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.