uncle time!

Kate loves her uncles.  I love when she gets to spend time with them:)

catch up

Right after Kate's birthday, all of us came down with a really nasty stomach bug.  Kate got it first, then me, then Matt.  Plus, we've been having some Internet difficulties at our house lately.  We got a new router, but then google wasn't letting me upload photos.  Hopefully our problem is fixed now.

In an effort to catch up a bit, here's a post of mostly pictures:)

a fun family weekend we had a few weeks ago...

hiking in the fall weather

playing in the leaves at Grandma & Grandpa's house

silly girl, just having fun...

she packed up this bag to 'go to church'

in the box (with baby, lamby, puppy AND rowdy)

how Kate, grandma, and I stay busy while the guys are working on finishing the basement...

Thanksgiving at the farm...

and cutting down Christmas trees with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Bryan and Uncle Adam while they were here for Thanksgiving...

snuggle time before breakfast at G&G's house

such a fun uncle:)

That's what we've been up to.  More to come soon:)

Kate's 2nd Birthday Party

Kate is quite the fan of Curious George these days.  She loves his books - we have to get at least three every time we go to the library (we're quickly running out of options, but don't tell her!).  On our trip to Orlando a few months ago, she even got to watch an episode or two of the Curious George TV show on the iPad to keep her distracted on the plane.  Anyway, I decided to do a George party for her this year.  I made my own invitations and thank you cards, and got the tableware from Party City.  Kate's favorite part was probably the balloons:)

The day after her birthday, Kate came down with a nasty stomach bug and was sick most of the day.  I've never seen her so tired or confused.  Throwing up was a new phenomenon, and she did not like it (who does?).  There is nothing worse than having a sick kid; I felt awful for her.  And then on Sunday (the day of her party), I came down with the same bug.  Matt took care of Kate all day, and finished all the party prep that I didn't get to on Saturday, and hosted Kate's party.  I pretty much laid in bed all day.    Our immediate families knew their risk, and came anyway.  Kate had so much fun and loved being the center of attention.  A big thank you to our families for loving and celebrating our little girl.  Sorry that half of you got sick after the party:(

monkey cupcakes! thanks, adam and mom for finishing them for me

she was not shy at all about opening presents

a new Curious George book!

crazy girl wouldn't eat a cupcake - only ice cream:)

"I just talkin to Justin on my phone, dad"

birthday girl with grandma

Kate-isms

I have a friend who blogs about the funny things her daughters say and calls them 'Rubyisms' and 'Clara-isms'.  I love her idea, so I'm copying it.  Kate cracks me up at least once a day with something crazy she says, usually more like 10 times, so I'm going to try to write them down and publish them here once in a while.  Here are a few good 'Kate-isms' from recently:

• She found a dried Cheerio under her high chair and carried it to me, the whole time saying, "honey, that's gross" over and over
• When the waitress got around the table to take our order at On The Border, Kate turned to her and said, "I need some food!"
• Walking towards the door with her kitty purse in hand:
• K: I need to go
• L: Where are you going?
• K: I going to church
• L: Ok, well, how are you going to get there?
• K: I take my red wagon
• I indulged in a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte at Target and as we were walking through the store, Kate turned my cup around and said, "there's Jesus!" on my cup:)
• As Matt was putting her socks on the other day, "my socks are stretchy!"
• Overheard at our dinner table:
• L: so how did the day end up going?
• M: ok, I had one good meeting and one that was frustrating
• K: Kate's frustrating!

Oh, Kate, you are such a joy:)

last zoo trip of 2013

Kate LOVES penguins

closest we've ever seen the lion

Grandma Fridays are the best!

TWO!

Where in the world has the time gone? I can't believe it, but Kate turns 2 today.  So quickly, we've gone from this:

To this:

And now she's two:

Like anyone, we've had our share of ups and downs, and it hasn't always been easy.  Learning to parent is not always easy and we don't always do a great job.  But, we laugh a lot these days and we're trying to really cherish this time as a family of three before Kate's baby sister arrives in February.

Kathryn Jeanne, we love you more than you will ever know.  Happy 2nd Birthday!

Halloween 2013

Last year Kate was a cute little bumble bee for Halloween.  

This year we went with a fish (thanks to the Old Navy $5 costume sale).  She loved wearing her costume and thought trick or treating was pretty awesome.  She's even asked me to go trick or treating a few times this week.

Halloween was a pretty rainy day in GR, but at least it wasn't too cold.  After work, my parents came over for dinner, and after dinner we walked Kate around the cul-de-sac to trick or treat.  Her favorite treat by far was a sucker.  After trick or treating, we got to facetime with Matt's parents.  

just coloring to pass the time 

cutest fishy I've ever seen:)

Kate's showing off the baby sister in her belly:)

Matt's birthday, continued

The weekend after Matt's birthday we went down to the Farm to celebrate with his family.  30 years deserves quite a few celebrations, if you ask me.

We could only stay for one day, but we packed in the fun.  Kate went on her first ride in the combine with grandpa and to say that she loved it would be an understatement.  She had so much fun and she's been talking about it for the last two weeks.  If you ask her, she'll tell you that she got to "sit with daddy, see the animals, eat chips, drive with grandpa, push the buttons, and the corn goes back there!"

It was a special treat for everyone involved:)

Kate loved on the dogs all day, and also cheered on the green and white with her cute outfit from Bri Guy.  She never really stops moving, so it's hard to get a good picture of her these days, but I keep trying.

BIG hugs for Grandpa:)