I got this really pretty dress from my Auntie for Christmas.

Check it out.  

Mommy and Daddy kept following me around the house trying to get a good picture.

For some reason, my regular shtick just wouldn't do.

No.  I had to be all lady-like and stuff.

I couldn't even climb on top of my musical table.

Bummer.

In order to get me to stay still, they had to give me a present early.

It was from my Granma & Granpa.

It was so cool that I played with it for a half an hour.

There were kitties on it.

I like kitties.

You got a problem with that?

I didn't think so.

From all of us

(monkey included)

 to all of you,

 

Merry Christmas!

Yeah.

Monday was a pretty good day.  I got me some presents (thanks to you all), got me some quality family time (Huzbend is home on vaca) and I got me some eggplant parmesan (yummy).  It was all good.

I'm 34 now.

Some people will think, "Garsh darnnit!  Why, she's just a yungin'!"

Some people will think, "OMG, she is, like, so totally old."

And some people will think, "She's jusssssst rigggghhhhhht."  Kinda like baby bears porridge. 

Cheers to all you December babies out there.  Just 'cause we don't get to have pool parties doesn't mean we can't get jiggy with it.  Solidarity, man.

One More....

In preparation for the holiday season, I Katie, have decreed that all backlogged videos be posted on our site.

Here's a nice little vid of the time between Thanksgiving and last week.  So, now we are all up to date.

Enjoy!

Uh, yeah, about that kitchen drawer....  Ya see, it's, um, now broken and sitting in the garage waiting to be fixed.  

Word to the people: Jumping in drawers is a bad thing.  

It can either get you seriously injured or, as in my case, get you one less kitchen drawer to stash banana pieces in.

Some Videos

I know it's been a while since we got some videos up here.  But, you gotta cut me some slack.

As you know from this blog, we recently picked up a Mac.  Macs come packaged with all this nifty software for doing all sorts of artsy-fartsy stuff.

You get iPhoto. You get iMovie.  You get Garage Band (recording studio software).  You get this thing called Front Row that lets you look at your photos and movies all theateristic like and stuff. And of course there's always iTunes.  

It's all a little weird and um, different.  So, MaMa had to learn how to use all this new stuff. 

This is her first attempt at iMovie.  I think it looks pretty decent.  

Oh yeah, I guess Macs have built in super-easy stuff too.  Like, for instance, MaMa didn't have to go to YouTube to download the movie (a painstakingly long and annoying process).  She was able to do it right from the Mac program and it took one quarter of the time.  According to her, it was "TOTALLY AWESOME."

This first video is from back in October/November.  Just some scenes jumbled together. Nothing spectacular. 

This next one is for my DaDa.  

Katie, out.

Teefies and Rahbie

Today was Katie's first dentist appointment.

We had a rough start in the waiting room.  There was a Dad that came in who was about 6 foot something tall and had a really deep voice.  Katie walked up to him, stared at him for about a minute or two and then burst into tears.  Then, in typical Katie fashion, she kept looking over at him or walking up to him so that she could cry again.  I have no idea why she does that.  It's the strangest thing.

The appointment itself was pretty quick.  The doc asked me a few questions and then it was time for the examination.  I had Katie on my lap facing me.  I then had to lean her back so that her head was on the doctors lap.  At this point, most babies start crying.  This makes it pretty easy to see everything that is going on in their mouths.  Katie was happy to oblige the doctor with a nice bit of wailing.

She's got a molar in there!  I didn't even know.  What a slacker Mom I am.  No wonder sleep has been a little rough the past month or so.  Jeez.  So, she's got eight teeth all together with another two right below the gum ready to come out.

She got a little goodie bag with a new toothbrush, floss, a smiley-face sticker and a fish bath toy.  Nice haul, huh?

This weekend I decided to write down all the words that Katie says now.

We found out that she has at least 45 words that she uses regularly.  I guess I could list them all out, but here's just a quick sampling:

pahta (pasta)

muh, muh, muh! (more)

beybee (baby)

nigh-nigh (night night)

uh-oh!

mil-KUH (milk)

grrrr-grrrr (bear)

cah (car)

k-kie (cookie)

Most of her words either sound vaguely like the word they represent (i.e. boon (spoon/moon)) or are the sound that the object makes (i.e. bah-bah (sheep)).  But there's one word that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.  It was Huzbend that actually figured out what she was trying to say.

It's "Rahbie". "Rahbie" equals water.  Yeah.  Weird, huh?  How do you get "rahbie" from water?  Who knows.

She also has another word.  "Mum-mie".  I can hear you already.  "Oh, how sweet!  She says Mommy".  Nope.  "Mum-mie" equals Monkey.

Huzbend and I have decided that we are going to start using Katie language so that we can have secret conversations.  For example:  

"The MMMM-MMMM ate a poon.  Then, DaDa got on his bye and went ba-ba.  There's a bah-oon in a teeee and I've got cheeeee in my buh."

For all you know, I could've just laid out our plans to take over the world.  Well, I guess you'll find out in due time.  Yes, in due time, my friends.   

BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHA!

No doubt you've seen the news. 

The rain.  The floods.

Our town took a pretty good hit on Monday.  There were lots of road closures, and quite a few houses and business parks had to be abandoned due to the rising waters.

I guess south of here they got hit even worse.  One of the major rivers overflowed its banks and put many towns underwater.  I hear that our major North/South highway (I-5) is still shut down somewhere because it's 10 feet under water.  Yeah.  That's pretty bad.

Back on the home front, Katie and I had a bitch of a time finding somewhere to go grocery shopping.  Monday is grocery shopping day.  I didn't have much of a choice as I was out of bananas.  We all know how much Katie likes her bananas.

The way to our normal store was shut down.  It was underwater.  So, we ended up at the "ritzy" grocery store.  It was either that place or the grocery store that's looks like it's been around since the Stone Ages.  I've been in there once.  There's more variety in a 7-11.

Holy crap.  That was one expensive shopping trip.  Damn floods.

Katie and I spent the rest of the day at home.  As for Huzbend, well, he was not so lucky.  He had to hop back on his bike to find his way home.  In the dark.  In the worst flooding the state has seen in, like, forever.  He rides home on a trail that has the word "river" in its name for cripes sake.

Was he frightened?  Was he nervous?  Was he going to call for me to come pick him up?

No.  No.  And No. 

And so it was that my husband cycle-surfed his way home.  

When other cyclists were stopped at the edge of raging flood waters, my husband was riding twenty plus miles an hour right on through them.  I can picture him in my head screaming, "YAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" as his speeding bike creates three foot wake waves through the water.

His excuse: "It was dark and raining.  By the time I saw the water, I was already in it.  I just kept on going."  

He also added that he knew how to swim and he wasn't worried.  I guess that was supposed to make me feel better about it.

Hi.  Welcome to Casa Del Katie.

In the morning, I like to take it slow.  I recline my seat.  I put my feet up.

I also like to have my breakfast prepared at the table and served immediately.

MORE BANANA, WENCH!!!!

Please?

My Second But First Real Turkey Day

Our little family spent six days doing nothing. Some of us played video games, some of us did chores, and some of us did poopies.  I'll let you figure out who did what.

While you're working out that little mystery.  Here's a nice little photo collection of our Thanksgiving happenings.

I hear turkey is the meat of choice for Thanksgiving.

I met a turkey once.  He made me cry.

How about Bunny Cookies instead? 

Bunny cookies don't have enough protein?

Whaddaya mean you can't win the Tour de France eating Bunny Cookies?

Sigh.  Fine.  Turkey it is.

COME ON, DaDa!  I'm starvin' over here!

Mmmmm.  Me likey Thanksgiving.

Cranberry sauce.  Not so much.

Say, AHHHHHHHH.....

See how effortlessly I blend into the surroundings?  They will

never find me.  I AM the Christmas tree ninja.

Fear me.

MaMa wanted me to post this picture.

Something about "the ultimate wedgie" or something

like that.  She's weird.

Moooooooo!

Later, dudes.

Katie

Hello.  I'm a Mac.

And I'm a PC.

Uh, PC? Wha-What's going on?

Well, Mac, as you can see, I've taken up jogging.  What do you THINK is going on?  I've been replaced.

I'm, I'm sorry to hear that PC.  I never meant for....

Yeah.  Yeah.  I've heard it all before.  My hard drive dies two times and I'm out the door.  Besides, it seems that I just can't compete with your all-in-one design, the fact that you're ready to go straight out of the box, your easy-to-use format, your....how did my former owner put it? Oh.  Right.  Your "Sexiness".

I've been called many things before, PC, but never.....

Ohhhh, what's the use!  

PC......

It's all OVER.  You can even run Windows!  Sigh.  I give up.  Recycle me now.

The Stats

Katie had her 15 month Well-Child appointment yesterday.

She got one vaccine and a flu shot. Yippee. It was pretty horrible, as usual. When she was a baby she would cry when the needle went in and then stop pretty quickly. Like she forgot that even happened. But, now it takes a few minutes to reassure her that it's all over. She was squeezing my hand so hard I thought she was gonna rip it off me.

I guess everything is looking good. No complaints from the doc.

Here's her stats in case your interested:

Head Circumference:
12 months: 17.5in.
15 months: 18in.

Height:
12 months: 29in.
15 months: 30.5in.
50th percentile on this one. She's smack dab average for her age.

Weight:
12 months: 18lbs 10oz.
15months: 20lbs. 17oz.
Yep. Only 20lbs. She's 25th percentile. She's been in the 25th percentile since she was born, so I didn't get a lecture from the Doc to fatten her up.

She's itty bitty.

Huzbend says that he is gonna start teaching her judo. Since she's probably gonna be smaller than all the other kids, she might get picked on. So, she's gotta learn how to kick some major ass.

Right on.

BOOOOO!

Okay. So I'm late again. These are some Halloween pictures.

Don't you know that 15 month olds don't know how to tell time? For cripes sake, Mommy says that I don't even know what a clock is. Hey. Yeah, what's a clock?

I HATE antennae. I HATE antennae. I HATE antennae.

Pumpkin? What pumpkin? I didn't see any pumpkin. I am certainly NOT hiding it under the table if that is what you are suggesting. Oh silly Mommy.

Look at all this cool gooey stuff!! This would be the perfect addition to the banana on my shirt.

So. I hear pumpkin is edible.

Just kidding. Got ya!

Who writes their own name on a Jack-O-Lantern? Mommy just made me the nerd of the neighborhood. Mannnnnnnn.

I told you kids, NO MORE CANDY! Now get outta here before I......Oh. It's just you.

No candy for me this year. Guess I'm too small or some such bull hockey.

I did get a super cool balloon. Nothin' and I mean NOTHIN' beats a balloon.

BaOOOn-BaOOON!

Katie OUT.

Cavemen Love Frozen Yogurt...

...and so do I.

Okay. You may lose all respect for me and my choice of television programs to watch, but I'm gonna put myself out there.

I really like the Cavemen show on ABC.

In case you're unfamiliar, ABC created a sitcom based on the GEICO ads. You know the ones, "So Easy A Caveman Could Do It". If you don't, I'm sure you can find them on YouTube or something.

I thought the ads were hilarious and decided to give the show a try. Hmph. I liked it. So, I kept watching.

Check out some clips when you get a chance. It really isn't that bad. Really. Honestly. Here's the their website:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/cavemen/index

Annnnnnnnyyyyywaaaaaayyyyyyssss, they did this episode about a frozen yogurt place that was the "next big thing". Everyone HAD to try it. It was THE BEST YOGURT EVER. There were lines around the block and stuff.

Well, I found the store they were making fun of. And you know what, you DO have to try it. And you might just love it. I know I did.

The place is called Red Mango. Here's their website:

http://www.redmangousa.com/

They only have two flavors of frozen low-fat yogurt - Original and Green Tea (or you can get a swirl). No vanilla, no chocolate, no fru-fru flavors. I went with Original.

It tasted like plain yogurt with maybe just a little tiny added sweetness.

Then you can add a topping, or two, or three for an extra fee. You can get Fruity Pebbles on your yogurt. Or you can get honeydew melon chunks. Or you can get granola. It's up to you. All the fruit is fresh. No gelatinous super-sugary strawberry "toppings" at this place.

You can have a nice frozen treat with whatever topping you choose and not feel like an absolute cow when your done eating it. I checked the nutritional information before ordering. A "small" cup is 90 calories (not including topping). 90.

I don't know. I think I'm in love.

Slackin'

Katie here.

I realized that I've been slackin' in the video department.

So, without further ado, herrrre weeeeeee gooooooo.....

This first vid is filled with footage from my 13th month of life. You'll witness my first ride in the bike trailer, my first "Run of the Corn Popper", my impression of a car ("THPPPPPPPTT"), and various other skills. I have one thing to say about the scene at the end, that balloon was REALLY about to get it's butt kicked.



I think this next one is full of scenes from my 14th month. There might be some from the 15th month too. Since I fell so far behind, I lost track. Sorry.

Anyways, I've got one word for ya'll......D-A-D-D-Y!! He is one cool dude. We like to have rousing games of chase around the living room. He just can't seem keep up, the old geezer. Don't tell him I said that. Huh? You mean he READS this?!?!? Yikes!!! Delete, delete, delete!!!!! Sigh. Maybe if I didn't bang on the keyboard so much that Delete key would actually work. Oh well.

You'll also see that my Daddy is famous. He's, like, everywhere. I'll show you in the video. There's also a pretty embarrassing part of me reacting to the sound of the garage door (which means Daddy is home). Oh yeah, and see if you can decipher the "YAAAAAA-HEEEEEE's". There's a couple of 'em.



Well, that's all for now. Our desktop died this week and Daddy is trying to fix it. As soon as we're up and running I'll post some Halloweenie goodness.

Later!!!

Open the door.

The crisp Autumn air rushes at you bringing with it the familiar scent of damp rotting leaves. The trees have turned from lucious green to dull red, pussy yellow, and poopy brown! Put on your galoshes, grab your rain slicker, and step outside. Join us as we venture out to The Pumpkin Patch......

Huh?

A "pumpkin patch". What's a pumpkin? Can I lick one?

OH! These orange thingies. Um. They're kinda dirty.

How about this one? Is this a good one?

Ooooooo! Oooooooo! This one, this one!

Dude. Hay mazes are soooo eeeeeezeeeeee.

Follow me! I know the way!

Um. Weren't we just here? Okay. I'm lost.

Hey, you! Hey, Cat!

Why do you sound like a vacuum cleaner?

Do you have gas?

Quack, quack. Ducks are so cool. They rule my world.

Hmmm. It's time to blow this joint. Okay. Here's the plan.

I'll distract them, and we can get to work.

Everyone, look!!!!!

There's Brad Pitt saving a puppy from a burning barn.....

and he's NAKED!!!!

You, kid! You, unlock the wheels! You with the purple coat, get working on that engine!

Quickly, QUICKLY! We haven't got all day!

Damn. They didn't buy it. I thought that would work.....

Mannnnnn. I shoulda went with George Clooney!

Hey! Hey, guys! Forget that old clunky tractor. Here's a truck!!!

The Complaint Box

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to complain about our stinkin' roads. Could there BE any more water pooled on them? I mean, COME ON. We live in the freakin' Northwest, for cripes sake. It's, like, world famous for it's rainy weather. Or did you miss the memo on that one? One would at least think that you could come up with a way to drain the damn water off of the highways. I think I might have to have Q add a "Submarine Mode" to my Xterra.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
"Soused in Seattle"

Ennnnngorge!

We did indeed lose power yesterday due to the wind storm. Katie didn't seem to mind that much. What she did mind was the delay of dinner. Because we had no power, we had no stove. Huzbend got creative and cooked up a pasta dinner using the grill and our backpacking propane stove. It took a while, but it was good.

Meanwhile, stupid me forgot the power was out and threw food into the garbage disposal. The last time we lost power it was for about two days. I didn't want to leave the food to rot. Do you know how gross it is to stick your hand into the disposal and pull out cold, mushy bread, peas, pasta and grapes? It's not pleasant. Of course, thirty minutes after I pulled out all the food, the power went back on. Figures.

Next up........A Tale of Two Boobies:

Sunday was the last day that I breastfed Katie. She's completely weaned. I guess that's good in the sense that I now have my boobs back. But, right about now, I wish that I could send them off on vacation or something.

They are KILLING me. I have about five days worth of breastmilk stuck in there. Do you know what that means? ENGORGEMENT. They pulsate with pain. The only thing I can do is put a little ice on them and try to lighten the load a little by expressing a tiny bit of milk at a time.

Besides dealing with Rock Hard Boob Syndrome, I'm also dealing with a little sadness. Breastfeeding Katie was really the only cuddle time that we had. She's so active now, it's hard to get her to slow down enough for a hug. Breastfeeding was the only time that I could get her to relax on my lap. Now, it's over. We've gone from having a quiet and relaxing fifteen minute feed to me chasing her around the kitchen trying to get her to eat banana.

Moving on......Boys Don't Cry, or DO they?:

Today we stopped by a Children's Museum. Katie had a great time running around like a crazy baybee. It was a pretty cool place and they had lots of stuff for her to get into - a lifesize bird nest, the cab of an eighteen wheeler, musical instruments, water, a bunch of little kid-size houses, etc.

They also had an area that had a lot of push-toys. Katie had been playing with this one wheelbarrow-looking thing for a little while, but then abandoned it for a lawnmower. So, some older boy began to push the wheelbarrow around. I'm guessing that he must have been like 4 or 5 years old. Katie caught sight of it and immediately dropped her lawnmower. She walked over to the boy and tried to pry his hand off of the wheelbarrow. I intervened and tried to interest Katie in the lawnmower.

The boy walked away with the wheelbarrow and Katie quickly began to chase him. So, the boy began to run. Katie picked up speed. She followed him around the room, up a ramp and into a dead end. When the boy stopped, Katie grabbed the back of his shirt and began to pull him away from the wheelbarrow as hard as she could. The boy began to cry. I had to go and pull Katie off of the kid.

My daughter is a bully. Where, oh where, did she get THAT? Must have been from Huzbend. Definitely not me. Nope. Totally not me.

Not About Pumpkins

Today, there was a break in the rain and I decided to head to the playground. Tomorrow we're supposed to be getting the remnants of a tropical storm. I guess we're in for high winds and lots of rain. Could be power outages and stuff like that. I figured we might as well get out while we can.

Anyways, when we got to the playground the first thing that Katie ran for was the little blue slide. She loves slides.

Wouldn't you know it, there was a fine misting of rain water still on it.

She began to bang on the slide while saying, "Mama. Mama. Mama."

Sigh.

Who am I to deny her a "go" on the slide? I helped her up the steps, put her on my lap and down the slide we went.

Oh, it was slow going because my butt was busy sopping up all the water. I had to use my feet to pull us down the slide because we were stuck to the wet plastic.

As we got towards the bottom of the slide, I realized that a small puddle of rain water had accumulated. There really was nowhere else to go, but into that puddle.

I proceeded, with encouragement from Katie, to "wipe down" the other three slides at the playground.

I'll tell you, there's nothing like having a soggy ass on a crisp and breezy Fall day.

Oh, the sacrifices I make.

Pumpkin Fest 2007

Katie has her first field trip tomorrow. We're going to a pumpkin patch with the coop preschool.

Then on Wednesday, we head to ANOTHER pumpkin patch with our playgroup.

Do you know what the forecast is for both days? RAIN.

Good thing I got the Micronian a pair of kick ass ladybug rain boots.

YAAAAAAAA-HEEEEEEEEE!!
(as Katie would say)

Pics and an uber-cool blog update will follow the festivities.

Later, dudes.

Things of No Import

I know. I know. I've been slacking in the blog department.

I think I have a bit of writers block or something. I just can't think of anything to write about.

It also might be that there really isn't anything remotely interesting going on here.

I guess the weather is a good topic to start with.

When we were out visiting the east coast the weather was sunny and in the 80's every day. It was like summer. We came back home to rainy, dreary, cold weather. It was kinda, like, depressing and stuff. We've been able to sneak in a few visits to a local playground and I manage to fit in a walk to the mailbox with Katie everyday.

Co-op preschool is in full effect. My official job at the preschool is "Paint Changeover". There are four easels and each has its own set of 3 paint cups held in a tupperware bin. My job is to clean the bins, cups, and brushes. Then I have to refill the paints. Sounds pretty simple, but think about it. There are kids from ages 1 through 5 using these paints ALL week long. They kinda make a mess.

I found out quickly that Katie has no patience for paint cup cleaning. The first time I began gather up the cups for cleaning, she began to whine and glom onto my leg. Hmmmm. That made cleaning a little bit more complicated. So, after much strategizing I came up with the ultimate "Paint Changeover" technique. I take the cups home to clean while Katie is napping. There's so much less DRAMA that way.

Katie loves the preschool. I'm not sure that I mentioned it before, but it's really not school. It's like a playgroup that you pay for. She gets to play with new toys, she gets to do art projects (with my help of course), she gets to eat new snacks. It's all good. I'll try to remember to post of picture of her first painting masterpeice. Next week we are going on our first field trip to a pumpkin patch. Should be fun.

I've slowly been catching up on house cleaning. Vaccumed this weekend. Cleaned the bathrooms on Friday. Cleaned the moldy shower today. Exciting, isn't it?? We have to paint the trim around our new windows, but the paint can says not to paint if it's going to rain in the next twelve hours. So, I guess that's out. There's a tree that's touching our house. The bug guy says that mice can crawl up it and into our house. So, we gotta trim it. Then there are the down spouts that have detached from our gutters. Wahhh-wahhhh-wahhhh. How whiny can I be?

In other news, Katie says more words now. Here's a list: Dadee, mama, moooo, quackquack, baba, ba-oooon (balloon), cheee (cheese), chhh (cheerios), keys, and durdy (dirty). I think that's it. Katie tries to have conversations now. She'll spout off some lightning fast gibberish and then look at you as if to say, "Got it?"

It's frickin' hilarious.

Well, I've spent enough time typing about nothing.

Tune in next time when I talk about brushing my teeth, picking stray Cheerios off the floor, and how much I hate doing laundry.

My First Vacation: A Photo Essay - By Katie

We just got back from our whirlwind tour of the NorthEast. Man, it was CRRRRRAAAAZZZIIIIEEE!

In keeping with my family's tradition, I started off the trip by getting sick. I had a 103 degree fever the night before we left. This is a picture of me and Mommy on my first plane ride. I spent most of the time in a drug induced sleep. Ahhhhhhh, the wonder that is Children's Tylenol.

Did you know that my Daddy is a superhero?

All my Grumpa has to do is say something while pointing and the lady with her hand over her mouth laughs. She's my Grumpa's brothers wife. Confusing. I know.

Well, there's GiGi. And there's Auntie and Uncle. And then there's......Who the hell ARE all these people?!?!?!

Hey, Nana? Um. Do you think I could have more cake? Quick! While Daddy isn't looking!!!!

I finally met the man that's stolen my spotlight. Look at him trying to get ALL the attention. Jeez. I was doing that LOOOONG before you were born, buddy. Put a little more back into it, okay? You don't even have your Mommy in a panic. Louder, man, louder! Sigh. Amateur.

I thought that if I stole the paper towels, the party wouldn't have to end. But, alas, they caught me.

Did you know that putting rocks into an empty milk jug is TOTALLY AWESOME?? My Grumpa did.

What's wrong with this picture?
As soon as we got to the campground, they put me to work. They just don't understand that being cute is my full time job.

Who's got time to mow, when there's a Granma to play with?????
My Granpa got a kick outta encouraging my new favorite past time - rock collecting. I guess nobody told him that I occasionally try to eat them.

Watch that first step, it's a dooooozy!!

My Uncle is a KICK ASS story teller!!!! Rock ON, dude!


Besides the fever, the rash, and the jet lag, I had a really good time. I got to get a whole lot of attention, I got to eat cheese at every meal, I got to play with new toys, and I got to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed almost the whole trip. You really can't ask for more.

We should do this again sometime, okay?