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Tue, Sep 2, 2008 12:30 PM
Today is Katie's first day in the Meadow. As always, I took her picture at our front door. I can't get over how much older she looks. Last year, we thought she was so big. When I look at the 2007 photo now, I think she looks like a baby by comparison.

At any rate, she was in good spirits at home this morning. She was a bit "off" at dropoff, though. Perhaps it was the new building, new room, new teacher, and slightly new routine. Or it could have been a lack of sleep. She got up later than usual because we were at a neighbors' BBQ last night. She had a BALL swimming and playing, but she didn't get to sleep until about 9:30 (oops!). I'm certain that she's fine now, though. And I can't wait to hear all about her day.

Comments:
Katie H.: I hope she has a fabulous first day.

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Sun, Aug 31, 2008 10:00 PM
Katie and I returned from our week in Kentucky yesterday. (I have numerous photos, which I'll post when I'm back at my desk on Tuesday.) Among the many treasures Katie collected while in Louisville was a Williams-Sonoma cookbook for kids, a gift from Aunt Lynda and Uncle Charlie.

As soon as we got home, I started to unpack our suitcase and then jumped in the shower. That's when Katie discovered the cookbook on the bed and started flipping through it.

Soon, all I could hear from the shower was this: "I want to cook. I want to cook! I WANT TO COOK!" More specifically, Katie wanted to crack an egg--just like a kid in one of the photos. So we flipped through the pages, trying to find a recipe we might be able to make even though I hadn't been to the grocery in two weeks. She asked to make blueberry muffins, and we had all the ingredients--except blueberries.

Fortunately, we DID have a box mix for blueberry muffins that required two eggs. She combined the dry mix, water, and oil and even the eggs--cracking them into a separate bowl. As I carefully removed all the shells, she triumphantly proclaimed, "NOW I CAN CRACK EGGS-EZ!" She then placed the papers in the muffin pan and poured the batter in. (I have some photos I'll post. And, by the way, despite how they looked, her muffins tasted good!)

Today, she honed in on a different cookbook photo: a kid's hands kneading pizza dough. Once again, I found a shortcut--pre-made dough and other pizza-making supplies from Wegmans. We invited Katie's friend, Maddie, over to help make a semi-homemade pie.

I hadn't read the instructions in advance, though, so I didn't know the dough had to be brought to room temp. I kneaded it a bit and defrosted it in the microwave. To distract Katie and Maddie, I put them to work making rice pudding. After awhile, they got bored with all the stirring, so I ended up tending to the pudding. I'm not exaggerating when I say they couldn't WAIT to get their little paws on that dough. So they worked their way over to it on the counter in a cereal bowl. Before I--or they--knew it, they had managed to drop the glass bowl and dough on the floor, breaking the bowl in six pieces and rendering the dough unusable (unless, of course, you like shards of glass in your crust). Sigh.

We still have the sauce and the cheese, so I'm going to go back to Wegmans and buy a new package of dough. And tomorrow, I'll be sure it's at room temp before I let the little chefs loose in the kitchen. :-)

* * *

Somehow, Steve has developed a nasty rash over most of his body. We aren't really sure what caused it, but we suspect it was some kind of allergic reaction to food or laundry detergent. At any rate, Katie is in heaven with a real, live patient to tend to.

Last night, she kept putting ice in paper towels and then dabbing it on his red patches. (She counted them for him: "Djew hab one HUNDRED, Daddy!") She also administered numerous "pills"--a.k.a. Tic Tacs. Her Tic Tacs are particularly gross because she sucks on them until the color is gone and then returns the little white pellets to the plastic case.

Today, she continued her treatments, barking orders ("Moob on to lure belly!") all the while. She even handed me her toy cell phone with clear instructions: "Call 9-1-1-1. Tell dem dere is a durgery here."

Comments:
Susan: Yes--Mom is right. Katie insisted on keeping the cookbook just to her left and frequently "checked in" with the recipe.

The pills, er, Tic Tacs were a HUGE hit.

KYGran: You left out the part where Katie kept glancing over at the cookbook to "read" the next step while stirring the packaged blueberry muffin mix. Also, Katie and I counted to one hundred two times on the way to and from Frankfort on Friday. I'll tell Yolonda her Tic Tacs gift were a bigger hit than either of us realized.

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Fri, Aug 22, 2008 9:00 PM
Today was the last day of mini-camp. Each of Katie's two head counselors gave her a little gift. One wrote a lovely card and gave her a lollipop; the other made her a CD of her favorite tunes (which she absolutely loves). Over dinner, I was telling Steve about how Katie says she wants the same counselors again--especially the junior counselor named Alli. Unable to resist an opportunity for a joke, Steve asked Katie, "Who do you like more: Daddy or Miss Alli?" Without hesitation, Katie smiled and said, "Miss Alli."

I then decided to test her: "Who do you like more: Mommy or Miss Alli?" Katie was equally quick with her reply: "Mommy AND Miss Alli."

Smart answer.

Then Steve took it even further: "What do you like more: Daddy or dog poop?" Her answer, delivered with a big grin: "Dog poop!"

He definitely asks for it.

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Fri, Aug 22, 2008 1:00 PM
When the Summer Olympics started, Steve couldn't wait to show Katie the gymnasts in action. But instead of being captivated and inspired, she got upset. As she watched an amazing balance-beam performance, her brow furrowed. Then she nearly started crying as she proclaimed, "I can't how to do that!" We explained that she wasn't supposed to be able to do that yet, but she seemed unconvinced.

* * *

The Hannah Montana concert movie has been available on Comcast On Demand for a couple of weeks. We've logged lots of time watching the movie, which also includes a performance by the Jonas Brothers.

During one session, I casually remarked, "I don't like the Jonas Brothers." I don't really have a vendetta against the guys; I just find them vaguely irritating (especially when I'm watching them twice a day).

Katie really took my offhanded comment to heart. After that day, every time we'd watch, she'd say--with great concern--"Mommy, why djew don't like da Jonatz Brudders?" Usually, I would say, "I don't know. I just don't." The other day, I finally tried a different tact, and it seems to have put the debate to rest.

When Katie asked me why I don't like the Jonas Brothers, I just said, "Do YOU like the Jonas Brothers?"

"Leah," she said. "Dey're DOE koot!"

I resisted the temptation to comment on those hideously tight jeans, and just said, "Yeah, they are."

Comments:
Katie H.: OK, the middle one is cute, but the rest aren't.

Aunt Peggy: I'm with you Susan. I don't like them either.

KYGran: It's time for some Gran Time! A four-year-old thinking teenage boys are DOE koot! The two of us need to dig in the dirt and catch some bugs and swing and read and go out to eat and work puzzles and . . .

Alisa: Tell her they're not that cute. What about the one with the unibrow? :-)

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Mon, Aug 18, 2008 10:00 AM
If all of the Fanellis are moving a bit slowly this morning, there's good reason. This weekend was action-packed.

We kicked it off on Friday evening with a neighborhood happy hour. We had 30+ people here (about 17 of those were kids!). Everyone--including us--had a great time. For the kids, the highlights were Mr. Fanelli's fire pit (they've come to expect him to make a fire for them), a toad in our backyard, and the all-around fun of being together on a summer night.

On Saturday, the three of us headed to our final summer birthday party. This one was at Tori's house and had a Hannah Montana theme--including a karaoke machine. Katie and her friend, Rian, both demonstrated their diva tendencies. We will definitely be investing in a machine for our house (and we should invite Rian over to use it with Katie!).

The weekend concluded with my birthday, which we spent at Hersheypark. The weather was gorgeous--sunny with no humidity--but the crowds were a bit of a pain. In the end, we had a great time, and Katie met her weekly quota of rides.

I'm about to post pictures from Friday and Sunday. Unfortunately, my camera battery died at Tori's party. Her mom has offered to give me some prints from her collection. When I get those, I will scan and post them. She said she got some great ones.

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Thu, Aug 14, 2008 1:00 PM
Awhile back, after seeing the state of Katie's drawers, my mother informed me that HER mother taught her that only poor people have messy, unfolded clothes. Instead of feeling compelled to start folding (which I view as a royal waste of time and energy), I just rolled my eyes and said, "Oh, well, I guess we must be poverty stricken."

Gran should come see Katie's drawers now. After helping Steve do laundry (including folding) over the weekend, Katie has developed a keen interest in the whole process. Two mornings this week, she has done a drawer "project," emptying out a drawer to fold and re-organize its contents. So far, she's done shirts and panties. While her folding isn't quite "there" yet, she makes an impressive effort and, strangely (to me, anyway), seems to enjoy it.

Comments:
Stacey: I think we must be impoverished as well. :-) Seriously, I always feel guilty about the unfolded clothes, especially in Maddie's closet. But it's so hard to keep up with them. Little people's clothes seem especially hard to keep neat and folded for some reason.

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Tue, Aug 12, 2008 8:45 PM
I'm a little late in writing about it, but Katie's four-year well visit was last Friday.

Since she'd already had her hearing checked in May, we skipped that and just did the basic vision test. That went OK, except that the nurse automatically swapped the chart with letters for one with symbols. Quite frankly, Katie would have done better with the letters, but by the time I suggested that, she'd lost her patience with the whole thing.

This pediatrician noted that her tonsils are indeed huge, but we're already on that case. Otherwise, everything checked out fine. She now weighs in at 36 pounds (50th percentile) and is 40 1/2 inches tall (50th to 75th percentile). At the very end of the appointment, Katie also received two shots. She made quite a fuss about both. (Couldn't you hear the screaming?!)

Not surprisingly, she recovered quickly and was eager for me to "talk 'bout da djots" with Daddy, Gran, and anyone else who'd listen. Every time I talked about it, I played it up a bit, and I think she thoroughly enjoyed listening to her own "war story." (As I may have mentioned, Katie is endlessly fascinated by ANY hospital story, illness story, broken-bone story, or even doctor-visit story. She simply loves medical drama. So maybe she'll be a doctor... or a soap-opera screenwriter... or just a "Grey's Anatomy" fan like everyone else.)

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Fri, Aug 8, 2008 10:30 AM
Katie's latest passion is playing games. I think a big driver has been all of the games and activities she's learned at camp. Another contributing factor: the Strawberry Shortcake card game Gran gave her for her birthday. Katie LOVES the game, which is similar to Old Maid (instead of avoiding a "bad" card, the object is to get and keep a "good" card). Also, Steve and I bought her a four-in-one set of Dr. Seuss card games, and those have been quite a hit, too.

The common thread across all these games is that she likes to win ("I winded! I winded!" she'll shout). And she's downright Machiavellian in achieving that end. We often play her Dr. Seuss memory game on our patio table, which has a distorted-glass top. She'll lay the cards face down and casually lean down to "pet the dog" and sneak a peek at the cards. Then--miracle of miracles--she'll get a match. It's REALLY irritating, and more than once, I've just packed up the cards and told her I won't play with a cheater. (Gran says Katie should play with Ryan since they're two of a kind.)

She uses similar tactics when she "adapts" some of her camp games. The other evening, she and Steve were playing wiffle ball (it took some doing to convince Katie that her "baseball hitter" is more commonly called a "bat"). Out of the blue, she announced that we should all sit in a circle on the grass. I'm pretty sure we were playing Hot Potato: She told us that we would be passing the ball around, and whoever had the ball when the music stopped was out. But here's the thing: There was no music! She would pretend that the ball was a CD player and "turn on" a tune. And whenever SHE decided someone should be out, she'd announce, "OK, da mudic dopped! LURE OUT, Daddy!" Then, of course, I would get out--and Katie would "winded."

She hasn't been as successful in ensuring victories at camp, though. This week, they're having the Elbow Lane Olympics. There are two teams: white and red. Katie was assigned to the white team, so she has had to wear a white top every day. After Day One, the red team was in the lead. At first, she assured me, "Tomorrow da white team gonna win!" But after sleeping on it, she must not have felt quite so confident. When she dressed herself the following morning, she put on a red shirt and then told me she was now on the red team. I made her change, of course. (And, too bad for her: The white team is STILL losing.)

Comments:
KYGran: Correction: Ryan isn't a cheater. He just can't enjoy playing the game unless he wins. I attribute that to his father who is a very poor winner. Yes, winner. Changing shirt color though is exactly something Ryan would nave done when he was younger! The very young Ryan never watched a ball game on TV that "his" team didn't win!

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Thu, Jul 31, 2008 1:00 PM
Today we registered Katie for her first dancing lessons. In September, she'll start in a class called "Ballet-Jazz-Song & Dance I." For her age and experience level, there's another class that excludes singing but includes acrobatics. But since Katie will still be taking a weekly Little Gym class--and given her love of music--we figured "Song & Dance" would be the way to go.

We had been exploring the options for awhile, and after conferring with another mom, decided to go with a studio in Warminster. The location is convenient, and the studio itself looks great. Steve and I will enjoy the viewing windows, and Katie is sure to relish the massive mirror! Also, I like the fact that most of the students at this studio are from the Centennial and Hatboro-Horsham school districts. At dance, Katie will be meeting and interacting with a different group of girls than those she knows from school, camp, and our neighborhood (where the kids are mostly from the Central Bucks School District).

Anyway, Katie might prove me wrong, but my hunch is that she's going to LOVE this studio and the whole dancing-class experience. We'll be shopping for new leotards, tights, and ballet slippers soon. After we do, I'll post pics of her modeling her new dancing togs.

Comments:
Stacey: I bet she'll love it too!

Cousin Emily in KY: I am so excited that Katie will be taking dance classes! My six years of ballet are definitely still fondly remembered. I can't wait for the photos!

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Tue, Jul 29, 2008 9:30 AM
For Katie, Elbow Lane Day Camp continues to be a huge hit. Whenever possible, I still try to pick her up a few minutes early. But more and more, I arrive and she doesn't want to come home! The other day she was engaged in a heated game of Duck-Duck-Goose and had to be practically pried away.

A few other recent camp snippets:

* Katie approached Brett's mom at pick-up and informed her that Brett is her boyfriend. Why? "He makes toots on my arm!"

* One of the counselors is continually remarking on Katie's appetite. "Katie can out-eat anyone I know," Courtney said to me yesterday. Of course, Katie also out-moves everyone, so she burns up every calorie right after she consumes it.

* The Rugrats have been learning the choreography for their end-of-season music video. Apparently Katie has introduced all of her peers to the hiney-slap dance, and now they're all doing it... all the time. (Steve and I are expecting thank-you notes from the other parents. NOT.)

* Katie is still coming home with all kinds of new skills and knowledge. The other day, we realized she was doing the Chicken Dance. She also loves to "instruct" Steve and me on new games and activities, just as the counselors and specialists teach her. The other night at bedtime, she was ordering me around even more than usual. "Why are you so bossy?" I said. "Do you want to be a boss like Daddy when you grow up?" Her reply: "No, I want dat now."

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