Katie's slowly learning how to shoot some hoops lately (although she refused on camcorder tonight!). Personally, I think she's just a sucker for anything that draws cheers/claps from mom and dad, but it's nice to see her doing something with her favorite toys (i.e., balls) besides chucking them across the room.
Mark this down in the "Be Careful What You Wish For" category... As most of you know, our little one has always been a bit behind when it comes to her motor skills. While most of her peers are crawling or walking, Kate is just starting to pick up on some subtle "transitional" skills. For one, she's finally able to sit up from lying on her back. Of course, Little Miss Stubborn has to do it the hard way. While most kids roll to their sides and push up with their arms, our little yogini literally uses all of her stomach and back muscles to slowly raise herself up. At the last minute, she puts her hands down to steady herself. That's a move that even her mom and dad couldn't do!
With the Golden Globes cancelled, Traci had to get her awards show fix from the SAG Awards tonight. She also got Katie into the red carpet spirit. Ms. Katie, you look stunning in this lovely magenta number. Who are you wearing? This is a vintage 1968 Sears Winnie the Pooh collection. Note its exquisite boat neck, chic lines, and front detailed pocket... It actually used to be her Aunt Kathy's dress. Can't believe it's held up all these years in Grandma's basement!
Like all good women of the 1960s, Katie continues her retro theme by happily going about doing the laundry for the men of the house! (Please note that Traci does not approve of this last line!!)
We've heard many times that one of the first signs of toddler-hood is the "testing of the parents' boundaries." Well, it looks like we definitely have a toddler on our hands now. Since Kate is still relatively immobile, we only have a few things that are forbidden from her investigation. One of those things is Geno. Any time she tries to grab his paws or tail, we tell her to stop, shake our heads no, and explain that Geno doesn't want to be touched. Katie basically looks at us for a second, gets a big grin on her face, leans toward the dog, and then looks back at us giggling. And, even though we don't laugh or smile, she makes a game of it...leaning toward Geno, looking back at us laughing, leaning, laughing, you get the picture. Does this mean that the toddler tantrums are right around the corner?
For the first time in her short duration as a mother, Traci was charged with the task of taking care of two babies all by herself. Katie's good buddy Connor (6.5 months) spent the morning and early afternoon at our house, hoping to eat, sleep, and be merry. Well...at least we succeeded on two counts... 
For the second day in a row, Kate hung out with an older man (Gasp! thinks Dad). Who is the aptly dressed Prince Charming? It's another one of Katie's playgroup buddies, Patrick (19 months). The kids, Traci, and good friend Kim (who coincidentally also once worked at UofC) met up for some fun at a local mom-and-pop coffee shop. Yep, not a Starbucks in sight! Luckily the kids only screamed at each other a couple times as they fought over some matchbox cars. Otherwise, they fit in with the mellow crowd like a tee.
This afternoon, Mom and Kate had a fun visit with friend, Asa, her son, Max, and their greyhound, Sasha. Kate always has fun at Asa's house, since she knows she'll have access to the toy wonderland of an 18-month-old. It should be noted that Kate chose the car over the horse. Good little city-slicker...shedding those rural roots of her mommy!
Our condo has become a fast track of sorts, lately. Katie has discovered the joy of taking laps around the first floor while practicing her walking skills. It's pretty funny to see, actually. When she has someone (or something) to walk to, Katie gets so excited that her legs actually start flailing out ahead of her body! Traci and I are having a great time with it for now...but, please send money for future chiropractor bills.
Today, Traci, Mike and Katie took a trip into the city for the Notre Dame-Georgetown basketball game at the Verizon Center. While we showed up with nosebleed seats in the 400 level, we ended up joining friends, Kelly and Rose, in an executive suite! Rose's brother, Garth (a.k.a. the "boss"), was kind enough to make room for us in his company's suite. Friend, Eric, and his son, Patrick, were also in attendance, so the Irish certainly had some support.
Despite the terrible performance by the Irish, which Katie attributed to the lack of dedication by former team manager, "Crazy Uncle Brent", she enjoyed taking all the sights in from above.
Throughout the game, Katie appeared to be clapping and screaming much more for the Hoyas than the Irish. She must be following in the footsteps of her cousins, Ben and Tom, who quickly adopt any championship team as their "favorite."
Leather seat. Free drinks. Room to sprawl out. Katie has determined that there really is no other way to enjoy a game...
Katie and Mom were stuck at home today. As pictured here, the little one kept staring out our windows at the falling snow, as if to say "I want to go outside and play!" I promised her that she could as soon as she learns how to walk.
Don't know if you've noticed, but Kate's hair is getting to be pretty unwieldy lately. It's long in parts, short in others, and fine/thin/sticking out wherever possible. Mike likens it to a young William Wallace from Braveheart... Anyway, Traci's been trying to figure out what to do with it. Unfortunately, she grew up a tomboy with brothers and never learned the fine art of french braids, up-dos, and other girly hairstyles. The best that she could come up with is pictured here... Can anybody get us one of those Hollywood hairstylists on the phone - we need help fast!
Don't get excited, Papa T. Katie is certainly not a civil engineer just yet. In fact, she is still very much into destruction. Here, her dad uses a colorful pyramid to entice her demolition skills. Jenga!
After ignoring her for nearly a year, the tooth fairy has been very kind to our little one lately. Kate's gotten all four of her front teeth within the last month. All in all, the teeth arrived with few complaints.
Earlier this week, Katie, Traci, and good friend Maureen took Connor (6.5 months) to the neighborhood playground for his first-ever swinging session. He giggled, flailed, and screamed in delight.
The moment made Traci fondly remember the first time that Katie got to experience that swinging joy with her older buddy Max. Here she is looking so young at 8.5 months old. I guess you could say that Katie has just passed the baton.
Like most workers in our major metro area, Mike came home early to enjoy the unseasonably beautiful weather. We got to take a nice family walk with Geno, grill some steaks out on the deck, and just bask in the 70 degree warmth. Earlier, Katie got to swing and play in the neighborhood playground. Too bad Old Man Winter is supposed to start creeping back in tomorrow...
Traci took this great shot this afternoon. Two funny!
Good night, everybody. This is how I go to sleep every night around 8:00pm. This picture was actually taken in complete darkness right after daddy laid me down to sleep. As you can see, my crib is perfectly staged. I have Toodles (my hippo) tucked in my right arm and Bear-Puppet tucked in my left. Ball, Frog, Baby, and Mirror are all nearby to keep me company just in case I wake up, but they usually just greet me in the morning somewhere between 6:30am and 8:00am. I'm working on giving up my 5:30am feeding, so lately I've been tending toward the earlier end of the wake-up range.
On this night, exactly one year ago today, we honestly had no idea that our lives were about to forever change. Little did we know that this wonderful, beautiful, spunky, and intelligent little girl was going to make herself known by the next day. It's been easy to get quite nostalgic this week. Here she is getting herself all shined up for her big day. We'll see you tomorrow! 
Just look at the cool chick on her new ride... Even though her toes just barely touch the ground and she cannot yet push herself along, Katie is really digging her sweet wheels from Uncle Greg and Aunt Tabby. Not only can she motor around (with some assistance), but she can stash her favorite toys in its baskets. Mommy and Daddy also thought it was pretty cool until they had to keep pushing her for hours on end. Hey, it's hard on old backs and knees!
