Art Class & the Zoo

We had such a fun weekend. I know I always waver back and forth on what my favorite season is, but it's been confirmed; it's definitely spring. And this was the perfect spring weekend!

Friday we had art class again. We painted, which Kate absolutely loves (and it's quite messy, but hey, what can you do). Afterward we went to this yummy restaurant called Brocach and met Meghan and Adelaide there. Kate always has so much fun when Adelaide is around!

Sunday we went to the zoo as a family. Kate absolutely loves seeing all the animals; her new favorites seem to be the "mah-mee" (monkey) and "raf" (giraffe). And of course a lot of time was spent in the play area; she absolutely loves the slides there. It's so much easier when there's two of us, too, since Dan can walk her up the stairs and then I can catch her (or vice versa). I love our little zoo; it's not the biggest, but for being free, it's really quite nice! Afterward we ate at the Laurel, always one of my favorite places. All in all, it was the perfect spring weekend. And this week, Grandma Gail will be coming to celebrate her birthday with us, so Kate is very excited about that!

At art class:










At the zoo:





















She saw the ropes and we had to stop and bounce them, just like in Toddler Tales




Admiring the giraffes

Art Class!

Well, we finished up our Parent/Child Exploration Science Class; the last one was on February 17, which we actually weren't able to go to because we were so busy getting ready for her party! We made three out of the five classes, though (we missed the other one because we were in Utah) and we had a blast. She loved sorting things, categorizing things, etc.; I never would have thought that sorting through a bin of wine corks, pinecones and the like would entertain her, but it did! And she of course loved the water exploration days, too (thankfully I brought an extra outfit!)

So now we're on to art class. We just had our first one on Friday, March 2, in the same room as her science class. Of course when she walked in she shouted, "Wa-wa!" (water), probably because she was remembering the science class! When she realized it was art, though, she had just as much fun. We played with this modeling clay that was very neat (toddlers and messes don't really mix!) and easy to mold. The kids had so much fun sticking feathers, beads, etc. in the clay to make something pretty. Although, when Kate realized I could make a ball with the clay, well, that's all she wanted to do for the remainder of the class. :)

I'm so glad that they have these classes for the really little kids; it seems like everything is geared for three-year-olds and up. But we have so much fun going to these things; it's fun for us to spend time together, and we also inevitably meet some new friends for the both of us.

So then of course that night, she wanted to do more art, so I let her play with some of her washable paints. She's quite the budding artist.


Such a pretty girl (with such wild hair!)








Such a little leftie!


This morning playing around with her Bitty Baby outfit. Dan says she looks like a little baker; I think she looks like a soldier from the 1800s ;)

She's Two!

On February 18, my sweet baby girl turned two. I swear it was just yesterday we were driving home from the Madison Birth Center on a sunny February Friday morning, looking at each other like, "Hm, we have a baby now." The next couple of months were filled with uncertainty (Are we doing the right things? Should she be crying this much?) as well as complete and utter bliss. I always knew I wanted to be a mom. But I could never imagine the depths of love and joy I would feel as I held my sweet baby girl while she slept, or cuddled with her during one of her many marathon nursing sessions. And now two years have flown by! She's walking, talking, and reading many of her letters and numbers (she can even count to 10 now, although the number seven inevitably gets skipped every time). How did we go from having a tiny, six-pound, 11 ounces newborn who didn't do much except eat, sleep, poop and cry (oh, yeah, and wrap us completely around her little finger the very first time she looked into our eyes), to a beautiful, sweet, caring, loving, intelligent two-year-old? I'm not ready for her to be growing up so fast!

And yet I'm enjoying every stage she's in. Of course the newborn stage is amazing; there is nothing else like it. Holding her for hours on end, soaking up everything she did (even though it wasn't much); that was all the entertainment I needed. Then the baby stage; if that's not fun, I don't know what is. Their silly laughs and giggles, the excitement you feel when they roll over or crawl or walk for the first time; I miss it already.

But now we've entered the wonderful toddler years. And, despite what some may say about the toddler years being terrible, I'm loving it. I love that we can actually play together now; in fact, just this morning, we made a "salad" together with her new play food she got for her birthday, before building a lego plane and then reading some of her new books. I love being home with her. I love the classes (music, science and art) we take together, the story times at the library, our play dates with friends. I love watching her play with her "babies" and feed them, rock them, and put them to bed. I think it's amazing she is so caring and nurturing towards her animals, and I find it fascinating that she has been completely enamored with music practically from day one. This is certainly a wonderful thing, being the mother to a sweet, energetic, spunky toddler!

So while it is still hard to believe I have a two-year-old, I'm enjoying (almost) every minute of it. Daddy & I love you more than anything in the world, Kate! You know that book we sometimes read together called Love You Forever? Remember how it says, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always; as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." That's exactly how Daddy and I feel about you, Kate, and that will never change. No matter how many birthdays you have!

Now, onto the party. The theme was Pink Poodle in Paris, and it turned out quite well, if I do say so myself. Our menu was mini quiche Lorraine, berries with an anglaise cream sauce, and cheese and crackers. Oh, and pizza. Not exactly French, but who doesn't love a good pizza? Instead of a cake, we just had Red Velvet and Chocolate cupcakes. The Red Velvet cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting are absolutely amazing. Kate certainly enjoyed hers!


Waking up from her nap (yes, she wanted to sleep in her lion backpack and purple sunglasses). Hopefully she got enough rest before her party starts at 4:30!


A close-up of the plates and napkins


Yummy cupcakes! And I love the cupcake toppers my mom found at Grand America; there were four types (Eiffel Tower, Arc D'Triomphe, and two different poodles). Worked well!


A close-up of some of the toppers




Our favor bags. I bought an Eiffel Tower cookie cutter from amazon, made sugar cookies, frosted with them pink cream cheese frosting, and then Dan decorated them to have the criss-cross look of the Eiffel Tower. We also put in some Hershey's kisses that I got at the post-Valentine's Day sale at Target.




Kate and Katrina playing with her new farm


The spread (minus the pizza)


A close-up of the four plates I used to serve the cupcakes


I love these centerpieces I did; I just got four of my really pretty, vintage looking teacups (I collect them) and filled them with four roses (two cream, two pink). I think it added a definite elegant, Parisian flair.






I'm ready for my birthday party, dressed in a classic two-year-old style! (Don't ask me why she has a pumpkin headband on in February)


"Are you guys eating these cupcakes? They're amazing!"


Three generations


After the party, relaxing with Skunkle






My mom, Tracy, and Chris


Happily playing with the new farm TT & Skunkle gave her


So happy to have an Elmo coloring book (Elmo is by far her favorite Sesame Street character)


Adelaide trying on Kate's gorgeous new apron from Aunt Janet and Karen


Think I'm ready for two? I must say, it is fun spending time with Kate and Adelaide; it's very cute to see how they interact. I think maybe we should think about adding a second one to the mix...


Nana and her girl




She loves her new kangaroo and the book that came with it (Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, too?)


Kate loves her Bitty Baby from Nana!

Our Trip to Utah

I know, I know, I should be posting about her birthday. But, since I want to go in chronological order (and I finally have time to update my blog), I am going to post about our trip to Utah first.

We flew out on Tuesday, January 31, and Nancy picked us up from the airport. We of course went to the Spaghetti Factory to eat, and then headed to Ogden. Over the next couple of days, we went to our favorite restaurants (The Bistro 258--twice!--Union Grill, Karen's Cafe, and Tepenyaki for my mom's birthday), and we were able to spend a lot of time with Nancy, which is always fun. We spent time at the park with Grandpa, and also went to Angie's house to play with Brooklyn. It was so fun to see those two girls together! They had a lot of fun playing, although I can tell that the concept of "sharing" is one we will have to work on quite intensively over the next few years.

We flew home very, very early Monday morning (February 6) and Dan picked us up from the airport. Kate was so excited to see him!








"Shhh... I'm concentrating"









Whee!