Kate Update - 17 Months

When she was an infant, it was crazy how fast Kate grew in size - from month to month there was a noticeable difference in how her clothes fit and how she looked.  Now, the size differences are still noticeable but more subtle... but her personality and learning seem to change so much from month to month.  She was 17 months on Aug. 17, and here are a few notable things about the past month:

Personality and Communication:

• She communicates well and is gaining words and gestures daily, it seems!  New words this month (that I can remember):  "out," "school," "nack" (snack), "amen" (after the blessing at meals), "t-t," "poo-poo," "meow" (She loves to look out the window at Sydney and say this over and over again), "wa-duh" (formerly wa-wa).
• She is really into trying to say names and is pretty good at names of friends at school and church (Parker, Abby, Quentin, Molly, Will), and her preschool and Sunday School teachers (Connie, Betty, Rhonda, Tiffany).  At home, we like to look at pictures around the house and talk about the people in them.  This month, she has started saying "Uncle" for Blake and "As-lee" (for Ashleigh, although she won't say it in front of her).  MaMa and DaDa have translated into "Mommy" and "Daddy," and she says them often and very clearly - which is so sweet and melts my heart, but can get a little embarrassing when it's really loud at the grocery store! :)  
• One day, when I got her up from her nap, I asked her how she slept (She always says "goo" for good) and if she wanted a snack (She usually says "nack"), and she replied, "apple." So, I thought that was pretty neat that we were actually carrying on a little conversation.
• I can tell her memory is really growing, because she constantly surprises me with what she remembers.  One afternoon, she was staying at my mom's house, and Mom said a few white vehicles went by and she would say, "Mama."  At my parents' house, there is a little bouncy ball that she loves, so as soon as she goes inside, she starts saying, "ball, ball" and looking for "G."  After she spends time with Mimi and Pop, she always talks about the "wing" (swing), which she absolutely loves.  A couple of weeks ago, Jeff was gone for a few days for work, and she would ask about and look for him about every 30 minutes the first day, and then sporadically through the next couple of days.
• She is becoming more attached to us and her stuffed animals/dolls.  She loves her daddy so much and will run to the door the second she hears the garage door opening.  "Lambie" is her favorite stuffed animal, and lately she's been kissing it on the face when she gets it back after not having it for awhile (we usually just give to her before nap/bed or in carseat).  She also loves babies, both real and dolls, and she works very hard to cover them up with a blanket, rock them, etc... although Granna did report that last week Kate threw her baby doll like a ball one time. :)
• Her attention span seems to be getting a little longer, and she sometimes will bring 2 or 3 books to me to read in a row (but only if it's HER idea). 

Reading with Mommy at a restaurant at the beach

Eating her "nack" at her big girl table, which Gran let us have from her house

 Playing and Learning:

• The first week in August she started her new class at preschool, which she really enjoys!  She still goes to 1st Presbyterian mornings from 8-12:30 while I work.  Her new teachers' names are Mrs. Connie and Mrs. Betty, and they are such sweet ladies.  Every time I go in, they are working with the kids doing all kinds of playful activities or singing, and they never seem a bit frazzled - I'm amazed by people who teach preschool!  Her new classroom is nice, big and colorful, with lots of toys and fun centers, like a play kitchen and art area.  She enjoys her class and is usually happy when we drop her off, although she has been a little clingy the last couple of days (which I guess is normal for this age).  I'll admit that I was a bit nervous about leaving her old teachers, who we LOVED, but I've been super impressed so far.
• Favorite toys at home right now are balls, her talking/singing mailbox and teapot, blocks, doll, riding toys, and running around or doing pretty much anything outside.  At the beach, there was an old Barbie from either Caroline or me, and she absolutely loved playing with it. 
• She is very into climbing any sort of step or stair and has recently mastered going back down (although she likes to have something to hold onto - she has a very cautious personality at times, and then other times is a wild child with no fear!)
• At the beach, she really enjoyed playing in both the sand and water.  She would get her beach ball or little float and go to the back door and say, "Bee! Go, go!" 
• She is my little shadow and loves to help around the house with whatever I'm doing.  She starting to really get into pretend play. 

Playing in the backyard

"Helping" fold laundry

 Eating and Sleeping:

• She has a huge appetite, which makes sense I guess, considering the fact that she is almost always in constant motion during the day!  
• She has finally mastered eating with a spoon and fork, which makes mealtimes a lot more peaceful for me! (Before, she wanted to do everything to feed herself but still needed lots of help.)
• New foods this month included lima beans, corn on the cobb, grapes cut in half, and a hushpuppy (at a restaurant at the beach).  She loves any kind of sweet, but we don't give her too many!
• Her afternoon nap is getting a little shorter - closer to 1.5 or 2 hours (vs. 2 to 3 hrs.) lately.
• She still sleeps well at night, and lately is actually letting us rock her for a little while before putting her down (which we love!).  We still put her down awake, but rocking is the perfect ending to a long day. :)

Eating with a fork

Looking Back on Our Summer

This summer has gone by too fast but was lots of fun!  Here are a few memories from Summer 2011:

We celebrated our 5th Anniversary with a trip to Destin on Memorial Day weekend...

Five years sure has flown by!  Looking forward to the next five! :)

A gorgeous sunset at Dewey Destin, one of our favorite restaurants

Neat shot of a bike Jeff took at Seaside

Another beautiful sunset at Seaside (Isn't Jeff a talented photographer?!)

I finished my LAST CLASS in May!!!

(no pic for this, but you can just picture me with a super excited expression)

Jeff and G celebrated their second Father's Day with Kate...

We celebrated my 29th birthday in June...

Jeff, April, Blake, Ashleigh, and Kate

Kate and G share a piece of the best chocolate birthday cake ever. (Thanks Granna!)

In July, Kate got to "sleep in" til 8:00 or even 8:30 some days...

Jeff was on the road a lot traveling for work.  Here are a few pics from his Minnesota trips:

Needless to say, I was a bit jealous when I got this text... Our heat index that week was in the 100s!  Jeff said he could live in MN during the summers.  He commented about how nice all the people were.  Two of the newspaper employees hosted him at their houses for supper, and one even took him "river tubing" with her family on a Sunday afternoon.

Really cool shot of a rainbow over one of the huge fields there

A breathtaking sunset over one of their lakes.

Kate and I visited with Sarah, Scott, Rachel, and Ginny at the Hughes' home in Gardendale for a few days while Jeff was traveling in July...

Playing on the bouncy ball with "Cott" (These two share the same birthday and were inseparable!)

All the girls met Scott for lunch one day at Nikki's West, and a lady commented, "Well you can tell she's a daddy's girl!" which made us all laugh and earned Scott the nickname "Faux Daddy" from Rachel.

Playing in the floor with Aunt "RaRa" and Uncle "Cott"

A late night of fun with the girls (Amanda, we missed you!)

Jeff's softball team, O2 Ministries, won the league championship!  

Jeff played awesome in the tournament - said they were probably the two best games of his life!

Granna and G moved into their new house in late July.
(We're so glad to have them in the same town with us!)
 

Granna and Kate blowing bubbles on the back porch

Daddy and Kate at the new house

The view from Mom and Dad's backyard

Sugarfoots Baby Boutique, Mom and Dad's store, celebrated their 2nd Birthday in July...

Of course, the favorite model had to attend...

... and sample a cookie :)

We welcomed two new babies into our circle of friends - Aubrey (Matt & Sarah's second daughter) and Ryder (Roudy & Sarah's third child and only son)!  We enjoyed spending lots of wonderful time with Matt, Sarah, Brynn and Aubrey while they were home for the summer. 

Officer Spencer with Deputy Ava

Fun in the ball pit!  The Anders' basement is an awesome place to play!

Parker and Kate

Sweet Brynn

The kids had so much fun playing together, and of about 10 pictures, this one had the most kids looking/smiling!

The girls on one final outing before Sarah, Brynn, and Aubrey returned to China

Kate Update - 16 Months

Every parent of a newborn gets told at least 100 times, "Enjoy them while they're little, because they grow too fast!"  And never has a truer phrase been spoken!  I can't believe Baby Kate, as we nicknamed her before she was born, is now a toddler.  This is truly a precious stage, as she is happy most of the time, and (almost) everything she says and does is so cute, and she knows it!  She will cock her head to the side and smile, and I can just tell she is thinking, "I'm so cute!"  Three words I would use to describe her are observant, curious, and independent.  Here are a few highlights from this month:

 Talking:

• Her vocabulary has really taken off in the last 2-3 months, and she will now try to imitate almost any word we say to her.  Some words that she says regularly:  Mama, Daddy (Da - DEE), tries to say Granna, G, Pop, Mimi, ruff-ruff (for dog), kitty, moo (for cow), wa-wa (for water), thank you (da-u), hi, hey, hey-ya, bye-bye, apple, na-na (for banana), p (for peach), more (mostly does sign but sometimes says), go, happy, up, diaper, snack, bath, bird, baby, ball, bubble, balloon, uh-oh, set (Jeff lets her "help" set the alarm sometimes).
• She says a few 2-word phrases: Hey mama, hey daddy, all done, oh no... and a lot of multi-word strands that we can't understand!
• She is very social and loves to say hi and smile/wave to everyone we meet.  Going to the grocery store or out to eat are big events for her!

 

Playing & Learning:

• She loves her books, and current favorites are Goodnight Moon, the children's prayer book (Thank you, Aunt Rachel and Aunt Sarah!), My First Colors (Thank you, Aunt Ginny!), The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Thanks, Granna!) and nursery rhymes.

• She can identify many body parts (hands, feet, head, tummy, nose, eyes, mouth, ears), and has done this since about 13 mos.  She can identify several animals and can match animals on her puzzles and Noah's ark set.

• She loves music and songs and will dance and sometimes sing along to music on TV or the radio.  She will sometimes do the motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus.  I think we are going to do Kindermusik this fall.
• She likes coloring with crayons for short periods of time. At preschool, she sometimes uses paint (her teachers are very brave!).
• She enjoys putting things in and taking things out of any sort of container.  She will pretend cook with plastic bowls/spoons as I cook supper and loves to carry little purses or makeup bags around the house.

"Cooking" with ice :)

• She loves to play in water, especially the bath or her little plastic pool in our backyard.  She doesn't like the big pool as much, because she is not content to stay in her float - She thinks she can swim like the big kids!

 

At UA Rec Pool for Daddy's softball team party

• She is very affectionate and loves to "love" (hug/kiss) us, the grandparents, and her doll and stuffed animals.  Something really sweet she started doing this week is putting both of her hands on my face, pulling it to her, and giving me a kiss.  Melts my heart!

Eating & Sleeping:

• She is very independent and wants to do everything herself, especially at mealtimes.  She does really well getting a spoon/fork into her mouth but not as well with getting the food on it, so we usually help her with this part, or just let her pick up pieces with her fingers... and of course, we do sometimes still feed her.

• She is a great eater, and the only food she really doesn't love is meat, although she will eat some meats.  She eats almost all fruits and veggies, and favorites this summer have been watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries!  She is bad about trying to cram food into her mouth too fast, though, so we have to constantly remind her to take "small bites."  She is not very patient while waiting for her food, and we are really working hard on this!

• She knows what she wants and will often walk over to the highchair and say "Up" for meals/snacks, or go bring us her blanket or point to her bedroom if tired.  She started saying "No" this month (has been shaking head no for awhile), and she likes to use this one often!  We'd better get ready for the terrible two's! :)
• Her bedtime is around 7:30-8:00, and she will sleep about 11.5-12 hours.  She takes one nap a day for about 2-3 hours.  Sleep mates are blankie, lambie, and paci.  

If I could freeze this age, I think I would!  But we are looking very forward to the joys that the future ages and stages will bring as well!

Welcome to our family blog!

Welcome to "The Coleman Chronicle," our official family website!  This blog has been on my to do list for about a year now, so I figured now - while summer is here and I actually have time - is a good time to get it started!  My goal is to post at least weekly, as a way to keep sort of an online scrapbook of Kate growing and changing, as well as to document happenings in the life of our family.  

My good intentions keep thinking I'm going to dust off those unopened scrapbooks in the closet to create beautiful chronicles of our wedding and honeymoon (from over 5 years ago!), travels, and Kate's first year... but since the realist in me knows that I'm not going to be finding time for scrapbooking anytime soon (at least until this dissertation is written), this is as good as it gets, at least for now !

I cordially invite you to join us in this blogging adventure!