Thursday, April 23, 2009

Kaitlyn's GYM

'Mom we need to get some of these for home...'

Kaitlyn eying the climbing wall-is this her future?
Following the footsteps of Uncle Jonathan and Uncle Denis?

Focusing on her footwork as she makes her way across the balance beam...
one foot in front of the other!

Well, it's not HER gym, but we do go to this gymnastics class every week and she just loves it! In fact the teachers love her back because they are amazed at how fearless she is and amazed with her willingness to do anything that places her upside down, backwards or terribly high.


My curious child.

I've been told she has a 'serious grip'-I can attest to this,
her pinching abilities area extraordinary.

She'll be walking within the month-I'd bet money on it.

She's talking me for a walk, honestly!

'toes, heels, toes, heels'...a warm up exercise...

Monday, April 20, 2009

Big Girl Bathtub




Tonight was memorable. Never has Kaitlyn resisted getting out of the tub. Usually she responds to my 'Ok, Kaitlyn, one, two, three' and I proceed to pick her up and place her in the bath towel while she holds on to her favorite bath toy of the evening. Not tonight. I think everything is about to change from sun up to sun down. It was just last week I pushed the envelope and decided to place Kaitlyn in the big girl tub without a transition device like the bath chair or one of the mid-size inflatable tubs. At first it didn't go over so well. Within two minutes she would pull herself up using the side of the tub and 'whine-cry' as if letting me know she is a bit overwhelmed and uncertain. I entertained the idea of using a transitional device but through being consistent each night I think Kaitlyn caught the bath bug and now it's all over. I have a water baby. Of course being surrounded by the alphabet and numbers, rubber ducky and other friends, I don't think I'd want to get out of the tub either!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Family Friday

Headed into the zoo!

Silly Mommy!

Think they look alike?

One hairy camel.

Cool cat shades!

#22, the 'guys' tram: Daddy (the one waving), Dustin and Brody.

In the tram, headed to the polar bears!

How did we get so lucky? Steve had Friday off and so after getting him to rearrange his volunteer committments, Kaitlyn and I were able to have him all to ourselves! It was great. We left to San Diego around 11:15am with our friends behind us, Laura, Dustin and their son Brody. By 1pm we were all inside the enormous zoo coming up with a game plan. Lions and Tigers and Bears-oh my. Kaitlyn absorbed it all, taking in every movement of life. We ended the day with the sky tram to the polar bear, followed by a hearty dinner where Kaitlyn and Brody were in a food competition of who could eat more (Brody by far won) and then a deep slumber as we drove home-a deep slumber for both Kaitlyn and mommy!

Saturday in Camarillo







Saturday we headed north to Camarillo to hang out with family-Stan, Natalia and Nana-for a community sponsored Easter Egg Hunt. Kaitlyn met an Easter bunny, hunted for four eggs and even hung out with some farm animals. Without hesitation she went right up to the bunnies and the turkeys,my fearless daughter. At one point she was grabbing the turkey's leg. Afterward we headed to Scott and Kimberly's house in Northridge-while we didn't see Uncle Scott, we hung out with Kimberly and made some music with her pots and pans!

Cotton Candy






Her Nana brought her an Easter dress fully accessorized with a petticoat, silk socks, hair band and patent leather pink shoes! Can Kaitlyn be any more girlie? The dress alone was fluffy but add the petticoat and watch out, she was freshly spun cotton candy! This little princess was quite comfortable with the frills, lace and bows-had me thinking I should do this more often but then again, Kaitlyn is an adrenaline junkie. When she wasn't a pink cloud in my arms she was terrorizing the dress by crawling across Grandma's patio. Possibly there is a way to marry the adrenaline lifestyle with frills-I may need to figure out the new sewing machine and design some Kaitlyn friendly fashion....

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Pasta Peep




Yes, this would be my daughter. She is part Italian you know! Pasta has to be the most exciting food for her to explore. She finds a way to get the noodle into her mouth with half sticking out beyond her chin-she slurps it up like any seasoned pasta lover!

Favorite Spot



Kaitlyn often makes her way to the corner in the kitchen where Cosimo hangs. Is it the mix of natural light, windows to peer through and Cosimo's presence that keeps her coming back time and time again? I love capturing the two of them together and in this special corner special stories are shared between them both. Kaitlyn chats away at Cosimo as if he understands every gibber jabber she makes. She'll grab his collars and pinch his chest or yank on his ears as she describes every detail of her imagined life. When he's had enough he'll find a way to wiggle out of her attention and trample over her to nestle on the sofa. You guessed it, minutes later Kaitlyn is once again chatting away...this time at the sofa.