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Tue, Jan 31, 2006 12:00 PM
Whoever said "silence is golden" obviously hasn't met Katie. With Katie around, it's more like "silence is mischief."

Last week, Steve and I were talking in the family room. I heard Katie whimpering in the kitchen, but before I could get up, she stopped. So we continued with our conversation. After a few more minutes passed, we realized we hadn't heard a peep from her. Steve went to the kitchen to investigate--and found Katie sitting on top of the kitchen table, happily sipping milk. (By the way, that's what she had been whimpering for. Problem solved.)

Yesterday, as I unloaded my car and unpacked bags full of groceries, Katie was in the family room playing quietly and nicely (or so I thought). When I finally stopped to check in on her, I discovered about 25 Kleenexes arranged on the floor. It looked like a snow squall.

And then last night, all three of us were upstairs. When Steve went down to grab a late dinner, I tried to coax Katie to come down, too. But she seemed more interested in sitting in her wooden rocker and looking at some books. So I went on down and started catching up on some work. Again, after a few minutes, I realized she hadn't made an appearance--or a sound. I discovered her on the first landing of our front steps. And that would be no big deal--except that she was also carrying her wicker trash can. When she saw me, she squealed and then flung the can and its contents, which included several (dirty) diapers.

So, as you can imagine, we'll take a nice, loud ruckus over silence any day. At least when Katie's noisy, we're EXPECTING a mess. ;-)

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Mon, Jan 30, 2006 8:30 AM
Yesterday Danielle and her college buddy, Catie, came over to visit. Catie's name threw a monkey wrench into one of Katie's favorite games: "Where's Momma? Where's Daddy? Where's Danielle? Where's Catie? Where's Katie?" Katie seemed utterly unconvinced that someone else could be named Catie, too! :-)

Also over the weekend, Katie demonstrated some frightening cleaning prowess.

When I go into our powder room, she generally follows me in. Most of the time, she plays with some magazines or just hangs out. But the other day, she walked in with Steve's lens cloth (which I'm sure was her consolation prize when he refused to let her play with his reading glasses). Anyway, she started cleaning the tops of these three decorative tins that I have in there. Then--this is where it got scary--she started wiping the individual spindles of the corner shelf. And she did so with focus and precision that I've never been able to apply to any cleaning-related task.

Steve, of course, claims full credit for our little wiping whiz. He thinks she learned from observing him as he scrubs down the kitchen every night. I can only hope that, between the two of them, that chore never makes its way on to MY to-do list! :-)

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Wed, Jan 25, 2006 12:00 PM
When Steve and I went to buy the furniture for Katie's nursery, I immediately fell in love with a green-checkered swivel rocker/glider and matching ottoman. It was the perfect size with the perfect fabric. And it was so comfortable! Although the set wasn't cheap, we've never regretted the purchase. That's because ever since Katie came home from the hospital, she and I have logged countless hours in that chair.

It's been an especially integral part of her nightly bedtime routine. For the first 10 months of her life, at bedtime I sang to her while she nursed. Eventually, she transitioned to drinking a bottle of whole milk while I sang to and rocked with her. And, after she was weaned off the bottle, we would just rock together, singing or reading or doing both.

But lately, the bedtime ritual has been changing. And I'm getting the distinct feeling that my tenure with that comfy chair is over. Sniff.

One night, Katie was sitting in my lap while she "brushed" her teeth. Suddenly, she began squirming. Then she commanded "Up! Up! Up!" while pulling at my sleeve. I'm no Einstein, but I figured out her message pretty quickly: "Get outta here, Mom. I want to sit here BY MYSELF."

So now, every night we cuddle briefly while she brushes her teeth. Then I get up, and Katie gets comfy in the chair with her collection of Rainbow Fish books (four at last count!). I leave her bedroom to fold laundry or tidy up, and she "reads" quietly for five or ten minutes. When I come back in, she happily goes into her crib for "night-night."

Don't get me wrong. It's great that she's so easy when it comes to bedtime. But, I can't help missing that chair. ;-)

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Sun, Jan 22, 2006 3:30 PM
We had a great milestone this morning: Katie attended her first social birthday party. Ask her to spell "heaven" and I think she'd say, "G-Y-M-B-O-R-E-E." In other words, she had fun--lots of fun.

The party was for her classmate, Nikki's, second birthday. Nikki's parents invited all the Tiny Tots from Elbow Lane, as well as the kids from Nikki's playgroup.

Steve and I really enjoyed watching Katie interact with her Elbow Lane classmates. Boy, she really dives right in and enjoys herself! As soon as we arrived, she took off to do her own thing. And she basically did that the whole time--with periodic visual checks to ensure we were still there. Meanwhile, we got to talk some more with the other parents, which was great.

Katie loved everything about the party--the padded and wooden play equipment,the musical instruments, the parachute, and all the bubbles! She also had a "big thrill" during the snack/cake time. She drank (or should I say "sucked down"?!) her first juicebox. As if the sugary taste weren't enough, the box had Sesame Street-themed graphics!

Of course, as usual, I forgot to bring any bibs. So while most of the other kids were neatly covered (and their moms were continually wiping the chocolate cake from their faces), I just let Katie have at it. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died before I could get any good pictures. You can see the pictures I DID get in a special photo album entitled "Nikki's Birthday Party - January 2006."

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Sun, Jan 22, 2006 12:30 AM
Katie has been doing some really cute things lately:

* For starters, she warmed her sister's heart last weekend. When Danielle walked in, Katie immediately stopped playing with her toys on the floor, stood up, and walked over to give her an enthusiastic hug.

* Katie has also taken a strong liking to group hugs. She had Gran and Grandpa doing them on demand last weekend. And, once they left, she started asking Steve and me to do them, too. (Often, a group hug follows one of our family hoe-downs, where we all dance to the music on her Fridge Farm toy.)

* Her latest Daddy trick is delivering his famous pink blanket (which is actually one of Danielle's old comforters). He'll say, "Brr! Daddy's cold!" Just like that, Katie heads to the closet to retrieve his cover. (One morning--shame on me--I had the nerve to use DADDY's blanket. Katie promptly took it off of me and returned it to its rightful owner. Fortunately, she also went and got me a replacement.)

* These days she is very much into identification. One of her favorite things is to point to me (we say, "Momma!"), then to Steve ("Daddy!"), and then--last but not least--to herself ("Katie!"). We can do four or five rounds of this at a time. And she always smiles the biggest at the sound of her own name.

* Yesterday for the first time, she started singing "Row Row Row Your Boat." The song is featured in one of her books, and we've been reading/singing it for quite some time. But now she walks around proclaiming, "Row, row, row."

* When Danielle stopped over yesterday, Steve did "Daddy Monster" to her; Katie thought that was HILARIOUS. After Danielle left, she took the game to a new level. Katie went over to the entryway where the monster begins his attack. Then she commanded her dad to come over there, too. Together, they attacked me on the couch. Whenever Steve sat back down, Katie grabbed his hand and commanded, "Up! Up! Up!" (Much like her approach to the word "hot," she puts a lot of hilarious facial expressions and head movements into saying "up!")

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Tue, Jan 17, 2006 12:00 PM
Gran and Grandpa left for Louisville early this morning. I know Katie will miss them! She had a great time playing, reading, eating, and snoozing with them.

Even though they were in town, we sent her to school yesterday to maintain her routine. When Gran and I went to pick her up (early, of course), Katie ran not to me--but right to her grandmother! I think she knows where her bread is buttered, eh?

A couple other snippets:

* I made the mistake of buying some snack bars at Genuardi's over the weekend. They're organic and low in calories and sugar. But they're still snack bars--not exactly the best dietary choice. Naturally, Katie loves them and wants to eat them to the tune of three or four per DAY. (She doesn't get that many--at least not from me--but she sure tries!)

* Yesterday while looking at an animal book, she pointed to a turtle and exclaimed, "DER-duhl!" I couldn't get her to repeat it, but I like to think it wasn't a fluke. ;-)

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Thu, Jan 12, 2006 11:00 AM
Thankfully, Katie's stomach bug is over and she's back to normal. A few quick anecdotes:

* Katie's teachers told me that the other day the Tiny Tots and Twos were out for a walk near one of Elbow Lane's pools (which I'm sure are empty now). While the other kids were veering off course to stomp in the mud, Katie fastidiously remained on the concrete "border," keeping herself nice and clean. (Steve Fanelli, anyone...?)

* I had tucked her "name" puzzles (the KATHERINE, ELIZABETH, and FANELLI ones) into a drawer. Last night she found them and had a ball playing with them. After putting all the letters in place--except for the "L" that Angel gnawed into a spear ;-)--she plucked the "A" from each of her names. She then lined them up in a row on the floor and began to examine them. (That's got to be a sign of genius, right? Ha, ha...)

* Later, Steve was playing "Daddy Monster" with her. In case you aren't familiar with this game, it involves Steve snorting and stampeding like a bull from across the room. (Danielle can tell you ALL about this game; she has over 20 years of experience with it!) Anyway, Katie LOVES Daddy Monster. Every time Steve finished, she signed "more" and said "mo!" Sometimes she'd even rub my tummy to add "please" to her request.

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Mon, Jan 9, 2006 10:00 PM
Katie seems to be under the weather. She's had some, ah, diaper issues the last couple of days. And, her care providers reported that she ate virtually nothing at school all day; they said it's VERY unlike Katie to turn down her snacks! The good news is, she's still drinking plenty of fluids.

But, even so, tonight at home she was very listless and clingy. We're going to keep an eye on her; she may end up staying home tomorrow if she doesn't seem better.

She did something cute this afternoon. She wanted me to do something for her, and Danielle reminded her to "say 'please, Mom.'" For those who aren't familiar with baby signs, rubbing one's chest is the official sign for "please." But Katie switches off between her chest and her belly. And, today, she translated Danielle's suggestion literally--coming over and rubbing MY belly: "Please, Mom."

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Thu, Jan 5, 2006 9:00 PM
Wow, I've been asleep at the wheel of this blog. Now that the holiday hubbub has passed, I'll try to do a better job of updating.

For those of you who don't already know, in 2006, we're shifting into a new mode of life in the Fanelli household. I've left my full-time job at Launch International and am focusing on my freelance writing business (which I've been doing on the side for almost five years). However, Katie is still going to Elbow Lane. (If you think it's possible to prospect, research, interview, write, and edit with a toddler underfoot, you've obviously never tried it!) The good news is, she has a shorter day now, which she already seems to appreciate.

Ultimately, we're hoping that having me home and focusing on just one job instead of two will result in a more peaceful home environment. And, I know Steve is ever-so-excited that I can now handle little "odds and ends" during the week--freeing up our weekend for more important things, like watching Lifetime movies! ;-)

At any rate, here's a quick roundup of some recent Katie comings and goings:

* She has learned the word "no"--in a big way. Sometimes she goes for your basic, garden-variety "no." Other times, she shakes it up with either "No-no-OH-no" or a dramatic shake of her head--or both. Actually, "no" seems to be an all-purpose word for her right now. She uses it to express desire (so much for "muh"!) and to show anger or frustration (to be polite, I'll type that as "@#!").

* She still loves music and dancing. Last week in the car, Danielle was playing air saxophone while Katie did a mean car-seat piano to Ray Charles' "The Mess Around." And, tonight after dinner, she dragged both of us to the Amana, where she pressed the "Farmer Tad" button on her Fridge Farm toy and proceeded to dance to the banjo. She REALLY gets into it--hopping, spinning, and twirling.

* She does rudimentary animal noises for cows ("mmm"), pigs (she "snorts" by blowing out through her nose), and dogs ("hff hff"). She digs cats and frogs, too, but doesn't have "meow" or "ribbit" down yet.

* She signs "please" ALL the time. However, I'm convinced she thinks "please" is synonymous with "now"--as in "milk NOW!" She also does the sign for "more," and increasingly uses it where "again" would really be more appropriate.

* And, finally, her latest book obsession is an adaptation of a jump-rope rhyme about a lady with an alligator purse. She wants to read it a minimum of 10 times every morning. If you aren't familiar with it, just give me a call; I can recite it from memory even while sleeping.

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