Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend (minus a nasty stomach virus that BJ & I both had).  Fortunately, my mom made a last minute trip in for the weekend and was able to help out with the cooking, cleaning, child duties, etc.  Thank you Mom! She and Kaitlin really enjoyed their weekend together and spent a lot of time playing outside, cooking, dying easter eggs, and shopping.  I also enjoyed a nice visit with my mom once I was feeling better. We finished the weekend with Easter dinner at Brian and Teresa's.  I love holidays.  It's so fun getting to do all the kid activities all over again. =)

They look so much alike.

Such a happy child.

So excited to dye Easter Eggs.

Morning of Easter Egg Hunt.

She loves ducks!

Finally a decent picture of the two of us! :) She insisted on wearing her sunglasses.

Kaitlin and her daddy. <3

Kaitlin is 2.

I cannot believe that I am a mom of a 2 year old. Time needs to slow down. Now.  My little 2 year old is so happy and so much fun.  She is the life of the party and a welcome breath of fresh air.  We have the best time hanging out.  Don't get me wrong, she can throw a temper tantrum with the best of them...but usually only when she is over tired and usually involves food in some way. She loves to eat, but is the world's pickiest eater.

She is sweet as can be, gives lots of hugs and kisses, comforts her friends when they are sad, and gives lots of love to mommy and daddy.  And when she says "I love you Mama," it melts my heart.  Speaking of talking, she talks non stop and is saying several multi word sentences.  She says bye to everyone: "Bye Mac, Bye Maddie, Bye Bird, Bye Baby, etc." She loves her dogs, but it really bothers her when they do something they aren't supposed to do or get near her toys.  She is so funny.

I know she is really growing up because she sits still and lets me fix her hair now and when I take her to school she puts her "baby" to bed (aka in Kaitlin's cubby) and says "baby night night". Although she still loves "baby" she is becoming less dependent on her and doesn't even nap with her at school.  We are very happy with Kaitlin's school and she is learning so much.  She recently surprised me by counting to 10! She also knows shapes and colors: blue, red, pink, and yellow.

We read lots of books at home.  She loves animals and making animal sounds.   She is obsessed with being outdoors.  Our backyard looks like an advertisement for Toys R Us.  Fortunately we also have a playground practically in our backyard and the weather has been amazing.  She still loves music and loves to dance.  She has quite an imagination and loves playing with her dolls.  Elmo is of course her favorite.

Kaitlin is crawling out of her crib, but so far not at night...only during nap time.  So I know we are going to be moving to a toddler bed soon, but I'm putting it off as long as possible.  She has been staying up later than normal lately, but I'm ok with it because I get more time with her in the evenings.
She is making friends in the neighborhood.  So far her best friends are a 5 year old little girl and a 10 year old boy.  They are so sweet to her and she loves to play with the big kid toys.  Each evening they ride their bikes on the cul de sac as she tries out her Trike or drives her pink car.

We casually started potty training a couple of months ago and it was going extremely well.  But, we had to put a hold on it because things have just been too CRAZY the past 2 months. We will pick it back up soon.  I think it will only take her a few days once we get serious as she loves to sit on her potty.

Another year has flown by and I know she will be starting kindergarten before I know it! She is a joy to be around and her giggles are addicting.  I love watching her learn and grow.  I can't wait to see what year 3 has in store.  

2012.

Out with the old and in with the new! We have a lot planned for 2012.  Between balancing careers in the city and life in suburbia, it sure is busy around here! Its hard to believe that Miss Katie Bug will be turning 2 in just a couple of months. She is growing up so fast.  She is doing wonderful at school and loves her teachers as much as they love her (which makes me so happy).  She is learning so much.  After months of ear infections and being sick she finally had tubes put in last week.  It was a little scary for mom and dad, but she did great.  Now we are just looking forward to pain free ears! Poor thing had moderate hearing loss, but it is expected to return to normal.  And now that she can hear again we really expect her talking to take off even more than it already has.  She is the life of our house and there is never a dull moment that is for sure.

On the agenda for 2012~ potty training, gymnastics, swim lessons, house hunting and a move, several weddings, beach trips, and lots more to come.  Here is a fun video of Miss Kaitlin:



Dance Dance Dance from Sarah McGill on Vimeo.

Christmas 2011

Santa came to visit Kaitlin...4 times! We celebrated Christmas twice in GA and twice in WV.   Despite BJ, Kaitlin, and I all fighting sickness for several months now we really enjoyed all of our celebrations.  However...next year may be the last year we can do the traveling.  Once she is old enough to understand Santa Claus, we won't really be able to get away with 4 Christmas'.  Our families will just have to come to us. :) 

Christmas #1 in the Mountains.

Christmas #2 at our house- we couldn't travel with the big gifts from us so we had our own Christmas.

Such a happy child and so much personality.

Hot dog!

Books Books Books! And Clothes Clothes Clothes from the Beaver's clan.

Bj's sweet grandparents.

3 generations.

Little family on Christmas Day...I think we were all wiped out at this point.

Flashback: Christmas 2010

It is amazing what a difference a year can make. This is one of my very favorite pictures of Kaitlin. Her personality was really starting to shine at 9 months old. She was already full of life and enjoying being the center of attention. One year later she is still such a happy girl with the biggest smile...and still LOVES to be the center of attention.

2010

2011

Pinterest.

After months of hardly blogging at all, I'm really on a role this weekend. But I just had to share this...Pinterest is my new obsession. I don't have an ounce of craftiness in me nor the time to do most of the cute things I see on there, but its still fun to browse. I'll never be Martha Stewart (and I don't aspire to be), but this was just so easy and so cute. 2 wine bottles, white spray paint, and epsom salt.

Picture with Santa? not this year.

Well it was a sunny, 65 degree day the first weekend in December and we thought it would be perfect time to take Kaitlin to see Santa at Marietta Square.  I was worried she would be scared of him this year, and I was right. Surprisingly, not even a candy cane helped.  Luckily I managed to get a few cute pics of her running around the square.  She really loves to run and its near impossible to get any pictures while chasing after her...she also does a little jig when she gets excited.  Its so cute.

poor baby. :(