Shopping with Dolls

Katie likes to take her dolls shopping, and she usually also likes to give them a special place to sit.

I hung my mermaids on the cart, so they could see out. 

 Princess Barbie got the honor of sitting in the cup holder.

58 Days

You may remember reading about the balloon that Garyldine gave Katie that got loose from it's string and ended up on our living room ceiling on the first day that Katie had it. We waited for it to come down and waited and waited and waited and waited some more. Fifty-eight days later, Katie and I came down in the morning, and Katie spotted the balloon that had finally begun to sink. I quickly stood on the couch to grab it, and it almost slipped out of my fingers as it started going back up to the ceiling. I was determined to keep hold of it though.

Katie insisted on keeping the balloon until everyone had seen that it was down, so we wedged it in between her table and chairs. Once she had shown everyone, she happily agreed to let the air out of it and donate it to my mom.

This was what happened to my balloon the first day I had it. 

58 long days later, I saw that the balloon had finally started to lower. 

I didn't think it would ever come off the ceiling!

A Strawberry Surprise

After our first strawberries shriveled up this year, we were surprised to see some more growing. Katie was the first one who spotted a red strawberry hiding in the back of our plant, and that strawberry didn't last long!

Do you see what I see? 

I couldn't wait to pick it! 

It was the first strawberry that I ever got to pick! 

Yum!

The Wading Pool

Even though her wading pool is pretty small for her now, Katie still likes to go out and sit in it on hot, summer days.

It was good to get back into my pool again!

I was waiting for Aunt Jennifer to spray me with the hose! 

I think water got in my eye. 

I know she'll be back again. 

Is she coming? 

After getting sprayed a lot, I practiced my splashing technique for the next time Aunt Jennifer was close.

A Bag for the Mail

I asked Katie if she wanted to get the mail with me one afternoon. She quickly responded, "YES!" and then said, "Wait here. I be right back!" She went upstairs to get one of her bags that she needed for the trip. She let me know that it would help her carry the mail back to the house.

I was ready for the trip to the mailbox. 

This bag was going to make things a lot easier.

Building Castles

Awhile back, Garyldine got Katie some wooden castle blocks. Katie re-discovered them recently and invited Jennifer to build with her. At first, she was happy creating their own castles out of the blocks. Then, she decided that they had to build the castle in the instructions.

During this building session, Jennifer taught Katie the very important lesson in life, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Every time something would fall and Katie would hang her head, Jennifer would say, "If at first you don't succeed," and Katie would respond, "Try, try again," and lift her head up and start over.

This was the first tower I built. I wanted a tall tower.

I love to build with Aunt Jennifer! 

After each step, I'd check our work. 

I learned that balance was important. 

I decided to compare our castle with the castle in my princess book. 

All of our effort paid off in the end!

Acting Out a Book

One of Katie's favorite authors is Mo Willems. She really likes his Pigeon books and his Elephant & Piggie books. Recently, she got a new Elephant & Piggie book called Let's Go For a Drive! The first night she had it, she wanted it for a bedtime story. After reading it once, she asked me to read it again. After that time, she asked me to read it three times. After three times, she asked me to read it five times. After five times, she asked me to read it ten times.

I went along with her up to five times that first night and then told her it was her turn to read. I wasn't surprised when she read it at least ten times herself. The thing that's great with those books is that it really encourages reading with expression. It's so much fun to hear her.

After a few days of reading the book, she started acting out the book with me. She ended up getting a lot of the key props needed for the book - a map (that she drew), sunglasses (pretend ones), an umbrella, bags, and plenty of personality. 

In case my mom forgot the storyline, I helped her act it out with me!

Artwork

I'm not sure what made Katie remember it, but she remembered using sidewalk chalk out in front of our house last year. She pretty easily convinced her Aunt Jennifer to get out the chalk and take part in some new artwork with her.

We found a brand new box of chalk in the garage. 

I chose Cinderella blue to start with. 

Then I drew her castle. 

I couldn't believe how blue my hand got! 

Aunt Jennifer's picture was beautiful. 

I was having fun just drawing. 

Then Aunt Jennifer taught me how to play Hopscotch. 

I'm pretty good at hopping and jumping. 

We had a lot of artwork on the ground. 

My mom got distracted by the new wildflowers by our house. 

Then I spent some time finding some little holes in the blacktop. 

I was looking for houses for the little pebbles. 

Aunt Jennifer and I traced our feet. My feet are almost as big as hers! 

Later, Aunt Jennifer was trying to trade chalk with me. I was good at taking her chalk but not as good at giving her some of my chalk. 

At the end, we decided that I was so dirty that we might as well color my legs too.

It was a fun night!

Summer Dance Class

I took Katie to her first summer dance class at the end of June. She was excited to see her teacher, Ms. Moriah, again and to see her friend, Arrabella, who was also going to be in her class. When we arrived, I went to pay for the classes, and I was asked how old Katie was. They had thought that Katie had already turned 4, so they had put her in Moriah's class for 4-5 year olds.

When I told them that Katie was still 3, they moved her to Ms. Jessica's class for the summer. I knew Katie would do fine during the class, but I wondered what she'd think about the change. I explained that she had a new teacher for the summer, and with the change, came a whole new class. No Ms. Moriah. No Arrabella.

Katie did a good job following directions for the entire class. When she got done, she received a stamp just like Ms. Moriah gave her. Then I waited for her response. She was so happy because Ms. Jessica had sparkly ink for the stamp. Also, she was happy about the class. She still speaks highly of Ms. Moriah, but was happy to share with anyone that, "I have a new teacher!" Change gets a little easier for her slowly but surely.

I had a big class, so we sat in a big circle! 

I was the first one to get to meet Ms. Jessica. 

Dancing makes me so happy! 

During one of the songs, we got to pretend to be asleep. 

It was fun to have a new class. 

This is how my teacher curtsies. I tried really hard to copy her.

We each got to practice with the ribbon at the end of class.

When I got done, I tried to curtsy like my teacher. It's harder than it looks!

An Elsa Costume

As I've mentioned, Katie loves Queen Elsa from Frozen. She has especially been taken by the fact that Queen Elsa and Princess Anna wear capes. It wasn't long before Katie created her own costume and then continued to revise it until it was perfect.

I knew I needed a cape, so I used my hooded bath towel. Then I added a crown to my head, so I'd look exactly like Elsa. (My Anna costume is made with my giraffe hooded towel.)

A Rainy Day at the Zoo

My mom and I decided to take Katie to the zoo on a rainy, summer day. After being there, we decided that rainy days were perfect for the zoo. We could see any animal that we wanted to see without any big crowds. It was perfect!

I was so excited to take my umbrella! 

On this trip, I got to see four black bears! 

I liked to just watch him sleep. 

I couldn't believe when I saw the Hottentot Teal. "It has a blue beak - just like Cinderella!"

The condors are new to our zoo.

The polar bear was just resting. 

I was waiting for him to move, but he never did. 

Next we went to the monkey house. This monkey was hungry. He liked vegetables just like me! 

Right after my mom took this picture, this monkey turned around and was nose to nose with me through the glass. We locked eyes for awhile. I didn't even get scared. It was funny!

The elephants were moved to this temporary spot while their new area is being built. 

We found out that the three lion cubs don't look little anymore. 

 The cheetahs were tired, but we had a good view of them!

 The African wildcat was tired, and...

…so were the hippos!

We stopped to see my favorite giraffes. 

It was a fun day!