17 Months - Week 4

This may have happened to you when you picked her up before, but she always starts yelling when she sees me in the afternoons.  I think its kinda funny because she yells all the way to the gate, then smiles and laughs right before I pick her up.

Cate has been babbling quite a bit and wants to put on Daddy's shoes / sandals all the time.  You can almost catch a sense of frustration when you don’t do what she really wants or is asking for.  Coherent words and speech feel very close though.

She still loves to put the bucket on Daddy's head, then take it off, then put it on, then take it off, etc. She’ll also put the thing on her head and try to walk around.

It's possible she misses her old car seat because its now become a jungle gym for her and she plays on it a lot, laughing and rocking. She is a bigtime climber now, couches are no problem and the stairs are easy, both up and down.

Daddy put in a movie over the weekend downstairs and forgot the volume had to be adjusted for the DVD player, so when the MGM lion came on a roared VERY loud, it scared the beejezus out of Cate and Daddy. She dropped everything and ran to me with a death grip and genuine sounds and expressions of fear, which at least it is known now for future reference.

Cate had her 18 month doctor check-up. Everything went well. Cate is still in the 95 percentile of height for her age! She's a very tall girl!



17 Months - Week 3

Cate was a busy girl this weekend. She had lots of visitors.

D and Stephanie came in for a visit over the weekend from Louisiana. They got to meet Cate for the first time. While Daddy when to a baseball game with D and Stephanie on Saturday, baby-sitter Danielle came over to play with/watch Cate.

On Sunday, after a plate full of scrambled eggs and hashbrowns, Cate got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Arnold (John's parents), Tom (John's brother), May (Tom's wife) and little Zach (Tom and Mai's son). Cate and Zach played hotwheels together.

Cate has been playing alot of her new game where she throws bouncy balls down the stairs. She played alot of this over the weekend.

No pics from this week. This pic, however is courtesy of Aunt Courtney.

17 Months - Week 2

Cate has developed more of her attitude and understanding of what she wants and doesn't want. Sometimes she just shakes her head no if she doesn't want to do something. Other times she is more verbal about it!

Cate spent the weekend with Mommy while Daddy went to float the river with friends. I picked her up from school Friday afternoon. She was very fussy on the ride home. Likely tired from her busy week/day and ready to get out of the car. To blow off some steam we played outside that evening after dinner. She played with her golf clubs. She hasn't grasped the concept of how to hit the ball, but she does like to put the ball in her mouth and spit it back out.

During bath time, Cate was playing with her foam letters and was very chatty. She repeated me in naming each letter. She said "I", "U", and "N". She also said "dog", "ball" and "hi" alot.

Saturday morning Cate helped cook breakfast while watching a new tv show find, Backyardigans.

We then made a trip to the grocery store to get Cate a few things. We got a little chair for Cate to sit in, of which I realize now I forgot to get a picture of her in, and a few things to play with in the yard. After Cate's nap, we suited up in our bathing suits and played in the yard. She loved having the water hitting her legs. She's not a fan of the water near her face, which worked out since we don't want the water getting in her ears. She loved running her fingers through the spraying water and running off before it rained down on her.

After playing in the water, we got cleaned up and went to have dinner at Olive Garden. She did really well at dinner. She ate, played and was not very antsy, as I feared she might be. After a big day of running around and playing, Cate crashed easily for bed that night.

Sunday morning, we had eggs and toast. We mostly stayed inside and watched Super Why, Dinosaur Train and Backyardagins. Cate was very playful all morning. She grabbed her keys and used them to try and open the door. She played with her magnet letters and 'cooked' them in her pots. She also bent down to whisper to her keys and blanket, then would pop up giggling and laughing. She'd bend down and do it again. I wish I knew what she was saying and thinking sometimes. After her nap, we ate mac n cheese and packed up to go home. She and I talked in the car ride home. We had a great weekend!

17 Months - Week 1

Cate and Daddy went to Shreveport for Fourth of July weekend.  Got to play with GrandCat, Aunt Christie, Kim, Pops and Uncle Danny at the office on Friday.  Aunt Christie had a bag of credit cards you get in the mail for Cate to play with, she liked putting them all over the office floor, then stomping on them all for good measure.

Cate got ready for a big day and Uncle Danny's house where there was a giant slide waiting for her.  Cate gobbled up a hot dog and a little hamburger before Aunt Courtney and Daddy got her ready for the slide with her bathing suit, sunscreen, and ear plugs so she could wade at the pool in the end.  She liked sitting on the side more than wading in the water.  She enjoyed watching the other kids come down the slide and was even more thrilled when she got a ride with Daddy.  Cate got to play with lots of kids and was pooped by the end of the day!

 

Meaux and Banta stayed over Saturday night and made Cate a great egg and hashbrown breakfast Sunday morning.  After breakfast, she decided that Banta, Pops, and Daddy needed to be reprimanded and screamed at them with a closed fist for a few minutes.  Not sure what they did, but Cate seemed pretty angry.  She must have learned this new trick a daycare, along with getting a mouthful of milk or juice and spitting it out. 

 

Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Justin, and Grandma Deborah came over Sunday afternoon to visit.  She enjoyed playing with the new clubs Grandma Deborah got her and also wanted to wear Jennifer's big girl flip flops.  This trend continued today after we got home because she put Daddy's tennis shoes on and walked around a bit!

 

 

16 Months - Week 4

Cate is responding to verbal commands very well.  She knows to sit down and pull the Velcro straps back when Daddy says “shoes off” and she knows to run to the high chair when Daddy asks “want to eat?” or “want some food?” 

 

Cate and Daddy went to her personal park on Saturday morning where she of course played on the slide, chased after ducks, and enjoyed making a dash at the lake every chance she got.

 

 

 Cate decided she REALLY wanted the TV remote this weekend and climbed up on the couch all by herself, multiple times Saturday, and smiled big when she got her trophy. She either forgot how or didn’t care anymore on Sunday.

 

 

Cate got to go visit Natalie on Sunday.  They played with strollers and colored with markers very well together.

 

 

16 Months - Week 3

Cate has not been feeling well this week. She started running a fever on Monday and was sent home from school. Aunt Courtney took her to the doctor and turns out she has an ear infection in her left ear. She was given some drops for her ear and some antibiotics. She did much better about taking her medicine this time than last time. She would suck the medicine right out of the dispenser. Cate stayed home from school for two days with Aunt Courtney. She was back to school on Thursday and Friday. She seems to be doing much, much better.

Cate came to stay the weekend with Mommy. I picked her up from school on Friday afternoon. I got to meet her teachers and see her classroom. Everyone just adores her there. She gives everyone kisses when she leaves. We rode home and danced in the car.  During bath time, she played with her letters and splashed around. It was fascinating to watch her play with the letters in the tub. She would stank them up neatly, then place each on the wall of the tub, look at them each, then knock them all down. She would then do this process all over again. She crashed for the night easily.

On Saturday, I cooked breakfast before she woke up. We played outside a little before it got too hot. She enjoyed chasing the ball around and picking grass. Afterwards, we made a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond for curtains. She ran around and played with the sales lady and even gave her opinion on which curtains to buy. We came home for a much needed nap and had lunch (mac n cheese). We then ventured out to Target where we found her favorite show, Super Why, on DVD. So I bought a couple to keep around so she'd have something to watch. We then headed to Wal-Mart to get some rice for dinner, and Cate got a little antsy in the cart. I let her out and we walked up and down every aisle together. It was very tiring for both of us, but she just laughed and laughed being able to walk around the store 'freely'.

When we got home, Cate watched Super Why and I made enchiladas and rice. She ate the rice up, not so much on the enchiladas. She ate the meat but not the tortilla. We played blocks, hats, and with her magnet letters. She took a bath and was ready to get out and head for bed. How many little kids WANT to go to bed? Just mine, I think.

She says 'taa' (thank you) when you hand her something she wants. She more or less grunts at you when she wants something or wants to be picked up. She can basically put her own shoes on, well at least one of them; she hands you the other to do for her.

After coming home on Sunday (Father's Day), Cate played with her plastic balls Aunt Jennifer got her on the stairs. She liked throwing them back down when Daddy threw them past her.

She loves to help. She will assist in chores by helping pull clothes out of the washer and hand them off to be put in the dryer or close the dishwasher door when done loading it. But Daddy's highlight of Sunday was Cate picking up an old piece of food from her high chair, walking over to the trash can, lifting the lid and disposing of it. Daddy was so excited! "Best Father's Day yet!"

16 Months - Week 2

Cate started in her new class room this week. She has moved up with bigger kids. She did fairly well, but the biggest difference Daddy can tell is that the kids are much louder and she has to yell alot to be heard because she has started grunting alot and pitching fits more at home!  She has started drinking juice and water much easier now at home, as well.

 

 

Cate has had a good visit with her Aunt Courtney. They played together in the on Friday.  Cate wanted to get in and out of the pool most of the time, but enjoyed splashing around in the water quite a bit.

 

 

Cate was teething really hard again this weekend with lots of drool and mouth aches.  Aunt Courtney says these are the K9s coming in, so hopefully these are the last ones. Cate also had a slight fever at school yesterday. The school called and said they would give her some Tylenol before her nap and see how she felt afterwards. She may or may not be going to the doctor today if she is still running a fever.

 

Seth also came to visit over the weekend.  It took Cate a little time to warm up, but she was wanting him to pick her up and play hats with him before he left.