Quick Post

Has it really been a week since my last post!? I'm afraid so. I was in training all week and Don and Kate were home having a great time. Bubbles inside? I'm afraid so. Daddy Rules.

I made it home just in time for a Baby Shower Saturday. At my house. Thanks Mom for help with the cleaning!

It was a wild weekend... baby shower, visits with friends, costume shopping. Whew! Here's just a taste.

Mom to Be, Laurie.


Beautiful cookies that my cousin Kristen made.


Kate enjoyed GiGi's company.


Baby Aurie.


Cousins (minus a few).


Joe and Ashleigh Dickerson visited from D.C. We go way back to Shandon Baptist's Newlywed class. Maybe you remember my visit with Ashleigh back in February? At any rate, we were lucky enough to have them visit while in town to celebrate the homecoming of Sara and Allen. They brought their cutie pie Grayson with them. Kate wasn't... what shall we say.. fond of Grayson in the beginning. But they became friends on her terms. I thought the picture of them would be funny - Grayson sitting by a screaming Kate. But... turns out it was quite the opposite.



And finally, today we went to get Kate's Halloween costume. No poll this year. She's been pretty consistent about wanting to be a spider.

Oh, Baby!

We have just reached the stage where Kate likes taking care of her baby doll. She didn't know that I was watching, but she undressed Baby, washed it, dried it, brushed it's teeth (and face and head and feet and bottom) and wrapped it up for bed. Then, of course, the baby needed a bottle.

For Baby...

For me?


Sweet Baby hug.

Finally

A break from the HOT, DRY summer. We needed it. We've been waiting for it.


And the preschool was throwing this floor puzzle out. Our lucky day!

This Little Piggy

Tonight I painted Kate's toenails. Well, some of them. She asked me to do it, but she wasn't committed to both feet. She was pretty excited about having her toes painted "like Mommy." She also walked around on her right heel with her toes in the air because she said she couldn't walk on that foot.


Dinner with Laurie and Jordan really wore her out. She had to lay down to play with her farm just before bed.

While You Were Sleeping

Well... while most of you were sleeping, I was slaving away over the paint in the dining room. No big reveal tonight - things are still topsy-turvy in there. If you follow Team Dickerson, you won't be impressed. I did use them as motivation since they re-modeled their entire condo and I just painted not even 2 walls in our dining room. "Stop your whining and keep painting - think of all the work Joe and Ashleigh did!" I said to myself more times that I care to reveal here. I've been awake since 5:30 am, and unfortunately I've gotten my second wind at 11:30pm. I can hear the cat playing with something that, no doubt, is critical to the functioning of our household, and is about to be lost under a rug or couch. Luckily I go in a little late tomorrow, so I can sleep in. You know, after Don gets up at 4:45 to get ready for his 6:00 am meeting. Seriously? Yes.

All of that rambling to say not much of anything. To make up for it, I will wow you with a photo of Kate and her piggy pancake and her very first preschool artwork.

Likes and Dislikes

Today we went to Target. Kate "needed" to go, and I actually needed to go.

We wander into the kids clothing section (cute stuff EVERYWHERE)....
Kate: "I not wear that."
Me: "Oh, but it's so cute."
Kate: "I not like that."
Me: "Are you sure? Mommy really likes it. You would look so pretty in it"
Kate: "No, No! I not like that."
**long pause**
Kate: "I not like dinosaurs. I not like anything."

Ok with the not liking already. Then I find myself priming the dining room this evening thinking... boy do I NOT like this!

So now we're working on naming our likes. What DO we like??

Well, I like candy corn, so I made sure to get some as soon as it went on the shelves at Publix today. I also like that I beat a personal record for the Dam Run 10K this weekend, finishig at 51:29 (a whole 3 minutes faster than my previous PR)!


Kate likes.. well, honestly, just about anything, even though she might tell you differently.

She likes Dora.


She likes breakfast with Foster in the park.


She also likes turning in circles until she's dizzy, mangoes, broccoli, cheese, Daddy, Big Bird, any Winnie the Pooh character, and juice boxes (just to name a few).

So Innocent

Today Mom took Kate to see my grandmother Fraylick (who K calls Gi Gi). Then they went by the cemetery to sit under the tree and visit my Pop's grave.

They got ready to leave.

Mom: "We went to see Papa Lever. Let's go home."
Kate: "I not see him."
Mom: "That's because he has gone to live in Jesus' house."
Kate: "I want go to Jesus' house."
Mom: "We can't go there now."

Once in the car, Kate takes off her shoes and notices the dirt she picked up from running around. "I get dirt from Jesus' house."

Sweet girl. Hope she stays innocent for a while to come.

One of Those Days

Can you tell by looking at her?


Perhaps she didn't have the best of mornings. Cried before getting out of the car. Cried in the hallway. Cried in the classroom. But her note was good. It said she settled down right away, was cheerful/happy, and is a good listener. I'm almost certain it's teething.. it makes her whiny.

She also likes to read. What a sweet girl we have.


When we were eating supper, she told me "I don't like anything. I don't like (what sounded like) teachers, I don't like dinosaurs," and she didn't like a whole list of other things that I couldn't make out. I guess it was just one of those days.

Pot Pies!

The secret to tonight's yummy homemade pot pies?

Dr. Seuss on video ($4.75 at Target) and a bowl of bananas.

A Saturday

We were a bit boring this weekend. Skipped the game on Saturday. Church on Sunday. Played out on the front steps. Ate cupcakes. Kate can say Starbucks. Gotta learn early. Mom and I day-dreamed about the dream house. Good times.

Here are some pics of our front steps fun. Enjoying the sun while it's still warm enough.







And Kate. Turning round and round like a "potamus." Hippo-potamus that is. And yes, potamuses do twirl in the book "I Know a Rhino" - just in case you thought our sweet Kate was slightly confused. She's also panting and barking like a dog in the beginning. Who knows. I chalk it up to a vivid imagination.

Target Finds

Kate has now learned that you go shopping at Target. It was just a matter of time.

Today she went with Nanna. Shopping with Nanna is always a good deal for K.

Today's big find? A bathtime baby.

What Happens in Preschool...

...Stays in preschool. At least that's the way it seems. The only thing we could get out of Kate today was that they had cupcakes for snack. That fits with the icing on her arm at least. And, if you ask her if she wants to go back, she says yes. So, I guess day one was a success!

Now, back to our long weekend. You didn't think for a second that we just sat around home, did you? Nope. We were on the road. This weekend seemed extremely long and way too short all at the same time. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

First Kate and I took Don up to the middle of nowhereville for a bike race. The TNGA is a 350 mile mountain bike race across the mountains of north Georgia. Yeah, I know - crazy time. You can read about his experience here.

We stayed at a somewhat seedy motel. Don't worry, no bed bugs. Yes, I did check.

Super early breakfast at Waffle House.

This, my friends, is the face of uncertainty.

Loves bikes, loves Daddy, loves looking at bikes and trying on helmets.

Last minute bike mechanics... not a good sign. See the guy in yellow? That's Matthew Lee. You probably don't know, but he's the MAN. Won the Tour Divide - a 2700 mile bike ride from Banff, Canada to the US border with Mexico. I think showing up and meeting him might have been the highlight (he finished second by the way).

Here's Don taking off up the mountain.

So, it was a short race for Don. I picked him up later that day in Walhalla. Long story short, Don quickly realized he was in over his head, so he made the hard decision to withdraw from the race. I wasn't at any time worried about him or the ride, but Kate and I were happy to have him back.

So Kate and I headed back to Clemson while Don took a short tour of the Georgia mountains. She got her first taste of Clemson on game day. It can be quite overwhelming for a kid who likes to say "Go Tigers!" every time she sees a tiger paw.

First we played in a cute park downtown.

Then we met the Tiger Cub.

Kate's first tailgate experience. Sorry we missed you Roscia. Kate kept saying "Roscia not here." We'll definitely stop by next time!

We took Sunday to recover and then on Monday I ran a 10K in Blythewood. It went well considering how slow I felt. I did my best 10K time yet (54 min 21 sec) and finished second in my age group.

So glad this cutie wasn't in my age group. She was FAST!

Don, Kate and Foster cheered me on.

Clapping for the runners.

And to make up for all of that exercise? Ice cream. Mint Chocolate Chip. It was one of my weaker moments. Kate woke me up at 4:45am. What can I say.

School!

Today's the day!!

Here's the big girl!

Look Who's Talking

We continue to be amazed that Kate talks as well as she does. For example...

This evening Don was sitting on the kitchen island talking to me while I cooked dinner. Kate walks in and asks to sit up with him, so he hoists her up. She then says "I sit right here and I watch Mama cook supper." What? We just looked at each other - did she really just say that?

I also heard her playing with some small plastic animals on her sliding board. As she slid them down she said "Zebra's turn, Tiger's turn, Giraffe's turn, K-K's turn!" and then slid right behind them.

Later she asked me for a cookie.
Kate: I want cookie
Me: What do you say?
Kate: Please
Me: Please what? (as in Cookie please or something of that nature)
Kate: Please Now.

Shopping with Nanna - a lady walks up to talk and she says: I'm with my Nanna.

Of course she never does any this for the camera. I did the best I could this evening. Just a warning.. you may get bored quickly unless you're a grandparent. I'm not sure what the fake coughing is all about, and you can hear her argue over who was on TV - it was Bert, take my word for it. There are several of my favorite words/phrases in there - like "Oh my gracious! "And of course you can see her mad puzzling skills. Enjoy!

Orientation Day!

Today Miss Kate went to school. Not officially, but she did get to meet some other children and play in her new classroom. She was only tentative for a minute or so when we first walked in, but otherwise totally independent of Mom and Dad.

Heading out the door.


Riding a truck.


Introducing herself to this little girl. "I K-K. I K-K." That little girl was either shy or not sure how to respond. Kate didn't seem to mind.


And for some reason I just find it so exciting that my child has her name on a birthday cake on the wall.


It was a good day. Her favorite part? "Read books!" We shall see how next Tuesday goes!