Pizza Night

Katherine had her first taste of pizza tonight. She seemed to enjoy it, but was too tired to eat very much. Her mom sure enjoyed it, as it was only her second pizza after coming off the dairy/soy free diet. Mmm...maybe we should make every Friday night a pizza night. Why does this sound familiar?

Caught Red-Handed

Dear Katie -

Get your mangy, little paws off of my beloved "Man." I'm not allowed to even sniff your stuff, so stay away from mine! It's only fair. Please.

Sincerely,

An Un-Happy Hound

Stress-Free Holidays?

Now that she's back in her own crib, high chair, and stroller, Katie has had no trouble resuming her old routines. She seems so happy and carefree. Little does she know what her mom and dad does while she sleeps...on-line Christmas shopping, designing a Christmas card, putting up the holiday decorations, etc., etc. Phew - remember how much more fun Christmas was when we were kids?

Heads of State

Congrats to the East Grand Rapids Pioneer football team, 2007 Michigan Division 3 champs. It took 5 overtimes to win this weekend, but they grabbed their 6th state championship since getting rid of the likes of Mike!
In other high school football news, Mike's nephew Ben's current stomping ground, Joliet Catholic Academy, won the Illinois 6A state championship. Future soccer championships to come...right Ben?

I'm Back!

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everybody! Sorry for the lag in posts, but we were off to Michigan for the big holiday. After being an angelic traveler through multiple airports, Kate had a blast hanging out with her Grandma M., aunts, uncles, and cousins. She ate her first "turkey and all the trimmings" dinner and LOVED the jello salad. (She usually only eats fresh fruit for dessert, so this was a real treat for her.) She also enjoyed watching countless hours of football with everybody. Since our digital camera was acting up, we took most of our pictures with our old-school film camera. Therefore, we'll post a picture or two later this week when we get them on CD.

Maraca Mishap

We had a better video of Katie playing her new favorite instruments, but we like this one for the outtake that cuts it short...

Cart Jockey

Is there a cuter shopping companion that this? Katie seems to be practicing the look that will eventually manipulate me into dropping anything in the cart that she wants.

...Not a Belly-Itcher

It's a slow roller tapped back to the mound...

Kate gathers it in and...

Throws a blazing, chest-high strike to the first baseman...

With an excellent follow-through. He's OUT!

Standing on My Own Two Feet

As you can see, Kate really enjoys checking out the world from her own two feet now. She's not quite confident enough to pull up to a standing position or to creep along the furniture, but that will come soon enough. For now, she's just content to hang out, bang on the coffee table, throw a toy down to the floor, or just babble to herself.

Hood-lems

Dad brought Kate home a little present from the ND bookstore. That being said, we had to capture Traci and Kate sporting their matching hoodies. Note, the hoods can easily be pulled over the eyes for use during future ND football games...

Papa's Visit

Katie had a fantastic time visiting with Papa T. this weekend. Thanks for driving down, Papa! The visit started a little shaky, with Katie cowering away and crying due to her stranger anxiety. Fortunately, she slowly warmed up to her grandfather. She shared all of her toys with him, sat on his lap at church, and hung out with him and Geno at the dog park. She even said his name ("Paaaa") and pointed at him whenever Mom asked where Papa was. They're now best buds. We cannot wait to see him, Grammy Kost, and the rest of the family contingent over Christmas.

Goodbye Daddy, Hello Papa

Look at how sad Katie looks saying goodbye to her daddy. He is off to Chicago to visit with Uncle Bill, Aunt Maggie, Ben and Tom. And, hopefully they will all bring luck to the Fighting Irish as they head to Notre Dame for the Air Force game.

But, worry not for Kate, Geno, and Mom as Papa T. heads into town to keep them company. Katie hasn't seen her grandfather since the Fourth of July, so they will both be in for a real treat this weekend. Stay tuned for pictures.

Rocket Scientist and Paleontologist

Today Kate is excited to share some updates on her cousins, Julian (4.5 years) and Nicholas (3 years). Julian is currently in preschool and still LOVES all things that involve planets and space. (We're not sure if he has gotten over Pluto's planet demotion yet.) His big "new" news was his first foray into organized sports. Following in his daddy's footsteps, he joined a soccer team...which, alas, went 0-8 for the year. Rumor has it that, had the soccer ball been painted like the planet Mars and the goalposts as the Milky Way, Julian's team surely would have enjoyed the fruits of victory. Rumor also has it that perhaps his team should have recruited Uncle David to be the coach.... Maybe next year?

Little brother Nicholas, pictured here hanging with the ladies at one of Julian's games, recently started his first year of preschool. According to Aunt Krystina, he loves it! Nicholas adores dinosaurs and will give you a mighty dino-growl anytime you try and get his attention.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Whew, the temperature has finally dropped to near freezing here, and Kate does not like it one bit! In spite of the cold weather, we still have to walk Geno several times per day. Therefore, Katie gets bundled up like an eskimo, much to her dismay. Heavy winter jacket that is too big for her? Check. Crazy winter hat and mittens? Check. Fake Ugg boots? Check. By the time we have everything on her, she is usually throwing a tantrum in disgust. Phew...how many more days until summer?

You're Going the Wrong Way!

Katie's morning tummy-time routine has "reversed" course lately. Quite literally! While we start her in the middle of the blanket, her playtime inevitably ends up with her retreating (unintentionally?) under the bed. Perhaps her Uncle Bill was right...maybe we've exposed Katie to too much of Notre Dame's offense this fall.

Double Digits

Kate turned 10 months today! We celebrated with a trip to McDonalds after mass. Creamed yellow squash value meal for the little one, of course.

We've been working on standing and assisted walking lately (since crawling just doesn't seem to be her thing). She's definitely got the leg strength and is starting to put one foot in front of the other, but balance is not her friend, yet.

Beat Navy

It was exactly 10 months ago today that we walked around the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Traci is sure that all the walking prompted Katie's arrival two days later. It was as if Katie could not wait to get out and give friends Maureen, Brian, and Connor a message. GO IRISH!

One More Halloween Treat

As promised, here is a picture from Saturday's Halloween party. Katie's toward the middle in her 'Roo costume. All of these kids are from Traci's Moms' Group, and all were born sometime between last November and March. The party was mass chaos as almost all of the little ones were creeping, crawling, or walking into each other. Aren't they all so cute? We especially liked the Charlie Brown costume on Kate's buddy Charlie.