Steve and I must say this to each other at least several times a night now. We can’t turn our backs on Katherine. She’s a little speedy toddler now who can stand up without any assistance and who is on the verge of running. From a sitting position, she can stand in one of two ways. She can go from a sit to squat and then to a stand. Or, she bends on one knee to push herself up. She used to walk in a wide stance. Now, she places her feet more in front of each other and she can walk quickly from the family room to the front door in no time flat.
One of Katherine’s favorite past-times is rummaging around the brown leather bag near our front door. She bends over and reaches in for one of Bisco’s red retractable leashes. She used to put the leash in her mouth but has learned that we’ll take it away from her if she does that. Instead she’ll walk throughout the house clutching the leash, perilously close to tripping on the nylon. We’ve clipped it to Bisco several times and Katherine is well aware what the leash is for. She will tug the leash and try to take Bisco for a walk!
We’re also teaching her to be gentle with Bisco. She’ll pat him on his back and occasionally pull his hair. Bisco is a total sport. ๐ We’ve also caught Katherine try to hug Bisco. She places her cheek next to his fur and then gives a big grin. It’s just adorable.
Happy 1st Birthday Katherine!
Our log entry is a good week late, but better than never. One of our big commitments was to celebrate not only Katherine’s first birthday, but our getting to Katherine’s first birthday as well! To that end, we hosted two celebrations – the first a Chinese dinner that my Mom cooked on Katherine’s actual birthday and the second a big party at our house with lots of kids and parents.
The dinner with family was very nice. Steve’s immediate family attended and Katherine opened her gifts. She surprised all of us by saying “Kevin” very clearly! She also played with her cousin upstairs in our TV room. They competed for a push toy, and Kevin ended up next to a wall trying to keep it away from Katherine. This was especially note-worthy because this was the first time that Kevin and Katherine really interacted and were able to “play” actively together.
About 35 adults and 15 children/babies attended the Saturday party. No other word can describe it except chaotic. Kids were running around. Parents were milling around eating the food and attending to their children. This was sort of like trial by fire – everyone barely fit in our house and our friends, family, and PEPs group got a chance to meet one another.
A couple funny things happened at the event. First, Katherine slept two hours before her party. As a matter of fact she was sleeping when the first guests arrived. Steve took her picture as she snoozed. Second, she passed on her birthday cake (not like her mom at all!). We put the cake in front of her; she squirmed and wouldn’t taste the frosting. Oh well…we also had a storyteller come and tell a few stories to the kids. I think some of the children enjoyed the stories; others looked rather dazed. Anyway, Katherine started to squeal halfway through.
After the party and a 90 minute nap, Katherine woke, we ate and opened gifts. Katherine had a blast. She took all the cards from the gifts and brought them over. She also grabbed paper and tried to rip it off the boxes. The gifts were all very nice and we put many away for a later surprises. She’s now busy enjoying her “Little People,” her caterpillar, little books, wood puzzles and all of her other toys. I’ve tried to put a bunch away in her closet, but boy does she have a lot of stuff…
Katherine’s First Year Checkup
Katherine is still a skinny beanpole – 90% height at 30.5″, but only 19 lbs still at 25%. Here’s a picture of happy Katherine on the scale before the 3 shots in the arms. She had a blast on the table ripping the paper and walking all over the room.
