Almost Two

Katelyn has been... challenging lately. Don't get me wrong; I feel like the luckiest woman in the world that I get to be her mother, but man-- age two (almost) is HARD! She's a bit unpredictable. One day she is an angel, and the next day will be filled with time-outs, tantrums, and tears. She wants SO BADLY to express herself and be independent and as I've mentioned before, she is very strong-willed. As am I. We are growing together.

At school she made a clown face and, unlike her classmates' clowns, her clown has a frowny face. I know it wasn't intentional, but it makes me laugh because it very much depicts her mood lately.

Also, meet Susie, Katelyn's new sidekick. She has actually had Susie since Christmas but never really noticed her until now. The funny thing about Susie is how she came to be a part of our lives. One day Katelyn showed slight interest in the doll and Dave asked what her name was. Katelyn responded with a blank stare, so Dave said, "Is her name... Susie?" And the rest is history. Personally, I'm a big fan of Susie because when I can't get Katelyn to do something, Susie comes to my rescue. After all, Susie likes to behave like a big girl, eat dinner, and pick up her toys.

Susie rode with us to school because she was "coughing" and Katelyn needed to "comb her hair." Leaving Susie in the car seat reading a book was the only way I could pry her away from Katelyn when it came time to go inside.

Recently we went to Annabelle's dance recital. Now, I had explained to Katelyn that Annabelle was going to be on stage and we were going to watch her dance, but as my mom pointed out, Katelyn had no frame of reference for what that meant. And as Dave predicted, Katelyn was NOT happy that she couldn't go play with Annabelle on stage. Devastated and hysterical, in fact. Of course, we took her out in the foyer for the remainder of the recital and Christy even arranged for us to see Annabelle backstage while another group was performing. But until the recital was over and she actually got to be WITH Annabelle, Katelyn was a mess. "Annabelle!!!! See Annabelle!!!!" At least she was screaming for a good cause.

That night around 1 a.m., I heard Katelyn running down the hallway. She has never gotten out of bed before, so I was immediately alarmed. She was a little groggy but was all smiles. Being a gifted sleepwalker myself, I concluded that she was sleepwalking and put her back to bed. The next morning I asked what she was doing in the hallway. Katelyn thought for a minute, smiled, and simply said, "See Annabelle."  :)

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!