Well, even though I can't show off photos of our adventures, I can at least post some oldies but goodies. Here is one of Katy and Allen from last Fall. It was Allen's first trip to the pumpkin patch, but Katy was a seasoned veteran. She didn't have much patience with him. Check out the difference in their hair from then to now!

And along those lines I put together a small collage of Halloween pics from 2005-2008. I really wish I had better indoor lighting because it's so hard to get it just right. I ruined a lot of the 2006 pics for Katy but putting her too close to the light source (the sun streaming in through the sliding glass door) and it just blew out everything. Anywho, this made me smile to see.
And finally, here are some recent funnies...not just Katy-isms because Allen has some, too!

*Mom babysat for us recently while Peter and I went to Katy's first parent/teach conference. Mom had trouble figuring out which buttons to push on the remotes to play the dvd and when she finally got it it going Katy said, "Oh Mookie, I'm so proud of you - you GOT IT - I knew you could do it!!"

*Mom also babysat for us while we went to an A&M game. When Mom turned on the tv to show Katy how the Ags were doing, Katy said, "I know - the Aggies are playing the Astros."

*Allen has been using his sign language skills to communicate things like "all done", "drink", "bath", "eat", and "more". Last night he was eating crushed ice from my cup, a delicacy in our house. My hand was cold and wet so I would shake it off after I put the ice in his mouth. He thought that was the sign for ice and he laughed and did it all night!

*I bought Katy a twix bar for the first time at the store the other day. She was tired from school and I bribed her into being pretty good while I shopped. She ate the first half at the check-out line and then saved the second piece for a few nights later. Last night in the tub she told me, "Mama, I'n all done. I'n ready to go get chocolate at the store."

*Since I'm all clogged up and congested, my "m" sounds more like a "b". I was explaining to Katy that only Mama is allowed to do something, and she kept asking, "Who is Bobba?"

*Katy's school has chapel on Thursdays and they taught her the concept of "tip toe", which she loves to do. She whispers as she does it.

*Katy found a white tea towel that was folded up on top of the clean laundry pile and carried it around for days like it was a baby. When it came undone she wanted it rolled up like a baby again. She named it Baby Towel Baby. Why do we even buy them toys?

*Last night laying in bed Katy announced that Allen was a good baby sister.
I guess that's it for now. Hopefully my photo card reader will be here soon. I have 2 gig of pictures to download from this month!

We have had a ton of fun in the past week, or so. However, I am missing my card reader that I need to get the photos from my camera to my computer. Also, Mom and I caught the flu somehow. I have been doing "sofa parenting" today, which is what my friend Lisa taught me to call it. I will try to play catch up once my new card reader comes in.

Here is a story that Katy's new nursery teacher e-mailed me:
"I have to tell you the cutest thing Katie did in nursery a few weeks ago. She had this very concerned look on her face and kept telling us she needed, “a shange”. We all tried several different things to figure out what she was saying, but all we could come up with was a “change”. So off I headed with her to find you when on the way she tells me she needs ‘Her friend, Shange” Aha!!!! SAGE. She was so cute looking for her friend, Sage. I loved it."

As for Mr. Allen's adventures, he ran around the yard ALL morning without a diaper because he has a red, painful-looking diaper rash. The slide got a bit tricky, but otherwise he loved it!

Good news. Katy reported that she had a great day at school today! I asked if anyone threw sand and she immediately listed the pitfalls associated with sand-throwing such as spanks, or that someone could get sand in their eye. I asked if anyone DID get sand in their eye, and she said no. I asked if Teacher stopped the sand-throwing, and she said yes. I guess we'll survive pre-school, and maybe even flourish.

I shouldn’t have done it. I KNOW I shouldn’t have done it. But I did it. I spied on Katy at pre-school. My imagination was sending her soaring through fancy sandcastles and laughing with friends. I had to abandon all that. I drove with Allen through the parking lot, very slowly, straining to see Katy on the playground through the foliage. There she was. She wears her glasses to school and so far has sported those ding dongs on top of her head. Today she was wearing jean shorts laced with pink and a brown shirt with pink hearts. I didn’t have my camera with me so I’m trying to reconstruct every detail as best I can. She was alone in this huge sand box area, other than a couple of sweaty boys who were playing together at the far end. She didn’t have any tools but I know she was trying to build a sand castle. Other kids seemed to be playing alone too, except for the triplet girls who had each other to play with. It was very sad for me to watch her. I must say that KATY wasn’t sad. She wouldn’t have wanted to go with me if I hopped out to take her home. Still, it was breaking my heart. How could those kids not see how much fun she is? I can see that we have been spoiled by the kids in our family and friendships who truly celebrate Katy and Allen, and make them feel special. Sigh…

Then two of the triplets came skipping over. I had high hopes. Nope. They started throwing sand up in the air. Katy looked horrified as they stomped dangerously near the sad pile of sand which was her sandcastle. I heard her sternly say, “No throwing sand.” Then I watched as she looked for support from someone taller than four feet. “Edybody is throwing sand!” she shouted in a concerned but bossy voice. She turned back to the girls and told them, “I told you to STOP!” I guess should have been laughing. But I just really wanted to push those girls down. It’s becoming a reality that I have to shove my babies out into the world and let them fend for themselves someday. They will be stronger if I can let them fight their own battles. It’s going to be hard to do. I put the van in gear and slowly drove away before the teacher noticed me lurking and spying and thinking mean thoughts about some of her students. I really do love the pre-school and teachers and playground and everything. I just wish I could stick some good friends in Katy’s class to play with her and protect her. And maybe then I would wrap them all in bubble tape. Just a couple layers…nothing too dramatic.

Allen and I dropped Katy off at school this morning and now we're home trying to figure out what's missing. Why is it so quiet? I'm trying to get him to watch Baby Einstein movies but he ain't falling for it. I finally remembered the cutest new trick he did. When we walk outside we always point out the moon to Katy. The other night Allen looked up and said "moon" just as clear as could be. We were so shocked! He is growing up so fast!!

Yesterday Peter suggested a backyard picnic because the weather was so cool. Apparently there is a new puppy in the yard behind us. Katy spent the entire time playing with the pup through a hole in the privacy fence. She and the dog were both trying to dig out a hole under the fence so the puppy could come for a "bisit". Last night she decided that the dog was hers and named him Snot. I don't know why. She doesn't even laugh when she says it so I think she believes that she invented the word. Today she announced that Snot would be joining her at school. I really hope her teacher doesn't believe that she has a dog named Snot.

Amy is having a surgery to open up a blocked and infected tear duct today...ouch!! I'm thinking a lot about her, and also about all the folks affected by Hurricane Ike. It hit a town just 30 minutes from here in a pretty bad way. They don't have power, gas, food....anything. Keith and Sarah still don't have power but since they have a gas water heater, they can at least shower. I just called Dad and learned that he hasn't had power since Saturday afternoon so now I'm going to try to convince him to head this way. He is very stubborn and I probably won't succeed. All in all, we are still so very blessed!

The kin folk seemed to have escaped without too much damage from Hurricane Ike! I was a little worried about Dad, Sarah and Keith in the Houston area, and Mike and Laura up north in the hurricane’s path. We were in Ike’s weaker section so we didn’t get much more than wind and rain. Uncle John was in New York City so I guess he made out the best. Sarah and Keith ended up with a big tree across their driveway. And they lost power so Keith had to use Sarah’s A/C adapter to grind his coffee beans in her car. She calls it her second home, anyway. I guess Amy didn’t really get anything at all in the Austin area. What’s nice is that a lot of folks called to check up on us…Mrs. Cowan, Monica B. and Kathy G just to name a few! We are so loved!

Mom came over and we had a Hurricane Ike slumber party. We played with our bowling set of stuffed animals. We leaned a box against the sofa seats and had an indoor slide. Later Allen ran his dump truck down it as a ramp in true boy fashion. Peter had informed Katy a little TOO much about the possible destruction. She walked around sounding official as she told us about the winds and rain and falling trees. On Saturday Allen was getting into so much stuff that we started calling him Hurricane Allen, and Katy is still laughing about that because she now understands what it really means.

Once during a pretty gusty part of the day Peter went to check things out. The kids were watching him from the front door and Katy was very worried about him. She kept yelling to him not to blow away and to watch out for branches. Allen was just trying to sneak out the open door. He absolutely loves being outside. When they saw the way Peter prepped their swing set for the storm, they were not too happy about it.

A funny thing about sending Katy to a preschool for two days each week is that she’s coming home with stories and songs that I didn’t teach her. Today she has been telling me all about dinosaurs and skeletons. She actually brought me her rendition of a “ceratops.” She also is singing a song about “tip-toe, tip-toe, tip-toe” and it’s the cutest thing! A couple days ago she told me that when she grows up she wants to be a “dirt man” but I know where that reference came from. It’s from when we watched the “diggers” after her first official day of school. She was pretty impressed.

Allen has learned to say “thank you” and it’s so sweet. He’s picking up new ideas and showing off his smarts every day!

Happy 16 month birthday to Big Juice!


This time has really flown by. I can’t believe that he’ll be headed to the church nursery soon.


We are NEVER bored. Today I borrowed Rebecca’s two oldest (Sage and Jade) and the five of us went to the park. I am very brave. They should give medals out for things like that. We walked there and I didn’t plan on staying too long because I knew we had to walk back. Nothing ever goes like I plan. First we fed the ducks and that was a big hit with everyone. Then we met up with a college gal who was walking her 7 week old puppy and she stopped to let us wear him out! He was so adorable! Katy wouldn’t swing or slide anymore once the puppy showed up. When “Dodger” had to leave, I whipped out the animal masks to avoid tears. Jade and Allen didn’t want to wear theirs. Then we headed home with sweaty little red faces. Katy’s was especially dirty from rolling around with Dodger. On the way home Katy and Sage found a flattened frog in the road. I used him as a “teaching moment” about not walking in the middle of the road. All in all, it was a great time!

Today was Katy's first full day of school. She had such a hard time getting to sleep last night, and didn't drift off until 10:30pm. Lately she has become much more independent and wants to do certain things for herself. I love that I'm doing less for her, but yet I'm sad to see her out-growing the need for me. I know...I know...she's only three.

I wish I would have brought the video camera with me this morning as we were dropping Katy off for her big day. I was running behind so my little man had to be carried on my hip wearing his sassy red and blue striped footy jammies. Katy hiked along the sidewalk behind me and acted as if her backpack must have weighed a ton. Another mom walked by and commented on how heavy her pack looked. I told her that the only thing in it was an empty yellow school folder. Birdie just trudged along holding onto the front of both straps of her pack...toodling around at her own speed.

Sure enough, when we got to her classroom she kind of hung back a bit. I pointed to her monkey sticker that marks the hook for her backpack, but she just didn't move. The teacher was distracted with someone else. Another mom came along to drop off her son, and he was definitely not heading into the room without her. Katy just perked right up and starting trying to push him into the room. She told him encouragements like "C'mon boy - it's just one time" and "Don't be scared - it's all right". When pushing didn't work, she tried taking his hand. Then she pulled on him. Finally the teacher noticed the commotion and she rescued the boy by thanking Katy for her enthusiastic help, while at the same time motioning the boy's mom to come into the room with him. Hmmm...maybe we have a future teacher on our hands? Of course, for now she claims that she's going to be a doctor when she grows up. She pretends to be Dr. Yen, her eye doctor, and she is not gentle...horrible bed-side manner.

After the drop-off Allen and I picked up some dry cleaning and then hit Mom up for an impromptu shopping trip to Tuesday Morning. Their flyer had the cutest little diamond rings for $5 and I'm beginning to feel the tug of Christmas shopping. Besides, I felt like making the most of my first day of freedom - from half my kids, at least!

We totally scored some cute stuff, much more than just the rings, but Allen was totally the man of the hour. The store was filled with women who had their heart broken by a little boy in blue cut-offs and a sporty green and white shirt. He grinned and showed off all his tricks. He can imitate lots of sounds now, and knows that cars go vroom, cows moo, dogs woof, tigers and bears growl, etc... He can sign for "eat" and says "uh oh" before he drops stuff. My personal fave is when he brings me a shoe and tells me "shoe". Juicy finally started getting tired so we gave up shopping and just drove around a bit. Then it was finally 11:30, time to pick up my bird.

Mom and I watched from the van while Katy's class took their packs off the hook and then marched out the door to sit on the bench and wait for their rides. Both last time and today, Katy was the very first one out the door. We'll have to see if that's a trend. Katy ran to Mom when she saw her and then had to be guided back to the bench so that her teacher could personally deliver her in the proper way back to Mom. She received a rave review from Teacher, but there was mention that Katybird was just a bit anxious for her mommy at the very end of class. Hmmm....we'll see how lunch bunch works on Thursday.

As we headed off to lunch, Mom and I dug for nuggets of information about Katy's big day. She definitely painted again because her shirt was covered in it, plus one of her hands. She had remnant of some type of food on her face, and she reported that they had peanut butter for snack today. Last time was goldfish, allegedly. She played on the playground, which was something she was most excited to do. Same for the play dough. When asked about friends, she admitted that she had them but she "can't know their names". When we pried open the backpack and found the yellow folder, it had not one but two paintings in it from Thursday! The little artist told everyone she talked to that she painted just for them. Maybe she'll grow up to be a pharma rep or do insurance sales...she can be pretty smooth.

We decided to ask Katy where she wanted to go for a celebration lunch and she didn't even hesitate when she shouted, "The Lobster!" which translates to mean Red Lobster. Both her grandmas love that place. I guess I know where she gets it. I vetoed the nice restaurant and we picked a burger joint closer to Peter's work so he could join us. There was some nearby construction and we all sat in the van watching "yellow diggers" for at least 15 minutes. I wasn't surprised that Katy was interested, but Allen was trying to lean out of his car seat to see. He was just as entranced as she was. I think the workers were a little curious about what we were doing, but then again, maybe they're used to it?

Once Peter joined us for lunch we let Katy open her back pack to see her present for today. It was a colorful board book all about pre-school and she loves it! Thanks, Tuesday Morning! Peter came home just long enough to get some stuff he needed for tonight and to help Katy find a place to hang her art work. Daddies are very special. The trial run had it mounted to the fridge, but Allen immediately wanted to re-hang it on the floor so we had to move it somewhere a little higher. The big yellow one is apparently a flower. The other has yet to be identified.

And finally, this is what Allen was doing last night when it was too quiet. Katy would have been appalled. He scooped the plastic sink out of her kitchen, emptied out the cupboards, and then climbed up them to play on the stove top. He looked so pleased with himself that I had to take pics, even though he looks a bit ratty in his white tee and diaper. Charming!

Wow! We have been busy little bees lately! So much to report!

First I’ll cover some random fun things. Last week Mom stopped by to take Katy for a walk. It’s one of her favorite things to do, and with one of her very favorite people. They just went around the block because we were expecting some friends to stop by. Mom let Katy name her fish (now known as Pet Fish) so they have that close connection, too.

Allen stayed home and played with some shoes. He loves to bring us a shoe and insist on having it put on his foot. Sometimes it’s one of his, but it’s often one of the other family members. When he finds my slip-on sandals, he just puts them on his arms. The funniest thing is when he is wearing rain boots or Katy’s pink cowgirl boots.

Another fun thing we did was kidnap Peter from work and have a picnic in the park. Katy kept insisting that we needed a picnic blanket to have a picnic, but we “made do” with a picnic table. Unfortunately for me, she had a call of nature of the “plop plop” variety and now she claims to have gone potty in the woods. We were the only ones in the park, but it was still a little awkward. These pictures are from a park trip after Peter left work one day last week. The weather was a little cooler and we were loving it!

We were doing some fall cleaning on Katy’s closet and I had her try on some clothes to see if they fit. Since she was putting on cute little outfits, I had to snap photos, of course. And Allen was sporting the softest, sweetest little bull dog shirt that said “Tough” on the front. When he was posing, he actually stuck out his bottom lip like a little bull dog, himself. And we captured his Disney Pixar “Car” shoes that he loves so much. I was so busy editing photos from the wedding, but I just couldn’t pass up a mini photo shoot with the munchkins.

One night after Juice McGoose had gone to bed, Katy was talking to Peter about Christmas. She was very excited about Santa bringing her presents for Jesus’ birthday. He tried to distract her by reminding my bird about Halloween. It really backfired because I ended up showing her pictures from every Halloween that she has dressed up for since birth. She then insisted on finding a new costume for herself right away. The dress up stuff is stored in Allen’s room so we had to grab items from Katy’s room. We came up with a cowgirl outfit, and Allen kicked around the house in those boots for several days.

For Labor Day Peter and I took the kids out for some fun at Chick-a-lay and then to see all the “animals” at Gander Mountain. They loved seeing wolves, giraffes, bears, ducks…they just didn’t know that the animals were stuffed. Next we farmed out the hoodlums to visit their various grandparents while we got some stuff done. Then we had Mom, Warren & Marjean return our midgets and join us for some steaks – yum! It takes a lot to make us have people over lately.

Finally….drum roll, please….Katy has started going to pre-school! She started last Tuesday with an open house in her class room. Peter surprised us by coming home from work and driving us to school for Miss Bird’s big day. She has been asking for school now for weeks. It didn’t let her down. There were pet birds, toys galore, a sand pit, snacks, hopscotch, dollies, blocks, books and a two-story loft. She didn’t really try to make friends, but she and Allen ran from one fun spot to another in their excitement. She dropped strawberries into our lemonade cups and Allen was happiest when he was slinging sand with a beach toy shovel.

That night I gave Allen a hair trim and bribed him to hold still with a sucker. It didn’t really work all that well, but he looked too cute!

For Katy’s second day at school she did an hour by herself and had no problems, whatsoever! Allen and I waited for her in the office where he demolished a muffin, some banana bread and emptied out a huge bag of plastic Easter eggs. When we picked Katy up her teacher gave us rave reviews about Katy’s painting and play-dough skills. Afterward we played on the fabulous school playground and then joined Mom for lunch at Red Lobster to celebrate. It may sound great but Katy dragged me to the potty twice while we were there, and the second time it was for a long visit. A woman joined us in the next stall with some serious business of her own. I didn’t think it could get worse until Katy leaned down and looked at the woman’s shoes. She got excited and announced that she saw Daddy’s shoes so it must be Daddy sitting next to us! I almost died.

This Saturday we had to cancel out of both a birthday party and a play date. Bummer. The kids have had runny noses and a cough so I don’t we didn’t want to spread anything. We did head over last night to Jerry & Kathy’s house to watch the game. They fed us delicious fajitas and let us play with all their adorable animals. Rico played tag with Katy. And Kathy showed her how to bottle-feed a baby squirrel and then keep it warm in your shirt. Katy has been stuffing things down her shirt today and claiming it’s a baby “blossom” which is how she says the word possum. There was also some cuddle time with Kathy’s possum, who is no longer a baby. The kids were in love! If Grammy & Papa would have been willing to hold a critter, I’m sure they would have enjoyed a lap full of Big Juice or Katybird, too!

Here they are on the way out the door for church today. When we came home it was great to have a yummy casserole, macaroni salad and crisped spinach balls. Scrumptious! Compliments of Mom! And the kitties were on high alert, perched on Katy's bed.

OK, I think I’m finally caught up on my blogging. I told Peter I wouldn’t hog the computer for long and this has taken hours to do. Poor Pedro! He’ll never believe me again.