Pigtails and Piggies

First time in pigtails. She looks so grown up.

Look at those bare piggies. Kapooka HATES socks and shoes. She pulls them off as soon as she can and then laughs and laughs. I am looking forward to sandals. As long as she can see her toes, she is ok. This is also our second try at pigtails. They were much more straight this time.

Speech Meet Courage

This is Wildcat accepting his ribbon at speech meet. He had worked so hard, but it just didn't show in his performance this day. However, I was impressed that he got through it at all. Wildcat got sooooo scared that he had a total melt down and kept saying that he couldn't do it. In the end, he did it. He said his whole speech. Now it didn't have the volume, pace, or inflection that he had worked months on. However, it didn't matter to me. I was just so proud that he showed courage and followed through with his commitment.

His classmates were so kind. They told him that they knew he was scared, but he did a good job just to try. Everyone agreed that next year he would do better because he would know what to expect. I love my little guy!

A Terrible Tragedy (Wink)

Kapooka loves books. She especially loves books with textures or flaps. She has loved this squeaky pig kisses page so much that it has lost its squeak. Big crocodile tears! Yesterday she kept pushing my finger to try and make it squeak. May the pig's squeak RIP.

It has been neat lately though...Kapooka is starting to recognize animals in books. Her favorites to say are duck, dog, and cat. She does however laugh big belly laughs when we squeak like a mouse. Next step...Kapooka telling us what sounds the animals make.

Big Girl!

This is Kapooka's first time riding facing the front. Wildcat and Skye had a squabble about who got to sit by her the first time. Since Skye was in a skirt, she "won" (not modest to climb to the back). Notice however how satisfied Kapooka seems to be facing front.

Today though when Kapooka woke up, she was in a snuggly mood. That is somewhat rare these days. She is so busy exploring everything, she doesn't have time to snuggle much unless we are reading books. This morning however, she let me rock her. She put her head on my shoulder, and she just hunkered in for 30 minutes. I made sure to smell her sweet baby hair and just enjoy the moment because I don't think there will be too many more like them.

St. Patrick's Day (a little late)

Green Eggs and Ham. The kids loved...the adults couldn't get over the green. Kapooka. Her hair looks red in the sun, and she has on her shamrock dress.

A better view of the shamrock dress.

Kapooka News

Kapooka has changed a lot over the last week. Besides saying new words, she is also getting better at walking.

She can now run a few steps. She can pivot on one foot. She can also squat for a lengthy period without holding onto anything.

She is also exhibiting a strong will. Earlier today she held up her arms and grunted. She wanted up. I told her to say please. She shook her head no and held her arms up and grunted again. I repeated that she needed to say please. I tried to help her do the sign. She pulled her hand away and shook her head no. I then told her she needed to say please or no up. She then kind of growled and walked away.

She has taken to calling herself Nana. Tonight when Paul got home, she pointed to herself and then to the door and said Dada. I said does Nana want to see Dada. She nodded her head yes. She is a fun one!

New Words

Every person under 18 in our family is learning new words.

Skye is learning speciesism. She is doing a paper on the ethics of animal testing.

Jon learned maternal and paternal. He thinks he is too old to distinguish grandparents by the type of house they live in.

Bethany can now say mama, mom, dad, nana (what she calls Skye), yes, no, all done (she still signs this one mostly though), dog, cat, hi, and down. She also signs please and more.

Yummy Recipe and Thanks Grandpa!

We made this last night, and it was a huge hit! Even Kapooka was eating it hand over fist (literally). Kapooka's response suprised us because it is a bit spicy. I think to make it even better next time I will add a little cilantro and have sour cream available for topping.

You can find the recipe here...
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1873369

Thank you Southern Living for the picture and recipe.

I also wanted to say thanks to my dad. He has been watching Kapooka several times a month. He has started to give her a washcloth after her meals, and she wipes up her high chair tray(of course it still needs a good going over after). I would never have thought to do this, but now she just beams when we tell her what a big girl she is and that she is doing a great job. It also helps us get the table cleared without fussing. Thanks Grandpa!

Sleep, sweet sleep.

I love this picture. Big sister was babysitting Kapooka. When I came home, this is what I found. TOO CUTE! I just love to watch Kapooka sleep. As some of you know, Kapooka does not like to sleep at night. She is a night owl like her mama. However, for the past 3 nights Kapooka has been asleep before midnight (and 2 of the 3 before 11pm). This is a BIG step for us. She is definitely cuter before midnight...the grumpy monster visits mom and dad after that time.

Kapooka's Birthday

Kapooka turned one about a month ago. She had a fantastic birthday party. Now for her brother's first birthday, we were in seminary and knew lots of young families. He had a ton of little kids for his birthday. I made a 3 D snowman cake, an eggplant penguin, and other winter themed items. I went a little more simple for Kapooka's day. We had a polka dot theme.

The cake was decorated with Nesco wafers. We got animal and polka dot plates at the dollar store. The first picture is of the Kapooka's brother and cousins playing in the bathroom with their party favors (glow sticks also from the dollar store). Those glow sticks were a big hit. I will do that again. My big splurge was a bib for Kappooka. It was embroidered with a dog, her name, and her birthday.

Kapooka was in heaven with her grandparents' gift. She loves touch and feel as well as lift a flap books. Her totally AWESOME grandparents found a book that had both. Kapooka also loved her cake. You can't tell from the picture because she is very serious about her food...just like her dada. However, after each bite, she opened her mouth for more.

Happy Birthday baby girl!

Don't Worry Mom, I Have Bait

Well, the above picture really has nothing to do with this story, other than to show you what a cutiepatootie, Kapooka is.

Last night, Wildcat was in bed and Kapooka toddled down the hall. I hear her enter her brother's room when Wildcat bellows"MOM!!!!" I told him I was coming, and then I hear "Nevermind, I have bait." Now being curious I start to walk down the hall. I hear some thumping. I speed up (thumping is usually not good). I round the corner and see a stuffed bunny flying through the air. Kapooka is grinning, and Wildcat's head is sticking out from his loft. He says "I am trying to lure her with stuffed animals." Kapooka was more interested in other things, so I removed her from the situation. However, all day today, I have just chuckled about "Don't worry Mom, I have bait!"