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You know, there are things that before kids you say you will never do when you have kids. I have learned that when you have your own kids all those things go out the window.

One such thing that I said I would never do was use a leash on my kids. Many years ago I saw poorly behaved toddlers leashed to frazzled moms and I said NEVER will I do that. Well, I bought a leash. Katherine is a very active toddler who loves to be outside and loves to walk where she wants to walk.

When I was in Target I saw this cute harness for a toddler. I thought it was so much better than the leash I had seen before. I bought it and took it home. Sam was not excited about it at all. Other friends have had the same experience with their husbands. My theory is that they do not understand what it is like to keep up with a toddler all day.

I got it out today so that Katherine and I could go on a walk down the street. When I first showed it to Katherine, she did the sign for monkey. Then when I put it on her she said, “backpack”. Sidenote - how does she know the word backback, that seems like a pretty advanced word. Anyway, she loved it. We walked about 15 houses down the street and back. She stayed close and did not go in the street. It took a little getting used to for me since I am used to having a 60 pound hyper dog at the other end of the leash. There were a few times I almost pulled a little too hard.

So, overall, I like the harness, Katherine likes the harness, and she is safer. So, the harness stays. 

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.

We have been on a wonderful family vacation in Colorado so that is why you have not heard from me all week. Of course you can expect a few blog entries about our vacation later this week.

Tonight I have been catching up on emails and reading all my blogs. I ran across a few surveys and found out some things about my blog and myself.

I am happy to announce that my blog is rated G due to the lack of bad words. So, send all your kids over to read my family friendly blog.

77%How Addicted to Blogging Are You? And it is no surprise that I am highly addicted to blogging. I would love to know how addicted all of you are, so take the quiz and leave your addiction rating in my comments. Let’s see who is most addicted.

Last, I have been getting slammed with spam comments. I used to only get one or two a week and I would just delete them. Now I am getting flooded with them. While on vacation there were 261 spam comments left on my blog. I have to approve all comments from new people so they are not posted but it is a pain. My brother-in-law web master is working on a plug in that will force you to do something before you comment will be posted. So, be on the lookout for that in the coming days.

Also, my brother Will and his wife Jaime have finally started a blog to show off their adorable daughter Sophia. Check them out by clicking on their link in my blogroll.

This past weekend when in Pittsburgh at the Science Museum I saw this:

The small sign says, “nursing area”. This was found on the top floor in a corner. I am so glad I did not actually need to nurse Katherine while there if this was the option that was given to me. I am actually quite fine with nursing in public as long as I have my homemade Hooter Hider/nursing cover with me. I have nursed Katherine in many restaurants, parks and museums. I have never been asked to stop or to move.

Where is the most unusual place you have nursed? Has anyone ever been rude to you about it? Hmm. I thought I would start a conversation.

I am a little behind on my monthly post. Sorry there are not more pics. I don’t really have any that I have not already used on the blog. Katherine turned 16 months last week while we were out of town. Have I said before how much fun Katherine is and that this is the most fun age ever? I feel like a broken record still.

There are again just so many fun things that You is doing. I really want to document them all but it is so hard to take the time to do just that. So here are some of those memories that I don’t want to forget.

Katherine, you are continuing to grow more expressive. You are “talking” all the time. Sometimes we can make out words and other times we are sure you are speaking another language fluently. The cutest is when you says “wheeeeee”. You say this when something is fun or exciting. You are also producing a lot more signs. It took awhile for you to start signing but now you are really catching on. The other day you actually signed “more, please”. I have not been working on “please” yet. I figure that just signing “more” is a lot more polite than grunting. You haev also also learned that signing “please” is a quick way to get what you want. You currently sign more, milk, eat, all done/finished, please, thank you, no, hi, hat, bird, duck, frog, dog, bath, phone, sleep/tired, baby, and dirty. You will also copy a lot of other signs but not produce them on your own at the right time. You have started to shake your head yes and no a lot though I am not certain you always say what you mean. Usually if I ask you a question you shake your head no and yet sometimes really mean yes. It is funny and a little frustrating though when you do express when you do not want something. Like tonight I said, “are you ready to go to bed” and you shook her head no.

You are starting to learn to identify more things. You currently can point to your nose, ears, mouth, teeth, tongue, eyes, toes and belly button. Your belly button is your favorite and it is really cute when you lift up your shirt and look down to touch your belly button. You get frustrated when you are in a onesie and can’t lift up your shirt. It is a little akward when you try to find someone else’s belly button because you try to lift up their shirt. The other morning I asked you to find daddy’s belly button while he was still in bed. You lifted up his shirt and were a little confused by the hairy belly (and Sam is not really a hairy guy at all). You shook her head no and put his shirt back over his belly button.

You are also starting to identify animal sounds. It is not something I consiously have been working on but I guess I have been saying animal sounds. The other day I handed you the Little People polar bear and you said, “grrrr”. When I opened a book to a page with a cow, you said “mooooo”. You have already been imitating dogs by saying “woooooffff”. It is pretty cute.

The other day Sam was on the patio firing up the grill. I was in the kitchen with you. I asked, “where’s daddy?” You walked into the den and I thought you were going to the door to the patio. You returned to the kitchen saying, “dada dada” and you were carrying your “Who Loves Baby” photo album, opened to the picture of daddy. I thought that was pretty smart.

Katherine, you have a new favorite toy, a teddy bear that has all kinds of things you learn to do like zip, velcro, button, snap, etc. Your face lights up when you see it and you carry it around a lot. You are also starting to participate in more imaginative, pretend play. When eating a snack, you try to feed your dolls and animals. When we were at a friends house where there was a great toy kitchen, you had a ball cooking and playing with the baby in the high chair. You also LOVE to read your books. As a teacher, this could not make me happier.

We are still working on eating more. Your new favorite food is blueberries. You would eat them all the time if I let you. They do funny things to a diaper though. So much that we are actually in disposable diapers until the issues is resolved. You are trying to feed yourself more and love to dip things. You love to dip crackers into hummus but you try to lick the hummus off and stick the same cracker back in the dip. You are a double dipper! I tried to give you your own bowl but noooooo, you wanted to dip into mommy’s bowl. You still does not like to eat meat so we are still having to feed you babyfood to get meat in you. When I have time, I make my own casseroles so that the meat will be a little chunkier. I am really ready to stop buying special food for you. I guess I can stop and just force you to eat what we are eating but I’m just not willing to let you go hungry.

I am still nursing you. Some days I really loved it and other days I am ready to give it up cold turkey. Now that you signs “milk” well, you do it almost every time I pick you up. I also notice that you sign “milk” if it has been awhile since you hve had some quality time with mama. So, usually when you sign “milk” I try to sit and read a book or play rather than feed you.

It is really fun to see you following directions. If I ask you to go get a book or shoes or sit down, you will follow directions and do it. I know you understand so much more than we give you credit for. Just your ability to understand what we are saying and then to communicate back to us is so amazing.  

You love to play, especially if it is outside. I think if you were outside all day long you would be so happy. You really are a good climber which makes me nervous. You are not afraid of stairs and are actually pretty good at them. I just get so scared that you will lose your balance and fall.

You are really starting to test boundaries and experiment with disobedience. I do not like this part of parenting! I want my sweet little girl to always obey and be perfect but I know that you have a sin nature and will disobey. I pray with your daddy about how we can most effectively and fairly discipline you. It is not fun! The common offenses are throwing food off the highchair, trying to get off the diaper changing table, trying to get out of your stroller, not holding mommy’s hand when we are walking and throwing a fit when you do not get your way.

You are finally becomming a better sleeper. You are napping better during the day though it is still not at the same time every day. You also go to sleep at night with very little fussing. Due to traveling and teething, you have been waking up in the middle of the night again. Mom has not been getting enough sleep and has been so busy so I have been lazy in trying to train you to sleep through the night again. It is so much easier to just nurse you. When we return from our last vacation this summer I am going to work on that again.

Katherine has been attending Mothers Day Out since January. It took her a little while to adjust to being away from mommy for 5 hours but she does great now. She had been in the youngest room with Ms. Peggy, a sweet grandmother who was so great. One challenge at MDO is getting Katherine to nap. The only way that Ms. Peggy could get her to nap was to rock her for about 20-30 minutes until she fell asleep and then put her in the swing. I could not believe it because we gave our swing back to the friend who let us borrow it about 8 months ago.

Katherine is practicing (not) sleeping on her nap mat.

At the beginning of June she moved up to the Toddler 1 class. In this new class they take naps on NAPMATS! You have got to be kidding! I have a hard time getting Katherine to take a nap in her crib, Ms. Peggy has to rock her and put her in a swing and now she is supposed to sleep on a napmat. I laughed at the suggestion.

So, we went to get a napmat. We practiced at home. She would lay on it all of 2 minutes if I was laying right beside her. So, last week was the test, would she sleep on the napmat? They tell me that they all eventually do.

NOT KATHERINE!

Apparently when they put the mat on the floor she starts screaming. She knows that means she has to take a nap and she is not interested. The first week they pulled the swing in from the baby room and she did take a 45 minute nap. Every other kid fell asleep on their nap mat on the first week. Hmmm, I think I have a stubborn one. This week they pulled in the swing and she took a 10 minute nap and then just talked to herself the rest of the time. The teacher commented that Katherine talks more than any other toddler she has had (she was worked there for over 10 years). She said it sounded like she was speaking another language with all the correct intonations and expressions. Thats my girl!

In the toddler room they do color. Each week her picture has been neatly labeled with her name and put in her bag. Either they only have red crayons or that is Katherine’s favorite color.

Today alone there were so many funny things that Katherine did. While cooking dinner, she was in her box. I have to be careful because she can reach things on the counter. She grabbed the plastic cutting board and held it so that Hooligan was licking it. She thought it was hilarious. Later tonight, she crawled up onto Hooligan’s bed with her so that she could pet her dog. She laughed when Hooligan was licking her fingers.

Tonight for dinner we had omlets and waffles. Katherine was sitting on my lap (due to previous tantrum) and she discovered dipping her super healthy, organic, whole grain waffle in SYRUP! When she did, her reaction was hilarious. She squealed and almost started dancing. I hate to tell her that it will not be a regular part of her diet.

Her antics are so funny. She has started making a fish face. I don’t know where she learned that. She loves to spin around and says “wheeeeee” when she does.

She has the cutest gesture while looking for something where she holds both hands out. I first saw it at a friends house when she had scared their cat off and she was looking all over for it.

She has decided that she does not like baths. I do not know what has happened to cause this. In the photo she is doing the sign for “all done or finished” so she was letting me know that as far as she was concerned the bath was over!

Every day is so much fun. I constantly am looking at Katherine with amazement. I laugh as there is never a dull moment with a toddler around.

Last night Sam was going to work late so I called my good friend Madi to see if she and her son Ben wanted to hang out and eat dinner because her husband also works late sometimes. Well, Andy has a different summer schedule so he was home but they invited me to join them. So Katherine and I went to play with Ben. Time with Madi is always fun and this evening was no exception. It was time for her to bathe Ben and get him ready for bed and I asked if I could bathe Katherine as well. You see last week we had tile put into two of our bathrooms and currently the toilets have been removed and are sitting in the bathtubs. So, it makes it more difficult to give Katherine a bath. So, we gave Katherine and Ben a bath together. This is certainly something that they will outgrow soon, but it was convenient and fun for now.

Another night this week I watered the front flowerbeds after a family walk. Katherine stayed outside to “help”. She was so interested in the hose and kept wanting to put her hands in it. She was getting so wet and muddy that I stripped her down to her diaper. (the dark backside is mud by the way) She helped by holding the hose too. She loves the water whether it is a sink faucet, a hose, a sprinkler, a dog’s water bowl, a pool or a bathtub. The only thing she does not like is when I have to wash her hair.

Eating takes up a large portion of our day. I am constantly trying to get Katherine to eat more. We are always trying new foods. If she does not like something, I am not always persistant to get her to try it again. This week Sam and I had spaghetti carbonera for dinner and I put some on Katherine’s tray. She had a lot of fun with it and actually ate some as well.

Sometimes I have to feed Katherine before Sam gets home is she is hungry before he arrives. Then while we eat she plays in the kitchen. This week she decided to wear Hooligan’s food bowl as a hat. Luckily Hooligan had already finished. She got pretty good at getting the bowl to stay on her head. Then she also got pretty good at tipping it off so it would make a fun, and very loud, noise on the kitchen floor.

Katherine has new sunglasses. Last year she hated them and would pull them off. This year she thinks she is pretty cool. I think she looks like a little movie star. She wanted to wear them while snacking on grapes.

You will notice in this picture that Katherine has a bloody nose. She bit it on the kitchen floor. i am not really sure how. She was crying and I picked her up. She buried her head in my shoulder so it was a few minutes before I realized that she was covered in blood. Both Amy and Jen called while she was still crying. Jen asked if I took a picture for the blog. I said, “of course not, I am taking care of my baby.” Well 20 minutes later, a happy Katherine, finishing her snack, still had a blood nose so I did take a picture. She was having a lot of fun wiggling the spoon in her mouth.

Today we went to Play Daze at the Heights Church. It was so much fun. We met Amy and JG, Heather and Quade, and Lauren and Cole. They had wading pools on the sand volleyball court and the kids could just play.

Katherine loves to get dirty. Gravel, grass, cement, dirt, sand - you name it - she will sit down and dig in it, not caring how filthy she gets.

The kids were given a special treat of a popsicle. Katherine had never had ont before. She really liked it. Of course she made a huge mess and had orange all over her face, hands, legs . . . She would set it down in the sand to play and then pick it up again to eat. Gross.

As you can see, all of my friends are very pregnant. Lauren will be having a baby this week, Amy in July and Heather in September. I later wished I was in the picture so I could sing that old Sesame Street song, “which one of these is not like the other”. At least I felt very skinny! 

 Katherine has started pointing to her belly button on command. It is so cute. She gets frustrated when she is wearing a onesie because she likes to lift up her shirt to point to her belly button. This can be akward when asked where someone else’s belly button is because she wants to lift up their shirt too!