Kateisms - Week of November 16

Keith and I haven't been able to keep up with Kate's amazing vocabulary. Not only does Kate say a lot of words, but she says a lot of words very clearly. In spending a day with Kate, you're bound to hear one of these more than a few times...

Oh Yeah! Not only does she say Oh, yeah, but she almost always says it in context. Kate, would you like to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse? Her reply...."Oh, yeah!" or....

Otay! Much better than "no," right?! For a 20 month old, strong-willed toddler, Kate is far more agreeable and reasonable than you would expect. She says otay almost every time I make a request or ask a question. My favorite application is when I remind Kate to say please. She'll say something like, "crackers!" and I'll respond with "more crackers, please, mommy" and she'll say, "otay!"

I know It! Kate's been going on with the Oh Yeahs and Otays for well over a month and a half now, but new to her repertoire is "I Know It!" This is almost cuter than the others because she says it so emphatically. She's very expressive. Hmmm, now where does she get that from?

Animals! We're not really sure how it happened, but Kate is obsessed with animals. She loves them. It started with dogs, but now she really enjoys all animals and told her daddy today that the snake is her favorite! Of course, I'm not certain she grasps the meaning of "favorite," yet. I can tell you that given the choice between petting a snake and a bunny at the zoo, Kate went stratight for the bunny.

A Singer: This week, Kate began singing and really watching my mouth while I sing to her. I've noticed that when I sing the ABCs, she sings along (of course, she doesn't get all the letters right and some of it comes out gibberish), but it's amazing how much comes out right. Her favorite songs to sing right now: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, If you're happy, and ABCs. She also really loves the bye-bye song from her Little Gym class.

I wish for crackers! During bath time, Kate plays with numerous figurines from Grandma Ebbo. Her current favorites are several of the puppies from 101 Dalmations and the 3 fairies from Sleeping Beauty (oh, how I'm so glad since this is my all time favorite fairy tale). Anyway, Keith was telling Kate that the fairies can grant your wishes and he asked her what she wished for....and yes, she said crackers!!!

A Trip to the Big Apple

We traveled to NYC the week prior to Halloween...our third time together and Kate's first. We had a great time visiting Gabrielle, Tami and Ryan. When we returned home, Kate kept asking where Aunt Tami and "Abby" are...(sorry, Ryan, not sure why she's so enamored with them!). Of course, they are here this week and Kate will be confused and asking for them constantly when they leave!

Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Kate travels very well. The plane trip was textbook...Kate was perfect both legs. She actually ended up sitting on a total stranger's lap during landing on our way to the city so she could look out the window! In the car ride from the airport, she was talking the entire time (dad, sound like someone you know?) and eating, of course. The driver was hilarious. He said, "my she's a happy one, isn't she?!" As we drove through Chinatown, we were stopped at a light and I hear a "Elmo, Elmo, Elmo." I start looking out the window at a t-shirt shop. Those of you who have been to NYC understand...this place is loaded with crap and somehow Kate picked out a tiny shirt way up in the corner with a picture of Elmo on it.

Traveling on the subways was okay, but definitely a bit of a pain with the stroller...even with 2 extra pair of hands. A few of the stations are handicap accessible, but not all and boy did that make a difference.

The Sights: New York was great. We had a couple of beautiful days in Central Park, including a visit to the zoo (Kate really loves animals...). She even grew brave enough to feed the goats after watching her big cousin do it (yes, I let her feed them--we washed afterwards!). Kate also loved the American Museum of Natural History (so many animals....even if they are stuffed or just bones, she didn't care). Keith and I took Kate to our special spot at the boathouse. She snacked and enjoyed the view almost as much as we enjoyed our drinks! Keith and I also enjoyed an amazing sunset overlooking the Jersey coast and the Statue of Liberty. It rivaled Key West's gorgeous sunsets I kid you not. And, we enjoyed it without having to chase our little one all around while sipping our adult beverages! The worst part of our trip...an outing into Times Square. The only thing that salvaged the day was finding fantastic bbq in the middle of the city and enjoying lunch with Keith's step brother! I have to say, I'm not sure if I ever have to go back to Times Square again in my life and especially not on a rainy, cold day! We did take Kate to the NYC public library, children's spot. She enjoyed pulling the books off the shelves and having us read to her. Another highlight to what was otherwise a dismal day.

Kate's most favorite part of the trip definitely was playing with Gabby's kitchen. Every day, Kate would wake up and say, "kitchen" and every night, she would look at me as I put her to sleep and say, "play....kitchen..." She was so occupied while we were there that I think she barely noticed if I was in the apt. and absolutely adores her older cousin.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and are so thankful Tami & Ryan opened their apt to us and Gabby gave up her bedroom. While we had a terrific time, after being in the small apt. for 5 days, we were all very glad to be back home.

Don't forget to check out our pictures of the trip.