gymnastics graduation

On the last day of Kate's Tumble Bugs class, each of the kids got to have their name called, and then took a turn showing off their skills.  Kate walked the balance beam, did a somersault, and ended with a very emphatic 'ta da!'.  

It was so much fun to watch her.  I'm so proud of my Kate and all that she learned in just 6 weeks.  I hope we can do another class soon!

My big 3-0

I turned 30 this year.  30 used to sound so old, but now it feels pretty young.

To start off my special day, we went for a hike at Paris Park.  Kate loved riding in the backpack.  We saw lots of wildlife out even though it was super cold, and the sun even came out for a while:)

Saturday afternoon we didn't work on the basement.  We took naps:) It was fantastic.

Then we went out for sushi for dinner.  As usual, Kate rocked the edamame. She even ate half of a California roll all by herself.  We were some proud parents.

It was a perfect day.

V-Day 2014

Because my birthday is right after Valentine's Day, we tend not to do a whole lot to celebrate Valentine's Day.  This year I was also super pregnant, so we (I) really didn't feel like doing a whole lot.  We ended up deciding to just have a fun day with Kate and then make a nice dinner once she went to bed.

Kate and I had a great day.  Matt was able to come home a little bit early to hang out with us.  And we enjoyed a kid-free, quiet dinner.

baked brie appetizer

chicken parmesan and roasted asparagus

It got too late - and we were too full anyway - to make our molten chocolate cakes for dessert.  Not to worry, though, we had them during Kate's nap the following day:)

Happy Love Day!

January in review

January flew by.

And some days it felt like it would never end.

We had more snow last month than all of last winter (over 8 feet).

And we've spent pretty much all of our free time working on the basement, preparing for another baby, or getting Kate's new big girl bedroom ready, so I just haven't found the time to sit down and write.  I'm going attempt to re-cap the entire month of January, so hold on!

Kate rode the carousel with Daddy at the mall

so silly!

my big helper

Kiss cookies:)

we made lots of footprints in the snow

we made snow ice cream

"daddy needs some too"

we got to see out-of-town friends:)

we finally got our new couch! and we love it:)

Kate got another stomach bug...I got lots of snuggles (and then the stomach bug)

"I'm just reading them my picture"

"I'm going to draw a sailboat for all my friends"

and Kate moved to her big girl bed - more on that later:)

Tumble Bugs

For Christmas, my brothers got Kate a gymnastics class at the Y.  She absolutely loves it.  She asks if we can go to gymnastics almost every day, and she has so much fun when we're there.  She loves to practice what she's learning at home (especially for an audience).

A few weeks ago, I wasn't feeling super great, so Matt came with us to class.  I got to be the picture taker:)

For my own memory, here are the things she's learning/doing at class:

• pike sit
• V sit
• hopscotch
• two-foot jumps
• pencil rolls
• balance beam
• butterfly legs
• "apart/together"
• somersaults
• tunnel
• parachute
• backward somersaults
• lots of running
• airplane
• he-haws
• standing on one foot

Like Daddy, Like Daughter

Aren't they precious? I'm a lucky girl:)

Kate-isms

The things that come out of this girl's mouth are just too funny (and cute) not to share...

"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible Study is all done"

"Mommy, that girl has fireworks on her boots!"

We were out for sushi a while ago and Kate was pounding the edamame.  We ran out and she asked me for more.  I told her we needed to wait for the lady (the waitress) to come back, and as soon as Kate spotted her, she yelled, "Lady come back!"

"I got shot" (she got a flu shot at the doctor)

We were talking about how God makes her ouchies all better when we put on a band-aid because he loves her so much, and she said, "God wants to hug me"

"I need to do a project"

While cutting up her pretend food, I asked her to come to the table for dinner.  She responded, "I can't mom, I'm super busy with this"

Me: "Kate, are you going to finish your peppers?"
Kate: "No, those peppers are bugging me!"

"Uh oh, I spilled on my pants.  You need to dry them in the washing machine"

A few funny names she has for things:

• Raisin Brand = Raisin Bran Cereal
• lemon time = clementine
• ca-booster seat = booster seat (we've been playing with trains a lot)
• piglets = the tiny hot dogs inside pig-in-the-blankets
• prints feet = footprints (which she LOVES to make in the snow with her boots)

We were driving to her gymnastics class two weeks ago, and when we passed a billboard for Biggby coffee, Kate pointed to it and said, "Mommy, there's your mocha!" (maybe I drink too much coffee)

"My baby is sick.  She needs to rest on the couch.  She needs to snuggle me and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." Nice try, Kate, nice try:)

"My daddy runs a tight ship around this place"

There are so many more funny things, but these are just the ones I wrote down.  Thanks for all the laughs, Kate.  You bring so much joy:)