Happy Birthday Kate (a month late)!!!

Kate got some very fun things for her birthday this year! We love playing outside and now we can stay busy while we are out there! My parents, Gigi and Pop Pop, gave Kate this all-in-one slide that has "rock climbing" on one side, a slide on the other, a basketball goal, a place to throw a football and a place to kick a soccer ball. She has been having a blast with it!

Brandon and I knew we wanted to get Kate a trampoline, but we hadn't found a good deal on one (and we really haven't had much time) until yesterday. I went and picked it up and Brandon set it up all by 4:30 or 5. She LOVES it! She kept jumping until she would fall and say, "I ok mommy." After just a few minutes of jumping, Brandon and I laughed because she was completely out of breath. After her bath, she came into Blake's room (Brandon always dresses Kate and I always dress Blake after baths) and said, "thank you tramp." Good thing I know what she meant! Tramp-oline is hard so she just sticks with tramp. She has already asked several more times, "jump, ok?" She is excited to have some friends over to play with it soon!

Meanwhile, she and Blake both have a random fever virus that just makes them spike a fever and be very irritable. They have been really sleepy though, so at least that has made it ok. A virus doesn't stop her from enjoying her new birthday presents.

Busy Boy

Blake loves to eat real food! I don't think I let Kate have adult snacks until she was closer to a year old, but Blake just grabs anything he can find and shoves it in his mouth. Today, he and Kate were playing outside and she was eating cheese puffs, and he just had to try one too. Can you see the precious smile after he finished it?

Going, Going, Gone! Blake is crawling all over the place and now he has started pulling up on everything too. He pulls up on his Elmo toy, then he is so proud that he has to flash a smile, but then he knocks it over. He hasn't hurt himself on it, but I redirected his attention to the big Pottery Barn chair. He loves it. Kate doesn't love him creeping into her territory, but she is getting better at sharing her stuff. The other morning, she had a bowl of dry cheerios while she sat in her chair and I was in the kitchen when I heard her tell Blake "NO BUBBA!" and when I checked on them, he had his hand in her bowl grabbing a handful of cheerios. He doesn't love milk much anymore, he wants the real stuff! I guess the second one does things a little sooner than the first.

And, I wanted to end with a sassy picture of Kate because she is so funny running through her sprinkler. And, NO, we did not forget her birthday! We just haven't totally celebrated it yet since we all went out of town and life was just a little hectic. More to come on Kate later!

Tagged

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Went to Bible Study

2. Ate yummy lunch at Iz Too

3. Trimmed hedges in my front yard

4. Appliqued 4 burp cloths

5. Made a delicious dinner loaded with vegetables- we are trying to eat healthier around here

6. Worked on smocking a new dress for Kate

7. Read some of my book

8. Kept Kate from shoving an entire animal cracker in Blake's mouth

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Speak another language fluently- I really don't like Spanish, so I would rather speak French

2. Get Blake to sleep through the night

3. Read books more often

4. Keep up with old friends better

5. Hide my facial expressions- they get me in trouble a lot

6. Exercise- and enjoy it... right now it is just so hard to find a good activity for me to do with the kids in a good time frame (not interrupting naps, etc.)

7. Lay out by the pool all day long

8. Keep my house incredibly clean

8 Shows I Watch

1. Tori and Dean- Home Sweet Hollywood

2. Jon and Kate Plus 8
3. Desperate Housewives

4. Army Wives

5. Today Show- yes it is liberal, but I do love it

6. Brothers and Sisters

7. Extreme Home Makeover- Brandon loves this show

8. Criminal Minds

8 Favorite Foods

1. Mexican... cheese dip- yum!

2. Ice Cream

3. Fruit

4. Dips- any appetizer dips, spinach and artichoke, salsa, etc. There is a restaurant in Orange Beach called Cosmos and they have the best homemade non-mexican cheese dip- That was for you Katie Compton!

5. Taziki's Friday Special

6. Macaroni and Cheese

7. Feta Cheese

8. Fish with lemon seasoning

8 Places I Have Traveled

1. Utah

2. Bahamas

3. England

4. Grand Cayman
5. Honduras
6. Germany

7. Mexico

8. Jamaica

8 Places I Would Like to Travel

1. New York

2. St. Lucia

3. The beach more often

4. Africa

5. St. Thomas

6. Cape Cod

7. Canada- it is supposed to have great skiing

8. California- been there but I don't remember it

Oh Yeah, and I would like to tag
1. Katie Compton
2. Katie Finley
3. Jamie Booth
4. Ginger Turner

The Beach

Gigi and her grandbabies. Kate was not sad but it was the only picture where all 3 kids had their eyes open. It was nearly impossible to take a picture with 3 kids.

Thank God for Uncle Heath! The whole time he was in town, he carried both carseats so I could just keep up with Kate. I had to make Turner and Blake matching outfits, but it just made everyone think they were twins who look nothing alike.

We are having fun, but we sure miss Brandon! It just makes me excited to take a family beach trip with him next time. Kelly and I tried to take all 3 kids on the beach- DISASTER!!! Turner didn't even last 4 minutes, Blake and Kate lasted about 10 minutes, and then we were done with the sand for good. At least we tried, and now we know that shifts work better. Kelly goes to the pool in the morning while Turner and Blake nap and I play with Kate. Then I go to the pool in the afternoon while all the kids nap and Kelly stays with them. Kate is having a ball in the water- she would have more fun if Brandon was here. He is a lot more willing to play and get deeper in the water than I am.

Why?

The past 3 times I have tried to post pictures, the blogger uploader times out and will not let me upload them. WHY?! All I want to do is share a few photos and show you these cute kids at the beach. We have been here a week and will be here til Friday, then Brandon gets home Saturday. We talked to him today and he is having a great trip to the Dominican Republic. I will try again to post pictures, sorry I have been a slacker!