"I'm a Pageant Girl"

...Kate learning how to do pageant stuff. For all of you who are thinking this is some announcement that Kate is going to do pageants, you are wrong. She just likes to pretend. It is quite funny to watch her and I am constantly entertained. I am not sure where she learned to cock her head to the side, but it's her trademark move. She also loves to sing the song "Dumb Dog" from the musical "Annie." Those of you who have known me for a VERY long time will recognize the song. It's too cute.

I Love Her!

Kate's teacher just sent me a message to tell me what Kate said at lunch. I am convinced she is going to be a great big sister. While sitting at the table eating lunch with her friends Kate announces, "My brother is baby Jude. That's so good. You have some applesauce?" (Yes I sent her applesauce for lunch!)

Earlier this morning as Michael was taking her to school she talked about her baby brother. She told Michael, "I think Baby Jude is stuck in Mommy's tummy because he won't come out." Then she told him how she wanted him to sit next to her and drink "monkey juice" with her (monkey juice is a yogurt drink she loves and we call it monkey juice because there is a monkey on the bottle). I am so in love with Kate, and every day, even when she is in a bad mood, she makes me love her more. She says the funniest things and has a HUGE personality. If Jude is anything like her we are in for one heck of a ride!

Big Girl, Baby Boy

...Kate's last night in her toddler bed last night. Today we officially re-did Kate's room turning it into her big girl room, while I turned her toddler bed back into a crib for Jude. We moved the full-size guest bed into Kate's and put her big girl bedding on it, moved her old dresser out and her new one in, and put her toy boxes in the room. Oh, we also added the flat screen she got for Christmas from Papa Ron and Memaw Donna! From the minute she saw her room, she was hooked. She spent the whole day playing in her bed reading books and/or watching a movie. Amanda, the pups, and I also spent a lot of time in there today, and we all agree it is cozy...and somehow makes the room look bigger.

Jude's room is also going to be great. Since it is a little bigger than Kate's room, we are also going to get a twin bed with a trundle, so there are more places for people to sleep when visiting...or when parents are taking care of sick kiddos at night. His bedding is almost done, and as you will see below, we are going with a dog theme for his nursery.



Kate's new bed!



New dresser and TV...




First time to see her new room



Sophie found a new place to hang out.



We are trying to figure out when did she turn 9? She is going to be one tall girl...look at the length of those legs!



The whole fam checking out the new bed.




Amanda with Kate and Jude.



Amanda says Kate and I watch tv the same way. Maybe there is some resemblance?




Jude's bedding and wall art. We are getting excited to see this little guy!



She looks great pregnant! Almost 30 weeks.

Adoration

This weekend my mom is here. Can I just say, we are so glad. We have really been needing a dose of home lately. I am stuck in Lubbock until I have Jude. Lubbock isn't bad, in fact we have great friends here, but when you know you can't leave it's different. My dad couldn't come because, unfortunately, my grandpa is very ill. Kate has missed him terribly. Despite her missing her Papa Steve, I have watched her completely adore my mom and her daddy. If you want to see what adoration looks like, take a look at these pictures I snapped as Kate was giving her goodnight kisses.




Lubbock recently got a Red Mango yogurt place. Many others have tried, but none are as good as Red Mango. We took Granny to Red Mango. It was so cute to watch Kate and my mom share their "pink" yogurt.



Here's another facet of Kate's adoration. She ADORES her puppies. She told me they were watching Mickey Mouse together. Really the puppies were trying to take a nap and Kate was insisting on being right in the middle of it. Sophie and Stanley have been more than patient with Kate, to say the least. They have just been the best puppies ever!

Where Did the Girly Girl Come From?

...Kate deciding she loves dresses and tutus. Recently we got Kate some new dresses and she loves to wear them. What you can't see is that she also has a fancy new pair of butterfly sandals on. Don't get me wrong, she still LOVES a good basketball game, but she is more and more interested in girly things. She is just so much fun.
We recently went to her friend Taylor's birthday party. Cinderella came so all the little girls were so excited. We are really enjoying getting to know more of the parents of the kids in her class. It is so neat to watch her with her little friends and get a glimpse into her "social life" with the friends she talks so much about. We are really blessed to have so many nice parents and kids to share Kate with.

Social Butterfly

...Kate becoming more and more social. As Kate has gotten better about being social, we have also become more and more social lately. We've been able to spend a lot of time with our great friends Jeremy & Kristi and their two kiddos. It's nice now to be able to hang out with other adults while the kids play by themselves. Also, Kate went to her first school friend birthday party complete with cupcakes and a pinata. We all had fun!

Kate getting her haircut at Lisa's, and playing with Lisa's daughter Izzy.




Sydney, Logan, and Kate playing at the Hill's.



Carrying in the present to her friend Nico's birthday party.



That's Nico in the Spiderman costume. He came over to say hi to Kate.



Kate stepping up to take a swing at the strongest pinata I've ever seen.

More School Fun!

...Kate having a blast at school. Kate's teacher sent us a few pictures of her different activities at school. Evidently it's normal for her to spend most of the day in a purple ice skating costume. I mean, who doesn't spend most of the day in spandex?

You Have a Little Something On Your Nose

Guess who played with face paint today! Michael picked Kate up from school today and this is what he found. Tracey told him they had a great day and he would see how great once he got to the playground to get her. The funny thing is that they played with face paint BEFORE lunch. Tracey told Michael that as she was stroking the hair out of Kate's face to help her fall asleep at nap time she realized it was in fact stuck in the paint. Kate opened her eyes and said, "My hair is stuck." Then she went to sleep. She was more than happy to get home and get clean, but clearly she enjoyed the face paint.