Katie's first steps!

yum!

Don't even THINK about taking away her shake! She was holding on tightly with both hands! I guess it was good! She would get anxious if I even looked like I might touch the cup :-) Kate has been refusing to eat baby food for some time now - and she will only occasionally let me feed her some yogurt with a spoon. We went to the store yesterday and I got some frozen blueberries, cherries, blackberries, and plain organic whole milk yogurt. This morning I was all set to get the blender out when I remembered the fruit baby food we have that she rarely eats - so I just stirred that together in a cup with a bit of fruit juice, and she was thrilled! She LOVES using a straw! She did great with it from the start - I think we first tried it just a few days ago. This will be a great way for her to get some more fruit and dairy (and to use up that baby food!) and she'll probably love it even more when I start using the blender to add fruit!

Oh, and one more thing - she has finally started babbling "mamamamama" - she started last night at the store :-) She doesn't use it for me specifically yet, but at least she can make that sound now! She is getting better with "cat" - she loves looking and pointing at them and consistently makes the same sound to say that. She's getting so big!

a little smile

Here is Katie peeking at me through her kitchen . . .

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Hanging out in the grass on a beautiful day

this is why . . .

I don't put him up in his room for naps anymore, LOL. The first thing I heard when I opened the door was "SLIDE!"

At the risk of encouraging him, I HAD to get this on video :-) 5 points for creativity. -20 points for napping. This is featuring his beloved sidekick, "Hop" . . .

Easter bunny eggs

That is what Ryan calls them. We had asked him what was in one of our decorations expecting him to say "egg" and he said "Easter bunny egg" :-) He is very descriptive these days!

He did great with dyeing the eggs and really had fun! Only one incident with hands in the dye and some splashing, LOL!




This is Katie all bundled up for an Easter egg hunt earlier in the week - it as freezing and windy but she was happy as can be!

bunnies and tigers and shoes, oh my!

Lots of things have been going on the past two weeks. A week ago today, on Sunday, we went to the Philadelphia Zoo. It was so much fun! We went with good friends and their 2 girls, Valerie and Vanessa. Ryan loved it and Katie did too - she really noticed the animals and even giggled at the Spider Monkeys. Yesterday we had our neighborhood Easter egg hunt and also Ryan's last Soccer Tots class. It was VERY windy for the egg hunt but the kids still really enjoyed it. Ryan was very helpful putting eggs into Katie's basket for her. Today we took the kids to see the Easter bunny, and Katie got her first shoes. She LOVES shoe shopping :-) They both seemed to like seeing the Easter bunny - and it was a major accomplishment that we got both kids in the same picture without any tears. I talked it up quite a bit and really prepared Ryan by promising that after he sat with the bunny and Katie AND smiled for a picture, he would get CANDY, LOL.

give me strawberty or give me death

I know, it's a little early in the day for a Patrick Henry reference, but that is what came to mind as I was cutting strawberries for Ryan this morning. He LOVES them and I was trying to help him practice saying it - and it came out "strawberty." I asked "is that like liberty?" and he said "NO! STRAWberty!" :-) He was very funny watching me clean and cut them. He was distraught about each strawberry that made its way into a bowl for later instead of on his plate. I am not SURE, but I am guessing it's not a good idea to let him eat 2lb. of strawberries in one sitting, LOL. I was telling him about how strawberries grow on a plant like so many other things we eat, and how we could pick some this summer, and he seemed very excited. He also eagerly agreed that we should try growing some here.

I don't eat strawberries (so many seeds!) but I really enjoy hulling and cutting them for some reason - maybe it's all of those memories of my strawberry shortcake dolls. I also love how they make the fridge smell - so sweet and fresh. Speaking of Strawberry Shortcake, I have been thinking of her as I am starting to plan Katie's birthday partyin May. I need to make sure I use that as a theme before she is old enough to say no - but I don't want to do it as her 1st birthday. So maybe for 2! I guess there is a good chance Ryan will have some input about his party in October, so I better not wait for 3 for Strawberry Shortcake - just to be safe :-)