Just hanging out

We've just been hanging out around here. So here are some pictures of day to day fun...

Katelyn was watching Elmo exercise on a DVD and she decided that she needed a headband so that she could exercise too. It was SO funny!! She's showing you her muscles.

Katelyn and Grammy doing some play dough. This child loves the play dough.

A typical Katelyn scowl. This child is sassy!

We were getting ready to go to the park this afternoon and Katelyn was just too cute not to take a picture.

Playing at the park. She always wants her sunglasses on when it's hot out. (What she really means is that it's bright out.)

Grammy came over today and is going to spend the night. She took Katelyn over to play at the mall for a while so I could get some rest. Praise God Grammy's here! Papa...we miss you and can't wait for you to get here too!!! Katelyn wants to knock you down.

I'm pregnant!!!

Well, I never thought I'd be writing this post, but lo and behold....I'm pregnant. I'm in my eighth week. We're due on February 10th. We had our first prenatal visit yesterday and the baby is half an inch big with a heart rate of 159. The doctor said everything looks great and is exactly where it should be at this point. We feel so much better after hearing all of that and now we're just excited! I've been super tired and nauseous so the excitement has been toned down by the physical lack of energy, but just wait until I feel better....


Here's the first picture of the wee one (who is the size of a raspberry this week). One little raspberry sure is doing a number on my body.

We told Katelyn last night that she is going to be a big sister. She has requested a little brother. We'll see about that....

Happy Birthday Katelyn!

It's hard to believe really, but Katelyn turned four today! Where have the last three years gone? This has been a big year for her. She started preschool. She has learned so much - letters, their sounds, how to write her name, starting to write letters and words, counting so high, talking so well, doing things for herself, getting a big girl bed. Holy cow. What a year!!

Katelyn, of course, knew exactly what she wanted. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles on top. She LOVES sprinkles and wants them on everything.

The night before preparations: Grammy and Papa got Katelyn her first big girl bike. Michael was the sweetie pie that got to assemble it.

Katelyn gearing up for the party.

Getting excited. When is everyone going to get here?? Anticipation for birthday festivities is rough when you're four.

Katelyn has been wanting Twinkle Toes shoes REALLY bad. So I found them on sale and tucked them away for the birthday. They light up when you walk, run, stomp. So Katelyn instantly put them on her feet and was running through the house watching them light up! SO FUNNY! Who knew shoes could be so fun?

Testing out the new bike. Of course I had to get a basket for the front because where else would she put her treasures? She is a GREAT bike rider already!! She really loves her new bike and I know she'll get a ton of use out of this baby.

And of course Michael is trying to show her how to stop the thing. :) I can't believe how big she is. It feels like she was taking her first steps yesterday and all of a sudden she's learning how to ride a big girl bike. Geesh.

Make a wish Katelyn. And Katelyn says, "I wish for a puppy." Yep, not gonna happen. Maybe she'll forget...

Yum, yum, yum.

What we do not have a picture of is the total meltdown that happened right before bed. It was a big, big day for the girl and she was so tired. She went to bed and fell instantly asleep. Not a peep.

Happy birthday sweet girl. Happy birthday to you!!!

A day in Maysville

On Saturday the weather was rainy in the morning up at the lake so we decided to take a little trip up the road to Maysville in the afternoon to hang out. We took Grammy out to lunch for a late Mother's Day treat and Katelyn was of course happy to go to a restaurant.

This child could eat her weight in french fries if you let her.

Katelyn and Grammy are best pals. They are the only people I know who could out talk each other. :)

Here's Katelyn in front of the mural that's down by the river.

Michael and Katelyn took a little walk out on the dock.

Here I am with all the hand prints.

We didn't play on the lake but we still had a fun day together and we kept Grammy out of trouble for a whole afternoon which is no small task.

For Papa

Papa wanted Katelyn to email him a hug and a kiss. So even better we took pictures of her sending a hug and a kiss just for Papa.

So Papa, here's a big hug....

And a big flying kiss!!!

We love and miss you!!!!

A big imagination

Katelyn loves to create things. She spelled her name with her blocks.

On Saturday we went to Michael's company picnic. They did a great job...food, music, lots of stuff for the kids. It was nice to meet some of the people he works with. It was super hot though so the inflatables and the playground surfaces were really too hot for Katelyn to play on.

She did get cotton candy (that she traded in for a brownie because she didn't really like the cotton candy). That's my girl. Go for the chocolate.

There was even a little petting zoo and Katelyn definitely liked that.

An hour after we got home from the picnic Grammy got here! And Katelyn was very excited about that.

There were nose kisses....

Katelyn and Grammy played a game where they had to keep switching chairs. Katelyn made it up. Grammy was a good sport. It made Katelyn giggle and giggle.

More hugs and kisses. I think Grammy missed Katelyn. :)

As soon as Katelyn hears the garage door open and knows Michael is home at the end of the day she runs and hides and he knows that he has to go and find her. Then they play while I finish dinner. Last night they put their blankets on like capes. Katelyn put her headlight on and Michael had her flashlight. They were super heros. If that doesn't make you smile I'm not sure what will. They were whooshing through the house. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more.

Today Katelyn built a great fort in the front room. She says it's a cave. This has kept her busy for an hour so it's fine by me.

Katelyn has a VERY big imagination!!! I love it!

A yummy day

I love Thursdays because Katelyn and I get to hang out all day. We don't have any agenda necessarily except to have a girl day. Katelyn says, "No boys allowed."

I had a coupon for a free pizza so Katelyn and I went out for lunch. $1.69 for my drink is not a bad lunch total. :) Katelyn loves cheese pizza. When I ask if she wants anything else on it she simply says, "No thanks mom. Just cheese and sauce." She always knows exactly what she wants, I'll give her that.

This afternoon Katelyn played outside for a bit.

The thing in her hand is a magnifying glass. She was running around looking for ants. She loves ants. When she finds one she picks it up and lets it crawl on her arm. Ewww...

I was finishing up dinner and looked outside and Katelyn and Michael were dancing together in the backyard. He always hums a waltz when he dances with her and sometimes I'll catch her during the day humming the same tune while she plays. So, so sweet.

Normally Katelyn could care less about dolls and her stroller. But today she marched the whole setup outside and tore around the backyard like an off road vehicle. Hillarious. I wonder if she's too young to do the mowing?

This was our dinner. Michael and I went out the other night to a great local restaurant and had a grilled zucchini "burger" So tonight we recreated the burger ourselves. The slices of zucchini were marinated in some sundried tomato vinegrette and then grilled. I sauted onions, mushrooms and bell peppers and put them on there with some sliced tomatoes and a piece of mozarella cheese on top and threw it in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Then we put lettuce and wasabi mayo on it. SO GOOD! The broccoli is from our garden and we just steamed it. Delicious dinner!

Because we tilled our compost pile in with our garden soil we now have some mystery plants growing out in the bed. I'm pretty sure this is butternut squash (We ate a lot of it this fall/winter) but we will see. It's growing really well so I just left it.

The cabbage is beautiful right now.

It's been so hot this week that we are having to hurry and harvest the broccoli because it is starting to bolt (go to seed and flower which will make it inedible.)

I really love having a garden. This is a very yummy time of year!!!

School party!

Katelyn's preschool had an end of the year party yesterday. A luau! The kids all had lots of fun. I can't believe she's already finished her first year of preschool. Geesh.

Here's the little hula girl.

Katelyn with her best friend. Silly girls.

She likes to eat and play so the party was a hit.

Here's her little class waiting oh so patiently for lunch to start.

Katelyn's teacher mad "grass" skirts for everyone. Katelyn did the hula dance for us at home last night. Yep, it was cute.