Fun Creativity

Katie was playing with the building set that Jennifer bought her a couple of years ago that is full of foam pieces. Some of the pieces have a wire in them, so they can be bent into different shapes, and those are Katie's favorite pieces. She was laughing pretty hard at herself when she made accessories for dressing up.

I started with a big bow tie! 

Then I added a stylish hat!

Last Day of School

Katie had her last day of school last week. She had such a good experience for her first year in school. She made lots of new friends, gained confidence, and continued to have a happy curiosity about the world. As much as she enjoyed her experience though, she's looking forward to some "free days" of summer!

Back on the first day of school, I wasn't sure what to expect. 

On the last day of school, I knew I liked it, but... 

…I'm ready to get on with summer experience learning!

A Telephone

Katie got a bubble gun when she was in Disney World. One afternoon, we went to run an errand. Katie brought the bubble gun and turned it into a personal telephone.

Hello? 

I love getting funny phone calls!

Recital Picture Day

As Katie's dancing recital approached, she got more and more excited. The weekend before the recital, she got to wear her costume, have a miniature dress rehearsal at the dance studio, and get her pictures taken. She loved dressing up with her dancing friends!

My "pumpkin" friends and I watched the other groups rehearsing from the outside window. 

After I rehearsed, I got in line for pictures. 

We have so much fun together!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Recently, Katie has been in such a Christmas mood. One night, she decided to get herself dressed up as Santa Claus. She was very proud of her costume.

Directions for a Perfect Santa Claus Costume:

1 pair of Frozen rain boots,

1 Little Mermaid skirt,

1 Cinderella shirt,

1 summer themed hat,

1 sword

Ho, ho, ho!

A Snake

Katie was outside with Jennifer when they spotted a snake. Katie was very excited about it and ran straight into the house to get me to see the new friend.  She wanted me to capture it, so we could keep it as a pet, but we decided to just observe it instead.

I love when we find snakes!

I always try to welcome new wildlife.

A Special Bow

My sister, Debby, gave Katie a whole set of hair bows one Christmas. Katie always liked the bows, but she has a strong, renewed interest in them lately. Perhaps it goes along with Katie's desire to only wear dresses lately because they twirl. After she chooses a dress, she always wants to spend quality time with her hair bows to choose one that matches perfectly - in her eyes.

One day she looked under a different bow and found a flower bow with the Disney princesses in the middle that she had forgotten about. She quickly exclaimed, "This is the bow that I always wanted. I love Aunt Debby so, so much because she knows how to get the princess bows that I dreamed of!"

Thanks for the best hair accessory in the world, Aunt Debby!

Cooling Off My Feet

While the wading pool was out, Katie decided that she needed to cool off her feet every time that we took the puppies outside.

I think this water will cool off my feet! 

It feels perfect! 

Ta-da! 

Thank you very much!

Whistling

Katie has convinced herself that she can whistle. She puts a finger in her mouth and then sings a whistling noise. To her, that's whistling. It comes in handy when she wants to call the dogs!

I asked her to let me videotape the whistle. Instead of her short whistle she had been doing, she whistled a whistle that went on and on. When she finished she said, "That was a curly one!"

C'mon, puppies! I'm whistling for you!

This was my curly whistle.

A Play Date

Kai came over awhile ago to meet the new puppies and to play with Katie. Like always, they had a good time together!

We always like to play in my kitchen! 

We decided to sit in the chair together and wait for the puppies. 

I showed Kai how to sit with the dogs. 

Then it was his turn. Our puppies loved Kai! 

Kai had fun playing with my dolls. He plays with them differently than I do. He doesn't always make them act in a princess way! 

We decided to go shopping together for groceries for the kitchen. 

Then it was time to go cook. 

After that, we played my fishing game. 

When the puppies went out, we had fun playing. Kai liked the construction happening by our house! 

We stopped to pet the puppies...

 …and for a picture.

Before Kai left, I tried to teach him the proper way to twirl! Thanks for coming, Kai!

Return of the Wading Pool

When we had a bit of a heat wave in early June, the wading pool came back out. Katie loves it!

This year, I had friends join me in my pool!

A Superhero Belt

We had gotten some new blankets for the puppies, and each blanket came wrapped up with a tag that Aunt Jennifer promptly put on Katie. She told her it was her superhero belt.

I feel super powers coming on!

Designing a Dress

Katie wanted to design a beautiful princess dress for Sophie one night. She put Sophie in a printed storage bin, which became the dress. Then she added beautiful Play-Doh designs on it.

I'll make your dress more beautiful, Sophie Pearl! 

Let's just put this piece of Play-Doh right here. 

What do you think? 

I love it!

Singing and Dancing in the Rain

Katie was so excited to take the puppies outside with Aunt Jennifer on a rainy day. It was the perfect opportunity to wear her rain boots, use her umbrella, jump in puddles, and sing songs. Who wouldn't want to do that?

I'm... 

…singin'... 

…and dancin'... 

…in... 

…the... 

rain!

A Slow Morning

Sometimes (very rarely), Katie and the puppies both have a slow morning. On those mornings, they like to just hang out together.

We like to relax together as we're trying to wake up.

A Rocket Ship

For the first week or so that the puppies were home, we had a large play pen set up in our living room for when the dogs needed to be contained or for when we needed a small break. Katie loved to get in the play pen with the dogs, and she often pretended that it was her rocket ship. She took the puppies to visit the moon and several planets.

Where do you puppies want to go? Mars? Saturn? 

I'll program the rocket ship! Here we go!

A Water Snake

As the weather heated up, I decided to buy Katie a water toy that would let Katie have fun while helping to water the yard. She got a snake that sprayed water out along its body. She wasn't interested in jumping through the water, but she did like playing with it. She got her sand bucket, and filled it with water from the snake and then watered her flowers.

Of course we tried putting the dogs in the spraying water too. Bailey wanted out right away. Sophie loved it!

I had my bucket set up to catch water. Bailey wanted to see it until the water hit her. 

She decided to run away while Sophie came closer. 

Sophie wasn't scared at all. 

Her head got all wet from playing! 

After I played, I decided to sit in the chair until I dried off. 

Bailey waited patiently for me.