Update for Friday, April 4

By now, all of you should be used to the erratic posting schedule of this blog. We're back with so many pictures to catch up since November (eek!!!) that I'm sure to either fill you with so much Katie-joy, or quite possibly bore you to the point that you don't even make it to the end of this post. We've got lots to cover, so let's begin with some old pictures that I don't think ever made it on the blog. I'd usually just let them go as irrelevant at this point, but they're so good that I just can't share:

Here's the tag-team duo of Grandma and Katie playing with arguably the best toy ever invented - the cardboard box:

And here's a few photos from last summer - I can't imagine how I didn't share them before. Paul went out on his pontoon boat, and Grandma and Katie met him at the lake for a short visit:

If we're going chronologically, the next event was Christmas. You'd expect a lot of photos from this day, but really there's only one thing you need to know . . . Katie got a trampoline from her Uncle Matt:

In preparation for the holidays, Katie spent a lot of time baking cookies at Grandma's house. She quickly realized that nobody at her house was going to take time to make cookies, so she learned to do it herself. The cookies were a hit, but my favorite were the chocolate dipped pretzles:

By the time we had recovered from the sugar coma from Christmas, it was already Valentine's day. Katie and our cousin Morgan spent a day at Grandma's house making valentines for everyone:




Once they finished their valentines, they set upon the task of making a birthday cake for Katie Grace who turned 3 the day before Valentine's Day. You've never met a sweeter pair of girls!

Later that evening, we celebrated Katie's birthday at home. It was a great party, complete with horn blowing clowns!

First there was this:

Which led to this:


Which led to this:
Here's a picture of two happy party-goers:


Katie got her first 'fishin rod' from Daddy, a great set of read-along books from Grandpa, and a darling little tea set from Mommy (who didn't really want to give it up):

The present that made the biggest 'splash' this year was her very own fish tank - which she promptly pulled over on her head the next morning 'trying to take care' of her fish. Did you know they make earthquake straps for almost anything?

A few days after Katie's birthday she had two special visitors in town - her Auntie Tara and Uncle Bryan from St. Louis. Auntie Tara earned mega cool points for all the time she spent playing with Katie in her room. We still talk about the 'cave' in her bedroom where the 'dragon' lives.



We also spent an afternoon at one of our favorite children's museum:


Speaking of birthdays, a few weeks later we celebrated the birthday's of Katie's Grandma and Auntie Liz. Note the combined ages of these ladies - we're not saying who owns which years! You'll note that Katie fine-tuned her candle blowing skills on the beautiful cake which she made with Grandma's help:



At the end of March, we took our first family vacation in almost a year - we spent a long weekend at Lopez just relaxing - everyone hunkered down with good books:

Katie and Daddy went fishing with her new 'fishin rod', and she learned the precise nature of getting skunked:

We braved the cold drizzle and explored the dock at low tide. Daddy was able to reach a really cool starfish that we loved for a little while before returning it to the sea:


What follows is a random collection of photos. We'll begin with a photo montage of what Katie does during a typical morning - eat cereal, wear princess shoes, and ride Luna:

We also have made more time for our friends. We went to the children's museum with Spencer Brown and his mom. The kids had a great time playing in the tree house and looking down through the 'hole' in the floor!

They played in the percussion room - a must for any kid:

...they made a stop at the face-painting station:

... and they learned about leverage by pulling ropes to lift bowling balls. I don't know how much leverage it takes, but it's a bit more than they've got at this point:

Katie and Spencer had a great time and finished the day with a refreshing cookie:

We recently were invited to a 'cowgirl' party for Miss Morgan's 6th birthday. We especially enjoyed painting little ponies:

The little pony party favors were fun too - we still like to line them up in Katie's room, and they often sleep lying down in a little plate:

It's been noted before in this blog that Katie loves to cook. Here she is one morning with Daddy - helping him make breakfast. As usual, it's eggs!


Speaking of eggs, I don't have any Easter photos to share with you. My camera died (again) the day before Easter. I do have a few photos from Katie's Grandma when they were decorating an Easter 'tree':

Let's wrap up this post with a photo under debate at our house - Paul says she's having a blast at the local reptile museum - I say it's thinly veiled terror. You decide:

That's all for now! See you..... sometime!

Update for Friday, December 21

So, here's a typical morning scene outside the bathroom door when I'm getting ready for work in the morning. Hilarious!



Stay tuned for Christmas pics soon!

Update for Thursday, December 6

Greetings everyone (the three of you who are still checking-in, Grandpaw, Auntie Tara, & Aunt Linny). It seems that my posting habit is to share a batch of photos right before the next special occasion. So, as Christmas will be upon us in a few days, and without further ado - may I present the sweet little lion:



Halloween is a special holiday at The Blue House. All of us have a surprising dedication to pumpkin picking & carving, not to mention the thrill of a large quantity of candy around the house (why is it that we buy 15 pounds of candy for 5 trick-or-treaters?)

As in years past, we all went out to our favorite local farm and wandered around their fields choosing just the right pumpkins. This year, we invited a few of our friends to join us - here's Katie bringing Spencer Brown and his Mom up to the barn:


We were lucky to arrive early enough to help the farmer feed his baby cows:



Katie & Spencer then hitched a ride down to the farthest reaches of the pumpkin patch (where we're convinced the best pumpkins reside):


The kids (big and little) picked out their pumpkins and then the little kids sat still for a series of funny pictures. I think Katie told a joke to Spencer that fell flat:







Daddy helped Katie put her pumpkins in the wheelbarrow and we headed back to the barn:





Once we got home, Katie went to take a nap, and the rest of us started carving. Here's our friend Bridget scooping guts:


And Auntie Liz with her usual gruesome creation:


Uncle Matt carved so many pumpkins, it had lasting effects on his brain:


Spencer and his Mom created a happy masterpiece:


When Katie awoke, most of our party had disbursed, but Bridget hung around and helped Katie decorate her pumpkin with markers and stickers:



They also had fun talking into the hollowed-out pumpkin, as it makes your voice sound echo-y:



Katie toured the kitchen, looking at all the carved pumpkins. After spending a considerable time reviewing Auntie Liz's work, she declared "it's a face":


So, I apologize for being photo-crazy for this post - I don't usually take great pictures, but the good lighting at the pumpkin patch, and luck with a new camera have made me a bit giddy. Toodle-loo from the pumpkin crew!

Update for Thursday, November 1

We've had a great summer! Our May vacation was about it for the summer fun budget, but we did manage to have a few special days to celebrate the nice weather. Here's a random assortment of photos for your enjoyment.

Katie has grown into quite a little chef. Her specialties include plastic donuts and carrots, invisible soup, and scorching hot pretend coffee. Here she is serving me and Auntie Liz a delicious breakfast of carrots and coffee. You'll see that Liz is smart - she's blowing on the coffee to make it cool:

Random photo - Katie loves her dogs. Here she is 'taking a cuddle' with Luna:

Paul and Katie were the proud keepers of a magnificent garden this summer. Here's a photo that Paul took on his cell phone that I find quite striking. I can almost 'see' her adult face in here:

In addition to zucchini, they grew tomatoes, green beans, swiss chard (blech), green onions, beets (never got brave enough to try them), turnips (meh), lettuce, radishes, spinach, spaghetti squash (yum), cucumbers, potatoes (fun) & these beautiful carrots:

We celebrated the 4th of July by solidifying a great tradition, we went to the Children's Parade in Carnation with our Aunt, Uncle and cousin Morgan. Morgan's big dog, Triton, pulls the cart with the girls inside!

Katie also spent a lot of time at the park this summer. Here are a few photos that her Grandpa took when he was here babysitting his favorite granddaughter. She especially liked the bike-ride to the park:

We also spent a fun summer day with our friends Spencer Brown and his Mom at Remlinger Farms. Auntie Liz came with us for a picnic, train ride, and a great day at the park:

It was particularly fun in the water ride when they figured out how to 'catch' the ducks!

More recently, we joined Spencer and his Mom at the Circus! I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, me or Katie, but it sure was a great day!

Julie & Katie were lucky to spend a quick weekend up on Lopez Island with Katie's Grandma Teresa. A nice walk on the beach makes it all worth it:

During the hot days of summer, Katie developed a fondness for eating whole strawberries (and getting them out of the fridge by herself). This girl can put away a clamshell of berries in one sitting!

Here's another fun photo - Katie and our cousin Morgan at the Blue House summer party. These girls love each other very much!

Other than a relatively quiet summer, we had a bit of concern when we thought Katie was exhibiting some seizure-type behavior. We ended up getting her a series of neurological tests - which earned our girl the nickname Katie Goopyhead - that showed no abnormalities. Long story short, it seems that Katie simply has an extreme way of showing surprise - by stiff arms, wide-eyes, and a grimace on her face. Nothing to worry about, and a good lesson in pediatric epilepsy (which is surprisingly common).

That's all for now. We're exhausted! The next post is forthcoming - Halloween photos have already been downloaded!

Update for Wednesday, August 29

Katie is 2 and a half years old now!

So, even though it's already the end of August I really was just joking in the last post about taking a vacation in May and posting pictures by September, in fact, September is just around the corner and I'm nervous that I'll be the butt of my own joke. Therefore, without further ado, here are some photos from our awesome vacation to St. Louis and California in May!

We went to visit Katie's Grandma Carol in St. Louis, where Miss Katie became particularly fond of a pair of Mrs. Potato Head earrnings, she even made her Uncle Arky wear them too! We think these earrings would look great on anyone:

Grandma Carol would spend special time with Katie every morning, blowing bubbles that would hang on the dewy grass and bushes. They decorated the yard in spectacular fashion:



In the afternoons, Katie would help Grandma vacuum the floors - surprisingly, she did a really good job!

We took a really fun day trip to the St. Louis zoo where Paul and Katie could 'monkey around':

Grandma took Katie on another fun outing to her work at a quarry - they visited with Grandma's friends, and saw big tractors:

We also took the opportunity to do the unthinkable - we brushed out Katie's afro! We made up for it with a yummy bowl of vanilla ice cream, but I think she was still a bit upset:

We left St. Louis for the California coast. Katie's first experience with walking on sand was funny. We were following another couple with a small daughter out to the sand when Katie threw a fit about the wierd feeling of walking in sand - then these other people's kid started wailing and wanting to be picked up too - even though she'd been walking in it for a little while without an issue! We got over the trauma and then conquered the ocean with our Uncle Dave and cousin Morgan:

Katie' played in the sand with her Auntie Liz and her Daddy:

Before we left California, Katie had a blast taking a bicycle ride with her Daddy and our cousin Christine:

Well, that's about it - I squeaked in under the wire! Obviously, I've got more photos - and maybe will be able to post them soon. Thanks for your patience!

Update for Friday, April 20 (2 of 2)

Before I forget, Miss Katie went to Miss Morgan's 5th princess birthday party where she had a great time playing with her cousin and friends!

You asked for Easter photos, and here they are... no thanks to me! We hosted a brunch for Easter this year, and in all the effort to put together a fun party, it was just too much for me to take pictures too. I thank my Mom and our Auntie Rebecca for the following photos.

Katie and her cousins ate at the kid's table. There's Morgan and Cole and Baby Aiden with Miss Katie.

Then everyone went outside for the most idyllic easter egg hunt. Bigger kids helped younger kids, and a good time was had by all.

Katie is particularly fond of our cousin Violet, who's Morgan's big sister.

We're all caught up now. Our next big adventure is just around the corner. We're taking a real family vacation to St. Louis and then California in late May - early June. Expect photos by September?

Until then - see you!

Update for Friday, April 20 (1 of 2)

Here's a number of photos from the past few weeks. Katie's learning to pedal a tricycle at her Grandma's house:

We had a strange bit of snow on April 1 - that's no joke!


Recently, Katie's Grandpa was in town for a week of babysitting. Miss Katie fed her Grandpa a nutritious plastic breakfast of Pizza, Ice Cream & Onion Soup one morning. Note the bib she's wearing - she ran out of the room to find it, since no self-respecting toddler dares to eat without one!

Here's the duo working on their laptop. They're probably watching "dogs runnin", a video that her Grandpa took of the Iditerod dogs in Anchorage, Alaska. Katie still asks for that video every time I'm working on my laptop!

Here's a glimpse of our weekday morning routine. First we put on 'nakeup' (say it fast):


Then Katie wears my shoes for a while. She really loves to clack around in the kitchen:

Miss Katie is quite a chatterbox these days - one can expect a running commentary from her at all times. Although it's more difficult for her, she's starting to string more words together. Yesterday, she surprised me when we were in the bathroom getting ready - she said: "oh no! no! Lulu drinkin lawa inna polly!" Translation: Luna's drinking water out of the potty.

Funny stuff.

Update 3 of 3 for Thursday, March 1

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY KATIE! In addition to turning two years old, Miss Katie has been evaluated for the last time at Swedish Hospital and has been deemed caught-up to her actual age! We're so lucky to have enjoyed such steady progress in her mental and physical development in the past two years.

We celebrated her birthday in typical fashion, letting her play with her cake until it was too much for her Uncle Matt to bear. Thanks to her Papa, Katie knew how to blow out her candles!

Here's a few pictures of the birthday girl and her cake:

Uncle Matt didn't approve of the cake-touching, and we quickly got him a piece that was without abuse:

Once the cake was eaten, she was all set to open her presents!

Her Auntie Tara and Uncle Bryan got it right with this mug from Katie's office set:

So, we're all caught up with the blog now. I'll try to post on a more regular basis, but no promises!