Hamburgers

Tonight we were having hamburgers for dinner
Papa:  Do you want ketchup & mustard on your burger?
Caitlyn:  Just ketchup.
Papa:  Do you want pickles?
Caitlyn: On the side please, otherwise, they just squish out.
Papa puts the burger in front of her.
Caitlyn:  Did you cut it in half for me?
Papa: Yes I did.
Caitlyn: Oh, thank you papa!

7 Months Old!

The Bird

Caitlyn:  Mama, I made a bird.  It has a beak, and wings, and feathers.
Mama:  Oh, can it fly?
Caitlyn:  No, it's a craft!

Caitlyn's Letter

A letter dictated by Caitlyn

Dear Caitlyn,
I love you sooo much.  I drinked too much water & I coughed.
Love,
Caity

First Haircut

Caitlyn has never had  a haircut because up until a year ago she had no hair:

But, a couple of weeks ago, she started looking a little scraggly, so I decided to take her for a haircut.
There's a fabulous company in town that only does kids haircuts, and here were the results:

A Mature Solution

Caitlyn:  Mama, Alex pulled my hair, so I made a sign.
Mama: What does the sign say?
Caitlyn: It says "Stop Pulling Everyone's Hair"

A few hours later: Alex pulled Mama's hair.
Caitlyn:  Oh, I will get my sign......
Runs and grabs this:

and it holds it up for Alex to see
Caitlyn:  See, Alex, the sign says "Stop Pulling Everyone's Hair"!

Restaurant

Playing restaurant:
Caitlyn:  What would you like for special lunch?
Mama: I would like some chicken.
Caitlyn: Alright, I will make it for you....mmm...this chicken's going to be good!...Here you go!
Mama:  Looks great, can I please have a fork?
Caitlyn: No, we don't have forks at this restaurant, sorry.  You can just use your hands.  Do you want syrup on your chicken?  I have chicken syrup.  It's in the fridge, I will get it for you.

Priorities

Mama:  Caitlyn, do you want to go to Grandpa & Grandma's on Sunday?
Caitlyn:  Oh yes, they have great crackers there!

Babies of the 21st Century

Mama:  Caitlyn, I'll be right back, I just have to make a quick phone call to set up a play date.
Caitlyn:  Umm..how's about you play with me now, and later you can send a quick email.

A Moment for Alex

They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease; at our house it seems like the verbal child gets the blog posts!  So, I decided to take a moment to update on our little Alex.

Well, first of all, she's not so little anymore.  She's over 15 pounds already!  She's moving like crazy.  She rolls around the house.  I left her on the floor the other day, came back and couldn't find her!

She's desperately trying to crawl.  She can get up onto her hands and knees, or her hands and feet, she just hasn't figured out how to move forward yet.  I often go into her room at night to find her on her hands and knees frustrated because she's stuck and can't sleep!

She's done shockingly well with my return to work.  Somehow, she decided daddy could take care of her too, just in time!  She's started solid food and is doing really well, but, she'd rather have what's on our plates than the traditional baby foods.

All the eating seems to have sparked something:  yesterday her two bottom teeth cut through the gums.

One day last week, she decided to sit.  One day she couldn't sit unsupported, the next day she was sitting for minutes at a time.  

She's interacting with her sister more & more.  The other day, Caitlyn was singing "I'm a Little Teapot" and Alex was giggling.  Today, Caitlyn was playing catch with Alex.  Caitlyn would roll the ball towards Alex, Alex would grab at the ball, which would end up pushing it back.

It's so fun watching our little princess grow up into a person of her own!

Introducing Oneself

Nurse:  Hello, how are you today?
Caitlyn:  I'm good.  My name is Caitlyn Last Name Alyzabeth.  I'm three.

Ouch

Caitlyn:  Ouch, ouch, ouch....mama!!!
Mama:  What happened?
Caitlyn:  My teeths squished my finger!

The Timer

Sunday night we had a friend over, and it was way past bedtime, but Caitlyn was having fun playing.
Mama: Caitlyn, in two minutes, it's going to be time to go to bed.
Caitlyn: Alright, I will set the timer
Caitlyn runs to the wall and set the time on an imaginary timer
Papa: How long did you set the timer for?
Caitlyn: Umm... I think 24 minutes.

About two minutes later.
Mama: beep, beep, beep ,beep.
Caitlyn: Oh, I gots to go to bed now!

Gender Confusion

Caitlyn's Story:
When I was a little boy, I lived on a farm.
And then, I growed up and I was a girl.

Alex & The Globetrotters

In February, Alex finally got a chance to meet her globetrotting auntie and uncle.  Christ had the magic touch with her:

And Auntie Rachel made her do this:

So, when they left, Alex told me exactly how she felt about it:

Mixed Up Nursery Rhymes

Caitlyn:  The cow jumped over the spider's spout...that was not nice!

Smart Girl!

The first Monday after daylight savings
Caitlyn: Mama, why you getting dressed?
Mama: Because, I have to go to work.
Caitlyn: But, it's dark out, you can't go to work in the dark!

Impressed

After Sunday school
Caitlyn:  Mama, we went in the singing room, there was yellow stools & white stools, I was so impressed!

ABCs - The Abridged Version

Caitlyn singing:  A, B, C, D, E, F, G, Next time hope I know my ABCs

Oooooo

About an hour after tucking Caitlyn in last night, there were some strange noises coming from her room.
Steffan went to investigate: "Caitlyn, what are you doing?"
Caitlyn "I'm just oooing, like this ooooo"
Steffan: "Okay, can you ooo a little quieter?  Alex is trying to sleep."
Caitlyn  "How's this?  ooooo"

Dinnertime

At dinner, Papa and I were talking, and I guess we weren't involving Caitlyn enough....
Caitlyn: "Alright, let's talk about our day guys!"

Shower

Caitlyn: Mama I need a shower, I'm stinky!

Caitlyn's Plan

Caitlyn hands me a picture that she colored for me to bring to the office, then she told me the plan:

You will go to work, and I will call you.
You will say, "Thank you for the picture"
I will say, "I love you mama"
You will say "I love you Caitlyn"
I will say goodbye and hang up, and you will be soo happy!

Preschool...Eeek!

For some reason, the fact that we're checking out a possible preschool for my little girl is giving me an absolute: "Oh my goodness, my baby's growing up sooo fast" moment!

I always thought that preschool was just for the children of the rich and famous, but it turns out that the government of Alberta has an amazing subsidy program, where, depending on your income, they'll pay $100 of the fees, so really, almost anyone could make it work.  

We've decided that Caitlyn has the personality that will love preschool.  Also, since we're fortunate enough to have a stay at home parent, this will be great for her social skills.  Also, it will let Alexandra & Steffan have a break from the bundle of energy that is my adorable princess.

I think it will be great for everyone, but it certainly makes me feel like my baby's growing up fast!

Geeky Growth Chart

Alexandra:

She's the same height at 6 months as Caitlyn was, but she's a pound and a half heavier.

Grateful

Today I am grateful for two healthy, growing girls.

Rapid Aging

The day after her third birthday.
Mama: Caitlyn, how old are you today?
Caitlyn:  Umm....four!

Oh sweet girl, even though it feels like you're aging that fast, you'll be three for a little bit yet!

Alexandra Soup

By popular demand:

Happy Birthday!!

Today is Caitlyn's third birthday!

I cannot believe our little princess is already three years old.  It feels like she's grown up so much in the last year.  She's now a budding conversationalist.  She's become a fabulous big sister.  She has a vivid imagination and is learning to play and share nicely with other kids.  One of your favorite things right now is picking your own outfits and dressing yourself.  You generally do an amazingly good job!

You are a quintessential oldest child.  You're very particular about your bed at night.  You sleep with your stuffed puppy on your right, and your hippo blankie on the left.  The other night, you woke up and your dad went in to see what was the matter, you said "please, fix my bed".  He put everything back in the "right spot".  You said, "Thank you papa"and went right back to sleep.

Happy birthday my princess!!

6 Months Old

My darling chunky monkey,

It's hard to believe that you're already 6 months old!!  You are adorable!!  Your smiles light up my days.  You can roll over both ways, but you hate rolling from your tummy to your back.  You love to roll from your back onto your tummy and then complain about it, my silly girl!  In the last week, you've really started to interact with Caitlyn, and it has been entertaining to watch.  Yesterday, she was playing with a balloon and you were laughing your beautiful belly laugh.  You hate pants, you're always much happier with naked legs, and that's fine with my because I'm totally in love with your adorable chubby thighs.  We love you and we're so glad you came into our family.