Katelyn - 16 months

I am the worst mom ever! I can't believe how little I have blogged this year - anywhere - here or the vacation site!

Miss Katie:
SO now that she has the walking thing down, she is just growing more confident with her motor skills. She loves to climb things, and she recently learned how to climb up the stairs. Climbing down was more challenging, but she's getting the hang of that - too. SHe has trouble when she gets to the landings. She's also started climbing the stairs at the park, too, but she's not quite ready to go down slides by herself.

Speech:
Katie is taking her time with talking. At her 15 month visit, we really didn't feel like she had many words - she signs more, and she would say "foo" for food and point to her mouth, and she would repeat mama, dada, and oh wow. Around 14 months, I wasn't too worried because I felt she was really focusing on her walking, but I wouldn't mind picking up more words soon.

Now, well, she has a few. Definitely mama, dada, shoes, and ball. She seems to be imitating things more, too. (uh oh, good girl, uncle, granma She keeps pointing at my ear and saying "I (eye)." She makes lots of sounds, and babbles and definitely understands when you say things to her.

 When she falls (not hurting herself, just unexpected) she says "oh!" It is very cute.

She loves to play. She likes balls - at the kids museum in Palm Springs she was having a blast playing with all of the different sized balls in the courtyard. She has been putting Geoffrey's ring toss rings on her head and walking around. She also loves to ask us to put on her shoes. She loved her Violet dog. She loves to take things in and out of boxes and move things around. She still loves TV and singing, especially certain songs. She also loves when Geoffrey plays with her. SHe thinks he is hilarious!

Food: She eats anything now, although she LOVES bread. I don't know how she survives on just bread - seems like it, anyway! (cereal, crackers, noodled...) Carb girl! She still nurses, and drinks lots of water and milk.

She is so adorable. She still has fat rolls on her legs.

We are going to get the bump in her mouth checked out soon. She got her incisors on top two weeks ago (again, at the same time - almost all of her teeth have come in pairs) and the bump has gotten much bigger - so we are afraid she is going to chew on it!

Running away

Well, I guess I will just leave and go to another house. I'll go to another house I will get mad at me. I'm just going to get on my scooter and go away. But I will miss you too, and I'll come back later tonight. Maybe I'll find house with Other kids. And we can rider scooters together. Don't worry, the Hausel be somewhere in S. New Britain Ln. So bye. I'll miss you. Bye

Sent from my iPhone

Geoffrey's Four Year Interview

20 questions

1. What is your favorite color? Green, actually green, blue, and orange, and purple.
2. What is your favorite toy? trash trucks and street sweepers.
3. What is your favorite fruit? pears, strawberries, and apples
4. What is your favorite tv show? Daniel Tiger and Doc McStuffins
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Tacos
6. What is your favorite thing to wear? socks
7. What is your favorite game? Toy Story Yhatzee, Candyland, Who Shook Hook, Operation, and Busy Town
8. What is your favorite snack? Pears
9. What is your favorite animal? Cow and a giraffe and a horse
10. What is your favorite song? "Candle on the water" with you driving cars on me. (Knick Knack (This Old Man) Call me Maybe, Bad ROmance, Another one Bites the Dust)
11. What is your favorite book?  Smash Mash Crash, I Stink
12. Who is your best friend? Cori
13. What is your favorite food? Tacos I like the best
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Go in my car, drive it down the kill (driveway)
15. What is your favorite drink? milk and water with ice
16. What is your favorite holiday?Halloween and Easter and Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My Teddy Bear (his blankie)
 18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Waffles and cereal
19. What is your favorite restaurant? Taco Bell, Arby's, John's Incredible Pizza, and Del Taco.
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Trash Truck Driver, and I really want to drive Freight Trains.

Geoffrey's Fourth Birthday

Geoffrey had been talking for weeks about staying in a hotel. So we gave him the option of taking a birthday trip instead of having a birthday party. I explained that this meant he wouldn't have a party and he wouldn't have as many presents, and he said, "That's ok! I'll have other birthdays!"

I was quite happy about this - I didn't really have it in me to plan another birthday party and we really didn't need more toys, so it worked out really well.

We went to San Diego for Geoffrey's birthday trip! We took the train down as soon as I got out of school on

From the train station at Old Town, we walked to our hotel, the Old Town Marriott Courtyard. We were all pretty tired, so we had pizza delivered.

The next day, we went to the San Diego Zoo. We had breakfast first, and then took the bus. We got annual passes to the zoo so we can go back and visit all year. Geoffrey wanted to see the elephants and the giraffes, so we took the sky way up to the top and then worked our way down passed Elephant Odyssey. THen we went to look at the giraffes. We headed back up and then took the moving walk way back to the top. We had a snack, and then rode the sky way down. We visited the petting zoo and played on the playground. Then we took the skyway back up and down again before heading out for the day!

We took the bus to dinner at Fudd Ruckers, and then went to the grocery store to get some snacks. We had thought about going swimming, but we were so tired that we just went to bed!

The next day, we went to Sea World, too! We got annual passes there, too - teachers get free passes! Sea World was awesome - we saw the dolphin show and the Shamu show, saw the sharks, turtles, and penguins, visited the arctic express, and played in Sesame Street Bay of Play. We also rode the sky way and the tower. Lots of fun!

We went to dinner at Blue Water Grill, and then back at our hotel, we went in the jacuzzi before we went to bed.

On our way home, we went to Old Town and got candy from the candy shop. We also ate lunch at "Bentowich," a yummy new restaurant in Old Town.Then we took the train home!

We also celebrated Geoffrey's birthday with a family dinner at Stonefire Grill. Nonna, Grandpa Gary, Blake, Grandpa Bob, Grandma Dee Dee, Tammy, Lexi, Andy, Angie, Cori, and Drew came to halp celebrate!

Katelyn's First Birthday

Katelyn's First birthday party took place on January 5th, 2013. We had Katie's birthday party at the same place that we had Geoffrey's - Huntington Central Park, over by the lake.

Katie's birthday party started at 11. When we arrived, there was a dog agaility thing going on, which was fun to watch.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL. Warm, and sunny! THe only down side was that the grass was super wet. Still, we had brought a parachute that we used as a tarp, and later dad brought a tarp as well. We set up toys on it, like a tunnel, ball pit, barn, house, and other things for the littlest kids to play on.

The bigger kids loved the duck food we brought - we really should have rationed it better! Some of the younger kids didn't get any! Still, people enjoyed visiting the lake. Cori and Josiah tried to lure the ducks to the party with a trail of duck food!

Lunch was yummy - we had pizza and chicken nuggets, strawberries, veggies, and chips.

We did the Dol (the Korean choosing ceremony) again - and Katelyn's was very clear. She went for the tambourine first (musician), followed by the saw (which means that she will be handy), and then picked the stethoscope (medical), and then she picked the mouse (techie.) Our musical surgeon! Lol!

Katelyn enjoyed her strawberry cupcake! She started out sort of unsure, but then she dove right in!

We had a great time, and I really appreciated everyone who came to celebrate Katelyn's big day! Mommy, Daddy, Geoffrey, Aunt Tammy, Lexi, Uncle Andy, Grandpa Bob, Grandma DeeDee, Grandpa Gary, Nonna, Uncle Blake, Katherine, Reid, Brooklynn and Tristan Urey, Jamie, Cooper, and Landon Wells, Julie and Penelope Fox, Megan, Chris, Josiah, Taylor, Tristan, and Luke Hartshorn, and  Amy, Meghan, Amanda, and Emilie Mahan all came to help you celebrate!

Happy Birthday, my sweet Katelyn!

Overwhelmed

I am so overwhelmed - I can't believe how far behind I have gotten on my blog and on my website. I don't know how I will catch up! So - here it is - almost April, and I am just going to get caught up on their birthdays!

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

Look it's a birdie race

 Look into cloud maker

At the airport (dropping off Nonna and Heather), Geoffrey named the airplanes as they were coming in by saying where he thinks each one is going to or coming from. "That one is from Michigan, Florida, Hawaii, Australia...

Meat balls = neat bubs

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

Shoe out = chill out 

Am I old enough to drink soda with castines? (caffeine)

Walking / Communicating

So, Katie is really getting close to walking. She is taken 4 - 8 steps at a time. She is fearless, too - sometimes, she will let go and take off as fast as she can, and then sprawl forward full on. Very daring. She is doing well with standing up from sitting without holding on to anything.

Words: Well, we;re not sure that she's said any yet, although we think we may have heard "food" and "ball." She babbles a lot and repeat sounds. She seems to sign "eat" "more" "all done" and "Yeah" (clapping) but again, nothing is super clear.

She loves her tumbling class. She likes circle time, playing under and on the parachute, and crawling through the tunnel the most!

Geoffrey's birthday reply

Every time someone says happy birthday to geoffrey, he replies,"happy birthday to you, too!"

Sent from my iPhone

Four

"Tomorrow's my birthday!" "How old are you today?" "Three." How old will you be tomorrow? "Four. But I don't want to be four. I like being three."