Boo! Or should I say PEEYEW?

Happy Halloween!!

I know that this level of cute is just unheard of, but here it goes...my little skunk.Katelyn made out like a bandit tonight and we went to maybe 10 houses. People saw these cuties coming and the just gave us a pile of candy at each house. Irony is, Katelyn didn't eat any of it and she'll be lucky if I give her a little bag of M & Ms over a three day period. :)
We went to our friend's house tonight and their neighbor had a whole treat sack ready for the girls when we got there. Katelyn carried that bag around half the night and was not interested in putting it in her little pumpkin.

Ummm, the skunk is crawling away.

Here's Katelyn and her friend Maggie. Oh these girls are fun! They did great together tonight and got pulled around the neighborhood in the wagon.

The little skunk was playing peek-a-boo on the porch with our neighbor.

Pre trick or treating. All of our neighbors came over to see Katelyn all dressed up.

One last picture...just because. Halloween is WAY more fun with a little one. We had a GREAT time tonight and Katelyn loved being a skunk!

Loving snack time

Oh, she's dancing while she eats her graham crackers. Snack time makes Katelyn SO happy.Playing "up, down" is her favorite game. This is obviously the down part.
Just some snackin' . Please notice the red patton leather shoes. Consignment store...Ralph Lauren. Brand new. $5.99. Oh yeah, SCORE!


Mouth full of food while we're singing Itsy Bitsy Spider. This has been Katelyn's favorite song since we were in China. She knows all the motions now and it's really cute. She also loves Wheels on the Bus, Head and Shoulers Knees and Toes, There were 10 on the Bed and You are My Sunshine....oh and we have a birdie morning song too. She does the motions for that one also!

Oh yeah, I'm having fun singing songs with mommy.

Rain, festival and soup...a cold fall day.

Today was a rainy, cold, Fall day. Katelyn slept for over 3 1/2 hours this afternoon! She did cut two molars this week, so I think she was worn out...but really I think snuggling up for a long nap on a rainy day is a delightful idea. I read magazines, watched Oprah and made more potato and corn chowder. Yummy! Tonight our YMCA was having a fall festival, so Katelyn and I went and met our friends and their little girl for some fun.Katelyn's been getting very excited every time she sees a pumpkin...it was her favorite thing at the festival!

Katelyn's got a fun costume that will be revealed later this week, but I went over to my favorite consignment store today and bought her this shirt (for $1.99 I might add). It says, "Who needs a costume when you're already a princess?" Yep, that about sums it up!

She's getting so tall...it's ridiculous how fast she's growing. She was all cuddly and wanted to snuggle after her nap though, so she's allowed to get big as long as she still wants to curl up with mommy!

The face, oh the face

Okay, really, give me a break. What to do with this girl and this REALLY funny face. She was hiding around the corner and then she would pop out, do this pose and then run to me laughing. It was all just a big game and she did it over and over....the same face...and then run to me laughing...
and again....
and again....
and again....
I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. :)

Katelyn is a chef

While I was cooking dinner, I set Katelyn up with a little "kitchen" of her own. She worked on "cooking" some noodles. She worked very hard...
I gave Katelyn a baggie of noodles and she carried them around for half an hour.
My baby's a good helper...I can't wait until she can really cook dinner.

Katelyn is 16 months!

Hello...let me introduce you to little miss attitude....she's got a super strong will...she knows what she wants, when she wants it...and this face is a signature face. :) Can you believe she's 16 months old already! Good grief she's getting big. Katelyn's new thing is to hand me all her stuff, one at a time, all day long. She really likes to give me her sippy cup and hunks of food when she doesn't want them any more. Such a giver. It's usually accompanied by shouting, "No!" (That means, mommy, I don't want this any more.)

"Mommy, you just keep going with that camera."
This picture should really be at the end. After all our playing and picture taking, Katelyn got her final CRAZY burst of energy for the night...she was running, rolling, going up and down, wanting me to pick her up and tickle her...buy the end of these antics, the cute hair was completely wild.
"Hi everyone! Come visit me!!! I'm REALLY cute!"


"No mom, wait, I'll find the book I want you to read."

Hey there little book worm...
"Mom, you're interrupting me. I just got to the good part. Three singing pigs say la, la, la."
"Okay enough, I can't concentrate already."

Okay, you have a recipe and a T O N of new Katelyn pictures. My work here is done!

Night night.

Curry Chicken with Red Peppers

How many of you go to the grocery store and buy a ton of stuff and then swing through a drive thru on the way home because you're worn out from the shopping and don't want to cook when you get home? Well this meal took 15 minutes and involved stuff in my fridge and stuff that I had just purchased at Sam's Club...and it was healthy to boot...way better than fast food....

Curry Chicken with Red Peppers
2 c. diced chicken off a rotiserrie chicken
1/2 a red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 an onion, sliced thin
tsp minced garlic
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
2 c. cooked brown rice
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 small container of plain, nonfat yogurt

Saute the onion, garlic and red bell pepper. Add chicken. Add seasonings. Add yogurt. Stir it all up and put it over brown rice. (This recipe makes enough for two meals).

I served it with grape tomatoes, hummus and whole wheat pita.

Excellent, fast dinner....Literally 15 minutes because the chicken was already cooked. I'm a huge fan of the rotiserrie chicken. You can get several meals out of one of those babies and you don't have to cook it yourself. Katelyn just ate a piece of chicken with grape tomatoes and some cooked carrots.

Happy Birthday Niki!!!

Today is my future sister in law's birthday! Happy Birthday Niki!!

So last night we had dinner, presents and cake and ice cream over here. Katelyn went over to where Aunt Niki was sitting and lifted her arms up indicating she wanted to sit on her lap. Katelyn doesn't just do that with anyone...so Aunt Niki is IN! Horse book and silliness...
Katelyn was particularly fond of the ribbon and kept tripping over the birthday debris. She was teething...a couple of her molars are coming in...OH fun.

My brother has been saving for this picture for Niki for months and of course she loved it.

Niki we love you! Welcome to the family!!!

6 months...

Six months ago today, our adoption became final in the eyes of the Chinese government. Six months ago yesterday, this terrified little girl was placed in our arms kicking and screaming. Now she runs to us with a smile on her face, wanting hugs and kisses...wanting to play and read books....saying mama and da da. It is AMAZING how much Katelyn has developed, how much she has grown. She has brought so much joy and I cannot imagine loving another human being more! Thank you Jesus for Katelyn Grace...she's perfect.

Yummy dinner

I had a bunch of vegetables that I needed to use so I decided to make stuffed peppers. They were easy, healthy and tasted excellent. Here's the recipe.

Stuffed Red Peppers
4 Red bell peppers
1 lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp olive oil
tsp of minced garlic
basil, oregano, salt pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 onion, chopped
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 zucchini, chopped
1 c. fresh spinach
2 c. cooked brown rice
2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 tomato, diced
1/3 c. feta cheese

In a skillet, cook the turkey. Add olive oil, seasonings and onion. Cook for a few minutes to soften the onion. Then add mushrooms, zucchini, spinach until vegetables are tender. Mix in cooked rice, one can of tomato sauce, the tomato and feta. Stuff the peppers with the mixture.

Pour last can of tomato sauce into a baking dish. Place stuffed peppers on top. Bake at 350 degress for 40-45 minutes.

On a side note...I was trying to get some stuff done tonight and Katelyn wanted me to read to her. So I told her "Mommy has to finish what she's doing, you can look at your books." So she took her book, sat down on the floor by the couch, wiggled to get comfy and use the couch as a back rest and started looking through her book. It was her sweetest moment of the whole day....and she has lots of them in any given 24 hour stretch!

Just hanging out

Katelyn and I have had a super fun weekend. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL, so yesterday we had a play date at Woodland Park with my friend Megan and her son Jeremiah. We went and had lunch and then yesterday evening we met my other friend Megan and her daughter Naomi at a different park to play. Whoo hoo for park hopping. Today we went with my friend Charlotte to a huge craft fair and tonight we went over to Mike and Susan's so Maggie and Katelyn could hang out and I could show Susan just how many things you could make with a rotiserrie chicken! :) So in between it all, here are some cute pictures of little miss PERSONALITY!

I was putting her shoes on, which are SO cute by the way and she was a picture waiting to happen....Oh yeah, smile for the camera...work it...
How big is Kateybug? SO BIG of course!!
"Hey you, lady with the camera, STOP IT already and get me off this table!"...
..."So I can run, run, run."

Goofy kid. If you call us, she'll perform her animal sounds for you....Cow, sheep, cat, lion, monkey. And then she'll blow a kiss...mmmmmwwwaaaahhhhh, and say bye bye. Oh, and that red furry guy is MoMo and the apple is an APP. So smart this one!

Hi from Nashville y'all

Katelyn and I are loving our time in Nashville. It was so fun to get away and catch up with one of my best friends and her family. Here's a picture of us at Opryland Hotel. Katelyn LOVED it! There was so much for her to look at. Katelyn met her new "cousin" Andrew. He's 8 months old. They liked hanging out together. The kids did SO good all weekend. They were real troopers.
Lori and I and the kids walked all over downtown Nashville today. Katelyn was loving the fountains.
Is this the most beautiful girl or what?? She's the best kid ever.
Just a mama and her girl.
Lori and Andrew. Aren't they lovely? Lori is such a great person and her little boy has the sweetest temperment. He just laughs and laughs.
Us and our crazy kids. Trying to get little ones to cooperate for a picture is never an easy task.
Here's Charles and Andrew.
We went and got some barbeque at a little hole in the wall on music row tonight. Yummy. After we were done we wandered around a bit. There are all these little honky tonk places with live bands playing. Katelyn kept running from door to door clapping and stomping her feet. She'd stand and dance and then run to the next door. All the bouncers were laughing at her. She was so cute. She LOVES country music...go figure. I'm going to have to lock her up in a dozen years. Back to Lexington tomorrow...the party's over.