Jack Eating a Lemon

Birthday Trip

I already posted a lot of the pictures from Kate's birthday trip on my last post. We made a trip to Indianapolis. We stayed in a hotel, took her to the Incredible Pizza Company, and then went to the Indianapolis Childrens' Museum the next morning.

I seriously can't say enough good things about the museum!! It was amazing. We had a blast.

When you first pull up, you see a huge dinosaur peeking in the top floor of the museum.



There were five levels and we spent every bit of seven hours exploring them all.

Kate's first favorite was all of the places she could "pretend". Like the ice cream shop and playhouses.





There was an area where you could explore "Egypt". So, you got on a plane that simulated an airplane ride. Kate actually thought we were going somewhere and the plane "ride" pretty much freaked her out.



When we got off, though, there were all these little shops and kitchens and areas set up like a home. That kind of stuff is right up her alley!





There was a train station where Kate literally could have spent hours stamping tickets.





She was pretty crazy about this race car, too.





But, BY FAR, her most favorite thing of all that day was the Barbie exhibit.



It was a little girl's paradise complete with an actual runway with a backstage area where the kids could try on different outfits. Once on the runway, there were cameras set up where the kids could be the paparazzi, flashing lights and all. Fun music was playing. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. ha!













It was such a fun trip!!

The Latest Sayings... or the LONGEST post ever!!

Kate is a firecracker.

She's always saying the funniest things. Sometimes you just have to stop what you are doing to listen to her... it's always a good laugh.

And, the girl's got these expressions. Oh, I cannot even TELL you about her expressions. But, they make her quite the storyteller.

I have Post-It notes all over my house and in the car of little things she says that I don't ever want to forget.

Here are some of the highlights (and if you are my friend on facebook, I'm sure you've read a few of these!):

- As we passed the landfill in Valley Park, she said "Yuck, what's that smell? Plug your noses, evwybody". A few weeks later, we passed it again and she said, "That smell is making my nose stink!" (and I only wish you could see her face!).

- She loves to hold hands in the car. So, she asked (told) Mark one day while driving home from church, "Daddy, hold my hand." When he did, she said, "Your hands are gweesy."

- She was on a braid kick for awhile where she always wanted her hair in a braid. I told her I could do a french braid one day. When she was telling Mimi about her braid, she couldn't remember the name of it and called it a "toast braid". It took me a minute before I realized she was associating "French" with French toast!

- The same day she told me I had "gway" hair, she was commenting on all of our outfits. "Daddy has a blue shirt on, I have a pink shirt on, Mommy has on orange. She looks like a pumpkin."

- On our way to Indianapolis for her birthday trip, we took the GPS. After the GPS lady repeated "Keep left" THREE times, Kate was annoyed. She piped up from the backseat with, "He DID, GPS! He did keep left! Stop talking to me like that!" We died on that one... hilarious!!

- On the same trip, she was putting on lip gloss in the backseat. Daddy made a quick turn, to which she replied, "Daddy, I know you're a good driver, but you just made me mess up my makeup. Don't do that again. " Then, in her "motherly" tone, she asked him, "Will you remember that??"

- After a full day at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, we were on our way home and she was EXHAUSTED! Kate said, "My knees hurt!" I said, "It's just because your legs are tired." She screamed in her whiniest voice, "NO, no it's not... it's because there are no BONES in there!!" And then she "made" me rub her legs from the front seat. :)

- One day, Mark had to take pictures for a family. She told him, "I don't want you to leave." Mark told her he would just be gone for a little bit. Her reply: "A little bit is too long." So sweet.

- We had a conversation about college one day (I can't even remember how it got brought up). She couldn't believe that people would move away from their mommies and daddies. She said with a very concerned look on her face, "I don't want to go to college. It's too far away. I want to stay with mommy and daddy forever." I need her to put that one in writing!!

- Mark had strep throat on Thanksgiving, so he stayed home. The kids and I went to my parent's and then spent the night so we could do Black Friday shopping the next day. So, by the time we were headed back to Union, she was missing Daddy. She said, "I miss him so much and my heart is just thinking about Daddy." When she saw my reaction, she got really sappy and touched her heart saying in her most dramatic voice, "My heart just FEELS like Daddy."

- Speaking of "dramatic", Mark and I rearranged our bedroom one night. I asked Kate the next day if she liked it and she said, "Ummm, kind of not." Why, Kate? "It's just so.... dwamatic." Kate, did you just say dramatic? "Yes." Do you even know what that word means? "No."

Ha! You can bet someone called her dramatic. It's her new favorite word. When Jack fusses, he's being "dwamatic"!

- We passed by the place where I meet Gran sometimes to pick up Kate and Jack. Our conversation went like this:
Kate: "Hey, that's where we meet you!"
Mommy: "Yes. That's where you ran around the parking lot last time and scared Mommy. I thought you were going to get hit by a car."
Kate: "I was going to!"
Mommy: "That's why we never run in a parking lot."
Kate: "Ok. I'll never do that again in my life."

- Appalled one morning that Papa wouldn't wake up and get out of bed, she says, "Papa's a coconut." She also said, "He's a hoot." and "He's a pistol.". You should SEE the way she bosses him around. It obnoxious at times.

- Just about any song on the radio is "her song". She's always saying, "This my song!" and breaking out into song and dance!

- We were shopping one day and she kept running ahead and then she would stop, turn in circles, hold her hands in the "I don't know" pose, and in this high pitched fake voice say, "Where's my mommy and daddy? I lost my mommy and daddy." All with a little smirk on her face. She knows she's funny and she knows how to make jokes like this. I wish I could have taken a video of that... it was so goofy.

- On the radio the other day, the local station announced the dj coming up next. "Rick Anthony is coming on next." I guess she caught just the tail end of that, because she heard something totally different. "GAMPY is coming on the radio???" Then a song started and she yelled, "This is Gampy?!?!"

It's hard to take life too serious with her around. She's good for us. We love her to pieces!!

*** These pictures were all taken at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. I'll post more. It was FANTASTIC!"

29 and holding...

I used to hear my mom say that. "I'm 29 and holding..." I never understood what it meant. I do now! Boy, do I!! I can't believe we are this close to 30!!



Luckily, these two don't care how old their Daddy is!!

Both of our kids are absolutely CRAZY about their Daddy.



If he even walks by Jack without picking him up, Jack starts crying. Kate was the same way when she was a baby.



Happy Birthday, Daddy!! We LOVE you!! Enjoy your special day!

Big Sister, Little Brother

On Halloween, we were able to snag some cute pictures of the kids together.



You'll have to ignore our half-stained deck.



It's a good thing Jack is so laid back. Any other kid would never put up with all Kate puts him through. Poor guy.

But, she's sweet, too.



And he pretty much thinks she hung the moon.





She is usually the only one that can make him laugh.

He's a tough one to crack, but the minute Kate does something funny, he's belly laughing!



I can't wait until they can REALLY play together instead of Kate pulling poor Jack around the house and bossing him around. Ha!

Honesty

Kate: Why is that lady's hair black?

Daddy: Some people have black hair. You have blond hair.

Kate: And you have bwown hair.

Daddy: That's right. What color is Jack's hair?

Kate: Bwown.

Daddy: Good! What color is Mommy's hair?

Kate: Gway.

Thanks, Kate. Thanks a lot.

Jack in the Leaves

Mark took some pictures of Jack during Kate's birthday party. What a perfect fall scene. We love our boy SOOOOO much (who by the way is in the 40th percentile for weight and height... where did this kid come from??).





































Love you, baby boy!! Can't believe you will be TEN months old soon... where did the time go?