Katherine's birthday at preschool

Yes, Katherine's birthday was at the beginning of March, but these pictures were too cute not to post. A couple of days before Katherine's birthday party, she celebrated her birthday with her church preschool class (she also had a celebration at her daycare preschool - but I wasn't there for the celebration). Katherine's teacher made her feel very special and let her build her own felt birthday cake - she got to choose the flavor and the candles.



And, then Katherine became very serious - I guess birthdays are serious business. Although, K's friend Audrey seemed to be very happy about the occasion.



Here's the crew...



And, here's the crew enjoying birthday cupcakes.



And my favorite picture of the morning.

Katherine's Birthday

On March 7, we celebrated Katherine's birthday with 25, or so, of her closest friends and their parents! Yes, we are crazy. We tried to limit the amount of children, but Katherine kept inviting more people! She's a very social girl - shy, but likes to be around people. So, we had everyone at our house - in the backyard. Katherine insisted on a Cinderella theme - and wore the dress to match the cake! We also surprised her with a visit from Cinderella - "the real one" as Katherine explains it. Katherine didn't really know what to do with her - she wouldn't let her paint her face, but she did take this picture with her. And, she still talks about Cinderella coming to her party!

The kids also enjoyed the bounce house...my mom, too!

30 days go so quickly, Part 2

And in the last 30 days....or so, we had a presidential election - YAY! And Katherine and I watched all the festivities for hours that day.



And there were dinners with Amy and Nikki - which always involves lots of playing...Nikki's such a good sport.



And there were two birthday parties...the first was at a place where they have a room full of bounce houses - Katherine had absolutely no fear about these things -much to my dismay.



The other party was at the Aquarium - didn't get any good pictures, though.

Finally, we had a day in South Orange County - first, a much needed haircut for Katherine - good-bye lopsided hair, hello cute, short hair cut.

Before pictures....





After pictures...





After the haircut we went down to Dana Point for a walk along the beach - beautiful. Katherine didn't want to leave - I can't blame her.

30 days go so quickly, Part 1

Well, I knew this would happen - I just can't seem to blog any more regularly than once a month. So, here's the monthly wrap-up.

We had a great time seeing my college friend, Judy and her beautiful family.



And, we went to my high school cross-country reunion. Katherine had a great time meeting a new friend. She and her new friend decided to celebrate their meeting by jumping into the bathtub together.



Katherine made lots of cookies in her kitchen and served them up to us!



And there was chocolate pudding...



And two trips to Disneyland - I caved in and bought the cheapest pass. Her favorite ride is Dumbo, and her least favorite ride is "anything with pirates" - Pirates of the Carribean has now scarred her for life. Who knew! One day we went with some friends...







And, of course there was ice cream involved.



The other day that we went it was rainy - so, it kept away the lines, but we did get a bit soaked. The highlight of the day was meeting Mickey Mouse - or as Katherine calls him, Mickey Mouse-y - and we only had to wait 5 minutes. Unbelievable! Katherine went right up to him and gave him a big hug. It was precious.

Wow, it's already the middle of January

Well, I knew it would happen....I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up with this blog! The holidays came and went...with no pictures...no comments....If you feel like you need to know what we did during the holidays, you might want to check out Eliza or Thomas' blogs - they have the same pictures that we would've put up! Now, I'm feeling sort of bad...so, here's just a short collection of pictures of what we've been up to for the past month, or so....

There was a trip to the local Christmas Tree lot...



And sitting around looking pretty...




We went to Katherine's best friend's birthday party...



there was bouncing...



and dancing...





and sleeping?!



there was a trip to South Carolina...and alligators...



and dressing up....my favorite picture...



and lots of presents!



and decorating cookies...



and trips to the park....ok, one trip to the park...



and lots of relaxing!

Are you happy?

Every day I am surprised by something Katherine says. One of the funny things Katherine has recently begun to ask is,"Are you happy?" She asks this after we have scolded her for something, or if we say something strongly to her. The conversation goes something like this....."Katherine, sit down at table." "Are you happy?" "No, I'm not happy. Please sit down." "Sorry mommy." It gets me everytime - I know I shouldn't laugh, but I just can't help it!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone's turkey day was a time of thankfulness and full of friends and family. We had a great day - actually, we've had a great few days. On Monday my parents arrived and we always enjoy it when they're in town. Tuesday, oone of our long-time friends, Cathy, came to visit us. We had a great time catching up with her and remembering the "old days." Wednesday, we spent the afternoon and evening cooking. Katherine enjoyed helping in the kitchen as we prepared all the food - and she especially enjoyed licking the beaters my mother gave her! On Thursday my cousin Margaret and her two girls, Sophie and Isabel came from Arizona for the festivities - Katherine loved being with them. She showed them all of her toys and they were kind enough to play with her. When they left she kept asking, "where are my cousins?" It was a great few days, and this morning we slept in, ate leftovers for breakfast, and danced in our pajamas! How often do you have a day like that?