Tea and Crumpets

I had a lovely time at my friend's Birthday Tea Party today. My friend Ashton just turned 2. We had a smashing time just visiting, munching on some scones and petitfours and sipping sherbert punch. All of us girls were dressed to the nines and were VERY lady-like when we ate the frosted cupcakes and candy necklaces. The stinky boys had to stay home -- no tea for them!

I think the p's are taking me to a baseball game tonight. Should be exciting...I hear last night's score was 0-0. I have never been to a ballgame, so I am excited. I think we'll be sitting in the outfield (seriously), or berm as they call it. We're not showing up until a few innings into the deal just in case Zach isn't in good spirits. There are supposed to be some fireworks afterwards, should be fun!

Have a great weekend.
Katherine





Having a pretend party for mom


















Mr Bouncy

French History

Hard to believe a year ago yesterday, we made the journey across the ocean to make our permanent home in America. I don't remember much, but here are some pics of our last days in France. Those first few months in the States were pretty crazy and chaotic at times. A lot has changed in this first year....most notably this new baby hanging around! We still have lots of memories from our Frenchie Years...some good, some not so good, but all in all it was a great opportunity for us. Maybe someday when Zach is bigger, we can all make the trip again!

A bientot!

Foxy Ladies

Here are a couple pics from my trip to the zoo with Addie and Adam. The Zoo is pretty small and doesn't have any big animals, other than a tiger, but I still liked it a lot. I thought the bats and snakes were pretty awesome! Mom accidentally deleted her photos, so it was a good thing Addie's mom had her head screwed on tight and sent us some. I had so much fun. Boy, do I miss Addie. I can't wait till she is back for good. We hadn't seen each other in a year, but we picked up right where we left off. We held hands through the zoo and chatted it up. Her brother, Adam, is so big and so much fun. We're having them over for dinner tomorrow night as well. They should be moving back next summer and hopefully will end up near us.

I had a busy day today. Art class was a blast as usual. It will wrap up soon and I'll start French in August. We bought a ton of sweet corn today and I helped mom husk it all. I just love sweet corn! I have been practicing with my ball and bat and I am getting pretty good!

A lot of people have been asking for bday ideas, so here are a few. Not to sound tacky, but this is the easiest way to reach a lot of people at once. My party is still slated for the 26th of August. I hope you all can make it.

Fall Clothes -- tops size 4 and bottoms size 3
Preschool level computer games
Bath toys and something to hold them in
A baseball tee ball set
Anything space or ocean related learning toys
NO new books or movies -- I already have a TON that I haven't had time to look at yet
Mom says no new dino stuff either and no Barbies just yet

Of course I would love a rocket ship, but I hear the price of rocket fuel is pretty high lately.

Have a good one my peeps!
Katherine

Tiny Bubbles

Howdy all. I am back and recovering from a long, fun weekend in Monroe. I did lots of fun things. The Fair was probably my favorite of all. I loved the animals and rode a ton of rides. Mom and Ashley rode the swings with me, too. I really was crazy about the dragon roller coaster and had a few cheese curds when we were done. I got to spend lots of time with Grandpa and Betty. It is so nice having them close to Nana's house in the summer. Maybe I can see them in Florida sometime. I even made time for the baby pool. Zach jumped right in and really was into the bubbling water jets. He got sprayed in the face a few times, but he loved it. I hung out with the neighbors grandkids and made some new friends as well. It sure went fast, but we had a great time. Today, we are going to meet Addie at the zoo. Addie and her family are back visiting from France. I can't wait till they move back here for good!

I better go chow some lunch and get ready for the zoo. Maybe I'll have some more pics to share later. Have a splendid week my friends!

Well, that's just Crepe-tastic

Boy, how the weeks fly by. Here it is almost Thursday and we have to pack four days of stuff in to one vehicle yet again. I want to bring my tricycle, but add that to Zach's toys and the double stroller and there is no room for our suitcase! I guess maybe we need a trailer to haul all our junk.

I did some awesome weaving at art class this week. Gymnastics was fun, but HOT. Our playgroup crepes were less than well-received. Apparently, Americans are still anti-French food. Ha! I've never seen an American find a French fry he didn't like. Just kidding. So we had a few (ahem, ten) leftover crepes, so out came the cookie cutters. We did some dino-shapes and then mom did my name. Mom said she gives up and is sticking to donuts from the Wal-Mart. She'll save the fancy baking for our fancy friends. Wait a minute....

Hopefully I will have some fun fair pics to share. I'm sure I'll be the Fairest one there. Have a super week.

Ciao
Katherine

Heeeeere's Chuckles!

As some of you know, Zach has unfortunately been bestowed the nickname of Chuckles. It started when he was a little baby and Dad thought he was anything BUT chuckle-y. It was kind of humorous to them to call such a crabby baby Chuckles. Well, he had the last laugh, because lately, he does nothing but chuckle all the time! I'm sure cousin Katie finds this funny since she too, has been dealing with some guy named Chuckles in her blog. Mom caught a couple pics of Zach being very giggly these past few days.

We jetted up to the cabin yesterday to make sure the jet skis were jet-able. They were fixed near us in Pekin, so Dad felt a little responsible in making sure they ran well. Grandpa and I tested them out and I can give them my seal of approval. Mom was surprised how fast I wanted to go and everyone was surprised how long I stayed on them. I probably logged an hour in just one day! We also got to meet up with some old friends from Chicago that hadn't seen me since I was nearly Zach's age. I got to meet their son, Xander and show him around.

We got back today and got the house ready for yet another playgroup hosting tomorrow. Mom is trying a bit of a French theme with crepes and an apple tart. Hey, as long as there are plenty of Goldfish to go around, us kids will be happy little campers.

Hope you were able to enjoy the fab weather this weekend. We'll be up in WI this week to participate in the Green Co Fair. Mom has been talking about some weird things called cheese curds all week and I really think that is her main motivation for going! I am just happy to get to go to yet another place with rides and junk food!

See you soon
Katherine





Faster, Gramps!














Nothing like relaxing at the river

Water Babies

Here is a fun picture of us yesterday. Zach really liked the water and kept trying to get it with his hands. He didn't last too long; mom didn't want him to stay out much, but I liked the company. I get kind of tired of playing with my toys in the water. It sure will be nice next year when he can really run around with me. Today, I spent all afternoon in my sandbox. We built a volcano, some caves and a valley for all my dinos to play in. Zach loves the baby swing and is happy to sit and watch me play. He gets so excited...you can tell he really wishes he could jump in.

I think we're going to the Farm Park again tomorrow. My art class is going great, I am learning so many cool things. And I did a flip on the rings at gymnastics today...yay me!

Have a good week!
Katherine

Lucky Duck

Was 7-07-07 lucky for you? It was for me. I got to spend time with some family and do fun things. We went to the cabin again. Dad and I went Friday and Mom & Zach joined us on Saturday. Mom went tubing for the first time and Zach had his first boat ride. They both did well. I did some fishing with my cousin and rode the boat, too. We got back on Sunday and went to an outdoor diner for dinner. There was a sweet playground there and Zach really liked riding the car-swing.

I'm off to beat the heat! I think there is a sprinkler calling my name somewhere right now!

Lates
Katherine

Oh Say Can You See?

I had a great time last night. There were a lot of people, but we managed just fine and found a good place to sit. Zach didn't flinch a bit and watched the whole show with me! It was pretty cool. It was my first Nat'l Anthem and I thought that was pretty neat how everyone sang together. The only downer was waiting for an hour in the parking deck, trying to get out, but I think that bugged Mom and Dad more than us kids.

Today, Mom and I played in the new sand area Dad filled up under my swingset. I made a volcano and dino caves! Later, we had a picnic in the backyard and I thought it was so cool to put out food for the ants and watch them carry it. One little guy carried a tiny wisp of string cheese through the grass. Oh! And there are some baby birds under our deck. They are doing well and I don't mess with them. But when I walk by they tweet at me like I am their mommy, they're so cute.

Hope you had a great 4th and maybe even a long Holiday weekend if you are lucky!

Katherine







A little nervous

Red, White and Blueberries

Happy 4th to you all. As you know, this is my first stateside celebration of the 4th. No real big plans though. We're going to see the pyr0technic display tonight. Not just fireworks, but pyrotechnics, wow! Sounds a lot more dangerous and fun! Supposedly, the show is supposed to be ranked in the top 5% in the country...we'll see about that! Well probably make our way there a bit early to enjoy the entertainment and food. I think Dad is going to work tomorrow and then we'll leave on Friday for some more boating fun.

As you can see by my photos today, we tried to make a little patriotic dessert. Unfortunately, mom poured the warm blueberry mixture over the fresh whipped cream and it all kind of blended together! Oops! You would think this is mom's first time baking or something. So the whole shebang is chillin' in the frigo right now and we'll see if it is edible. Zach looked like he was ready to jump right in! I sprinkled the strawberries on and must say that I did a very good job and only swiped two.

Better go take a nappy before we leave. Have a great Holiday and hope you are doing something FUN!

Cabin Fever

Hi all. I had a fun-tabulous weekend. We jumpstarted it early with an unplanned trip to WI. Zach needed his 4mo shots and mom likes the Green County health dept better than the inefficient one down here. CAT may build tractors, but thanks to ever rising health-care costs, they don't cover our shots, so we have to go elsewhere. So we zoomed up to Monroe on Thursday. Bonus for me since I got to see my family there, swim at the pool and play. Nana took off work, so I had lots of attention. Cousin Tara gave me an awesome set of books and a cool toy for Zach. We're so lucky to have so many people that love to spend time with us.

On Saturday, we drove to the cabin and had a LONG day of boating and eating. It was my cousin's 13th bday, so we had cake and festivities. I loved watching Uncle D water ski and the grown-ups ride the innertubes. I am Dad's first mate on the boat every time! Mom wasn't too keen on letting me in the river, but I just HAD to take a dip, so I floated around with cousins for awhile. I had my first s'more that I can recall. Although Mom is now having deja vu about another s'more blog posting, so maybe not. I didn't really like my marshmallows a la flambe, so I opted to eat them out of the bag instead. Uncle D brought a truck load of sparklers and no one was hurt. My cousins and I had fun playing and I was exhausted when it was all said and done. Zach finally got to meet some of his cousins on the Dad's side and was pretty content considering he had eight deactivated viruses floating around his little body. Nana bought him a kick-butt new exersaucer that we took with us. This kid has more toys than Farm n' Fleet at Christmas...and that's a lot of toys!

Hope your weekend was grand. We have no hot plans for the 4th yet....we may go to the cabin and hijack the boat while Gma and Gpa are gone for the week. Zach has yet to take a boat ride though, so we'll see if he's up for it. This will be my first 4th of July in the USA, so we hope to do something special!

Later taters!
Katherine






"I'm gonna grab her hair in TWO seconds..hee, hee, hee!"