Dear Kate,

As you get older, these posts become less and less about your milestones and more and more about the cute things you say and do. And since you're super cute, this note to you is a bit long-winded. What can I say? I love you, kid. Here are some of the things you've been doing lately...

* You love to tickle me because I (fake) giggle hysterically. You then tickle other things (like your sippy cup) and I have to laugh for them too.

* You ask for specific Barney episodes. You know the names of all the dinosaurs on Barney and the names of the major Sesame Street characters. You've really learned a lot from these programs. And they sometimes buy me a few minutes to put dishes away or feed Caroline.

* One thing you've seen on Barney that you try and do a lot now is jump rope. It was so funny to see you come out of the bathroom with a length of pump tubing and pretend to jump rope with it. I wondered at first where on earth you could possibly have learned about jumping rope, but then I realized we must have seen it on Barney. It's neat to see what all you pick up on.

* You constantly amaze me with the smart things you do. We were driving after MDO on Tuesday over to some trees in another neighborhood so I could take your picture. We turned onto your friend, Hayley's, street and you immediately started saying, "Hay! Hay!" HOW did you know that??? Three things: 1. I never mentioned it was Hayley's street. 2. It's been several weeks since we were over there. 3. We weren't even coming from our house. I would kind of get it if you realized we had only driven a couple of blocks over, but this was after 20 minutes of driving around in the car in unfamiliar areas. I had to apologize to you because you got all excited that you were going to go see your friend.

* Gram often sits with you at the piano for brief lessons. One night in the bathtub I was singing a Barney song to you: "If I lived under the sea sea sea, I think it would be neat as it could be be be." After hearing "sea sea sea" you said, "Notes. Gram. C." I was so confused at first, but finally I figured it out. You and Gram had been finding all the C notes on the piano that day. So when I said "sea sea sea" you were thinking of the "C" notes. You retain so much!

* That reminds me that you're putting more words together now. You use two or three words together now to communicate a more complete thought. Also, you pronounce more syllables of the words you attempt. You are such a sponge right now; I tell you what a word is once, and you remember, even without daily practice. (I gave you salmon sticks several weeks ago and told you they were called "sticks." You didn't really like them then, so I waited and tried a few days ago. You said, "Sticks!" and gobbled them up.) How do you remember these things?

* You know to put "a" in front of singular nouns, but when you call me "a mama" or say, "a rain," it's really funny! You add "s" to the end of plural words, and you also add " 's " to the end of words when you mean ownership.

* The answer to everything right now is "no." If it's a yes/no question, I really shouldn't ask it. Scene: We're in the car and you see a hot air balloon in the sky. You: "Balloon! Balloon!" Me: "Kate, do you see a balloon?" You: "NO!!" End scene. I hear "no" about a bazillion times a day. Here's another example. You ask for milk. I ask, "Kate, do you want milk?" You, of course, reply, "NO!"

* You know most of your colors now, and you can still identify all your letters and numbers. You still can't say them in order yet. If I ask you "How many?" or tell you to count something, you know to start saying your numbers. Right now you mostly count "1, 2, 6, 9, 10, Hooray!" We'll work on it. :)

* You also count when you want us to hold you. We always say, "1, 2, 3" when we pick you up, so when you want to be held, you say, "1, 2, 6!" Always in a hurry to get to six. ;)

* You're finally getting your eye teeth. You've had a few days where you just haven't been your happy self, and I think those 4 teeth coming in at once are to blame.

* You ate sour kraut at Oktoberfest and loved it. Obviously you are not a picky eater.

* It's becoming very clear that you're testing your boundaries. Discipline is hard, though, because we're not sure how much you understand and what's developmentally appropriate at this age. I used Love & Logic in the classroom, and while I use some of it with you, I'm just not sure what to do when you flat out defy me. I have been praying for the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom in those moments... to know what's going to work for you as an individual and to give us consistency as we learn to discipline.

* You still love playing dress up. I can't wait for all the Halloween costumes go on sale. I want buy more accessories for your collection!

* Two important words you've added to your vocabulary: "thanks" and "sorry." You say "thanks" without prompting much of the time. You even looked your little friend in the eyes today when you said "thanks" to him for sharing his toy. It surprises me how accurately you use the word "sorry." For instance, you trip over Kirby, and you'll tell her, "Sorry!" You must hear me say that a lot.

* When we sing "If You're Happy and You Know It," you clap just twice and at the right spot like you're supposed to. And when it says, "then your face will surely show it," you get the cheesiest grin and point with both hands to your smile. You also stomp your feet and shout "hooray," but you can't do stomp to the beat yet, and by the third verse (the "hooray" verse), you've just lost interest.

* You are one busy little firecracker. You usually only attend to things for 20 seconds at a time (at best). It makes it really hard to play tea party or do crafts. Just a moment ago you asked for your markers. I put you in the chair, you uncapped them all, and said "all done," begging to get down. Our house looks like a tornado hit it at the end of each day.

It's so fun to be your mommy, sweet girl.
Love you,
Mama (& Daddy, too)

Stats
Weight: 28.4 pounds
Height: 33.25 inches
Clothes: 24 months & 2T
Diaper Size: 4
Sleep: 7pm-7:30am
Nap: 12-2pm
Teeth: 12 (8 front, 4 molars), plus 4 eye teeth now popping through

I waited for Daddy to get home to help me contain you to take your elephant pictures. Even with his help, it was impossible to keep you on that chair. I wish we had video of it!