New House!

We bought our new house! We have a few details to work out, but we are now busy planing our move. When Mom & Dad told me that we had a new house, I said "No, my house!" and pointed at my tree house/tent that I got for Christmas-luckily that will go with us. We all looked at pictures of the house today and I was pretty excited about my new room, the sun room that will be my playroom and the swingset that was left in the backyard.

Boppy and Poppy were here visiting/working this weekend. They came to help get our house ready to put on the market, so they were busy with a number of odd jobs. We had a nice visit around all the chores. On Saturday I put on my overalls and was ready to help Poppy, but then I got scared by the sandpaper noise and that was the end of the help.

Aside from the house news this week, I have been busy being funny. I say more words every day and Happy Birthday is still my favorite song. This weekend I asked Poppy to sing "Happy" to Mommy's purse. I have been playing funny games with Daddy like "Jump, Roll, Roar" (or something like that) where I follow him doing silly things all over the house.

Have a good week!

New Home?

Hi everyone. This may be a record for the fewest photos in a Sunday blog posting. We were too busy this weekend to take many photos, I guess. We made an offer on a house today and we are waiting to hear back, so we will keep you posted on that. And then, look out because Mom will probably have 17 lists, 3 binders and a clipboard going on the move and all the accompanying logistics!

We celebrated Daddy's birthday this week and now I love hearing the Happy Birthday song. Mommy has sung it about 60 times this week. She sings and I keep naming people or things that I want her to sing it to. Tonight she sang "Happy Birthday to You" to my purple blanket five times. Last night she had to sing to each and every Care Bear in my Care Bear book.

This weekend, we had a bunch of little things to do that kept us busy. Today we met with our Realtor and I was very good during the meeting. Then after my nap we had a nice visit with Mom's ND friend, Meg (a frequent blog reader), who was in town visiting her parents.

I started a funny new game with Dad. I pretend to eat his nose and I think I am hilarious as I pretend to chew. I am also being really sweet with Lily and I hug her goodbye every morning on the way out the door to school. My new favorite food is M&Ms, which I call "num nums." I got some for Valentine's Day and Mom and Dad found they work in a pinch. The trick is to include them with pretzels and raisins and then I have to work for them.

The two pictures are from today. The first one was of me on the computer getting ready to talk to Jamma. The second one was this morning I took my doll into my room and read to her from my bible. Aren't I a good girl?

Daddy Day times 2.

Hi everyone its me Katie. My writing might not be as good this week. Mom was in Detroit visiting her friend Sarah (I swore she said Santa) and Kristen. Dad and I had a great time. Saturday morning we went to Dad's work. I got a Snoopy doll. He sleeps in my bed now with white bear. Last week we had a downsizing and the other 8 animals moved out of my bed. Curious George is taking it hard. We then went to the grocery store. I got to drive the blue car. I had a couple of cookies. I had so much fun I threw up all over the garage floor when we got home. After my nap I was a lot better. Dad and I watched the Olympics. It is hard when you have to cheer for two countries and I was 0-2 in hockey. Rough day. It would have been better to be from Switzerland yesterday. This moring I went to the grocery store to get a couple of things we forgot yesterday. As you can see here, I liked wearing my pajamas. This outfit is a lot cuter than the one I wore to the store. I had my one piece pajamas with feet with brown shoes over them and my pink coat. You might catch me on "What not to wear". I got to push a little grocery cart around and wouldn't let Dad help. I only ran into a few things at the store but if you ain't rubbing you ain't racing. (This is a NASCAR reference for you Canadians) Grampy, I didn't know how to put it in curling terms so you would understand. I then went and looked at the neighborhood where Mom and Dad are looking for a new house. I loved it. There were swingsets everywhere.
Mom got home this afternoon and we were all tired. We went and picked up pizza and a Coldstone Creamery cake because Dad's birthday is this week. We were too tired to do candles tonight but we will on Wednesday if there is any cake left by then. As you can tell by my licking the plate, it was good. Thanks for the eating tip, Lily. Otherwise I hope Dad likes candles on his pasta. Everyone have a good week talk to you next week after Dad says Canada wins the hockey gold.

Funny Valentine

I really like all the sweets associated with Valentines Day! We had big yummy heart cupcakes that Mom surprised us with on Valetnine's Eve and then when I woke up Valentine's morning I got a present of candy hearts that came in a tube with a balloon on top. I loved it and waved it around like a magic wand. I did my Wiggles-themed valentines for all my classmates and came home with a bag full of Valentines. Mom helped me open them all and we read who each one was from and went through the stack a few times. Today when we went through them I remembered who gave me which one. I would pull out the card and say Aubrey or Colin and I was right about 90% of the cards. Mom & Dad think that I either have a good memory or maybe I can secretly read?

That night Dad and I surprised Mom with roses and I got to carry them in and give them to her and say "Happy Mommy." The other fun thing that happened that day was that I got my very own pillow. I was so excited about my "pinkt" (how I say pink) toddler pillow that I asked to go to sleep.

This weekend Mommy is going to Detroit to visit her friends Sarah and Kristin, so Daddy will help me with the next report.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hi everyone. Not much new this week. School was good. We've been talking about where people live. On Monday we talked about houses and the teacher asked each of us what you needed to build a house. Fresh off the Super Bowl party, my answer was pizza, which makes perfect sense because when you're building a house you get hungry. Someone else answered purple (which is just silly)!

I am very into closing my door and telling people to come in or go out. I like to tell Lily to go out.

Yesterday we went to a Curious George party at a book store. It was fun! I got to color a George mask and I got a brown felt tail to pin to my pants. They read two George stories and decorated the space like jungle. I got a medal with my name on it like the medal George gets in one of the stories.

Tonight we went to look at a house and then Daddy took me and Mommy out to dinner for Valentine's Day. We went back to Champps because I was so good there last time. I wasn't as good this time, but I ate at least as much of the ice cream cookie dessert. In fact when there was only a little left, I ate the whole last scoop of ice cream and then snatched the big piece of cookie. When the waitress asked who ate it all, I answered "Daddy!" with my mouth stuffed with cookie.

Happy Super Bowl Day

Hi! We're celebrating the Super Bowl today. We're not big fans of either team, but we had a tailgate party in front of the TV. We ordered pizza early because we thought it would take awhile, but it arrived at 4:45, so we had a LONG time to snack at our Super Bowl party before the game even started. I ate two whole pieces of pizza in addition to lots of veggies and dip.

Aside from the football festivities, we made valentines this weekend. I love to glue things! We also played in the snow. We didn't have very much on the ground, but I enjoyed getting out for some fresh air and throwing the snow around. I didn't want to go inside, but Mom & Dad were cold and my cheeks were getting rosy.

Of course I did lots of playing inside this weekend, too. Tonight I got some of Mom's purses and told Mom & Dad. "Bye. I go work." By the time I was ready to leave I had two purses, my play stroller and a bag of animals for my toy zoo. It's not easy being a working lady!

Parent-Teacher Conference

I snuck away from my cot at school to write this post-conference report during nap time. Mom & Dad got to see me asleep-- or pretending to be. I have a good spot right up against the wall and the teacher sits between me and Collin and rubs our backs.

The other teacher, Miss Jessica (or "Caca" as we call her), told Mom & Dad all about what I do during the day and what I am working on. I am doing great at large motor activities. The only exception was pedaling the bike, but the teacher said (in my defense) I can not reach the pedals on the bike at school. I am doing great with colors, shapes and numbers and love to sort and do puzzles. I love art-- especially finger painting. She said I think I am getting away with doing something bad!

I get along well with the other kids and share well and am good at working out a solution (i.e. giving the other kid a less desirable toy in exchange for the toy I want!) I help the teachers a lot and it is MY JOB to hold the basket when we pick up toys. She said I am doing very well with communicating, using three-word sentences and asking for help if I need it. She said when I eat my lunch I sit in my chair with one arm on the back of it, turned partly sideways; she thinks this is because I want to be able to see what is going on at the other table as well. Sound like anyone else we know?

I love to dance and sing and read stories. And she said she watched me playing Mommy in the play kitchen the other day. I put on the apron and carried the purse and cooked dinner for two other kids and I patted them on their backs. She also said I was the class clown- in a good way.

I am working more on using scissors and holding a pencil or crayon correctly, as well as drawing different shapes. We are going to start working on letters and recognizing the ones in our names. She said I am intelligent and have a strong sense of myself-- and what is mine!

So that's the report on school. I'll write more over the weekend.

Cinderella

Mom & Dad put me to work all weekend. You should have seen all the chores and errands I had to help with! I hope I get an allowance soon.

We kept busy this week. Mom & Dad had a lot of meetings in the evenings so we planned a quiet weekend. Yesterday we went to the grocery and then in the afternoon it was warm enough to go to the park. I was an old pro at climbing the steps and going down the slide. It was 60 degrees here so it was pretty busy there, but I managed to take turns. Last night I had a babysitter so Mom & Dad could go out. They had to pay up on a dinner bet on the ND vs. Ohio State game.

Today after I helped with the laundry, fed Lily and swept the kitchen floor we went out to Target to buy my valentines. I picked The Wiggles and I love the fact that the box they came in is like a purse. We also went on another adventure today after my two hour non-nap. We went looking at houses and found a neighborhood we really like. Mom & Dad have to get all of that figured out soon. I saw a lot of swingsets in that neighborhood and I think I might like it!

Mom & Dad have a parent-teacher conference at my school on Tuesday, so that should be interesting. I wonder what they will say about me? I'll report in on what I hear later in the week.

I am including one other photo from earlier this week. I climbed up onto Mom & Dad's bed and grabbed one of Mom's books and paged through it saying "I'm Mom!"

Ice Cream Baby

Hi everyone. Today was the annual Notre Dame Alumni Club communion breakfast. We had a nice time and I got to see Father Bill, who baptized me. It's a long event-- three plus hours and I was very good during it. We sat by our friends who had the Fiesta Bowl party and I played with 16-month-old Kaitlin again. I wore my pretty new dress and Mom had my hair done with a bow and then I went to the coat closet and selected this hat and proudly showed Mom my "improved" look, but at least it was appropriate for the venue!

My other favorite thing from the weekend was our family dinner out last night. Before we went Mom asked what I wanted to eat and I answered "ketchup." That's easy enough to find! I ate a ton of food-- salad (with lots of ranch dressing), almost a whole chicken breast, cheese, french fries (with the aforementioned ketchup and a little hamburger, too. Mom & Dad think it was the most I ever ate. Then we ordered a cookie sundae for dessert to share. It was like heaven! I couldn't shovel it in fast enough. I even stole some ice cream right off of Dad's spoon.

This is my second ice cream of the week. One night Mom had to leave after dinner for a volunteer project and I got upset, so Daddy pulled out the ice cream. That stopped the tears fast!
Here are some other photos from the week:
* waiting for Daddy to come home from work
* Saturday morning cartoons with Dad (or was it SportsCenter?)
* enjoying my Curious George book while Baby naps.

Speaking of Curious George, I love him. I ask for George ever night. If you ask me who the President of the United States is, I will correctly answer George most of the time. Although, sometimes I say Elmo, who is an obvious second choice.

Aside from that I am doing well with my counting. I can partially count to ten. I usually leave out one--now that I am two it's not very important so I just start with two and sometimes say it twice to make up for it. So my counting is somthing like: two, two, tree, four, five (trail off . . . ) if someone else says six and seven I usally pick back up with eight and nine--I love nine--and then I break into a round of applause for myself.

Ice Baby

Hi everyone. I went ice skating for the first time ever today and loved it. Every time we stopped or came off the ice for a break I said "More?" Dad says I was the best two-year-old skater there. He should know- he's a professional. They didn't have skates my size so I got the smallest they had- 10 toddler (I usually wear a 6 or 7) and I battled through. When we would get going fast I would move my feet like I was running and shout "Weeee!" We both had a lot of fun.

Yesterday I got to see Daddy play hockey in an alumni game for his old team. They played against the Detroit Red Wings alumni so it wasn't a very fair match up. They lost 10-4, but it was fun to see him play. He took me into the locker room afterwards. I was happy to see him even though he was all sweaty and wet.

Aside from all the ice activities, we've had a good week. A few other photos: I was busy talking on the phone- I love the phone and wanted both of them. I kept saying hello into one and then the other back and forth. Yesterday, I picked out my own outfit for the grocery store. And tonight, I helped Daddy make pizza. But I didn't want to get my outfit dirty so I went and got one of Mommy's shirts.

Update

Hi guys. It's been a slow week recovering from Notre Dame's loss and all this Ohio State nonsense, but we made it through. We've had a quiet weekend. Lots of playing and running errands. Yesterday we all went out to dinner to a funny little Italian place and I had some Calzone. I didn't make a peep. I just kept eating and eating.

We had a slow "LeBrun" morning and were in our pajamas quite late. I loaded all of my animals and blankets into my play tent and had a good time with it.

Today Mom's friend, Ricia, had her son Griffin baptized and Mom was the godmother. So Mom went to church and did all that stuff while I had my nap. Afterwards Dad and I joined them all for a little party. It was fun! There were nice kids to play with, two dogs and yummy carrot cake.

Irish

I must be honest. We were all a little bit grouchy this morning after Notre Dame's loss to Ohio State. You could even say I was stunned.

We went to a friend's house to watch the game. We had a great time there and they have a little girl who is 16-months old so we played together. She had a little ND outfit, too.

Well after last night, we're looking forward to next year's football season. Unfortunately I'll have to listen to all the kids in my class talk about Ohio State football for another year . . .

Happy Day New!

That's what I have been saying today . . . whatever that means! We had a good New Year's Eve. We all went to a party at a friend's house and I played with some other kids. They have a three-year old and she and I played and danced well together. I was up way past my bedtime and for the last 45 minutes we were there I just played quietly with the cooler and the ice. Now everyone knows what to get me for Christmas next year!

Today we went out to breakfast and then just did a lot of playing. I broke out the musical instruments. The kazoo is my favorite right now. I really don't like to share these instruments, so while I play one I have to sit on the rest to prvent Mommy and Daddy from taking them. I actually think the castinet is a make-up compact and I like to look at it and dab things on my cheeks from it!

I had my 2-year check-up with the pediatrician this week and all was well. I am now 35 5/8" tall (90th percentile) and 28 lbs 9 oz. (75th percentile). This is more than 3 inches taller than 6 months ago and almost 3 pounds heavier (but it was just the holiday season . . .) Oh, and of course my head circumference remains 95th percentile!

Mommy and Daddy are off tomorrow so we're looking forward to another fun day. We're going to a party to watch the big football game and I can't wait to yell "Go Irish!"