Just a few cute pictures to share

I got Kate a new book that came with this tiger mask. She looks so cute as a tiger!

I know Kate looks quite silly in this picture but I think it's too funny not to share! She found a Q-tip on the floor and is demonstrating that she knows just what to do with it.

Kate's 1st time eating messy spaghetti!

A Weekend of Fun

We had a really fun weekend. Despite only being packed for 1 day but deciding to stay 3...the weekend at home was great! We stayed with my brother and sister-in-law. On Friday we went to a car show that my brother's racecar was in. Saturday Melissa, (my sister-in-law) Kate and I went shopping. (since I was only packed for 1 day we needed a few things) Then Kate stayed with Dustin and his parents while I went to the races with my dad, Justin and Melissa. It was fun!


Sunday we went to Meadowcroft village. An excerpt from the website describes it like this: Take a trip back in time with Meadowcroft's carefully recreated 19th century village celebrating rural life. Visitors can experience how our ancestors lived by stirring apple butter, dipping candles and celebrating an old-fashioned Indepedence Day in July. During your visit, stop by the one-room schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, church, covered bridge, or one of two log houses. Then travel back to the dawn of prehistoric people in North America with a visit to the Meadowcroft Rockshelter. They weren't churning butter or dipping candles when we were there but we still had a good time.

Here's Melissa throwing the spear (i can't remember what it was really called) the blacksmith, Melissa and I sporting the latest fashions of the day, the one room schoolhouse, the barber shop and the covered bridge; known as the kissing bridge.

The boys had to wear this bonnet if they were bad in school.


Kate writing on the slate board


Dustin and me in front of the kissing bridge


Kate was exhausted by the end of the day


MEMORIAL DAY

baby's crying

Kate started this crying one day while looking at a book with a crying baby in it. Now she does this every time I ask her...

random

I haven't blogged for soooo long you might think I'd be here blogging something really cool or important. NOPE. I've got nothing. Here is some of the randomness that has been our life lately.

I just thought Kate looked super cute this day :)


Kate with Uncle Justin


Her new surprised face


Kate eating her 1st Popsicle...she loved it (actually it was daddy's popsicle that she stole from him)


Kate looking pretty at church


Kate's 2 favorite things these days...her elmo chair and goldfish. she went out to the kitchen, got these out of the cupboard and brought them in and sat down on her elmo chair to enjoy them.


Kate's crazy hair after a good night's sleep


Kate's growing vocab now includes "hip, hip, hooray", "ribbit", and "duck". Here's duck and hip hip horray!

I've been having a really difficult week with kate this week. I don't know if any of you experienced this when your little one turned one but it's been a challenge. I don't know if it's from her shots (which made her sick) or just that's she's having a really bad week. Or she's miss independent. I have to give her food a certain way or she spits it out and throws it on the floor. I have to hold her at all times of the day if she wants me to or I have scratches on my neck from when she didn't want me to anymore. We spend hours every day outside at the playground because that's what makes her happy. Anyways...the joys of motherhood. This post is really to post some of the really cute things Kate has been doing lately...despite the challenges she's still my favorite person in the whole wide world!

*She loves dogs! She barks anytime she sees a dog, hears a dog, sees her stuffed animal dog, or we mention dogs!

*(To answer some of your questions about Kate's vocabulary) She says hi, bye, daddy, mama, Elmo, baby, doggie

*She did the sign for more yesterday for the first time! I've showed it to her before but I always forget to work on it. It's been at least a month since I've even done the sign to her. So she pretty much just did it out of the blue!


*She loves to blow her own nose lately. Like I said, she's sick so I've been wiping her nose all the time. She just started picking up tissues and holding them to her own nose and actually blowing!! So now if I hold it there and say blow, she does!!

Our Elmo Extravaganza!!

Kate's 1st birthday party was yesterday and boy did we have a blast!! It was, of course, Elmo themed. Elmo was everywhere. Kate was walking around all day pointing and saying "ELMO!" I'm pretty sure she loved it!! I didn't get any good pictures of the decorations...but there were balloons, streamers, and elmo printed everything everywhere!!
Our Elmo invitations (thanks Erica for the help!!)

On Saturday, Kate got to meet Elmo!! Talk about a dream come true for one little one year old!

I decided to try my hand at making a fancy cake!! Here is the Elmo cake I made!! The second cake is another cake we had made by Grandma and Aunt Deenie. We had enough cake from that one that we didn't even end up cutting my cake. We are freezing it and are going to eat it in a few weeks. We can't let all that hard work go to waste!


The Birthday girl


Presents





We sung happy birthday in the house and were going to go back outside where we were eating (and where Kate's high chair was) to give her her cake...well as you see, she dug right in on my lap. She devoured her cake!

Pinata time!

Kate had enough! She was beat by the end of night. Here she is lounging in her new sing and spin Elmo chair from Pappy! (Watching Elmo to end the day!)

When will a mama ever learn?

Will I ever learn to keep a diaper on Kate?? Well, I think now I will...Here's a funny story for you. I was changing Kate's diaper this morning and it looked like she was getting a bad diaper rash so I thought I'd leave her diaper off of her for a minute and give her a bath. Well as the water is filling up she's wandering around upstairs playing. I happen to notice the floor is really wet where she was standing. Okay...no big deal. We have hard wood floors so it's not too bad to clean. So the tub is continuing to fill up and I'm looking for an outfit for Kate. I'm sure you can guess where this story is going. I turn around to get Kate and she is pooping on the floor!! Right on her bedroom floor!! It looked like I had a dog in the house or something. It was so gross!! Luckily for everyone reading this, I left my camera at Dustin's parents house or I'd have included a picture!! Aren't kids the greatest!! They do things like that and you love them just the same!!

And just because everyone loves posts with pictures...here are some of Kate playing outside this week.

Look at me!

super cute shoes

So, Kate needs sandals for the summer...but since i found these darling things instead I just had to get them!! Aren't they cute?!?

cute new videos

where's your nose?


peek-a-boo!
(don't mind the food all over her face!) Kate was so tired that she was rubbing her eyes. But then started to make a game of peek-a-boo out of it!


Kate has turned into quite the chatterbox lately. Especially if her sesame street friends are involved!

playground

Kate has so much fun when we go to the park. She loves to go down the slide and swing on the swings. She has moved past picking up the wood chips and eating them to picking them up and throwing them. (much better!) The weather has been so beautiful! We will be spending lots of time at the playground!

Leslee's b-day party

Last weekend was my niece's 16th birthday party. Kate had a great time! (sorry Leslee I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl!!)
p.s...don't mind the splotches on kate's face. she was a little splotchy that day?!?!

Kate sitting with Mommy

I said "CHEESE" and this is what I got!

Helping her cousin Leslee open her gifts

Kate with my niece sara's baby Isabella. I'm not so sure I want to sit with you...

Okay...I like you and I even want to give you a kiss!