Mud Bath

Last Friday it rained. I had an errand to run in the afternoon, so Josh thought it a great time to take Kate outside for a walk. I guess this proves that when Mom is away the kids get to play (in the mud that is)!

Our Little Girl

A few more pictures so we can boast of how much we love our Kate!!

Latest Katonese:

The other night, Kate was at my parent's house for a sleep over (sort of - a go to bed but have mommy and daddy pick you up later on - over). Anyway, Kate was getting ready to get into the bath, and with the water running to fill up the tub, she had a little accident on the bathroom floor. She looked down at the puddle by her feet. Then she looked at my mom and said, "Who's gonna clean up this mess?"

This morning Kate was watching her new favorite TV show Max and Ruby. When the episode ended she began to throw a little temper tantrum because she wanted to watch more. She kept saying, "I want attitude! I want attitude!" We are not sure what she was referring to?? Was there a show called attitude? Was the word of the day on Sesame street attitude? Who knows exactly what she was asking for, but I can assure you, Kate, you have plenty of attitude. You don't need any more!

Followup on 9/4: We were joking that someone probably told Kate to "watch your attutude" as in "you need to obey." We finally figured out what she was referring to when she kept asking for attitude. She has been asking to watch the movie (at least part of the movie) called Ratatouille. She really likes the rat in the movie and the cooking scenes. I'm glad that we figured this out, because she was getting quite persistent in asking for it!

Look who just turned 2

Kate celebrated her 2nd birthday this past weekend. She's been blessed by so many people's generosity. She's still opening presents from Grandma Ann and Papa Dan and the west coast cousins. We're spacing them out over this week. She thinks everyday is her birthday!!

Kate LOVES balloons; we made sure she had some for her party.

Daddy helping Kate blow out her candles on her Dora the Explorer cake.

Yummy!

Kate received so many gifts! Including a Kate-sized violin from her daddy, a outdoor car from Shaun, Deb and the boys, a doll, and so many other things. She is one lucky little girl!

Her very own Dora the Explorer backpack! Daddy even got her a Dora watch too!

Papa got her this tee-shirt. It reads: The leprechauns made me do it! Kate insisted on putting it on over her dress.

Papa and Gigi also got her this incredible play kitchen. Kate has been cooking up a storm all week. She loves it!!

More Airplanes

Kate received a wonderful surprise today. My grandmother's hairdresser was giving away toys from her grown kids' toy room. She said we could take anything we wanted. Well Kate knew exactly what she wanted: the airpane. What a fun toy. She loves it--too bad it doesn't have a cup holder.

Today's Adventure with Daddy

Today, Josh's schedule suddenly cleared up unexpectedly. So he decided to spend some time with Kate and me. Josh took us to the Air Park Cafe for lunch so Kate could watch the planes. She saw some planes take off and land. And she even got to see a helicopter land as well. Although, Kate really wanted to go to the big airport where Papa recently went to get on a plane, she was tickled to go to this smaller airport nonetheless. However, I fear she's not going to give up asking to go the airport until she gets to climb on board the plane and fly herself.

The Things Kids Say...

Kate can talk - and talk- and talk. In fact it seems most days she never stops. I'm not complaining though. I love to hear what is going on her mind, and she provides so many opportunities for Josh and I to laugh. But being a precocious, verbal (almost) 2 year-old has its disadvantages too. Here are a few things she's said lately.

Kate loves to greet people we see on our daily adventures. A few days ago, we were walking and two middle-aged woman stopped to say hello to Kate. They were kind of dressed up with some sparkly clothing and big jewelery. Kate returned their greeting with, "Hi, Pirates!"

On a similar note, Kate doesn't have to be greeted first. She'll often shout across a grocery store to someone she thinks she recognizes. For example, the other day in Bloom, and then again on one of our walks, Kate started yelling (and I mean yelling), "Hello, Gordon." I was stumped for a moment. We don't have any friends or family named Gordon. Until I realized who she was recognizing. Meet Gordon:

All of you Sesame Street fans will recognize him right away. Well so did Kate. Apparently, all African American men with shaved heads are now Gordon!

Last story for today: Kate still puts everything in her mouth! We are really trying to break her of this habit. So we have this little mantra at our house. "What goes in your mouth?" Kate answers, "Food and drink only?" We say, "Is this food or drink?" She says, "No." Or that's is how is it supposed to go. This morning I asked Kate the question, "What goes in your mouth?" She very quickly answered, "Only ice-cream."

The Many Faces of Kate

To say Kate is a bit dramatic is, well, an understatement. She is all drama, all reaction, all memorable. Last night at dinner she announced, "I drama Queen!" Obviously something she has heard me say a few times. This photo shoot of fabulous facial expressions was not planned; it is infact all Kate:

(This is her more serious look.)

This face if often seen when she is saying "MINE!" and pulling an object close to herself for safe keeping.

And then there is the often simply adorable look.

One of my favorites. :)