Kate is 1 year old!

Last Tuesday our sweet Baby Kate turned one! It has been a wonderful year watching her learn and grow. Here are some fun things she is doing:

• She is a fast crawler! She started rolling at 3 months old, and hasn't stopped moving since.
• She loves it when you chase her She makes growling noises while crawling away as fast as she can. Before she could crawl, she got a kick out of Mom holding her and "chasing" Jared around the house. Jared is a fun big brother!
• She is now pulling to a stand and will probably learn to walk before long.
• Kate loves music. Her favorite CD is Treblemakers folk songs. The first song is "Mama Lama," so she often requests, "Mama! Mama!" when we are near the CD player. When the music comes on, a grin spreads across her face and she starts bouncing to the beat.
• Kate loves the piano too, and tries to play some notes while her siblings are practicing.
• If you ask, "What sound does a doggie make?" Kate will pant like a dog.
• Kate's favorite trick is "How big is Kate? SO big!" (She raises both arms in the air)
• Kate loves peek-a-boo and can do it herself.
• Kate's least favorite things is getting dressed. She used to cry and howl every night when we put her in pajamas. She doesn't scream quite as much now, so she's getting better.
• So, as you might imagine, one of Kate's favorite things is being bare! Her spunk and enthusiasm seem to double whenever we let her crawl around the house in only a diaper. 
• Probably Kate's VERY favorite thing is her siblings. She wakes up from her afternoon nap practically bouncing and has a big grin on as we go downstairs to greet Jared and Allison, who have just arrived home from school. During the day Kate and Tommy enjoy playing together. Sometimes when Kate is napping, Tommy will ask me, "Is her nap over yet? Can I get her out?"
• Kate has many admirers! Her #1 local fans (besides her family) are Brandt and Lindsay Adams, a couple in our ward who take care of her during the 2nd and 3rd hours of church while Adam and I serve in the Primary. Lindsay is the only person who can get Kate to sleep during church (not even Mom can do it!).  We are very grateful for the Adams!
• Kate also makes new friends during piano time. Four days a week after school I teach an hour of piano lessons, during which she gets to play in the basement with toys and the piano families, and usually ends up charming all of our guests. 
• Kate loves swinging at the park and getting pushed around on her toddler bike on our driveway. She also does really well in the sandbox (and only samples a bit of sand every once in a while) :)
• On Halloween Kate finally got her first tooth! (top right) her second tooth emerged right next to the first, just a day or two ago. 
• Kate's first word was "Uh-oh!" She says it whenever she drops something. She has also learned to imitate these words: Bye-bye, hi, Mamma, Dadda, more
• Kate is cute, happy, and very social. We love this little girl!