About Our Katie » October 2005 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Mon, Oct 31, 2005 9:00 PM
Today had to be one of the busiest days of Katie's life thus far. It started out with the Halloween Parade and Tiny Tots party at Elbow Lane. Steve and I attended both events. And since he took off from work, he and Katie had the added "treat" of being home together the rest of the day.

When I got home from work, Katie went back into her costume for trick or treating. Steve took her to the homes of select neighbors--just the people we know well. And that worked out for the best, considering that Katie walked right into all of their houses!

After that, we all hopped in the car and headed over to Nay Nay's house. While there, Katie made herself right at home and also got to meet the family's guinea pig, Bella. (Bella was a big hit with Katie, believe me!)

Then, even though it was 7:30 and a bedtime meltdown wasn't outside the realm of possibility, we shot over to Miss Mary's house for a surprise visit.

Mary, Peter, and their kids were so glad to see Katie. I am absolutely convinced Katie remembered them--even though she hasn't seen them since mid-June. When we pulled in, she was getting fussy and cranky. But as soon as she walked into their house and saw them all, she perked up. She was laughing and playing and having a BALL. When Mary grabbed her camera for a picture, her three kiddos immediately lined up on a wall--and without being prompted, Katie took her spot in between Megan and Mary Kate. It was really sweet to see. Colin kept calling her "Baby Katie," and Mary said he'll probably still call her that when she's 15! :-)

With nearly 11 hours of Halloween excitement under her belt, Katie passed out during our eight-minute ride home from the Nemeths' house. Lots of photos are posted in a special "Happy Halloween!" album.

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Sat, Oct 29, 2005 10:15 PM
We had an action-packed day in New Jersey today. First, we stopped by Mendoker's Bakery to see Aunt Shelly. Then we headed to Grandma Renee's house to celebrate her birthday. Uncle Keith, Uncle Gary and Aunt Mimi, and Cousin Kaylah came, too, and we all went out for a late lunch. Katie enjoyed visiting with everyone--after her brief (but obligatory) "warm-up" period. Of course, Kaylah is an exception to that rule! Katie takes to her instantly; it's so cute to see Katie's reaction to Kaylah--and to watch how Kaylah's big-sister instincts kick in around her younger cousin. As always, Grandma/Great Grandma sent both girls home with lots of fun goodies. (And they both enjoyed special Halloween cupcakes from Mendoker's. Suffice it to say, we were all grateful that Renee's chair cushions are machine-washable!)

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Fri, Oct 28, 2005 5:00 PM
Today was Katie's 15-month appointment with the pediatrician. All in all, it was pretty uneventful. As expected, she's still in the middle of the growth chart for height (30 1/2 inches) and weight (22 pounds, 8 ounces). She was good for most of her exam by the doctor. However, when Dr. Hutton used the tongue depressor and tried to examine her mouth, Katie went berserk. (I suspect her mouth is sore again with more teeth on the way.) The doctor remarked on how stubborn AND strong Katie is. The nurse also got to experience those traits while administering three shots!

But, as always, by the time I was making her next appointment, she was happy. In fact, they had a cash register in the waiting room that she went crazy for!

While I'm thinking of it, here are a few of her latest tricks:

* The other night at dinner, Steve demonstrated the "So Big" game. Katie picked up on it after two times. Now she LOVES to raise both arms when we ask, "How big is Katie?"

* She is also giving "high fives." Nay Nay had her doing both single and double "fives" this afternoon.

* She responds appropriately to even more commands--including "wipe your face" (assuming a napkin is within arm's reach) and "brush your hair" (this one usually results in a brush getting stuck in her mop, but that's beside the point!). She also responds to more complex commands, such as, "Let's go upstairs and do some laundry." She likes to help move clothes from the washer to the dryer. Mainly, I think she likes playing with the dryer door...

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Wed, Oct 26, 2005 8:15 AM
I just got back from taking Katie to Elbow Lane. We arrived early, so I took my time getting things settled in. While I was filling out the paperwork, Katie happily started playing with some of the other children. Suddenly, she SCREAMED at the top of her lungs. None of us knew why she yelped, but her teacher picked her up and comforted her. Then Katie reached for me. While holding and talking to her, I noticed a welt and a cut on her left arm. Sure enough--one of the other kiddos had bitten her! That's a first--and an unfortunate one at that. (When I told Steve the news, he said we need to get the names and address of the parents. I *think* he was teasing... LOL)

Anyway, here are a few other recent firsts:

* On Monday, Katie went into the lazy Susan and helped herself to some Sunmaid raisins. She pulled the packet out of the cabinet and opened the zipper herself. Then she proceeded to carry around the (full) bag while plucking out raisins to her liking.

* This morning I realized she can now walk down the steps by herself. It's a slow process that involves heavy use of the spindles, but still, I was impressed!

* More and more, she is attempting to dress herself. I just read Elbow Lane's Wednesday Update, which says kids should be able to dress themselves by age two. I think she's on track for that. She knows where everything is supposed to go, but she still needs a little assistance to slip things off and on.

On a related note, I'm issuing an APB for her right pink sneaker. It went missing two days ago and, despite an exhaustive search of our house, it's still nowhere to be found. I suppose this is the downside of her putting things on and taking them off independently. ;-)

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Mon, Oct 24, 2005 8:30 PM
Katie and I are back from our last-minute trip to Louisville. I just uploaded a bunch of photos in a separate album entitled "Impromptu Visit to Louisville." For some reason, the entire album is showing up at the bottom of the Photo Albums page. You'll have to click "View All" in the "Photo Albums" box on the homepage. Once you're viewing all the albums, scroll down to the bottom to find the new one (sorry)...

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Fri, Oct 21, 2005 12:00 PM
This morning I took Katie to Elbow Lane for the Family Day component of Fall Festival Week. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain, so the moon bounce and hayride were cancelled. However, they were able to set up the petting zoo in the covered pavilion. Not surprisingly, Katie spent the bulk of the time (a) playing with the cages, (b) messing with the hose the farm assistant was using to fill water bins, and (c) trying to leave the covered pavilion to go splash in the rain.

Nonetheless, it was nice to see Katie in "action" with her teachers and peers. Two of her teachers told me they've nicknamed Katie "The Table Lady" because no matter where they go--inside or out--she spends a lot of time getting in and out of chairs. Even today, she found her way to the picnic table where the director was filling Solo cups with animal feed. (She and I agreed that Katie thought the snacks were coming HER way...)

Speaking of Katie's love of food, she is now using the sign for "more." The first time she did it, I nearly jumped for joy. Steve got to see it for himself last night and was equally impressed. She does it really well!

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Tue, Oct 18, 2005 9:00 PM
Somebody has discovered the "moon bounce"--and LOVES it!

This is Fall Festival Week at Elbow Lane, and today the Tiny Tots class got their turn with the moon bounce. At pick-up, two of Katie's teachers told me that she was "hysterical" playing in it. They said she kept elbowing her way to the front of the line for more turns. (When I winced, they reminded me that this is age-appropriate behavior for a one-year-old.) They also said that when the whole group had moved across the field, Katie kept breaking away--and running back for more moon bounce.

Quite honestly, there have been a couple of opportunities for Steve and me to put her in one, but we thought she wasn't "ready." (Ha--shows what we know!) Luckily, Friday is Family Day at Elbow Lane. So even though she's usually home, she and I are going to go over for an hour or so. We can check out the petting zoo (I'm sure she'll want to take apart the cages like she did at Warrington Day), and I'll be able to see her love of the moon bounce for myself. :-)

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Tue, Oct 18, 2005 9:00 AM
We hit a beautiful milestone this morning at Elbow Lane: Katie ignored me.

The drop off started normally. Katie walked in on her own, carrying her own ladybug lunch bag. I opened the gate to the kitchen so that she could put her beloved bag on its proper shelf in the fridge. (She gets a big kick out of putting it in there in the morning and taking it out in the afternoon.)

But instead of sticking close to me while I filled out the day's paperwork, she dove right in and began playing independently. In fact, she paid virtually no attention to me. I wanted to make sure she realized I was leaving (the teachers all say that's important), so I kept saying, "Bye, Katie." Finally, she glanced up quickly to acknowledge me and then went back to "work."

I must say, this beats the heck out of hysterical screaming! :-)

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Mon, Oct 17, 2005 7:00 AM
Yesterday we spent the day with Danielle. It was Family Weekend at Arcadia University, so we spent some time in Danielle's suite, walked around campus (which really is lovely), and tested out the laundry facilities (to dry Katie's milk-soaked pants). Mainly, though, we just used the day as an excuse to head to the King of Prussia Mall for an early dinner and some shopping!

Katie did pretty well. We ate at Maggiano's, which has tall ceilings and a lot of built-in noise. She's now very keen on playing with (and nibbling on) the crayons you get with any kids' menu.

A not-so-quick aside: On Saturday night, the three of us went to Houlihan's for an early dinner. Katie's meal came with ice cream, and we decided to let her have some. I put a little bit of chocolate ice cream on the spoon and she ate it. But I was horrified when she scowled and violently shook her head "no." How could the granddaughter of Michael Murphy and the great-granddaughter of O.C. Stivers NOT like ice cream? Thankfully, it was a false alarm. It appears that she just doesn't like too MUCH of the cold concoction at once. When she was able to dole out her own portion size--by plunging a green crayon in the ice cream and then licking it clean--she was more than pleased with her dessert. (A word to the wise: If you are someone who doesn't care for the taste of wax and paper in your ice cream, I suggest NOT sharing with Katie for the foreseeable future!)

OK, back to Sunday... After our dinner at Maggiano's, we walked around the mall--where we discovered that Katie is fascinated not only by elevators, but also by escalators. Just ask Steve. While Danielle and I went to Starbucks and tried on clothes, he got to go up and down the escalator. Over. And over. And over...

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Mon, Oct 10, 2005 8:40 PM
Tonight at bedtime, Katie had a moment that seemed inspired by equal parts Mom and Dad. She wanted to brush her teeth. But she did NOT want anyone else to apply the toothpaste to her toothbrush. No, sir--she was going to do it herself, come heck or high water.

Trouble is, she doesn't really have the fine motor skills to manipulate toothpaste on to a brush. To her credit, she "gets" the basic process and mechanics; she just can't execute yet. So she got ticked. Really ticked. In fact, she was ROARING with frustration--but still didn't want anyone else to touch her dental treasures.

In the end, she decided to alternate between gnawing on the brush and sucking on the open tube. See what I mean about the lack of plaque removal? But at least she was pleased with herself.

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Sun, Oct 9, 2005 10:30 PM
On Saturday, Steve, Katie, and I went to Tinton Falls, New Jersey, to visit Steve's Aunt Carol and Uncle Bob, their daughter, Jayne, and her husband, Kieran. Katie had a great time! She enjoyed eating the food, playing with the family (especially Kieran!), and exploring a new house. (And Steve and I were oh-so-pleasantly surprised by her exceptionally good behavior. He theorizes that we're in a no-teething sweet spot right now.)

Katie must've been really worn out by the excitement; she fell asleep in the car at 8 p.m., slept the whole drive home, and then slept in her crib until 8 this morning! (Steve and I awoke with the same thought: "Is she still breathing?!" LOL)

Today we spent most of the day hanging around the house. It's amazing how "busy" Katie is--even in such familiar surroundings. She doesn't stop for a MINUTE. I think she was particularly excited when I emptied out and cleaned our lazy Susan and pantry. Oh, yeah--big fun, big fun (eyes rolling).

(P.S. We're four for four on the new "no-bottle-at-bedtime" routine!)

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Fri, Oct 7, 2005 5:30 PM
We had a significant milestone last night. Katie went to bed without first drinking a bottle of milk. To tell you the truth, it went way more smoothly than I expected. In fact, I got a bit insulted. It seems that without the bottle to suck down, she has no interest in our usual pre-bed snuggling-and-singing session! When I started in on a hearty rendition of "Turkey in the Straw," she pushed away, pointed to the crib, and said "Muh!"

And then she went out like a light.

We'll see if she's happy going bottle-less tonight, too.

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Wed, Oct 5, 2005 8:00 PM
I'm a bit behind on updating Katie's site. It's been busy!

We all had a nice visit with Gran, who flew in late Thursday and returned home Monday night. She and Katie got to go to a local Chocolate Festival & Flea Market, as well as to Chuck E. Cheese. Of course, they also spent a lot of time just playing at home and doing the usual "chores"--feeding, changing, bathing, and rocking. (Ahh... it was so nice to have a four-night break from the bedtime rituals!)

Gran even did all the middle-of-the-night duties. For some reason, Katie's been getting up at least once most nights. It's similar to her sleeping (mis)behavior right before she started walking. It makes me wonder if another milestone is imminent.

Speaking of milestones and other snippets, here's a round-up of the latest:

* Katie now has two--count 'em, two--bottom teeth. Her new favorite "game" is brushing her teeth. Of course, she is much more interested in noshing on the "Bubble Burst"-flavored toothpaste than on cleaning plaque. But at least she's embracing the general concept.

* She still isn't talking--other than "Whoa," "Ohhh," "Uh-oh," "Ma-ma," "Da-da," "Go," "Up," and "Muh," which is her all-purpose phrase for expressing desire. She'll point to something and exclaim, "Muh!" to communicate anything from "I want to go outside" to "I want to pet the cat," "I want my cup of water," or "I want to go in my crib." (Who knew how versatile "muh" could be!?)

* Although she isn't speaking that much, Katie's receptive language skills are really very strong. I mean, I'm no expert, so perhaps she's just normal. But the point is, she doesn't miss a beat. Even tonight, when I saw that she was, um, straining, I said, "Katie, we go in the bathroom to make a poopy." Sure enough, she trotted on in to the powder room and finished up her business. (And she walked out with a giant smile, just like Grandpa Murphy does!)

* They pat her to sleep at school, and she's taken to patting all of us, too. If I'm stretched out in the family room, she'll come up and pat very firmly and rhythmically, presumably to help me go "night-night."

* Speaking of Elbow Lane, she's now doing GREAT there. It took a full month, but from what the teachers tell me, her true personality is starting to emerge. They said she really plays hard and has a ball with the other kids.

* And, finally, she continues to be incredibly hard-headed. She seems to have forgotten the "cage" lesson of last week. Tonight she messed with the fireplace five times--and had five visits to the "penalty box." I can see this is going to be a long, long road...

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