Kate's Third Birthday

Kate turned three on August 24 and we had a great time celebrating. Her Nana and Grandfather came up to spend a long weekend, which was a big help and a lot of fun. We started off the day with a fundraiser pancake breakfast. During breakfast, I told Kate 'happy birthday' and she got upset, saying "But this isn't my party!" It's tough to explain the difference between the birthday party and the actual birthday. We had a great time at her pool party and the weather was terrific! It was a perfect set-up with a picnic pavilion adjacent to the giant kiddie pool. After the party, we stayed to spend a little family time at the pool and then went home so Kate could get a much needed nap. While she napped, James and his dad set up the swingset that we got her for her birthday along with Grandma and Grandpa. It was SO HOT and they worked really hard so it would be finished when she woke up. She was very surprised and had to swing on it right away! We had some pizza for dinner and then opened more presents. It was a great day! Kate enjoyed swinging on Sunday and Monday before tropical storm Fay made its way through mid-week. She was very disappointed when we couldn't go out and swing! Every time the rain let up for a minute, she was asking if we could go out and dry off the swings to play.


On a side note, Owen turned 9 months today. I can't believe it! Mainly, I can't believe how close he is to one year! Time is flying lately. I'll post some pictures of him soon.

Cutting Up and Being a Big Sister

Kate's big new thing is cutting with scissors. She will cut anything you give her (magazines, work sheets, pictures from the newspaper, things we get in the mail, etc.). Luckily I recently got a free subscription to Sports Illustrated (which comes weekly) and Golf Magazine, so there is ample cutting material. Plus, Angela found a great work book with cutting activities. Anyway, she has gotten pretty good at it. She cuts a pretty good straight line and has really progressed from when she started by cutting a little slit and then ripping the rest of the page. The first part of the video below is Kate cutting. Note the "Micheal Jordan" tongue action that cutting requires. She has made some beautiful collages that adorn our refrigerator.

The second part of the video is a typical example of Kate being a great big sister. She is really great with Owen. She watches him to make sure he does not take out his hearing aids, she plays with him and is quick to bring him toys (especially when he gets into her toys), and she loves to point out noises to Owen ("did you hear that airplane Owen...oh Owen, listen to that motor cycle...Owen, did you hear Mattie bark...). The video also displays her great imagination that never ceases to amaze me.