Katie Performs for the Camera

These three videos astound me. I can't believe how quickly Katie learns things, especially if they're put to music!

Katie has learned the motions to "If You're Happy and You Know It", demonstrated on the beach on November 9:

From her obsessive watching of "Sesame Street" videos, Katie has learned many of the lyrics to the Madeline Kahn/Grover echo song "Sing After Me" (if you're not familiar with that song, you can watch the original version here).

And this weekend we introduced Katie to "The Muppets Take Manhattan", which was my brother Stephen's favorite movie as a preschooler. One of my favorite scenes in the movie has Miss Piggy fantasizing about what it would have been like to have been babies together with the other muppets (seen in this clip starting at the 2:00 point) (I believe this scene inspired my favorite childhood cartoon, "Muppet Babies"). Katie also loves this scene, and had a dance party on the couch this weekend to express her enjoyment:

I Never Thought I Would See This Day Again

Gas under $2.00. Did you ever think you'd see this day again? All I can say is, Praise God!

Halloween 2008

Well you know I'm behind on blogging when I'm not posting our Halloween adventures until November 19! Sorry!

Our Halloween adventures lasted a week, so let me give you the scoop chronologically.

Saturday, October 25

Our friends David and Emily threw a wonderful Halloween party. The kids' costumes were a big hit. Katie was Nemo (aka "fishy fishy" since she's never seen "Finding Nemo"). Her friends Hannah and Meghan also got in on the animal fun.

Katie got into the groove at the party by dancing in her fishy costume:

Friday, October 31

Katie went trick or treating for the first time. We only visited a handful of neighbors (the ones we know best) but she wasted no time learning how to show off for candy. :-)

Saturday, November 1

For me, the biggest event of the Halloween season is our neighborhood block party, which includes a costume contest. Last year Katie the Lion won 3rd place. Could she outdo herself this year?

Sadly, John couldn't come, so I recruited my saintly future sister-in-law Lindsey to help me watch Katie and take pictures. Katie LOVES her Aunt Lindsey!

But before we get to the costume contest, let me tell you about Katie's other fun block party adventures. She amused herself (and the rest of us) by trying to eat the ice in the drink bin, saying hi to a neighborhood dog, and picking up all the leftover toilet paper from a Dress-Your-Mom-Like-A-Mummy contest.

So now, back to the contest. Katie had stiff competition from about two dozen of the neighborhood kids:

The awards were given out based upon applause level, so when it was Katie's turn to shine, she made sure to applaud for herself:

Sure enough, her clapping must have helped, because Katie made the semifinal round. And when the applause was tallied again, Katie got... 2nd place! Go Katie!!!

Katie enjoyed the entire afternoon, but was glad to cuddle up with Aunt Lindsey and Sesame Street afterwards while Mommy helped clean up.

It's a Boy!

It took less than a minute for our sonographer to be able to tell us what gender our new baby is!

All measurements and indicators are looking wonderful. And John and I (and most everyone who ventured to guess) were right in our guesses that it's a boy. It's a happy discovery. I know that boys can be a handful. But it also means that our last name will be carried into another generation, and that John has a little boy to teach lacrosse to (although I'm sure Katie will also get lacrosse lessons from Daddy).

I'm even gaining less weight than I'm allowed to gain. If only I felt that way -- I feel huge! My second trimester has definitely been harder than my first. As Baby Boy Biddison gets bigger, he's pushing into my stomach, which means I'm often having stomachaches, especially at bedtime. And worst of all is my back -- it's hard carrying one baby in my arms and one in my tummy! Still, I'm really glad that our baby seems to be healthy -- it makes the rest worth it.

Thanks for your prayers!

Our 4th Tiny Talk Tuesday

Now 17 months old, Katie is talking more and more every week. Here's what she said this week:

"Beh-bee" = "Belly Button" (first said on Oct. 30) (thanks to my friend Katie for giving us the Belly Button Book -- you're right, Katie, it's been a big hit! Toddler Katie loves pointing at her belly button and exclaiming "Wuzzat???!!")

"Where's Mommy?" and "Where's Daddy?" (first said on Nov. 1 to Lindsey). My future sis-in-law Lindsey was watching Katie while I helped run the neighborhood block party, and Katie's way of thanking her was to share a few phrases that she'd never said before! Thanks again (and happy birthday), Lindsey!

"Grover" (first said on Nov. 3 to Grammy)

"Ah ee ah ee" -- This is Katie's version of reading. Whenever she sees letters anywhere, whether on my Wheaton College t-shirt or the words on our dishwasher, she tries to sound out the letters. Of course, she can't tell one letter from the other, but it's still cute. :-)

And a new fun activity today: Katie has been giving me "eskimo kisses" (aka rubbing her nose against mine). She discovered this trick totally on her own and thus thinks it's hysterical.

Happy Election Day!