Monday, December 26, 2011

Priorities

Today we arrived in Albuquerque to visit Allison's parents.  As is typical with all grandkids, Katelyn's attention left us and went to Grandma and (especially) Grandpa.  While I kept my eye on her, she was definitely not interested in Daddy.  We began opening presents, and she was quite entranced with all of the musical things around (a clock that plays Christmas carols, music boxes, etc.) and had turned her attention to her new Mrs. Potatohead, or so I thought.  In my stocking were some of my very favorites, chocolate covered raisins. 

Suddenly, I had a daughter again. 

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Words and other breakthroughs

Katelyn is beginning to be a wordy little girl.  Lately it seems like she says a new word every day.  Recent additions to her vocabulary include such gems as apple, ball, snow, blue, boom (for fireworks), light, banana, star, shoe, shirt, cookie, kitty, leaf, and flower (which she pronounces "flowf").  Most of her pronunciation is less than perfect, but she does make herself pretty clear.  She also knows the letter "b."  She thinks all the other letters are also "b," but she's emphatic when she comes across the real thing.  And she knows that cows say "moo."

This week she has begun attempting to use utensils.  This is a very exciting breakthrough for me, as I was beginning to wonder if she would be eating with her fingers forever.  Earlier this week we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch, and she used a spoon to eat about half her soup.  Then tonight we had baked potatoes, and she actually used a fork to eat most of hers.  There were some very proud (and somewhat relieved) parents at the dinner table tonight!

Right now, Katelyn's favorite things are stuffed animals, puzzles, clothes, cars, balls, and Christmas decorations.  She is completely enamored with the tree and the lights outside on the house.  She often carries various stuffed animals around the house, including a purple and orange snake.  Whenever she plays with it, she hisses.  It's pretty darn cute.  She's just generally cute, and happy, and sweet, and most of the time, an absolute delight.  We are blessed.