abs was going potty, but as you can imagine, that didn't really help matters.  I also was concerned about you, and A) if it was going to happen again and B) if you were about to throw a fit because you were covered in funk, but you were just in a daze.  I kind of felt the same way.  It didn't help that a million people were walking in and out of the bathroom too.  Abs wrapped up her business and we headed to the car.  I had to then dig through your 'not packed very well' bag to find something to put on you and throw your stinky clothes in a plastic bag.  I got you changed and buckled in and then proceeded to find my bag and a shirt to put on, which, since I'm going into all the details, I'll let you know that somehow a button got caught on my 'wet hair pulled in a bun' hair and my shirt got stuck on my head, yes the shirt covered in puke, yes while in the parking lot of the gas station, yes, while it was ridiculously cold.  Yes, I told you it was a pretty bad day.  I finally got it off, threw it in the bag of stinky clothes and took about 200 wipes to clean my hands and face off.  It didn't work, since some was on my pants and of course, my feet.  BUT, it doesn't stop there.  So then I am finally ready to load up and head home when I go looking for my keys.  Couldn't find them anywhere, even after I searched through that aforementioned stinky clothes bag - yeah,the one with all our vomit clothes in it.  Around the same time I was about to have a breakdown, a lady from the station came walking out with a set of keys asking if this was what I was looking for.  Yep, I was.  I was given the "bless your heart look" and it was all I could do to not hug that lady, which she clearly knew what was going down based on the bathroom we sort of left in a mess.  SO, now we're ready to roll, but what do I do?  Go home or keep heading to Mimi's???  I was iffy on coming in, but Mimi insisted it was just something sour in her stomach so we kept on driving that way.  I was a bit nervous (and nerves were shot, to say the least) that it might happen again, but we made it to Mimi's just in time for her to bathe you while I quickly showered, again.  We made it to dinner reservations at exactly the right time and everyone seemed healthy for the time being.  No one would have known otherwise except your sister needed to tell EVERYONE!  And by everyone I mean our ENTIRE family (well, with just a couple exceptions).  We all met at Rendezvous, the famous rib place in downtown Memphis. 

And you were just fine as can be, well, as long as you were in Mommy's or Mimi's lap, or walking around.  AND, apparently your stomach was settled because you LOVED you some ribs!!!

I was still a bit leery (and a bit exhausted!!), but you seemed perfectly fine and ate away.  I avoided milk products, but clearly couldn't steer clear of ribs :)
After a delicious dinner, we ALL headed over to the Peabody to have an after dinner drink/run around. You kiddos loved the fountain and you LOVED getting to just roam all over the place.  Mimi was nice enough to chase you where ever you went.  You were distracted for a bit by the lovely piano player, but then would get back to walking here there and everywhere!  
On Friday, all the older woman in the family went to see Les Mis at the movies (PS - WONDERFUL!!!) and the bestest babysitter in the whole wide world came over to watch you, Abby and Clara Lee at Mimi's house - that is, Bebe came over!  Now last time she just had to play with you for a bit then send you to bed, but this time, it was from 11 to 5!! So lunch, snacks, naps, and LOTS of playtime was on the agenda and man alive, did she ever pull it off.  Before we were leaving she asked if she could give you 3 a snack and I said I'd show her the snacks and she informed me that no, SHE had brought the snack, that it was this edible art project thing with yogurt and she had everything she needed.  Uh, yeah!  Awesome.  THEN, when we got home we found out that A) you three kiddos ate TONS of pizza  AND B) Clara Lee ate tons of fruit (unusual for CL) AND C) All THREE of you napped D) Abby and CL in the same bed E) without tv!!!! I mean seriously Bebe!  Ash-ash said CL hasn't napped since she was 2, so we've officially decided Bebe needs to just come live with us.  Too bad she just turned 14 and needs to finish up that school stuff...Oh, and she even was smart enough to send us a picture of you doing your fancy edible art project!  

That evening we didn't do much other than just chill and catch up on some sleep and on Saturday, we hung out at Mimi's that morning and that afternoon, we headed down to Mammaws for the big "Christmas" dinner.  It really was a whole bunch of soups, but delicious all the same, and everyone, again, was there!  And, believe it or not, so were more presents!!  Mammaw got you a bike!!! I know, right, 15 months old and a bike.  But this bike is a super cool bike because it does not have pedals OR training wheels and it claims that if you can walk, you can ride!  We will see.  It's been to cold to try it right now, and, well, you haven't been interested in it so I'm not forcing it. But you did try your new helmet on, which I'm pretty sure I will keep permanently on you since you want to climb on everything!

You had fun playing at Mammaw's and visiting with everyone and, as you very well know by now, you went to bed while the rest of us stayed a little longer, hanging out.  Regardless, you had a good time and I was happy that we could make it to that family get together.
Sunday morning came too soon and back home we went, which means our Christmas month of fun comes to an end.  But man alive, even for 15 months old, even for going to bed through a lot of the events, even if you wanted to be in Mommy's arms all the time, you sure did have a good time and it was so fun to see that sweet smile on your face all through this wonderful holiday season!  Love you so much baby girl and Merry Christmas!!!