Friday, July 25, 2014

Katelyn - Memories 2 - 2 1/2

Katelyn 2 years old memories

Mommy, where are you?
Mommy, I love you!
( daddy, Danny, grandma)

Kay-ten

Kissmiss tree!

Feffrey, later cheffrey

Show! Mote! (Remote!)

Game! (Phone)

Knock knock! Who's there?

What happened?

Oh no! What happened?

Swimming!

Singing a song my fifth graders are learning for chorus. "Hey mambo!" Katelyn follows me in to the bathroom, sees her Elmo potty,  and sings, "hey Elmo!"

Singing: let it go, when you wish upon a star

Riding her scooter - putting on a drew's helmet so she had helmet like Geoffrey 3/28/14

Birthday party today?

Tinkey-bell ( tinker bell)

Katelyn just took a drink of the blue Easter egg dye. And asked for more. #yesIusedVinegar

Katelyn - 34+ inches Mother's Day weekends 2014 Disneyland - first time on mater, luigi's flying tires, and second time on autopia

When I put Katelyn's hair in a pony tail, she says, "princess hair?" And I say, "yes, I'm doing princess hair," and then she sits still.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry"

"I'm so sad"

At the aquarium Katelyn saw the scuba divers in the aquarium and she kept calling them mermaids.

Broadway baby. Yesterday she was singing castle on a cloud in the pool, and today she requested tomorrow for a good night song.

Bye bye pony (after riding ponies and then going into the grocery story- and then leaving)

Picked up my new shirt. " look it's ariel! Look she's swimming! Look she has a fin! Look she has red hair!"

Princess hair and tinker bell hair.

Singing Frozen songs, and doing her gruff voices on "Reindeers are better than people" and when she sings "Ok, bye!"

COunting to 20

Knowing her letters

Katelyn - 2 1/2

Katelyn is so much fun! Now that she is speaking more and more it is really awesome to get to know her better!

Katelyn loves princesses. WHenever she sees Princesses or castles she points them out - and she can name most of the princesses despite not seeing most of the movies. She is also a big fan of Sofia the First!

SHe also loves wearing skirts. SHe pretty much wants to wear one every day. WHen we went camping, she wore th same skirt every day we were there! Her hair is getting long, too - its a few inches past her shoulders - so she can put it in a thin little pony tail! SHe likes to wear her hair either as "princess hair" or "TInker Bell" hair.

Katelyn has been going to class with Grant in Miss Lisa's class. SHe started in September. SHe loves playing outside and singing the songs. She didnt participate too much in the crafts but she is slowly showing more interest.

SHe also loves playing in the park. SHe it a daredevil - going up super high at the "blue park" (Plaven Park in FV by Hilltop). At the beginning of the year she would often try to climb the ladders, but she's starting to show a little more restraint. SHe also loves playing at Hilltop on their playground.

At home, she loves playing with the memory match cards and the little plastic linking shapes. She is fairly good about picking toys up - if its one set of toys at a time. Her favorite books are "Hand Hand FIngers THumb," "Colors Everywhere" "Ten TIny Tadpoles" "The Potty Train" and "THe Very Hungry Caterpillar."

SHe also loves the music from Frozen.

She lately learned to be much more comfortable in the pool - literally overnight, she got the hang of how that vest felt to make her float - and then got comfortable going under water. Now she prefers to have her vest off, but she has absolutely no problem, vest or not, kicking off the steps to swim towards me or jumping off the side of the pool into the water - unfortunately, she can't swim so she just kicks until we get her up a second later. She wipes off her eyes and does it again! LOL. She loves it!

She is geting much better with people - and her words are getting clearer.

SHe is stubborn though! She can really "dig her heels" in and not listen or refuse to do something when she's not in the mood. She can be the sweetest, funniest girl, or she can be downright frustrating! Lol.

We went to see Disney characters last week at Goofy's kitchen, and Katelyn was very scared of them. We will see what happens at Disney World in a few weeks! SHe is very brave about some things and can be very apprehensive of others. It is certainly interesting to watch her as she navigate the world and see how she reacts to different things. The delight she takes in certain experiences is just amazing.

I love my baby girl!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Geoffrey memories and funny sayings - jan - June 2014

Geoffrey 5 years old 

Do you want to know something magical about me? My spit. Because when I eat stuff, My spit turns to that taste, and then when I swallow it I taste that taste

Geoffreyism: " daddy, I don't think this is a very good song." "Why not?" "Didn't you hear it? She said there's a fire starting in her heart!"

Mom, when you stick your finger in your mouth and stick it in someone's ear, is that bad?

Will you teach me sign language so
I can talk to gorillas?

Is this a goth shirt? ( putting on a black shirt )

Geoffrey, helping unload the moving truck last night: "I can't go to bed, Mom. I'm too important."

Helping grandpa unload his m&ms collection. "Grandpa must have done real good at work! He must have got all these as prizes!!!"

"Grandma? Who's your favorite on Mickey Mouse?" "goofy, who's yours?" "I like Donald. You know, Goofy and Donald are buddies, just like you and me are buddies." #Geoffreyism #MeltsMyHeart

Im duh I don't want to go on space Mountain, because it's a roller coaster. And it's in the dark. And it's fast. So it's got all those things that I don't like. (Mothers day weekend 2014) 

Also Mother's Day 2014: Matterhorn!  (Star tours and radiator springs )

Geoffrey drew a picture of me for Mother's Day. 

He said, "look, I even drew your weenis."

I said, "thanks! But I don't have a weenis." 

And he said, "I know, but I don't know how to draw a vagina."

I had some cookies and Geoffrey said "can i have one of those bad boys?"

Are you sad about your hair now that it looks really terrible? (After I cut it - and overheard me earlier saying I didn't like it)

We just passed the cemetery. Geoffrey looked out the window and said, someone's having a good farm!

Listening to "hush little baby" in the car. When the song ends, Geoffrey says, "I can't believe that that dad is going to buy that baby all that stuff. He is going to waste his money on all of those things that keep breaking."

When answering his question about how we made him, I said, "mom has an egg and dad had a seed and when they get put together they made a baby" 
So did you have to like crack the egg?

These fireworks are so exclamation point.

Grant was teasing his mom about smoking when she was pregnant with him. As we drove a way Jeffrey said who smokes? And Grant said Nonna used to. And Jeffrey said I didn't see a hole in her neck.

Jeffrey got marker on his feet at school, and he didn't know how. Red marker. Just now, Grant saw that somebody colored on the playroom couch with red marker. So Jeffrey walks into his room and says, red marker on my feet and then Redmark on the couch? Something mysterious is happening in this town.

Mom, are you already married to something? Oh, that's sad. What if someone else wants to marry you? Like me?

By the way, my show is over so I'm going to be messing with you guys now.

Daddy is one of a kind. 

Sent from my iPhone

Geoffrey - 5 1/2

Geoffrey finished his second year at Hilltop. His two best friends there are Phillip and Radley. The three of them are - interesting together. THey have lots of adventure and come up with their own creative ways to play  - although sometimes they can be kind of mean to some of the other kids. (Sick cakes, anyone?) Still, I'm glad they have each other, because they are learning together how to get along and be social.

Now that it's summer, Geoffrey's been very busy. We went camping in Sequioia and Geoffrey had a great time splashing rocks in the creek, helping us set up the tent, fishing with Grandpa Gary, and hiking with Grandma Patty and Grandpa Bobby. He caught his very first fish and declared it the best fish he ever ate!

He took swimming lessons at Marina High school with Phillip. It was a two week class that met every day. He was in the Preschool 3 class, and I think he would have even been ready for Learn to Swim 1. He and Phillip had the class to themselves, which was nice, and it was a good experience for him. We went to the free swim a few times and he jumped off of the diving board!

He's also doing the summer program at HIlltop for two weeks while I teach summer school. SInce he's done with Hilltop I was hoping for one last Hilltop experience for him with Phillip and Radley. His regular teachers - Alissa, Sarah, and Lynette, are working the camp too, which is awesome.

He also got to go to Katelyn's summer class with MIss Lisa - he got to be a helper, so that was fun.

Geoffrey is an awesome five year old/ He's very creative and funny. He can be super sweet and caring with Katelyn. He'll often say things like "Come with Big Brother."

He is majorly obsessed with Star Wars right now, which stems from his obsession with Angry Birds and Angry Birds Star Wars. I won't complain - he loves Star TOurs now! (SPeaking of which, he also rode Matterhorn twice!)

We're still working on listening, on being kind, and on sleeping in his own bed all night.

He is so fun!

2014 - 4 - posts? I suck!

SO yeah, I suck.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Swimming!

So Katelyn's done it again! After months of balking and taking her sweet time, over night she "got it," this time with swimming! She does NOT like putting her face in the water, and she is very clingy - and would hate every time we put on her new swimming vest.

Well, on Tuesday, I held her hand and helped her feel how the vest helped her float when she kicked. She would get close to the steps and then I would let her hand go and she would kick the last few kicks to the steps.

Today, we did free swim at Marina High School. (Geoffrey is taking his first swimming lessons with his friend Phillip, right now). And Katelyn got it - she figured out how to kick to keep her self upright and moving. ANd she loved it! SHe wanted to keep doing it - swimming back and forth between Grant and I. MOst importantly, she demonstrated the confidence she needed to be able to kick back and forth between us and not cling to us. And we could be pretty significantly apart - 8 feet, for example - and she wold swim between us! I am so proud of her!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Geoffrey and Katelyn's Birthday Party

We celebrated Geoffrey's 5th birthday and Katelyn's 2nd birthday on February 8th at Goathill Junction. SO many people came out to help us celebrate! Lots of family came, including Uncle Danny, Grandpa Gary, Nonna, Uncle Blake, Aunt Heather, Aunt Kathy, Aunt Nancy, Grandpa Bob, Grandma Dee Dee, Aunt Tammy, Lexi, Uncle Andy, Aunt Megan, Uncle Chris, Josiah, Taylor, Tristyn, and Luke. We also had Allen friends there, including Katherine and Brooklynn Urey, Joanne, Jared, and Josie Love, Andrea, Sam, Joey and Abby Joo, Julie and Penelope Fox, and Shawna and Adrien. Angie and Cori came, too, as did Hilltop friends like Radley, Tyler, Phillip, Roy, Jack, and Wilder and Remy.

Everyone had so much fun riding the train over and over again, eating pizza and birthday cake, busting open a pinata (that was rather chaotic), and playing together.

Geoffrey's favorite toys were his trashies and his imaginext castle accessories. Katelyn's play kitchen is now fully tricked out with dishes, pots, pans, and cooking equipment.

We felt so lucky to have everyone come to celebrate Katelyn and Geoffrey's special day!

Katelyn's Second Birthday

Katelyn's turned 2 on January 4th. We did lots of fun things to celebrate her big day!

On January 3rd, we had a family dinner at Beach Pit BBQ. Katelyn loved the Macaroni and Cheese for dinner and playing on the little playground they have there! Grandpa Bob, Grandma DeeDee, Nonna, Grandpa Gary, Aunt Tammy, Uncle Andy, Uncle Blake, Angie, and Andrew all came to help celebrate!

We spent January 4th in Palm Springs, where Grandma Patty and Grandpa Bobby were getting their house painted. We spent Katelyn's birthday having a fun fun day at the Children's Museum of the Desert. Katelyn loved playing with the balls outside, crawling through the web, coloring pictures, and making a ball track with Grandpa Bobby. We bought passes so we can go back all year long! Both Geoffrey and Katelyn love spending time here!

Katelyn is growing up so much! She loves to jump, and can jump and get both feet off the ground. She's stringing more and more words together into longer phrases and shorter sentences. I love when she sees us from a distance and says "Hi Mommy!" or "Hi Daddy!" She looks so happy when she sees us! She's getting good at feeding herself more complicated things like milk and cereal. At school, she loves circle time and participates in the songs. We've started putting her hair into a little ponytail on top of her head, and I even cut some bangs. She is such a fun, happy little girl!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Geoffrey - 4 1/2

Geoffrey is in Sprouts three days a week at Hilltop.

His teachers are Ms. Alyssa, Ms. Sarah, and Ms. Lynette.

His best friends are Tyler and Radley. He has some trouble with hitting and clawing when he is mad, but he is also learning to not give up and persevere with projects. 

Also, he's started making it through the night without pull ups, getting up to go to the bathroom most of the time now.

He is really working hard at learning how to pump on the swings. He just got the hang of it this weekend, and because he worked so hard, he got a fun reward - a visit to the vending machine! He also has learned how to ride a scooter over the summer, and he is showing a lot of interest in riding a bike.

He's also writing many of his letters now. 

He's very creative and has a great imagination. This year for Halloween, he was a dragon. (Katelyn was Minnie Mouse, by the way). He says that next year, he wants to be a washing machine, and the year after that, a witch. This weekend he asked me how many days there were in a year. When I told him, he started crying. "That's a long time until the next Halloween!"

Other cute things:

Geoffrey, "Mommy! I got a treat! I got M&Ms! And you can't have any!" Me: "That's not nice! I shared my candy bar with you!" Geoffrey, "Ok, you can have one M&M." Me, "Just one? I gave you two bites of my candy bar!" Geoffrey, "Well, ok, you can have two halves then."

Geoffrey
What does it mean replace the floor? Well, how did they stand?

Daddy some day I want to go on the sixty sixty forty airplane. That's the biggest fella'

Has it been once in a while, daddy?
What?
Has it been once in awhile? Because I really want to listen to a-goonk went the little green frog. 
(Because Grant always says we only listen to that song once in a while) 

Talking about Lego land." My favorite ride was the Walmart ride." The Walmart ride? "Yeah, the Walmart ride - the last ride we went on." (The last ride we went on was Mummy ride - the ride with the TARGETS. (Walmart, target... Eh what's the difference?)

" I asked grandma if she would stay longer and she said she would. "

Every day, I asked Geoffrey what he does in school. And every day, he says "I Peed, I pooped and I farted." So today, I said what did you do in school other than Pee and poop and fart and he said "nothing" and I said "did you learn anything in school today?" And he said "no, well actually yes. I learned how to wipe my butt good, I learned not to stand when i pee, and I learned not to sit on the urinal."

I look stylish with these stickers on.
 
At soccer shots, Geoffrey ran over and whispered to Katelyn, "Katelyn, f you need anything, just call me."

Geoffrey made a picture for Grandma Patty and this is how he described it:
This is Geoffrey's house that he wants me to send to you, grandma. The house has snow, because we don't have snow here. The purple thing is fake. Fake means it doesn't exist in our state. The state this house is in is called sea-fa-mary. 
 
When he sees birds flying in a V:
A birdy race

Geo was watching a TV show with Tammy. On the show, a teacher told the kids that they could be whatever they wanted when they grew up. Tammy asked Geoffrey what he wanted to be. Geoffrey said he wanted to be a trash truck. Tammy said, a trash truck driver? Geoffrey said "no, a trash truck. She said I could be anything I wanted to be."

Geoffrey sayings
"You scared my eye" (trying to make him flinch/scare. Him into falling down on the bed

Look it's a birdie race

 Look it's a cloud maker (the power plant blowing steam)

At the airport watching the planes and telling where the airplanes are coming from. That one is from from Michigan /  Florida /  Hawaii / Australia

Meat balls = neat bubs

I just want you, that's just what I want. 

Shoe out = chill out

Katelyn - 21 months

Katelyn is blowing my mind!

So all summer long we've been waiting and waiting for Katelyn to talk. Dr. Kasamatsu assures us that she was fine, that there was a range for speech. She pointed when we asked her to (Where is the doggie?) and she had a few words (doggie, shoe, mom, dad, cracker, etc.)

And it happened! Literally, over night. At the beginning of October, she was barely talking. However, two weeks into October, her vocabulary literally grew from 10-20 words to well over 100. SHe is naming everything! It is awesome! Besides naming things (moon, light, cookie, cracker, Geoffrey, swing, slide, meeyunk (monkey), love you, mote (remote) show, and every character on Mickey mouse clubhouse, for starters) she also does animal sounds (dog, cat, cow, chicken...) and sings the end of Mickey Mouse club house.

Most amazingly, she can identify every capital letter in the alphabet! It is crazy! We will be out and she will start identifying letters off of signs, or out of books. She LOVES the alphabet and anything related!

She is also quite the climber. She will climb way up high on jungle gyms with no fear, including trying to climb rainbow ladders and sometimes walking right up to the edge of platforms. It is quite scary. She is really coordinated playing ball, too.

This year, she is doing Ms. Lisa's class with Daddy. She loves playing, circle time, and snack, but doesn't love crafts.

My adorable ABC girl.

Katie was Minnie Mouse for Halloween. At first she was shy but by the end of the night she loved reaching into the candy bowl to pick out a piece! 

Making midnight music in the moonlight mighty nice. mmmmmm