Kate at Little Gym

Kate has recently started going to The Little Gym. She has so much energy that we thought it would be helpful to have a way to release her enthusiastic play. Plus any help developing her motor skills is advantageous for Kate -who has tended to lag just a little behind in her motor development. We shot some video during Kate's free time where she was allowed to roam the gym as she pleased. It was a noisy environment, but Kate does say a few things in the clips. See if you can hear her say, "Ready, Set, [Go]!" , "I did it!", and "Bubbles". The rest is just giggles and screams of delight!

Just like my daddy!

My beautiful little girl now has her own violin--just her size! Kate knows what violins are and can even say "bi-lin." She likes music and always starts to dance whenever I play, so I can't wait to see how she grows to like it.

Our Day at the Circus!

What an incredible day we had on Sunday! My wonderful brother, Shaun, and his incredible wife, Debbie, took Josh, Kate and I to the circus! (Brenden and Nana Linda were there too!) Shaun says I've been to one before in my childhood, but I have no memory of it. So to me, this was my first circus! The day began with an exciting (Metro) train ride into D.C.. Kate and Brenden thought that was pretty special. Brenden was yelling, "All Aboard!" while Kate hollered, "Choo, Choo!". We probably could have just rode the Metro all day and they would have been happy!

The show was very exciting (and long!!). But much to my surprise, Kate was captivated for most of the show. She did loose it during the last 10 minutes, but that's not bad for a one-year old. Unfortunately we missed the grand finale.

The elephants and tigers were the favorite part for the kids. Surprisingly the clowns held little appeal. Oh, and Kate really liked the daredevil motorcycle riders, too! (Yup, she's her daddy's girl!)

Nana Linda bought the kids cotton candy. Luckily, Kate didn't like it. But it came with a really crazy hat. Hey--you have to leave the circus with something crazy!

Belated Irish Blessings...The Muppets Style

A friend of mine discovered this often missed version of an Irish Classic! So in honor of Saint Patrick's Day this month, I just had to post this. Better late than never.

Pure Joy!!

This picture just fills me with joy! Kate enjoys wearing her sunglasses around the house. (She's getting ready for our upcoming Florida trip in April!) The other day she came right up to the camera and posed for me! Goodness, she's adorable!!

Josh enjoys wearing them too! They make a cute pair don't they!

Katie Caught a Fish THIS big!

Kate went to my dad's annual trade show this week and loved the hundreds of balloons that were on display. Of course, Papa had to make sure she left with the biggest balloon in the house. The balloon is bigger than Kate!!

Kate's been calling her balloon a dolphin (rather than a swordfish). She also keeps saying, "Happy Balloon!". She loves balloons!! And we loved these pictures that my friend, Connie, snapped this week. Thanks for capturing this moment for us, Connie!

A Little Sunday Service

Today, Josh went with a group of folks from our church to host a small worship service at a local nursing home. I love to see Josh playing his violin. Somewhere over the years it seems that Josh has put down his violin in order to repair other people's instruments. Every now and again he'll pick up the fiddle or mandolin in the evenings and our house fills with beautiful tunes. He's played a few times for the offertory at church, and today he went to the nursing home for the first time. It's good to see him play again. It's even better to see him serve others when he plays. I hope God will provide more opportunities for Josh to use his gifts to bless the church.

Kate-onese

Kate is almost 19 months and is talking up a storm these days. This week she has really started putting three or more words together to make small sentences. We often still have two or three word phrases. Yet,she'll suddenly come up with something and Josh and I will look at each other and say, "Did you hear what I think I heard?"

Her vocabulary is astounding. She amazes me with how much she knows. All of a sudden, we'll be out and she'll identify something in the grocery store or see something out the window and name it! When we are in the car, all I hear is a running commentary of everything we go past: Snow, bird, tree, boy, people, car, truck, snow, noise, house... She also has every one's names down in the family, even Jecholia (although it sounds like cholia).

She's also really perceptive to sounds! At least a dozen times a day Kate will say, "Noise! Noise! and it might be a car horn, or a car door, or a plane, or a bird, or the heat kicking on, etc. She notices it all. Yesterday, we were in Costco and she heard a baby cry long before I ever did. She kept telling me, "Baby, Baby," and low and behold she was right. However, she thinks all babies are either her cousin, Collin or Holly's little girl, Mia.

Sometimes Kate's chatter resembles English. Sometimes it's a language all it's own - a language we fondly call Kate-on-ese!

Here are some things she's been saying lately:

When mooching off Josh's or my plate: "Some me!"
With arms stretched out to be picked up: "Hold you?"
(She's just starting to experiment with pronouns!)

Kate: Where's Daddy?
Me: He's not here right now?
Kate: I find him. I find him.

As heard through the monitor in the middle of the night:
Mommy! Mommy! Where are you? I awake!

She's always yelling, "Shayla, (where) are you? (Shayla's our dog!)

I'll try to pay more attention to her conversations and document them more frequently. They really are fun to hear. I love that she can communicate with me.