Vacation Time

We are headed out for our family vacation. Katie is very excited to get on a "BIG BOAT!" The blog will be updated when we return next week.

I'm ready for a vacation!

Pictures on the Doorstep

After helping my mom walk her dogs, Katie and I walked to her house. While my mom took her dogs inside, Katie and I hung out on the doorstep, and we decided to take some self-portraits.

 I'm not ready! My eyes are itchy.

I wasn't smiling yet. 

Is this working? 

Now I just have to laugh!

Helping Grandma

Katie has loved helping my mom walk her dogs on the summer evenings this year. As soon as she hears she can go to help with Max and Shelby she grabs her sandals, puts them on, and says, "I'm ready!" while she runs to the door. I usually let her lead the way on our walk to meet my mom.

Let's just take a minute to sit and enjoy being outside. 

"Hi, Gaga! I see you!" 

I like to walk Max with Grandma!

A New, Beautiful Treasure

Katie came outside with me to pick some blackberries, but she got very distracted by a beautiful "flower" that she had to have.  I love how kids can go outside to the same spot over and over, but they can always seem to find something new and exciting with each trip!

Let's go pick blackberries! 

Oh, wait! Look at that flower! 

It's so pretty that I'm willing to step into the weeds for it. 

Can you believe how pretty this is? 

I've never seen anything like it. 

I'll have to take it back to the house with me. 

I can't wait to show everyone!

Outdoor Play Time

I've said before how much Katie loves the outdoors. She happy to just go outside and observe her surroundings, but she also loves to go out and play. One of her favorite playing places is still the playground at the school, and her favorite activity is still swinging. She's been walking to the playground, having some play time, and then walking home. It's a fun time for her.

It's so much fun to swing! 

I would be happy on the playground all day long. 

Thanks for pushing me, Grandma!

Friends Forever

I walked into the dining room the other day and found some true friends.

Chloe will always take care of me when I get tired.

Through Katie's Eyes

Katie was enjoying some grapes the other day. She had plucked all of the grapes from on stem, and she pointed to the empty stem and said, "Look!  A tree! A match!" Then she pointed at the tree out the window and the stem and told me they were both trees. A few days later, Katie finished the grapes, and now had a large tree. She very badly wanted to go outside to plant her tree.

Look at my tree! 

I think we should go plant it.

The Pet Store

I took Katie to the pet store. She enjoyed all of the pets - just like always. On this trip, she decided to play Peek-a-Boo with some of them.

Peek-a-Boo with a Guinea Pig

Socks and Shoes

Katie doesn't like the freedom of being barefoot. She insists on socks no matter what. She has also had very strong feelings about her shoes. The only shoes she wants to wear are her sandals. Unlike lots of other kids though, she still has to have her socks on every day with her sandals - even on the hottest of days.

I always wear socks with my pajamas, and when I go outside, I have to have my sandals.

Dogsitting

The weekend before last, we watched Kathy's dog, Maeby. Maeby is a standard poodle who is bigger than any dog Katie has ever been around. Maeby also has more energy than any dog Katie has ever been around. Katie didn't quite know what to think when Maeby came bounding at her, but it didn't take long for her to realize that Maeby was harmless. She decided that she liked having Maeby at our house.

We took Maeby out to explore our area. 

She went down the hill much faster than I did! 

This is Maeby when she sits. It's hard to catch her like this! 

Aunt Jennifer put this dog bed out for our guest, but I thought it was perfect for Winnie the Pooh! 

I was trying my new trick on Maeby. I quietly sneak up on a dog, say, "Tickle, tickle, tickle!" and tickle them. Neither Maeby nor Chloe giggle. They just stand there. I think it's funny though! 

Chloe even learned what a nice dog Maeby was. 

Maeby really liked Bingle. Bingle really liked the gate! 

Sometimes stare-downs get tiring! 

In the morning, I made Maeby some tea. 

I invited her up on the couch. We were both excited to see a squirrel.

While Maeby kept looking for the squirrel, I decided to sing to her. I love making up songs!

Aunt Jennifer's Accident

Last weekend, Jennifer and I took Katie and the dogs out for a walk. Somehow Jennifer's feet ended up getting tangled, and she took a fall. Even though her foot hurt, she insisted on bravely finishing the walk.  By the time we got home, her foot looked pretty bad…almost like she had an extra ankle bone in a strange place.

After the Walk

Once Katie saw Aunt Jennifer take off her shoe and hobble into the living room, she took off her shoe and decided that she was the one with the sore foot. She was holding her foot and talking about her ow-ie on her foot.

The next day, Jennifer was having a hard time walking and agreed to go to the doctor. She found out her foot was broken and that she would have to wear a boot for six weeks. 

Katie didn't pay much attention to her boot for a couple of days. Then she walked up to Jennifer and very seriously proclaimed, "Nice boot." She reached down and touched the padded part of the boot and said, "Soft." I'm sure the compliments made Jennifer feel much better about her heavy foot!

Nice Boot

I can be like Aunt Jennifer!

Preparing to Go Out

My sister recently got a new purse and wallet, so she let Katie have her old ones. Katie loves her grown-up purse. The other day, I took her shopping, and she had to grab certain things before she was ready.

I've got my sunglasses, Winnie the Pooh, and my new purse.

I'm ready to go!

A few days later, we were leaving for a short trip to my mom's house, and Katie packed up again.

I have a new suitcase for our summer trip. I like to wheel it around everywhere. Of course, it had to go to Grandma's house. I also had to bring my backpack and change purse. A girl has to be prepared!

Ready for the Sun

As Katie has gotten older, she has become much more accepting of things that will protect her from the sun - particularly sunglasses and a hat. In the past, whenever I have tried to get Katie to wear those things, she has always ripped them off. This spring, she discovered she likes sunglasses, and this summer, she discovered she likes hats.

 I'm ready to go for a stroll in the hot sun.

Even the hat can't prevent the sun from making me tired!

Babysitting

The day after Kathy took Katie to see the bunny, she brought Kai over for us to babysit. He was only at our house for an hour or so, but Katie would have liked to have him a lot longer. Ever since that day, I've heard a lot about her friend, Kai.

The first thing I shared with Kai was my butterfly wings. He looked great in them. He also liked my bracelets! 

Kai really liked my pink phone and putting foam letters in my mouth.  

Thanks, Kai! 

I tried to teach him how to use my xylophone... 

 …but he was too distracted by my phone.

He liked my blocks. 

You might think he had his eyes on our blueberries, but I knew he really wanted something else. 

He wanted my beautiful necklace. 

Gaga got me an emergency Winnie the Pooh in case mine ever got lost again, but I know the difference and won't play with the spare. I wanted Kai to use it, so I taught him how he should hug his bear. 

I was pretty sure he wanted to wear my tiara. 

I can't believe I was wrong. 

He liked my alligator a lot, and it wasn't even pink! 

How did you get so tall? 

Want a blueberry? 

We ended our day by drawing. Well, I drew and Kai watched. I love Kai!