Some Observations of Kate

Our Kate has a great sense of humor. I first noticed it this summer when she would kneel on a bed and lean forward until she flopped on her face. She gets such a kick out of "joking" Ella (as Ella refers to it). Occasionally they sit beside each other at lunch, and Kate will hand her a cup, and Kate will pull it back without letting go. This can go on and on (usually while I clean up their dishes) with giggles from both sides. Also fun - sticking her finger in Ella's mouth. 

She loves to climb. She's graduated from climbing a little rocker, to the step stool to the sink, to Ella's tall chair with a foot rest, to our kitchen chairs, to our rocker. . . I used to be able to keep her from climbing certain things by pushing them under the table or turning them around. Now she has figured out to pull and push them around so she can get in them. I know the next thing is pulling and pushing them so she can get up on the counter. I'm not looking forward to the additional baby-proofing that needs to be done to these mid-level areas.

Kate can sense an open kitchen cupboard or bathroom door being open from a room away Boy, can she move fast (this is what I like to call "toy store fast" since I witnessed her similar speed in a toy store the other day.) She's got a sixth sense for these "forbidden" areas. If I don't hear her, chances are she's sucking on the soap dispenser. At least drumming on the toilet seat or playing with the glass storage containers make noise. What a sneaky little gal.

Her communication is pretty effective. She signs "please", "all done" and "more" regularly. She used to use the sign for "milk" (which she doesn't so much have a need for, but on the same note, she used to use the same sign for "mama".)  She clears her tray (you know, ALL over the floor) if we don't clear quick enough. She has a few words - "mama", "dada", "dog", "duck", "meow", "tickle". I'm surprised she doesn't say "Ella" yet. I thought that might be her first word.

If this mop isn't pulled back, she looks like a sheep dog. Ella's hair frames her face nicely if left to untouched. Kate's just falls straight down. It isn't an option to let it go. 

Kate is full of joy, and tenderness (except when she is attempting to bite one of us - fortunately it is rare and she does this in slow motion, so it is really easy to avert.) She gives sweet snuggles complete with back pat; it especially warms my heart when she does it to Ella while Ella is being comforted after a fall. I love this girl so, so much, and I am so, so lucky to be her mom.

I am so bad at blogging . . .

. . . within a reasonable time frame. These days, I'm feeling like it is a 'win' if I get to posting on here even if it is almost 3 months late.)

We celebrated Kate with both sets of grandparents, and Wiebe-side aunts, uncles, and cousins. Ella thought Kate would like star cake, so star cake it was!

Mesmerized by the smoke. 

The fate of much food encountered by Kate - smashed, smeared, pinched, thrown on the floor. 

Hair surprisingly clean at the end of a meal.

"Enjoying" bath time. 

Oklahomala. . .

. . . as Ella refers to it.

My grandma and Kate, aren't they beautiful?

Want to win Ella over? Read her a book. She can rarely resist.

Ella was putting "gaso-lation" in the tank.

 (She knew 'gas' had a long name, but forgot what it was.)

Isn't she too young to give me looks like this?
Someday she'll be looking out a real car window with this face.

I feel like I have to say 'no' to so many things Kate wants to do; I didn't want to tell her she couldn't play in the dirt. She made such a mess of herself, but had the time of her life. (I did eventually have to find something else for her to do when she started to eat it. . .)

Evolution of a (Pretend) Phone Converstaion

As long as Ella has been able to talk, she would pretend to talk on one of Jon or my old cell phones. The first conversation is from roughly fifteen months ago. The last one is parts from two different phone calls this last week. She likes to talk while I jog with the girls in the stroller, but I haven't remembered at the right time to throw in a camera or paper and pencil to record what she says. (Since these conversations, I've tried twice - unsuccessfully - to get Ella to have a conversation. Me: Ella, your phone is ringing! Ella: No, it's not.)

Me: Who are you talking to?

Ella: Oma.

Me: How is she?

Ella: Good.

Me: What is she doing?

Ella: Dough.

(The above conversation happened daily and over time, it turned into "make dough" and then "making dough".)

***

While punching on keys,
Ella: I'm texting Grandma.

***
Ella: Are you on your way home? (I must frequently ask Jon this when I talk to him after school/practice.)
***

Ella: Ring, ring. Hello, Oma! ....How is your week?... Do you feel good or bad? ...Bad (spoken to me). ...Are you going to the doctor?... She's going to the doctor (again, spoken to me).... Where is Opa?... Good...Is Myla there?... We are coming to see you... no, we are not coming to see you... we are going home right now... have a good trip... sweet dreams. (Her inflection is really appropriate and sweet through all of this. I love it.)

(Mostly because a post about Ella should include a picture of her) I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture. . . if only it weren't for the bit of lunch still hanging on to her face. 

A New Toy

 A few days ago I finally made the plunge and bought myself (or us, I'm sure Jon would like to think it is his too) a digital SLR camera. It is not something I really thought I would feel comfortable spending money on since we already have a camera and I bring in $0 a year. But. . . my dad encouraged me to think about it. And think about it I did! I would classify my dad as someone who is sensible about spending, and if he thought it was worth it, who am I to argue? It only took me about thirty days to decide between yes and no, and then what camera, and then what lens to buy. While I don't enjoy spending money, I am very excited to have one my my hobbies back. I didn't realize how much I missed it, and I can just cry thinking about being able to take quality photos of my girls.  I took some photography classes in high school and college back when we used film in cameras. What I remember most about playing around with different settings, is that I had to write down each f-stop and shutter speed and wait till I developed the film to compare. (Provided I kept track correctly, and didn't mess up the shot in some other way.) I feel like most of my photography education (or at least what I remember) was how to frame a good shot, and not how to technically use your settings to take a good shot. In the few days I've had it, I've played around only a little and can already see how awesome this is going to be compared to my film camera. There is so much to learn! (And boy, are Ella and Kate going to get sick of being photographed. . . )

   

Seven

Ella at seven months

Kate at seven months.

It is hard to get past the difference in the color and amount of hair, but I think they have at least a slight resemblance.

Running

Ella clearly has spent a good deal of time at cross country and track meets. At random points in the day she'll start a race: one arm up = get ready, other arm up = get set, and completed with a "bang" for go. At meets she likes to run around our blanket and stroller and say, "Mama, clap for me!" She also knows that she is to stay off the track during a meet (although I watch this super closely). At the end of a meet, she is giddy with excitement to be able to run in a lane. Last week, she got 150 meters down the track before she even looked back. I love that she has this experience. Even if she doesn't turn out to be a fast runner, I hope she sees it as a way of life as I did when I was little. When I was growing up, my dad ran nearly every day, and I thought that is just what you do. I never felt pressure to run, but a day feels kind of weird to me if I don't.

Yesterday, Ella left me in our bedroom to go for a "run". (The following went on for a minimum of 7 minutes straight.) Our living room, hallway and kitchen make a nice circular "track" to run on. After each lap, she'd pop into the room and tell me something. After a couple minutes of this, I made my way to the kitchen and started writing down the things she said/did each lap.

"Almost. . . there. . . two. . . miles."

"Kate, I'm running!"

"Mama, stay on the sidewalk. I might run into you."

"Want to touch my dirty feet?" (puts feet up on Kate's exersaucer to show her)

"Going to doctor to get some ouchies." (Referring to the shots - or the band-aids? - that she receives at the doctor"s office. I think this is good; she doesn't seem to think "getting ouchies is a bad thing, and it means she hasn't had to go to the doctor for much more than a check-up. Healthy kid, this one.)

"Mama, stay on the rug. I might bump into you. . . bump." (as she goes out of her way to bump me.)

"Mama, I"m almost to the park!"

(runs by with sunglasses)

(runs by smacking lips)

"Go pee. Go pee . . . Mama, don't help me." (as she backtracks to get to the bathroom)