Ladies night

Thursdays is when Chad plays golf in his league so it's ladies night for me, Katie and Abby. The last few weeks we've gone to my Dad and Patti's for dinner but we were on our own tonight. Some highlights: She tried to play "Ring Around the Rosie" with the dog. She walked up to Abby and said "paw, paw." Abby didn't respond so we improvised and grabbed her collar while dragging her around in a circle. Abby did sit down when we got to "...we all fall DOWN!" Yes! Good dog! We hit the bathtub where Katie started her audition for American Idol. Lots of loud singing. She started a little chant and, with our influence, we've developed it into the chant from the movie Rudy. "Rudy! Rudy! Ru-DEE! Ru-DEE!" which was followed by a fist bump (alternative to the high-five). Right before I was about to wrap up bath time, she informed me that she "tinkled" in the bathtub. I didn't even know she knew this word (in it's commonly used context). I mean, she sings "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" about 50 times a day which sounds like "tinkle." Since she says "yes" to every question I ask her, I figured it wasn't worth pursuing the truth. Bath time's over!

Happy Cake

We had alot going on this weekend. On Friday night, we had our friends Yee and Mikey aka Lee and Mike over. They recently moved back to the area from Chicago. We went to our Little Nemo Swim Class on Saturday morning. Katie is doing great. I signed her up so she wouldn't be afraid of the water this summer. I think that may have backfired. Her favorite part of class is getting out of the pool and jumping back in. She seems to have no fear. That was confirmed today when we were leaving my Uncle Paul and Auntie Donna and she bolted through the garage back toward their pool. We celebrated my niece Ella's 3rd birthday on Saturday. It was a great party and the birthday girl seemed to be having fun. I asked Katie what her favorite part of the party was and she said "Happy Cake!" Cake seems to be everyone's favorite part. We also went to the Memorial Day parade. It was nice to see the town honor our local veterans. There was a big turnout. Katie was given a flag and proudly carried it throughout the festivities.

Elmo undies

Katie's bathroom fascination continues so my mom bought her some "big girl underwear." One package had Elmo on it. Katie loves to name all the Sesame Street characters on her diapers so she is very familiar with Elmo. She loves her "Elmo undies" and is so excited to wear them. I'm not pushing the potty training but I'm not discouraging it either. For now, she's proud to wear her "undies" for very brief periods of time as I follow closely behind her with a towel.

Prom Night

My sister Mary and I took Katie to Clinton's Central Park to see Helen before she went to the prom. I think Katie was overwhelmed by all the activity at first but, once she got comfortable, she proudly pointed out her beautiful Auntie Helen.

Annie and Marley

I’m going to the Hanover Theater tonight with my Aunt Sheila to see Annie. I couldn’t help but think of my own little, curly redhead at home. Tomorrow I’m going to rent Marley & Me.

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day on Sunday. We had breakfast with my mom in the morning and, thanks to Chad, I had a relaxing day. Katie is becoming more and more verbal each day. It is so bittersweet. I love to see her grow and learn new things but she is no longer my baby...probably hasn't been for a while. Here is my new lunch bag from my little bruiser! Scrapes are courtesy of our neighbor's concrete stairs. Miss Independent wanted to climb them herself!

Daily chores

Katie was helping me vacuum today and I was thinking of all the things she does to contribute to our household. She loves to do the dishes these days, and she still feeds the dog often and helps me vacuum. I mean...all of these things create more work for me and Chad but she's so happy doing them. How can I not let her help us?