painting diva

It was 'so bright' that Kate had to wear her sunglasses to eat lunch...

Later that afternoon, we had some painting fun...

Christmas season

We took Kate to the Christmas Parade in Middleville the first weekend in December.  It was pretty cold outside, but luckily, the parade was short so we weren't outside very long.

waiting for the fire trucks

And Kate has a new favorite: hot chocolate:)

my little doctor

WARNING: there are pictures of my pregnant belly coming.  Try not to look at it, and just focus on the cutie pie next to me:)

I'm not sure if Kate wants to be just like her daddy, or if she picked this stuff up at my latest prenatal appointment (probably both), but she now uses headphones as a stethoscope to 'check on baby sister'.

The earbud ends are for listening to baby sister's 'heart beep' and the plug-in end is for giving shots.  Oh, and my arm band is a blood pressure cuff:) I love her creativity.

shu-shi

When Brian and Paul were in town for their annual Farm Bureau conference right after Thanksgiving, we took advantage of their presence for two major things: drywalling our basement and sushi:)

It's become a bit of a tradition to get sushi with Brian whenever he comes to visit, and on this trip, we went twice:) The second time, when we pulled in, Kate yelled, "it's my shu-shi!" and started asking for edamame.

Kate is a HUGE fan of edamame and it took several of us to keep up shelling it fast enough for her.  She even ate a few pieces of California Roll (it had to be dipped in soy sauce, of course).

Kate is getting really good at using chopsticks (the kiddie kind).  She even fed herself edamame with them!

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