Happy Birthday Mommy

I had a great day today, including a fancy Olive Garden dinner with my two favorite people. Catherine then helped me blow out my candles and open presents.

By the way, this is what happens to little girls when they are up an hour+ past their bedtimes and also stuffed with chocolate cake!

(She is dancing to the hamster music in my birthday card! What a silly goose!)

A Special Visitor

We had a special visit from Aunt Alison this week. A certain photographer (me) wasn't around for large portions of it, however, so the evidence of their fun is limited. Oh, but I've heard stories of driving down the highway playing hide-and-seek in traffic with Daddy's moving truck, dance parties in the DJ lights section of the music store, puzzle marathons in the playroom tent, and multiple other silly activities. I did come home Friday evening to find Catherine in a tutu, fairy wings, and a pony tail on top of her head, so I know there were all kinds of hi-jinx and hilarity that preceded my arrival. Catherine proudly showed off all of our new neighborhood activities, including the park, the pool, and the lake with the ducks. It is so sad that because of the distance we don't see her more often. Come back and visit soon, Aunt Alison!

Happy Father's Day

Big Girl Toddler Bed

We bit the bullet this weekend and converted Catherine's crib to a toddler bed. This was very hard for me to do. Let me go on record and state that my crazy, climb-on-anything. super-tall-so-the-crib-rail-was-barely-higher-than-her-waist child after 2 years, 4 months, and 13 days never once climbed out of her crib. It wasn't that she couldn't. I just don't think it ever dawned on her to try!

So why, you may ask, are we granting her the freedom to roam around her room at night? Well, if we hadn't potty-trained her so well that she actually wanted to get up and go as soon as she woke up after naps and in the morning, then we wouldn't be making this transition just yet.

I was very concerned about this change. Catherine does not like to sit still, and she doesn't sleep without being in a dark room that is free of distractions. I was certain that she would be up at all hours of the night playing with her books and bedroom toys. I was fully prepared to be awakened at 3:00 a.m. by the sound of her xylophone.

Boy was I wrong. Last night she not only went right to bed but slept an extra hour this morning!! I wonder how long we can keep this up?!?!

Jumping for joy this morning after sleeping all night.

Summer Fun Party

Have I expounded enough on why we love our new neighborhood? Well, let me add to it...today was the Summer Fun Party at the pool. Talk about an awesome time. There were 4 different inflatable houses and slides, a clown making balloons, another clown painting faces, snow cones, cotton candy, BBQ, a DJ, and TONS of kids.

Catherine was a bit shy at first, and we went early so the crowd wouldn't be too overwhelming. Once the 9 year old from across the street showed up, however, Catherine jumped right into the fray. Is she too young for me to start worrying about the tremendous influence "older" girls seem to have on Catherine?

First snow cone. I tried to convince her that blue would be fun (and the stains might blend in better with her shirt,) but of course it had to be purple.

Big, bouncy slide. She even used the rope to climb up the wall to get to the slide with some 9-year-old coaching!

An Early Father's Day

We were excited to have Grandpa Jim and Vikki come to visit us this weekend. Jim and his dad worked hard building a workbench in the basement garage while Vikki, Catherine, and I stayed cool playing inside. We were able to celebrate Grandpa's birthday as well as an early Father's Day. What a treat!

Bye-bye Old House

It is OFFICIAL! We signed the closing papers on the old house today. Hooray! Despite the celebration and the relief of not having two mortgages, I'm a bit wistful. She was a good ole house. She was my first house, the house in which I was married, the one to which I brought Catherine home, the one in which she took her first steps, and on and on.

Here she was that first summer we were together.
And then during the following fall.
(Note the orange-and-white checkerboard end-zone flowerbed. I had way too much time on my hands back then!)

And here she is today when I went by to say goodbye. (She was prettier last summer with her new landscaping when we actually watered the yard and planted yellow lantana in all of the beds.)

Catherine asked to go the old house tonight when Jim and I were toasting our champagne. I told her that a nice new lady was living there now. She got upset and cried at the thought of someone else being in her "old house." Note to self...let's not talk about the old house anymore.

As I was getting sad after dinner tonight, Jim reminded me that we are so much better in our new neighborhood. And then we proceeded to take a wagon ride past the park to the lake and feed the ducks. Yup, I'll miss the old house, but the new house is pretty great, too!

B-E-A-C-H!

We just got back from a week-long vacation with Grandmom, Granddad, and Aunt Allison. We had such a wonderful time that I think we all want to go back already! I'll let my TONS of pictures tell the story of our week.

Walking to the beach the first morning...wagon-full of toys in tow.

Catherine sat down and dug right into the sand. Granddad kept commenting that digging in sand is an innate kid quality.

Everyone's toes grew 2 inches over the course of the week because Catherine took special care to water all of our toes twice each day.
Catherine LOVED the waves.
Family Fun.
Snack break in her own, special, pink beach chair!
Many hours were spent attempting to return the sand to the ocean.
Do I really want to know what they are contemplating?? Hmmm...I think not.
Who do I look like?
Every morning and afternoon when we would walk down to the beach, Catherine would climb on top of Aunt Allison and greet her, "Hi, Aunt Allis!"
Writing in the sand was a huge hit.

By mid-week, Catherine was wave-jumping by herself!
I'm ready, let's go!

There were many attempts to build sand castles. None were successful because Catherine would smash it before anyone could get even two walls up! Sand animals didn't survive any longer. Aunt Allison found the solution. She built sand chairs and cradles that Catherine thoroughly enjoyed leaving intact for her lounging pleasure!

Love this girl!
Enjoying the sunset on our last day at the beach.