Katy's BFF

I've mentioned before that Katy has a friend, Brooklyn, who lives up the street. Brooklyn and Katy were born on the same day (random) and we usually hang out with them once or twice a week. Lately it has been hilarious, because it seems that Katy has her first real girlfriend. They are SO excited to see each other, talk about each other throughout the week, and cry when the other one leaves (we all do that with our girlfriends sometimes, right?). The only difference between their relationship and adult girlfriends is that their playtime involves some pushing and fighting. But hey, when you're 20 months old, that's how you express love.

So today I watched Brooklyn for a little while, and they were in seventh heaven together. Lots of giggling, dancing, and even a little sharing (toys, that is). The thing that cracks me up about seeing these 2 together is the size difference. Although they are exactly the same age, Katy is a peanut and Brooklyn tops the charts. So if you were wondering if Katy will turn out to be short like her folks, behold:

Headed toward 2...

Look what Daddy brought me from Florida! Everyone needs slippers to match their sunglasses...

When you look up the word "ornery" in the dictionary, is there a picture of my daughter? Today I stepped outside to take a bag of trash 3 steps to the dumpster. Our backdoor locks automatically, but you have to slam it pretty hard to get it to close, so I always just leave it open while I take the trash out. You can probably guess what happened next: I turned around and there went the door - slammed harded than I thought possible by a 20 month old. I yelled out, "Katy!!" and ran toward the front door. Yep, it was locked, too.


I only panicked for a couple of seconds as I looked toward our neighbors' house and saw their car parked in front. I ran frantically over to their front door and knocked, probably looking a little flustered in my slippers. I explained the situation and they rushed to get the spare key.


All in all, I was gone for about 3 minutes. I came inside and rolled my eyes at what I saw. She had climbed onto a dining room chair, had my cell phone in her lap (which had apparently been ringing with a missed call), and was soaked to the skin all down the front of her with my Diet Pepsi that she attempted to drink from a can. I can just imagine her little devilish grin as she realized that I was gone and she could finally climb on whatever she wanted, play with my phone, and drink pop. What a stinker...

Husband Appreciation Day

Of course I am always thankful for my wonderful husband and all the work that he does as Katy's father. But one thing makes your really appreciate a person even more: when they are gone.


For the past 4 days, Brian has been in Florida visiting a very close friend of his. Since I am so spoiled and lucky to have him around most of the time, I wasn't sure how well I would fare on my own, so I made plans to visit with my family while he was gone. My mom and Greg would come to our house for the weekend, and then I would go to Dayton to stay with my Dad for a couple of days.


Then Katy threw a little wrench in the system and decided to get croup. My carefree family visit turned into an emotional support group as we dealt with a very fussy toddler. But there was only so much the grandparents could do to help out, because it was mommy, mommy, and only mommy for my Katy girl this week. She wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and pretty much insisted on watching videos during every waking hour. My poor parents, trying to help me calm a screaming kid at midnight or take her for a few minutes so I could have a bathroom break. And then I was interrupting Brian's trips to the beach with whether or not I should take her to the Urgent Care. She seems to be doing better today, so I'm hoping that the worst is behind us. We're back home and anxiously awaiting Brian's late return flight. I guess I don't always appreciate how much I rely on him to help me out, both by physically sharing the load of parenting and also helping relieve the burden of some decision making. I wanted to call him constantly and discuss, "Should I do this... or that...?" I don't know how single moms or even moms whose husbands travel alot do it - props to you! I feel like a wimp because I am exhausted!


Despite all of this, Katy got well enough in time for me to see a couple of friends I had been planning to visit. We got a chance to see Kelsey and Harper for lunch (at which I forgot to take any pictures), and it was so nice to compare notes on the preparations for baby #2 - the boy edition.


I also got to go to the local children's museum with my friend Jen and her 3 little ones. Even though Katy was not operating at full capacity, she had such a blast, and it was so neat to see our kids playing together. Jen's oldest, Jacob, kept helping Katy out when she was too scared to do something, it was so cute.

(Almost) 5 under 5 between us

Apparently this tunnel is tall enough for standing...you know, if you're 30 inches tall...

I think Katy's favorite part was the grocery store - she did every step that Mommy usually does

Shew...being cashier is hard work...