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Thu, Mar 30, 2006 9:00 AM
If you need to be put in your place, just ask Katie.

This morning, when I saw Vito on the kitchen table (he was inspecting a vitamin I'd just put there), I scolded him to get down. Seconds later, Katie walked over to him, wagged her pointer finger, and admonished, "No! No!"

At Elbow Lane this morning, one of the other kids was in Katie's space, trying to touch the half-door that separates the classroom and the kitchen. Katie also gave HER a dramatic wag of the finger and a firm "No! No!"

Now, if only she'd listen when WE say "No! No!" Instead, she usually does one of her devilish expressions while nodding her head "Yes! Yes!"

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Wed, Mar 29, 2006 8:20 AM
The Friday before last, it was pleasant enough outside that I took our stroller and walked to Elbow Lane to pick up Katie. She must've loved it; when I mentioned walking to school this morning, she couldn't get into her stroller fast enough.

Now that spring has (finally!) sprung, I'm hoping to do this regularly. It's a great way for me to get at least one 30-minute walk a day. And Katie enjoys it thoroughly. She doesn't make a peep the whole time; she just looks around in wonder and awe.

The only downside is having an empty stroller on one leg of the trip. I encounter plenty of traffic, and sometimes people look at me like I'm either a bag lady* or some lunatic would-be mother taking her imaginary baby for a walk.

*If you saw me in the mornings, you'd understand why someone might think that!

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Tue, Mar 28, 2006 8:15 AM
Yesterday when I arrived at Elbow Lane, Katie and her friends were outside playing in a large field. When she spotted me talking to Miss Sue, she quickly turned the other way and headed further away from us. She continued ignoring me--despite little Gabrielle repeatedly grabbing Katie's arm and pointing at me. (They were too far for me to hear, but I'd bet Gabby was saying, "Key-tie ma-ma! Key-tie ma-ma!" That's what she usually says when she sees me.) Eventually, I had to (literally) chase Katie down and carry her out to the car.

Once we got home, she immediately wanted to play outside. No one was hanging out by the Wurstas' swingset, but Katie heard voices at play down by the Seiders' trampoline. She proceeded to take off into the woods (I followed) and then joyfully "announced" her arrival to Kayla, Alyssa, Heather, Julia, and Max. I have to say, all of these grade-school kids are SUPER good to Katie. They included her in a toned-down trampoline session, and then she and I played for a few minutes on the Seiders' swingset before heading home for dinner.

This morning, she took me by surprise. First of all, she climbed into my car on her own. (Granted, that would be a more impressive feat if we had a Suburban instead of a Highlander--but still!) Then I laid low and watched as she made her way up into the car seat--completely on her own. It took some doing for such a little person; suffice it to say, all the outdoor playtime and gym classes seem to be paying off already!

P.S. Thanks to the Lotrimin, her hiney is rapidly healing.

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Mon, Mar 27, 2006 9:00 AM
Katie had a bit of a rough weekend. On Friday evening, she developed what appeared to be a horrendous diaper rash. All weekend, the rash didn't budge--even though Katie spent hours diaper-free and received plenty of applications of our usual "miracle" cream (Desitin mixed with Ammens Medicated Powder).

This morning I called the pediatrician, and he said it sounds like yeast--not garden-variety diaper rash. He told me to get some Lotrimin (an anti-fungal--blech) and apply that three times per day. It should be improved by Thursday and completely cleared up within seven to ten days. (I sure hope so!)

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Thu, Mar 23, 2006 8:30 AM
Of course, as soon as I posted our nightly rituals, they began to change. The latest development? "Ring Around the Rosie."

Steve spontaneously started this on Monday, and Katie didn't forget. After dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, she grabbed each of us while shrieking "Ree! Ree! Ree!" She made us form the circle and sing the ditty over and over...

Not surprisingly, her favorite part is when we "all fall down."

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Mon, Mar 20, 2006 8:00 AM
Last night, while I was in the powder room, Katie came in and joined me. First, she brought in one of her miniature plastic chairs. Then, she pulled down her pants (not all the way, though--more like "plumber's crack!"). And, then she selected a magazine from our basket and sat down on the chair to "read" it. I would've asked Steve to take a picture, but hey, that could get a little embarrassing! (On a more serious note, we have been talking to her about the concepts of using the potty, but that's all.)

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Sat, Mar 18, 2006 12:37 PM
A few more while I'm at it...

* On Monday, we all went to the peridontist for Steve's follow-up appointment. After that, we stopped at a local diner for a quick bite. As usual, Katie INSISTED on pushing her own high-chair to our booth. When it was time to go home, Steve couldn't convince her that we could just leave it there. She pushed it all the way back to the front. ("Bring her back when she's 17," the host said. "We'll put her to work!")

* Steve wanted to get his car washed after class this morning. Rather than drive all the way to our usual place in Horsham, we went to a drive-through car wash near the Little Gym. As we rode through--with the water, soap, and giant rags "attacking" Steve's car--Katie made some PRICELESS faces. She LOVED it.

* During a quick lunch at Genuardi's today, Katie got her hands on a little container of honey mustard dipping sauce. No biggie, right? Wrong. While Steve and I finished eating, she managed to create a mustard explosion on her face, hands, and dress. After we cleaned HER up, we turned our attention to the table and floor. Meanwhile, Katie was literally climbing a three-tier wooden display! (It was empty, at least.)

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Sat, Mar 18, 2006 11:30 AM
Just a few quick updates:

* During a recent visit to Baskin Robbins, Katie ate an entire kid-size serving of rainbow sherbet. She fed it to herself--scooping out every last bit. (We thought surely half of it was in the high-chair, but she'd eaten it all.) On Monday, Rita's is doing their annual first-day-of-spring giveaway. Something tells me Katie will love her free serving of water ice!

* One night this week, I was making myself a cup of hot cocoa. Katie saw what I was having and started asking for "coh-coh-coh-coh." So I took some of her whole milk, added a TEENY bit of Nestle Quick, and then microwaved it just to take the chill out. Of course, she loved it. (Actually, Steve just came in and told me after he gave her a cup of milk, she brought him the yellow Quik container. He put a TEENY bit in and gave it to her. No dice, though. She rejected his concoction until he added more chocolate powder.)

* One day after school this week, she demanded to "cuh! cuh! cuh!" ("color"). I gave her a stack of paper, some crayons, and her two sheets of St. Pat's stickers from Grandpa Murphy. When I checked back in, she had lined up about 10 pages on the floor and applied a single sticker to each.

* On a less "cute" note, it's not even spring yet, and we're already having BIG troubles with Katie wanting to spend every minute outdoors. She gets to go outside at school and I let her play with the neighbor children every day after school. But apparently it's never enough. We've started leaving the garage door closed when we're loading and unloading the car--and that worked a couple of times. But now she tries to open the big metal door, wailing all the while.

* To be honest, Katie is increasingly difficult in more areas than just the outdoors. She has VERY clear ideas about how, when, where, and why things should be done. We aren't sure where she gets that. Hmm... Any ideas?

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Wed, Mar 15, 2006 8:15 PM
We took Katie's 20-month "Watch me grow" photo, but the web service must be having some issues. Every time I try to upload it, I get little red exes instead of the image. I'll try again in the morning...

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Thu, Mar 9, 2006 8:00 PM
Before it changes again--and is lost in our memories--here is a typical workday evening in the Fanelli house:

5:30 p.m. Katie has some dinner while I'm making ours.

6:00 p.m. Katie squeals with delight when she hears the garage door go up. She demands to be let down from her booster seat, runs to greet Daddy, and then takes his hand. Her mission: get him to sit in his chair.

6:05 p.m. After once again explaining that it's not quite time to sit, Steve takes Katie upstairs so he can get changed.

6:10 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. Susan and Steve eat in peace while Katie sits in her booster seat.

6:16 p.m. Katie commands "Up! Up! Up!" and goes to sit on Daddy's lap. She then scarfs down what remains of his dinner, occasionally sharing a morsel or two with him.

6:30 p.m. As we begin clearing the table, Katie grabs Steve and takes him to her "Fridge Farm" toy. Next, she comes for me. This is our cue to begin the Family Hoedown. To such tunes as "Farmer in the Dell" and "Oh, Susannah," we do some solo dances; she dances with him; and she dances with me. I do a basic bouncing dance. Steve does this elaborate game that's noisy and boisterous. She loves it, of course.

6:45 p.m. We all head in to the family room for Jeopardy. Katie delivers each of our "assigned" (by her!) blankets.

6:50 p.m. Katie grabs Steve's hand and insists that he come lie on the floor. She takes her blanket and lovingly spreads it over his chest and belly. She gently pats him and smooths out the blanket. And then she goes for the kill--executing a series of body slams on his belly as he wails in "agony."

6:59 p.m. Steve is saved from further torture by the nightly lotto drawing. Katie always stops in her tracks to watch those little white balls!

7:00 p.m. Jeopardy! starts. Katie "reads" various books, pausing to applaud any Daily Doubles. She also stops to watch--and dance feverishly to--the PowerBall commercial. (Somehow we have to get that on video!)

7:30 p.m. Katie waves "bye" to Steve and I take her up to bed...

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Sat, Mar 4, 2006 12:30 PM
This morning Katie and I attended a trial class at The Little Gym near our house. It was a 9 a.m. session for "Beasts" (19- to 27-month-olds) and "Super Beasts" (28- to 36-month-olds). Most of the kids in the class appeared to be closer to three, so Katie was by far the youngest.

The class started with 15 to 20 minutes of "warm up." We ran, jumped, skipped, galloped, and sang. We also got to play with bells, scarves, and a parachute (Katie clearly remembered the parachute concept from Nikki's Gymboree party).

After that was free play on the gym equipment. The teacher, Miss Sarah, demonstrated a "pizza" move where the kids hang from a bar and then put their feet up by their hands. With Miss Sarah's help, Katie did the "pizza" maneuver and, later, a forward roll on the "cheese" wedge. Toward the end of the session, Katie joined the other kids on the balance beam. They sat, stood, and danced on the beam. The class wrapped up with some balls, bubbles, and stamps--which are applied to the kids' hands AND feet.

Anyway, Katie clearly enjoyed herself; we're going to call this week and enroll in the balance of the 21-week session.

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Thu, Mar 2, 2006 8:30 AM
A couple of quick stories:

* When I picked Katie up from school on Tuesday, her teachers told me she had just formed and led a "train" of kids through the classroom. They said all of her Tiny Tots friends--and many of the two-year-olds, as well--followed her lead in holding hands and running around the room.

* Yesterday after school, Katie and I went to a shoe store to look for some new sneakers. We headed straight to the clearance rack. And, before I could say or do anything, Katie plopped down on the floor, removed her boots, and began trying on shoes! She lined up several pairs on the floor, and her favorites seemed to be a pair of wooden platform sandals. They just didn't seem safe, though, so I opted for some light-up Disney sneakers and a pair of magenta-colored Mary Jane-style sneakers from Buster Brown.

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Wed, Mar 1, 2006 10:00 AM
I keep thinking of more words Katie says: "Mo-mo" (Elmo/MoMo), "bah" (ball), "buh" (crab), "cuh" (color/crayon--I can't tell which she really means!), and "pup" (poop), which she says when we're reading the "Where's the Poop?" book that Gran sent.

Yesterday while I was preparing dinner, Katie figured out how to reach the kitchen counter by standing on the dishwasher door. And what did she do when she reached the counter? She grabbed a dishcloth and started wiping it!

This morning, she demonstrated the ability to climb up into her own booster seat. Believe me, that's no small feat for someone her size.

On a related note, one of her favorite "hobbies" lately is playing with the buckle on her booster seat belt. She has mastered closing it; we'll be in real trouble when she figures out how to open it.

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