1st day of school

Today was the BIG DAY...Kate's 1st day of "school."



Watching "Abby Elmo" while I finished packing her lunch...

Trying to get her to stand by the wall for a picture...

Our school girl...

Kate's backpack and napmat...which I still can't imagine her falling asleep on.
Trying on her backpack...

Might have been a little heavy...she couldn't keep her balance:)

When I dropped her off, she walked right in the room but over half the kids in the room were crying. I had only taken 2-3 steps away from the door and I heard Kate's cry. I peeked back in and sure enough...crocodile tears. Hopefully that didn't last long...

When I picked her up she was smiling and looked great! I asked her what she did at school and she said, "Ball." On the way home I asked her if they sang any songs and she said, "Itsy Bitsy Spider." She was able to name everything in her lunch...(which I packed, so I know she was right). Other than that, I don't know what she did at school but she seemed to have a good day.

This is the "daily news" that was in her backpack...
And yes, you are reading that right...Kate slept. I have no idea how long but I am amazed!

We may have an addiction...

Addict: a person who is addicted to an activity, habit, or substance.

Kate was a little TOO quiet this morning after breakfast so we peeked in her room and this is what we found....


Kate, hiding behind her curtain, sneaking some paci and lambie time. She had her paci in her mouth and was holding on to lambie (both of which she is only allowed to have at naps and bedtime). It is quite possible that we have a major paci addiction on our hands...hiding behind the curtain to get a little extra paci/lambie time and trying to hide it from us.

BUSTED!!! As soon as she heard us in the room she immediately threw it down. (You can see the paci in her right hand)

23 months

Kate is 23 months today!!! WHAT?!? One more month until we are the parents of a 2 year old. Kate is talking all the time. Parker and I call it "roll call." She will just start naming everyone she knows and asking where they are. Tonight before bed she told all the Sesame Street characters "night night." Seriously, I had to wait for her to say night night to Grover, Bert, Ernie, Abby, Zoe, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar, AND the Count. She is also starting to be able to recall what she did that day...in one word descriptions...play, mall, swim, cookie, steps, etc. I like that she can begin to tell daddy all about her day. And she has random "long term" recalls...the Zoo is a big one. She will randomly say Zoo and then list off the animals she saw with JuJu, PaPa T, Karen and Emma. Her other random "long term" memory is "CC, break an egg" from when she helped CC make molten cake. She is also loving her big girl room. She will go in there and play by herself. This morning while I was getting ready, I hadn't heard her in a while and I found her like this...
in her room, reading her books. So sweet.

Her favorite "game" right now is "BALLS." She asks to play balls at least 5 times a day. This means she climbs in the chair, we put all the balls from the ball pit in the chair and she tries to throw them back in the ball pit.

Getting fancy throwing 2 at a time...

Watching to see if it landed in the ball pit...

She just started buckling herself into the carseat and stroller. Today when I put her in the carseat she said "Kate do it" and buckled the chest strap.

She has also transitioned great into her big girl bed. We are so proud of how well she has done. And she is even getting better at staying in bed in the morning and after naps. Every night before we leave the room she says, "HUG" for one last good night hug. I love it. And when we say, "How much do Mommy and Daddy love you, she says..."THIS MUCH" with her arms extended. Here she is tonight right before bedtime...

And one last piece of randomness...I took Kate to get new shoes for school and she is now wearing a size 8! Pretty sure we skipped size 7. No wonder none of her shoes fit.

Happy 23 Months Kate!!! We LOVE you...THIS MUCH!

Meet the Teacher

Tuesday morning Kate and I went to Meet the Teacher for Kate's "school" this year. We are putting her in Prestonwood's CLC (Christian Learning Center) one day a week. As soon as we walked in the room and she saw the toys she was off.


After a few minutes she got a book and went to the table to read...

She was little miss independent. I hope this is a good sign that she will love "school!" Next Tuesday will be the BIG DAY!!!

CC, Tadoodles and BGB update

CC was in town this week along with Katie, Quinn and Ginny. We had a great time hanging out with everyone.

Kate, CC and Quinn...

CC got Kate these super cute markers called Tadoodles. They don't have a lid, don't dry up, are really easy to hold, and are super easy for mommy to clean up. It took a few times for Kate to get used to them but she loves them and always wants to "color."

In other news...Kate got out of her bed before she fell asleep for the first time this week. I heard her at the door trying to get it open. After a stern conversation, she got back in bed and took a great nap. Now when we put her down for nap or bedtime our conversations go like this...

Mommy/Daddy..."time to go night night"

Kate..."big girl bed"

M/D..."you have to stay in your big girl bed"

K..."don't get out"

She is saying the right things, but most of the time after a nap or in the morning we find her out of the bed with all her pillows piled up on the floor. I don't know that she fully understands staying in bed after she wakes up.

In other breaking news, she learned how to open the door this week...so I promptly went out and bought door knob covers.

Cousin Bathtime

Katie and Quinn are staying with us tonight. We put the kids in the bath together...

Quinn is not sure what to think...


Kate thought Quinn needed his hair washed and dumped this cup of water on his head. Sorry Quinn...

Washing his back...

Washing his tummy...

Bubble Bath

Here is what happens when Daddy is in charge of the Bubble Bath...

More bubbles...Daddy taught her how to make a bubble beard...

Best Bubble Bath Ever!

Extended Family Get-together

Parker's mom's side of the family had a "get-together" in Keller, TX this afternoon. Connie's sisters and their families were there but it was mostly people we hadn't seen since our wedding. Here are a few pics I took...

CC and Kate...
Kate and Cooper...Cooper (Parker's cousin) was so sweet to play with Kate and help keep her entertained!

Stroller

CC brought Kate this little doll stroller. She has pushed her Abby doll around the house all day long. Thanks CC!!!

Kate and Colin

Friday morning Colin came over to play while his mom Kelly went to a meeting. Kate loves Colin. When I told her he was coming to play she was so giddy and kept saying, "Col-win" over and over.

Kelly brought chocolate donut holes which were a huge hit!!!

Hugs...

and High 5's...

Watching Elmo and Zoe...or as Colin calls it, "Street"

and this is how Colin watched most of the movie...

Big Girl Bed...Naps and Night 2

I am almost scared to post this...BUT so far, the big girl transition has been easy. Parker and I keep waiting for Kate to figure out her new freedom but so far she has done great.

I was a little nervous about the first nap but she slept for an hour and a half, which is about average for her. I went in the room as soon as I heard her and this is how I found her...(crazy bed head and all)...

And last night she did great again. We are still going to check on her about an hour after we put her to bed just to make sure she is still in the bed. This morning at 7:15 I hadn't heard a peep from her so I went in there to check and something was behind the door. It was this...

Kate was just sitting by the door waiting for someone to come get her...not making a sound.

(Another bed head pic)...

I have no idea how long she had been awake...long enough to make this pile behind the door...

Here is what was in the pile...pig, pillow, 2 lambies, Belle, blanket and Zoe...

The Morning After...

This morning when Parker and I went to check on Kate this is what we found...


She was still asleep...in the bed!!! Notice she has both Lambies and her doll, Belle (which she typically doesn't sleep with). She slept until 7:30! The first night was a success!

I kept going in to check on her periodically from 7 - 7:30. At 7:30 I went in there (still hadn't heard a peep out of her) and she was sitting on the floor with her paci in her mouth with both lambies, Belle, and a blanket, hugging her huge stuffed Pig. I am still kicking myself for not taking my camera in there. She wasn't upset...maybe a little confused. When she saw me she just said, "Milk?"

Big Girl Bed...Night 1

And tonight was the big night...Kate's first night in the big girl bed. We had no idea what to expect. Kate is such a creature of habit that we were a little afraid she would ask for her crib. Every time this weekend we asked her if she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed she would shake her head no. Our other concerns were...if she did get out, the bed is too high for her to get back in (and we didn't want to put a stool there to teach her how to get in and out) and she has never used a pillow or a blanket. Let's just say...lots of changes for our little girl who thrives on routine.



Here are some pics of Kate just before bedtime...

Practicing laying down...

We did our usual bedtime routine...books, prayers, and singing. By the last song, Kate had laid down on her own...head on the pillow and under the sheets. And then we went to leave and she started crying hard..."night night...night night" in the saddest voice. Parker calmed her back down and then we left for good and watched the clock. She cried on and off for about 20 minutes...and then it was quiet. We waited another 30 and then went and checked on her...she was asleep...on the bed...head on the pillow...no sheets. We were both too scared to take a picture so you will have to take our word for it. Now lets just hope she stays there til morning...and by morning I mean 7 AM!!!

Big Girl Room

We moved Kate into her "big girl" room this weekend. Parker put the bed together on Friday, so we spent the weekend letting Kate get used to her new room. It still needs a little tweaking...and nothing is on the wall yet but here are some pics.


Daddy and Kate on the big girl bed...
Kate's new table and chairs and her bookcase...

other side of the room...