Laughed until we cried...

Lately, evenings at our house (starting around 4/430 when I'm starting to get dinner going) get a little crazy. There's usually a lot of wild running, someone getting hurt, and definitely whining. (You would think I didn't feed them all day if you witnessed their behavior). And a lot of times, it carries on until bedtime. So THIS was a welcome surprise.

Have you had your dose of laughter today?

If I could keep you little...

I'd keep you close to me. But then I'd miss you growing into who you're meant to be! (Such a cute book, by the way.)

So because I forgot a few things about Katelyn in the last post, and because she said 3 new words tonight, and because she's just growing up so darn fast, here's some more updates on our little one. (No pictures this time. My card is full and I'm OCD about having them properly backed up before I clear it.)

I can't believe I forgot to say that last Saturday she tee tee'd on the potty for the first time!! This was also the same day that we finally removed her bumper pad from her crib. It probably wasn't really necessary, because it was so flattened out all the way around since she uses it as a pillow. But she keeps hiking that little foot up to the top of the crib rail, so if she were to fall while trying to climb out, I didn't want any extra guilt! I'm not ready for that toddler bed transition quite yet either, so it seemed like the logical next step.

This same weekend, I went shopping for some "back to school" clothes for both of them. At some point I realized I was shopping in the wrong departments. I no longer have an infant and a toddler. I have a toddler and a kid. I bought Katelyn something that was 24 months (pretty much the same as a 2T, but still in the infant section!) and a 4T pair of shorts for Collin just for old times sake. Thankfully they fit!

Oh yeah, and 3 words in one night. Clear as can be. Brother, diaper, hat. So proud. (Edit: and one more this morning-eye). (At what point do you stop counting? It's getting hard to keep up. I guess now it's okay to just say she's talking. I'll update again when she puts words together or asks questions or whatever it is that she decides to do next!) It's interesting now how she is starting to use her words to really communicate instead of just naming objects. For example, last night, she brought me a soaking wet hairbow. Me: "Why is your hairbow wet?" K: "woof woof". Okay, got it. And this morning: Me: "Kate do you want to put those shoes on?" K: "No no no no no. Uh uh". (while she dramatically shook her head).

And of course the growing up never stops. Collin went to a pre-K classroom this week. He's still at the daycare this month, since his school hasn't started, so he got to stay with his teacher and move up to their private pre-K. He still only goes on Wednesdays when I'm at work. But now, instead of waking up in the morning saying he doesn't want to go to school, he counts down the days until it's Wednesday again. I owe a little bit of that change to him just growing up and being ready to go to school. But even more so to the wonderful teacher he's had for the past year who helped him to LOVE and look forward to school.

If I could keep you little...

H.O.T.

Initially, this post was titled "totally random summer update", but HOT pretty much sums it up. Unless it's been an inside activity or involved water of some sort, we probably haven't done it. So here's what we've been up to since getting back from the beach.

PaPa and Grammie came for a nice little visit to celebrate PaPa's birthday. I actually remembered to get my camera out that day!

Bird Update: Our second little hatch of bluebirds decided to leave the nest on a Saturday. I was in our bedroom to see the first one fly out (and fall to the ground). I had my camera ready by the time the second came out and flew up onto the rail. Here are some neat shots I was able to get of the baby with the mama.


Here's the 3rd little one. She waited patiently for the mama to come back and get her after watching her siblings fly. Finally she got impatient and flew out all on her own all the way to the top of our roof.In honor of the 90+ degree temperatures we've been having, I decided to drag the ball pit out of the attic for some indoor fun. Although it's halfway deflated, the kids have a ball :)

And this is the look Katelyn gives when she knows she is doing something she's not supposed to do. Little stinker! This was after I asked her about 50 times not to dump all of the balls out.
Lovin on Rylee (who also can't stand to be outside in the heat).


And this is what my foyer ends up looking like daily.Also partially a result of the temperature is this:
I think at the time, they were being entertained by Alvin and the Chipmunks. Probably not appropriate television for a 20 month old. Maybe not even for a 4 year old. At least they got up and danced with every song!

Here's a little sidenote about Katelyn. She has suddenly developed a STRONG attachment to her paci, baby, and her blankie. She's always loved them, but this is pure OBSESSION. 1 or 2 of them won't do. She has to have all 3. Here's what happens when she doesn't:
And then all is right with the world again.
My silly guy. (I seem to get this face every time I try to take his picture.)
Love.
And as if a dog and cat weren't enough, here's the newest addition to our home.
4 little goldfish. (There were 5 but 1 decided he liked the deck better on the first night.)

Here's Katelyn saying something. Probably bird (her favorite). Although anything that is flying is a bird (birds, airplanes, insects, leaves).
Speaking of saying something, she finally is! She has gone from 5-10 words a couple of months ago to a whopping 35 (yes, I have a list. And yes you get to see it. Mainly because I want to remember, and I know my little post it note won't last forever.) So here goes: uh oh, mama, daddy, Bailey, yucky, bath, teeth, eat, up, help, hot, done, tickle, mine, paci, baby, blankie, shoe, stuck, bird, brrrr (cold), bye bye, door, oh no, boat, bubble, book, stop, ball, down, juice, boo boo, cheese, seat, and flower. I'm so proud of you, Katelyn. Right now, you are learning a new word pretty much every day.

Last week we went to play in the fountain at the mall. (This was after we drove all the way to Gainesville to the sprayground which was closed, waited around for them to fix it for an hour and a half, fought yellow jackets away from our PB & Js and ended up having a picnic in my car. Did I mention it was 100 degrees!?) And after playing in the water for an hour or so, the person who has to test the water came to do her job, and the fountain was promptly closed. Needless to say, we came home and headed straight for the bathtub! But they had fun (and survived the dirty water.)




And here's some pictures from my phone of Katelyn doing her absolute favorite thing to do while I get ready in the mornings-putting on lotion!


And lastly let me just say that I was once again so thankful on Monday morning that I didn't have to send Collin to school just yet! Because he's going to a private church preschool, he doesn't start until the Tuesday after Labor Day. So on Monday, I was going about my typical Monday business (cleaning and laundry) when Collin asked me to play with him. I told him that I really needed to finish cleaning my bathroom first. His response was this: "But Mom, when you finish cleaning, it will be time for me to go to school, and then I won't be here anymore." Wow. What a priority changing sentence from a 4 year old. And so we played.