Fall in McCall

Happy Birthday to The UB! We had a fabulous weekend in McCall with our dear friends at a great cabin in the woods. The weather was just as you would want it, and of course a trip to McCall means a trip to the lake. Here Kate is, discovering sand and the glory of letting it wiggle through your fingers, as well as learning the hard lesson that you can't go running into the water all year round. As you can see here, it was a very hard, sad, lesson.

Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet UB.

Michigan Recap

What a whirlwind trip. Every night after I put Kate to bed over the course of those 2 weeks I wanted to do nothing but go to bed myself. It was FANTASTIC seeing all of our family and ALMOST all of our friends. The 40 days and nights of rain, my sinus infection, Kate's ear infection and the 7 trips to Walgreens, did put a damper on things, and prevented us from seeing Lauda at her cottage and Steph and Paul; however, the number of visits we were able to squeeze in between the daily naps and the early bedtimes was still remarkable. Thank you to everyone who made time for us, fed us, and showered Kate with love and affection of the greatest kind! It was wonderful to see you all. And a special thanks to Grammie B - who set aside her life for 2 weeks and dragged us all over tarnation and back. We love and miss you!

More more and more Michigan!

Michigan! The Mother Land

Here we are in Michigan! I knew it was too good to be true - sunny, breezy days by the lake, cousins, aunts, uncles, Pronto Pups and Fricano's Pizza... and HORRIBLE allergies that I had long forgotten about. Unfortunately I'm sick as a dog, but we're making the most of it. Here are a few pictures from the first couple of days. We miss you, Dada!

Zoo, Friends and Good Times

We went to the zoo yesterday with the Triplets (and their mom, Jules) and Joey (and his mom, Courto). Good times.

Nothing to Share?

I feel a great deal of pressure from you all to post something each week, which can be difficult if there was a lull in activity or if we just didn't get out to do something fun and family friendly over the weekend. Unfortunately I suffer(ed) from the flu this week(end), and didn't really bother to take photos of Kate watching videos, recorded television and the Olympics (she loves the diving). #2 was able to get away yesterday for white water rafting with friends, but again, no pics. I do, however, have a great deal of video that I haven't bothered to put together until tonight, so please enjoy this hodge-podge of this and that (mainly Kate wandering around and being Kate).
Things you'll see here:
- Kate pushing baby Ben in her baby stroller. He didn't much care for it, but she thought it was pretty cool (although she has to work on looking where she's going, much like me)
- Kate enjoying the entertainment of our neighbors Esme and Isabelle. I don't know who enjoy's their company more, me or Kate
- Kate having fun in the pool with our friend, Bailey. Bailey taught Kate to say, "I did it!"
- Kate enjoying an Oreo cookie as a bedtime snack tonight. If you can catch it, we have the following exchange:
K: "What's that?"
G: "The power button."
K: "Good job, Mama."
G: "Thanks, Kate."
K: "You're welcome."
- Kate playing on the swings during our trip to Wisconsin. Leave it to Brad to stir things up
- A random assortment of pictures that I had yet to share with you all

Hodge Podge

On the Go

We've been going and going lately (hence the lack of updates). 2 weekends ago we enjoyed a great weekend in McCall with Peter, Kerry and Baby Ben. It was nice to get away and to relax in this beautiful town. Kerry took all the pictures, so I have none to share, but it was memorable due to the fact that Kate had the chance to feed a bottle to a REAL baby, instead of a creepy doll with a tuft of blond hair sticking out the top of her head. Thanks Peter and Kerry for a great time! Oh - and this trip taught us that Kate can climb out of a port-a-crib. It also taught Kate that she should try crawling out her crib back home (successfully).

This most recent weekend we headed to Cedar Rapids, IA for #2's 20-year high school class reunion and to visit Grandma S. We went to the St Jude's Sweet Corn Festival and made a trip to a local watering hole while reuniting/getting to know Brad's classmates. It was a great deal of fun. Saturday morning we headed off to Westby/Viroqua, WI to visit with the (Great) Grandma's for dinner and breakfast, followed by a trip back to IA and a flight back home on Sunday. It was a lot of time in the car and on planes, but it was also some wonderful, quality time with Grandma S and Kate's Great Grandma's. A special thanks to Grandma S for all of the time she gave us - sans Kate! A win-win for everyone involved.

Camping!

A Week In Review

We had a fun week since our last update. Kate has been up to... everything. She will say nearly anything I ask her to say and she's in the process of figuring out how to communicate with us when it comes to the words she doesn't know. If anyone knows what, "ta ta? ta ta? ta ta?" means, I'd LOVE to know. My favorite thing that she's currently saying is, "you're welcome-ah." I don't know where the "-ah" comes from, but it almost sounds like she's saying, "you're welcome, mom." Oh - and she has this confused with, "thank you." For example, when you hand her a toy she responds with, "you're welcome-ah."

On Tuesday Kate and I went to see the Boise Hawks play. There was a Special Olympics event there so we joined some of my co-workers and a group of athletes at the game. We didn't last long, but Kate loved the never ending steps, the loud music and the mascot Humphrey the Hawk (although when he came close to us she wasn't so sure). I only caught one photo, and please imagine the "cheeeeeze" she's busting out here.

Yesterday Brad took us all to the local water park. She shivered the entire time even though it was 100 degrees - I think it was from excitement. She was so thrilled to be there that she was grunting like an animal. She is the hugest dare devil - she went down a curvy crazy slide by herself and LOVED it. After shooting down every slide, immersed in water, she tried to stand up and climb back up it, only to get knocked down by the next kid. It was insanity. She was happy to walk right into deep water, swirl around under water for a good couple of seconds, only to be pulled out, spitting water and laughing. When we tried to put a life vest on her she screamed bloody murder until we gave up...

And in the midst of the fun, we've been struggling with our entrance into the Terrible 2's. This girl can throw a tantrum with the best of them. I'm trying to keep it together and not react to her the way she's reacting to not getting her way, but wow - this is a daunting time.

Happy Birthday, Joey!

Thank goodness Joey likes Yo Gabba Gabba, too. Last night Mike and Courtney threw the best Yo Gabba Gabba party to which we've ever been. I don't think Kate realized that Yo Gabba Gabba could exist outside of the television set, but alas, it exists in Joey's backyard. Well done, Mike and Court! Thanks for a fun party, Joey!

Reading Genius Baby

Last night I showed Kate her name spelled out on her magnadoodle and she said, "KATE!"

Brad said we can't call her Buba Girl anymore because there's nothing Buba (baby) about her (aside from the diapers). I'm struggling with the change to Lil' Kate, but I have to admit, if she can read her name she likely isn't a buba anymore.

Independence Day, 2008

Yes, I know it is over, but it takes me a few days to get it together to get the pictures out here. This said, I can still hear fire crackers off in the distance so this still counts as being on time. We took it easy this weekend, but that included a float down the Boise River with friends (while Kate was with a sitter), a BBQ, a picnic in the park, a trip to Idaho City for breakfast and a couple of visits to the Bausch household to hold that new, sweet, fresh, squeaky baby they brought home on our nation's day of independence.

Sweet Baby Bausch

McPhee asked me a long time ago, "If my mom isn't here for the birth, will you be in the delivery room with us?" And of course, I started secretly wishing that the baby would come a little early and I could wiggle my way into this exciting situation. McPhee's wonderful mom (Grandma Charlie) arrived on June 25 and it was official - I was out. This did not sadden me in any way, as I remember being in those same, fat, swollen feet about 19 months ago, absolutely COUNTING on the support of my own mom in the delivery room.
On the morning of June 30 McPhee called me to tell me that her brother's wife's water broke and they were in the hospital in Milwaukee delivering their twin babies at about 27 weeks. As you might imagine, Grandma Charlie felt she needed to be there and McPhee was showing no signs of labor, so off she went to Milwaukee. The twins are doing very well and her brother updates the following daily: http://www.freewebs.com/mckennatwins/index.htm.
I was feeling terrible that I was about to benefit from this scary time in McPhee's family's lives, and gave them the option to cut me loose in the event she went into labor before her mom's return to Boise. She assured me that Peter's response to her question, "Do you know what we need to bring to the hospital?" was, "Your black bag and GOOTCH."
As it would happen, McPhee went into labor on the afternoon of July 2. Things moved slowly at first, so Peter said to wait until after Kate was in bed to join them. I got there just in time for things to kick into gear, and Benjamin Francis Bausch was born on July 3 at 3:00 AM, weighing in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 20.5 inches long.
This was one of the most incredible moments of my life, one I will never forget, and one for which I am eternally grateful to Peter and Kerry. I am blessed to have been a part of this remarkable event.

To What We've Been Up

The other day I received an email from Grandma Sloane asking something like, "What is she up to these days?" I knew I'd been slacking on the blogging - mainly because we've been up to a lot (summer lovin, mainly). We attended the Triplet's 3rd birthday party, we purchased a zoo membership, Kate learned to count to 10 (but no recent video yet). Enjoy...

Walkie Talkie

Last night in the tub I was putting her foam numbers on the wall. We had the following exchange:
ME: One
KATE: Twooo
ME: Three
KATE: Fooour
ME: Five,... six,... seven
KATE: Eight

I could hardly believe my ears.

Additional new favorites are:
"Hiiii! Howareyou? Good (or good, thanks)."
"Oh my"
"Oh boy"
"Okay. Bye. See ya!"
"Share?"
"Kisses"
"Annie! Sit! No!"
"Ello" (Elmo)
"Book"
"Bebe, bebe, bebe, bebe"

June Good Timin'

We've been enjoying our slow-starting summer. Last weekend was the neighborhood garage sale where I scored a large number of great things for Kate. To note, she got a kitchen ($5!) and a toy vacuum that is an exact replica of mine (with which she's been obsessed for a year now). Attachments, humming, light, dust bag and everything. Finally late this week it warmed up and we were able to go to the pool. Kate has absolutely no fear of the pool and wants to do nothing but climb out, walk away from the edge and then run and jump in. I will be purchasing a swimsuit with a built-in safety vest this week. Last night we threw a BBQ/babyshower for Peter and Kerry - they are expecting in just a few weeks now. I keep telling Kate that McPhee (Kerry) is having a baby and so now when we see her Kate says, "bebe?" Soon enough she'll get to see that tiny baby!! How strange to have a BBQ on a Saturday night with 8 kids watching the Disney channel in my living room. Huh. Who would have thought?

Travel Conclusion

I know I have gone on and on about this trip, but let's admit it - it was an adventure! A child-less adventure with my best friend. I finally got the videos in order and have shared them here. When you have a moment please enjoy.
Istanbul:

Amsterdam:

London:

June Bug

We had a nice suburban weekend ringing in June 2008, although Kate had a rough go of it. She is struggling to ring in four new teeth, one of which is practically all the way in; yet hasn't cut through her gums. It is a sad state affairs. This said, we tried a lot of tactics to distract her from the pain, her bad (short) naps and temper tantrums.
Quite a while ago our sweet neighbor, Esme, gave Kate an easel. It finally occurred to me that Kate was tall enough to use it and sure enough - it was a big hit. We quickly figured out that we have to keep a close eye on the chalk, or the coffee table also works nicely as chalkboard. The next tactic was to do some much needed yard work, and have Kate join in. Her favorite part was trying on my gardening gloves and using cut branches as a broom for the sidewalk. We both got a little sun in the process and ended the afternoon in the pool. Kate loved it so much that I've decided we're not going back until we purchase some floating device in which she can be secured.
Today (which was cloudy and rainy) we decided it was time for Kate's first hair cut. If you've seen her - or pictures of her - lately you would agree it was time. First it was a mullet, but now it was just plain shag-a-riffic. The actual cutting process didn't go well (she was so upset she didn't even want the sucker they offered), but Kate livened up after the scissors disappeared and enjoyed watching Daddy get his hair cut. And there was a balloon involved, so all was well.

Before we left...

When planning our trip I mentioned to Grandma B that Kate might love a baby stroller (and I knew she had one in her gift stash). When we visit the triplets their baby stroller is the number one attraction. When I knew she would be able to fit the stroller in her suitcase I decided Kate was also ready for Bitty Baby. Grandma Sloane sent us Bitty last fall, and back then Kate was just getting used to her first doll and typically was found throwing her, banging her head against something, or chewing her feet. Needless to say, that baby doesn't even have lips anymore. Since then Kate has matured greatly. On the morning that Grandma B was scheduled to arrive I gave Bitty Baby to Kate. Her reaction was gleeful! Unfortunately I didn't have the camera ready when Kate first saw the box, but enjoy this video of her reaction once I freed Bitty from her cardboard restraints. Also included in this video is the presentation of the stroller and the love connection ever since. As a matter of fact, this morning when Kate woke up she said, "Baby?" She absolutely loves Bitty and her new stroller.