Mommy, Wow! I'm a Big Kid Now!

This weekend, we really realized how much Katie Anne is growing up. She's definitely more of a big kid now than a baby! Every day, there are so many moments that show us just how much she's changed in the last two years. Here are some cases in point...

~ Katie Anne is getting really proficient at drinking out of a regular cup. I don't think sippy cups are totally out of the picture any time in the near future - they're still a must in the car - but it is still crazy to me that she can drink without spilling a drop! One day last week, I picked her up while her class was still on the playground, and Ms. Amanda gave her a cup of apple juice "to go". She walked all the way to the car with it, drinking as she walked, and never spilled any! So big.

~ Yesterday, while I was dying of sickness but trying to pretend that I felt fine on the hammock, Katie Anne and Saunders were playing outside in the yard. She was way over in the pinestraw part, playing in her little house. When she saw two people walking their dogs on the street, she took off running - in flip flops - over to the fence. She never tripped, and she was going fast. Then, when she got to the fence, she yelled, "Hi, people! Hi, doggies!" They said hey back to her, and she just waved and waved... it was so funny because she did a little beauty queen wave. Then, when they kept walking, she yelled, "Bye, people! Bye, doggies!," ran back to her house, and kept playing. What a little grown-up.

~ Today, when we were in the car, she was watching her new Strawberry Shortcake movie. She was singing along with one of the songs, and getting most of the words right! She's only seen the video twice. Growing up too fast.

A Baby Shower!

Yesterday, my mom was hosting a baby shower for Danielle, the daughter of her good friend Patty, and Jillian and I came along to help. The shower was really cute! All the guests had a good time, Mom did a great job on the food, and we ran three games - baby food tasting, baby facts, and nursery rhymes fill-in-the-blank, which were big hits.

Unfortunately, as the shower was winding down, my throat started really hurting. I thought maybe it was because I was sitting next to the door where some guests had gone outside to smoke. As we were cleaning up and loading the cars, I just felt worse and worse, and I knew it wasn't the smoke. So, now I'm totally sick. Boo!

The CRCT Is Over!

Thank goodness, thank goodness~ Our testing is done!

I think my kids did well. Some questions were really hard - what first grader can pick out the singular possessive pronoun from a list? - but I think they did well over all.

Reading the entire test aloud ... stinks! I've never read this much out loud in my life. I counted, and I said the phrase, "Fill in the circle beside the answer you think is best." ... 380 times in the last three days!

Tomorrow, we're having Game Day to celebrate. Should be fun!

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I'm going to completely steal Kelly's post idea from her blog (as well as many of her list items) and make a Green/Not So Green list. I try hard to "be green" whenever I can, but I do have other things I could do to make our life a little greener. So, here's my list ...

Green:
*We recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard. Here's a picture of an eight-month-old Katie Anne doing one of her favorite activities... sorting the cardboard recyclables.
*Saunders and I both drive fuel-efficient vehicles.
*I use canvas shopping bags that I bring with me each trip instead of plastic ones.
*I reuse as much as possible, including lots of "trash" items for craft projects!
*We keep our thermostat set to energy-saving temperatures.
*We're buying CFL lightbulbs to replace our incandescents.
*We've have energy-efficient appliances (washer, dryer, dishwasher).
*We wash almost all of our clothes in cold water, and the few loads that I don't wash in cold (towels, socks, underwear, yard clothes)- I just use warm.
*We only run full dishwasher loads and laundry loads.
*I clean my dryer lint trap every time.
*We filter tap water instead of buying bottled.
*We use low-flow shower heads.
*I don't preheat the oven for anything other than baking cakes... for things like lasagna, baked chicken, etc, I just put the food in while the oven is heating so as not to waste the energy.
*We use real plates instead of paper to save waste (and because we're cheapskates).
*We turn off water while we're brushing our teeth, shaving, or while I condition my hair.
*We donate anything we can to avoid throwing things away.
*We planted 16 new trees in our backyard.
*We pack waste-free lunches (use washable Tupperware instead of plastic bags) or recycle things like cans.
*I keep the lights off in my classroom any time the kids aren't in there... so much so that people think I'm weird.
*We read online media and do not get any newspaper deliveries.
*We went in with friends and bought locally-raised red meat in bulk.
*We download movies and songs instead of buying CDs or DVDs.
*We get a lot of bills and statements electronically, and we pay our bills online. We also direct deposit our paychecks, and all of that saves paper.
*Saunders uses two-in-one products like shampoo/conditioner, which saves on packaging waste.

Not So Green:
*We have put so many disposable diapers into landfills that I don't even want to think about it! But, I just can't go cloth.
*I don't buy produce from our local farmer's market, even though we have a great one downtown once a week.
*We keep our television, computers, and other electronic items running a lot, even though we're not using them.
*We leave our cell phone chargers plugged in a lot, even when the phone's not attached. We waste a lot of "vampire" electricity.
*We do not change our air filters as often as we should, and we're reducing the efficiency of our air conditioner.
*Our attic is not adequately insulated.
*The weather stripping around our doors is not adequate.
*I get a lot of magazines... but I do swap magazines with my mom, so that could kind of cancel that out.
*We have a drawer full of old cell phones that we really should donate.
*We eat a lot more canned vegetables than fresh.
*We consume (even though we recycle them) a TON of aluminum drink cans.
*I used to use rechargable batteries when I lived with my parents, but we don't recharge batteries now.


Okay, that's all I can think of! I hope we can maintain our current "green initiatives" between now and next Earth Day while adding a few more of the things we aren't doing, like donating those cell phones and going to our local farmer's market more often. I'd love to read other folks' green ideas!

Favorite Book Day

Today, for Katie Anne's school project, the students were to bring their favorite book in to share with the class. And, they were supposed to dress up to go along with the book. Katie Anne's got a lot of favorite books, but she's really into a few farm books right now. So, she brought Farm Friends, a little peek-a-boo animal book, and Baby Farm Animals, a book about baby animals on the farm. She dressed up as a little farmer today, and she was really excited about it!

The school asked family members to come in and read during the day, but the CRCT is this week ... so I'm really limited into what I can do during the day. Luckily, Gigi and Granddad flew back in from Arizona today, so Gigi went to the daycare and read both books to Katie Anne's class when they got back. The kids loved them!

Family Art Day

This week, Katie Anne's school is celebrating "The Week of the Young Child" with various activities each day. Today was "Take 5 Day", meaning that parents were supposed to take a few extra minutes to "take five" with their child at drop off time in the morning. The daycare had little snacks and cookies in the lobby, and then they had an easy art project for parents and kids to do together.

Katie Anne and I made a lovely ocean scene and enjoyed an Oreo when I dropped her off. Here are some pictures of us at work.

Showing off her finished work...

And, Saunders surprised Katie Anne by stopping by later on his way to work to make a project with her, too! It was a surprise to me, too! So, he didn't have the camera with him, but I took a picture of both finished projects together after Katie Anne brought them home. She had a great time doing art projects with both of us this morning!

Family Shopping Day!

Today, we took a little family trip down to Atlantic Station to visit Ikea. For months, I've been scoping out shelving and playroom essentials for when we finish the playroom. I decided the Expedit shelving at Ikea was exactly what I was looking for, but it took some cajoling to get Saunders to Ikea. We went once to Ikea when it first opened, and it was crazy and crowded, and Saunders swore he would never go back. When I showed him how much money Ikea could save us, he was willing to try it again. :)

So, we went to Ikea this morning and found lots of great stuff. In addition to the shelving, we got some great art supplies like this easel, storage options like this little hanging basket, a cute rug, a canopy for the reading area, and more! I'm so excited about getting it all put together and setting up the room!

After Ikea, we went walking around Atlantic Station. We went to a Mexican restaurant that Saunders's boss had told us about... Rosa Mexicana. They make the guacamole right at your table, and it is delicious! Saunders and I split an order of chicken enchiladas (and still couldn't finish it all) and had two frozen pomegranate margaritas (also his boss's suggestion)... Katie Anne skipped the mexican meal other than eating a few chips. She'd gotten hungry at Ikea and had a little sandwich. It was very yummy and fun lunch!

Here are some pictures of our shopping day. Stay tuned for playroom photos!

Katie Anne tried out every toddler bed in Ikea!

Once she got in the baby bathtub, she didn't really like it.

Katie Anne with her basket of goods!
At Rosa Mexicana...
Yummy guacamole!
Sorting Fruit Loops by color. :)
Just chillin' in Atlantic Station!

The Numbers Game

Pure mathematics is the world's best game. It is more absorbing than chess, more of a gamble than poker, and lasts longer than Monopoly. It's free. It can be played anywhere - Archimedes did it in a bathtub.
~Richard J. Trudeau, Dots and Lines

Katie Anne loves numbers! She loves to read books and "write names" with her crayons, but she's been way more interested in her numbers than letters lately. For the past three or four weeks, we've been doing a lot of counting, number identification, etc. I made some simple number cards for her one day last week (you can see them on the video... just folded printer paper and a Sharpie), and she loves to play with them! She loves to flip her cards over on the table while I'm getting dinner ready, finding and naming the numbers. She carried several cards in her purse over Spring Break, and she loves pointing out numbers on signs when we're out and about.

So, this afternoon while I was getting her a snack, she wanted to see her cards at the table. I'd been intending to make a video of her number naming over Spring Break, but never got a chance. So, I grabbed the camera and made two videos! We made one pre-snack, and one mid-snack. We play cards two ways, and both are in the videos... sometimes, I lay out all the cards and let her pick the numbers as I name them, and sometimes we play like flashcards. She loves to hold the flashcards up for me to name. Sometimes, I say the wrong letter, and she just dies laughing! "No, Mommy... that not 6, that 2! You know dat!"

Here are our videos... forgive our post-school hair. As you can see, we'd just walked in the door... I've still got sunglasses on my head. Later, when I watched them, I wished I had wiped the mascara smears from under my eyes, but impromtu videos are just that!

Writing Thank You Notes

If you gave KA a gift for her birthday, but you haven't gotten a thank you note from Katie Anne yet, they are on their way tomorrow. I ordered some cards from Snapfish, and we got them yesterday. Today, she "wrote" her thank you notes, and she was very excited to do it.

Little Green Thumbs

Today, Katie Anne and I decided to do a little gardening. A few weeks ago, we'd gotten her a little Veggie Tales gardening kit from Home Depot. It was only $4.99, and she was super excited to choose one. She got the snapdragon version.

Then, Doc and VJ gave Katie Anne four little Easter egg planters in her basket. (Only two lived to tell the tale... one got thrown from the car seat and cracked on the drive home from the Easter egg hunt, and one got smashed on the patio this afternoon while the label was being removed one-handed. She broke one and I broke one... you decide which is which.) So, we had some gardening projects to do.

We went out on the patio and had a great time planting and watering after school. Now, we've got growing: one egg with thyme, one egg with impatiens, and six little pots with snapdragons in them. Here are some pictures of our planting adventures. Hopefully, Katie Anne will have better luck with the green stuff than her mommy does! We'll update with our gardening progress as we go.

The Glawson Family Easter Lunch

Today, we went over to my parents' house for an Easter lunch and egg hunts. Gigi and Granddad were there as well as Greg, Jillian, Mamaw, and Randy. First, we started off with a delicious lunch. My mom made grilled chicken, zucchini casserole, rice with veggies, and salad. We brought loaded baked potato salad and deviled eggs. Greg and Jillian brought rolls, and Mamaw and Randy brought a delicious pound cake.

Then, it was outside for egg hunt time! First, Katie Anne hunted her eggs in the front yard. She had a great time, running around and grabbing all her eggs. Then, it was on to the backyard for the big kid hunt! Greg, Jillian, Saunders, and I ran around the backyard, gathering 147 eggs total! Some eggs contained small treats like lip balm, candy, or key chains. Some eggs contained money, ranging from a penny to $20! (Saunders got the big $20 prize.) Other eggs had prize tickets for some great stuff, like movies, candles, or lottery tickets, or for gag gifts like favor bags, "gold things", or men's hair spray.

After the hunt and going through our prizes, we all hung out in the living room. Katie Anne played with her toys, ran around like a mad woman, and played hide-n-seek with Greg while the guys watched the Masters and the girls looked at pictures. It was a super fun Easter day!

Baking Easter Cookies

This morning, we baked some Easter cookies to take to our Easter lunch. This was Katie Anne's first time making cookies with cookie cutters, and she loved it! She had a fun time punching out the dough, icing them, and - of course - shaking on lots of sprinkles! We took the cookies to Gigi and Granddad's house for lunch, and everyone loved them.

A Tisket, A Tasket, KA got an Easter Basket

Katie Anne was very excited to see what the Easter Bunny brought her this morning! She loved all her Easter basket surprises... books, a bunny, some spring clothes, a peeping chick, and a coloring book. Thanks to Doc and VJ for the super cute Easter pajamas!

The Jones Family Easter Breakfast & Egg Hunt

This morning, we met Saunders's parents and grandmother at the Country Club for breakfast with the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt. In spite of the cool, wet weather, we had a fun time!


Katie Anne was a little creeped out by the teenager dressed up as the Easter Bunny, but she did really enjoy the pack of Smarties she got. She ate a big breakfast of eggs with cheese, melon, muffins, and hash browns. Katie Anne loved the Easter lamb basket/purse and ceramic egg planters that VJ brought her, but her favorite thing by far was the sparkly Easter grass. Unfortunately, an untimely spreading of Easter grass throughout the dining room of the Country Club, and the subsequent almost-fit when she was made to stop, led Daddy to secretly trash the sparkly grass.

Then, it was time for the egg hunt! We met up with lots of little friends Katie Anne knew, including the McWhorters and the Shaws, at the rope line. There was a long wait before the hunt, and all the little kids did not understand why they couldn't start picking up eggs right away. Katie Anne used that time to talk strategy with Lily and Bear as well as do some "baby trash talking" with the little Womack boy next to us... he stuck his basket over the rope, so she stuck hers a little further, back and forth until they'd both reached as far as they could over the line while giving each other dirty looks. It was very funny to Paula -his mommy- and me!

Finally, they dropped the rope, and the hunt was on. The grass where the eggs were was very damp, and the eggs were covered in wet grass. Katie Anne rushed out and grabbed an egg, but immediately threw it down and said, "Eww... the eggs nasty." Then, she wouldn't pick any others up for several minutes because they were "too gross". Those precious minutes of lost time cost Katie Anne big by the time she decided to actually brave the nastiness and gather eggs... she got seven total before they were swept up in the big kid wave of hunters. But, that was fine, because there wasn't any candy in the eggs that she could eat anyway, so it is best that we didn't waste any more. She did a really sweet thing during the hunt ... Smith Weaver, a little boy about one year old, was with his mommy, who was trying to get him to gather an egg or two. Katie Anne realized he didn't have any eggs in his basket, so she picked up the two around him and put them in his basket, saying, "Here you go, baby, here you go." Cute!

At the end of the hunt, she met up with Lily and Bear to survey their gatherings and find Doc, who'd wisely stayed out of the wet field. Then, we marched our little grassy selves back to the car to head home for a much-needed nap! It was a fun breakfast and hunt!

Just Dying to Try Dyeing

Easter Egg Dyeing!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Easter Party at Step by Step

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

This afternoon, after our Tellus trip, Katie Anne had her Easter party at Step by Step. Even though she didn't go to daycare this week, we wanted her to have her party and egg hunt with her friends. She'd helped put together all our eggs last weekend to contribute, and she knew they were having a party while she was gone, so I didn't want her to miss it. She hunted eggs outside on the playground and ate a little snack with her friends. It was very crowded and crazy - there were by far the most parents at this party of all the others they've had. I think she (and most of the other kids) were a little overwhelmed by all the people packed into the room snapping pictures and making videos... they all had a bit of a "deer in the headlights" look while they were eating.

She had a good time hunting the eggs. All the other kids dashed straight out onto the playground, but Katie Anne stayed back and hunted along the edge of the building in the planting border, and she had tons of eggs all for her picking there. She wound up getting a basket crammed full of big, beautiful eggs!

Unfortunately, most of Katie Anne's must've come from the same person's contribution, because when we went through her eggs at home, she had about 15 large eggs with Fun Dip inside. Who brings Fun Dip to a one and two year old egg hunt? Mess central! Don't get me wrong - I love Fun Dip - but it was the only forbidden candy in our house growing up because it is such a mess. Plus, whomever had put those eggs together couldn't fit the whole Fun Dip package into the egg, so they'd snapped the Fun Dip sticks in half and put them in there broken! What a travesty! So, poor KA didn't get to enjoy any of the Fun Dip that she found. She did eat some of the jelly beans, fruit snacks, and marshmellows that were in her other eggs. By far, her favorite treat was from Jayden, who brought each child their own chocolate bunny - and it wasn't a little bunny, either! She calls it "the chocolate duck" because it has a tiny picture of a duck on front (standing beside the huge picture of the bunny- crazy kid)... even when I explained to her that it is a bunny, she just changed it to "the chocolate duck bunny" or " the chocolate bunny duck". She ate almost all the ears off him yesterday before I convinced her to take a chocolate-consuming break, and then she told him she was sorry! She said, "I sorry I eat your ears, chocolate duck. I sorry." I wish we had made a video after she ate all this chocolate... I know experts say they've proven that the sugar rush is a modern myth, but this kid was out of her mind, running through the living room, shaking her hands out in front of her like jazz hands, and screaming, "Woo-yah, woo-yah!" over and over.

We put fruit snacks in our eggs because there's a little girl in Katie Anne's class with a dairy allergy, and we wanted Hoolie to have something she could eat, but there were two other cool egg-stuffing ideas I saw while we were opening KA's eggs. One person put tiny little plastic animals in the eggs... Katie Anne got a zebra, antelope, and a dinosaur, which she loved after our trip to Tellus. Also, someone put two of those little growing animals in water capsules in an egg along with a small sheet of directions. So, I'm storing both of those ideas away for future use!



***Katie Anne, if you're reading this later, stop reading here because I'm about to go off on a rant, and I wanted to separate it from happy memories of Easter joy for my precious angel girl.


Side note... I had a little issue with the party. The party was supposed to start at 2:30. In the parent letter, in all the signs on each classroom door for the last two weeks, on the marquee by the front door of the building... Easter Party and Egg Hunt - Thursday, April 9 - 2:30 pm. All my precious blog-reading friends know that, if Katie Glawson Jones is a stickler for anything, it is a schedule.

At 2:25, when we're one red light away from the daycare, I get a call from my friend to hurry- that they're holding up the egg hunt for us. When we walk in at 2:27, the daycare director screams (literally) in front of all those parents and kids, "Well, look who's finally here! Nothing like being late! Get here when you can!" All the kids were lined up in the hallway with their baskets, looking destitute like we'd made them wait for two hours or something, and all the parents turned around and stared at us. Grrr... I was livid.

I looked at the clock and said, "By my watch, we're early. You said this party started at 2:30."
She said, "Well, it did, but everyone was here early and was ready."
I replied, "Look, you want us here at 2:15? Say the party starts at 2:15. You want us here at 2:00? Say the party starts at 2:00. But, if you tell me the party starts at 2:30, you can expect me here at 2:30."

Ohh, it just ruined the whole thing for me, because I hate being told I'm late when I'm not! And, I was so embarrassed that she screamed that at us in front of all those people! I'm a teacher, and I know you don't start parties early - even if you've run out of things to do to keep the kids entertained until then - because you told parents to be there at that time. I actually started my egg hunt five minutes late last week because I had two parents that weren't there at nine, and I wanted to give them a chance to arrive - both were there by 9:05. But we weren't even late!!! And I would never yell at a family who is coming into my classroom that they're late (especially when they aren't) in front of twenty other parents - I'd never yell at them, period. It just doesn't give that welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere to a school ... and it certainly doesn't inspire me to write that woman a series of checks totalling almost $7,000 of my hard-earned money this year like I did last year. Um, I was going to say that it took me several hours to get over it, but judging by my heart rate, I still don't think I'm over it. :)

Another thing - Last week, I'd asked what to bring because I wouldn't be at the school this week when the sign-up sheet was posted. I always go out of my way to bring plenty to parties, make a contribution for all the school projects, etc because I know how much trouble it is for teachers to get this stuff together. They asked me to bring plates, napkins, and small cookies. So, yesterday, I made a special trip to two stores to find cute Easter plates and napkins, then went to Kroger for small cookies. Well, they didn't even open any of them! They'd forgotten that they'd assigned me anything to bring, so someone else brought all that stuff, and they used theirs. So, we got publicly chewed out by the director, given withering looks by the parents, were made to be the party pariahs, and then brought all our supplies back home with us, unopened - unused - unappreciated. Grrr!

Thursday at Tellus!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Saunders took off today and tomorrow to spend a little Spring Break with Katie Anne and me. So, this morning, we went to Tellus - The Northwest Georgia Science Museum. I'd been to Tellus with my class a few weeks ago, and I knew Katie Anne and Saunders would love it! I bought my educator's pass today, so now Katie Anne and I can go for free from now until this time next year!

We had a wonderful time exploring the dinosaur exhibit, "My Big Backyard", and digging for fossils. We didn't even get around to the planetarium, the mineral museum, the transportation museum*, and we barely got to try gold panning. So, we've got lots of things to go back and do!

*A little story about the transportation museum... when we were walking through there to get to the fossil dig and gold panning, I told Katie Anne that the sign said "Please don't touch." As we walked past the train, a boy about Katie Anne's age was touching the train. His family was getting on to him, but Katie Anne took it upon herself to stop in front of the train, cross her arms in front of her belly just like the Tellus employees, and say, "Please don't touch, please don't touch," in this serious little voice. Everyone standing around, including the boy's parents, thought it was hilarious! I don't think the boy found it very funny, though. :) Here's a picture of her doing it... it's a little dark in that part of the museum, so it is kind of hard to see.As we were leaving the fossil dig, our last adventure at the museum, Katie Anne said, "I love Tellus," right as we walked past two Tellus employees! They thought that was just great. Of course, they had to stop her and talk to her about all her favorite parts. :) She said it herself- she loves Tellus!

I would recommend anyone who hasn't seen the museum to come up and visit. Kids under 3 get in for free, kids over 3 pay $8, and adults are $12. Teachers get a yearlong pass for $35! Anyone who wants to go with Katie Anne and me, come on! ... And yes, Doc - Katie Anne's planning to take all the grandparents on guided tours this summer break. :)

KangaZoom!

On Tuesday, we went down to Smyrna for a playdate with Erin and Ella. Katie Anne had such a great time with "Ella Baby" at her birthday party, and she was really excited to go play with her.

We met at KangaZoom, which is a bigger and better Bouncin' Beans. It is a huge indoor inflatable play area, and the nice thing is that they have a separate area for toddlers. Unfortunately, because it was a cold Spring Break day (there were snow flurries!), all the big kids were there, so our two little toddlers were kind of overwhelmed by the crowds. We stayed and played for about an hour, but then we headed to Atlanta Bread Company for a yummy lunch. Afterwards, we went and played with all of Ella's toys for about an hour until the girls got ready for naps. We had a great time, and I hope we can have playdates more often this summer!

Here are some pictures of the girls in KangaZoom!

Almost forgot that I took a little video of Katie Anne having fun! This is a little game she likes to call "Roll and Tumble" ... she's got a book where the animals roll and tumble.



And one video of my totally OCD child.

Easter Bunny Portraits

I got Katie Anne's Easter bunny portraits back from Tonsmeire's last Friday, but with all the birthday party excitement, I didn't get a chance to scan them in until this morning. I'm going today at 1:30 to order the ones we want, and it has been such a tough choice! I don't know that any will ever top last year's - those are my favorite pictures of her, ever - but these came really close. I love them!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Also, we've decided not to get any professional second birthday pictures made. She made these bunny portraits and her school pictures last week, and she might get another picture made this Saturday at the egg hunt. So, I think three sets of professional pictures in the week surrounding her birthday are enough, even for me! I'll post her school picture as soon as I get it back - her teacher said she smiled really nicely for the camera, so hopefully it will be a good one.

Funny Things to Say - The KA Way

I've always loved the "Lily-isms" on my friend Vanessa's blog, and I thought, with all the crazy things Katie Anne is saying now, that it is time for me to add my own little section. So, that's now over on the sidebar on the right.

In honor of Lily being the inspiration, I put one KA quote about Lily. This morning, I asked Katie Anne about her party to see what she remembered. I said, "What did you have at your birthday party?" I was thinking she'd say balloons or cake or presents. She responded, "My has cake, cannels (candles), and Lily." So sweet!

The other quotes for right now are about her grandfathers...

On Friday night, my parents and Saunders's mom came over to help get ready for the party, and Doc was playing the sax at Waterstone Grill. Katie Anne immediately asked where he was, and when VJ told her, she said very firmly, "Doc, go play that music! You go!" just like she'd commanded him to do so. She kept saying it all evening long.

Whenever we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, she loves to ask which kids on the next-to-last page are boys and which are girls. (Trust me, it is hard to tell.) A few weeks ago, she started asking me, "What color that boy? What color that girl?" because they have very unusual, brightly colored skin. I told her that one boy was yellow, one girl was pink, one boy was teal, one girl was khaki, one boy was brown... and she said, "Oh, my Granddad is brown boy. My Granddad is brown." I didn't think much of it because my dad is always really tan. Then, several days later, we walked past an African-American man in the parking lot at her daycare. Katie Anne promptly pointed her little finger at him and yelled out, "Mommy, that boy brown! That boy brown! That boy brown like my Granddad!" Then, as we passed him, she looked him straight in the eye and said, "My Granddad is brown boy." I said, "Please excuse her," and he said, "Oh, that's no problem. My Granddad is a brown boy, too!" Of course, that guy gave me the once over, and I'm sure he thought that I must favor my mom. :) Every time we see him picking up his preschooler in the afternoons, he gives KA a big grin, so I don't think he was offended at all, but still ... How do you talk to a toddler about tact?

Our Little Photojournalist

Katie Anne is absolutely loving all her birthday presents, but her two favorites so far appear to be her "big whee" (or slide) and her digital camera. That's fitting, since those two things were her big gifts from both sets of her grandparents! She's gone down the slide probably 200 times since her birthday party, and she lugs that little digital camera with her everywhere. (Thank goodness it is kid-tough!)

She took 26 pictures and two videos with her camera yesterday, and of course a lot of them are very "photojournalistic" aka the sides of walls or chairs or knees. I told my mother-in-law last night that its interesting to see her pictures... I guess that's what life looks like when you're knee-high! She does get some good pictures out of her run-and-snap method of photography, though. Here's a small selection of her shots.

Abby, patiently waiting for food dropped from Katie Anne's plate.




Ginger, waiting to go upstairs.








A post- breakfast still life.









Close up of Daddy.










Gigi and Granddad










Her bunny from Marvin and Jenny.








Abby and Ginger playing outside... can you tell who her favorite subjects are?


Daddy waving at the little photo- grapher.







Another shot of who else? Abby and Ginger!







I thought this view of the trees in our backyard was quite artistic.





Her tea set from Mamaw and Randy.







A photo- journal- istic view of tree shadows in the backyard.





And one of Mommy!