It's a Fact

At school, Katie has been learning about informational writing. She has been excited enough about it that she often likes to practice it before bedtime. One night, she decided to write about princesses. She has been holding onto a little bit of resentment because awhile ago, one of the boys in her class told her princesses weren't real. She tried to explain to him that they were and gave the example of Princess Charlotte. He didn't believe her, so he inspired her book.

This was the first page of my book. "Princesses are real!"

A New Recipe

One night, I went to get some things for dinner, and Katie chose to stay home with her Aunt Jennifer. Jennifer was working, and Katie decided to make a new recipe…her version of chocolate chip cookies. She was so incredibly proud of her work. When I got home, she gave me the recipe.

1. Mix some baking soda and water on a plate.
2. When it's smooth, scatter some chocolate chips on top.
3. Put the plate in the refrigerator so the cookie hardens.

After dinner, she couldn't wait to try her dessert. When she realized she couldn't pick the cookie up, she just put the plate to her face. It took a minute for the taste to get to her, but when it did, she ran as fast as she could to rinse out her mouth. When she returned, she announced that the cookie was yucky and decided to just pick off the chocolate chips to eat. After the first chocolate chip, it was another mad round of rinsing out her mouth. She decided that everything tasted yucky and would have to throw it away. I'm sure it hasn't slowed down her motivation to create new recipes though!

I was pretty proud of my chocolate chip cookie creation. 

I couldn't wait to get the first taste, but when the taste sunk in, I had to rinse out my mouth. 

I went to the table to try just one chocolate chip, but when I tasted it, I ran away to get water so fast that my picture was blurry! 

It had such promise, but it just didn't pan out.

A Special Valentine

A few days after Valentine's Day, we picked up our mail after not getting it for a few days and found a Valentine for Katie. She was so excited to get a card from Aunt Jody in the mail!

I love to try to read the words on my cards by myself! 

I couldn't believe that the card opened up to become a poster to color! 

Thanks for my special Valentine, Aunt Jody!

Using Drawing Skills

Before going to bed, Katie likes bedtime stories, but she also likes to write and draw sometimes. I love to watch her drawing skills develop. It doesn't seem that long ago that she was just making scribbles.

Sometimes I like to write my numbers and turn the numbers into pictures. 

I started thinking of Tamatoa, who I call Camatoa, from Moana and thought I would draw it for Aunt Jennifer.

This is what it looked like.

After that, I thought of Olaf and thought I would draw him for Grandma. 

I thought he turned out pretty well. 

Finally, I thought of my old friend, Winnie the Pooh.

His portrait was for my mom!

Love of a Song

Katie has always loved music, and she especially loves the music from Moana. When she finds a song that she particularly likes, she gets so focused on learning the entire song. She'll listen to it on her iPod, learning bit by bit. Once she has learned it, she sings it over and over.

When the Academy Awards came on this year, we had them on in the background while Katie played with her toys. As soon as "How Far I'll Go" came on, Katie stopped playing and joined in with the singing. She was so excited.

This is when I was learning my favorite song. I was almost there!

I couldn't believe when my favorite song came on the TV.

A Chair

We went to a store that was going out of business, and Katie loved looking at everything there. Eventually, we passed some fancy chairs that had been used in the store. Katie thought they looked like princess chairs even if they were a little dirty with some wear.

I could be happy with a chair like this!

Chef Katie

Katie was having an afternoon snack, and very quietly, she decided to create her own recipe. Afterward, she excitedly announced, "I made a healthy salad! We can all share it for dinner!"

I wasn't as excited as she was when I looked at it, but I was willing to eat some - one part at a time. Then as it got closer to dinner, Katie separated her "salad" into separate portions and realized that there wasn't very much for each person. In order to give everyone a full serving, she added water to it to make it a soup. So much for being willing to try something new. Even Katie had to admit that it no longer looked very appetizing. I give her credit for being creative though!

I thought my healthy salad was perfect…bell peppers, grapes, goldfish crackers, and crispy rice noodles. Mmmmm!

After I turned it into soup, it didn't look quite as delicious.