Catching up

There are a lot of photos from the past few weeks that I have not posted so tonight's post is all about catching up. No potty (training) talk, I promise!

We were all outside and working in the garages. Sam saw a huge grasshopper. Being the science nerds that we are we turned it into a lesson and got Katherine interested in the "hopper".
We got her to touch it hoping that it would jump really high but it was pretty lazy.
She even decided that she wanted to give it a kiss. She is so funny, she is scared of some insects and not others. I think part of it is if it is in the house or outside. I have made sure that I never freak out about bugs because I don't want to have a wimpy little girl.

Madi and Ben came over to celebrate Madi's birthday with cupcakes from Sprinkles (very yummy I might add). The kids decided to go play the piano. They both love music and had quite the fun time playing and singing.


Our playgroup went to the park for a picnic and outdoor fun. Katherine loves to just run. She and Robert were all over the field.

To get them back to where we were eating, Janna convinced Katherine to chase her.

Then when Katherine would catch Janna they would both fall down on the ground. I love my group of mommy friends and the fact that we are all helping to raise one another's kids. These women all love Katherine and I love all of their kids. It is a true community.

Mommy, I'm tall!

When it was time to leave Katherine insisted on carrying my backpack along with her lunch box and cup. You can see that it was a bit too big for her and it took forever to get to the car. She is Miss Independent.

Confessions of a pack rat

I am cleaning out and really trying hard to get rid of stuff. So, for those of you who are local, let me know if you want any of these things. I have some listed on Craig's list but anything not claimed by Sunday night is being donated on Monday.
-several years worth of National Geographic Adventure Traveler Magazine (Great articles and photos, a teacher might use for projects)
-about 5 or 6 years of Martha Stewart Living magazine (Taken)
-Twin comforter set (comforter, dust ruffle, pillow cases)
-Queen sheets (floral and navy)
-tan and white shower curtain
-tan, white, yellow and blue bath mat
-red and denim plaid pillows (Taken)
-George foreman grill
-sandwich maker
-old stand mixer (1950's but works)
-blender
I won't post my email address but if you know me you already have it or you can leave a comment.

Inside Joke

Today we saw a joking side of Katherine that was quite funny. She actually made a comment that was an "inside joke" between the two of us.

Earlier this week we invited Jen and Evie to come over for lunch. Being our second week of staying home more than usually for potty training we wanted some fellowship and entertainment. While I was on the phone with Jen, Katherine said, "hoodan eet Evie". I was shocked and repeated for her "Hooligan eat Evie!" because that is what I thought she said. She said it again and I realized that she was saying "Holding Evie". She is really into holding babies these days and any child smaller than her is considered a baby. I was relieved that she did not want Hooligan to eat Evie but explained that Evie is only a little smaller than her and she would not enjoy being held.

Please don't feed me to the dog Katherine!
I would rather just be fed thank you very much!

Well tonight (4 days later) I was asking Katherine who she played with at MOPS. She said, "Hoodan". I laughed and said, "Hooligan, noooo, not at MOPS" and then realized that she was saying "Holden" a boy in her class. She laughed after I said Hooligan and replied "Hoogan eat Evie" as clear as day and then started laughing hilariously as did I. Sam was a little lost on why all of a sudden his girls were both laughing so hard.

I thought it was so fun that she remembered something that made me laugh several days ago and brought it up again. This is officially Katherine's first joke.

I am jealous of my 2 year old

Why? Because she has curls. Today it was a little humid and they went outside at MDO this afternoon. When I picked her up I was shocked at how curly her hair was. It has gotten a lot longer lately so it is quite pretty.

I have never had a curl in my life. Being in high school in the late 80's and college in the early 90's meant that I was supposed to have a lot of big curls. I would get up every morning to hot roll my hair. I would use all kinds of hair spray and by the time I got to school it was stick straight. I rarely even try anymore. I used hot rollers last week for Easter and Katherine had no clue what they were because she had never seen me use them before.
Sam's hair has a little wave in it when it is long (the swoopy bangs from high school are quite funny in photos). She either got it from him or from my grandmother who had perfect soft curls without doing anything at all. I hope that it stays like this, pretty soft curls.

2 steps forward, 3 steps back

This is a sticker that they put on the kids at church when they are potty training so that the workers remember. This week Katherine has ventured out of the house and has gone to church, Bible study, and Wednesday night church. All of these things were at the most 2 hours so I was not too nervous because I figured at most she would have one accident.

Today was our first day to go to Mothers Day Out in panties so I was a bit nervous. That is 5 hours and includes lunch (and fluids) and a nap. I also knew that the workers really prefer for the kids to be in pull-ups. We are not doing diapers or pull-ups at night or naps or at all. We have training underwear and waterproof covers. I was anxious when I picked up Katherine but as soon as I got there Miss Kristen told me that she acted like she had been potty trained for a long time. She did not have a single accident and went both #1 and #2. I was so proud and so was Katherine she called daddy on the phone and said, "Fafrine peepee on potty, poopoo on potty, no accidents!"

Then we came home and it was a disaster. I have no idea what happened. She had three full blown accidents where she just stood there and watched as pee went down her leg and onto the couch (twice) or the floor of the bathroom (6 inches from her toilet). I was so frustrated but I think I did a good job of remaining positive and loving even though inside I was furious. We are washing our couch cover for the second or third time in less than 2 weeks.

Fun with Katherine

There are so many random pictures and stories of life with Katherine.


One of the results of having an active toddler is lots of "boo-boos". The other day Katherine fell down on our neighbor's sidewalk and she scraped her knees. Really we have been quite fortunate and this is only the second time I can think of that an injury has drawn blood. Scrapes are the worst. They hurt so much worse than they look.

So, what does a mommy do for scraped knees. Well, of course you kiss it to make it better. Then you clean the scrape and put medicine on it. Finish it off with Hello Kitty band-aids and the are all set to get better. Katherine now knows the routine and whenever there is a bump she asks "mommy kiss it, all better now." She loves her band-aids too.
Our morning routine (when the morning goes as planned) is that when Katherine wakes up I go and take her to the potty then she comes to our bed to cuddle. Then daddy gets up and showers. When he is done he takes Katherine to the kitchen to eat while mommy has time to shower. It works well when we get up with the alarm and go along with the plan. Katherine loves her time with daddy in the morning eating breakfast at the "little table".

The other day I won some natural cleaners from a blog contest (my second thing to win). When they arrived they were covered in bubble wrap. I decided to show Katherine the joy of stepping on and popping the bubbles. The poor thing is just so light that she needed my help to pop them.
When we were in Norway our friends who stayed in our house taught our dog a few (good) things. One was to go to the carpet during meals so that she would not be begging for food. Katherine ate earlier than us the other night so she kept going to the carpet as well. If Hooligan got up, she would scold her and try to get her back to the carpet. She loves her puppy dog.

A few weeks ago I went on a scrapbooking retreat and Sam took Katherine to visit his parents. The only picture he got from the weekend was Katherine, eating a cooking and dipping it in pie with Grandad. I guess that was the highlight of the trip but what could be better than cookies and pie with Grandad?

Easter weekend celebrations

We had a great Easter weekend. The weather was great and we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family. On Saturday we went to a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Katherine and Cale were the youngest by far. They gave them a head start and then some of the big kids actually wanted to just give Katherine eggs. The problem was that they were all filled with chocolate candy which of course she wanted to devour. A little is fine, a lot makes for a crazy toddler.


Katherine especially enjoyed finding all of the eggs around the fountain.

This is Katherine saying her new favorite (and my least favorite) phrase, "I have it!" when JP told them there was an egg they missed.

Cale enjoyed an entire mini Reece's in one bite. He was making some pretty funny faces.

Sunday we went to church. I love seeing all of the kids in their Easter finery. Luckily we did not have any wardrobe struggles as we often do and all pieces matched. We were also lucky that there were no potty training incidents at church in the Easter dress.

Nana and Pops came over after church for Easter basket gifts, an egg hunt and lunch.
A pretty new dress from Grammy and Grandad
Stickers, Color Wonder paper and a bunny

It is pretty easy to be successful at an egg hunt when you are the only one hunting and four adults let you know if you missed an egg.
I felt bad because I did not refill the eggs and she was so disappointed when most of them were empty.

We tried really hard to get some good pictures but Katherine did NOT want to be held and was not cooperating with the picture taking plan.

Easter Story Cookies

Thanks to Erin for this great Easter Activity. Making these cookies illustrates the story of Easter in a fun and creative way for kids. I won't say that Katherine totally grasped the meaning of Easter through this exercise but she was surprisingly attentive both to the cooking and to the reading of scripture. I will include the recipe here but if you want me to email you a cleaned up original copy for future, let me know.

Easter Story Cookies
*to be made the evening before Easter

- 1 cup whole pecans

- 1 tsp vinegar
- 3 egg whites

- pinch of salt
- 1 cup sugar

- zipper baggie
- wooden spoon

- tape
- Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important – don’t wait until you’re halfway done with the recipe!)

Place pecans in baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11
Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27
So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know Him and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 – 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax papered covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.
Read Matt. 27:57-60

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.
Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed shut. Read Matt. 27:65-66
Go to bed! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were sad when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.
On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9
Making these meringue cookies was fun. They tasted like marshmallows before cooking. Ours did not end up as hollow as they should have. Our oven tends to be off so I bet it needed to be hotter. It was still fun and an activity that we plan to do again.