New Chair for Bear

Katie is still enjoying all of her bears.  The other day, she found somewhere else to play with one of her bears - somewhere that I've always worked on avoiding with Katie.

Let's go, Mr. Bear! 

The litter box will be a perfect chair for you!

Are you ready to eat? 

Open wide!

Dining Together

Katie likes to be close to Chloe when she eats, and Chloe likes to be close to Katie when she eats!

Let's share food!

Stylin' in a New Hat

Katie is going through yet another phase of always wanting to empty cupboards and drawers that she can reach. The other day this is what Jennifer found in the kitchen.

I think this it a hat, but it sure got dark when I put it on! 

Are you there, Aunt Jennifer? 

I love my new hat.

Chloe's Bath

Chloe got another bath. She wasn't thrilled, but Katie was. Katie loves to watch Chloe zoom around the house after a bath as she tries to dry off.  She tries to keep up with Chloe's speed, but she doesn't quite do it. She has fun chasing anyway!

Here she comes! 

Here I go! 

Chloe needs a small rest after all of that running. 

Chloe just shook and got me all wet! 

Where are you going? I was just catching up! 

Chloe, I have my comb ready for you. 

She wasn't ready to be combed yet. 

Not Again!

A few days after Katie's scab came off her nose, she decided to climb up onto the dining room chair by herself. I was right next to her, but she likes to be independent, so she wanted to get there without my help.  After she had reached the top of the chair, her foot slipped, and before I could grab her, she went flying. She luckily landed in the small space between the table leg and another dining room chair, but she still ended up hitting the side of her face. She cried for a little while but not long, so I didn't think there was much damage. Later in the day though, I noticed that her chin was all swollen up and starting to bruise!  It was another week with a damaged face. September has been the month of bumps and bruises.

I was glad that her bruised chin didn't stick out quite as much as her scabbed nose! I learned that it's hard to get a good picture of someone's chin. I had to distract Katie with my iPod in order to get any picture.

Ouch!

Dedicated to Garyldine

I won't explain why this post is dedicated to Garyldine. She'll know why. At times, Katie can do gross things just like any other toddler. The other night, she was doing something really gross. She pulled her foot up and began licking the bottom of her shoe. I told her to stop, but I did have to get a picture for Garyldine before I completely got her to stop. Luckily it hasn't happened again since.

I've got to get this clean!

A Funny Girl

Katie gets into some little habits that just make me laugh. She has three of those habits right now.

Lately when she accomplishes anything that she thinks is just great, she puts her arms up and says, "Ta-da!" Well actually, it sounds more like "Daaaa" in a sing-song voice.  The funniest thing is that she doesn't just save her "Daaaa's" for big accomplishments. She uses the phrase for little, tiny accomplishments too, such as getting a toy out of her toy basket. "Daaa!"

Katie has some drama in her. I posted a video earlier about Katie's dramatic falls off of the slide that was made out of our furniture. What I didn't say was that she tends to have the same kind of dramatic falls at different times throughout the day. She'll be walking across the floor, and all of a sudden, she goes into a slow-motion, epic fall all the way to the floor. After each fall, she reaches one hand up, so someone can help her up. It's just too much for her to get up on her own after such big falls.  If she's not close enough to reach, we sometimes just reach our hand out and say, "You're too far away!" At that point, she'll get up, walk closer to us, take another dramatic fall, and reach her arm up again. She'll do that over and over until she's close enough to reach an adult to help her up.  It cracks me up!

As most people already know, Katie loves music. She loves to create music with real instruments and made up instruments. She also likes to sing. Almost from the time I met her, Katie has sung little tunes that she makes up on her own. On her 2nd birthday, my mom was with her, and she reported that Katie had sung the perfect tune to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." I couldn't believe it until I heard it a couple of days later. We found out later that she was actually singing the "ABC Song." (Sometimes I forget how much those songs sound alike.) She loves to hold her foam alphabet letters and sing the song. She tries to say the correct name of some of the letters, but for the most part, she just sings with da-da-da.  The funny thing is that I don't think she realizes the song has a natural end. Her version continues on and on and on and on and on and on…. If anyone has forgotten the tune to the much-loved song, just come around Katie for a little while. She'll remind you until you'll never forget again!

I'm here to entertain you!

Katie's Night of Fun

The other night, Katie was having a lot of fun around the house. The pets on the other hand were wishing she wasn't having so much fun! Luckily Jennifer rescued the pets from Katie's attention!

I'm not just crawling under the table for fun! 

I'm chasing something for fun! 

Where did she go? 

Ah-ha! I found you! 

I love chasing Bingle! 

She's missing again! 

Please don't find me. 

I'll just carry my step stool and put it right next to Chloe. 

I knew that step stool would end up chasing me until it was next to me! 

Katie's Distraction from the Pets - 

When she wears overalls, Jennifer holds on to the back of the overalls and swings Katie. 

It's one of Katie's favorite things to do.

Grooming Chloe

As I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, Katie is going through a phase of true love with Chloe. Chloe remains very patient even when she doesn't necessarily want Katie's attention.

 Chloe, quit digging, so I can comb you.

I'll just start with this long tail hair that is always tangly. 

You're going to look beautiful!

Out Shopping

Last weekend, my mom, sister, Katie, and I did some shopping at one of the outlet malls. Katie needed some shoes since her others are getting a little small, and we wanted to go shopping for ourselves too. Katie likes to go shopping, but she doesn't like to ride in a stroller. She likes to walk everywhere, and she would be really happy if we just allowed her to run freely and touch anything she wanted!  She was a good sport about remaining semi-contained and was patient even when we weren't shopping for her!

I was so happy to find a bench to climb on! 

Waiting Patiently for Aunt Jennifer to Shop 

Here are my new winter boots.

Katie, the Climber

Katie is a natural climber. She doesn't shy away from anything that she can climb. The other day, she was awfully quiet in the kitchen, so I went to see what she was up to.

 I want to see what's up there!

Here's the perfect step on the ledge of the cupboard door!

(I missed the picture where she had both feet balanced on the tiny ledge of the door.)

After the First Music Class

After Katie's first music class, she went to play at Garyldine's house. Somehow Katie's extra clothes in the diaper bag ended up somewhere surprising!

I like my clothes on you, Sammy! 

Real Boy Dogs Wear Pink

Katie Begins Music Classes

Garyldine found a music program close to where we live that is for children Katie's age.  Katie went to one of the classes with Garyldine and my mom last week to see how she liked it.  The class had a few other kids close to Katie's age, and from what I hear, Katie had a great time!  The program is all based around music, but it's also supposed to help language development, social skills, and following directions. All good things! After such a positive experience, Katie is signed up for lessons!

I think this seems like a friendly place, Winnie! 

Wow! She can make pretty music with her instrument! 

Do I get a turn, Grandma? 

Okay, I'll try it! 

 Even the little guy can play!

Back to Lost Lake

We went back to Lost Lake last weekend, one of our favorite escapes. I made the mistake of bringing bubbles with us for Katie to play with while we were there. The reason it was a mistake is that once Katie sees bubbles, it's all she thinks about.

After some fancy footwork, Katie finally moved her mind beyond the bubbles and onto enjoying her surroundings.

I'm always happy when I have a bubble wand in my hand! 

My wand is gone, but I can still appreciate being here! 

This is the first time I put my bare feet in a lake. I didn't like it! 

Our View from our Picnic Table 

How can I not smile when I'm with Aunt Jennifer? 

Here's a rock for you to throw, Aunt Jennifer! 

It's your turn for rock throwing, Grandma! 

Let's see if Grandpa is strong enough to throw it. 

Hooray for Grandpa! What a throw! 

I love spending time here!