Kaitlyn: Three and a Half Years Old

Katie Bug,

My sweet, precious baby girl. You are growing up so fast! You like to remind me of this, too. Yesterday during lunch, you proclaimed, "I put my pjs on, went night night, and I woke up big and strong! I'm getting big and strong like you!" You like to do all the things that I do, as well, and during lunch you also told me, "I will come and help you take care of your patients. I can help you make them feel all better!" Some days you say you want to be a nurse, although other times you will enthusiastically refuse the notion. :) I know you will be amazing at whatever you decide to do my doodle bug. 


Disney On Ice @ the Alamodome, April 14th

SeaWorld with Carmen and Tamara, April 2013

A typical day for you when you are home with me-
*You wake up around 8-8:30am, depending on where you are sleeping (usually in mommy's room, sometimes your room or grandma's when you stay there) and/or when Nathan wakes up and where he wakes up at (in his room vs the same bed you are in).
*Go potty, by yourself, and change out of your pull-up.
*You help me get breakfast. Usually you have a waffle/toast/bread of some sort and fruit. You love fruit and your favorites are strawberries, bananas, blueberries, watermelon and cantaloupe.
*You watch cartoons on Disney, Jr. while you eat breakfast and have some free play around the house while I do laundry/clean/get ready for the day.
*We load up the car around 9:45-10am and head out for the morning. We either run errands or go play. Sometimes we head to Sea World, where we stay until 1-2p, or go to the park or swimming at our neighborhood pool, have play dates with your friend Abbey, or we meet our friends for lunch (usually at Chick-fil-A).

Landa Park with the Potters, May 2013

Mother's Day at SeaWorld, May 12th

*Lunch usually at 12-1p*After lunch winds down, you and Nathan get ready for a nap. You usually sleep for a couple of hours, although lately you have been waking up after an hour. I doubt it will be long before you skip naps all together.
*The afternoons are usually spent playing with your daddy. Rarely do we head out for errands in the afternoon. Your new house has a playroom and your playground is all set up outside, so you have lots of things to do at home in the afternoon.
*Dinner is usually around 6-7p.
*Bath time is play time for you and Nathan at our house! Usually y'all get in your pjs after bath. Nathan goes to bed earlier than you, so you play with Grandma or Uncle Jon if they have stopped over, or you play with Daddy until it is time for you to go to sleep.
*Bed time is around 9pm. Sometimes you stretch it out to 930 or 10pm. You are my little night owl!
*When Mommy has to work, you and Nathan go to Aunt Tara's house during the week and Mawmaw's house on the weekends. I take you both in your pajamas so you don't have to get dressed at 545am. Daddy picks you up when he gets out of work in the afternoon, and then your day pretty much resumes as normal.

Charlize's 2nd Birthday Party, May 18th

Getting a haircut, May 2013

You love to help out around the house. You help me find things (although you have your uncle's sense of direction), put things away, bring me laundry, sweep and push the mop, and help cook or do the dishes. You bring Nathan toys all the time. As a typical preschooler, you still are working on sharing,  but you usually do well. Nathan, on the other hand, likes to take your toys away or pull your hair when he is upset, and then you start the "tattle tale" game. I can't tell you how many times I hear, "mommy, Bubba pulled my hair! ....took away my toy! ...is in my room!" You both love to play and love to fight. There is usually more playing then fighting though, thankfully. 

Katie's 1st Bike, May 2013



Big Girl Room!!! June 2013

You received your first big girl bike with training wheels this summer from Mawmaw and Pawpaw . You picked it out all by yourself and it's pink with Disney Princesses. You are very preoccupied with Disney Princesses. You know almost all of their names, even for the princesses I didn't know you had seen (Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine). When you put your pjs on, you spin around and tell me that you are a "princess" and tell me you have to lift the side of your dress up (like the princesses carry their gowns). When I wear a dress, you tell me to do the same, "Mommy, you're a princess like me!" You like to watch this Barbie movie at Mawmaw's that is about a princess and a rock star, and you love Sophia the First, which is about a young new princess. In fact, you have informed me that your birthday will be a Sophia the First party - you know in December! I used to be the same way and planned my birthdays 6 months in advance when I was younger, too. My little princess is also obsessed with tea parties, "or tea sets!" as you call them. You have two porcelain tea sets that you play with and are surprisingly careful with. You pour tea for Uncle Jon, Mawmaw and myself, and hold the lid on the tea pot very carefully. Sometimes you are a bit demanding, "No, Uncle Jon! I don't want you to drink all the juice yet!" but it is always fun to play with you. :)


Brunswick Bowling Alley, June 15th

Sea World wtih Abbey, June 2013



Swimming with Aunt EJ, Summer 2013



Fourth of July at the Hyatt Hill Country with Aunt Megan, 2013

You are still in swim lessons and take the 9am class for P3. You and Abby have not mastered your nose bubbles, yet, so you haven't been able to ring the bell for P2. Hopefully you will soon. Caleb is the other little boy in your class, and last week there was another young boy that started. You love swimming and are a very good student.


Katie @ 3.5 years old, July 4th



Aubree's 3rd Birthday Party, July 6th

Our new house has a beautiful new room in it for you, one you even helped me decorate and set up. You love to play in your new room, even shutting the door so that no one will come and disturb you. Mawmaw and Pawpaw bought you a lovely white bedroom set with purple/pink/yellow/green linens these cute white ruffle curtains. However, you have yet to SLEEP well in your new room....you still cry and come to my room, even with your new ladybug nightlight I got you. Oh well, we will continue to work on it. 

Lunch with MawMaw, July 2013



Sea World with Caleb, August 8th

If you get any sweeter, your Grandma might melt. :) You do and say the sweetest things. You frequently tell Mawmaw, Bubba and mommy that we are your best friends. When someone feels sick, you will lay with them and give them hugs so they "feel all better." You think of others frequently and are very protective of Baby Emma. You love as hard as you play. You are so much more than I ever could have dreamed! 

Mass at St. Anthony de Padua, August 2013



Hanging out with Aunt Tara, August 2013

I am excited to continue watching you grow! You are so smart, and ask to go to school all the time. We told you that you had to learn to use the potty before you could go to school, but now that you have potty training mastered, there is nothing holding you back. I am looking into pre-schools for you, but it might have to be next year since school will be starting so soon. You memory is sharp, too. You remember things that happened 6-7 months ago! 

Acelyn (4), Katie (3), Tailey (4), August 18th

You are so special to us, Katie. We love you to the moon and back! I know you know I am proud of you - you told me "You so proud of me mommy? You so proud of me!" the other day - but please don't ever forget it. You are my little angel.

Love,
Mommy

Kaitlyn: Three Years Old

Katie Bug,

You are now three years old….going on thirty! You are such a big girl with a personality to match. You are so adorable, though, and you are constantly bringing joy to our lives. Every day you seem to learn something new; you have a way of showing us the world in a different light.

Some thoughts about your life as a three year old (in no particular order)-

*You are potty trained, as of December, with occasional accidents when you need to have a bowel movement. You are so proud of yourself when you use the bathroom and are pretty good about letting us know when you have to go. Sometimes we find you have already gone to the bathroom, done your business, and we catch you headed back out to play.

*You are a big helper. You love to help mommy with anything that needs done. Whether it's cleaning, cooking, driving the car, or being a mother hen! You love to help Mamaw cook in the kitchen, although you are not always eager to eat the food afterwards. Also, you look after your brother and frequently tell me when he is misbehaving. This past month you actual spanked his hand away from the Christmas Tree when he was getting too close and pointing at the ornaments. You point to him and yell at him "Bubba, no sir!"

*Dinner time is hit or miss with you. Sometimes you eat second helpings, sometimes you eat very little.

*You love baby dolls. You feed them, put them to sleep and sooth them when we “make it cry.” (You have a baby doll that talks and it cycles through phrases to crying). You have even tried to nurse your baby, which is so cute!

*You love real life babies, too. You frequently ask about “Baby Emma,” and you always want to hold her. You are not scared to be around the baby, either. Even when Emma is crying, you soothe her and tell us “she needs a pass-ee-fire.”

*You love being outdoors. You learned how to play on scooters recently, and you always want to go to the Duck Pond or the park. You are quick to make friends with the other kids on the playground and follow them around even if you aren’t talking to them.

*You met the majority of your third and even fifth cousins in November when we went for a family reunion/Early Thanksgiving. It was so neat seeing you interact with everyone.

*You are such a good sleeper, you sleep from 9:30pm to 8:30am or so every day. You usually take one two hour nap around 1-2pm, as well.

*Play dough is one of your new favorite toys. You love to play with your Cookie Monster play dough set where you make pasta and veggies and feed them to Cookie Monster. You got more play dough from Aunt Rikki for your birthday, too!

*Your favorite movies are Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Tangled. You are a huge fan of Tinkerbelle, Special Agent Oso, Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Elmo (although not as much as last year).

*You love pink and wearing your pink boots and Jesse Cowboy Boots. You were Jesse for Halloween and you still wear the glittery red boots that matched your costume. You still talk about how you were “Jesse and Bubba Buzz Light Year.”

*You are a Mamaw’s girl through and through. You always want to stay the night with Mamaw, have her get you dressed or do your hair, sit by you, get you out of the car, etc. Whenever we leave the house, you ask to go to “Mamaw’s house.” Uncle Jon is your bestest buddy, too, and you love to follow him around and order him to play with you. He is teaching you to dance to “Gam Gam Star” (Gangam Style).

* You sing more songs to your movies, lullabies and shows nowadays. You also sing Taylor Swift’s “Never Getting Back Together.”

*You love sweets. Any kind of sweet. And you know that Godiva is better than other milk chocolates.

*You also love shoes, sunglasses, and jewelry. You are quite the accessorizer, although it doesn’t always match.

*You love to play with my stethoscope and play doctor. You want to listen to “bubba’s heart.” You know that mommy works in the hospital, and when I get home from work you tell me “mama all done working. All done your patients?” When you come to the hospital you like to look at the helicopters that “gotta get more patients.”

*Daddy puts you to bed every night. You like to cuddle up in mommy and daddy’s bed, but you also sleep sideways and take up all the room. =)

*You know all your colors and letters of the alphabet. You know plenty of numbers, too, however you will only count to ten if we prompt you and only to 4 or 5 if you are counting by yourself. You like to sing your ABCs in the back of the car. Daddy is teaching you your right and left sides of the body, and you are pretty good with them, too. You can name all of your body parts (head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, neck, arms, hands, fingers, chest, tummy, back, bottom, legs, feet, and toes).

*You have a great memory and can remember back for a few months time.

*Your friends you play with regularly are Isabella, Caleb, Charlie, Eveyln, Emma, Benjamin, Braeden and Kellen. We haven't seen Lily as often, but you play with her, too, and "Aunt Nonee" used to watch her with you earlier this year.

*You can dress and undress the lower half of your body without help and can get your sleeves on and off of your shirt. You are able to put your socks and shoes on, but sometimes your shoes are on the wrong feet.

*You are now swimming in the P2 class, which is for three year olds who can swim with the instructor and three other kiddos. Daddy doesn't have to get into the pool anymore! Your classmates are Aiden, Abby and Caleb.

You are growing and learning so much! You are mommy's little sunshine and the sparkle in my eyes. I love teaching you and watching you see the world through innocent eyes. I am learning so much from you and am constantly reminded how blessed I am to have you as my daughter. I hope that I can be the kind of mother that you will always be proud of!

Love,
Mommy