I am experimenting with using iWeb instead of the more complicated, however more standard Wordpress. It is a hard decision… but until then, meet us here:
Thanks!
I totally intended to write about all of our adventures in the moving process and any goodbye notes from our friends in Orlando, but… life and moving and everything really really caught up with us.
August was probably the longest and shortest month…since the month Katelyn was born. We were super-organized, but still, some stuff had to happen at certain times, so it got insanely busy near the end before our big move. Katelyn fared pretty well, but got REALLY clingy, wanting UP UP UP pretty much constantly, which made things tricky, as I am trying to get things done with a monkey on my arm or on my back in the Ergo or sling.
The short version, we survived an overnight drive, not something I ever want to do again, with a toddler or otherwise. We are now here in Virginia, and settled. We’ve been doing the tourist thing up in “The District” and having a great time! I will post a link to pictures from our advnetures soon — inlcuding pictures ofthe apartment.
Soon, we will be journaling our adventure as “just the two of us” while Michael is away!
We went to Uno’s today with some old friends (Lisa, Alice, Parker, and “Nana and Sissy!”) which was great. It is always fun to catch up with folks that you used to see every day. Well, Lisa’s son, Parker decided he wanted to try some anchovies. Ew. Well, one look and one sniff changed his mind real quick. (I don’t blame him!). Katelyn is always a good sport and is willing to at least TRY something once. Well, Lisa cut a little piece of anchovy off and gave it to Katelyn and she said MMMM!!! The child ate a whole anchovy. She decided that one was enough, though and spit out the first bite of the second fishy. EWWWWWW.
The great thing about living in Florida? It's pool weather pretty much 90% of the year. We spent the afternoon splashing in the pool, swinging and just enjoying being outside with out good friends Laura and Jeremiah. What fun! It's time to get our pool set up so we can splash right in our own yard!
Katelyn has still been requesting Signing Time pretty much daily. We let her watch, she’s obviously learning lots! Today she signed please for the first time. We were eating dinner, and she wanted more. She said and signed “More!” then Michael said and signed “More, please?” and she responded by signing please!
Teaching her to sign has been such a great idea. I am so glad that we stuck with it and that she really “gets” it. It is really great being able to communicate with her. On that note, I think I am going to try and learn some more specific food signs — like cranberry (for Craisins), waffle, bread/sandwich, peas…
Katelyn has taken to climbing up on the coffee table. Yikes! Now she just needs to learn how to get down!
nuff said.
Wow. What a day.
You hear people say, "oh to have the life of a baby."
They forget, babies get teeth. These sharp, painful, bulging, throbbing things intruding into thier tender little mouths, and they have no idea what the heck these things are.
Katelyn has been working on pushing out TWO molars at the same time. Today has probably been the roughest teething-wise since she got her first little chicklet poking through many months ago. I've decided that if she wants to veg in front of the TV and watch Baby Signing Time to get her mind off her mouth, and doing so is the only thing that will keep her from howling, then guess what, VEG OUT kiddo!
(Katelyn asks for Signing Time by swinging her arms sort of like signing "baby" and saying beebee, beebee!)
Katelyn has a case of the sillies today!!! We were driving to Old Navy to pick up a shirt to applique for a present, and Katelyn had too much fun. We stopped at a light, and Katelyn was waving and saying "aaaaaayy!" (hi) to a group of great-grammas in a minivan next to us. Then, as we were pulling in to the shopping center, I heard "haaaa! uh…. haaa!!" over and again. I peeked back in the rear view and she was lifting up her shirt, playing peek a boo with herself! So silly!
Later, after Daddy got home, the sillies continued. Michael was on the phone with a friend and Katelyn came running at him, stopped and said "rarrrrrr!!!!" and then laughed like she was the funniest little thing on earth.
She is.
Whew, what a whirlwind past few days!!!
On Katelyn’s actual birthday, which was Friday, we had to make a visit to the Dr. She had her first ear infection this past week, and the Doc treated it with Amoxicillin. Well, Miss Katelyn is apparently ALLERGIC to it! She broke out in a terrible rash all over her body, just in time for her birthday. Dr Elias just wanted to wish her a happy birthday… heh… So, Benadryl and probiotics, it is!
Later, Opa (Michael’s Opa) Oma and Grandad came to visit and celebrate. We had pink-iced Angel Food cupcakes (which Katelyn devoured, not even putting it down for a second, not dropping a crumb to the dogs.) and dinner out at CPK.
Katelyn opened some of her presents (she pulled the wrapping paper off carefully, handing me pieces as it came off), including a super-soft stuffed dog from Opa that she kissed and hugged over and over again, and carried around by his ear, a little baby doll from Oma and Grandad which she also kissed, hugged, snuggled and… chewed on…, a cute book - “Who Says Baa” that she…tried to eat… as well as a Wash Bear puppet for tub time and some much needed PJs. From Momma and Daddy, the Ann B Dextrous manipulative toy from Discovery Channel, weird looking thing that it is, she likes it!
Saturday was her big party! Friends and family joined us from all across the state! Some were sadly missed because of their distance, but we ate extra cake on all of you’s behalf. 
We had a nice spread of food and some yummy virgin sangria for lunch, and Winnie the Pooh birthday cake for dessert, of course. Katelyn plunged in to her own personal cake, picking carefully at first, then getting a bit wierded out at the frosting all over her hands, and eventually smearing the frosting all over her face like a spa mask.
Presents were plentiful and fun, and not too many obnoxious noisy toys… (Thanks, Uncle Jason! hehe) Some highlights were Finney and Hazel the reindeer (Which were actually really belated (or really early hehe) Christmas presents, but whatever, she loves them), a couch just her size that both Katelyn and her buddy Jeremiah enjoyed bouncing and climbing on, BALLS and books. When she opened the books, she pulled them out, then grabbed one and sat on Michael’s lap. “reee!” she exclaimed!
Many pictures were taken, we will post them soon, but now, it’s time to recover!