I love kid speak.  Not goo-goo gaa-gaa but names they give things or mispronunciations that you just can’t correct because it’s so darn cute.  That, and it doesn’t last long because eventually they learn the right words and you are once again reminded of how quickly they grow!

Noah mostly speaks properly at this point but Kate…. ohh dear, sweet Kate…

First of all, Kate never.stops.talking.  NEVER!  She cannot have silence – ever!  When she runs out of things to say or questions to ask, she sings.  The rides in the car have never felt longer because although I love hearing her voice… everything is better in moderation.  At any rate, some of the things she says are quite funny and cute.

When we get home from anywhere, she bolts for the front door.  She won’t come in until she gets to ring the “ding dong” (doorbell) and she’s very emphatic!

Goggles are “giggles” and she lost her brand new pair at the bottom of the pool at the Y.

Now that she’s potty trained (thank God!) she wears pannies.  Don’t call them panties, you will be corrected!

She loves the beach, especially the sand.  She builds with buckets and shubbles.  Yeah, shubbles, you know, the things you scoop up sand with?

Her stuffed animals (that she carries around and distributes among the members and guests of our home) are very simply named.  She loves kitty, elephant, puppy, and ooofy (her other puppy).

She loves to sing her abc’s.  Unfortunately they go like this – abcdefghijklmnopqrStuvwSy and Z.  Someday she’ll learn the difference between S and X, but not today.

She never counts 3.  Her class makes her count when she washes her hands – 1 bubble, 2 bubble… up to 10 bubble when she rinses her hands.  She always skips 3 and goes from 2 to 4 every time.  She knows 3 but apparently isn’t a fan.

“You’re SO SO SO SOOOO BEAUTIFUL”!  It doesn’t hurt to hear it everyday but she wants you to say it back, and she’ll tell you that too!

She’s also very in touch with her feelings and always wants to know if you’re “happy at her”.  No matter what you answer you then get the barrage – “Are you happy at Noah? Are you happy at Daddy?  Are you happy at sharks?”.  SHARKS!?  WTH!?!?

She’s also very into favorites.  That’s her favorite color (she usually has 3 or 4), that’s her favorite dinner (rice, always), that’s her favorite toy (the one Noah is holding)…. she’s quite a character.  She’s also my favorite girl!

I know it’s been eerily quiet on here!  Unfortunately I feel like Facebook has killed my itch to blog because it’s so much faster, so much easier, and so much more relevant.  I’ve decided, though, that I’m going to pick blogging back up because some day I’m hoping to wrap this thing up with a big ‘ol bow and tell my kids I wrote it for them (especially since they don’t really have baby books).

What jolted me back onto the blog was the need to share Noah’s adventure to kindergarten!  If you’re on Facebook, you’ve already seen the photos and heard the stories but I need to put it here too!

On August 21st, Noah started kindergarten.  We took the obligatory first day photos -

We were all very nervous!  Would Noah like it, would he do ok, would he make friends, would he wear the uniform shirt since he despises buttons…???  As everyone who had ever been in our shoes before assured us, he did just fine.  He was a little hesitant at drop off but he went and didn’t fight it or tear up.  When I picked him up I was the one running into his arms (instead of the other way around)!  I couldn’t wait to hear all about it!!!  He smiled, stood tall, and said “I liked it”.  I almost dissolved into a puddle of tears.  I’m not normally emotional about this sort of stuff but it hit me like a ton of bricks.  My little boy… my happy kindergartner.  I was so relieved!!

On the same day, Kate was officially a “Playful Puppy”.  Noah started at the YMCA in Ms. Molly’s class three years before and now Kate was making herself at home (ie taking over) the same room.  As a potty trained, nearly 3 year old, she was ready!  Here was her on the first day, sassy as ever -

But before the start of school I suckered the kids into a “back to school”-esque photo session.  They did really well through the HEAT, bugs, and occasional traffic!

Noah helping set up -

At this point the books had avalanched and the sweat was dripping off of all of us!  I will love these photos forever!

Longest question ever?  THIS is why the kids got such a sweet reward – they totally rocked their costume session!

What could possibly deserve a bribery this big!?!?  If we’re Facebook friends you already know!

We were asked to take some product photos of new ruffle jumpers being sold on Etsy.  We found the perfect model and thought we’d share!

Of course every model needs a good stylist.  That and Noah loved the pearls!

Unfortunately we have to make fools of ourselves to get nice photos of Kate.  We do this because when you ask her to smile… you get… this…

Aren’t my kids the cutest!?

Kate and Noah are really enjoying each other’s company these days.  They play so well together and have so much fun!  Of course they still argue like siblings but those patches are getting fewer and further between.  It’s really nice to watch but every once in awhile someone takes advantage.  Like this day when Noah used Kate as his rickshaw driver during his morning commute.  I wonder how much he got done on that Thomas The Train laptop he’s holding.  LOL!

We had a small birthday party for Kate last night.  It was a very last minute affair on Yom Kippur so unfortunately a lot of our close friends were unable to attend.  We still managed to have a BLAST though!  The kids played outside all night!  They came in every once in awhile to muddy up the house and swipe a snack but nothing could slow them down!

The bounce house was a huge hit with everyone young and old!

Sidewalk chalk was for the more reserved (as bouncing got embarrassing the bigger you got)

And the playset was even put to use!

As it turns out though, Kate doesn’t like to be the center of attention sometimes.  While she liked the idea of cake, being sung to was not her thing!

This was right before she BOLTED in tears!

But her brother is always willing to help out!

Thank you to all who could come!  We are blessed to have such great family and friends!  A special thanks to Walter and his dad who resoded and mulched our entire back yard in the weeks leading up to the party!

Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!  We’re so glad you had a fun time at your party!