Happy Birthday, Zach!

Zach had a fun-filled first birthday. He went to playgroup this morning and played his little heart out. He was up from 6:45 am until noon! After a nice snooze, he had fun playing with Nana and Aunt Cindy. He really tore into his cake. He even had his own little "smash" cake to dig into. He was starting to get tired, but after that cake, he was ready for presents and some more playing. I helped him blow out his candle and open his presents. It was a really good first birthday. We were all so proud of him. And we were all pooped out by the time it was over! A good time was had by all. This first year has gone so incredibly fast and he has changed so much. We love you Zach!

Here are some pictures from tonight and some video to enjoy.

Gimme a Zachy-back Ride!

Pretty soon Zach probably will be big enough to give me a piggyback ride! Today was Zach's last day of "infanthood". We're all just kind of dumbfounded that he's going to be the big "01" tomorrow! The weather is kind of putting a snafu on things, but hopefully some family can still make it. I am still going to go to school, because it is our Chinese New Year's party tomorrow and we've been getting ready for it for weeks now. I didn't go out and buy Zach anything for his birthday, but I did make him a really cool card that Mom will scan later and put on the blog. He probably won't be walking anytime too soon. If you let go of his hands, he flinches and falls down pretty quickly. He's still getting into my stuff a lot, but I'm getting really good at distracting him and learning to play with him. It is pretty cool to have someone who thinks that I am SO cool and wants to do everything I do. I try to set a good example for him and teach him how to be kind, even when he pulls my hair and spits on me.

Sorry if the video is "squishy", we had to edit it some and cut out the part where he kind of falls down.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Katherine

Bouncy, Bouncy

I'm still bouncing around after today. The Civic Center had a "Family Fun Festival" in the expo hall. It was about 7 inflatable toys, lots of advertisers and a very old Ronald McDonald clown doing magic tricks. I had a blasty blast and Zach had fun watching, but he was scared of Ronald, and I was a little bit as well. I really liked the bicycle safety course and did well on the big bike with training wheels (hint, hint you guys). I got lots of stickers, magnets, suckers and freebies! We had lunch at Old Chicago. I was very happy to learn you don't have to DRIVE to Chicago to eat at Old Chicago. Zach is going to get his 1yr photos done tomorrow while I am at school. Hope his little bump on his noggin' is gone by then.

Have a good one!
Katherine










It's gonna pop!!! I couldn't finish it on my own, I was too flinchy

Artsy Fartsy

We've been doing lots of projects since it is a little on the chilly side out there. Mom has been trying to have a positive attitude about the weather, but it really doesn't help much some days. She keeps asking Dad if we can get transferred somewhere warmer! I don't think it is so bad, but I would love to play in the snow.

We did a fun project yesterday called decoupage. I tore little tiny pieces of tissue paper (not easy for a 4 yr old to do, but essential to learn) and layered them on a frame and brushed them with glue. It was lots of fun and cool to get sticky.

Zach will be one next Wednesday. Can you believe it? We're not going to have a party for him though :( Not enough people could make it, so it will just be us, Nana Vicki and maybe Great Aunt Cindy. We ordered his cake yesterday and it will have farm animals on it and covered with lots of icing! Mom wants to do something special for his day, but can't think of what. Any ideas? He's cutting his top two teeth right now, but he's doing ok with it. I got in trouble last night because I left out the Hungry Hippo game and he got ahold of the marbles. We don't think he swallowed any, but time will tell, if you know what I mean...ewwww. His favorite thing to do these days is follow Mom around and climb up her legs when she's trying to get stuff done. I bet I never did that! He also likes to go in my castle with me and we scream and try to knock it over. I think I'm his favorite person in the whole world!

We are probably staying around here this weekend, unless my family decides to have a party for my cousin-- he turns 6 today. No football this weekend, so we better figure out how to keep Dad busy. I think Mom's been making a list, uh oh!

Ciao!
Katherine

Ice Princess

Hello, long lost cyber-friends. Sorry it's been so long, but January makes for long days with little excitement other than an extra tv show here or there or maybe a trip to the mall. We've been trying to keep busy around the house. This is the time of year that the play-doh gets heavily used and the house starts to fill up with little "projects".

In effort to break up the winter blahs, we decided to head North this weekend. Oh, wait a minute...bet it is cold up there, too. Sure enough, it is cold. Not just "Brrr, I'm a little chilly cold", but snot-freezing, life-threatening, COLD! At least by being cooped up at Nana's, I have a new batch of toys to play with and can't whine to Mom about being bored!

We went to New Glarus yesterday to try on flower girl dresses for cousin Carly's wedding which will be in September. It was a hard choice since I looked so beautiful in all of them. I think we narrowed it down though. Carly sure looked beautiful in her dress as well. I am excited to get to help out on her big day. After the dresses, we went out for lunch with everyone and came back for the afternoon. Mom has been thinking about roller-skating today. Yippee! I hope she decides to take me.

Good luck today all you Packer fans. May the force of the cheeseheads be with you.

Love

Katherine

Ballerine dress was my fave

Get Along, Lil' Doggies

I went to a real Rodeo last night! It was cool. The cowboys did pretty good staying on the broncos, but we didn't get to see much bull action. The bulls bucked those guys off right away each time. One time a bronco fell on a guy and another time the bull got a piece of somebody, that was scary. I really liked the cowgirl barrel racing part, that was neat to see. We weren't sure if Zach could handle the loud noises and late night, so just Mom and I went to the show. It was long, but we had good seats and got up to stretch a lot. I thought the clown was pretty funny, too. HERE are some more pics.

Dad and I may paint a shelf for my room today. Later we're going to do a little furniture shopping -- boooorrrrring! Oh well, maybe I'll get a treat if I'm good.

Hope you're having a fun weekend!

Katherine

Who Gave this Kid Wheels?

My Zach Attack alert level has now been raised to "orange". He can really scoot around with this walker. Soon, he will be doing it on his own. Mom and I were just putting all of last year's photos into the album today and we just can't believe how this little boy has grown!

I am finally back into the full swing of things. School yesterday, gymnastics today, etc. I had a fun weekend! Actually, taking down the Christmas decorations was NOT that much fun, but Mom made it up to me. We saw the Chipmunk movie on Sunday and went out to lunch...just us girls. I thought the funniest part was when Alvin said "Bowchicawow-wow", because my Daddy sometimes says that and I have no idea why, but it sure is funny! Mom kind of sounds like the Dave guy in the movie, but instead of Alvin, she yells "Alllll---aaaaaannnn!"

Enjoy this video of Zach. Hope you can see me camouflaged. I'm hard to find my hot, bright pink camo pants!

Love
Katherine

The 1st Annual Goofy Awards

Rather than the usual yearly synopsis of events, this year, we're handing out awards. We'll call them the "Goofies" for formality's sake. You may have an Emmy, Tony, or even a Razzie, but odds are you don't have a Goofy. And would you really want one? Producer's Note: We apologize if this is tricky to read, Blogger was being a poophead.


Best Impersonation of Someone Smuggling a Watermelon and a Couple Cantaloupes....















The Goofy goes to...my Mom, hands down. Way to carry that produce and look happy while doing it. Dad was runner up.

Lifetime Achievment Award














The Goofy goes to Benji. In 2007, he headed for higher ground and we'll always remember all he gave us.


Best Performance by a Newcomer
















The Goofy for this one goes to Zach (yes, that adorable girl is me). He has proven himself to be a great addition to our family and has definitely been a joy to have around. We'd give him a most improved award too, if we were handing those out. He's made leaps and bounds in his development and temperment.

Yearning for Learning Award















Goes to ME of course! This past spring, my interest in all things science really took off. I loved to learn about the Solar System, plants, art and of course, dinos. I looked pretty darn cute while doing it, too. Mom has a hard time satisfying my need for knowledge some days. Although the day I told Dad that we came from monkeys was a sign to lay off the evolutionary science for now.


The Most Gracefully Aged Award















This Goofy goes to Mr. Goofy himself, or as I call him, Fasha. Like a fine wine or chunk of blue cheese, Dad turned 30 with grace, dignity and class. Plus, he doesn't stink as bad as blue cheese, so that's a plus.


Kentucky Waterfall Award















Goes to this random dude. He inspired us all that fine day and the Washington Cherry Festival. Rock on, Mullet Man!

Most Patriotic Dessert















It didn't taste too great, but nothing says "We Love America" like baby toe jam in the strawberries. And nothing says child neglect like baby bumbo on the counter. Ohhhhh, Zach, you crazy guy.

Best Celebrity Look-Alike

Historians think this may have been what Gilligan looked like before he went to the island and had to "eat light" for a few years. Love you, Uncle D.

Best Breakfast Ever

The award here goes to Chocolate Tinkerbell Cake with white frosting. Gotta love birthdays and guilty moms.

The Funiest-without-trying-to-look-like-an-un-PC-joke-award......

Goes to Zach for his "Colander Boy Superhero Costume". No inappropriatness here....

The "You're Bigger than a Whale" award goes to Papa

What did you think we meant? Runner up was April, literally.

You Just May Grow up to Be Fruity Award

Goes to Zach. Sorry, buddy, but your intense love for showtunes, dolls and fear of little girls has your Daddy worried.

The Biggest Surprise of 2007

Goes to Mom and Dad. Way to make it to the 5yr mark guys....a lot of people in Vegas are poor because of you. Just kidding!

The Most Bodacious Bump

This award goes to our friend, Leah. Way to own the bump.

Best Christmas One-Liner

This final Goofy goes to me. "Crackers for Christmas" may go down in infamy.

To all you lucky winners, you'll be receiving your awards via UPS in 7-9 business months. Congratulations and thanks for a fun 2007.

Don't be a Fool, Stay in School

Mom, myself and my toys were very happy that I was able to go back to school today. Me, because I miss my friends. My toys, because they are getting a little worn out from all the playing. And Mom, because she is a little worn out from being told how to play. I love to play. Play all day is what I say. I have a wonderful imagination, but I am very particular about how I play. For instance, Mom was playing dinos with me yesterday and she had the carnivores eating the plant eaters! I had to tell her that these were NICE carnivores and the herbivores and them have long since made peace on Dino Island. Mom asked what they should eat and I told her that they know how to fish and can catch fish for dinner. She also kept sinking dinos in the tar pit and I did not like that kind of destruction. The T-Rex is the triceratops' Daddy and I don't care what Darwin says, they can be related if I want. So after educating Mom in how to play dinos properly, I told her she could only play if she agreed to stop the carnage.

Zach is a little sick with the cold I had last week, so he has been a bit whiny. He is really into following me. He likes to tip over my crayons, invade Dino Island and snoop in my room. I got in trouble the other day for teasing him. I kept holding one of my dinos out, telling him to touch it and then when he did, I pulled it away and yelled at him for being a "naughty baby". I got in a heap-o-big-trouble for that. I am a little tired of hearing "he doesn't know any better", so I figured it was high-time to teach him better. Stop messing with my stuff! And so it begins...

Have a great weekend, it sure came up quick with the Holidays and all. Mom insists on taking decorations down this weekend. I think we may as well leave them up until next year. I mean 350 days is really not THAT far away, is it?

later!
Katherine