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Today when we were looking at pictures on the computer Katherine saw this one and said “E-E”. What is that you ask? It is her saying the name of her friend “Evie”. Evie is 10 months younger than Katherine so they do not really play together though we are very close friends with her parents so they are together a lot. Ten months is not that far apart in the grand scheme of things but at this point it means that Katherine is running and Evie is a wobbly new sitter. I thought it was so cute that she recognized her photo and got excited.

Katherine only has one other friend that she calls by name and that is her beloved mothers day out buddy Ben. When we pull up to Ms. Lori’s house she starts to say “Beya” (I can’t figure out how to type the phonics of what she says, sorry). Ben also loves Katherine and refers to her by “Kaprine”. They have a funny love/hate relationship. They fight like brothers and sisters but then miss each other when they are apart. It is so cute to see her forming friends.

This post is long overdue but things have been busy at our house. A few weeks ago Ashely, best friend and roommate from college, came in town with her kids Campbell and Helene. The first night she was here we met Diana, our other roommate and Sandra, another Theta sister, at Papasitos. It was a fun time with good friends. We were all sorority sisters but they are 3 of the 6 Thetas that I still keep up with. I sure miss hanging out with them a lot. I don’t think we have changed a bit.

The next day we took the kids to Frisco to the Wiggles Play Center. They had a lot of fun. Katherine really impressed me with how much she was able to do by herself. Shannon and cousins Emily, Nathan and Hannah met us out there. They are about the same age as Ashley’s kids.

Last night we got together with some of our closest friends, Richard, Jen and Evie; Chad, Kathy, Sammy and Sarah. We went to the pool in Richard and Jen’s neighborhood and ate pizza and swam.

Yes, I let her eat pizza!

The kids had fun playing and the parents enjoyed good conversation. I love our friends!

They have a section of the pool which is only about a foot deep. It was great because Katherine could walk without getting freaked out but of course you still have to be so careful. She did actually fall over face first but we were right there to pick her up. 

Katherine kept trying to get in the pool while we were eating and when we finally did get in the pool she wanted to climb back out. What a mess!

Katherine liked Sammy’s car floatie.

Look at those strong legs. How do kids balance like that? We were scared that she was pooping in her swim diaper because she kept pointing to her diaper and saying “poopoo”. Luckily for us, she says that both for #1 and #2. You see from the stream that we were lucky. (She will kill me later for posting this).

I love this photo. After swimming her hair was flipping out on both sides. She was running around and looking up at the airplanes and flag. She lost her balance and fell on the grass but thought it was funny. The grass seems to set off her pretty eyes. I love that hair!

The whole group (almost) ready for our first hike

 

Finally I am posting about our trip to Colorado with our church. This has been a very busy week for us.

Our trip was great. Our family really needed a vacation after a very hectic June. We flew to Colorado Springs which was so much easier with Katherine than driving. The week was full of a lot of free time to relax which was great. We spent some time doing activities like hiking and other times we just hung out at the lodge. It was an especially great vacation to take a toddler because there were times when there was childcare provided and times when she could take a nap.

Most of the group went on an “acclimation hike” that was pretty easy and designed to get us used to the altitude before we took more difficult hikes later in the week.  

Most of the group went on an “acclimation hike” that was pretty easy and designed to get us used to the altitude before we took more difficult hikes later in the week.  

Katherine “hiked” in the backpack. She has the hat on in this picture but it was off most of the time. All week we were trying to make sure she did not get a sunburn. She liked the back pack until we stopped at the stream. We let her out and she walked around.  

Katherine “hiked” in the backpack. She has the hat on in this picture but it was off most of the time. All week we were trying to make sure she did not get a sunburn. She liked the back pack until we stopped at the stream. We let her out and she walked around.  

 

For the 4th of July we went into Westcliff to see the parade. It was quite comical and yet refreshing. Pretty much anyone could be in the 15 minute parade. We saw the American Legion, the Purple Heart recipient, a few tractors, some horses and llamas, some kids twirling batons, etc. Katherine did enjoy it and waved to the pony. 

Much to Sam’s delight there was also a car show going on. It was surprisingly very good with a large number and variety of old cars. He was in heaven and probably took about 80 pictures of cars. There were at least 25 pictures of the truck that was exactly like ours except for it is finished! 

Much to Sam’s delight there was also a car show going on. It was surprisingly very good with a large number and variety of old cars. He was in heaven and probably took about 80 pictures of cars. There were at least 25 pictures of the truck that was exactly like ours except for it is finished! 

Katherine got tired after the parade and walking around at the car show and she fell asleep. She could not be comfortable in there. As it goes with toddlers, she thought that 20 minute nap was all she needed for the day.  

We had a bit of a camera fiasco on this trip. Our new DSLR has been acting up. I took it to two camera shops and called Nikon. I thought I had it working again but when we were at camp, it would only take pictures about 50% of the time. I had already decided to return it to be repaired under warranty when the lens broke off! Very frustrating because now it was working 0% of the time. We had a smaller camera as well, but the LCD screen on that was always white and that was the only way to see what you were taking a picture of. Luckily our good friends Jen and Richard had 3 or 4 cameras with them so they let us borrow one for the rest of the trip. The lens that was available was a single focus 55 mm lens so we had no zoom but it had a much lower fstop capability than my camera so I was able to take some different pictures. All of the rest of the pictures were with their camera.

 

We went to a nature hike that ended up being an outdoor education time where we learned about fossils. Katherine did not care too much about the fossils but did love collecting the rocks.

The camp has a pony named Glory that is great for the kids. Katherine had her first horseback ride.  

 

She enjoyed “hiking” around. I was really amazed at how far she could walk and how well she did on the uneven terrain.

 

One day a large group of us went to Bishop’s Castle. It was pretty crazy. One man has been building this castle using all of his free time and extra money since 1969. Anyone who met him while there would hear him explain how the entire thing was built “with my own two hands.” I admire someone who has such a passion for something that they devote all of their resources to it yet I pity him because he has chosen such a worthless pursuit.

 

We were really glad that we had Katherine strapped to Sam’s back. The place was very dangerous. There were balconies with no railings, windows several stories up with no railing, a bridge that went nowhere but dangled over nothing. We will not take Katherine back until she is old enough to not wander off.

 

Don’t you love men who wear their daughters on their back for the day? What great dads you guys are.

 

On the last day a large group of us went to the Royal Gorge. I have been there before but we only went to the edge and looked over. This time we paid to enter the park and do all of the fun things. I was not sure if it would be worth it but it was a lot of fun. They had a carousel, inclined railway, aerial tram, petting zoo, western town and movie. 

 

Katherine actually was not too fond of the carousel. She kept shaking her head no and signing “all done” and grabbing on to mom for dear life.

 

 

Katherine was not scared at all. She walked all the way across the bridge by herself. It was a quarter mile long. She loved to look over the edge at the “waaa” (Water).  

 

Mommy and Daddy were a little nervous. I knew that there was no way for her to fall but being 1530 feet above the river was a little scary, especially when there would be a larger 2-3″ crack in the boards and you could see down to the ground.

 

It was hot and Katherine fell asleep. Again, the mid day map in the carrier ruined the rest of the day. She did not take a nap later and had a hard time getting to sleep for the night.

 

  

It was a great vacation. Our family was able to reconnect after a very busy and stressful month. Katherine really enjoyed spending so much time with her mommy and daddy. In fact, this week she changed from calling us mama and dada to mommy and daddy. I love the way that sounds.

Also, there are more pictures posted in my google album. Just click on any of the pictures (except the large group shot) and it should take you to the album.

I have made a number of posts tonight so make sure you scroll down and read all of the new material.

We were able to join our good friends, the Ramsey’s, at their lake house for an early Independence Day celebration. Several other good friends were there so it was a fun evening.

For the kids there was a bounce house with a slide. At first Katherine was really scared. She went in with me but was shaking her head “no” the entire time. Later I was able to get her a little more interested and she even went down the slide by herself.

Katherine really enjoyed watching the fireworks with her daddy. She was not scared of the noise at all.

 

 

Our friends Kari and David were in town from Houston with their three kids. We decided to have a little reunion at our house. It was weird to think that 7 years ago we all were hanging out as singles. All of us knew one another and were somehow connected before we met our spouses (except for Meg’s husband). Now, not only are we all married, but the group now has grown to include 9 kids.

JG turned 2 last week. We were supposed to have a swimming party but due to the monsoon season here in Dallas it was moved indoors. 

 

JG’s mom was 9 months pregnant so we had a low key party of playing at the house followed by cupcakes.  

 

Katherine loved the cupcakes as that is something she normally does not get to eat.  

 

By the way, Congratulations to Amy, Jesse and JG. Ava Grace was born today. She is a beauty.

Katherine enjoys her weekly playdate with Hannah. Katherine’s mommy and Hannah’s mommy enjoy having some time without a toddler every other week.

Hannah has longer hair than Katherine so she always comes over with some cute clip or bow. Somewhere along the way she lost it. So, I decided to put her hair in pigtails (2 hairs as mentioned previously). Then Katherine had to have pigtails as well. I thought the girls were pretty cute. They look so grown up with pigtails.

 

Sunday night we met our great friends, Gary and Alysha and their kids Ethan and Caleb at the Dallas Arboretum to see a kids concert, Trout Fishing in America. It was great weather which is amazing for this month in Dallas since we have received SOOOO MUCH RAIN!

   

The kids had a lot of fun running around on the grass. Katherine decided that she was very comfortable with being independent and wandering off. Luckily there was not really anywhere to go but much of the time one of us was not with the group so that she would not get too far away.

 

It happened that our other great friends, Clark and Erin with kids Andrew and Corrine were also at the concert. I knew they were going to be there but is was coincidence that we actually ran into them and were able to sit together.

This past weekend Katherine and I went to Pittsburgh to visit my childhood friend, Alison. We have known each other since second grade. We attended the same church, school and college. We have been in each other’s weddings. Her parents still live in the area but her family only comes to town once or twice a year. There are so many people to visit that we have a short amount of time to spend when she is in town. So, we decided to go visit her. Four days of quality time. It was so much fun!

This past weekend Katherine and I went to Pittsburgh to visit my childhood friend, Alison. We have known each other since second grade. We attended the same church, school and college. We have been in each other’s weddings. Her parents still live in the area but her family only comes to town once or twice a year. There are so many people to visit that we have a short amount of time to spend when she is in town. So, we decided to go visit her. Four days of quality time. It was so much fun!

 

Alison and Jason (whom I have known since 7th grade) have three great kids. Macy is 7, Dallas is 5 and Kayley is almost 3. It was fun to spend time with kids that are a lot older than Katherine to see what is coming in the future. The first day we were there, we went to a park to play. Somehow Alison and all three kids fit on the teeter totter.

 

Macy is a cutie and a great helper to her mom.

 

Kayley is precious. She is the  most verbal almost three year old I have ever met. She really enjoyed having Katherine around and not being the youngest.

 

I thought this was a pretty cool pic. You can the see the motion of the kids on the swing.

  

 

The second day there we went to the science museum. It was incredibly crowded. We found out that since it was the first day of summer you could get into the museum free if you brought a snowball. Apparently a lot of people knew this and have been saving snowballs in their freezer. We spent most of our time in the play area where Katherine explored the water table.

 

Then we went outside where we had a picnic and Katherine ate her first peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She liked it and it made a huge mess! 

 

 

Friday we went to the Zoo. My Dallas Zoo membership got me into the Pittsburgh Zoo FREE! When I bought our membership, I saw that there were a lot of other zoos that you could get into but I thought I would never use it. I am so glad I had it with me.

 

Before this trip I got my new favorite piece of baby gear. It is a Patapum brand of a soft structured carrier. It is similar to a baby bjorn except you can wear your baby on your front or back. For a baby Katherine’s size, you really need to wear them on the back. It worked great at the zoo. She was in there for 3 hours as happy as can be. If she had been in the stroller, she could not have seen the animals over the fences and she would have been trying to get out. It also worked great in the airport since I was traveling by myself with Katherine. I did not even have to take her out to go through security.

 

These monkeys were so funny. They were just chillin out like a group of teenagers ready to cause some trouble. In another section there was another very entertaining monkey. A mouse had wandered into the cage and the monkey was playing with it. The kids were all amused until the monkey killed the mouse. 

 

They just opened the polar bear exhibit. They were pretty amazing. They are only 2.5 years old and weigh 600 pounds. Full grown they will weigh 1800 pounds. They are the largest carnivores on earth. The other bear was playing in the water with toys. There was a tunnel where you could go below and watch them in the water. It was cool.

 

Saturday we went to Macy’s softball game. She is the one in the yellow shirt. Katherine was wandering all over the place but interested a little in the game.

 

 

As a typical one year old she was just as interested in a rock that she found.

 

While we were trying to cook dinner, the girls were all bored. So, we gave them pots and pans so that they could drum. It was loud but a lot of fun.

Both the flight to Pittsburgh and the flight to Dallas were delayed. It was a lot of fun *NOT* to entertain Katherine in the airport. In Dallas she wanted to run in the middle where the carts were zooming by. Finally we went to an upstairs hallway where she thoroughly enjoyed the moving sidewalk. We made several laps and she even discovered how to go the opposite direction so you stay in one place like on a treadmill. On the way back she liked to talk on the payphone. These are two of the photos I took on my camera phone that I cannot figure out how to rescue and get onto my computer (see other post).