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!