My Crazy Little Red Head

Too Good to Forget to Post

2012-02-04T12:37:00.001-08:00

I am sitting at work right now in my office. Katie and Joe stopped in and we went to lunch. Afterwards, they brought me here and Joe had to use the restroom.

Katie always goes right for the candy when we get to the office. She had a piece and then was looking for Dad. She says, DAD! WHERE ARE YOU? MOM?? I said, I am in my office Katie. (Keep in mind our office is staffed today and there are people on the phone with customers right now.)

I then hear Katie go over and bang on the bathroom door. She says, DAD, are you in there? He must have said Who's asking? I then hear her yell, It's KATIE DAD! (She must have thought he had a hard time hearing her.) She then yelled, DAD! Are you going pee pee, POOPY or just FART? She then REPEATS even louder. I then hear the door open quickly and Katie disappeared quickly inside.

Finger Nails

2012-01-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

One of these days I am determined my job will turn into a normal one with normal hours... probably not right? I guess just get used to the surprise postings!

Conversations with Kate these days are just simply entertaining. She has such a great imagination. She's typically caring around a little piece of paper, button or twig that she treats as a dog, cat, lizard, bug, etc. Most often she makes us carry one of her imaginary creatures as well. Don't dare lose one though! I accidentally dropped my CAT cotton ball the one day and you would have thought I slammed a real live pet onto the floor.

Anyways, Katie really tries to use some grown up words which really makes the conversations fun. I know everyone loves our Katie conversations so here are a few:

Katie: Mom, you have BOO-C-FULL finger nails.
Me: Thank you. You could have beautiful finger nails too if you let them grow.
Katie: No I can't.
Me: Why not?
Katie: I need to eat them.

Joe: Katie, come here so I can comb your hair.
Katie: No, I don't want it combed. I am BOO-C-FULL already.
Joe: Well you are but come here and I will make you more beautiful.
Katie: No thanks, I am already MORE BOO-C-FULL Dad.

Joe goes to daycare to pick up Kate. He walks into the room and she comes running over to him. Kate points straight up at Joe and yells "DAD, you have a boogie in your nose!"

Katie: Dad, Look! Mom made such a mess of this room.

Joe: Katie, pick that cookie up off the floor.
Katie: No Daddy.
Joe: Why not?
Katie: There are bugs on it.
Joe: No there is not, now pick it up.
Katie: No Daddy, there are bugs on it.
Joe walks over to the cookie laying on the floor and sure enough there were ants on it!

We were at the grocery store the other day. Katie wanted to open the yogurts in the store. (By the way, every time we go the store she insists on buying yogurt - more and more yogurt!) Joe said No, we are not opening the yogurt in the store. We need to get going. You can have it when we get home. Joe goes to walk down the aisle and Kate takes the yogurt and smacks him with it. He turns around and glares at her. She says, I didn't hit you Dad. Joe says, well then who hit me? She says, the Box did it. I didn't do it.

Katie: Mom, I watch Mary Poppins in bed? I promise to watch it with my eyes closed.

Every time we go out somewhere to dinner Katie has to go to the bathroom at least twice over dinner. (I know Babba, it's payback.) We went to a restaurant last weekend and Katie had to go as did I so we both headed to the bathroom before the food came. Katie goes first and then me. Katie was dancing around in the stall and yelled YO STINKY BUTT. (I swear I did nothing that should have triggered that comment!)

Katie: Mom, you like fruit roll up?
Me: No, not really.
Katie: Here, just taste - you will like it.
Me: No thanks, I really don't like it.
Katie: Yes, Yes. Taste. It's yummy.

Babba's Visit

2011-12-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

Babba received an early Christmas present from Carolyn this year! A plane ticket to West Palm Beach, Florida!!

We could hardly wait until she got here! The worst was, Babba didn't know about the planned trip so we couldn't even talk to her about it.

Unfortunately, Babba's visit just came and went soo fast! We had a great time and Katie had a chance to spend some much needed Babba time. It was a wonderful few days and we were all very sad to see Babba get back on the plane to fly North.

Here are some clips of Katie's time with her Babba!

Katie's First Dance Show

2011-12-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

I know everyone has been waiting for this. So sorry it took me so long to post. Too many things on the to do list these days and not enough time to do them!

Anyways, Katie started a dance class not to long ago. The dance studio is new and has only been open a couple months. The studio was invited to perform at a Macaroni Kids gathering a few weeks back. Since the class hadn't prepared any recital programs to date, they decided to teach the audience a dance. The teacher taught the kids a dance during two sessions weeks prior. Then they led the audience and other kids that joined them from the crowd.

I am sure you will find Kate but she's the little one on the left just incase. (I know she is probably getting big since the last time most of you have seen her!) The kids in purple also take classes at the studio and everyone else is the crowd.

What would you like to do for Christmas?

2011-11-16T19:40:00.001-08:00

A quick one...

This morning, I was getting Kate ready for school. She wanted to do anything and everything BUT get ready for school. So, while trying to convince her to let me comb her hair, I told her if she let me comb her hair I would tell her something really important. She rushed over and so the conversation began. I said, In less than 45 days Santa Claus is going to come! She said YAY Mommy! I like Santa Claus! I said, you do? She said, OH YES! I said, why do you like Santa so much? (Thinking she was going to say PRESENTS!) She said, well mommy, when Santa comes, I am going to go with him in his sleigh to see Pop, Gram and Aunt Di.

A, B, C's!

2011-11-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

In Katie's new daycare, she's been learning to write her A, B, C's. Gram bought her this dry erase board and she has been practicing up a storm. Yes, these were traced but still, it's pretty darn good for only 3, right???!!! Genius?

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2011-11-13T19:39:00.000-08:00

Today I had planned to go to a craft show that was on a beach nearby. Katie and Joe decided they were going to tag along and go fly Katie's kite on the beach. All morning while preparing for the day we were singing the tune from Mary Poppins "Let's go fly a Kite!" Katie had the tune down after a couple rounds. We got dressed and headed out to Juno Beach. Unfortunately, I hadn't checked the weather and really didn't know how warm it was outside. I had worn jeans and put Katie in pants. Silly ME! It was soooo warm!

We got to the craft show and walked through all the exhibits. I found it funny that everyone brought their dogs. There were dogs everywhere! Katie loved it but the strangest thing was a woman paid one of those rickshaw drivers to give her dog a ride back to her condo. I tried to get a picture but couldn't get to my ipod in time. Anyways,by the end of the walk Katie was exhausted. I bought some Christmas cards and Katie demanded a princess purse. We picked up a lemonade and headed to the beach! Along the way I stripped Kate's pants off because it was soo hot. Her shirt was longer so I figured most people wouldn't realize she wasn't wearing pants. (So pardon the undies shot in the video!) Kate hunted for seashells along the way. Mostly picking up shell pieces but every once in awhile she would find a good one.

The kite was just a cheapy plastic one and it didn't go very well. We couldn't get it in the air for more than a few minutes. I think we will have to invest in a better kite and more string and then head back to the beach another time.

I took some pictures and a couple videos but I must apologize because I did it on my ipod. Somehow I got my ipod sideways at one point so the video is a bit strange. I think it's worth watching anyways!

If you can't tell by the pics, Florida is nice and warm! I strongly recommend those that read this come to visit. I know you will just love it here!

Florida Fun

2011-11-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

Florida has been great so far. Fortunately, we are about settled. We are in the house, we are as unpacked as we are going to get, Kate's enrolled in a great daycare which most locals that I run into that have smaller children tend to say a lot of good things about the school, we finally have an office which is very close to our house and the office is almost functional!

We've been enjoying a lot of the local entertainment. I know I've mentioned the festivals before, but we really had a great time at the Italian Festival. We ate great food and Katie got to ride a handful of rides. Her favorite was the train as always but she also enjoyed the cars and the dragon.

The weather is beautiful here. It's been between 82-84. There hasn't been much rain at all. The pool is still a bit cold for Kate and I but we like to sit at the end after work/school and put our feet in it. Even Joe partakes in the soaking.

Our neighbor is a very nice older lady from New Jersey has volunteered to help us if we ever needed someone to watch Katie. (Don't worry Babba and Gram, we don't have plans to leave her with the stranger but it's nice to know she is willing incase of emergency!)

Katie still tells me she's too tired to go to school every morning but after a bit of whining we get her there and she is perfectly fine. They took pictures earlier this week so I will be sure to show the pictures as soon as they send them home. Katie was very excited for pictures. She told me she was going to smile REAL big so I will be surprised to see the results of this! LOL

We are unfortunately staying here for Thanksgiving. We will certainly miss spending the Holidays with our families back home but plan to be their for extra time around Christmas. For Thanksgiving though a couple that we work with has invited us to their family dinner so I think we may go over there. They are also insisting that we go kayaking. Umm.. I am just not too sure about that. I mean, I went canoing with Joe, Poppy and Di several years ago and I am not sure I can say that was my thing! I enjoyed sitting in the boat while Di pushed, pulled and rowed our boat gently down the stream. (And I mean that literally!) I am not sure I can do this without her! Anyways, I think it will be a nice Thanksgiving, just not at all the same without our family! I will let you know if we go kayaking and how that goes! I am sure I will have lots of stories to tell if this goes as they are planning! LOL

Well, that's all for tonight. Thanks for reading!!

RIP Peettee and Maxx

2011-11-09T19:47:00.001-08:00

Tonight before bed Joe, Kate and I took a walk around the block. We figured we better stop by the mailbox since we don't have Pop & Gram to check our mailbox every few days anymore and I think it may have been since they were down that we checked it last! =) I really think the entire mail thing is just a huge inconvenience but anyways, back to my story. Anytime we go on a walk Kate insists on playing follow the leader. She is very generous in making sure everyone gets to be the leader and we have to change up about every 30 seconds. This trip was no different. We started out with Joe with the leader carrying a multi color sparkel light, me in the middle and Kate followed up the end blowing bubbles along the way. We were quite the sight weaving in and out, blowing bubbles, etc. etc. Thank goodness it was a bit dark as most neighbors were inside their homes. Just then Katie said, MOM, there's a dog up there! And sure enough an older man was walking his dog around the block and walked him right over into our path for Katie to see. He was a cute Australian Terrior. He sniffed Kate a bit and the man said he was friendly so Kate gave him a couple pets. I said to the man, what's his name? He said MAXX. I immediately looked at Kate to see her reaction and she looked at me. (Well, for those of you that don't know poor Pete and Maxx were laid to rest before we headed to Florida. They were both very old and both had some serious health problems that just wouldn't have made the trip to FL. It was a sad, sad decision for all of us but it was certainly for the better.) But back to Kate, she immedaitely said, I have a Maxx too. Maxx and Pete. The man asked are they at your home? Kate said, No, they are with Aunt Ginny. We then went on our way around the block and continued our play of Follow the Leader. For those of you that don't know, Aunt Ginny was a made up person that Joe came up with many years ago. He used to tell Maxx when he was about to go to the vet or to get boarded when we went on a trip that he was going to visit Aunt Ginny. When the dogs went to Heaven Katie of course asked about them and he wasn't sure what to say and immediately defaulted to "they are with Aunt Ginny." Katie doesn't mention the dogs much anymore but she clearly has not forgotten them.

On a happier note, when we were nearing the end of our walk I went to walk across the grass to the house. Katie said, MOM STOP! I said, what's wrong? She said, we have to walk to the end of the sidewalk. I said why? She said, Gram says, no walking in the green grass. I said, why would Gram say that? She says, Gram says that your toes will turn green.

What's Happening in Florida?

2011-11-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

We are pretty much unpacked.

Katie started a new daycare - Chesterbrook Academy.

I found an office finally and we move in tomorrow!

Kate has an invisible pet dog. He goes with us everywhere. He doesn't have a name, but sometimes she has to pretend to be a dog as well.

The weather is 84 degrees!

Kate says, "But I am too tired to go to school. My sleepies are still in my eyes" every morning when trying to get her out the door to daycare!

Kate has a new best friend, Emily.

We know why people don't carve pumpkins in Florida. They draw disgusting bugs and melt away making an awful mess in less than a day from being carvced! When you try to pick them up they just fall apart and look like vomit.

There is a "Festival" every weekend and sometimes more than one! This week, we hit the Italian Festival Friday night. We also saw signs for a Seafood Festival for this weekend. Next weekend is Antique Festival and the following weekend is Chocolate Festival.

People in Florida can't decide how to dress. I've seen flipflops with sweaters and winter boots with tank tops.

Katie is enrolled in dance class. It's a gymnastic/ballet class that meets every Saturday. Kate loves the balance beam. In a few weeks she is participating in a show at the local mall. She has a recital scheduled for May. Her teacher says she is great at taking instruction and shakes it better than anyone else in the class.

There is a train that sounds like it's driving through the house. Thankfully, over the past week, I've started to notice it less and less. I am not sure if I am just getting used to it or it's coming through less. Nevertheless, I still think of the Ghost train scene everytime I hear it!

Kate's daycare teacher said, "I wish all my kids were like Katie."

I love our Florida house best!

2011-10-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it! We are Floridians! Well, per our driver licenses we are still New Jerseyians. =) Katie says "I love our Florida house best!" It's been a bit of a crazy move. The movers picked up our stuff in New Jersey on the 10th and it was JUST delivered yesterday! (The 20th!) I don't understand how a person driving a truck with all our stuff can't get to FL faster than Joe and I with a 3 year old and two cars??!! Let's just say sleeping on an air mattress for a week hasn't done me well!

Anyways, on to our new place... we've certainly downsized! Two car garage down to one, four bedrooms down to three, basement to no basement, attic to no attic, family room formal living room and dining room to a living room dining room combo and the list goes on and on. Oh and get this - a nice quiet neighborhood to a nice quiet neighborhood until the train comes blazing through blowing it's horn at all hours of the day and night! Wouldn't you think a realestate agent would tell you about that in advance? Regardless, we are happy with the move and love the new place!! Even the train we just find funny at this point!

Every morning Katie takes bread outback to feed the fish, turtles, ducks, etc. in the lake behind the house. I worked pool side today in the sun! The weather is absolutely beautiful right now - we've got the sliding glass doors open and there is even a bit of a chill in the air. We've got some amazing shopping areas which Katie LOVES the outside carousel at the one mall. Grocery stores gallore and anything we might need within just a few minutes of the house. The shore is only about three miles away (we've only been there once so far just to check it out).

Last week Joe's parents were down to help us out. Unfortunately, they too had to enjoy the air mattresses. They were such a great help though! Joe and I worked most of the week and they helped us out a lot by watching Kate. It rained most of the week so unfortunately they didn't get to see many of the sites but we had no idea what even to show them so hopefully by the next time they visit, we will know where to go! We also checked out some of the day cares - after many "Her birthday missed the cutoff by two weeks", "we are full and will put you on the waiting list", etc. etc... we finally settled on one. Katie goes on Monday for her "discovery day." If all works out, she can start as early as Tuesday. BUT, we have to get to the Dr. SOON because they must have FLORIDA medical records, not NEW JERSEY! UGH! (Now to find a pediatrician!)

Well, that is it for now from Florida! I hope to get better on my blogging but I can't promise. =)

Picking the Perfect Halloween Costume

2011-10-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

Back in the beginning of September, we stopped at Target to do some shopping. They had just put out their costumes so we decided to browse. We were planning to look only, but Katie wanted to try them on. After much begging and pleading from her to try on the BLEU Costume, (From RIO, Don't remind Katie that BLEU is actually all blue!) I gave in.

A picture slideshow by Smilebox

Last Day at Day Care

2011-10-06T23:03:00.001-07:00

Katie and Caroline

Tomorrow is Kate's last day at daycare in New Jersey. Moving to Florida is certainly bitter sweet. The saddest part is moving away from Joe's family and leaving Katie's "Best Friend". (Not that moving even further from my family isn't sad! It's just my family is already far away!)

For those of you that don't know, "Caroline is Katie's Best Friend." Every day when I pick up Kate from daycare she reminds me of it. I hear this over and over and over again... "Caroline is my Best Friend".

Aunt Di helped Katie pick out a BFF necklace for Katie and Caroline to share. Tomorrow will be a sad, sad day!

The Girls Going on 3!

2011-09-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that Katie is going to be 3 on Saturday! Every day she looks like she's grown a few inches. Her words are coming together and she's starting to lose the baby. She still has her cute words like "Dice O Door" (Dinosaur) and "Ef in ent" (Elephant) which I refuse to correct but lately she's been surprising me with little conversations which I just love. Here are a few new ones for you!

Katie: Mommy, I farted on your leg.
Me: Katie, that is not nice. Who taught you to do that?
Katie: Poppy. He does it all the time.

Katie: (Sitting on a childrens picnic table outside of daycare)
Joe: Come on, let's get home Katie.
Katie: No, I like sitting here.
Joe: Well, Aunt Di bought you a set just like that. It's at home in the basement. We are taking it to FL so you can use it there.
Katie: NO! I not like Florida.
Joe: Why don't you like Florida?
Katie: Florida will get in my eyes!! I am sure it is like water and I don't like it when water gets in my eyes.

Gram and Pop Celebrated their Anniversary this week.
Joe: Don't forget, we need to call Gram and Pop tonight to wish them a Happy Anniversary.
Katie: That's silly! Birthaversary

Katie: Mommy, Caroline is my best friend.
Me: Is she?
Katie: Yes. She's a girl. I'm a girl. We are girls together.

We celebrated Katie's birthday with the family over labor day weekend. Pics to be posted soon. However, we stopped by Aunt Di's store on a couple occassions. Below, find the kids in their glory! There's nothing like visiting Aunt Di's store. They never leave empty handed.

Tyler and Kate doing the dash! What can I get Aunt Di to buy me today?

Kate's got Words!

2011-08-24T04:33:00.000-07:00

Katie's speech has really come a long way lately! I rarely hear any type of babbling any more which is kind of sad but her new words are absolutely fantastic!

Here's a few of Katie's recent conversations.

Katie: Has to go Pee!
Joe: Get to the potty!
Katie: But I need your Help!
Joe: No you don't. The door is open and the light is on. Plus, you don't have any pants or underpants on right now. Get in there.
Katie: But Dad, there might be a Dragon in there.
Joe: (Stomping to the BR) No Dragons here, get in there.

Me: Katie, what happened to all the books that were on your bookshelf? Why are they all over the floor?
Katie: I am not sure Mom. Poppy did it.

Me: (Coming through the garage door after work)
Katie: Hi Mom, is it raining outside?
Me: No, it's not raining.
Katie: Why are you wearing a raincoat?
Me: I am not, it's a sweater. Work was a little chilly today.
Katie: Was it raining in work?

Katie: Mom, look! It's snowing outside! Santa's coming! I am so excited! He brings me presents!
Me: Katie, that's just fog. It's not snow. There is a few more months before Santa will come again.
Katie: Oh, well I like Santa.

Katie: Mom, there's a frog! I am going to catch it!
Me: Ok, go for it.
Katie: (Katie Grabs the frog!) Oh boy, he is sooo squishy! I got him! I got him! Mom, where is Aunt ME. I want to show her what I got!
Me: Aunt Marie is in the house.
Katie: Let me in so I can show Aunt Me! (Trying to get into Aunt Marie's house.)
Me: Oh no, Aunt Marie will not appreciate you taking a frog into her house. I will ask her to come to the window.
Aunt Marie: (Comes to the door) Katie, what is that?
Katie: Look! It's a frog Aunt ME! You want to see it?
Aunt Marie: Oh I can see it from in here. You stay out there with it. You better watch out, he might pee on you!
Katie: (Tosses the frog onto the sidewalk.) Oh no! He got away! The froggy must need to go night, night.

Katie: (While home from school sick, trying to take a nap.) Mom, I still sick.
Me: I am sorry to hear that.
Katie: If Dad were here he would have given me my medication by now to make me better.

Katie: (In the middle of a night when she was sick.) I need milky.
Joe: (Heads downstairs to get Kate a drink.)
Me: (I get the thermometer and take Katie's temperature.)
Joe: (Comes back with the drink.)
Katie: Dad, just one minute. Mom is taking my "Chexpicture".

Here's a cute picture from the weekend of Katie and her cousin Lizzie.

You Are Invited! To Katie's Birthday Celebration!

2011-08-18T05:11:00.001-07:00

My Tummy Hurts

2011-07-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I heard the words "my tummy hurts" from Katie. The words gave me chills at first. My mind immediately took me back a little less than 30 years ago at Black Moshannan hearing Danelle say those words to Mom which then turned into years of battling cancer and being in and out of hospitals. I am not sure if Danelle actually said those words or I imagined them but my brain immediately associates them with cancer. I am paranoid of Katie ever having to fight for her life the way I watched my sister fight for hers. Going through an experience like that as a sister is one thing, but I really don't think I could ever have the strength to go through that in my mother's shoes. It really scared the heck out of me at first until I realized what my soon to be 3 year old daughter was actually up to. (Don't worry, it's a much happier story from here on out!)

Katie has figured out that if she gives an excuse such as "my tummy hurts" she can get out of pretty much anything. People will pick up her toys, carry her when she is tired, not make her eat her dinner, let her out of the corner when she is being naughty, etc. etc. etc. I am pretty sure this has statement has worked out soooo well for her that even her Poppy has tried to use this excuse on occassion!

Today, I went to daycare to pick up Katie. When I got there, the owner of the daycare caught me and said, Oh! I am so glad to see you! Katie was not feeling well at all today. It was time for Splash Time and she just wasn't feeling up to it. I took her temperature and it was just fine so I took her inside and let her get changed. She was fine in an hour or so when the other kids returned from Splash Day.

I said, Hmm... that is strange. She really loves our pool at home and enjoys playing in water any chance she can get. I can't imagine her not feeling good enough for splash day.

And then it hit me. I asked, did Katie by any chance tell you her tummy hurt?

The owner said, Well actually yes. Those were her exact words.

I said, for some reason, she says that when she doesn't want to do something. I asked, has something happened during splash day that scared her or have there been any probems with splash day? She said, No, nothing that I can think of.

I asked, did Caroline (Katie's BFF) particpate in Splash Day? She said, well no, Caroline doesn't like splash day and her mom opted for her to not participate. Instead, Caroline plays with the sidwalk chalk while the others play in the water. She said, Mareena is actually starting to refuse to play at Splash Day too and for the last two days she played with Caroline instead of the water.

Then it hit us both, there's a clique of 3 year old girls boycotting Splash Day!

Tonight, I asked Katie, why didn't you play at splash day? She said, because Caroline doesn't have a swimsuit.

Does this type of thing seriously start at age 3????

Some Scenes from the Past

2011-07-24T16:46:00.001-07:00

Miscellaneous July

2011-07-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

Mom, Look!! It's Aunt Di!

2011-07-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

I am not quite sure why everything silly reminds Katie of Aunt Di. Oh yeah, maybe because Aunt Di is the definition of Silly?? Aunt Di, you are moving up in the world! Last week it was a goat and this week it is Cheese!! You Rock!

The Philadelphia Zoo

2011-07-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today we hit the Zoo. We've lived here for numerous years and I can't tell you the last time we visited the Zoo. We got a late start but thanks to today being Sunset day in the park we were able to spend enough time to wear out those little legs of Kate's (and mine and Joe's too of course!)

Scared!

2011-07-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Katie has never really been afraid of much with the exception of "the dark." However, lately, she's been scared of sounds like thunder or airplanes flying over. She's also now afraid of a dirt mark in the garage. She says it's ugly, gross and scarey. She will not walk over it and insists that I carry her. (It's really nothing - just looks like some dirt from gardening!)

However, most recently, she's found something new to be scared of. I was trying to put her to bed one night. I said, let's sleep in your room tonight! She says, NO Mommy! I said why? She said, I am scared! I said, of what?? She darted into the hallway and peaks through the railing and points downstairs. She says, THAT! I said, what? The couch? She said, NO! THAT! TICKELY! I said, the nightlight lampshade? She said yes, I don't like it. She then insisted that I go downstairs and remove it from the outlet. Meet the nightlight, AKA "Tickely."

"TICKELY"

She followed me down the stairs to make sure I properly removed it and put it into a safe place that would no longer harm her. She then said, TAKE BEARD TOO. I said, Beard? What are you talking about! She ran into the downstairs bathroom and pointed at the outlet. Meet Beard....

"BEARD"

Yes, they are two small nightlights with decorative lampshades. They are older than Katie! I bought them for decoration in the old house and moved them to the new house with us. Tickely can typically be spotted in the "formal" living room and Beard is typically found in the powder room downstairs.

I'm not sure why my daughter is all of a sudden afraid of the simple things, but from what I've read it's pretty typical at this age. I don't decorate much. I just don't have the time or money to put into it but I do have a few things here and there that I enjoy. I guess I will have to just store poor Beard and Tickely until Katie gets a bit older and learns to enjoy them. (That is, if I want to get her to sleep in her own room!)

Longwood Gardens

2011-07-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

After a week of the family being apart, we decided to spend the full day together. At first, we thought shore and beach but due to all the traffic and amount of people in that area we didn't think it was such a good idea. One of our Must Do items on the list before we head South for good was Longwood Gardens. We packed up this morning and headed to "the park." Katie insisted that she wanted to go to a park and any park would really do. She just needs a swing and a slide and she would be content. Surely Longwood would have something for the kids! Well, she had a blast! She ran and ran and ran and ran. She played in the fountains and ran some more. She had a wonderful times and I think we wore her out! Longwood Gardens is beautiful but we only made it to half of the Estate. We were all three just too exhausted to try to see all the grounds on this hot sunny day. We visited the Conservatory, Childrens Garden both inside and outside, the waterfall and of course the fountains.

There were so many people taking pictures of flowers and such. However, my lens was completely focused on my kid! Enjoy!

We will just call this one BEANS!

2011-06-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

Ha ha... a great moment caught on video at a recent BBQ at Aunt Di's House:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTvw59qUnCQ

Special thanks to Mandy for capturing this one!

Vacation 2011

2011-05-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

I am so not good at this anymore! There used to be more time in the day or was it night? I think I might be getting old and just not able to stay up as late as before or something!

Anyways, for those that still follow, we went on vacation. We drove to Florida and back with Aunt Di and Tyler. It was a great vacation and I took lots of pictures and videos which you can view below. I strongly recommend a bag of popcorn and a drink as this video is about 30 minutes long! LOL Sorry, I just couldn't figure out what to cut!

If you can't watch it all, I do understand but please fast forward at least to the last minute or so, there is a fantastic video in which Katie and Tyler break it down! It was the last thing we did on the entire vacation and their reaction was absolutely priceless!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJzWwKaUcu0

Vacation 2011: FLORIDA

2011-05-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

Guess Who?? Yes, we are back! Life's been crazy so once again I apoligize for the lack of the blog.

We are on VACATION in Florida! Aunt Di, Tyler, Joe, Katie and I set out for Florida Saturday morning. We drove half way on Saturday and finished the rest this morning. Our plan is to spend a few days in the Clearwater area and then to head to Orlando for the rest of the week.

Tonight the kids played in the pool for a bit and then we went to the festivval pier and dinner. The kids were exhausted by the days end. Thankfully, Aunt Di got them to bed in 10 to 15 minutes each.

Here's a few pics from our day. More to follow once I download from the camera.

More Katie Conversations

2011-02-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

After work on Tuesday, Joe went and picked Katie up from daycare and then came back to the office to pick me up. Kate insists on coming into the office. (Mostly because my coworkers like to feed her sugar!) Anyways, we pack up and head out the door to go home. Joe picks up Katie and puts her in her car seat.

Katie: OW Daddy. (Glares at Joe)
Joe: What's wrong Kate?
Katie: You. (Still glaring!)
Joe: What did I do?
Katie: You attacked me with that seat belt.
Joe: I attacked you?
Katie: Yes, you attacked my armpits with that seat belt.

*****************************************************

On Valentine's Day, we had decided that we would wait until after work/daycare to exchange gifts. However, we had everything sitting out on the kitchen island. Katie and Joe had gotten me a card and some other things.

Me: What is that Katie?
Katie: That's for later Mommy.
Me: What is it though? Is it for me?
Katie: It's a present Mommy.
Me: What kind of present?
Katie: It's your birthday cake present Mommy.

*****************************************************

I was tucking Katie in tonight. I read her a story and then she hurtled the footboard and hopped into bed. Joe had made some noises downstairs.

Katie: What is that Mommy?

Me: It's daddy making a ruckus.

Katie: A ruckus?

Me: Yes, too much noise.

Katie: Daddy's a ruckus?

Me: Yes, I guess you could call him that. (Katie jumps up from bed and runs to the door.) What are you doing?

Katie: Wait a minute Mom. (She shakes her pointer finger at me and then runs into the hallway.) DADDY! Daddy!

Me: Katie, get back in here and get to bed.

Katie: (She runs back into the room) Mommy, now wait a minute. (Shakes the finger again and runs back into the hallway.) DADDY! I SAID DADDY!!

Joe: (Yelling up the steps.) What do you need Katie?

Katie: Mommy, (a bunch of jibberish) ruckus. What you doin?

Joe: I am cleaning up. Why aren't you in bed? Where's Mommy?

Katie: Mommy's sleeping. What you doin?

Joe: Mommy fell asleep before you?

Me: Katie, get in here.

Katie: Mommy's sleeping in my bed Daddy.

Joe: (Now stomping up the stairs.) Why's mommy sleeping? You are supposed to be sleeping.

Katie: Mommy's sleeping Daddy. (Katie and Joe come back to the bedroom.)

Joe: Mommy's not sleeping Katie. Now get into bed. (Joe goes back downstairs.)

Katie: I was sleeping Mommy but Daddy's a ruckus.

Potty Training

2011-02-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I was trying to get Katie ready for daycare and she refused to wear a pull-up. I would put it on her and she would act like it was killing her. She fumbled and rolled around until she finally got it off. I put another one on her and she started tugging and ripping at it again. Joe thought he could get it on her, well she still refused.

I finally gave up and said fine, no pull-up.

I took her to school and told her teacher that she refused to wear a pull-up. I had packed several outfits and explained that if they can get a pull-up on her, feel free.

Don't you know, I went to pick her up from school and she was wearing the same outfit with dry big girl panties? No Accident??!!

Well, it's been two weeks now and no pull-up. She's had a few accidents here and there but her daycare teachers have told me that her accidents there were just because they couldn't get her to the potty quick enough.

Every night I try to wrestle her into a pull-up for overnight. She fusses and squirms and yells, "It's hurting me!" One night I tried no pull-up, but she came to my bed about half way through the night as she was soaked.

I guess overnight training will happen when she is ready. I am starting to realize my daughter operates under her own terms.

Katie Conversations

2011-02-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

I just put dinner on the table and walk over next to Katie. She's trying to climb into her highchair by herself. I help her the rest of the way into the chair...

Katie: P-U Mommy. You stink. Are you pooping? You smell Mommy.
Me: No, I am not pooping. I am getting your plate ready for dinner.
Katie: Smelly Mommy.
Me: Katie, that is not nice. I don't smell.
Katie: You stinky Mommy.
Me: I do not.
Katie: Ya huh, you stinky. (Holds her nose.) DADDY, Mommy smells. She's pooping.
Joe: She better not be pooping in the kitchen.
Me: I am not pooping and I don't smell!
Katie: Stinky.
Joe: Are you pooping in the kitchen?
Me: NO!
Katie: Stinky. (Still holding her nose!)
Me: Joe, do I stink?
Joe: Maybe.
Me: Seriously? (We just got home from work! Did I smell at work??!!)
Katie sings: Mommy's stinky! Mommy's stinky!
Me: I DO NOT!
Joe: Katie, that's not nice. Mommy doesn't really stink.
Katie: Yes, she does.
Me: I am going to the shower.

*********************************************

Joe and Katie go to Target. Katie's been wearing big girl panties with NO pull-up for the last week. They head to the back of the store to do some shopping...

Katie: Daddy, I have to go potty.
Joe: Are you sure?
Katie: Yes, got to go peeeeee.
Joe grabs Katie and stuffs her into the cart. They fly through the store to the front and get to the potty just in time.
Katie: I go peeee.
They finish and head back to the cart. They continue shopping. Again, towards the back of the store.
Katie: Daddy, I am pooping.
Joe: Right now? You are? You did? You have to?
Katie: I'm pooping right now.
Joe flies back to the front of the store with Katie in the cart. They get to the potty....
Katie: Just FART Daddy.

*********************************************

Katie and I are sitting in the family room...

Katie: Mommy, I want to watch this movie. (She hands me a dvd.)
Me: Ok. (I open the entertainment center and fumble with the new DVD player.)
Me: We'll have to wait for Dad. I don't know how to work this thing.
Katie: I do it Mommy. (She reaches in the cabinet, hits power, hits eject. Puts the new movie in, shuts it and presses play.)

*********************************************

2 a.m. one EARLY morning...

Katie: Daddy, my foot's itchy. Itch it.
Joe: Ok. (While scratching.)

*********************************************

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-01-23T22:23:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right? I just got a new pc and making movies is a bit easier now. Here's a quick movie with the highlights of the Straka Family Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Daddy, You are a Disgusting Beast

2011-01-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011! So sorry I have been a slacker at blogging yet again! Managing a two year old takes up a heck of a lot of time! Here's a few Katie items to get you caught up.

Katie is adding more words to her vocabulary every day. Some of her favorites are "Now you wait a minute" and "Sit Down." A new one that came up tonight... she looked at Daddy and said, "Daddy, you are a disgusting beast." (Joe had said this to Maxx earlier in the day when he made a gross noise and I guess Kate just picked it up!)

This morning after her shower, we tried on the new stretchy pants from Aunt Marie. They were a bit big and kept falling off but Katie just thought they were a perfect outfit for her "Cha Cha" dance. Trying to get Katie dressed on a daily basis is very difficult. She has a lot of opinions on what she should and should not wear. Most of her selections don't match or are for the wrong season. Today she went out wearing Halloween barettes and a spring jacket. (Yes, she had a winter jacket over the spring jacket as that was the deal.)

Another EmBAREASSing Moment

2010-12-20T18:52:00.001-08:00

I've been back and forth on whether to post this one or not so here it goes.

Thursday night we left work a bit early to try to get some Christmas tasks complete. We stopped for dinner at TGI Fridays. We ate quickly and then headed to Kohls. The roads were a bit bad because the temp was below freezing and it had just rained so the roads were very slippy.

We just got to Kohls and I received a call from my cell phone from someone at our office. I answered to find that Joe actually left his cell phone on the table at TGIF and they contacted the office to report it being left behind. Joe said, you take Katie and I will run back to TGIF and then come right back.

Well, we had a return to do so Katie and I headed back to the return desk. When done, I decided that since we were near the restrooms, we would stop in because I really had to go. I chose the handicap restroom since two of us were squeezing in the stall. I got Kate to the stall, locked the door and told her not to touch ANYTHING. I turned around and just got settled onto the toilet. Katie ran towards the door, unlocked it, pushed it open and went running out.

Do you know how far away from the toilet the doors are on a handicap stall? There is NO reaching them from the toilet! I sat there looking at myself in the mirror across the room yelling for Katie to come back! I could not figure out what to do! (It didn't seem to concern me at the time that everyone in the busy restroom could see me!) All I could think of was that Katie could get out the actual bathroom door. Then it finally hit me.... I yelled, "Katie, Santa Claus is out there!" She came flying back into the stall, locked the door and stood next to me quietly.

I've learned my lesson about using the handicap bathrooms. I will forever squeeze into the little stalls and leave the handicap stalls for the handicap. (At least when Katie is with me!)

Breakfast with Santa

2010-12-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

Sounds fun doesn't it? Well, don't get too excited.

Let's just say... Joe and I are ridiculous. One of these days we WILL get it together right?

Friday night we told Katie that she needed to go to bed early because we were going to get up early on Saturday morning to have breakfast with Santa. She's been afraid of Santa the last couple times we've seen him and she won't even walk by a Santa picture without holding one of our hands so we really had to talk up the event. We told her she was going to get dressed in her special outfit and it was going to be a lot of fun AND.. there would be chocolate there.

Katie was super excited.

Early Saturday morning, we got up and dressed Katie in her Christmas dress.

She had her hair all done and fancy shoes too. We all got out the door by 8:45 a.m. and headed to daycare for breakfast with Santa. We got to daycare and went to pull in the driveway and there was not a car in sight. We thought maybe we had the time wrong so we turned around and drove back home (only a few miles away) to check the paper that they gave us about the event. We got home and couldn't find the paper. We thought, well, we must have messed up the time and decided to head back for 10 a.m. We drove back to the school and still no cars and no Santa. We tried looking on their website and calling the school, but there was no mention of breakfast with Santa.

Joe said, "Well, we can always take her to the mall and send her up with a Pop-Tart."

So, that is what we did. Well, not a pop tart, they don't sell those at the mall so we had to settle on a pretzel!

Katie didn't really know that this wasn't what we original had planned for her. She actually sat on Santa's lap. She told Santa what she wanted for Christmas, a Doll, a kitchen and PRESENTS. She smiled for the picture and listened really closely when Santa asked her to leave out cookies, milk and carrots for his reindeer. Then she marched through the mall in her little fancy dressed and finished up her Christmas shopping.

You Will Shoot Your Eye Out

2010-12-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

So Joe was asked this year what he wanted for Christmas and his list consisted of a cheese wheel, a porsche and a bb gun. I am totally addicted to the elf yourself site and came across this. It is perfectly fitting for the Farkel Family. (Sorry this post is about Joe and not Katie!)

Starring: Pop, Gram, Mike, Joe and Papu

I guess my embedded object didn't work this time. If you don't mind, copy and past this into your web browser to access the file.

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/idVfYYpWwEJFDVMf

Glubbies & More Shoes!

2010-12-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

For the last week or so, Katie kept telling me, "Mommy, I need glubbies." I had no idea what she was saying. The strange part was she only said it when we were outside on our way to or home from school. Joe and I listened and listened and just couldn't figure out what glubbies were. Until it finally hit us! GLOVES!!

Thanks to Aunt Marie, we dug out the hat and "glubbies" and Katie has been extremely happy ever since.

As most of you know, Katie LOVES shoes. She loves all sorts of shoes, sneakers, sandals, crocs, etc. The other day, we went to Kohl's Christmas shopping. Well, I went one way and Katie and Joe went the other. Joe and Katie walked by a display which featured a pair of Vera Wang pumps. Katie could not pass them up without trying them on of course. She made Joe help her get them on and hold her hands while she walked around a bit to try them out. A shopper nearby said "Oh I wish my girlfriends could see this." I'm sure it was a cute site to see a Daddy helping his little girl try on shoes that he knew would never fit. I wish I could have caught that on film!

Most mornings Katie picks out an interesting pair of shoes to try to wear to school. Most times I convince her to change before we get out the door. Other times, I send a change of shoes to school for her teachers to try to get on her later. This particular morning, Katie insisted on wearing white dress shoes. I'm pretty sure she likes the way they click across the floor.

Bacon

2010-12-05T18:04:00.001-08:00

Katie recently discovered bacon. She loves bacon. We took Katie to Cracker Barrel for breakfast last week. We had never really given her bacon before. It just didn't seem like anything she would want to eat. Well, she demanded bacon that day and she ate an entire piece.

This past week at school, I had gone to pick her up. I opened the door to her classroom and she was laying on the floor crying. I said, what's wrong Katie? She said BACON... Her teacher came over and proceeded to tell me that they just got new fake food for the play kitchen. One of the items was bacon and she spent half the day telling Katie not to eat the fake bacon. Katie refused to listen and continued to chew on the fake bacon throughout the day. The teacher finally had just taken it from her to wash and put away for the day and Katie was very upset.

Every day before school, Katie takes the dogs with a treat and puts them in one of our rooms for the day. Poppy had bought the dogs some treats that resembled bacon. Katie went down the hallway with the bacon and I wasn't even thinking about what would be going through her mind. She ripped one piece in half and gave half to Pete and half to Maxx. She then took the other piece and said MINE and went to put it in her mouth. I yelled, NOOOOOooooo and was able to stop her in time. She was not a bit happy that the dogs could have bacon for breakfast and she couldn't. We now call the dog treats Facon and remind her that it is not for her to eat!

Thank Goodness for Lawdy!

2010-12-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

Lawdy the Elf arrived over Thanksgiving. Lawdy is an Elf on the Shelf that was sent by Santa with the help of Babba. Katie named her elf Lawdy a year ago. Lawdy is basically responsible for watching Katie's ever move and reporting back every night to Santa as to whether Katie is a good girl or a not so good girl. Lawdy cannot be touched by children or she will lose her power and not be able to return to the North Pole.

Lately, I've been extremely thankful for Lawdy. She's pretty much the only thing that gets us out the door in the morning and to bed at night. Since Thanksgiving, I have USED Lawdy on several occassions to help me get things accomplished with Katie. Santa did a great thing when he decided to send in this elf!

Tonight, I was trying to get Katie ready for bed. Katie tends to love to streak around the house any chance she can get for as long as she can. (I am pretty sure she gets this urge from her Aunt Danelle.) I chased her from room to room with her pullup and jammies in hand. Katie kept yelling, No! No Jammies! I said Katie, you better get into your jammies quick. Lawdy needs to get back to the North Pole and she can't leave until you are ready and in your bed. Santa is going to be really mad if Lawdy is late. Katie immediately got into her jammies and headed for bed with little dispute.

Earlier in the night, Katie was chasing poor Pete (the dog) around the living room with a wooden shovel. She was yelling, "I am going to get your hiney!" I said, Katie! Lawdy is right there watching you! You better leave poor Pete alone. Needless to say, it took two reminders of Lawdy but she did finally put the shovel down and let Pete alone.

Lawdy came back decked out this year with a skirt and a lot of bling. Anyone that see's her knows she must be Katie's elf. She likes to hide in the family room. I think that's the easiest place to monitor Katie's actions. Typically we find her hiding on the mantel or near a window. She doesn't like to be near the floor where the dogs can sniff her. One time I caught Pete carrying her around and since then she has always stayed clear of the dogs.

Thank you Santa (and Babba) for the Elf on the Shelf!

No Mommy Needed

2010-11-29T19:46:00.000-08:00

Katie had swim lessons tonight. She went into the pool with the instructor and took the entire class without me! She did reach for me a few times and I could see her mouth the "Mommy" once or twice but she did it and is sooo proud of herself! While I was getting her changed in the locker room she looked at me and said "No Mommy Needed."

Halloween

2010-11-23T20:31:00.000-08:00

I know it's late, but better late than never right?

Happy Halloween!

For Halloween this year, we headed back home for a weekend of fun. Mom watched Katie for one night so Joe and I got to go to dinner and a movie. Then, we took the kids to the Philipsburg Halloween parade and then trick or treating. The kids had a blast and we did too! Here are a few pictures and videos from our weekend.

Yes, that is Scooby Doo (Tyler) and a Pink Unicorn (Katie).

Tyler ran into one of his school friends at Grattans Pharmacy.

Yep, that's Scooby Doo dancing on front street to the sounds of a band marching down the street.

And last but not least, a racing Unicorn and Scooby Doo heard there was candy in some nearby stores and they took off running!

When you get a chance, check out my sister-in-law's blog. There are some cute pics from Farks-giving!

http://memorylanecrafts.blogspot.com/2010/11/farks-giving.html

Events at Daycare

2010-11-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week at daycare, they put up collages of recent events at daycare. There were pictures from a Clown that visited, the bug lady, the mail man and many more. I found Katie in two of the pictures. (Of course I whipped out my camera and took pictures of the pictures just for you!)

The teacher is Miss Jen. She is Katie's most favorite teacher who has been with her since she was 6 months old. Typically when I see pictures of Katie from daycare, she's normally found in Miss Jen's lap. Below turtle farmers came to visit and brought a couple friends.

The picture below is Miss Jen, Katie and Casandra. This was SNAKE day. Aunt Di might need a copy of this picture for her fridge.

By the way, not to worry. I received plenty of responses via the blog, emails and calls. I WILL CONTINUE BLOGGING.

Is Anybody Out There?

2010-11-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid I may have lost my readers. If you are still reading the Katie blog, drop me a line when you get a chance! Just want to make sure people still enjoy the Katie updates!

Here are some fun Katie conversations:

********************

Joe: Katie, what would you like for dinner?

Katie: Hawdawg and Qwackers please.

********************

Katie: Where we going Mommy?

Me: To pick Daddy up at work.

Katie: Is that work Mommy?

Me: No, that is CVS.

Katie: Daddy works at CVS.

Me: No, Daddy works at BroadStar.

Katie: No, Daddy work at CVS.

********************

Joe: When will you be home?

Me: I am not sure why? Are you ok?

Joe: You're daughter is out of control. She's not listening. I tried to send her to the corner and she just laughed at me. I smacked her bottom and I am pretty sure I saw her horns pop out of her head. You're daughter might be the devil.

Me: I am coming home now.

********************

Me: Katie, would you like a drink?

Katie: Huh?

Me: Would you like a drink?

Katie: Huh?

Me: Forget it.

Katie: HUH?

********************

Katie: Maxx's Hiney.

Katie: Mom, Maxx's Hiney!

Katie: Mommy, look at Maxx's Hiney. Silly Hiney.

********************

While driving down the road, I hear:

Katie: AppleBEES. Mommy, look it's AppleBEES.

Who knew my daughter could read!

********************

Katie: Is that dinner Daddy?

Joe: No, that is the gas station.

Katie: Is that dinner Daddy?

Joe: No, that is Sams Club, like Aunt Di's store.

Katie: Aunt Di's?

Joe: Yes.

Katie: Is that dinner Daddy?

Joe: No, that's Starbucks. They make coffee.

Katie: Poppy drinks coffee Daddy.

********************

Katie: I peed in the Potty.

Me: Yes, you did. GREAT job!

Me: Time to wipe.

Katie: Hey, that's my Cha Cha!

Swimming - Take 2!

2010-11-15T20:37:00.001-08:00

Yes, that's Katie getting ready for swimming lessons tonight. Today went much better than last week. Katie was much more comfortable doing the lesson with me. The teacher focused on getting Katie to not mind her face getting wet, blowing bubbles and "Blast Off!" Katie enjoyed kicking water at the teacher and putting water on my head. Overall, it was a successful lesson! I don't think the 7:30 class is a good fit for her though as she was so cranky immediately following the lesson. The teacher said we should get our 6 p.m. slot back in a week or two. We will cross our fingers!

I'm not sure what I was trying to get a video of but I had to post this for the ending. Her little feet dangling are so darn cute.

All About Katie

2010-11-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

At daycare, the kids went through magazines and selected items that described them to appear on a collage that hung in the classroom for a few weeks. There was no help from parents on this project. Katie's collage explained her quite well. I think if I saw the collage without a name on it I could have picked it as being Kate's.

1. Sunglasses

2. Shoes/Sneakers

3. Cat(s)

4. Corn

5. Milkshake

6. Pizza

7. Bicycle

8. The Word "Entertainer"

9. Salad Dressing "Dip"

10. The Word "Girl"

Our Mornings..

2010-11-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

Our morning ritual is pretty standard each day. Joe gets up and goes to work. He wakes me on his way out the door. I get up and shower quickly in hopes that Katie won't wake up until I am done. I put my contacts in and brush my hair and typically Katie wakes up around that time. Then she wants to play and I have to wrestle her into the tub and then her clothes. Sometimes she waits until I get her dressed to poop and then we have to go back to step one while other times she uses the big girl potty.

Most mornings I have to bribe her to get dressed, put on her shoes, her coat, comb her hair or anything else she doesn't feel like doing. It normally works best if I have a donut or cupcake in the house!

Once downstairs, she eats breakfast while I get her lunch together and then Katie takes a dog snack and puts the dogs away. (She get's mad if I try to do her daily chore!)

This morning she decided to chase Maxx with her little tickle fingers around the house. I caught a little bit of it on video along w/ a couple little dance moves. (Sorry the quality is bad. I only had my cell phone nearby.)

Babba, check out the sneakers. (Katie insisted she wear these this morning!)

Carving Pumpkins

2010-11-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

Katie was very excited this year to carve pumpkins. We had five pumpkins to carve and Katie drew the face on four of them. We got three of them from the pumpkin patch and two from the pumpkin patch that Katie and Joe planted over the summer. Kate was a little skepticle of touching the pumpkin guts at first but it didn't take her long to start enjoying the process of carving pumpkins. I'm sure you will enjoy the videos and pictures from our pumpkin carving night! Not much moderation is needed!

"Help You Mommy! Yucky! It got me!"

The finished products...

Joe's pumpkin was so thick it took him just as long to cut the lid off his as it did for Katie and I to finish all four other pumpkins! Joe gave up on the pumpkin one eye short!

Kate's Got Songs!

2010-11-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have seen this video on Facebook. I posted it there when I was having some trouble uploading videos to my blog. I thought I would repost it here now that I got my site working again.

Yes, I totally had to bribe her with M&M's!

Swim Lessons

2010-11-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

So the swimming lessons didn't go so great tonight. Katie was in the water for about 10 minutes and then cried until her teacher let her come out to me. It didn't help that the teacher wasn't exactly the most friendliest looking. The teacher suggests private lessons so that I can go in with her (of course that's more $!). Kate's pretty shy so by the end of the 30 minute session she was at least calm and playing a bit in the water. Next week we will try the private lessons and see how that goes!

Here's a couple videos of Katie swimming from the summer. These are with floaties but they are not permitted for the swimming lessons.

Back in Operation!

2010-11-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I found a new way to upload my videos without it taking hours so I think we are back in operation with the BLOG!

I know I missed quite a few entries so I am going to try to get caught up soon! (Swimming from the Summer, Turning 2, Singing and Trick or Treating are just a few items yet to post!)

Here's an update on us: Katie starts swimming lessons tomorrow. She goes every Monday for the next 6 weeks. The lessons are 2 kids w/ 1 instructor and they focus on life safety. I am anxious to see how Katie will do without the floaties and Mommy! She is very excited! However, I just realized that her bathing suit is probably a little snug. I checked out various stores around here and noone has size 2T or 24 Month swimsuits out at this time of year. Not to worry though, I called out the mission to Aunt Di! If there are swimsuits out anywhere, she is sure to know where I can find one!

Friday night Pop and Gram watched Katie for a few hours while Joe and I went to dinner with some work friends. It's so nice to get to do that every once and awhile!

Yesterday Kate and Joe went to Barnes and Noble for a couple hours while I went to work. Katie loved the books, the train set and of course the brownie from Starbucks.

Today Katie and I went to a play place called Monkey Business while Joe worked (and watched a bit of football). It is a huge play area with the gigantic blow up things for kids to run around in. Katie didn't care for it. She liked walking around, throwing the balls into the ball pit and playing w/ the kitchen set but that was about it. She refused to go on any of the blow up toys. I think I have to wait for Cousin Ty to come to town to show her what to do or find her a play date!

Here's a quick pic of Katie, Matt and Joe from a few weeks ago.

Hip Hop Katie

2010-10-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

Over the summer we hit Sesame Place on two occassions. During the second trip, we ran into "Hip Hop Harry." He's a bear that dances around and sings kids hip hop songs. Katie loves him and when she hears one of his songs now, she can't help but get her grove on! Check her out!

Miss Me?

2010-10-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Wow I am Awful!

2010-07-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time and I do apologize. Here's a quick Katie update -

Katie's teeth are coming in like crazy now. She's got so many but she won't let me count them.
Katie loves to sing. Her favorite song is the Itsy Bitsy Spider. She's also a fan of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and E-I-E-I-O. She also knows every word to the Mickey Mouse Club House song including the role call.
Kate's favorite food right now - donut holes. (Thanks Aunt Di.)
Kate finally decided she likes talking on our cell phones. She's talked to Rmmmmm (aka Gram), Babba and Aunt Di.
Katie's been going in the potty very well but she prefers the big potty rather than the little Katie potty that we bought her.
Today Katie pooped in the tub for the first time. It was rather disgusting.
Katie graduated to the Toddler class at daycare. She's now the youngest in her class and has her favorite teacher back, Ms. Jenn.

And finally... a Katie video:

Sleeping with Ice Cream

2010-07-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Friday night after I got home from Florida, we headed to Creamies (the local ice cream shop). It was later in the evening and Katie was getting a bit tired. Joe said, we probably shouldnt get her anything because it is too close to bed time. Well, there was no way we could have ice cream and not get any for poor Kate so I insisted. This video was the ride back to the house. Yes, Katie is asleep but still determined to not miss a drop.

A Little Katie to Tie You Over

2010-07-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

I am in Florida this week and should be home on Friday. In the interim, here's a Katie update I received via text message today. Hope it will tie you over as it did me! =)

Rush of a Weekend!

2010-06-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

I took off work on Friday to help Aunt Di with her house hunt. Katie skipped school and went with us on our trip around Baltimore. We saw several homes and found a couple hopeful places for Aunt Di to live!

In between houses, Katie took Aunt Di to her favorite shoe shop and talked Aunt Di into buying her a new pair of shoes! (Katie's favorite thing these days!! She says SHOES! SHOES!!!)

We also squeezed in some food time! We ate at an icecream shop for lunch, Uncle Wigglies and for dinner we tried a Pirate restaurant that served our drinks in a pitcher with a straw which Aunt Di enjoyed. They also had a fun play area that Katie and Aunt Di enjoyed.

Katie and I then headed back home Friday night because we had a wedding reception to attend on Saturday. The reception was at a really cute little park in Philadelphia. Katie had a blast dancing, blowing bubbles and playing with the other kids. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I don't have any good shots from this outing!

Today we headed to Delaware to visit Aunt Ney, Uncle Mikey and the kids. We had a cookout and got to see their new furniture. Here's a cute pic of Katie and Matthew playing on the new love seat.

Finally, take a look at this! It's Katie's sticker chart for all of her potty trips in which she has successfully pee'd or pooped in the potty! She's doing such a good job! She even got two stickers today at Aunt Ney and Uncle Mike's because she went in their potty! It's amazing what she'll do for a sticker!!

Father's Day Weekend

2010-06-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, we've been busy! Guess what? The "Body" is gone!! GONE, GONE, GONE!! (Well, it's really hiding in the cabinet but Katie thinks it's broken! We've gone a full week without the "Body!" (That's Katie's word for her night time bottle!) It has not been easy but tonight she went to bed without crying or even asking for it!

Kate's been using the potty pretty regularly each morning also. She won't tell me during the day if she has to go but in the morning, she's pretty good with it. We just found pull-ups small enough to fit her. She's growing up so quickly!

The diaper bag has been replaced with the Dora backpack! It's happened at the most convenient time! My strap just broke on my old laptop back so our plan is finally coming into play! When I was pregnant and shopping for the perfect bag, Aunt Di helped me justify the expensive Coach bag! See, it's a multipurpose bag. Not a laptop case and not a diaper bag. Therefore, it was Katie's diaper bag for the first year and a half and now, I GET IT BACK! Oh how I love Coach!

The pool is open and it's finally chemically in check! Katie, Joe and I hit the pool quite a bit this weekend. It was in the 90's down here! Kate loved the water! She got her first set of water wings and she didn't mind them at all. Last year we had to get a new pool ladder. I told Joe at the time that I wanted a bigger sturdy ladder because I was sure Katie would play on it and I could hear my mom yelling "Dana, stop hanging on that ladder!" I didn't want to do the same! It was a good thing we opted for the better ladder as Katie loves to hang on it!

Katie loved floating around the pool. Every once in a while she would want us to take her back to the ladder. She would play on the ladder or on the deck for a bit and when she was ready to get back in, she would yell MAMA! I wasn't too far away anyways, but I would make my way back to the ladder and she would come down the steps back into the pool. By the end of the weekend, she was yes... jumping off the top rung of the ladder while holding on to my fingers! She's such a little dare devil!

Katie's 1st set of pruney toes of the season!

When Kate woke up this morning, she delivered Dad her homemade Father's Day card in bed. Then, we went shopping and Dad headed to a movie with one of his friends. We then met up again for dinner and some more swimming! While we were out, Katie found something that she really, really, really liked and wanted! Unfortunately, Dad's response to the request was NO! (Darn allergies!)

Katie and I sent several "Hoppy Father's Day" messages via text with the picture below. She was making silly faces and insisted on wearing these bunny ears around the house!

Yep, she's a crazy one!

This coming week starts camp at daycare. Katie gets to wear her swim suit to school each day for water games. She's going to just love it! She brushes her teeth for 30 minutes in the morning and evening just because she loves playing in the water, she helps me do dishes, she loves watering Joe's garden and now she loves playing in the pool. Katie is going to be ecstatic once she realizes she gets to play in water at school too!

CRAZY Kate! No Explanation Required!

2010-06-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

Get One, It's Good

2010-06-06T18:56:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Katie was sitting in the family room in her new Dora chair eating a Popsicle. (This was after she took a header down the steps into the garage, busted her lip open and bloodied her nose. See the blurry picture of the damages after cleanup below.)

Pete's laying on the floor beside her.

Kate leans down and shows him the Popsicle and says, "Pete, get one. It's good."

Memorial Day - Lake Tobias

2010-06-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

Aunt Di invited us to her Memorial Day celebration on Monday. She planned a fun trip to Lake Tobias and then a cookout at her house. We met Babba, Poppy and Tyler at Lake Tobias around 10 a.m. on Monday. It was sooo HOT! We only made it on the safari this trip and skipped the zoo.

Our first stop, the gift shop of course. The kids know, we are with Aunt Di and when we are with Aunt Di, we must shop! Katie got a hat to help guard her from the sun and some safari toys from Aunt Di and Babba bought her a really cute Lake Tobias shirt!

This was Joe's first time to Lake Tobias so Katie was responsible for showing him around. She showed him our luxury mobile:

She showed him Cows. She loves saying that word!

And taught him how to feed the elk and try to avoid the slimey stuff that.

Animals came from all over the park to get fed by Katie and Tyler.

After the safari, it was sooo hot! We ate freezie pops and then headed back to Aunt Di's for a BBQ.

Hmn... I just noticed that there is not one picture or video of Joe feeding the animals or even touching the animal food. I don't think he enjoyed this trip as much as Tyler and Kate!

Happy 40th Anniversary Aunt Donna & Uncle John

2010-06-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we attended my Aunt Donna and Uncle John's surprise 40th Anniversary party. My cousins planned the event and my Aunt and Uncle were completely surprised! Aunt Donna had ideas that a party was in the works, but they were both completely caught off guard when they arrived to Erin's house full of friends and family from Ohio to Maine!

Susan, Erin, Pat and Auntie had every detail covered from displaying Aunt Donna's gown, invitation and newspaper article...

...to the reinactment of the cutting of the cake.

Katie had a great time visiting with her cousins.

Katie and Lizzie

Katie & Riley

And then there was climbing on the coffee table.... I couldn't keep Katie off the coffee table! She loved climbing on it and sliding across it. At one point I think I imagined Grandma Straka yelling from her kitchen "Katie, do you have buttons on your dress?" Grandma would've just loved Katie!

So here's the story about the crazy gift from the Straka kids. Aunt Donna drug all this stuff she was getting rid of to Di's house at Easter. She piled it all on the back porch and sent each of us one by one out to pick out what we wanted. I got a blanket, some amish pictures and a couple decorations. Danelle and Di picked out some things but there was a lot left including a coconut head. Well, Aunt Donna had Uncle John load it all back up in their car to drag back home for donation. But not the coconut head! It was perched up on Di's kitchen cabinet. The funny part is, Di had no idea. She didn't notice it for days. Well, until the day the realestate agent showed up to estimate the value of Di's house. Di and the agent were sitting in the kitchen working on paperwork and Di looked up and spotted the crazy coconut head. Of course she immediately thought, "That Dana! What was she thinking??!! Of all times for practical jokes!" Di immediately thought of revenge. She was going to pass the coconut head back to me when Auntie stepped in and explained it was Aunt Donna and Uncle John's doing! Needless to say, the Coconut Head took position in our anniversary gift basket to Aunt Donna and Uncle John. For some reason, I don't think this is the last time we will see the coconut head.

And finally, I just want to point out what my Cousin has taught my daughter. YES, Patrick Casey showed Katie how to use a keg! I believe he was just about ready to teach her how to do a keg stand when I walked out to the porch!! (Keg Stand - a popular drinking ritual performed using a beer keg. Its most common form involves the drinking participant grabbing onto the keg's handles as he or she is hoisted into the air by others, to the effect of doing a handstand while chugging directly from the keg.)

Wicherts take over Delaware!

2010-06-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

We have finally covered the tri-state area! Mike and Renee made settlement on Friday and are taking up residence in Middletown, DE. On Saturday, the family headed to DE to check out the new house, deliver the storage items that were in our basement and help clean a little.

While I was on the tour with Renee, I peaked out the window and caught this on video. (I might just get my hair pulled for this one!!) Yes! It's Ring Around the Rosie, Gram and Pop style!

We then headed back to Gram and Pop's house in Philadelphia for a cookout. The kids played outside and Katie really enjoyed scooting on the scooter with Joey.

The Garden

2010-05-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Kate and Joe set out to plant the garden last night after work. Kate loaded all the plants into the garden cart and headed to the back yard. She insisted on carrying the green peppers. Once she got to the garden, Katie helped dig holes and then put the plants in. It's difficult to explain to a 20 month old that once you plant something, you shouldn't grab it by the stem and yank it back out of the ground. So, I went down to the garden to try to occupy Katie so Joe could finish his planting.

I was sitting on the edge of the garden adjusting some of the dirt and saw Katie out of the corner of my eye pick up a piece of dirt. She put it up to her face and looked real close at it and then took it and put it in on my arm. I glanced down not thinking anything of it and then realized she had picked up a BUG and put it on my arm! It was crawling on me! It was the most disgusting thing! I screamed and about jumped out of my skin! That was enough for me... I went back to the house to clean up the dishes from dinner!

I know, this isn't relevant to this post, but I have to share it. This is Katie this morning. She's sitting on my bed lounging with the Oreo cookie she demanded. There's no doubt she's a Straka!

Quick Weekend

2010-05-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

Why do the weekends go so quickly?

Friday after daycare, Katie wanted to ride bikes. She got on hers and I got on mine. She hasn't been able to peddle her little bike yet so not thinking she would go anywhere, I rode down the driveway and circled in front of the house. When I was on my way back up the driveway, I noticed Katie and her bike flying out of the garage over into the yard and then they flipped over. I have no idea how she got going so fast! Thank goodness she came out on an angle or she would have met me at the road!

Joe planned date night for Saturday so Katie packed her bags and headed to Gram and Pop's house for the night.

Kate went on a play date with Gram on Saturday. They met up with Roseann and Clara. Clara is only a month younger than Katie. They all went on a walk together and played at Roseann's house. Katie had a great time with her new friend and even says her name.

We picked Kate up this afternoon.

I am not sure if she missed me, but she made it known that she missed "Daddy" and based on her reaction to the dogs, she missed them too. She couldn't give them enough hugs and kisses.

Tonight at bath time, Katie got out her crayons. She drew on the wall and I said, what is that? She says "Poppy". She drew some more and turned at me while pointing at the picture and said "rammmm".

Catch Up

2010-05-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

I get the picture! If I don't blog, you are going to call or email to find out "what is wrong?" I get it! I will blog! LOL

Here's a 30 second catch up of our past few weeks....

Five minutes before Joe got to daycare to pick up Kate, she ran into a shelf and now has a black eye.

Kate's cousin Matthew used to do this fists of furrie thing when he was little. Katie's already starting to do it!

Kate had her first popsicle and LOVED it. She definitely has the Straka sweet tooth!

This is Kate's attire for riding on the back of my bike. It's so funny when we try to buckle the helmet she cracks up because it tickles her neck.

Aunt Di's Going to Maryland

2010-05-19T18:36:00.001-07:00

Aunt Di is moving to Baltimore. Katie and I went with her to do some "house shopping". We left Friday night. The gps says it should only take me an hour and a half to get there. So I think it will be about the same ride as the trip to Harrisburg. We had MAJOR storms in the area so the trip down wasn't a typical trip. (I hope!) We had major downpours of rain and some amazing lightening. Katie slept pretty much the entire way. When we got to Baltimore Aunt Di met us at her hotel and we got tucked in for the night.

Aunt Di put Katie up on this chair and started spinning her. Not thinking that she was going to get dizzy, when the chair stopped she picked Katie up and set her on the floor. Katie completely lost her balance and stumbled into the dresser. She couldn't do anything but lay there and look at the ceiling. I could see her little head spinning in her eyes!! (Unfortunately, I missed the funny part when taking the video!)

The next morning we woke bright and early to meet the real estate agent at Aunt Di's new store. The new store didn't know of Aunt Di's visit but they sure did know her when she walked in!! Her store was so busy!! We squeezed a quick tour in before heading out to look at houses.

We did some serious house hunting! I have NEVER seen 25 houses in a day before! WOW! The real estate agents gave us a book and we went from house to house all day long. By the end of the day, we had a clear TOP 5 but more to see on Sunday. We headed back to the hotel and went to the pool. Katie LOVED the pool. I don't have any pictures of her in there but she had a wonderful time. I really have to find some swimming classes for her to attend soon!

We got dried up and headed to the inner Harbor for dinner. Aunt Di picked the Cheesecake Factory and talked me into the Chicken and Dumplings entree. It was sooo good! I would have never ordered that on my own but she was right on with that meal! We watched a fire thrower and hit a few of the shops before heading back to the hotel.

The next morning Katie slept in. Aunt Di went downstairs and grabbed us a couple waffles and some eggs for Katie from the complimentary breakfast bar. When Katie finally woke up, we gathered all of our stuff up for checkout. While I was getting our things together, I put Aunt Di in charge of fixing Katie's hair. (I thought this would be interesting since I can't even fix Katie's hair!)

Let's just say, Aunt Di, yep... she forgot about that barrette in the front of her hair! She checked out of the hotel with it in there!! We didn't realize until we were in the car heading to meet the real estate agent when she looked in her mirror and noticed the barrette!

When we met the real estate agent, she informed us that our #1 pick went under contract last night so it was no longer an option. We continued on our journey to find the right house and toured another 10 houses. By the end of the day, we had a new #1 with plenty of room for Aunt Di and the Bernese Mountain Dog that will hopefully join Aunt Di in Maryland.

Kate and I headed home and Aunt Di headed back to Harrisburg to cut her grass. Aunt Di's working on making an offer on the house and now we wait.

A Perfect Mothers Day

2010-05-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

This was my second perfect Mother's Day. This year, my mom came to town. Joe and I had a wedding to go to on Saturday so she came down for the weekend to babysit for us on Saturday. Mom got to spend some much needed quality time with Katie and Joe and I had a fun night out.

The wedding was really nice. We got to visit with Joe's cousins and yes, we managed to squeeze in our famous "The Wichert's drank to much jig" at the reception. I am afraid there may be pictures of that as the photographer was nearby! We'll just hope those don't make facebook!

Sunday morning we got up nice and early and Joe cooked lunch for our Mothers and the rest of the family too. We had steak & chicken, potatoes, mac and cheese, grilled veggies and salad. Katie even purchased the mothers corsages to wear for the luncheon. After lunch we packed Mom, Caroline and Tyler up and they headed home. We visited a bit more with the Wichert crew.

My Mama's Day gift was a bike which just so happened to come with a Katie seat attached to the back. I think it's a sign that she had a good time at the shore and is ready for Mamma to Go, Go Go! We'll see how that works out!!

I can't believe this is my second Mother's Day!

Ocean City, NJ 2010

2010-05-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

So making videos is not easy!! This took me forever! I guess because I am not familiar w/ combining movies and videos! So I give up! This is my last compilation! I will continue to blog the easy way and just post pictures and videos and you will have to do without the music!

We went to Ocean City last weekend. Gram and Pop rented a condo and invited the family to enjoy their weekend. It was a beautiful condo and we all survived the stairs! (We were on the third floor!) The condo was a block or two off the boardwalk and the weather was absolutely perfect!

Katie played her first game of mini golf. She enjoyed dropping the ball into the hole rather than hitting it there! We also rented bikes on the boardwalk which was a lot of fun. Katie kept kicking me in my back saying "Go Mommy GOOOO!" She really enjoyed the ride as did I! We may have to invest in a bike for Mommy. We tasted the ever so famous Mac and Mancos Pizza which was really good and had a lot of much needed family time.

Here's a sample of the fun from our Wichert Weekend!!

Mr. Potato Pete

2010-05-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

I was sitting on the couch the other day doing some work on my laptop and glanced up to see what Katie was doing. Poor Pete was laying on the couch with Mr. Potato Head pieces stuck in his nose. I tried to get a picture but he shook them loose before I could get to the camera!! I've caught her chasing Pete with the pieces a few times now but Pete learned his lesson and quickly darts under the furniture when he sees her coming!

Ahhhhh.... another great toy from Aunt Di!

Group Shot

2010-04-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

Every year around the holidays Aunt Marie would try to get all the kids together for a "nice picture" of the cousins. Well, this year, we tried it with the little guys. While the Easter eggs were being hid, Aunt Donna, Susan and I got all the kids lined up on the couch for a "nice picture" again, of the cousins.

This was no easy task! I'm not sure how Aunt managed 7 of us! We only had 5 here and barely walked away with a decent picture!!

It took a few shots before we realized we were missing Lizzie.

But then, Tyler's sleeping and Lizzie is falling.

Everyone is looking the right way but the lighting is weird.

Tyler's playing peak a boo with Casey's hair.

But then I thought I had it, the next shot would be the one.

but no.. just CHAOS!!!

Finally, we got one picture out of three cameras of everyone looking semi normal!!

Aunt, you can have your family photographer job back!!

Blue & White Game 2010

2010-04-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Blue and White Game

2010

Aunt Di invited us to go to the Blue and White game with her last weekend. This was Katie and my first Blue and White game. I got Katie out of school early on Friday and we headed to Aunt Di's. We transferred all our stuff into Aunt Di's car and headed towards State College. It was pretty late when we got to Aunt's house so we unloaded and visited with Babba and Poppy for a bit and headed back to Auntie's for a good nights rest. (Some how we forgot the Hi-Way Pizza that Aunt Di promised!)

Saturday morning we headed to breakfast with Babba, Pappap and Aunt Nelly and then we were off to the game. Tyler enjoyed pushing Katie to the game.

They both really enjoyed watching the blue band and cheerleaders during the pep rally. Tyler even got a free t-shirt! It was pretty funny because one of the cheerleaders announced they were throwing t-shirts and Tyler went running to the stage with a mob of people. We lost site of him for a couple minutes and then he came popping out of the crowd with a t-shirt in hand! He was very proud that he got a blue one and insisted on wearing it the rest of the day.

Aunt Di purchased a pack of tickets for the kids so they could ride at the carnival. The lines were ridiculously long but the kids didn't seem to mind the wait.

And then.. there he was... The Nittany Lion right in front of us! Katie was AMAZED! She didn't cry or mind being carried around by the lion! After her first encounter, she could spot him a mile away! In the stands during the game she followed his every move!

We watched the first half of the game. It got really, really cold in the stands and the poor kids were frozen. I had actually brought warmer clothes for Katie but it was so nice when we got out of the car, I didn't bother to bring them into the stadium. Oh well! I was cold too so I was happy that we left when we did! Good thing it wasn't a "real" game or Aunt Di would have made us suck it up!!

Surprisingly, we wore out the kids!

We met up with Babba for some dinner at a nice restaurant in Pleasant Gap and then Aunt Di, Kate and I headed back into town for round 2! After all, how could we visit State College and not hit the bookstore for some new Penn State wear and some Creamery ice cream!

I'm pretty sure this pic of Katie is her thinking: "Hmmm.. what cool things do you think my Aunt Di and I can get from this store?"

And of course, we can't go through the bookstore without someone trying on this hat! I am pretty sure there is a picture of Tyler floating around in this same hat!

At last.... ice cream. Katie enjoyed the Strawberry Delight while Aunt Di and I both ate the Peanut Butter swirl. Katie gave up on using the spoon after about 15 minutes!

We picked up 3 half gallons of ice cream on dry ice to take back home and then headed back to Harrisburg for the night. (A peanut butter swirl for each of us and a mint chocolate chip as a souvenir for Daddy.)

What a wonderful weekend!!

Missing Daddy

2010-04-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

Katie and I went home this weekend with Aunt Di to the Blue and White Game. (More on that later.) We got home last night and Katie showed Daddy all the neat things Aunt Di bought her. I guess this is how boys play with stuffed animals.

Katie's Dr. Visit

2010-04-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

I know I am late on this posting! That's my way lately!

Last month, Katie had her 19 Month Well visit. Everything went well. She is still under weight but the Dr. said she is growing at a healthy rate. The Dr. took FOREVER to see her! I swear we waited in a room for atleast an hour. We ran out of things to do! I had packed snacks and a couple toys but those only last for so long!

Katie and I played the silly faces game. I would make a face and then she would make a face. I caught this one with my cell phone and sent it to Babba.

This is the response we got back from Babba!! Katie and I laughed and laughed. The best part is how much they look alike even with a funny face! (I am pretty sure Babba is also at work in this picture which means other people saw this face too not just us! LOL)

A Complex?

2010-04-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

We are sitting at the new kitchen table eating dinner. (Yes Babba, we finally got a round one!) Katie has her special cup that I brought her from Florida. (A big girl cup without a lid.) She's sipping water out of the cup with a straw. She doesn't quite get that if you have a straw, you don't need to lift the cup. She proceeds to pour the cup down the front of her while drinking out of the straw. She's completely shocked and drops the cup. (I imagine it was cold and just started to soak through her shirt and hit her skin.) She starts to cry hysterically. I say, "It's okay Katie. It's just water." Through her tears, I hear "Daddy, Daddy, Mommy did it." I say, "I did not." She says, "Yes, Momma, Momma." while pointing at the mess.

This morning Joe wakes me up on his way out the door. I got up and showered. Just like clock work, Katie woke immediately at 7 a.m. I went into her room to get her up. She says "Daddy! Daddy! No Mamma!" I say, "Dad's at work. Let's get ready for school." She says "NO! DADDY!" I say, "Daddy is not here." She throws herself down on her mattress and sobs.

I am starting to get a complex!

Easter at Daycare

2010-04-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

The week before Easter, Kate's daycare hosted an Easter party and invited all the families for an egg hunt, games, face painting and snacks. We stopped by the event and had a great time. Katie got to hold a real live bunny. She wasn't afraid and liked to touch him. Katie's teacher let us know that if we wanted a raffle ticket, she would get one for us as they were raffling off the bunnies at the end of the event. Katie and I were so close to convincing Dad that we needed a bunny. Needless to say, we left bunnyless.

Katie searched for eggs. She found lots! When she took her basket of eggs to trade in for a prize, one of the teachers said, "Katie, you found sooo many eggs!" Another teacher said, "You know Katie, she's our little over achiever!"

Katie loves Munchkins. (The donut holes form Dunken Donuts.) Well, in the snack area, they had a few boxes of Munchkins. Katie grabbed one for each hand. We walked outside to the Moon Bounce area and we spotted him. Yes, across the way, it was Antonio! (The Cookie Thief from a previous posting.) Katie ate those Munchkins soooo fast!! By the time, Antonio spotted us and caught up to Katie, she swallowed both Munchkins!

Katie and Antonio enjoyed the moon bounce. They bounced for a long time and actually missed the egg hunt (they hid more eggs just for the two of them!) When it was time to get out, Katie refused. One of the teachers had to crawl inside to drag her out.

Saturday Mornings

2010-04-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

I love Saturday mornings. It's the only day of the week that I don't have to listen to an alarm clock or rush out of bed to get Kate to daycare and me to work! It's the one day of the week that I have the chance to sleep in! Well, that is, until this comes to my room with the help of Daddy....

Hot Dog!

2010-04-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

Since Disney we have watched the Mickey Mouse Club House several times every day. Katie has a video she watches in the car of the show and it's DVR'd every morning. When she is ready to watch a show, you hear HOT DOG! HOT DOG! HOT DOG!!!

Tonight, I was remembering one of the first time we put it on the TV after returning from Disney and I dug up this video....

If you haven't watched the Mickey Mouse Club House, at the end of EVERY show, they do the Hot Dog Dance. We all pick a part and dance like the various characters. I am Minnie, Joe is Mickey and Katie switches back and forth depending upon the character being shown at the time but tends to look like Goofy on most occasions.

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

We were up pretty late last night helping the Easter Bunny set the perfect scene for Easter morning. We moved all the extra toys out of the family room, put up Katie's newest picture with the Easter Bunny and picked up the rest of the house so it was presentable for the Easter Bunny's arrival.

We woke up shortly after 7 a.m. on Sunday and our little alarm clock woke shortly after. The Easter Bunny left an empty Easter basket in Katie's room with a card. The card said Happy Easter from the Easter Bunny and there was a special note "Follow the Easter Eggs to your Easter Basket!" Katie grabbed her basket and headed down the steps picking up Easter eggs along her way. When we turned the corner I had noticed that the Easter Bunny left a HUGE Easter Basket filled with goodies and a Bike too! Boy, I thought, Katie is going to LOVE this! Katie continued to pick up eggs along the way. She got close to the basket and stopped dead in her tracks. Unfortunately, this was certainly not the reaction I had anticipated for Katie's second Easter.

Yes, the damn Easter bunny left one little piece of yellow Easter grass on the carpet and Katie stepped on it. Can you believe how inconsiderate that Easter Bunny was? It took awhile, but Katie finally calmed down and did enjoy her bike and gifts in her basket. Some of the highlights, silly bunny glasses:

At the bottom of the basket Kate found giant jelly beans. She picked up each jelly bean and licked it leaving a pile of sticky mess. (I guess I should be thankful that she didn't eat all that sugar!)

A new sippy cup with a straw!

And of course, the bike...

Once Katie played with her toys, it was time to get dressed up for church. This was the first time I've attempted to put barrettes in Kate's hair. That didn't go over so well. She screamed at me and threw herself all over the place. I finally waited until she took a nap at lunch to put the barrettes in her hair.

Katie Rocking her Easter Bunny

Easter 2010

Skip, Skip, Skip to my Lou...

2010-04-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

Introducing - Our Little Skipper... Compliments to her teacher's, Gram and Pop!

Katie Meets the Easter Bunny

2010-04-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... where oh where has our Katie gone?

Don't worry! I am still taking pictures and videos and have plenty to blog about for the next couple weeks. I promise to get you caught up soon! I've just been sick still and after work and caring for Kate I just haven't had enough energy to blog. But, I went to the doctor today (Under my Mother's Orders) and got some meds so hopefully within a day or two Katie and I will be back! Until then, here's Katie's Easter picture with the Bunny from the mall.

We unfortunately chose to do this on Friday, two days before Easter. The line was long and Katie was as patient as she could be. Everytime we were in a spot in which we could see the bunny from the line, I would pick her up and say "Katie, look at that little girl! She's sitting with the Easter Bunny. Are you going to sit with the Easter Bunny?" and she would shake her head YES! Well, she kind of changed her mind once we approached the front of the line. I held her hand and walked her over to the bunny. She went very, very slowly and was unsure about this crazy bunny looking at her. I picked her up and placed her on the bunny's lap. She didn't cry, she didn't fuss. She simply put her arms out and said "MOM!"

He Ate My Cookie!!!

2010-03-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I rushed around the house to get Katie ready for daycare. On our way out the door I grabbed a handful of chocolate chip cookies to snack on throughout the day. Katie saw me and said cookie, cookie while doing sign language for cookie. I gave her one and out the door we went. In the car, she ate about a quarter of the cookie. (They aren't very big - just the Nabisco ones.) I got Kate out of the car at daycare and noticed that she still had the cookie. I tried to take it from her thinking she was done, but she wasn't so I let her hang on to it.

We went in the daycare doors and her teacher was standing behind the receptionist desk making copies. She had Antonio on her hip. (Antonio - couple months younger than Katie. They've been in daycare in the same class for the majority of their lives. He adores Katie. When she comes in into the room, he runs to her and hugs her and follows her around. Katie typically ignores him but I think she secretly likes the little guy.)

Katie and I made our way to her room to get her things unpacked and figured her teacher would come to the room shortly. Katie was standing at the far end of the room still snacking on her cookie. I was at the opposite end of the room unpacking Katie's bag. The door opens and Antonio comes running in with the teacher not far behind. He runs to Katie and instead of hugging her like normal, he goes to grab the cookie. Katie tries to hold on to her cookie but Antonio knocks it out of her hand. The cookie goes flying. And the next thing I know the two of them are wrestling on the floor for the cookie. The teacher is yelling "Antonio! Antonio! That's Katie's cookie! Antonio! Nooooo!!!" And Antonio pops the rest of the cookie into his mouth. The teacher goes running over trying to dig the cookie that hit the floor out of his mouth. Antonio bites the teacher and she gives up.

Katie is still screaming, "COOKIE! COOKIE! MINE! MINE! MINE!"
Antonio has the biggest smile on his face like he's never eaten anything so good!
The Teacher, is baffled because not only did Antonio eat Katie's nibbled on cookie, he ate it after it hit the floor.
I am still trying to unpack laughing hysterically at the entire situation !

The good news - I was finally prepared!! Not on purpose, but I had a pocket full of cookies still that I whipped out to pacify my hysterical daughter! I even left the remaining cookies in case Antonio decided to attack again! (The teacher will never know - those were meant for me!)

Disney World 2010 - Day FOUR

2010-03-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

I woke up at about 3:30 am to go to the bathroom, when I came out, I found Tyler on the floor in front of the bathroom. I said, Tyler, you ok? He said, yeah Aunt Dana but my stomach hurt. I said, are you going to throw up or need to go to the bathroom? He said, No, I guess I just don't want to sleep. So, we headed to the living room for some special Aunt Dana get well juice. (A fancy glass with two ice cubes and some sprite.) We decided to break out the park maps and circle the fun things that Tyler would like to see in the morning. Tyler put stars beside the really important stop, The Safari at Animal Kingdom. Once I explained every ride and we reviewed all park maps, I convinced Tyler to go back to bed for a little bit because we were going to have a very long day. After all, we missed a day and have a lot to make up!

We all were up and about around 8 a.m. and then headed to Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately, it was raining but everyone was feeling better so we were determined to see it all! Tyler was the only one prepared with his Lightening McQueen poncho. The rest of us purchased Disney ponchos once we entered the park.

Our first stop today was the Muppets 3D Show. Tyler thought the 3D shows were scary so he didn't really care for it. But Katie wore the 3D glasses the entire time and loved it. I even caught her reaching out to grab things! Right after we left the show, we went out the doors and ran into Tyler's favorite Disney characters! They were even revving their engines!

A few of the big attractions were closed due to the rain so we didn't make it to everything but we had a great time getting soaked! Tyler enjoyed the jeep that blew up in Indiana Jones. Katie's favorite show was Play House Disney.

Notice how wet Kate is? She refused to ride in the buggy with the plastic cover! She wanted to walk like everyone else. I bought her a poncho but it was too big. I changed her a few times throughout the day from head to toe but she had a blast walking through the rain and playing in the puddles.

Katie slept through Toy Story Mania but it was one of my favorite rides! Aunt Di kicked all of our butts with the highest score and she was the only one to win a Beaver!

I guess we ate something chocolate for lunch????

Tyler met a real army man.

and then..... Aunt Di said, we are going to the Tower of Terror. Joe and Kate went back to Play House Disney for a second showing, Aunt Di went shopping and Aunt Nelly, Tyler and I were being sent to Tower of Terror. Aunt Di said, Tyler, Babba road it. You will love it. It's just like the bouncing ride at DelGrosso. It's not scary. Now, I know Aunt Di's been on this ride before! Did she REALLY think this was a good ride for Tyler??? Well, I wasn't going to object because eventhough I've been on it a few times, it still scares me but I don't think anyone should miss this ride! So away we went - to the Tower of Terror! Tyler and Danelle drug their feet most of the way but we made it on the ride. We were sitting there in the dark. Tyler says, Aunt Dana, I am scared. I said, don't be scared buddy and I put my hand on his leg. Danelle put her hand down and grabbed my hand. I was thinking I was holding Tyler's hand and she was thinking she was holding Tyler's hand! Then we both realized what we were doing and it was quite comical as we readjusted!! Once we survived the ride, we purchased a picture for Tyler to take and show off at school. He was soo brave! I think he was the littlest fellow on the ride that day!

We then headed back to Magic Kingdom to see the Spectro Magic Parade and Fireworks. After all, we didn't use our ticket from yesterday. Well, we got to the park and they refused to let us in. They said because we didn't purchase the Park Hopper option, we could only go to one park that day. I was so furious as we lost a day because of the darn flu and we certainly didn't plan on wasting a park ticket on the flu! Of course, I asked for a manager. It's supposed to be the happiest place on earth for goodness sake. So, I pleaded my case and told her she could call our hotel and talk to our housekeeping staff for confirmation of our illness if she didn't believe me. Well, shortly thereafter we were in the park finding seats to watch the parade.

Katie loved the parade. Mary Poppins even came over to her and talked to her on her way down the street. Aunt Nelly bought Tyler a light up sword and Katie got a glow in the dark Minnie Mouse. While waiting for the parade, Tyler hula-hooped in front of the castle.

After the parade Tyler got to take me for a ride around the speedway in a race car which was one of his favorite rides. Then we watched the fireworks in front of the castle.

We then headed back to our hotel for the last night of sleep! We hopped on our bus and Tyler headed to the back of the bus and made some more friends. I am not sure who even asked, but the question came up, "Was that a Magical Day in Disney?" And some wise person (Aunt Di) said "It's always a Magical Day in Disney when nobody Poops Themselves!" I'm not sure the folks hearing our conversation on the bus understood, but we certainly did and had a good laugh!! Not even Kate pooped on this Magical Day!

The lights were very dim on the bus so we couldn't see what was going on in the back. When we got back to the hotel and went to get off, we noticed Tyler, asleep in the back with the other kids who I am not even sure he talked to on the ride. I'm pretty sure we wore them both out!

One and a HALF!!

2010-03-19T20:01:00.001-07:00

This week Katie turned 18 months - that's One and a Half Years Old!! We kind of missed her birthday - oops!! Heck, I was pleased that we got out the door with green on for St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, I can't remember everything! I mean, this was the only time she would EVER turn one and a half! I did sing a day late and she got to go to the doctors today for her 18 month well visit. And it was just that, well.

Last night, I gave Katie a bath before bed so she would be nice and clean for her doctor visit. With the time change, she's been sleeping until 8 instead of 6 or 7 so I knew we would be in a time crunch to make the doctor office by 8:45 a.m.! Just like clockwork, I heard "Mommy Poop" in the baby monitor right at 8 a.m. I had just gotten dressed and had her clothes laid out and ready to go for our dash to the doctors. Not thinking anything of the "poop" addition to the Mommy request, I headed into her room to get her up. I opened her door and took one look at her. There she sat, without any pants, or a diaper and there was poop all over! She looked at me and put her hands up and said "ew mommy, ew, ew" while shaking her poopy fingers at me. (She does not like anything on her hands, let alone poop!) Well, so much for skipping the bath! We headed to the tub for a super fast bath.

Amazingly, we still made the doctors office in time. Katie weighed in at 22.3 lbs. (40th percentile) and is 32 1/2 inches (75th percentile) tall. The nurses were pleased to share with Kate that this was one of the "no shot" visits and she should be excited but then I talked the doctor into digging up the second H1N1 shot for her that I only called about 1 million times!! Katie was a good sport and loved the pink camouflage band aid she got to show off at daycare. Per the doctor, she's growing at a good rate. She's still not allowed peanut butter or shell fish but she can have honey now.

No more doctor visits until she turns 2! That is as long as the diaper rash, pink eyes, ear infections and stomach flu's stay away!!

Silly Girl Waiting for the Doctor Today

Silly Babba Entertaining Katie from 250 miles away!

(Isn't it strange how much they look alike?)

Disney World 2010 - Tyler Stories

2010-03-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Tyler made a ton of friends in Disney. Not just with the characters, but with the Disney staff, the folks at the pool and anyone else that would carry on a conversation with him including other guests on the bus trips between parks.

One day, we were headed to one of the parks. Tyler chose to sit in the back of the bus with another family. Here's his conversation with the Dad from the other family.

Tyler: Guess my name.
The Dad: Give me a hint.
Tyler: It starts with a T.
The Dad: Tim, Tom, Todd
Tyler: No, Silly. My name is Tyler.
Tyler: Guess my cousins name. I'll give you a hint. It starts with a K.
The Dad: Kristy, Kelly, Kathy
Tyler: NO!! I will give you another hint. It starts with a K and ends with a D.
(At this point I was thinking Tyler spelled Katie's name as K.D.)
The Dad: Hmm.. I really don't know any names that start with a K and end with a D.
Tyler: Her name is Katie Did!

Tyler and I went swimming the morning we were to come home. I was playing with Katie in the shallow end while Tyler swam around the pool making friends. He met a nice family from Vancouver.

The Dad: Where are you from Tyler?
Tyler: Some place that starts with an F. I don't remember the name.
The Dad: Oh, sounds interesting. We are from Vancouver.
Tyler: Oh, that's what you mean! I mean I am from Pennsylvania!
The Dad: We love Pennsylvania. We go to the Poconos often. Do you live in the mountains?
Tyler: No, I live in the Forest.

Disney World 2010 - Day THREE

2010-03-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

...the flu bug hit Tyler and Aunt Di in the night!! They were both up all night vomitting and spent the next day either in bed, at the pot or on the pot! Tyler soaked the entire bed and housekeeping had to bring fresh linens and a new mattress in the night. Thank goodness our hotel room had a washer and dryer and two bathrooms! And although I am sure we are banned from this resort in the future the staff was very accomodating for us and did a great job cleaning our mess. We took turns chipping ice cubes for the sick and delivering saltines to their bedsides.

Sick Aunt Di

Sick Tyler

Thank goodness Aunt Danelle did not catch it and although we didn't go to a park, Aunt Danelle, Joe, Katie and I went over to the main house for lunch and dinner. Katie even got to play in the rain for a bit.

Disney World 2010 - Day TWO

2010-03-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

Our day started early. Katie, our alarm clock, had everyone up getting ready for our 8 a.m. departure to Magic Kingdom. We got into the park a bit early because we had breakfast reservations at a Character Restaurant with Pooh and Friends.

We met Tiger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore. Tyler loved each one of them but Katie was afraid.

We ate Mickey waffles...

...and when Tyler wasn't looking Katie grabbed his chocolate chip Mickey pancake and ate all the chocolate chips out of him.

The kids marched in a parade around the restaurant with the characters.

Finally, we were off to the park. Our first ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. It's one of my favorites and I thought for sure it would be Tyler's. But he hated it. He liked the shopping after the ride but hated the ride itself.

Our next ride was the Haunted Mansion which Tyler didn't like it either.

Grandma sent flocks of guardian angel birds to watch over us. These white ones followed us around. They lined the lagoon on our way to Downtown Disney and followed us in the park. At the hotel, there was a fluffy black bird bathing in a fountain near our room.

Katie and Tyler both liked It's a Small World. Here are some of Katie's favorite characters.

Katie explained that if she were a It's a Small World Doll, she would be this one. Check out the hair!

While Aunt Danelle and Tyler road Splash Mountain and Aunt Di shopped, Katie climbed through this tree house which she absolutely loved!

Tyler danced in the street with the Bears....

...and then drove his Mama around the park. Later he took me for a ride too!

Everyone enjoyed the cruise around Magic Kingdom on the train.

We watched a character parade and Katie perfected her princess wave.

Finally, we met Mickey and Minnie! Minnie even played peek-a-boo with Katie and from that point on, Katie LOVED HER!!

We headed back to our hotel for dinner and a quick swim in the pool. Tyler scored little plastic ponies for he and Katie from the wait staff.

Then to bed! Our plan was to open the parks in the AM BUT..........

Disney World 2010 - Day ONE

2010-03-14T17:55:00.001-07:00

Aunt Di decided to take Tyler to Disney World this year so while I was looking to make her vacation plans (yes, I am the family travel agent)I decided that Joe, Kate and I would tag along too. We left on Tuesday for 5 days of fun in the SUN. The trip was wonderful. Everyone had a really great time even with Aunt Di and Tyler getting the flu and the RAIN! Hopefully, I've captured the week pretty well in pics and stories! Enjoy!

DAY ONE - Tuesday - New Jersey to Florida

We got up early on Tuesday to head to the Atlantic City airport. I figured flying out of a smaller airport would be much easier with the kids. We checked our bags and made our way to airport security. I am not sure how folks with multiple kids do airports. Our trip through security was a bit chaotic!! (One stroller, 12 shoes, 6 sweatshirts, 6 carry-ons, 2 laptops, 4 adults and 2 kids!) Whehew! Once we were to the gate, the kids played cars for a bit while we waited to board.

Once aboard the plane, the kids were great. Katie slept the majority of the ride and Tyler enjoyed watching out the window. When we landed, we made our way to the bus Mickey sent for us to take us to our hotel, Saratoga Springs. We didn't even have to pick up our luggage, Mickey sent someone to pick that up for us and deliver it to our hotel. (Thank goodness because we had 6 very LARGE bags!) Once we got to the hotel, I worked on checking us in while the kids played in the lobby.

To set the scene, there is a large round couch in the middle of a very large lobby. Tyler decided it would be fun to run around the couch. He did so a few times and then Katie decided to follow. Around and around they went. All of a sudden, I look over and there is the hotel manager running around behind them and they were all three giggling like crazy. From that point on the hotel manager and Tyler were best of friends. He gave Tyler and Katie special pins for their first visit, Mickey balloons, a pirate bandanna and Mickey stickers. He also recommended Flippers pizza and some really good rice crispy treats from Downtown Disney (you will see more on this later!)

A golf cart then took us to our room which was a two bedroom suite. The room was just perfect. It had a great amount of space and ALL the amenities that we needed. The first bedroom was a king bed with a pack and play and a bathroom with a large jet tub, shower and bathroom. The second bedroom had two queen beds and another bathroom and then there was a living room and full kitchen. We were located within walking distance to the main building and very close to the pool.

We ordered pizza from Flippers and Joe tried to get Katie to take an unsuccessful nap while waiting for our groceries to be delivered. (I ordered these from Garden Grocer prior to our arrival.) The rest of us headed to the swimming pool. Tyler enjoyed the pool a lot. There were water slides and even a fun kiddie area. After the pool, we got cleaned up and headed out to Downtown Disney.

We hopped on a ferry boat from our hotel and took the 10 minute trip across the lake. Tyler enjoyed the boat ride and helped the driver by locking the gates. He was very excited to be given this task. When we reached Downtown Disney the driver told him he was hired which made his day!!

We walked around and looked at all the sites and shopped a bit. Tyler (with Aunt Di's help) bought a dinosaur that enjoyed most of the trip with us.

Katie and Tyler rode the carousel.

We danced in the street!

And... we found Goofy's shop which the hotel manager recommended. (The location of the special rice crispy treats!) Basically, you go in and there is candy EVERYWHERE. You pick up a sheet and select that you want a rice crispy treat. Then you pick a chocolate, milk, dark or white. Then you pick a topping. I picked nuts. Aunt Di selected peanut butter chips and Aunt Danelle selected oreo cookies. Then you pick another chocolate dip. These were THE BEST rice crispy treats we have EVER eaten!

We did a little bit more shopping and then headed back to our hotel for an early night to bed so we could get up early for our character breakfast on Wednesday at Magic Kingdom. On the way back, Tyler was again a helper for the driver. This time, he not only got to lock the ship doors, but he blew the horn too! He was even given a pirate hat from the driver!

Our first day was a success! Stay tuned for more about our trip!

12 Hour Bug

2010-03-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

When I picked Katie up at daycare yesterday, I put her coat on her and she turned around to walk to the door and threw up all over the place. I cleaned her up and got her home and into the tub. She seemed fine so I thought her snack just didn't agree with her. After the tub, I set her on my bed to get her diapered and dressed. I turned to grab the diapers and she barfed all over my bed. (One load of laundry!) I got her cleaned up again and took her down stairs to watch "Dor Dor" (Dora) and eat ice pops (pedialyte). Katie didn't want the ice pops.

Joe finally got home and sat on the couch with Kate to watch Dor Dor. Katie demanded her bots. (Bottle) Me, not thinking, filled up the bots and handed it to her. Katie fell asleep on Joe while watching tv and drinking her milk. After about 30 minutes, Joe moved the slightest in an effort to get off the couch and take Katie to bed. Katie opened her mouth and threw up all over the place. (It was like a fountain! I have no idea where it all came from!) I got Katie undressed and sent Joe to change. (Two loads of laundry!)

We took Katie to bed. I put her in her crib and Joe tried to soothe her to sleep. She fell asleep for about a half hour and then woke up yelling MUM, MUM, MUUUUMMM. I went in the room and she wanted the bots again. I picked her up and went to rock her. She opened her mouth and threw up again. This time getting my rocking chair, her entire bed and me. (Three & Four loads of laundry!) We got Katie changed up again and while Joe tried to get her back to sleep, I called Babba. I caught her right before bed! Babba said, no milk. Try water in the Bots and pedialyte. I tried pure water in the bots and Katie didn't like it. I then tricked her by pouring a 1/4 cup of milk in the bots and filled the rest with water. This got Katie to sleep and she stayed out for the night.

Joe and I discussed work. We are on vacation next week and really can't be off today. There's so much to do before we are off! So it was determined, if Katie is not throwing up we would take her to school late.

Katie got up around 7. She was happy and a bit crusty from the vomit and she smelled awful! I quickly moved her to the bathroom for a soak in the tub. She was playing for awhile in the water like she normally does. She loves to grab the water while it's coming into the tub so I just let it run not really caring that the hot water ran out. Well, she waited until I got her all soaped up, hair included and shit in the tub! She stood there saying "bum, mom bum, bum, bum, bum, mom bum, momma bum", and then she shit again. I emptied the tub and realized after it was empty that there was no hot water left. I had to let her stand there while it warmed up and Joe heated some on the stove too. The poor thing stood there cold and soapy, pooping every once in awhile and sobbing bum, momma, bum.

Well, I've learned my lesson to pay more attention to the hot water running out and to save some just in case of emergency!

I thought I was doing well getting ready for vacation but now find myself further behind. I just hope this 12 hour bug skips the rest of us!!

What a mess & What a learning experience!!

Misc Stuff!

2010-03-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

I don't want to jinx it but my daughter might just be a genious! Do you see this art work? She is not even two years old and drew a perfect A! Seriously, she did not have help. She did this on her own and Pop and Gram were here to witness it!!

This is Katie on caffeine. She had a drink of Joe's soda tonight and went bonkers. She just wanted to hug and squeal, hug and squeal. I didn't mind as I was the one getting the hugs this time!

I'm not sure why but I cheer, a lot! You would think I was a cheerleader or something! I cheer for Tyler all the time. So much that everyone in the family knows the Awesome Oh Wow cheer! He got potty trained off of that one! So, now I cheer for Katie. I am sure I posted the Go Banana's cheer on here before. But here we go again! This time, Katie does the Ugh. I don't know if you can hear it because it's a video from my cell so just incase, sing this along to the video: "Go Bananas, Go Go Bananas. Lean to the left and a lean to the right, peal your banana and UGH take a bite."

Getting the Dishes Done!

2010-02-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

Tonight I cooked dinnner. I know amazing, huh? A Straka meal favorite - Hamburger Gravy, Mashed Potato's and Corn. After dinner Joe had to do some work so Katie and I were on cleanup duty. Katie was in charge of washing the dishes. I didn't realize at the time when I agreed to let her complete this task that it would permit her to stand in the dish water. So, we cuffed up her pants and she sat on the edge of the sink while I handed her dishes to rinse in the water. When I turned around to get more dishes from the kitchen table, I found Katie in the dish water. She was cleaning - certainly not just playing in the sink. I guess she decided it was just easier this way!

I'm not sure how I got this wet, MOM?

I've got to get this bottle cleaned before bed time!

Oops! I think the garbage disposal ate my clothes! Nothing like doing the dishes in the nude!

Mom, Can we have Butter for Dinner?

2010-02-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

At dinner tonight, Katie ate soooo much! She ate cottage cheese, fruit, raisins, macaroni and cheese and some applesauce. I then gave her a piece of bread with some butter on it. She proceeded to lick the butter off the bread. Once she licked it clean, she handed it to me and requested more. I pretended to re-butter the bread and gave it back to her. Unfortunately, she is not easy to trick and expressed her displeasure of my trick by crying at me.

She was absolutely positive that I did not put more butter on her bread and demanded to do it herself! I gave her a large fork thinking there was no way she could get the butter out of the little container with that it. Well, to my surprise she cleared that little container of all butter with the large fork and when she couldn't get any more out with it, she used her little fingers and her tongue. She was quite the little mess. Thank goodness there was not much butter left in that little thing (and there were 0 trans fat)!

Where do you put your stickers?

2010-02-23T18:30:00.000-08:00

Katie is feeling much, much better! She is so much more pleasant! Even though I seem to have the sickness now, I am glad she is doing better. She came home from school today and ate her dinner with no problem. Her report from school said she ate well there also. She played tonight and giggled a lot! Here's a few of our fun moments!

Kate got a package of stickers from her Babba's valentine present. I handed them to her one at a time and gave her a book to stick them in. To my surprise, she new exactly what to do with them. She stuck them directly on her neck. Yes, her neck. I have no idea why but she was insistant that it was the perfect spot for all the stickers so I let her go.

When she was done playing stickers, we moved on to a tea party. Katie kept taking a little donkey and sticking it in the top of the tea pot. Then she would open it and act real surprised that it was in the tea pot! Here's Katie's surprised look:

After that we scooted around the house in the scooter. Yes, this is a perfect shot of the Feeling Better Katie! I wish I had some of her energy tonight!

Here's another shot of Katie and her scooter. We had to get inventive to make this a parent friendly toy!

Happy Birthday Aunt Di! Sorry Aunt G!

2010-02-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

Let me start this entry by saying, don't worry Aunt G, I don't have as many followers as UTUBE! =)

We headed to Harrisburg this weekend to celebrate Aunt Di's birthday. It was a fun day of family time. Babba, Poppy, Tyler, Nana, Pappy, Pappap, Aunt Bobbi and Uncle Scott traveled all the way from Philipsburg and we met at Aunt Di's.

Babba had some Babba and Kate time.

Kate and Tyler had some Pappy time!

Kate and Tyler had Kate and Tyler time... (it doesn't typically last very long so I am surprised I got this on camera!!)

Most importantly, we sang Happy Birthday to Aunt Di and ate birthday cake!

Hope you enjoyed your day with us, Aunt Di! Happy Birthday!!

Mom and Dad? Nah, Dana and Joe!

2010-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

Katie decided she would rather call us what everyone else calls us. Instead of Mom or Mamma and Dad or Daddy, we are now Dana and Joe. She started doing it this weekend at my sisters house and hasn't let up. This morning we were getting ready for work. Katie and I were downstairs and Joe was upstairs. I forgot something upstairs so I yelled "Joe!" He didn't answer. I yelled again "Joe!" He didn't answer. Katie marched to the bottom of the steps and yelled "JOOOOOEEEEE!!!" He finally responded with, "HEY! My name is Daddy!" She giggled and yelled "JOE" again.

Quick Katie Story

2010-02-18T19:30:00.001-08:00

Katie hasn't been feeling well. We took her to the Dr. on Tuesday and they said she has a sinus infection and is getting her molar teeth. (Joe said they definitely said molar?? Who knows!) She also has a really bad cough and she's been just down right miserable. She's been throwing fits left and right which I believe is due to the disturbed sleeping from all the coughing. A brief description of the Katie fit: Cry uncontrollably for no good reason and then gently sit herself on the floor Indian style while moping pitifully. Her body is as limp as a noodle. You cannot pick up a Katie while she is throwing a Katie fit.

So, anyways, last night she finally had a good nights sleep. She woke up at 7:30 this morning which is pretty late for her and to my surprise, was as happy as could be. All went well at daycare and Katie didn't even throw herself onto the pavement in the parking lot when I picked her up. Yes, this happened before. Katie laying face up in the middle of the parking lot... limp as a noodle! My hands were full and of course I couldn't easily pick her up. I swear everyone must have thought I was nuts, but it's not me! It's really just my child! But any how, things were looking up today, so I thought!

Well, we got home and ate dinner. We had pizza. In the middle of dinner, Katie started with one of her Katie fits. She ate a bite of pizza and had some yogurt too. Then the fit started. She cried in her high chair, I tried to put her down and she cried harder to be back in her high chair. I tried everything. I gave her more food, her baby, a drink.. nothing would pacify this child! I finally asked her if she wanted a bath, she said yes. I set her down from her high chair and she went towards the steps. Well, Little Miss Independent does not need any help on the steps these days. She goes up and down by herself and if you try to help, Katie FIT! So, now it takes us an hour to go up and down the steps. Until tonight, Katie now goes up one step and sticks her butt out at you and shakes it and says "nana na nana na." Then she goes up another step and does it again!

Shake the butt and "nana na nana na." Where in the world did she learn this?

Before a Katie FIT...

After a Katie FIT...

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2010-02-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day, One Year ago (5 Months).....

Valentine's Day Today (17 Months)...

The day started off Great! I woke up to breakfast in bed! Kate slept in until 9:30 which is really odd for her! We then headed down to exchange cards and little gifts. I even got flowers, delivered on a Sunday! We found Babba mail in the driveway too. Katie enjoyed the little gummy bears, cards and clothes. Everytime we said, do you want to open your cards? Katie would grab a little car and hand it to us. It was so funny. She just didn't understand "card" yet.

Another Snow Day!

2010-02-11T16:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got another foot of snow. Schools were closed, day care was closed and a lot of roads were closed! There were trees down and lights out. What a mess!

We have close to 4 feet of snow now. With our shovel on it's way out, it wasn't fun for Joe and I. We duct taped it but it was still wobbly and squeaky. We looked for a new one the day before the storm but they were of course sold out. The shovel held out though and we were able to dig ourselves out last night. We will be on the look out for two new shovels (or maybe even a snow blower) soon!

I thought this mound of snow was pretty funny. It seemed like every time the plow would come through, he would put as much of the snow as he could in this one spot. I know if I were a kid I would have been on top that mound in no time. Heck, I probably would have jumped from the roof into the snow mound. (You would think I would have learned a lesson from that! Nah.. LOL) With no surprise there were kids climbing on it tonight. (I had the urge to crawl up there with Kate for a picture but thought it probably wasn't the best of ideas.)

I worked from home and Joe took the day off to watch Kate. (Well, part of the day. He wound up working the majority of it anyways!) The day started off well. I frequently got a visit in the office from this little person:

Katie ate her first ring pop. Yes, it was blue! Well, she licked enough of it to turn her mouth blue and then fed it to the dogs. She did enjoy it and said "yum, yum" after every lick. It probably wasn't a good choice of a snack knowing we were going to be couped up in the house the entire day. But it was fun!

So, remember when I was pregnant and worried about Katie's hair? Well, this WAS the reason! Look at this???!!!! I've lived with this for 33 years! Why did it have to happen to her too? This is not just because she is playing an a staticy ball pit. This happens when I hold her and my hair static gets on her. This happens when I put her coat on even without a hat. This happens when she leans against the couch. This happens immediately upon her hair being dried after a bath! This is the red hair mess that I prayed and prayed Katie would not receive!

Anyways, Katie had a great time in her ball pit that she got for Christmas from Aunt Di. Dad and Kate put it up today for the first time and Katie giggled and giggled. She just loves playing in it and kicking the balls around. Even the horse had to try out the ball pit!

Overall, it was a great couple days to be home. If only we could figure out how to do it without getting snow!! Back to daycare for Katie tomorrow and into the office for Joe and I.

Conversation with a 17 Month Old

2010-02-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

To set the scene: I am in my bedroom getting ready for work. Joe and Katie were downstairs getting ready for school. Joe was to work from home today.

This is what I hear:

Dad yells from the kitchen "Katie, where are you?"

Katie yells from the steps "NO, NO, NO, NO!"

Dad yells from the kitchen "Are you on the steps?"

Katie yells from the steps "No."

Dad runs to the steps and says "Katie, are you supposed to be on the steps?"

Katie says "YES!"

Dad says "No, You are not supposed to be on the steps."

Katie giggles and says "YES, YES, No, No, No, No."

Dad grabs Katie from the steps and back to the kitchen they go.

Tyler and "the BEBE"

2010-02-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Katie likes to look at videos of "the BEBE". Of course they are pictures and videos of Katie when she was just little. She points at herself and says "Bebe, Bebe!" This is her most favorite one. I don't know if I ever posted this, but I'm sure you won't mind seeing it again if I did. I had to crop it a bit to get it to upload. The original file is too big to upload on here.