Thanks to Sesame Street, her parents, and a few great singing toys, Katie's new obsession these days is learning her ABCs. Here's a video of us singing them together last weekend:
And here's what Katie's version of the ABCs sounds like without any help from me and with a few horse "neighs" thrown in:
It was such a delight last week when she started trying to "read along" with me for the first time! See below.
Well I've given up trying to post Katie's funny sayings on Tuesdays like my friend Mary does. Instead, you'll get my stories while my preggie memory is still fresh, and when I have time to type them up! :-)
Today Katie and I were cleaning out the room that will become her "Big Girl Room" (actually I was cleaning; she was pulling things out of the closet). One of the things she pulled out of the closet was the top half of my gift wrap organizer (which is basically a big container that holds all your gift wrap rolls; the top pops open to allow you to store scissors, tape, etc). Here's what the top looks like:
While I cleaned, I noticed the distinctive smell of a dirty diaper, and I mentioned it to Katie. She started banging on the organizer top like a drum and saying "Pie! Pie!" I figured her actions were unrelated to our conversation, until she sat on the open organizer top and continued to say "Pie! Pie!" And suddenly I knew what she was telling me. She thought she was sitting on a potty! LOL!
I give all the credit to Katie's new DVD "Elmo's Potty Time" (thank you for the Christmas present, Stephen and Lindsey!). Katie's been watching it off and on for a month now, and now proudly talks about "pee pee", "poo poo" and "doo". It's a hysterical DVD to watch as an adult as well (at least the first time). There are songs about how everyone has accidents sometimes (my family uses that song to joke about our bouts with the stomach flu), and about how everyone uses the potty. There's also a segment where kids and Muppets discuss which words they use for pee pee and poo poo, which is where Katie is getting her new vocabulary.
Needless to say, I'm seizing this opportunity. I ordered the Baby Bjorn potty seat from Amazon tonight. Who knows, maybe we can start a bit of potty training before our son arrives -- he's due in 8 weeks.
Another fun talking story:
One of Katie's favorite books these days is Dr. Seuss's Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? I had never heard of this book before my friend Beth gave it to us for my baby shower, but Katie adores it because it features the sounds that all kinds of things make -- and Katie has always chosen to refer to things (esp. animals) by the noises they make rather than by their actual names.
One of the sounds Mr. Brown makes is "Dibble dibble dibble dopp" to sound like the rain. Although I've pointed out rain to Katie before, there's been no recognition that she understood what it was. So last night we were reading Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham before bed, and Sam I Am asks, "Could you eat it [Green Eggs and Ham] in the rain?" Suddenly Katie started bouncing in my lap and saying, "Dobba dobba dobba".
She had been a bit distracted during our whole reading time, so I thought she was just goofing off. But then it hit me: She's making rain noises! And I said, "Katie, that's right! It's the rain!" And you should have seen the proud expression on her face when she realized that I understood her. She literally started leaping into the air from my lap and laughing. It was adorable.
And today when we got into the shower together (which we do almost every day now -- it allows me to use her naptimes for my own naps instead of for my showers), she again started her noise: "Dobba dobba dobba". What a smart girl -- she connected the water falling in the shower to the rain that falls. She is constantly astounding me with the connections she's making. I'm sure I don't notice or understand 95% of them, but it sure is a delight when I do.
November 16: Using the remote control as a cell phone.
December 1: While Mommy is in her CBS leaders meeting every Monday morning, Katie and a few other young ones are watched by a woman named Angela. We've been trying to delay her nap later and later, but this particular morning Katie simply could not wait another minute. Here's how I found them:
November 21 and Dec 1: A few cute photos of Katie.
December 4: We were visiting my good friend Amy and her daughters and were unexpectedly invited to stay for dinner. But we didn't have Katie's bib or highchair. So a shirtless Katie practiced using a spoon while standing on a big person's chair.
December 17: Katie and I brought dinner to our friend Claire, who had recently delivered twins. While Baby Colin slept peacefully in his swing, Mommy got to cuddle with Baby Carleigh for about an hour. Thankfully Katie didn't mind.... too much.
December 26: Mommy and Grandpa went to see the Nutcracker, featuring two beautiful cousins. Heather (left) is the daughter of my dad's boss, and Anna (right) is my mother's helper and one of Katie's favorite people.
