Making up for lost time....

I am so sad that I have let so many months go by since my last post. How did that happen?! It is now December 23rd, and we are all anxiously awaiting Christmas!!

We blinked and Kathryn will be 18 months old on the 26th of this month. I always laughed when people would tell me how fast they grow up- but it is so very true!! I am not even sure where to start how much Kathryn has grown and changed since our last post. I think the easiest way is to simply post our Christmas letter for this year. I think it about says it all.

I do feel like I need to take some time to tell what Kathryn is up to now! We are most impressed with the rediculous amount that she talks!! She repeats just about anything we say- and speaks very clearly. When she wants something she says "please" and when she gets it she says "thank you" with little or no prompting. We are simply amazed at how much our little girl has grown!!! It makes me excited and a little sad at the same time.

Kathryn's 17 month stats:
* LOVES to talk!! Can say about 30-40 words. First real word (not just babbling mama and dada was "mommy". We will never forget that night- it was a couple of days after her first birthday. She woke up with a raging 102 fever- that later developed to 105!!! We had to put her in a cold bath with me to cool her off- she was lying on my chest and murmred "mommy" in the most pitiful little voice. My heart nearly broke. I would have done anything to make her pain go away. We later found out that she had Roseola... aparently it is pretty common in little ones and the number one symptom is an out of control fever!!

* First Sentence was at 17 months: "where is Maddie AND Dooley"? She is so cute when she asks questions. She puts her hands in the air and shruggs her shoulders. It is amazing that they even absorb body language!!! She loves to jabber!! We can now understand about 80% of what she says- but on occasion she will get going and we have no idea what she jabbers about!!! I was so proud earlier today when she asked for some cheese. I asked her "what do you need to say"- and she said "please"! Then she said "thank you" after I gave it to her! It is the little moments that make me so proud!

*Nicknames (I will add pronunciations where they are needed): Me: Mommy, Joel: Daddy and sometime Joel (I think it is too cute!), Maddie: Maddie, Dooley: Doowee, William: Wee Wee (no, we did not teach her this!), Caroline: Cee Cee, My Mom: Mommy bea (code for: Mama Bear) or pops, or poppy, My dad: Poppy or pops(although the other kids call him Papa bear), Joel's dad: Pops, Joel's mom: pops, and some other things that we can't figure out!, Loren: Uncie (pronounced: "un-k-ie", Allie: Ayie (pronounced: "A-yee", Becca: Bec, Miller: Miur (pronounced: "mi-ur").

*Big News: We finally got our first haircut!! Kathryn was successfully growing a baby mullet. It was not the most pleasureable experience- and I had to hold her- but we got the job done! I hope we have a little while before the next haircut event!!

*Favorite Foods: Alaways changing! Just b/c she eats something today- does not mean she will eat it tomorrow! Consistant favorite foods: Cheese, apples, pasta, bananans, yogurt smoothies, dogfood (totally gross, I know), cheerios, beans (espcially black eyed peas), and ice (weird, I know), ice cream and french fries will ALWAYS be on her favoirte list (I know, I know, we are terrible parents!!). You would never know that our little girl started at tiny 5 lbs! She has a nice little belly that shakes when she laughs like a bowl full of jelly!!

*Teeth: we have 8 on top- and until 3 weeks ago- only the bottom 2 front teeth. She is not a great teether. We always know when one is erupting... she gives us a wake up call about 2am- and it is not pretty. That brings us to sleep....

*Sleep: Thankfully she has my sleeping genes and sleeps like a champ when we don't have any teeth interuptions! She usually goes to bed between 8:00-8:30 and sleeps until 8:30 or 9am!!! I NEVER thought we would EVER see this day! She is now down to one good nap a day. She usally naps for about 2-2 1/2 hours a day- usually aroung 1-3:30pm. I am FINALLY able to do my real job and get some work done most afternoons- I had forgotten what that felt like for about 15 months!!!!

* Animals and Numbers: She now knows MANY animals and the sounds they make: Dog (obviously!), cat, tiger, dinosaur, pig, duck. Other animals she can say: sheep, fish, mouse (Micky Mouse- yes, she can say Mickey too). We are most impressed that she can count to 10!! We work with her in the bath tub counting her toys- she takes a little prompting- but she can get all the way from 1-10!! Joel thinks she is a genius!!

*She announced that she was poopy last week. The walked by me saying "poopy, poopy, poopy"- sure enough- I checked her and she was poopy. I would like to think that this means she might potty train early- but I guess we will just have to see!!

* Favorite Shows- used to be a big fan of Micky Mouse Club House- but now she LOVES Seasame Street. Her code name for Elmo is "augie"- pronounced "au-g-ie". We have no idea where she came up with that name- but we just go with it!! She has started to learn the character's names: Cookie, Big bird, and Abby to name a few.

*LOVES TO DANCE!! She stands in place and sticks her booty out and squats up and down. I think she has inheritied her daddy's dance moves! It is scary how good her rythm is! Her daddy is going to have to beat those boys off with a stick one day!!!

* LOVES: Maddie and Dooley. They are her best buddies!! They sit right beside her at meal time and anxiously await any bites they can get! We always know when Kathryn is finished eating: She leans over her chair and begins to feed the dogs by the handful! It is their most favorite time of the day!! We are working on stopping that behavior b/c Kathryn will do the same thing in resturants where there is no 4-legged vaccumes!! She loves to sit on Maddie's back and ride her like a horse.

Maddie has done unbelieveably well with Kathryn. She let her ride, pet, and chase her. When Maddie has had enough- she quietly slips upstairs for a nap (I think she secretly hopes Kathryn won't notice!). Dooley and Kathryn love to play. Kat loves to take bones to her while she lays on her bed- then she will promptly take them back. This made us super nervous when Kathryn started this behavior.... but Dooley is amazing with her!!! They are a little pack- and I am so excited to say that I believe Kathryn is the pack leader. Maddie and Dooley always back down to her- and let her have her way! Ceaser would be so proud!