New toy

We have a new toy in our backyard, a swing set. We have been wanting one for a long time. At one point Sam wanted to design and build it himself but we realized that time is a very precious commodity around here. I started stalking Craig's list and was very frustrated because any decent swing set was either far away, very expensive or already claimed when I would email. So, I posted on my Facebook status that we were looking for one if anyone had outgrown it. About a week later an acquaintance from high school said they wanted to sell their. I love facebook! We got a great deal on a nice swing set in very good condition. The only downside was that Sam had to go to their house 3 times to take it apart and transport the pieces home, then he spent a lot of time restaining it and finally putting it together. We still have a wooden roof to install but the swing set is fully functional.

The swing set has a picnic table and sandbox area below a fort. There is a slide, a ladder and a rock wall. There are 3 swing spots where we currently have a belt swing, baby swing and trapeze. There are also monkey bars above the swing. For about a week we were able to use the swings with no ladders up to the platform and no slide.

Here Katherine is seeing it for the first time. She was pretty excited about her playground.

When Sam was ready to install the slide, rock wall and ladder, Katherine helped out.

The inaugural slide.

We are all so excited to have more fun things to do in our own yard. Katherine is old enough to go out and play by herself for awhile. I can't wait until they are both old enough to play in the yard while I am fixing dinner and getting stuff done inside.

Matchy Matchy

One thing I enjoy about having 2 girls is that I can match their clothes from time to time. Most of their clothes are bought at consignment sales so really the only new clothes are the ones that match. This outfit was bought when Katherine was about 14 months. I bought a 2T for Katherine and a 12month for her cousin Sophia to wear the next Easter when they were just turning 1 and 2. Well, the problem with buying things ahead is that kids' growth is unpredictable and by the time spring rolled around, Sophia had caught up to Katherine and they were both wearing a 2T. So, I gave the smaller dress to a friend. This year I realized that Miss Petite Katherine could still wear hers so I borrowed the smaller one back for Caroline. They wore these dresses to church this week. it is probably the fanciest outfit they have right now. I had to go outside to take pictures before church.

More back yard fun

We are continuing to enjoy our water and sand table (ie. mud table). It is a good filler for those times when the kids are driving me crazy. They both love it. I just have to be willing to follow it up with bath time.

Greatest Show on Earth

Last week we took Katherine to her first circus. We went with Regina, her brother Ash and her daughter Elizabeth. To prepare, we checked out some book from the library about the circus and even a Mr. Rogers DVD. The best resource to show Katherine what to expect was a 1980 and a 1990 Ringling Brothers souvenir program that I had kept and actually could find. I know, that is pretty sad that I had it and could find it.

Before the circus you can go down to the ring for a preshow. Katherine loved the dress up area where you could put on a sequined circus jacket and have your picture taken with a ring master.

We were also able to see and take a photo with a real circus clown.

They had clowns, acrobats, stilt walkers, goats and elephants for the preshow.

The elephant, Kellianne, did a painting. It looks a lot like Katherine's paintings.

Katherine and Elizabeth loved the show. It was a bit of a sensory overload but they did fine. Their favorites were the elephants. This circus was different than I remember. It did not really have 3 rings so there was only one thing going on at a time. There seemed to be more of a dance element as well. Maybe it is the difference of a child versus an adult perspective but it did not seem as amazing as I remember it.

Katherine again, decided not to be cooperative for the group photo. Here we are in front of all of the merchandise available to buy. I am proud to say we bought nothing.

Katherine had chosen that day as a day to skip her nap. I tried for 2 hours to get her to sleep but she would not. She did amazingly well but fell asleep on the way to the car while daddy was carrying her.

Aquarium

One of my closest friends from my singles days was in town this week with her kids. Regina and I used to hang out all the time. We were in each other's weddings 4 weeks apart and then she moved away. We have remained close though we usually are only able to visit once a year. Our daughters are a month apart and our second kids are 2 months apart so it is a lot of fun to get together.

We left the babies with their grandmothers so we had a day to spend just with the mommies and the big girls. It was so fun to not have a huge diaper bag or a stroller. We started off with lunch at a great hot dog and ice cream joint.

Then we headed to the Aquarium. Katherine has been here once before but it was over a year ago so she did not really remember it. I had forgotten how expensive it was, especially now that Katherine is 3 and has to buy a ticket.

Here the girls are imitating the crocodile going "snap!"

The manatee was feeding right by the window. There was also a scuba diver in there. Katherine was a little scared that he would be eaten. I love how so many photos of Elizabeth feature sticking out the tongue.

Regina and Elizabeth

Katherine liked to not cooperate by turning her back to the camera.

It was a really fun day. I love hanging out with good friends and we were pleased with how well the girls got along. They were all pretty tired by the end of the day.

More legible

Katherine again was interested in writing her name today. She did not want to draw pictures at all. She did most of the letters of her name on her own, only asking a few times what came next. You can tell much better that she is writing her name.

When she was done, I collected the paper to keep before she scribbled all over the beautifully written name but she wanted to practice her writing more. Here she is writing her name. Yes, she wears her tiara all the time.

After she was done with her name she wrote a few more "e's" and then wanted to write Caroline's name. We had to tell her each letter but she wrote each one without help. She would get so excited each time a letter in Caroline's name was also in her name. For some reason being able to write her name is very exciting to me and makes Katherine seem so grown up. It is no surprise though since she loves the alphabet and her favorite song is the "ABC's".

Hanging on

3 year olds are so funny. Katherine had some legitimate booboos on her leg that warranted band aids - about a week ago. She threw a fit when I tried to pull the band aid off so I let it go. Today she had 2 bandaids just hanging on for dear life. For some reason Katherine has it stuck in her head that she will not take these band aids off until it is Christmas and snowing. She says that over and over. I am happy to report that the band aids fell off on their own tonight and there was no preschool tantrum over it. Funny Katherine.

name

Today Katherine and a friend sat at her table to draw. I noticed that Elizabeth had a very colorful page. Katherine had a lot of lines. As I looked closer, I realized that they were letters. I asked her what she was writing and she said her name. At that point, she had only had a few letters and they were letters in her name. Tonight when I went to show Sam the difference in the girls' pictures, I noticed that not only did she write a few of the letters of her name, but she wrote almost her entire name - backwards. She is only missing the "i". She asked me one time what another letter in her name was but she did this on her own.

I have not worked on writing with Katherine much at all so this really surprised me. Every once in awhile I will ask her to write a "K" and she always tells me that she can't. This summer at school they have started writing letters and they always hold her hand to write her name. I was not sure that this was really a good practice but I guess she has learned the letters of her name. I asked her tonight how to spell her name and she said, "kathine". She did point out yesterday that no one else's name is as long as hers. Poor girl has 9 letters.

Things she says.

Katherine has always been very verbal. I love that we can actually have long conversations. These are some of the things I have written down in the notebook I keep in my purse so I don't forget what she says and does. They are from the past few months.

When refusing to nap: "Mommy, when you put all my short naps together it makes a long nap." To her a short nap is anytime she shuts her eyes, not when she falls asleep.

Mommy, thank you very much for bringing me baby sister our of your tummy. She's a sweet baby. I love her very much

Mommy, thank you for bringing me this nightgown home for me. I love it.

Mommy, I want popcorn for breakfast. And a fire and a movie too. (She remembers when we did this one time last winter)

Mommy, I want a donut.
Sweetie, we left your donut at school.
Let's make one in the kitchen.
I don't know how to make a donut.
Well, you get 2 eggs and milk. Then you mix it and put it in the oven. Then it makes a donut. Let's go!

"Yesterday I had a dream about sand. A boy dig on me. He built a sandcastle on me I said I must get out of here. It was a monster with his monster family and monster baby sister. His name is Nemo.

Let's poopoo where no one sees us. Like in the grass, or the trees or the bushes.

Mommy, will you pray and ask god that you not be grumpy at me today?

Me-Katherine do you need to go potty?
K-No, I already did?
Me - You went in your panties? When?
K-When I was in your bed.
Me-Oh no! So does mommy's bed have peepee in it?
K-No, it just has sweaty.
Oh no! In her defense, without realizing it, I let her have one and a half sippy cups of water in the evening and she has been sleeping with a cover for the past few nights. I have found that now that we are outside in the heat more she is drinking more and therefore more accidents at night. A lot of friends are experiencing more night accidents right now as well.

I wish I could remember all the funny things she says. She keeps me in stitches.