Schmetterling, Papillon, Mariposa...

However you say it, butterflies are captivating and amazing, especially to children. Nothing compares to the thrill of catching one and then releasing it so it can flutter of to bring joy to someone else. I went to my pal, Addie's house yesterday while Mom went to the doctor. We had loads of fun bouncing on her trampoline and catching butterflies.

School is going really well. We met our first "letter buddy" yesterday. His name was Tommy the Tiger, I'll bet you can guess which letter he taught us about. We had to practice tracing and writing both Upper and Lower "t"s. I did very well and got a snazzy sticker on my worksheet! Terrific!

Mom and Zach are supposed to be running errands and getting things ready for my party on Thursday, but I have a hunch there is more playing going on instead of working. Get to it you guys, someone needs to run the ship while I'm away!

Hope you're having a splendid week.

Lates!
Katherine






Magnified













Gentle, gentle, careful!!!

A Sweet Mystery

Zach loves it SO much when the bus pulls up at 11:40 and he sees me. He waits up all morning and then like clockwork, he passes out in his highchair during lunch. What a sweetie!

Today at school, we had a naughty little visitor; the gingerbread man! My entire class went on a chase after him. First, he went to the school office and made a mess. Then, he went to the principal's office, messed up her hair AND stuck his finger in her donut. The cooks said they saw him in the cafeteria and he nibbled around some. The custodian said he was on the playground. We never did find the stinker, but it sure was fun to meet all the people at my school and learn about their jobs. He was kind enough to leave us cookies in our classroom. Yup, cookies. And I get skittles for being good. Sugar rewards and tax dollars go hand in hand, if we paid the big bucks for private school it'd be kiddie caviar I suppose. Oh well. And I accidentally took my juice cup on the bus. I put it in my backpack like a good girl, but it leaked all over. The teacher sent a note home. Gee, Mom got in trouble already, go figure! Maybe if she wasn't so busy hugging me and gushing over me, she would have thought to take my juice cup away.

So back to the baked-goods mystery at hand! Well, you'll never believe it, but I think he sneaked home in my backpack. I came downstairs after my designated "rest time" and someone had strewn napkins all over the place and left frosting fingerprints on the windows! I know what you're thinking -- must be Zach right? Well does Zach have little candy gumdrops?!?! NO, I think not! So it must have been the little bugger. I hope he doesn't get gobbled up by the neighbors dog or hit by a car. He also left crumbs in my backpack and Mom swears she saw him running through the field, towards the school.

Mom is trying to keep a routine in the afternoons. She doesn't think it would be fair for me to watch TV or play all day while the other kids are in school. So after lunch and a 30min rest, we have been trying to keep busy with "productive" activities mixed in with constructive play. No TV until 3pm. It really puts my knickers in a knot knowing that Zach gets to watch a cartoon in the morning while Mom showers....those were the days, ah childhood, how I miss you. We'll see how long before I can break her! Today we made a TP/Egg carton Stegosaurus. Neat, huh?

So I survived my first week and am asking for more! I think we did the right thing, this is going to be an awesome year for me!

Happy Weekend!
K




Missing candy buttons....
















Frosting-laced fingerprints!


















Hopefully, he won't go extinct too soon

Running the Show

What's up party people? There's a new guy around here. Remember me? The forgotten younger sibling? All the attention has been on sis lately. That's fine with me, but I had to make myself known around here....just in case you forgot.

My sis had a great first day of school. She said they did some projects, had recess and even had cookies for someone's birthday. She had some homework on her first night! She had to find something to bring in today that she could "read". In celebration of her first day of kindergarten, Mom bought a little, delicious, chocolate cake yesterday. I was included in the celebration, as you can see. Katherine got to do some finger painting outside yesterday, so I wanted to do some of my own, the edible kind!

Mom and I are enjoying our quiet time together. We've been reading together, playing, walking and shopping. I enjoy the attention, but boy do I get excited when Katherine gets home.

Time to go get into something. You'll be seeing more of me around here, believe that!

Zach






I love sink baths!



















Reeeeach! I really want that card. Like my flat tushie?

A New Chapter

A new chapter has begun in the book of me. No more days of being a toddler, staying home with Mom and living my life of carefree leisure. My start in the public school system has officially been kicked off. See you in 13 years, real world! The morning went great. I woke up on my own at 6:45. I wanted to make sure that my notoriously sleeping Mommy was out of bed, which she was. After I got dress in my snazzy new dress from Aunt Corrie, I came down for my favorite breakfast....crepes with strawberry syrup. Mom made a double batch since Dad was home as well and Zach has been known to eat three of them by himself. We walked to the bus stop way too early, I was running down the road, I was so excited. The bus was a little late today, so we had 10 anxious minutes of waiting. Finally, the bus pulled up and Mom started in with the sobbing. Dad was even a little choked up. I kept telling Mom to calm down and that it will be ok. I climbed on the bus, posed for a quick photo-op and away I went. I was so excited to see my friends that I didn't even look out the window as the bus pulled away. Mom and Dad were lucky to find their way back home through teary eyes. Zach kept saying "buh-bye" and waved. Him and Mom kept busy by washing the car and going for a walk. I'll tell you more about my day when I get home for lunch.

Love
Katherine






The quickest I've been known to finish a meal













C'mon guys, we're gonna be late!















Oh my, here it comes!














See ya later! (I'm in the very front with my head turned)

Reality Check

20 Markers - Check. One eraser - Check. Glue sticks - Check. Reality - Check.

I had an AWESOME night tonight. I got to meet my teacher! And better yet, she was SO nice. I told her how excited I was and absolutely loved my classroom. I brought all of my supplies and put them in MY desk with MY name on it! I am seated front and center -- ready to be right at the head of the class. Mom's hands were shaking so badly that she could barely hold onto the paperwork being thrown at her. So much to remember -- name tags for the bus, treats for my birthday, whens and wheres of various activities. I was so lucky that we just happened to be the only one of 19 students there at that given moment, so I was able to hog all of her attention and Mom bombarded her with a barrage of questions. The whole thing is just so surreal for Mom and so exciting for me. We went right to my first soccer practice after that. I was a little nervous, but the coach was very nice and encouraging. I was so proud to have both Mom and Dad there watching me. I think I am really going to dig this kindergarten bit.

Mom is taking me to Bike Safety Town tomorrow to practice my riding skills. Then we'll have a picnic and snocones. The perfect end to my summer break.

Enjoy my pics from tonight, next time you see pics of me, I'll be a KINDERGARTNER!!

Katherine







My Desk














My Teacher




















My classroom

A Perfect Day

Happy Monday everyone. Hope you are feeling good today. We had a really super weekend. On Saturday, I had loads of fun at Grandma D's. We took tractor rides -- Zach is very fascinated with the tractor right now and just stands by the window saying "tractor" over and over again. Later, I helped Grandma with her garden. We picked beans and shucked corn. I also helped her decorate my amazing cake. On Sunday, we drove up to meet everyone in WI. We had my party at a park and the weather was stupendous. I was so happy that so many of my family came to share my special day with me. The party went really fast, but we had lots of fun. It was hard for Dad to fit everything in the car -- everyone was so generous to me. I even got to ride my new bike from Nana and Papa a little bit. We got back after dinner time last night and I was exhausted! HERE are a few pics from the day. Mom realized she forgot to take one of me with everyone and there are none of her in there either, but we did capture a few good moments.

I only have two full days left of summer break. What to do? Mom wants to do something really special with us, so we'll see what she comes up with. I have meet the teacher tonight AND my first soccer practice! Oh boy! I'll let you know how it all goes.

Thanks so much to everyone for making my early birthday party so very special!

Katherine

Arachno-awesomeness

Remember that beautiful spider web from the other day? Well, we met it's owner last night. She is something else, we can't quite figure out her species though. She worked and worked all evening; reinforcing her amazing creation. We left the porch light on last night to help attract some bugs for her. After a couple hours, Dad decided to intervene. He picked up a moth from the porch (ewww) and flung it into her web for her. She zapped down in a split second, paralyzed the victim and wrapped him in a cocoon in a matter of seconds. Then she climbed right back to the dead center of her web and looked quite proud. The moth was gone this morning. I didn't witness all this, but Mom showed me pics this morning. Of course, I felt horrible for the moth, but I was amazed at how methodical that spider was. We'll see if she comes back tonight....

Busted and Pan-Crusted!

Zach is much more clever than he gets credit for. Every time upon waking up, he very deliberately throws his pacifier on the floor. You can put it back in his crib, but he'll reach down and make sure it goes right back on the floor -- most always in the same spot. He's figured out a way to try and sneak a few sucks in between naptime and bedtime. When no one is looking, he'll sneak upstairs, find the discarded pacifier and sneak away with it -- all stealthy-stealthy like. Mom got a good shot of him caught paci-handed tonight. She let him run around with it for awhile since he did put so much thought into it.

I had a splendid weekend, even though my gymnastics show was rained out. It was beautiful otherwise. Got my glasses fixed and did some shopping for party supplies. I've got my family party coming up in WI next weekend, so we picked up some tableware and such. I went to the driving range with Dad yesterday and gave him some much needed encouragement. We won't mince words; he stinks. After 6 weeks of golf lessons, he still stinks, but I tried to cheer him on! After he got back from "real" golfing today, we had our first ever "Daddy Can Cook Night". I think it will be a new monthly tradition around here. Dad's never used the stovetop since we moved in the house. Maybe a grilled cheese or scrambled egg was made by him, but that's a stretch. So in an attempt to shake things up a bit, we let Dad chose his menu and do all the work. The hardest part of this is keeping Mom out and making her be quiet and stop telling him how to do stuff. So what if he wants to beat an egg on a PLATE (shudder)!?! It gets the job done one way or the other. So tonight's menu was Fried Pork Chops a la Grandma D. It's a secret recipe of saltines, egg and a lot of canola oil. To balance out this lovely entree, we had a good ol' fashioned house salad -- the kind with ranch dressing, cheese and plain old lettuce -- something Mom never makes. Washed it down with some water and we were good to go! It went well, Dad did a good job and didn't burn anything or make too big of a mess. Fried chops were too easy though, next time he needs to step it up a notch. No dessert either, but we'll probably go for ice cream in a bit.

Anywho, this is my last week of freedom before school starts. Hopefully there will be lots of staying up late, sleeping in and goofing off!

Lates!
Kate







Give the guy a cooking show




















A busy spider did this in just a day, how pretty!

You Should See the Other Guy...

No, I'm not out scrappin' it up just yet. I had a nasty incident on the slide this morning. It is really quite a shame. Mom made us ride along to some garage sales this morning, under the pretense that if we were really good, we could go to the park afterwards. Not just any park, but my favorite park which is located near our old house. So we were there only a few seconds when I took a tumble. I was at the top of a not-very-tall slide and somehow went headfirst. I landed in the mulch, which scraped up my face. My glasses are broken and they just added insult to injury by cutting my nose. We'll go to the eye doctor this afternoon to see if they are salvagable. Fortunately, I had just a few scrapes and a bruised ego. Zach was really sad to see me hurt and not very happy about having to pack it back up in the car and head home. The trip wasn't a total waste. I got some new dolls and some pants and sweatshirts for the fall.

The rest of my week has been fun though! I went to the zoo with my pal, Libby on Wednesday. It was a beautiful day and the animals were out. Zach did not want to sit still for the sea lion feeding, but I sure enjoyed it. We also have been going for bike rides and I'm really doing well at being safe and keeping up with Mom.

I have my gymnastics show tomorrow which I am very much looking forward to. The rest of the weekend should be quiet. It will be our last weekend home for awhile, so we plan to relax.

Hope you have a super weekend. Enjoy the photos and video below! Zach is learning the fine art of milk slurping. He does a pretty good impression of a cat.






Touching a snake, cool!















Foxy gals













We both thought it was cool to walk with our hands in our pockets

Pretty Kitties

Check out these two cute pics of Zach and I snuggling our kitties. I was about 2 when my pic was taken.


The week's wrapping up and man, it's been a hot one. My bud Carson came over yesterday and we had some fun sliding into the kiddie pool out back. Mom went to school and turned in all my paperwork and finished things up. I found out who is in my class and who my teacher is. I even got my bus schedule already! We went to Target on Wednesday and bought my backpack and school supplies. Less than 3 weeks and I'll officially be a kindergartner! How exciting!

We've just been working on some projects and learning activities around here -- in between all the playing outside and usual activities. I'm going to keep up with gymnastics in the fall and even give soccer a try. Not sure yet if I'll do bowling again, we'll have to see how things go.

Time to go, Zach is hollering for some attention. He must be worn out from his "painting" below. Have a good one!