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.

Scottish Rite Update

Katelyn's Scottish Rite check-up for her arm went great!  Absolutely no worries or anything of concern.  The doctor was pleased that she hit all her first year milestones without a problem.  Her next appointment will be in July 2013.  Here are a few things that the doctor reminded us, and the answers to some questions we're commonly asked:

• Does she have feeling at end of her left arm?  Yes, 100%.  Hot, cold, pain, texture-- the nerve endings are completely normal.  This is why many people don't like wearing prosthetics.  While they look amazing, it just feels like plastic.
• When will Katelyn get a prosthetic?  Not for years, and we will let it be her choice (for example, if she wants some sort of extension to help her ride a bike).  Given how independent and adaptable she is, though, I wouldn't be surprised if she someday finds that a prosthetic just gets in the way.  
• Does/will she sometimes feel pain radiate in her left arm?  No.
• What about the tiny finger at the end of her arm?  It will continue to grow in proportion to her arm and will have some degree of functionality, but it's not going to grow into a full-sized finger that extends out from her arm.  To quote the doctor, "Her arm won't look like a unicorn."  :)

Scottish Rite is like Candy Land for an explorative child like Katelyn.  She was in a great mood and we walked all over the place before her appointment.  I tried getting some normal head-on pictures of her, but those didn't work out because she wouldn't be still. 

A few additional update of some of Katelyn's favorite things:

• The bunny at daycare.  There is a sweet, docile bunny in the hallway, and Katelyn would be content sitting by the cage all day long, giggling each time the bunny hopped.
• Our dog, Baylor.  They are BIG buddies.  When I pick Katelyn up in the afternoons, I tell her we are going home.  She immediately starts doing her dog imitation-- sticking her tongue out repeatedly (this is because Baylor licks her ALL THE TIME!).  To Katelyn, Baylor = home.  When Katelyn wakes up in the morning, the first thing she does is her dog imitation, as if to say, "I'm awake now.  Where's Baylor?" 
• Snuggling.  She gives hugs generously and loves to sit in a lap-- any lap.  Her teachers said she is a jealous girl; she does not like it when another child is sitting in the teacher's lap!
• Playing "chase."  When one of us or Baylor enters the room, she giggles and races in the opposite direction.

Father's Day

Dave is a wonderful father!  He is exactly the kind of father that I always dreamed my child would have.  Dave and I are both blessed to have wonderful fathers who set great examples of what a Daddy should be.  And Katelyn adores her Daddy.  He can make her laugh like no one else.  She loves sitting on his shoulders or in his lap.  When he walks into a room, her eyes light up with a playful, mischievous look and she grins from ear to ear. She wants to eat whatever he is eating and loves sharing a bowl of applesauce with him. Watching them together is one of my greatest joys as a wife and mother.  

My sister, Christy, speaks only Spanish to Katelyn, just as she does with her own daughter. Katelyn thinks it's hilarious!  When Christy speaks to Katelyn, Katelyn responds with laughter.  I guess she likes the expressive rhythm/sound of the language, and she finds it amusing that Christy is speaking differently than us.  Since Dave and I are not strong Spanish speakers, we figure Christy is Katelyn's best shot for getting ahead linguistically-- and maybe we can learn something along the way, too!  We figure at some point Katelyn will see Christy as a more than a comedian and will start to understand the words.

laughing with/at Tia Christy

Annabelle and Katelyn rubbing their heads together.

It was a group effort getting Katelyn to smile for this picture.  The rest of the family is behind the camera singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."  I said, "Sing a song!" and everyone immediately starting singing that song in unison, with hand motions, like a choir.  It was really funny. Katelyn seems to be enjoying the show.

With Granddad in his TX State Guard uniform.  As Chaplain, he spearheads a toy drive that benefits children's hospitals.  One of those hospitals happens to be Scottish Rite, Katelyn's arm hospital!  The toy drive has been an enormous success and has grown to reach children's hospitals all across Texas. When the project started several years ago, we had no idea that his future granddaughter would be a patient at one of the benefitting hospitals!

Weekend in Baytown

Last weekend we visited Dave's family in Baytown.  It was a relaxing weekend with lots of swimming!

Contemplative swimmer

There's a small window in life when you can get away with walking on the table!

She laughs when I start to sing the ABC's. I think they sing it to her at daycare and she finds it funny that I know the song, too.

A few updates:

• Always intrigued by details, Katelyn's latest curiosity is my eyelashes.  She likes to tug on them (not cool!).
• She finally likes books-- particularly tearing the pages out.  The only exceptions are two Paddington Bear mini-books that she LOVES.  I can recite them in my sleep. 
• Her current favorite song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider."  I've learned that when she wants me to sing it, she holds out her thumb and index finger and smiles.  Another favorite is "The Wheels on the Bus."  In an attempt to keep her pacified on road trips, I'm proud to say that my improv skills have increased dramatically.  I've made up all sorts of verses to that song.
• She likes to stand and peer over the edge of whatever she's holding onto-- specifically while on the changing table and in the bathtub.  This isn't something that I willingly let her do.  It's just a battle we fight every night.

While Dave and I are enjoying every moment of the present, there are things that we both long for her to grow into:

• Dave can't wait for her to be old enough for Daddy/daughter breakfast dates on Saturday mornings.
• I can't wait for the days of sidewalk chalk, paintbrushes, and markers!

Memorial Day Weekend, etc.

Memorial Day weekend was great. On Saturday we went to a birthday party for my niece, Annabelle.  I think Katelyn enjoyed the swings.  It was her first time and she seemed to be analyzing it more than sitting back and enjoying it.

 All done.

Always thinking about something!

Without a doubt, one of my favorite pictures ever.  I love the sparkle in her eyes.

with Uncle Jeff

Still teething.

with the birthday girl

Katelyn loves turning things into games. She now initiates peek-a-boo-- as in, she holds something over MY eyes and keeps it there until I've said, "Where's Mommy?"  She thinks it's pretty funny.  :)  She also made up what we call "Recliner Tag."  With Dave in the recliner and me on the floor, she crawls up the recliner footrest, and as soon as she reaches his arms, she slithers back down into my lap... and as soon as she's in my arms, she immediately turns around and goes back up the recliner... then back down... over and over and over again until WE get tired of playing.  It's tiring to watch.

Katelyn has also started to walk with assistance!  She likes walking up and down the hallway holding on to Dave's or my finger.  Interestingly, she won't walk with shoes on.  Free spirit. :)

Recent Visits

Dave's grandfather (PawPaw) passed away recently so we made a trip to Mississippi for the funeral.  Though the circumstances were sad, it was good to see family.


Katelyn wins the Miss Congeniality award for friendliest baby EVER.  She made a friend everywhere we went: the nice man with the mustache at the funeral home, the pallbearer with the funny glasses, the man with the chef's hat at the Chinese restaurant.  Katelyn's smile is infectious. 


She was quite the social butterfly at PawPaw's visitation.  As the room filled with people, it became increasingly hard to contain her (and after riding in the car for 9 hours, I can't blame her for being active).  And she waved at EVERYONE.  PawPaw sure loved her smile, so it's only fitting that she brought joy to an occasion that honored his life.  She was never "bad" on the trip.  Just reallyreallyreally active. 

Katelyn and Papa 

Katelyn and MawMaw

She LOVES looking out doors.

The next weekend Katelyn and I had a chance to visit with some wonderful friends who also used to live in Waco.  Just to put Katelyn's speed into perspective: she can crawl as fast as Ellie (3 months older) can run.  Very cute watching them play together.

Our attempt to take a picture of the four of us.  Fail.