Baytown

We went to Baytown to visit family at the end of July.  We had a great time!

Katelyn will go ANYWHERE with Daddy and Uncle Joey.  Even for a 5 mph ride around the block in a Gator.

Wearing Uncle Joey's hat.  I suppose anything goes with pink flowers...

Sweet cousins Cassidy and Katelyn

They play so well together!

Worn out!!

Independence

Katelyn has become very... opinionated lately.  At 13 months old, she is "expressing her independence" and has mastered the art of throwing tantrums.  Not just burying her face into the floor when she's mad, but angry for hours/screaming/refusing to eat or sleep/trick the teachers into thinking she's sick kind of tantrums.  It. Is. Awesome.

My favorite story is how her teacher described lunch time: Katelyn pulled out her chair by herself (for the first time!) and sat down at the table.  Her lunch plate was placed in front of her.  She promptly threw it on the floor.  They gave her another plate, and she turned it upside down.  She then calmly took her Sippy cup and sat down on the play mat by herself until lunch time was over.  Her teacher said she composed herself very well-- no tantrum, just a calm defiance towards lunch that day.

My mom suggested I read Dr. Dobson's The Strong Willed Child.  Apparently there are updates since reading it during my childhood.  Sigh.  I can't take full credit, though-- both sets of grandparents would agree that Katelyn gets these traits honestly from BOTH her parents.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  While we certainly have our hands full and will discipline/parent appropriately, I'm thinking long term-- I would MUCH rather her grow to have strong opinions and convictions than to become a follower who is easily swayed by her peers.

Just one of my favorite pictures ever.  Love her!

Anyway... I have managed to catch a few funny Katelyn moments between tantrums:

Lately Katelyn has been pointing to her name letters that are spelled out above her crib. I spell them out and tell her it says Katelyn. Last night as we were walking into her room, I asked her, "What's your name?" She gave me a "duh, mom" look and pointed to the letters.  Smarty pants!

The other day Katelyn and I were playing in the office.  There were some pants hanging up in the doorway to dry, and a 5 lb. weight was propping the door open (because it tends to shut on its own).  Katelyn made it clear that she wanted to shut the door.  Not wanting to move everything, I told her, "No, we can't shut the door."  She looked at me, walked over to the door, moved the weight out of the way, and shut the door.  Challenge accepted, Mama.

And my favorite story... She is such a cuddle bug.  She wants-- needs-- for her day to end with cuddling.  The other night I didn't feel well, so I cut our pre-bedtime cuddling short.  After singing/rocking very quickly, I put her in her crib.  And she screamed for the next 15 minutes.  Because this is very uncharacteristic of Katelyn, I went back into her bedroom.  Through her tears, she stood up in her crib and pointed to the rocking chair, as if to say, "WHY did you leave so soon?!?  I wasn't done!!"  So, my mommy heart melted and we rocked and sang some more.  That's all she needed-- just quality time. Apparently insufficient cuddle time is both noticed and unacceptable to this child.  THAT'S my sweet girl!

ONE YEAR OLD!!!

What a wonderful, blessed year we have had.  Turns out those first few months of colic and sleepless nights really were temporary!  I love the age Katelyn's at right now; it seems every day is a new little milestone or discovery.  Mastering a fish face, closing doors, identifying objects, giving kisses, etc.

We were able to have two family gatherings for her birthday: one in Baytown and one in Dallas.

Some pictures from Baytown:

She LOVED playing in the balls.

Not a huge fan of birthday cake, but we tried.

Swimming with Daddy

with Nana and Cassidy

Cassidy showing her how the horn works.  Katelyn LOVED the car.

Sleepy girl!

Some pics from Dallas:

Enjoying her first popsicle!

Cousins Pierson and Annabelle

on the swings

intrigued by bubbles

Oooo, bubbles are neat!

Figuring out what to do... 

...sort of.

Decides to eat sidewalk chalk instead.

Something doesn't seem right about orange chalk.

Was that not ok to eat? (don't worry, we scooped it out of her mouth)

The next weekend we had a great time with Papa!  Katelyn chose to REALLY take off walking when Papa was here.  She loved walking back and forth to him.