Bewildered

Here is a video of Katie discovering our Christmas tree yesterday afternoon. She had just woken up from a nap and was a little unsure of this thing that materialized during her slumber. I think the look on her face says, "What happened to my old toy corner?"

Douglas Burr

Despite the unusually chilly temperatures, today was all about picking out our Christmas tree. We wish we could recount an adventure complete with exotic details about hiking for miles to locate and cut down the perfect tree, but, alas, we are in a recession! That being said, we headed to Home Depot! Katie was not all that interested, but did wander into the section of Douglas Firs. We figured that was her choice and picked out a nice 6.5 ft tree for her. Traci and Mike spent the rest of the afternoon getting the tree up and decorating. Pictures to follow tomorrow...

While Dad secured the tree to the roof of the Escape, Mom and Katie ducked into Home Depot to warm up. While inside, Katie found a friend that was just her size! She walked around with her snowpal for at least ten minutes before tearfully departing for home. These days, I think she is looking for any companionship besides old Mom and Dad.

Cuk-Cuk

Katie met up with one of her main squeezes, Patrick (2.5 years), for a playdate this morning. These kids are so darn cute together. They are always trying to sneak a hug, kiss, or a hand-hold...ahem, you didn't just read that, Daddy! Katie usually loves the attention, but she seems to have rebuffed Patrick in this shot. You can't get between a woman and a good novel!


One of the reasons that she loves going to Patrick's house is that they have a lot of the same interests. He loves all things trains and trucks and shares his things very nicely with Katie. He even introduced her to the movie "Cars" today. Too bad she only sat still for a millisecond of it.

She had sooo much fun with Patrick today that she chanted his name (Cuk-Cuk) the whole way home and throughout lunch. Very soon after, she fell into a deep, contented sleep. (Don't ask about why we had to change her clothes...darn diapers!)

Top Chef

It was homeade pizza night this evening and Katie took a real interest in the kitchen for the first time. Here she is doing her best to help Traci mix the dough. It looks like she takes this cooking thing seriously. Doesn't it? Mike got home late and wasn't there to see it. However, judging from the amount of sauce on Katie's face upon arrival, he could easily see that Katie approved of the end product.

Trucks, Blocks, Trucks, Blocks!

The entire family took advantage of a half-day of work for Mike by going downtown to Katie's favorite destination - the National Building Museum. She was so excited on the drive in that she kept repeating "Trucks, Blocks, Trucks, Blocks!" She's still not muck of a builder or stacker like her cousins Julian and Nico, but she is definitely a truck driver, pusher, and scooter. She also liked running laps around the large toddler play room. Maybe she'll be a Formula One racer someday?

Here's Katie explaining how to put a truck puzzle together to her Daddy.

Help Wanted?

Katie gets so excited whenever it is laundry day...she LOVES to help in any way that she can. She literally waits right next to the washer/dryer, follows you to wherever you dump the clean laundry pile, and picks up items to "shake" out before we fold. She even dutifully throws away any dryer sheet that she finds. This is all well and good except for a couple of things: 1.) She loves to unfold stuff that you have already folded. Laundry can be a never-ending process if you are patient enough. 2.) She doesn't distinguish between dirty and clean laundry basket piles. She always seems to find our most embarrassing items to throw around the upstairs. She especially loved to do this at her Papa's one-story house...need we say more?

Guess we can't complain that she wants to help right now. Let's see how this laundry thing goes when she turns pre-teen!

Thankful for Family

Mike, Traci, and Katie spent a wonderful, restful Thanksgiving weekend in Brockway. We think that Kate had the time of her life playing with Papa, Grammy, aunts, uncles, cousins, and especially Zeke, Papa's black lab. (We didn't know how that would go since Katie has acted fearful of neighborhood dogs lately.) She had so much fun with these relatives and visitors that she often sent Mommy and Daddy to another room when she was playing with them. (Not that we minded the break, you know?) Now the countdown is on for visiting her other side of the family...

Please take a peek at the T-giving photos in the album to the right!