Mommy and Me

Do you know how hard and frustrating it is to be a mom and have almost no good pictures of you with your kid? Yeah, I spend almost all day everyday with Kate, but when she looks back at the photos she might never know it. One day I was taking pictures of her and she decided she needed to sit in my lap, so we tried to take some together. We learned that clearly I need some help in the photography department. But at least we have some pictures to prove that we actually hang out together!

I originally started taking pictures because I thought she looked adorable in this dress

Classic finger up the nose pose

Terrible lighting, but I just love that smile

Together

Yup, mom rocks at this

Love this girl

Birthday Videos

And here is the birthday fun we were able to catch on video:

Happy Birthday 2 You!

My baby is now 2. And yes, I am writing this birthday post over a month after she had her birthday. I could make up lots of excuses for why that is--but I'll skip that. Here's what I was thinking about on and around her birthday:

I was thinking about the actual word: birthday. The day she was born. The day I gave birth to her. I was remembering that day, and reliving all of its sweetness in my mind. It was the day she grew our family. I could not have imagined how much joy she would bring to us. Her smile and laughter light up my life every single day. Sometimes I just look at her and kiss her and think about how beautiful she is. Everything about her little self is so amazing. I love watching her grow and learn. I love how I grow and learn when I am with her. Two years ago, I could never have perceived how I would be able to love someone as much as I love her.

Ok, now that I have released a small fraction of my mom emotions, I can write about her actual birthday. Like her previous birthday, it was a nice relaxing day. We opted to skip a party and just celebrate as a family.

 

We spent a good deal of the morning playing with Play-Doh. It is her favorite "toy". Sometimes she even asks to kiss the Play-Doh goodnight before she goes to bed.

Play-Doh was literally the only activity I had planned. Other than that I just let her take the lead and did pretty much whatever she wanted (including eating cinnamon toast crunch). Then when Daddy came home we had dinner, cake, and presents.

 

I am so grateful for the past two years I've spent getting to know this amazing little girl.

Conversations with Kate: Phone Call to my Belly

Kate: (Picks up my phone.) "Call Daddy!"
Me: "We can't call Daddy right now, he's at work. We can call someone else. Who do you want to call?"
Kate: "Annabel."

Annabel is the name we chose for her baby sister. Yup, my heart just melted.

Conversations with Kate: Sad Girl

I decided I need to start recording some of the hilarious things this girl says. It happens quite frequently, and I hate forgetting them. So I hope to start doing this more regularly.

Bedtimes have been rough recently, mostly because Kate tells me she just has to go potty, conveniently as soon as I put her in bed. Even if we literally just got off the potty. Of course, eventually she has to go to bed. And then the tears come. I have tried various tactics to avoid the whole crying thing. Here was what I said the other night:

Me: "Ok, Mommy is going bye-bye now. I want you to be a happy girl."
Kate: (In a very dejected voice) "All done happy girl."

Well, at least she's honest.

Our "staycation"

Note: I found this post lurking around in the "drafts" section of Kate's blog. Apparently I forgot to publish it after I wrote it. So it is actually from mid to late July. Oh well, here it is!

So Brett has had (most) of this week off of work. Tuesday was his first full day off and we were supposed to go to my midwife appointment, but my midwife had someone in labor and so she canceled last minute. But I was already wearing makeup before 10am - I was not about to waste all the effort it took me to stand in front of my mirror for five minutes. We decided we would take Kate and Deacon on a little "walk" to get out of the house. A walk turned into a 3.5 mile hike. But hey, at least I was wearing makeup for the excursion! It was a fun start to the week.

The next day we went to Santa Cruz to go on another hike around the cliffs of the ocean. It was so breezy and beautiful. Kate fell asleep in her stroller for maybe the second time in her life.

Today we meant to go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. However at about midnight last night Brett and I did some research and discovered that the festival includes a lot of dirt, heat, long lines, crowds, and traffic. I don't like dirt and heat. Brett can't stand long lines or big crowds. Kate prefers exploring to being strapped into a stroller. And nobody likes traffic. So we decided this was probably not a good fit for our family and instead took Kate to Happy Hollow Zoo. So fun! Kate loved seeing all the animals, getting to run around, and going on her first "rides". I'm glad we decided to stay local today.

And tomorrow we are off to El Dorado Hills to visit family there and to let Kate hang out with her cousins Gemma and Marek before they move to Texas. Kate is very excited about this and keeps on saying, "See Kira! See Kira!". Kira is Grandma's dog. I think she might be Kate's favorite relative (just don't tell Grandma that).

Another note: These first three pictures of Kate on the boat are from around July 4th, not during our "staycation". But I think they are cute :)

Hanging out with cousin Emma

Chilling on the wake surfboard

Hiking along the coast in Santa Cruz

Some seals we saw on our hike - Kate liked watching them play in the water

At Happy Hollow Zoo

Feeding the goats

Going on her first ride. After it was over she was yelling "again!"

23 Months

Next month this little girl turns two. I can't believe it. She really is becoming such a little girl. It baffles me. So here are some things I want to remember about this awesome stage in her life.

• Favorite song is "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man," or as Kate calls it, "Rock!"
• Loves to read books. Any of the Carl (the Rottweiler) books are a big hit.
• Can spot a "special treat" from a mile away. And by a mile away I mean whenever I try to sneak one into my mouth. 
• Favorite foods are fruit (especially bananas and peaches) and cereal. Pasta is another big hit.
• Favorite game is "Little Piggies". I need to get the way she says "Roast beef" on video. It's the cutest thing ever.
• Some of my favorite phrases she uses are:
• "Meesa peas" ("Excuse me please"). This is said as a command rather than as a polite request. 
• "Booboy Dee" ("Good boy, Deacon"). 
• "Mama". She just started using this the other day. Usually she calls me "Mom". However, the way she says Mama is just so sweet, and she seems to reserve it for when she is calling out for me, as opposed to when she is just talking about me. 
• "Do it again!" She said this for the first time while swimming in the lake with her uncle Kayle. He was doing something she found funny. It was also the first grammatically correct sentence she said.
•  Likes to "mess around". This is the general term I use for when she is procrastinating nap or bedtime. She quickly caught onto this phrase and now says "mess around" with an impish smile like it's one of the most fun things ever. I guess it probably is.
• Has a rapidly expanding vocabulary and sense of language. She has recently been using so many words I didn't even think she knew. This girl likes to talk. About everything.
• Will put her hand on my belly and smile, waiting for baby sister to kick her. 
• Can count to three. 
• Loves to be outside - walking, running, riding in her stroller, or even just to let Deacon out to go potty.
• The only thing she loves more than being outside is going on the boat. I don't think a day has gone by recently when I haven't heard about the boat. 
• Loves to swim, but sometimes has to be convinced to actually get in the water. 
• Loves wearing panties. This means we have just started letting her wear them out of the house. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
• Adores her family. And not just the people who live in this house. She talks everyday about at least one family member (though usually several). I hear lots about her G.G., Grandma, and various aunts, uncles, and cousins. 
• Went on her first camping trip on a floating campsite at Lake Oroville. 2 days, 1 night. Pure fun for Kate. It combined the things she loves the most (boating, swimming, and family) all into one. She was in heaven.  All she has been talking about since then is "Mary, Emma, Boat!!!".

On the boat at Lake Oroville, smiling at her cousin Mary