Baby Zoe

I'm a little late posting this. Katelyn has a new cousin, Zoe. She loves talking about Zoe and asks on a daily basis if Zoe is sleeping. My favorite comment is when she pointed to Jesus her Nativity scene snow globe and said, "Baby Zoe." Haha.

I love this picture. Such personality in those pigtails!

Since Katelyn and Annabelle go to the same school, sometimes we see them at pick-up time in the afternoons. Such was the case a few weeks ago and we couldn't resist taking pictures.

Painting

So, Katelyn loves to paint. I mean, she REALLY loves to paint. We've been doing it a lot lately, and I've realized that if we don't get the paints out frequently, she'll "paint" using unconventional methods, such as with applesauce or lotion. Watercolors it is, then! Here are some pictures taken over several different days of painting:

I love how she's sitting IN her painting.

This child never sits still and rarely maintains focus on anything... but painting is serious business.

And then she discovered that her little arm makes a perfect canvas.

Toddler tattoo sleeve?

While happily singing "E-I-E-I-O," she hiked up her pants and began painting her feet and legs.

A brush is helpful when painting a beard...

...but fingers work just as well.

And finally, proof that some paint DOES actually end up on the paper. I promise I didn't help her with this AT ALL, except to tell her when she needed more water or paint on the brush. I love it, and I LOVE having a creative, messy child!

Stickers, Love, and E-I-E-I-O

The terrible twos are upon us. Hello tantrums, meltdowns, and a new level of feistiness. When time outs started losing their effectiveness and I was closing in on my patience threshold, I called my mom and sister for advice. Christy had a great idea that worked well with Annabelle. Sticker chart! Pretty simple: earn stickers for good choices, lose stickers for poor choices. A full sticker chart will be a major accomplishment and earns some sort of special treat, like a new book or a trip to the park. Katelyn caught on really fast and loves earning stickers for following instructions, not throwing fits, using her manners without being prompted, and other "big girl" behavior. Some days she loses more stickers than she earns, and I'm ok with that. She's learning to identify positive behavior and that choices- both good and bad- have consequences. I realize this phase is just beginning and many rough days are ahead, but I feel like we're off to a good start as far as managing it. 

According to Katelyn's teacher, she has become the alpha female of the class. She is super feisty... But also super loving. When another child cries, Katelyn is the first one on the scene and immediately hugs the child and literally wipes away their tears. I witnessed this one day when I picked her up from school and It. Is. Precious. 

Lately we've been singing a lot of "Old McDonald."  Kind of. Katelyn made up her own little game where she wants me to substitute certain words for farm animals in the song. She says, "E-I, Mommy. E-I _____."  Fill in the blank with whatever word is on her mind at the moment and the song goes like this: "...and on that farm there was a _____."  Baylor, Daddy, baby, fly, rice, tortilla, broccoli, flag, nose, you name it. Silly girl!

Mouthful of Cheerios

All Dressed Up

We recently went to Houston for Dave's uncle's retirement dinner. It was a big deal-- one of those wear-fancy-clothes-we're-going-to-a-super-classy-restaurant types of deal. And as Katelyn does in most social settings, our super active 19 month old wanted to explore the room and socialize. Given that perfect behavior during appetizers, dinner, dessert, and speeches is a lot to ask of a toddler, I guess you could say she was well behaved. She was just a handful! At least she looked cute!

Holding/chewing some sort of plastic doll.

Thanks, Nana, for the pretty dress!  And thank you, Grandmom, for the pretty bows to match!

Everyone but MawMaw, Dennis, and June. And all the dogs.

18 Months

Katelyn is so much fun at 18 months. She is such a precious little girl and so full of personality and love. Some of my favorite things:

• Her hugs. Her teachers at school call her their "love bug" because she is so sweet and affectionate. She is so generous with hugs- and not just with actual people. When we FaceTime/Skype with Nana or Papa, she hugs the phone/computer as though she is hugging them in person.
• Her love for music. Whether it be a musical snow globe, music on tv or the radio, or the always popular PraiseBaby, she responds to music. She sometimes sings a little with the music and matches pitch surprisingly well. Her favorite words to sing? "Ho-yee, ho-yee... mi-tee, mi-tee..." (Holy, Holy, Holy) I. LOVE. This.
• Her words. She loves naming all the people in the room. Mama! Dada! Be-yah! (Baylor). She loves naming the kids in her class. She repeats everything we say and has gotten much more consistent with saying please and thank you. She's also starting to put two or three words together to make complete thoughts... for example, "Bye bye, Daddy" or "No bubbles!" when she didn't want to take a bath.
• Her independence. Eating by herself, scrubbing her own tummy with the washcloth in the bathtub, putting the lid on the playdough container-- these are all things that will cause her face to turn 50 shades of red if you try to help.

We spend a LOT of time at her coloring table. Her short attention span means we don't stay at the coloring table for more than 2 minutes at a time, but it is the activity we most often revisit. She doesn't like to color alone; Mama or Daddy must also participate. She hands the other person a crayon and asks them to draw dots, stars, circles, or every member of our extended family. 

... and one of my favorite pictures:

Christmas: Part 2

We had a good Christmas. We spent time with both sides of the family and had a great time...

Emma, Cassidy, and Katelyn in the cutest dresses ever!

with the cast of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... x3

waiting patiently to open presents

Playing with Katelyn's new piano 

She put a LOT of miles on this car!

playing with blocks with Uncle Joey (whose name she has learned to say)

Pierson, Katelyn, and Annabelle watching the snow begin to fall.

 mesmerized by our white Christmas

Sitting with Granddad. This picture makes me laugh because it shows Katelyn and Annabelle's nighttime personalities: Katelyn ready for bed and Annabelle WIDE awake.

Reading Katelyn's favorite book, "I Love You Through and Through."

On another note, Katelyn's vocabulary is increasing. It's clear that she understands everything we tell her, but it seems she waits to say new words until she's confident. You can see the wheels turning in her head, like she's mentally rehearsing how to say a word. And when she's ready, she whispers it first. As she gains confidence, her volume increases until she says it loud and proud! Some recent words: tortilla, broken, pocket, broccoli, Christy, and Kathie. Can't believe she is almost 18 months old!

Christmas: Part 1

Katelyn loves all things Christmas... well, most things Christmas, anyway.

Funny thing is, she likes looking at pictures of Santa, wasn't scared when we were standing in line, and even likes to say "Ho Ho Ho" herself. My parents have pictures of me being equally dramatic.

Safe distance was a candy cane.

We drove around to look at Christmas lights, and Katelyn LOVED it. She constantly said "Ohhh! Ohhh!" and if we passed more than two houses in a row without lights, she frowned and said, "More? More?"  It was really fun.

She is fascinated by the Christmas tree. I modified ours this year. As much as I wanted to put up our beautiful glass ornaments, I didn't know if our little pink tornado would go crazy and pull the tree down. So I opted for non-breakable ones and lots of bells instead. 

Christmas in Texas

She's giving the Christmas tree a hug.

More to come!