Yee-Haw!

Garyldine had a rocking horse at her house that she offered to let me take home for Katie. Just like with most toys, Katie needed a bit of warm-up time with her horse before she truly appreciated the fun it could bring.  Before she would get on the horse, she made Winnie the Pooh and Bunny get on the horse, and she pulled them around the house on it, so she could make sure the horse was safe.

Afterward, Katie dragged the horse into the kitchen where no one was watching her. She was very quiet, so I went to check on her, and she was happily enjoying the new horse in the privacy of the kitchen. As she got more comfortable, she shouted, "Yee haw!" None of us have any idea where she learned that phrase, but she must have heard it somewhere. It was funny!

C'mon, Winnie and Bunny! 

My mom caught me in the kitchen! 

I'll check out the reins. 

Yee-haw! This is fun!

I even found a saddle for my horse!

Don't worry. You can ride it after me!

A Conversation with Chloe

One night, everyone was in the living room, and Chloe was lying in the dining room. Katie saw Chloe all by herself, so she dragged a chair in and sat right in front of Chloe. She began having a very long and involved conversation with Chloe. She was expressive with her voice and hands.  We don't know exactly what the conversation was about…that's between Katie and Chloe. Jennifer was able to get some long-distance shots with her phone.

I'll keep you company, Chloe! 

"And it was this big!" 

Are you paying attention to me? 

I guess I'll just sit down again. 

"Now, let's see. Where was I?" 

I'll pet you while I finish my story. 

"And then, it started to stand up like this!" 

You're not listening to our story, are you? 

Let me get comfortable. 

I'll move a little closer to you. 

Chloe likes when I wave at her! 

Now I'll help Chloe wave back at me. 

"Back to the story…" 

"I held my arms out as far as they would reach!" 

"And we lived happily ever after." 

Did you like my story?

Gifts from Disney World

When my mom got back from Disney World, Katie's biggest gift was to see her grandma again. My mom came bearing some more gifts as well. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Grace got her the cutest stuffed Tigger, and my mom got her a shirt with Winnie the Pooh on it. Katie enjoyed both!

I love your nose, Tigger. 

Your mouth is pretty nice too! 

What? I'm just enjoying Tigger. 

I think I'll hug you tight, so my mom can't take you. 

I saw my friend, Winnie the Pooh, on my shirt, so I had to show him his picture. 

Okay, you can take my picture again if you need to! 

Thank you for my gifts!

Playing with Blocks

Katie's friends, Nick and Marie, gave her some blocks for Christmas. The set works together to create six different picture puzzles of animals. Even though Katie can't put the pictures together by herself yet, she loves the blocks. She started off by spending lots of time stacking the blocks into a tall tower, but recently she has figured out how to put all 16 blocks flat in the box. Maybe picture-creating will come next.

Katie has done something just with herself that makes us laugh, and the behavior has now transferred to her blocks. I've written in the past about how Katie loves to have her fake, and very dramatic, falls to the ground. Now, before she typically partakes in one of her falls, she warns us. As she feels a fall coming, she says, "Ahh, ah-ah-ah-ah, ahh" as she does a funny dance as she's pretending to lose her balance. When she finally falls, she exclaims, "Ohhh!" following by a quiet, "Help" with her hand reaching up for us. It cracks us up!

When she builds tall towers with her blocks, the blocks start to get wobbly. When they get wobbly, she starts exclaiming, "Ahh, ah-ah-ah, ahh…" while she holds her hands out around the tower waiting for the blocks to fall!

I think I'll just move a few of these blocks. 

Looks perfect! 

Please tell me she's not going to make those blocks crash! 

I know Bingle likes my towers, so I'll build one for her.

(My mom thinks my morning hair is funny, but sometimes it gets in my way!) 

I knew that was coming! That's why I had my hands out! 

Oh no! Now what?

(I love this picture of Katie! She never used to put her tongue out like that until I decided to show her how I can curl my tongue. After seeing me do that, she started making this face.) 

I'll just start again. I don't give up very easily!

Can You Find Me?

Katie still enjoys hiding a lot. She really thinks she's hidden completely as long as she's just a little bit hidden. She found the perfect hiding place the other day.

I bet you don't know where I am! 

Where's Katie? 

I wonder if I can fit my face through this loop in the cord. 

Now I'm really hidden! 

I knew she wouldn't be able to find me back here. 

Peek-a-boo!

Missing Grandma

As I've posted, my mom was out of town for a little over a week. Oh, how Katie missed her! She is so used to having her grandma around, and she didn't quite know how to feel without her. At times she was mad that she couldn't find her. Other times, she was confused about where she was. A lot of times, she was sad. I did my best to talk with her about when she would see her grandma again, but it didn't do a lot of good.

Katie calls my mom "Gaga." Of course, we naturally think of Lady Gaga with that name, and it makes us laugh. While Lady Gaga was gone, we heard a lot of, "Gaga? GAGA!!! Gaga…." When she would tell us a story, it usually had a lot to do with Gaga.

One night, we thought it would help if Katie saw my mom, so we tried Skype for a short while. Katie was excited to see her, but once we said our goodbyes, Katie ran to the front door yelling for Gaga to come in and see her.

The day before my mom returned, I was playing with Katie, and she found one of her play cell phones and decided to call Gaga.  It turned into quite a search for Grandma.

Gaga! 

Where are you?

Searching for Grandma

Legs are Handy

Katie decided to sit in one of her chairs, so she could sing her songs out of her Sesame Street book she got for Christmas. As she was turning pages, she figured out how handy her legs could be!

I love to sing the songs in my book. 

Sometimes legs make turning pages a little easier. 

Singing Time 

Page-Turning Time

Time at Garyldine's and Jim's House

My mom went on vacation to Disney World for about a week. She met my brother, his wife, and their son down there. Since she watches Katie while I go to work, some different arrangements had to be made.

Katie was lucky enough to go to Garyldine and Jim's house for most of the days that I went to work. She always has fun at their house, and she loves their dog, Sam. Every morning as we drove to their house, I got to hear about Sam, and every night after picking Katie up, I got to hear more about Sam.

I'm trying to take a picture of Sam in my clothes.

Katie and Sam: Taking Turns Barking

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super Sam! 

Jim and Katie stayed busy with Play-Doh and tea parties. 

Jim took me to my music class! 

Thanks, Jim! 

Just enjoying my morning apple while I look out the window.