Two Years Old!!!

Katelyn had a Minnie Mouse birthday party. So fun!

How am I supposed to eat this cupcake with a candle in it?!?

Katelyn at two years old...

Favorite foods: blueberries, broccoli, applesauce, turkey, sausage, cheese, or anything Daddy is eating
Favorite activities: painting, chalk, coloring, playing with Annabelle, playing "Boo" (hide and seek)
Favorite songs: Holy, Holy, Holy; Jesus Loves Me; Wheels on the Bus; E-I-E-I-O
Favorite animal: dog, followed by Louie (Mia's cat) and Shamus (Carolyn and Stephen's cat)
Favorite toys: bracelets, books, toy shopping cart
Favorite phrase: "What happened??"

Common phrases in our home lately: 
"No Katelyn! Don't paint your arm with ______!!!!" (yogurt, applesauce, hand soap, etc.) And when I say arm, I mean her ENTIRE little arm. She's quick. And thorough.

"Walk away, ______ (Mommy, Daddy, Baylor). Walk away." This is the phrase she uses anytime she is ready to dismiss someone or something. She learned it at school, and I see the value of teaching it to kids to prevent toddler arguments. But it's hard not to laugh when she says it at home. She's getting better about nicely saying, "Please walk away" when saying it at home.

"I DO IT!!!" This applies to so many, many things. She wants- and usually finds a way- to independently do whatever she has her mind set on, even if it's not the best idea. ANYthing she sees Mommy or Daddy doing, she insists on doing herself (even if it means undoing something that has already been done, like making another mess just so she can clean it up herself).

"Sing it, Mommy." This often happens in the car on the way to/from school. No matter what the topic, Katelyn instructs me to "sing it", which means I need to make up a song on the spot. I'm usually glad Katelyn and I are the only ones in the car to hear it.

"Tastes funny." This started when I unknowingly gave her some spoiled milk. She refused to drink it, and I didn't force her. She kept saying it tasted funny. Now, whenever she doesn't want to eat something, she says "tastes funny."

"Mark, Set, Go!" Since she runs everywhere she goes, why not make it a race?

"Lively" is a family name on my side that goes back several generations. Genetics did not disappoint. This child is bursting at the seams with energy. What she lacks in attention span, she makes up for in energy level. And her memory is scary good. She recalls EVERYTHING about a situation: people, places, the route to get there, tone of voice, emotions, etc. Months later (long after I've forgotten), she'll tell you all about it. It's interesting to me how she can move so quickly from one thing to another, yet still absorb every detail.

She is still acting two, of course, but is otherwise at a really fun age!

July 4th

Happy 4th of July, everybody!

This year we went to Nebraska to see family... and these people know how to celebrate July 4th! Tons of food and TONS of fireworks. Apparently in that part of Nebraska it's not illegal to shoot off fireworks in city limits. It. Was. Impressive, to say the least. So fun!

Headphones on... ready for fireworks! She liked them-- well, what she saw before falling asleep!

Sweet cousins

 I'm not sure what Cassidy is singing, but Katelyn is singing "Holy, Holy, Holy."  Of course.

Serious planning discussion before riding the 4-wheeler.

Sweet new friends 

Daddy telling Katelyn that SHE cannot get into the water, but it's ok to throw rocks in. I love this picture!

Full sized friendly poodle at the park? Yes, please!

Brushing Cassidy's hair, which is, of course, reason to giggle. 

At first glance this looks like a sweet picture. Really, it's a sweet picture of Nana hugging Cassidy and Katelyn worming her way in because she is a jealous child. Sigh.

holding her first sparkler

walking at the zoo 

"Katelyn, want to help me unpack your suitcase?"  "YEAH!"  And then I turned around and saw this. (And for the record, I never looked that cute in hats!)

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.