Tall Girl

At pre-school today, KK was measured and weighed as a class project. There is only one "dot" on the class poster board that is taller than her (and just by a speck), and it belongs to a little boy.

She is 35 1/2 inches tall and weighs 29 pounds. Using the rule of thumb to "double the height at age 2", that would make her 5'11" when she is all grown up! And - she is not even two yet. Looks like my girl may be taller than her daddy, and maybe even taller than her mommy.

Kiddie Art Work

KK has hit the age where she is bringing home crafts and pictures from pre-school and Sunday School. I am not super sentimental when it comes to that type of stuff - about 90% of it goes in the trash - but I do like to save some things. I thought this recent craft was a sweet one worth keeping - it's a nice complement to her foot butterfly project done with her Nanna:

I saw a neat way of displaying kid art in a magazine recently - hang frames on the wall, without any glass, and rotate art in and out of the various frames. This is the best example I could find online without spending all night searching... the magazine was a little more creative with different shapes and sizes of frames, but you get the idea!

The Mommy Funk

I recently confessed to my friend Kelly that I have been in a little bit of a "mommy funk." KK has been really getting into the tantrum throwing lately, and it can be quite exhausting. I try not to alter my discipline techniques or my responses to her just because I am cringing in anticipation of a possible tantrum, but it is a powerful force and sometimes I do give in!

Kelly said that her kiddo's constant whining was driving her to the brink of a mommy funk as well. A long trip to Central Market while her kids were at pre-school had healed her soul. Well, Thursday I actually did not have to use pre-school time to work and I got a nice break of my own. I worked out at the gym, scrubbed my bathroom, and still had plenty of time to shop for myself. I didn't find much but that wasn't the point. I even got to sit in Corner Bakery and eat a delicious salad in the quiet. It was much needed alone time... and it definitely helped with the mommy funk.

Little Reader

Last week some sort of lightbulb went off in KK's brain as it relates to word comprehension. Overnight, she went from wanting the simple books (with little or no story to them) to ones with much more complex plot lines. My favorite to read to her right now is "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", which my friend Tanya gave KK as a gift. It is an adorable story for which she had no patience when it was first gifted to her. Now she loves it! Yesterday I was trying to get through the book quickly so we could get her nap started, and I skipped a line. She yelled out "Two Goggly Eyes!" You guessed it - that was the line I skipped.

She also loves "Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!" This is a Dr. Seuss that many don't know about, but it was my favorite when I was little. So I love getting to read it to my own little girl now! The joys of life as a parent are often simple but wonderful.

Her Mother's Daughter

Like most little kids, Katelynn has a tendency to become obsessed with one TV show at a time. First it was Elmo's World; now it is Baby Einstein. Mommy is sick of both. There is a very cute show on Nick Jr. called "Wonder Pets." I thought I would show it to KK today as a viable alternative. It's geared toward little ones and features adorable animals, simple plot lines, and cute songs. I explained to KK that I was going to play a new show and that I wanted her to try it, and see if she liked it.

Katelynn was transfixed on the TV for over ten minutes. I was cheering inside - a new show to replace the maddening Baby Einstein! Then she looked directly at me and announced very loudly: "KK NO LIKE Wonder Pets! DON'T LIKE! DON'T LIKE!"

I have been told over and over about the time my mom put Mr. Rogers on for me, hoping to get a break from my incessant whining and crankiness. I told her "I hate that Mr. Rog!" Today, I learned (once again) what it felt like to be my mom, raising me...

Mom, here's an e-toast to you!

The Tale of the Bobble Head

Last year I purchased a custom bobblehead doll for Gene's birthday. I thought he would love it and took a risk, since it was not an inexpensive purchase! He thought that the Dwight bobblehead on the TV show "The Office" was hilarious, so I figured he would enjoy having one of his own. It.... bombed. I don't think that Gene really believed it looked like him, and he also found it somewhat disturbing to have a doll that was supposed to be him.

It has been sitting on our office shelf ever since. But, the debate as to whether it truly resembled him was put to an end recently. Katelynn saw the doll on the shelf, pointed excitedly, and yelled "DADDY!"

Readers, what do you think?!

Unwanted Traits

I guess all kids are bound to display some yucky behaviors that make us parents cringe. Lately, Katelynn has become a lot more aggressive with other kids if they are "in her space." I watched her push a little guy her age down at the park last Friday! The poor boy was just excited to have a friend his age to follow around, but I guess he was on Katelynn's heels a little too much for her comfort.

I want her to be a kind and sweet little girl. It is no fun to see ugliness displayed by your kiddo. Of course, I have begun to drill it into her head that pushing or hitting is not acceptable... but I find myself having more and more "helpless parent" feelings these days!

Cinnamon Bun

Katelynn inherited my baby fine mane - she did not get Gene's thick, coarse hair. So far, she does not have a lot of it either. I don't even know what to do with it other than let it be crazy!

There is a very cute cowlick on the crown of head. I think she got that from her Uncle Griff. I am sure it will be the bane of her existence when she is a teenager trying to style her own hair. For now, I like to use the cowlick to my advantage and brush what hair she has into a little spiral. It looks like a cinnamon bun!

A Moment

A couple of days ago, KK was sitting on her changing table after a diaper change. I asked her for a hug and she reached over and really grabbed me around the neck.

She gave me the sweetest, longest hug... we just stood there in silence for several minutes. I closed my eyes and took it all in. It was a precious moment in time for me.

Little Girl, Big Words!

Katelynn is learning about the power of words more and more with each passing day. She is really starting to crack us up with her verbal abilities.

Saturday I told her that we were going to a party after she ate dinner and watched Baby Einstein. About halfway through Baby Einstein, she got down from the couch and found me in the bedroom. She yelled "Party Time!" She has also learned to exclaim "Yay!" at various appropriate times, like when I tell her we are going to the park.

Before she goes to sleep, I will often tell her "tomorrow we will _______". Whatever went in the blank is the first thing out of her mouth when she wakes up in the morning. It's as though there weren't 12 hours of dreaming in between. One night I showed her the little mat she would take naps on at her pre-school class. The next morning she exclaimed "School! Nap mat!"

I miss lots of things about the "tiny baby" days... but admittedly it is more fun to see her little personality emerging day by day!

Sappy Mom

What has happened to me? Mommyhood has changed me. I'm too wimpy to even think about many of the things I used to do, like scuba diving and sky diving. (OK, the sky diving was only twice, while I was in college.) I didn't even want to learn to kite surf with Gene!

Everything makes me cry now too. I just love the baptism ceremonies at our church. Usually it is elementary age kids "taking the plunge," and a little audio clip is played before the actual baptism. The child talks about how he or she came to know Jesus, and thanks the people that helped him or her learn about God. The kids are so sweet and innocent, and baptism is such a beautiful symbol of the Christian faith to me. I guess I personalize everything now too. I think about Katelynn being a little girl up there in that big water someday... sniff sniff.

I know that many parts of my personality are the same, and will remain much the same for my entire life. On the other hand, becoming a mom has changed me dramatically. I will never be the same!

Little Tattletale

Friday night we were hanging out with our friends, the Clarks. Katelynn adores their kids, Lindsay and Bobby. Lindsay is 11 months older and Bobby is 3 months younger. It is fun to watch them all grow up together.

We gave them all baths, and they were running around acting silly. Kelly and I were lying around in one of the bedrooms. They disappeared for awhile. Then Katelynn came running into the room. She very excitedly exclaimed "Bobby.... paper... no!" She repeated this mantra few times, and Bobby came following her in the room with a big grin on his face, and some toilet paper attached to his foot.

About 15 minutes later we left the bedroom and walked past the bathroom. Bobby had made a huge mountain of toilet paper all over the bathroom. Kelly and I cracked up laughing simultaneously. It was Katelynn's first tattletale... at least it was a cute one!

Carnival Night

There is a really nice fair that the Catholic church down the street puts on every year. So, Katelynn had her first carnival experience on Saturday night. (Well - she went a year ago but she just sat in the stroller the whole time. This year she could actually do things.)

After she woke up from her nap, I told her she was going to ride a pony. For the next two hours, she chanted "Pony... pony... pony." When she saw the ponies, her excitement grew. Then, mom had the gall to try to put her on top of one - she was having none of that! She was perfectly happy to walk next to the pony for now.

But, she had no issues with shoving her face within inches of bunnies, chicks, ducks, and pigs. And I had to climb into the bounce house and drag her out screaming when her time was up. She also enjoyed nibbling on her first corn dog. So all in all, it was a good carnival experience for little KK.

KK at her Happiest

Katelynn is nearly always smiling if we are outside playing, especially at a playground. It is balm to this mom's soul, who is around a very cranky little girl much of the rest of the time.

It's too bad we can't just live at the park, but there are those pesky things that get in the way like laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. Oh, and it's still 97 degrees from noon to 6 pm!

Why Men Are Not Allowed to Dress Children

Exhibit A - Katelynn's outfit chosen by her Daddy...

No further explanation necessary!

Giant Cupcake Update

I previously shared my excitement about possibly making my own giant cupcake. A couple of weeks later, an Amazon package appeared on my porch with the necessary baking mold. (See - blogging about stuff you want can pay off - thanks mom!)

Shortly thereafter I made my first giant cupcake. I was in way too much of a hurry. Let's just say that Gene poked the cake with his finger, and it fell over in a huge crumple. I was too embarrassed of it to even snap a picture.

Second time was the charm - at least I made something that looked decent! This was a major victory for a person whose past cakes have always looked like a 5 year old made them (like my first attempt...) It was pretty yummy too, if I do say so myself.

The Irony of the Kid Free Weekend

One doesn't realize the constant effort of caring for a little child until several days without her! Over Labor Day weekend, we went to "The Ranch" - 1,000 acres of private land near Bowie, Texas - with our friends Calvin & Kelly. All toddlers (their two plus KK) were delivered to their respective grandparents.

Kelly and I constantly caught ourselves thinking that we couldn't do something-or-other because of the kids - then we remembered they weren't there! We got to stay up late, sleep in, spend more time cooking up yummy meals, fish from the canoe on the lake, look for wildlife on jeep rides at night...and more. In particular we spent hours playing The Settlers of Catan, a board game I highly recommend if you get your own kid-free weekend!

It was a wonderful, carefree weekend among adults. Yet by Monday I was aching to see my little girl and return to all the work of being mommy again! Ahh, the irony of parenthood...

Blankets, Blankets!

I have posted previously regarding Katelynn's blanket obsession. I guess she takes after mom and dad - we have many blankets lying on couches, chairs, etc and frequently fight over the same couple of blankets. We always have one while watching TV, even during the summer months.

Long ago, KK discovered two very soft cream colored blankets in the living room and claimed them as her own. It's all about texture with her. The problem is their size - they are HUGE and she has become reknowned at her pre-school as "the little girl with the huge blanket." Over the Labor Day weekend, Katelynn spent several days with her Nanna and Grandpa. Nanna chopped her huge blankets in half. We now have 4 blankies - hooray! Easier to haul around, and easier to sneak into the wash on a regular basis.

One problem out, another in: Thanks to Nanna and her sewing room, KK has a new blanket obsession! She discovered an extremely soft fabric that Nanna uses to make homemade taggies for baby gifts; it's covered in little dots and she loves to run her hands over them. Katelynn did not care that this fabric cost her Nanna $17 per yard! And of course a loving Nanna could not deny her grandbaby a yard of her own dot fabric. So KK now demands her "DOTS!" all the time. They must even come on car rides with us... sheesh!

Test Your Color IQ

Click here to play.

My mom found this fun. I found it frustrating.
And, she scored an incredible 22 compared to my 40. It's no wonder I have had to re-paint rooms several times!