The Zoo (Two Weeks Ago)

I had almost forgotten about these pictures, since they were on my other camera. But since there were some good ones of Kate, I figured I should post them anyway :) A couple weekends ago (April 14, I think), it was so nice out, so we went to the zoo as a family. Kate loved it, of course; she's fascinated by the animals but I think her favorite part, hands down, is the carousel and the playground. Afterward we went to The Laurel, as we usually do. She's so funny; she really remembers things now, so whenever we pull into the parking lot at The Laurel, she yells "Hot hot!" (her word for hot dogs.) Normally I am not a hot dog fan at all, but the hot dogs at The Laurel are amazing, so Kate & I always order those when we go there. It's just so funny to me that she makes the association that this restaurant is connected to a certain kind of food. So interesting to see the things they remember as they get older!

Kate's First Haircut!

Kate had her first haircut this past Saturday! I absolutely love her curls, but they were getting kind of out of control. I felt like people thought I don't brush my child's hair; I swear I do! It's just they are so, well, wild. So we took her in on Saturday for a little trim. Melissa did a great job of taming (but still keeping) the curls. Dan & I say she looks like a beautiful movie star from the 1920s. Of course, we may be a bit biased, but... ;) And Kate did so well, too; she held still the entire time and didn't fuss a bit!

Other than that, our rainy weekend consisted of cozying up at home and watching some Disney movies (I feel like our recent trip to Disney World made Kate love the princesses that much more!) and painting and coloring together. Kate loves it when Dan's home; when I said, "Kate, should we paint again?" she was quick to say "Daddy paint too!" If he's around, he has to be included in the activities. :) I'm so glad that she is both a Daddy's AND a Mama's girl!

 She kind of looks like she is clutching on for dear life...

 

 

 Such a pretty girl!

Look at those beautiful curls!

Our own little art class

I know that whatever stage Kate is in, I say it's my favorite, but I really do love, love, LOVE being the mom of a two-year-old. Aside from the tantrums, I honestly don't think the twos are terrible at all; I think they are terrific! Every day with her is an adventure, and I love all the fun little things (planned and unplanned) we do together.

Take today, for example. We had to run to Target to get some groceries, and while we were there we saw some clay garden pots and stones in the dollar section. Since they came with paint, I thought that would be a fun project to do together. And for only a dollar apiece, why not, right? We also went to the art supply aisle and got some "paint pens" (which seems like a fancy way to say markers, but whatever!) so we were well-prepared for our project.

Kate wanted to paint the ladybug garden stone, so it was up to me to do the clay pot. We enjoyed our own little art project so much, I think I'll have to go back to Target tomorrow and get some more!

 Of course painting just the ladybug wasn't enough, so we busted out the art paper as well

What a little leftie!

Our weekend

I know, my posts are a little out of order, but oh well. Better late than never, right? This past weekend was a lot of fun; Dan & I absolutely love spending time as a little family. Friday night, we watched Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs; I love that Kate is old enough now to get into the Disney movies. She loves cuddling up on the couch between us while we eat our pizza and watch the show. So I think that Friday night movies may become a tradition in the very near future!

Then Saturday was a beautiful spring morning, so we headed to Olbrich Gardens, since Kate absolutely loves running around the gardens there and looking at all the flowers. After that, we tried a new restaurant (The Fair Oaks Diner); it got mixed reviews from the Armendariz party. I thought my food was very good; Dan thought his was gross. I guess the "gross" review wins; we probably won't be back, then!

Saturday night we watched Sleeping Beauty after going to the gym, both of which Kate also really liked. She has no fear; I know a lot of kids are scared of Maleficent (or any of the Disney villains, really) but Kate just sits there with a captivated look on her face like, "Hmm, this is interesting!" It's so funny how she remembers things about the different movies, too; her review of Snow White was, "Queen bad. Snow White good. Dopey eat soap. Ewww!" Then when I ask her, "Do we eat soap?" she says, "No, only clean body and hair." Or for Sleeping Beauty, she'll say "Fairies good. Mif-cent bad. Boom [I think she's trying to say "fools"]!" as she proceeds to shake her imaginary stick at her imaginary minions (like Maleficent does). I really must get a video of it; it is absolutely hilarious! It just amazes me that my little girl is talking in (basically) full sentences, and not only that, but remembering things from movies that she has only seen once!

Sunday I went to brunch at the El Dorado Grill with my friends, so Kate hung out with Daddy that morning. He needed new shoes, so they hit up the mall, and she had fun playing in the play area there. Then when I came home, they were riding her bike out in front of our place. Dan & I both have so much fun with this girl; I can't believe she is growing so fast!

Fair warning that a lot of these pictures of not of Kate, but rather the gardens, because I was so excited about my new camera and it's phenomenal picture-taking abilities!

 Please don't fall in, Kate!

This is the garden where she was baptized not quite two years ago. It was even prettier in July with all the flowers in bloom, though!

 Trying to get Kate to look at the camera by waving to Daddy 

 She loves elephants so much

 The beautiful Thai pavilion

On to the next sight!

Playdate with Adelaide!

Kate & I had music class this morning, which is always a good time. She has so much fun there, and I can tell she really has an ear for music! She loves playing the drums, bells, wood blocks, tambourines, etc. and she is very good about repeating back beats (the teacher will say, "Ba, BA, ba" for example, and Kate is one of the only ones in the class who can repeat it back, although she's also one of the oldest though, so I suppose that is why!) I'm so glad we're taking music at the Prairie Music Academy again; it really is such a great program.

Then after music class Meghan and Adelaide came over. It is so fun to see these two girls playing together; they are finally at a stage where it seems they truly interact, instead of just doing their own thing. Kate loves her little friend; if we haven't seen them for awhile, Kate always asks about "May-may and Ad-e-lay" (that's how she pronounces their names).

 Playing so nicely with their blocks

 Aww, hugs

 

So funny; if I had wanted them to both close their eyes at the same time, I never would have been able to get them to do it!

 

They're listening to our CD from music class on the laptop, by the way

Music Class, Puppets, and a Tea Party

Kate and I have been having so much fun the past couple of days. I know I always say this, but I am so happy that I can be home with my beautiful baby girl. Our days together just fly by, and I love all our activities that we do together.

On Tuesday, we went to our music class at the Sun Prairie Music Academy. This was our second week of this session, and Kate absolutely loves it. She loves all the instruments we play (her favorites seem to be the bells, shakers, and drums), and she'll happily sing and dance along to the music. We had fun at our music class at the Children's Museum, but I think the classes at the Prairie Music Academy are way better, so I'm glad we're taking those this session.

Then after music class, we headed over to the library because although regular storytime (and Toddler Tales) is over, they were having a special "storytime with a twist," which included a puppet show. Kate loved that; so much better than last year, when she just got mad because I wouldn't let her go up and grab the puppets ;) Afterward they got to make a little craft (a tulip stuck on a green toilet paper tube for a stem), and she had fun doing that (she has fun whenever crayons and glue are involved!)

Then yesterday (Wednesday) we went to a tea party at the house of one of our Toddler Tales (and music class, too) friends. The invitation said to put them in their fancy dresses, so of course I had Kate wear her Easter dress. All the girls looked so nice in their pretty dresses, and there were a couple of boys there, too; one wore an adorable sweater vest, which was so cute. The party was so fun; we knew quite a few people from both the library and our music class, so that was nice to see them. I really do love the Sun Prairie area; I just wish it was closer to Dan's work. If it was, I'd buy a house there in a heartbeat.

Anyway, at the party, the kids played outside a lot (good thing I'm not too uptight, otherwise I probably would have had a heart attack at Kate going down the slide in her fancy dress!) She also loved the swings, sandbox, and (of course) one of those toddler cars that you can get in and drive. We definitely had to remind ourselves of the concept of sharing when it came to that toy! Otherwise I think she would have been in that thing all day. They also had some yummy snacks (although Kate was too busy playing to really notice!) and before we left we made a little craft (a cute foam Easter egg with stickers).

So we've definitely had a fun week so far. Now, on to the pictures!

Some shots from earlier in the week:

Such a beautiful outfit from Nana.




Playing dress-up in her Tinkerbell dress.


Concentrating intently on jumping. (Jumping is her new favorite pastime!)




Before music class on Tuesday in another beautiful outfit from Nana (just... ignore that mess in the background, ok? Pretend you never even saw it).


She gets so excited whenever she hears planes; she has to point them out and say, "Look! Plane!"




I'm ready for the tea party!