2009 in Review

2009 has been a busy year of heartache, joy, laughter, tears... I thought I would re-cap it via monthly highlights. I end this year with a thankful heart to God for the tremendous blessings bestowed upon our family. We don't deserve it...

January: I started a new part-time job back in the world of public accounting! At the end of the month, life changed drastically for my family as my sister-in-law was rushed to the hospital at 20 weeks pregnant with twin girls.

February: On the first day of February, we lost our precious niece Lily who had to be delivered too early to survive outside the womb. This was the worst day of our lives. On February 26th, just 4 weeks later, our niece Isabelle was born at only 23 weeks, 6 days gestation. She began a long stay in the NICU that was a day-by-day fight for life.

March: We served as small group leaders of “Financial Peace University” throughout the Spring, which we highly recommend for anyone!

April: We said good-bye to Lily at a beautiful Easter weekend service. Izzy continued to grow stronger in the NICU though there were still many rocky days of uncertainty.

May: My friend Kelly took me on a girls’ weekend to Clearwater Beach, Florida. Wow, do I have a great friend or what?!

June: Gene and I celebrated our 11th anniversary and had a little “staycation” at the Four Seasons Resort here in town. I gave massage one more try and have officially kissed it good-bye forever – not for me. My dad retired from Lockheed after 35 years - a proud daughter moment. Izzy went home from the hospital after nearly 4 months in the NICU!

July: We took Katelynn to her first fireworks show and she loved it.

August: Gene officially entered “mid-30’s.”

September: Katelynn started pre-school and Aggie football season commenced. Gene and I enjoyed a weekend getaway in College Station. Whoop!

October: We took KK to her first fightin’ Texas Aggie football game. She did great and absolutely loved sleeping on the pull-out couch in the hotel. Gene took Katie to her first U2 concert – very exciting!

November: KK turned 3 years old and had her first big birthday party, complete with castle bounce house in the backyard. At the end of the month, she decided to mail her pacifiers to the tooth fairy – a very big deal. Gene ran his first half-marathon.

December: Gene ran half-marathon #2! Katie is thinking about it… not sure yet. Christmas is a whole new world for KK this year and it’s lots of fun to celebrate this holy holiday with a 3-year old.

White Christmas!

Christmas 2009 was my first EVER white Christmas...only took 34 years for that to happen here in DFW, Texas! Beautiful white powder poured down on Christmas Eve, and there was still plenty of it on the ground for a couple of days afterward. Oh, joy!

KK was lucky enough to enjoy her first white Christmas at the ripe old age of three. It is hard to believe this is her fourth Christmas here on earth. This was certainly a fun year with her; her understanding of baby Jesus, gift giving (and receiving of course), and all those other wonderful things has reached new heights and it made for one excited little girl.

Katelynn's main Christmas gift this year (from mommy and daddy) was a glider - basically a bike without pedals. Everyone on the internet raved about these; they are supposed to help with balance and eliminate the "training wheels" stage. KK is still not so sure about, though I'm sure she will learn as she develops further. Her favorite gift was actually the bike helmet. Go figure.

She also loves her Melissa & Doug Ice cream set from Aunt Doris and Uncle John. She has been scooping up lots of great concoctions for the family, though she prefers to choose the flavors herself. You may not get your requested combination if KK is serving!

Our Fightin' Texas Aggie

This year we decided to take KK to Aggieland for a football game. It went well enough at the first game that we went back for a second! It definitely requires a measure of patience, but a portable DVD player made the car trip very tolerable. Trips for snacks and corn dogs made the game reasonably fun for her as well. KK loves to sing the Spirit Song - she knows all the words...thanks to this proud Aggie mommy who sings it to her all the time! She also likes to yell Hullabaloo Caneck Caneck! at the top of her lungs. She wore her Aggie cheerleader outfit and enjoyed getting her face painted. To cap off a great day, she absolutely loved sleeping on a pull-out couch at the hotel.

We look forward to sending KK off to Aggieland in Fall 2025!

By Jove I Think I've Got It!

A few days ago, I lamented KK's sleeping woes as she struggled with the transition to sleeping without pacifiers. While she has been slowly improving, she is still clearly anxious about being left in her bed alone and it hurts a mommy's heart!

Two days ago I tried something new for nap. I let her lay down on my bed and watch a DVD. This made her so happy - no anxiety at all - and she was out within minutes. Now, Dr. Ferber would still say I am using a "sleep aid" but I will take it for nap!

I still was not sure what to do about bedtime other than let her cry, because we are not going to be watching TV every night to fall asleep. Every night lately, the routine is for her to cry in her room, then come out onto the upstairs landing with a blanket, then talk to herself till she falls asleep. We live with this routine since she doesn't ever try to come downstairs; we move her to her bed every night once she is fast asleep. Last night the usual anxiety antics began when it was clear I was about to leave. So instead of letting her cry, I asked if she wanted to lay down on the landing. Her face absolutely lit up with happiness. I put down a little pallet for her, complete with pillow, blankets, books, and stuffed animals. She happily waved good-bye to me. YESSS!

Half-Marathon Man

About 6 months ago, Gene decided to take up running. He is not one to do anything halfway. Over these months, he has gone from not being able to run even a mile, to running his first half-marathon in San Antonio in November in 2 hours 8 minutes. He recruited buddy Calvin to train with him for that one. Then last weekend, he ran the Dallas White Rock half-marathon and improved on his time by a whopping 8 minutes, finishing at just a hair over 2 hours. His training schedule is rigorous and he sticks with it - running even when it is 25 degrees and windy outside, claiming it is "good training." Wow, I am proud of my hubby!

Another post later about how his techno-geek tendencies have spilled over to running.... that one will be entertaining, I promise!

Crafts by Pop-Pop

KK loves to work in the yard with Pop-Pop when she is spending the night with her grandparents. Recently she helped him plant some grass seed, so he sent a container home with her for a future craft project. Katelynn always loves a good craft project, probably just as much as working in the yard with Pop-Pop. KK and I recently planted it in a pot, and after a week I nearly threw it out. I figured that I had killed it before it could even grow (no surprise).

Then I noticed some tiny little buds poking their way through. Within a few days, the barren soil was replaced by a beautiful thick thatch of grass! I am enjoying my window plant, and so is KK.

Funny Toddler Preferences

My child has become obsessed with tights this year. I ran out and bought lots of adorable tights with flowers, stripes, and hearts on them. But KK only wants white tights. And a white shirt to match. So much for all those cute tights and tops I purchased for the Fall...

If I let her she would wear white tights and a shirt every day...and nothing else. How do kids get bizarre preferences like this? The upside to this current obsession is that she wears lots of cute skirts and jumpers, since mommy is adamant that something must cover the tights up. Thank goodness for hand-me-downs from friends!

Sleep Woes

What has happened to my champion sleeper? Ever since the great pacifier send-off, our KK has been struggling with going to sleep, staying asleep, napping, etc. Night time has particularly become a big control battle.

It is hard to know what to do as a parent. She genuinely seems to be struggling with the transition and having anxiety about sleeping without her passy companions. On the other hand, Gene and I see lots of signs of master manipulation of us, the parents... that control thing that is so representative of the three-year-old! She is the master of running through a list of continuous "needs" - cream for itchy skin, band-aids for boo-boo's, a snack, a glass of milk, a re-brush of the teeth, a potty stop, a move from the bed to the floor, turning the fan on, turning the fan off... you get the idea!

Tonight I tried making a reward chart... it seemed to be working pretty well. She loved getting stickers for "smiling for a picture" and "picking up toys". She even seemed on board with "going to bed by myself"- until it was time for me to leave. Tears and screaming once again ensued. However, the timeframe did seem to be much shorter tonight. After about 15 minutes, she started happily talking to herself and playing with her toys. It's been an hour and she still isn't asleep, but she isn't screaming.

One day at a time....

Advent

For the past few years, I have filled the advent calendar with goodies for Gene and me, since KK was way too young to care. But I had to remind Gene to open it every day, and nothing really thrilled him too much (he is sooo hard to impress!) Katelynn's excitement this year is fun and contagious! The first thing KK and I do every morning is turn on the tree lights, then open the daily advent box. She remembers first thing every morning without fail.




Things I have filled it with include:

• Candy (of course)
  
• Bouncy balls


• Little bitty Disney stamps


• "Pills" that turn into animal shapes in hot water


• Christmas socks

She is somewhat disappointed when it isn't a candy day. That is definitely her favorite. She is always trying to bargain to open extra boxes, but I am strict about "one box per day!"

Praise to PopPop

Thank-you to PopPop for somehow bribing my child to take these beautiful pictures. She has been such a pill these days about the camera, usually hiding or running away from it. She looked absolutely depressed in her pre-school pictures. These are frameworthy - finally!

Well Check

KK shocked me today at her 3 year well check... no freaking out, no refusals to cooperate with the nurse or doctor requests, no fidgeting and crying to get out of the waiting room... is this really my child?! In fact, I think the kid thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

She followed every command given by Dr. K without hesitation. She told her that she wants to be a doctor "when she grows up" (?!?!?) and asked if she could hold one of her tools. Dr. K complied with this request and gave her the triangle thingy (technical term) they use to check your reflexes. She also informed Dr. K about sending her pacifiers to the tooth fairy. I was able to get all my questions answered without having to yell them over a screaming kiddo. Oh happy day!

Katelynn continues to be in about the 95th percentile for height but not for weight. She is 39.5 inches tall and weighs a little over 35 pounds. Dr. K says to take her to the dentist sometime soon, which I have been avoiding. If she can act like she did today, though, it will be no problem!

As a lighter follow-up to my sad post yesterday, I thought I would document the (physical) cost of our sweet little pre-schooler giving up her pacifiers:

Left by the Tooth Fairy:

Purchased by mommy and daddy:

A Painful Milestone

Today was a joyous day of listening to Christmas music and putting out all my treasured holiday decorations - and getting to watch Katelynn really get it excited about it all for the first year. It was also a very painful day for me as a mommy as I helped her through an important milestone....

As I documented here, we have been telling KK that she would send her pacifiers to the Tooth Fairy on her third birthday in exchange for a gift. The third birthday officially arrived on the 25th and my resolve was waning. KK had made an occasional statement like "I don't want to give my pacifiers to the tooth fairy" and even Nanna was backing off and saying we shouldn't rush. So, I really wasn't sure when we would actually go through with all of this.

But KK was very adamant today that she was ready to do it. Gene and I asked her several times if she was sure - and if she understood that once she sent her pacifiers away, they wouldn't come back. KK insisted.

So we packaged them up in a simple envelope and I labeled it: To - The Tooth Fairy; From - Katelynn. She and I marched outside. Much to my chagrin, the little "outgoing" slot on our big industrial group mailbox was not pacifier-width. So we had to get in the car and drive to a mailbox. I figured with all the time to think about it, KK would back down and realize the grave error of her ways. Nope. She enthusiastically popped that envelope into the slot and said "Here you go, Tooth Fairy!" On the way there she told me "The Tooth Fairy is beautiful, mommy" and "The Tooth Fairy lives in a tree, mommy." She asked me what the Tooth Fairy was going to do with her pacifiers, and I told her she will give them to little babies that need them much more than KK. "Babies like Izzy-Belle, Mommy?" Yes, KK. Then she asked if the Tooth Fairy would be in our house when we got home, and I told her that she was a secretive fairy, and would deliver a gift when KK took her nap.

We came back home and KK proudly told daddy about her feat. Everything was going along swimmingly. Katelynn was ready to march upstairs for her nap so that the Tooth Fairy could arrive. She ran into her room and went straight to her little box to retrieve a pacifier. The light bulb suddenly went off. "Oh nooooooooo!" she wailed, and burst into tears. She completely lost control of her emotions upon fully realizing the big consequence of her earlier decision. I took her in my arms and hugged her, and just let her go nuts. The poor thing was inconsolable and kept repeating "I'm not ready to give my pacifier to the Tooth Fairy!" I let her come downstairs and get a snack and watch a TV show. My mommy heart was hurting....

At this point I figured she was not going to get a timely nap and told her I would take her out and purchase some long-coveted Dora shoes to reward her for being a big girl. The errand was a rocky one; she fell asleep for a short cat nap and woke up very grouchy. This combined with the pain of her decision made her very difficult to deal with. Let's just say that after a loooong trip out, she ended up with not only the Dora shoes but two games as well. She totally had me wrapped around her finger!

KK began to move from grief to acceptance. KK began to tell Gene and me very matter of factly: "I sent my pacifiers to the Tooth Fairy, mommy and daddy." Her mood improved greatly by dinner time. We got her to bed around 8 pm figuring she should be exhausted after no nap. I laid down with her and was shocked that there was no crying. She had accepted it so quickly! She told me "The Tooth Fairy is strong, mommy" and "She is going to come in through my window tonight and hide under my bed!" We then had our usual nighttime routine and I left her.

But sleep did not come quickly for Miss KK without her usual companion. There were two trips out for pottying and later I caught her peeking out her doorway at me. Gene moved her from the floor to her bed at one point. Shortly after we heard her quietly sobbing and saying "Mama" over and over. My heart sank and I went to lay down with her. It was hard to watch her. It was like watching a little tiny person grieve - and it was 100% my fault! Thank goodness we mailed all the pacifiers away or I would have caved in during that moment. The mommy guilt is rough; I personally stole away a piece of her innocence today!

I think she eventually drifted off to dreamland around 10 pm. The Tooth Fairy has now come and gone and left everything KK needs to make and decorate Christmas cookies with her mommy tomorrow.

My Baby Girl....

Is three years old today?!?! When did that happen? And when did she start speaking in paragraphs, talking back, dressing herself, etcetera?

This year Katelynn thought her birthday spanned the entire month of November. We had her first real backyard party with friends, complete with bounce house and a princess theme. She was a little overwhelmed at times, but overall she seemed to enjoy herself. Then she had a party at pre-school with cupcakes and got to be the line leader (a big deal at pre-school!). Now it is her actual birthday.

Ahhh... the hard life of a three year old!

Bow Board

Recently my mom and I made this cute "bow board" to house Katelynn's hairbows. Well, actually, I perused mom's fabulous fabric collection and made some selections and then watched her make it. We started with an inexpensive artists' canvas that I purchased at a craft store for about $7. Then we stretched the black fabric over it and attached on the back of the canvas with a staple gun. Then we did the same things with the ribbons.

It looks very cute in her room, although it mainly serves as a decoration since KK often rejects the wearing of bows.

A Mind of Her Own

Katelynn is becoming more and more of her own little person each day. I think that some of her idiosyncrasies are pretty funny and reflective of her headstrong personality. It's time to record a few of them so that I can someday tease her about her funny preferences.

• She likes to lay in the ottoman to watch the TV. Pretty cute.
• She wants all of her beverages to be warm - milk, juice, and even water! (Yuck!) Occasionally she gets to drink a Sprite at a restaurant and this is the only beverage she has not requested to be warmed up.
• Her idea of "dress-up" is to put on as many layers of clothing as possible while playing in her bedroom. After nap time she may come down with as many as five layers of shirts, pants, nighties, etc.
• KK is obsessed with headbands. However she believes the appropriate way to wear them is across her forehead - think 80's "Fame" style. She often falls asleep with a plastic scratchy headband plastered across her forehead.
• She continually begs to wear PJ's out and about. I'm sure this is a more "normal" toddler request! Lately I have begun to adopt more of a relaxed attitude about clothing. I have recently allowed her to wear pajamas to a play date and out to the grocery store. However I have not yet caved in and let her wear them to pre-school or church!
• KK also looooooves tights. I have rarely put her in them until recently because I personally avoid hosiery like the plague. If she isn't begging to wear PJ's, she is begging to wear tights. She would prefer to wear them with only a shirt, but has accepted that the price of wearing tights is also wearing a dress or skirt. So at least I get her into some cute dresses on a regular basis now!
• She has developed a major aversion to having her picture taken. In this she is similar to her mommy as a little girl; I was always the kid screaming in the mandatory extended-family group picture. Unfortunately though this has made it much harder to capture fun memories lately, since her reaction to the camera is to scowl, hide, or scream in annoyance.

Google It

For anyone that knows my husband much at all, you will realize that this cartoon strip personifies him to a "T"! I love you sweetie. And, for the record, I did recently actually tell him to google something.

My U2 Concert Experience

there is a red arrow pointing to our spot but it didn't come out too well!

I am not much of a concert-goer... can't even tell you the last time I went to a big stadium concert. New Kids on the Block when I was thirteen years old, maybe?!

Four years ago Gene went to see his beloved U2 in concert during their Vertigo tour. He and his buddy Ray got in line at 6 am and sat there all day, then stood inside the stadium manning their spot for several more hours. There were conscious attempts not to consume food or beverage in order to avoid a trip to the bathroom. It all seemed a bit much to me. I like U2, but not as much as Gene. But he came home ecstatic that they had made it on the front row, and I have to admit I was a bit jealous... he was on cloud nine for days.

So I decided to go to U2 this year with the hubby. We were able to stumble upon some great special tickets only available via auction. They are still on the floor and relatively close to the stage, but without the waiting-all-day long. Also kinda' cool that the profits go to Bono's charity work in Africa. That being said - we did still get to the stadium around 4 pm. At 5 pm, we were allowed inside, and I didn't realize that Gene expected me to run all the way. (He's the one training for a half-marathon...not me!) We did secure a spot "on the rail" and right next to the outer cat-walk part of the stage used by the Band throughout the show. Oh..... that's why we had to run! Then, we waited.... and waited.... and waited. U2 came on at 9 pm, after four hours of standing in one spot. My back was aching before Bono sang a note!

I was feeling far too old for my own good, till I realized that the average age of the U2 fan is right about mid-thirties - that's me! (Side note: My friend's teenage babysitter asked her 'Who's U2' - whaaat?!) The concert was, admittedly, amazing - the energy defies description. Do they ever know how to give their fans their money's worth. Around 10:30 I started to realize I was not feeling so great anymore after all that standing and denial of food and beverage. They were scheduled to play till about 11. At 10:45, the thought entered my head that I might throw up, and reason kicked in! I abandoned my spot on the rail and sat down for the last 15 minutes of the concert.

These four fifty-something rock stars boggle the mind... they have toured together for over 30 years now and are obviously still the best of friends. Clearly they aren't doing it for the money anymore but for love of music and providing amazing entertainment for their millions of devoted fans. The stamina that their shows require is unbelievable - no standing around in one spot for these guys. I don't know how Bono can even sing as much as he runs around on-stage.

If U2 can do it, I can too.... next time they come through Dallas I'm "in" for the experience again!

Big Enough for Board Games?!

KK just spent a couple of days at Nanna and Pop-Pop's while Gene and I experienced all that is U2 (post coming soon). Now that Pop-Pop is retired, Katelynn gets lots of good time with him doing a lot of the same things that I got to do growing up. On this particular trip, he broke out the pre-school board games, which I had no idea they had even kept.

I would have never thought KK was ready for Candyland or Chutes & Ladders, but the grandparents proudly reported that she paid attention through a full game of each with Pop-Pop! Not even three years old yet... it makes me a little sad, really. She is getting sooooo big! So this is another thing that has been added to the "ideas for Katelynn gifts" list that I keep on Amazon.

Bible Verses

Would you believe that a class of two year-old pre-schoolers can learn 26 Bible verses? I wouldn't have either, but it's happening! Katelynn has already learned two verses, which are coordinated with the letters of the alphabet:

Ask and it will be given to you. -Matthew 7:7

Believe in Jesus. -Acts 16:31

When they are able to recite the verses they are awarded with a small treat. KK's version of the first verse was "ASK... GIVEN to ME!" On a side note, I'm not 100% sure about the prudence of teaching that verse to a toddler!

The director also sends out fun emails that give a little insight to her day. This was the latest one: "Today in chapel, we sang Happy Birthday to three students. Everyone said the Pledge to the Flag and Pledge to the Bible. Nurse Jeannie was our community helper and she talked about not spreading germs when you cough or sneeze. We sang “I’m in the Lord’s Army” and “If You're Happy.” The motion and listening song was “Silly Dance Contest."

I think that I often underestimate KK's abilities. I know this is just pre-school, but I'm glad that her pre-school has high standards for the kids.... it sets a great tone early in life.

Fall in Texas

I love the Fall in this area. We get nice cold fronts, but it is almost never miserably cold. There are a plethora of free festivals and pumpkin patches. We get to experience Aggie football for better or worse, but a weekend trip to College Station is always a good thing regardless of the scoreboard. My allergies go away. I do wish we got a little more "fall color" around here, but with all the "pros", I can live with this "con."

One example of a lovely fall DFW activity occurred last weekend when I took Katelynn to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch along with friends, and we also met up with my family. Griff & Jen brought Izzy, but she didn't get to stay too long. The poor little baby girl was freezing cold! My dad did get to capture this gem of a picture:

Katelynn was not in performing mode and most of the pictures turned out like this one. I was the exact same way as a little girl; I even remember crying and screaming my way through family pictures.

KK also demonstrates another characteristic of her mommy - fear of the bounce house. I remember hating trampolines from an early age. I always had a lot of natural fear about any activity that was remotely aggressive. She warmed up to it after awhile though.

All in all it was a fun time!

Smart One

A recent conversation between Mommy and Katelynn:

KK: "Mama, can I have some of your tea?"

Mommy: "No, Katelynn. You may have some juice. You may not have mommy's tea."

KK: "Nanna says Katelynn can drink the tea at her house."

Mommy: "Nanna makes the rules at her house, and mommy and daddy make the rules at our house. Sometimes the rules are different."

KK: "Katelynn makes the rules."
Mommy: "You think so?"

KK: [chuckles knowingly] "Yeah!"

The Tooth Fairy's New Gig

It's probably time to get strong and figure out a way to get Katelynn's pacifiers permanently out of her little mouth. My mom kick started the process by telling her that the Tooth Fairy is going to take her pacifiers when she turns three, and will bring her a present. That is only a couple of months away - yikes! The Tooth Fairy will take the pacifiers to other little babies that need them more than KK.

KK seems to be buying into it, so I have been running with this Tooth Fairy story. I do feel really strange lying to Katelynn about things like this. We still have not said much of anything about Santa Claus and I am not sure that he is going to be much of a fixture in our home. I'm still wondering how it is actually going to go. KK is very intrigued by the idea right now but I don't think she completely realizes the Tooth Fairy is going to take them away forever. She has told me that her present will be green.

So this Tooth Fairy needs to be in search of an awesome green present over the next couple of months!

Spanish Speaker

It is amazing what little sponges toddlers are. Katelynn has learned an amazing amount of Spanish from the TV shows Dora and Diego... she picks it up so easily that she interchanges it easily with English as though they were the same language:

When leaving the house: "Vamanos, Mommy!" (Let's go)

When upset inside the McDonalds play land: "Mama, Ayudame Auydame!" (Help me, help me)

When commanding various doors to open: "Abre! Abre!" (Open, open)

She also can sing entire songs in Spanish. I really should start showing her the Spanish-only version of these shows. I certainly do wish that United States schools introduced foreign language sooner. I have been told that our school district is initiating a bi-lingual immersion type class that is taught half in Spanish, half in English - I may be checking that out in a few years!

Little Mama

I have dozens of nicknames for my little girl... bunny, bunbun, little girl, katelynn lulu, kk sarah, kk lulu, nugget, huggamuffin.... you get the idea.

One thing I did not expect was to get a nickname of my own. I am not sure how KK decided on it, but I have become "Little Mama." I have to admit - I love it! She uses the name in a very sweet voice: "Come on, Little Mama!" "Oh, Little Mama, I sure do love you!" "Hiiiii Little Mama!"

One day she called me "Big Mama" in a joking tone of voice and then laughed. I told her that Little Mama was a much better name!

My Little Fireball

This past Monday, Katelynn set her hair on fire....

We finally had a respite from the Texas summer heat and it was downright balmy outside. So I thought it would be a great night to add a little ambience with some candles. There was a small candle on the dining table, and Katelynn was trying to blow it out unsuccessfully. Her puffed up cheeks were quite cute. I was in the immediate vicinity watching her, but I turned my back for five seconds to put food into the oven.

Suddenly she was crying and screaming "Hot! Hot!" I looked over and her poor little head was smoldering. She was pounding on top of her head - a good instinctive reaction I suppose! Heart pounding, I grabbed her and ran to the kitchen sink. When I saw a mess of black charred stuff on her head, I really thought we were headed to the ER. I got a cold rag and put it on her head. Then I realized that she did not have any burns - just a big mess of nasty, stinky burned hair. So then it was off to the tub.

The damages turned out to be minimal. She has some little mini-bangs now which you can see in the picture. I had actually debated having bangs cut at her last haircut... the stylist recommended them and I decided against them. Guess she has them now! KK asked for her pacifier and I tried to ignore her request. Then she said very pathetically "KK set her hair on fire! KK wants a passy...." This mama, relieved that her little girl was safe and sound, dutifully fetched the passy.

Pre-school!

Today marked the return to pre-school, and I felt like it was really the first time Katelynn understood the whole concept. She just switched to the pre-school at our church, and I was able to talk with her quite a bit about it ahead of time. Instead of being fearful of being left, she was excited about what was in store. We went to "Meet the Teacher" last week, so Ms. Mary Anne and Ms. Anne already knew her name and she knew they were not going to eat her. It was also in a familiar building, and six of her classmates are already in her church Sunday School class.

KK walked into the room with barely a good-bye, enticed by a machine generating loads of bubbles. The disappearance of separation anxiety is such a new thing; it still takes me by surprise! They spent a lot of the day learning the names of classmates, and this is the cute project she brought home. The verse in the upper right says "Jesus grew tall."

Independence Day 2009

2009 marked Katelynn's third celebration of Independence Day. However this was the first year we felt like she was old enough to stay up late and experience the fireworks. This was a huge tradition for me growing up, so I was excited to finally get it started for little Katelynn.

We went to our own town's fireworks, which is the closest you can get to a small town feel in this gigantic suburbia of DFW. Despite the heat, the environment was so pleasant... families and friends all spread out on picnics.... bounce houses for the kids... vendors selling funnel cakes and kettle corn and snow cones... It was quite the picture of "Americana" really. It was not overly crowded - we parked a 5 minute walk away, and had plenty of room to get a close-up spot and spread out in our own space. Nanna and PopPop came along to experience KK's first fireworks event.

The actual fireworks were very respectable and lasted for nearly 45 minutes. They were shot off over the duck pond that Katelynn and I frequent during our many mommy/daughter days together. KK was more interested in her neon glowing necklaces than the actual fireworks, but she enjoyed herself and was not scared so mama was happy. All in all it was a great success and a lot of fun.

More Nanna Email

Katelynn is with Nanna and PopPop again today and I received another funny email from Nanna yesterday. It made me laugh out loud and left me missing my little girl. I'll be ready to get her back this evening! Of course I know my kiddo better than anyone else and just get the funniest mental picture of her saying this stuff... so this post may be more for myself than anyone else. So here's the email:

Hi Kate,

KK had a wonderful time at LMRA park. She played on the same stuff that was there when you were little, plus other things. She has been fairly even tempered today. Just before naptime something happened with Rocky and KK. I was right here in the room, but didn't see what went on. I didn't want him bothering her, while she was eating her goldfish. All of a sudden Rocky let out one of his blood curdling yelps. I asked KK what happened. She looked at the ground and whispered, "Nuffin." I asked her if she poked Rocky, and she continued to look at the ground and say "Nuffin." After quite a few nuffins, she whispered, "Katelynn is just a baby."

I wasn't getting anywhere, so I told her to go put the bowl in the sink, and off she went. She got in Rocky's little bed with him and covered him with her blankie, and then when I told her it was naptime, she wanted him to come to bed with her. I think she might have been feeling a little guilty about whatever "nuffin" went on.