All Things Kate - archived

11.30.2005

These are the Moments

Parenting is full of the sort of sweet moments you wish you could capture and relive whenever you are frustrated or feeling down. Writing about them doesn't cut it, but, it's better than nothing. Here are some recent ones:

I love the way Kate kisses my belly and says "baby!" I love the way Kate kisses in general, actually. Every one she initiates melts my heart, even if I get dozens a day. This morning she came up to me with a book. I said, "Come sit on my lap and I'll read that to you." She said, "Thank you!" and gave me a sweet kiss.

Sunday night, we were watching Finding Neverland and after Kate finished her popcorn, she used my belly as a backrest and curled up and watched the movie.

Trying to get out the door yesterday, I exclaimed, "where are your shoes, Kate?!" and she immediately ran off and retrieved them from where I had left them. Her shoe obsession really pays off!

11.28.2005

Words Kate Uses (Spontaneously and Correctly)

All done, Baby, Ball, Bear, Blast Off!, Bye, Clap, Cool, Cup, Daddy, Dog, Duck, Food, Flower, Hello, Hi, Kitty, Laura, Mama, Meow, More, Nana, No, Nose, Oh (both the cereal and the expression), Okay, Pat, Please, Pretty, Quack, Shoes, Thank you, Uh-Oh, Wow, Yes... (will edit for the next few days as I think of things...)

She does a number of sound effects: fake nose blowing, mmm-mmmmmm, mwah!, ow! She also counts "two, three" (and sometimes "four, five") She sings "ba-ba-ba-ba" "la-la-la"

11.27.2005

Her Father's Daughter

In honor of the Texas/Texas A&M game Friday, Kate added two words to her vocabulary: "football" and "touchdown" (with appropriate referee gesture).

11.19.2005

Photo Love



New photos in the November album -- you'll notice that (a) Kate now wears her hair in pigtails all the time and (b) she now hates getting her picture taken. At least its finally fall in Virginia!

11.18.2005

Grateful Kate

Partial crosspost from This Classical Life for organizational purposes.
I have been greatly convicted by Kate lately in the area of gratitude. That child is either obsessed with the phrase “thank you” or the most thankful person I have ever met. We aren’t big pushers of politeness, either, we just modeled saying thank you to her and she picked up on it on her own. Anyhow, she says thank you every time I do something for her — no matter how big or small, no matter how often I do it. I am thanked for changing diapers, for buckling her in her carseat, for giving her a hug and getting her a cup of water or a snack. It’s reminded me how much I take other people’s help for granted, especially my husband’s.

11.14.2005

The park and personality

I took Kate to the park the other day, and it reminded me how bold and adventurous she really is. She runs to the top of the playscape to go down the very tall, elementary school-age slide, and giggles as she zips down at speeds close to the sound barrier. She walks up to older kids playing and trys to join in. She encourages me to push her higher and faster on the swing. I wonder how much her personality will stay the same as she grows older. I see a lot of my personality in her, and glimmers of Mike's, too. She is friendly and warm and outgoing, but also persistent and able to think outside the box to solve problems. She is affectionate and loves music (especially singing and dancing) but also loves balls, animals and playing outside. We'll see!

11.09.2005

We love that kid

Even though Kate is in the midst of toddler disequilibrium, teething and sickness (meaning her usual sanguinity is not quite up to par) the phrase, "I love that kid!" comes out of both of our mouths at least a dozen times a day when she...
...runs to the door when she hears the key in it and shouts "Daddy!" with a huge smile on her face.
...looks me in the eyes with sincere awe and joy and says, "Thank you!" when I hand her a small square of pink fabric left over from a project.
...pats her lap when we're starting the car and raises her hands and says "Bast off!"
...sits on my lap facing me and cuddles with my pregnant belly, hugging and patting it.
...puts on her pouch and slings her baby doll like a professional mommy.
...hears Daddy tell her that he loves her on the phone and responds (without prompting) with a happy "MWAH!"

She's such a charmer.

11.07.2005

Pigtails

11.02.2005

16 months old

This past month was marked by sickness, molars, climbing feats and new words. She loves to dance and to draw -- as soon as I shared with the world last month that Kate was still eating crayons, she started using them properly most of the time. She loves to laugh. She gets the giggles hearing other people laugh and makes adorable attempts at physical comedy. She hasn't quite hit the stage of verbal explosion, but she's getting there little by little. She's starting to put words together into small phrases like "Hi Daddy!" and she learns new words every week, usually surprising me with her choices (like "shoe" the other week.) She could count to five if she could only say "one" ;o) Her adventurous and fearless spirit means that she is willing to tackle any physical challenge and keeps us all on our toes. She is often battered and bruised but ultimately triumphant.