September Photo Album

The September photo album is complete.

How Things Work

Kate has shown typical toddler fascination about how things work. She can watch something done a few times and duplicate it. Last Sunday, we went to get her from the 12-18m nursery after Sunday School and a friend from our home group was watching her. As he handed her over, he told us that she had figured out how the door handles worked and proceeded to open and close the door enough times they had to employ the door locks. It's the sort of handle that is common in offices and nurseries, but Kate has never seen one apart from that particular church we've only been attending a month. She did figure out how the TV turned on and off and how to adjust the volume and change the channel at seven months, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

Showing her Love

Kate was playing in the living room while Mike and I were laying down on the couch and loveseat. She decided she wanted to show her love, and walked up to Mike and gave him a kiss, "mwah!" She did the same to me. Then she walked over to the bookcase and kissed one of Shakespeare's plays.

Let the Record Show

Kate says "no" now. But she's pretty funny about it. She often says it as she's giving in to whatever she needs to do, just to let the record show that she's not happy about doing it. For example, Mike put her to bed last night and she said, "No!" as she flung herself down in her crib, then rolled over and went to sleep.

Puzzle Queen

Kate got this puzzle three weeks ago and she loves it. She could always complete it, but she's getting faster at it and also a bit more humble. She no longer stops and looks up for applause after each piece is in its place! I'm thankful for that, all the clapping gets tiresome ;o) This morning as she sat in a diaper and a t-shirt, focusing on her task of taking dominion over the puzzle, I snapped this picture. It won't be long before the puzzle is too easy and no longer fun, but it was good while it lasted...

Looking at this picture reminds me that I need to do something with her hair. It's so fine and I don't want to cut it, but it's so shaggy! I usually pull some of the front over with a barrette so she can see, but still... it's shag city.

Could it be?

Could Kate be the rare child who consistently indicates "yes" before "no"?

She's been saying "mmm-hmmm" for months in the affirmative. I tried to write it off as just another babbling noise, but she really does use it correctly most of the time. "Kate, are you my sweet baby?" "mmm-hmmm." "Am I your mommy?" "mmm-hmmm." "Am I your daddy?" *puzzled look*

She still doesn't say no. How strange is that?

Let's Pretend!

Kate's really into imaginary play, especially mimicing. She's been doing this for awhile, but lately I feel like she does more and more of it. Whenever she finds clothes, she puts them on. When she sees an empty cup of any kind, she has to pretend to drink from it, and then pretend to share with everyone. When she opens the bathroom cabinet, she always pretends to pump the closed lotion container, get some "lotion" in her hands and rubs it all over herself. She pretends to brush everyone's hair. For at least four or five months she's pretended to use the phone, always putting it to her ear and saying, "Hello?" Really, the kid is a riot.

More words

Yesterday, I realized the three words Kate is saying the most these days after mama and dada weren't on her 14 month round up: ball, okay, and foo' (food).

Little Hippie Shoes

With Kate's birthday money, I got her a pair of soft star shoes that came yesterday. They are so awesome! Half the weight and three times as flexible as Stride Rites... and they are handmade so they'll do any width you want, etc. They are her everyday shoes, so I wanted a pair she could run around and play in as well as she could barefooted but also a sole a little more sturdy than the Robeez she wore when she started walking. These ones fit the bill, and I got them just before they raised the prices everywhere, too. The Sunday shoes I got a great deal on ebay for (paid about a third of what they cost in stores, new with tags in the box) also came yesterday, so it was a good shoe day for Kate, and good shoe days are important to women, even 14 month old ones. She was excited, and spent time admiring the shoes on her feet and playing with the velcro on her other shoes.

14 months old!

Kate is not our baby anymore. She's a full-blown toddler. She went on her first Thelma and Louise roadtrip this month. She's communicating really well. She spontaneously says lots of words (Momma, Dada, Nana, Laura, Duck, Quack, Teddy, Puppy, Bye-bye, Hello, Cool, etc.), repeats dozens more and signs a lot of basic words (More, Please, Milk, All Done, Drink and Eat). She's running around really well and is gaining mastery of things like stacking cups and easy puzzles. She loves kicking and throwing balls, hugging dolls and stuffed animals, and reading books. She's getting pretty generous with her hugs and kisses, and her blown kisses have developed a very cute "mwah!" instead of the "mmmm" they used to be accompanied by. She still loves to eat, and has said "Amen!" with us a few times when we pray. I can't wait to see what she'll start doing next.

(I am about 13.75 months behind on Kate's scrapbook, so these help me keep track of what she's doing when so when I catch up, I'll know what to write!)

Little Miss Social

Kate was hamming it up at Target yesterday, smiling at everyone and waving or blowing kisses when they smiled back. After we walked out and I loaded her into her carseat, I opened the trunk and heard, "Excuse me, can I take your cart for you?" Figuring it was a Target employee, I spun around and saw that it was not a Target employee, it as a mom of two toddler boys Kate had waved to on the way out, who was not parked particularly close to us at all. She continued, "I just wanted to come over and tell you how sweet your daughter is. My boys were just tickled by her and the younger one said, 'That baby is so cute! Can we get one?'"

The whole experience just made me giggle.