Kate Lately

My little, "big" girl has been quite busy lately, so I thought I would make a post about what has been going on in her life. First, she went on her very first field trip a couple weeks ago, to the Cincinnati Zoo. Mommy was just as excited about this exciting 'milestone' as Kate was, so I went with her...and so did Nanny :) Kate felt so special to have both Mommy and Nanny going with her, she even said to me "My friend's won't have their Mommy's at the zoo, but I will, right Mommy?" I realize that there will be a day when it won't be so cool for Mommy to tag along, so I am taking advantage now and enjoying it while it lasts.

She was so excited when she saw the bus...it was a REAL school bus, that is right, a big yellow school bus. This was confirmation for her, she is officially big now. I tried to get a picture of her getting on the bus, but she was just too excited to slow down enough for me to capture it...so I will have to hold that memory in my mind :) The kids had a blast. Ms. Katie let the kids decide what we got to see.  We spent most of our day at the bug house and the nocturnal house. I can't describe how much I love watching her interact with her friends, I could write a book about all the cute things they do and say. One little girl asked the zoo keeper "Where are the dinosaurs?", his response: "There aren't any more dinosaurs.", her response "Well, where are they?"...and the conversation goes on.I love the mind of a 4 year old.  The highlight of the trip for all the kids wasn't the monkeys, the lions or even the baby giraffe. Rather, the best part of the day was watching the big polar bear take a poop. As I have mentioned before, the word 'poop' has become very funny to my little princess, so you can imagine the giggles that came when ten 4 year olds watched the polar bear turn around to take a dump right in front of them!

Here are a few pictures from our fun day!

"Preschool 2" 4 year old's!

Kate and Claire - Best Buds

Ms. Katie showing the kiddo's the bugs

Kate seeing how much she weighs in bugs

My favorite!

I also want to tell you a little bit about the little Mommy that we have in our house. Kate has become such a big helper with Hayes. I have been trying for several days to post one of the cutest video's I have seen. She fed him an entire jar of sweet potatoes. Well, 1/2 the jar was eaten and the other 1/2 was on his face. She kept telling me "Mommy, you go cook dinner, I've got this." The funny part is that Hayes ate better for her than he has ever eaten for me. When she isn't taking care of Hayes, she is taking care of her 6 baby dolls. The baby dolls take naps in Hayes' bed, bounce in Hayes' excersaucer, drink from Hayes' bottles and eats Hayes' baby food….all 6 of them. They have to take turns, of course. One day, many years from now, she certainly will be an excellent Mommy with all of this experience.

She is even a Mommy to the dogs

Lastly, I want to mention a few random cute things she has done/said lately. We go to the library every weekend to get new books for the week and a couple weeks ago, she decided she wanted to dress up for the occasion....jewelry and dress up shoes included. So, I figured why not? She was so proud of her outfit, but was sad when we left the library because no one told her she 'looked beautiful'. No worries, we went to the grocery after the library and several people noticed my little fashionista while she pushed her mini grocery cart behind me.

Getting ready for the library

Returning last weeks books

Checking out new books

 Kate amazes me with her memory.  It probably is perfectly normal for her age, but I am continuously astounded.  I bought her an Amelia Bedilia book because I always thought they were funny as a kid.  I read it one time to her two nights ago.  Tonight she was reading to her 6 babies and read the entire book (pretty long) almost word for word. 

This smart little girl makes me very proud, but it can make disciplining a bit tough.  She likes to get up several times at night before finally drifting off to sleep  and so last night I decided to try something new.  I explained to her that if she got out of her bed for any reason (I listed all of the recent ones - her back "scratches", she needs more water, she needs a bandaide...etc.), that I would take her books away (she gets 3 books to read by herself before she has to go to sleep).  30 minutes goes by and I think I have finally figured this out.  Ha, not so much.  I heard the door open and I think to myself "I really don't want to take her books away, but I am going to have to do it".  So, she walks down the stairs whispering "Mommy, my back scratches".  I say "Ok, Kate, but I am going to have to take your books away", in a happy little voice she says "I know, Mommy, but that's ok because I'm done reading them anyway".  Teenage years are going to be tough!

The moments that I will cherish forever are those like last Sunday when Kate and I were using the water hose to clean her "Big Pink Car" and it turned into a water fight...fully clothed.  She and I were soaked, but I haven't laughed that much in a long time.  I am really looking forward to having more time with the kids so I can enjoy moments like this while they last.  My life wouldn't be the same without this precious girl, she is growing so fast, but she will always be my baby.

My beautiful girl making a pizza after a fun day
playing water wars outside with Mommy!