A Walk Along the River

My mom and I decided to take Katie on a walk along the river this week. Even with morning clouds, it was a nice and relaxing walk. Katie started off pretty tired, but she got over it quickly when she realized that she had new places to explore!

I really want to take a nap right now. I was almost asleep in the car. 

Now I'm happy - a bench I can climb up on myself! 

What's back here? 

I found two more benches!

Why do we have to go? I'll just sit down and stay here. 

There are always a lot of interesting things to explore on a sidewalk. 

I wonder if they'll notice if I just walk back to where we just were. 

 Okay, Grandma! We can go home now.

Right Outside the Front Door

As I've written many times, Katie loves to be outside. She's recently discovered some ways to entertain herself that are right out the front door.

I recently moved a plant out of this empty pot. Katie checks it every day to see if the plant has reappeared. 

Trying to Open the Door 

Knocking to See if Someone Will Open the Door 

Talking to the Turtle - Katie loves this turtle. She checks in with it all the time. She even pretends to feed it!

A Couple of Funny Moments

Many times Katie just does simple things that make me laugh! I wish I could capture them all. Here are a couple of recent funny moments.

Sometimes a Girl Just Needs Her Blocks and a Can of Pinto Beans to Do Her Best Thinking 

Katie's Best Attempt to Fall Asleep Quickly

Lessons From Chloe

I've been amazed at a lot of things since adopting Katie. I've been constantly amazed at how quickly Katie learns things. The funny thing is that Katie is at her quickest when one of the pets does something she wants to learn. She picks their behaviors up immediately!  Bingle was the first one to teach Katie how to shake her head "no" even though we had been trying to teach her for awhile.

Tonight, Katie was sitting on the dog bed laughing as Chloe was digging in the bed right behind her. When Chloe got done digging, she decided to lick her paws. Katie looked at her, and then immediately picked up her own bare feet to lick them! Here are some other important things Chloe has been teaching Katie:

How To Chew on a Stuffed Animal

 

How To Lick the Floorboards (One of Chloe's Strange Habits)

How To Chew on a Hard Toy 

How To Get a Drink of Water 

How to Stand With Your Nose/Tongue Against the Door to Let People Know You Want Out

Bubbles and Sidewalk Chalk

Bubbles are so much fun for Katie! She loves to watch them or pop them. I recently got out the bubble machine that Garyldine had given us after Katie's Idaho baby shower. It didn't take Katie long to figure out how to turn the machine on herself, so she could enjoy the bubbles whenever she wanted. The video shows her funny reaction as she decided to get close to the newly formed bubbles!

Let's go out and play! 

This is easy to turn on and off. 

When are the bubbles going to start? 

They float so high! 

I wish I could hug them. 

I've almost got you! 

I love summer!

Reacting to the Bubble Machine

Later in the day, Katie had her first opportunity to use sidewalk chalk. We sat down on the blacktop and enjoyed the summer weather. Katie spent most of her time looking at the chalk and her design, but she did get a little distracted by a beautiful hawk flying overhead. Quack, quack. Yes, in her mind, all birds still quack!

How did my mom make this write? 

I did it! I made a line! 

I'm going to try a different color! 

Ahhh! What a nice, refreshing breeze! 

Do you like my design? 

Uh-oh! It broke! 

Here's our hawk! Quack! 

Hey, this got all over my shirt! 

Some of Katie's Favorites

Katie had a day where she got to enjoy some of her favorite things. Early on in the day, she discovered my iPod touch, and kept herself busy with it. She's amazing in the way she can move her way around the iPod!  Another favorite activity was spending some time outside. Lastly, she re-discovered a favorite toy. It was a good day for Katie!

I love this iPod! Grandma wishes she knew how to use it as well as I do! 

Let's go out, Chloe! 

Look how tall I'm getting, Grandma! Wanna go for a ride? 

Heading in even though I'd rather stay out here all day! 

Pat the Bunny! I can't believe I forgot about you. I love you! 

Give me a kiss! 

I'll show you my books!

A Balancing Act

Katie enjoys building with blocks of any sort. She was using her Mega Blocks this week, and learned a lesson in balance. I was amazed at how long her balanced structure hung in there! I was happy to see that she wasn't that upset when it tumbled. She just picked up the blocks and started again.

I know right where to put this! 

It fits just right! 

Do I dare? 

I better just keep it in my hand. What happened to my tower anyway? 

Moving forward after the tumble to rebuild my tower.