Kate Turns Two!

Today our Sweet Baby Kate is no longer a baby. She is two! We will be celebrating with a dinner of hot dogs and cantaloupe, followed by a Blues Clues cake and presents. Can't beat that!

Here are some things we love about Kate:

• Kate has an ever-happy disposition. She loves to smile and laugh!
• Kate is our family clown. She likes to act silly and gets excited if her brothers and sister join in the fun.
• Kate is so good at sleeping and taking naps. She loves to cuddle up with her pink and white blankies, and a plethora of animal friends. She calls most animals by the sound they make: duck=quack, quack; sheep=ba, ba; horse=neigh, neigh; rabbit=hop, hop. Dogs are "puppy" and she likes sleeping with her little pink puppy (and any other puppy she can find.) 
• Right now Kate is known in our house as the animal swiper. She is always scouting for stuffed animals to adopt and take into her crib (like Jared's rabbit and puppy, Allison's rabbit Sam, etc.)
• When Kate finishes a task she often finishes with an enthusiastic, "Ta-Da!"
• Lately when someone suggests something that Kate thinks is a little ridiculous, she will respond with a shake of her head and, in her best mommy tone of voice, "Nooooooo." (This is always her reaction when we remind her that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy) :)
• Kate loves Blues Clues lately. She calls it "Blue Puppy!"
• Kate is a music girl. Play her some music with a good beat, and she will rock out.
• Kate's favorite activity is biking on the driveway. She scoots along on our Plasma Car (she has to wear a designated pair of old shoes since her feet drag and wear away the toe). Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Washburn are getting her a new bike for her birthday!
•  Kate does NOT like riding in the car or going shopping. She is quick to let out her screams of disapproval... and equally quick to start giggling again once Mommy pulls a silly face at her. (Yes, she is a bit of a faker sometimes!)
• Kate likes sucking on hair, like little Jared did (weird, I know!) She calls it "bleh," because that's what we say when she is sucking on one. When she has lost a hair that she had been secretly stashing, she'll look around her in puzzlement, shrug her shoulders, and say, "Bleh go? Bleh go?" (Where'd the bleh go?)
• Our nickname for Kate: Sweet Pea
• For her birthday, she enjoyed playing "Blues Clues" with the family to figure out what we would be doing next (opening presents). She loves her new bouncie horse, scooter bike, and BIG stuffed bear. Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes and for helping her feel special on her birthday!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Tommy Turns Four!

Today is Tommy's birthday. He woke up to the best present ever--4 inches of snow! School had a 2-hour delay, so he got to play dominoes with Allison AND build a snow fort with Jared. All before the early hour of 8am!

Tommy is a cheerful, smiley, independent child with big ideas. His favorite activities are coloring, cutting, and taping things (once I found a nursery handout thoroughly taped to his bedroom door, using about 30 3-inch pieces of tape).

Tommy likes playing the piano and singing. He is good at reading and can sound out most any phonetic word. Several times I have caught him in his bedroom with his early reader books, carefully reading the books out loud to himself. It looks like we have another little reader in the making!

Tommy also LOVES Puppy and all his other stuffed dogs. He sometimes sleeps with 5 or more of them in his bed. Puppy is his favorite, though, and he always woofs at us when Tommy first wakes up in the morning (Puppy's woofs and whines is how Tommy communicates with us when he is feeling sleepy).

When the weather is warm, Tommy loves to bike outside. He also enjoys our big sandbox. His best friend is Alex Switzer, who we swap playdates with every Wednesday. Tommy and Alex just moved up into Junior Primary to join the Sunbeam class! Tommy is the oldest sunbeam, and we got to sing Happy Birthday to him during his first official Sunday in Primary. He is giving a Primary talk in two weeks, as well. Tommy is getting to be so big!

Tommy's dimpled grin and smiling eyes always makes my day. He is so fun to have at home, and he loves playing with his baby sister, Kate. Happy Birthday, Tommy. You are a wonderful part of our family!