Lesson Learned!

I picked Kate up after work and headed home. We fed Molly and I said to Kate, "Mommy is going out to get the mail and to let Molly out, come watch me at the front door". So, I headed out, without a jacket, to get the mail. I ran back up to the house, because it was freezing and I had no coat, and found that Kate locked the storm door! I quick ran to the back door, praying that my anal self didn't lock it, but because I'm OCD with locking doors, it was locked. The storm door is glass, so I could see her through it and talk to her. I tried to get her to unlock the door. She would run to the kitchen, and then come back. I called Rich who was 30 minutes away and told him. We both were laughing, I mean what are the odds??? Kate then decided to leave the door and go to the TV room- then I couldn't see her and was panicking. So, I rang the doorbell. Molly, who was outside with me, barked. I mean, come on!! Seriously, Molly?? Just had to laugh again. Kate decided to lay down- she had the stomach virus over the weekend, so she wasn't completely herself. I took this picture.

I didn't want Kate to leave the door again so I put a video on on my cell phone (I had it in my hand because I was expecting a call). She watched the video, but then started crying for "Mommy hold you". That broke my heart. Finally, at 5:49, Rich pulled up- thank GOD!!! He took a picture so we could always remember this moment :)

Lesson I learned- bring keys and a coat to get the mail, or just get it while I'm still in the car. I can not wait to tell Kate this story someday. I mean, seriously, who does this happen to?? LOL.

Artiste

I think Kate is going to get her creativity from Rich. She LOVES to color and draw- I, on the other hand, don't. I can't even draw a stick person. Rich is an awesome artist- he drew a picture of a squirrel and threw it out (all when he was younger). His mom took it out of the trash and framed it and it is hanging in her TV room now. Kate can now color lines and circles and pretty much knows all of her primary colors.

We Kids Rock

We started taking Kate to a kids' music class called We Kids Rock: http://www.wekidsrock.com/index.html. We meet every week and there are 2 instructors that play the guitar and sing. They have egg shakers, sticks, balls, "babies" or stuffed animals and instruments for the kids to play with. Kate seems to really enjoy it- she even dances at the end when they play the loud music.

Dance Party

Kate LOVES to have dance parties. We turn the music up real loud and dance around. She comes up with some good moves. I was able to get this little video of some of her moves, but she was tired out. Enjoy, and she said you can steal some of her moves, if you'd like. This is called "Step Out, Step In" She gets it from her favorite TV show.

Play Doh

Santa brought Kate a playdoh set for Christmas. Included were cut outs, scissors, and a "spaghetti maker." Kate loves playing with it and quickly got the hang of it. Who didn't play with playdoh when they were younger? It's funny to me to see all of the toys that we used to play with and how much more advanced they are. The cute little desk next to Kate was a Christmas present from Grammie. It's an activity desk and you can color, paint (which we haven't started yet) or play with your playdoh :)

Swim Lesson #2

Our swim teacher and a lot of people I talked to told me not to be surprised if Kate cried even more at the 2nd lesson- she knew what to expect. Well, let me tell you, Kate was AMAZING! Not a tear, she went under about 10 times, kicked her feet, floated on her back, and even used her arms as "paddles"!!! I took some video, along with Rich who videotaped the whole thing. Yes, we are the obnoxious parents there video taping and clapping, but remember, Kate isn't even 2 yet! Here is a picture of her and Lindsey getting into the pool and then some video (all very short) that I labeled. We are so proud of Kate and we tell her all the time and she tells us, "Mommy proud of youuuuu."

Getting in the water- no tears!!

Going under- she knows to closer her eyes and mouth before she goes under.

Here she is floating on her back- if you notice, her teacher only has 1 hand under her head!

Kate using her arms to swim to the side

Morning Person

I can honestly say that Kate is a morning person. But, she's also an afternoon and night person too. I say morning person because she is always in the best mood in the morning. When we go to get her, she'll say, "I woke up!" We tell her we know and it's the best part of our day! Rich gets to eat breakfast with Kate every morning since I'm already at work. He sends me pictures, or just takes pictures of her so I can see her in the morning and here are 2 he snapped that we thought were adorable.

Purse Obsession

Alright, it's not as bad as mine, but Kate is starting to take a liking to purses. She kept carrying around this big red bucket we have in our laundry room and was saying, "My purse." So, I picked out on of the purses my mom bought her and she was instantly satisfied. She's not even 2 and her obsession is beginning. Rich is in trouble :)

Swim Lessons

As many of you know, we have an inground pool, so Rich & I both feel it is very important for Kate to learn to swim. We are getting an enclosure around the immediate pool this summer, but she still needs to know. We signed her up for a "Survival Swim" lesson. I was so nervous because I didn't get to go in the pool with her. Kate was so excited to go! She looked so cute in her little bathing suit and ponytail- what happened to our baby???

Her teacher, Lindsey, was so great! She was so sweet to Kate. Kate did NOT want to get in the water. Here's proof- honestly, she was screaming, NO THANK YOU! Lindsey said, i love your manners, but you have to get in :)

Kate got in the water, cried a lot, but I would too- it was her 1st swim lesson and she didn't even know this lady! She did so great! They put her face in the water 4 times!!!! (I was flipping out, but luckily we saw someone we knew so I had to control myself, although Rich did tell me that I wasn't faking it very well :) ). Kate kept saying, "All done. All Done" And, 15 minutes later, she was! We all survived and she wants to go back!!

And, here's a little video of her putting her face in the water. I can't believe my hand was actually steady enough to take this! As you can tell, Rich & I are so proud of her!! Hopefully these lessons will become fun and she'll appreciate them.

23 Months Old!

Kate is 23 months old today!!! What a month we've had!!! We celebrated Christmas, went to parties, the museum and had friends over! It's been such a great month and we ended 2008- Kate slept through it! Happy New Year everyone! We hope 2009 is a great one!