Kid Kate

We have called Kate "Baby Kate" since she was born, and for a long, long time after. Eventually we realized she wasn't a baby anymore and we trimmed it to just Kate. Sometimes I'll call her "Baby Kate" jokingly, and then call her "Toddler Kate" or "Kid Kate." It's like I never realized how old and how big she really was until we had Christian. Kate suddenly seemed like she weighed a hundred pounds instead of the 32 that she's been FOREVER. I realized how much she understands and how much she can say. She can pretty much say whatever she wants to now -- more or less.

The other day, she was sitting quietly, then started counting, "100, 101, 102..." etc. We had never taught her to count over 100; she just figured out what came next on her own. Maybe that's a normal kid thing to do, but to us it signaled "GENIUS." ;) Today, I was reading something, and she was sitting by me just staring into space. I asked her what she was thinking about. She smiled, a little embarrassed, and said that she was thinking about counting. She then started counting from 100 again.

She is officially potty-trained, and I'm not afraid to say it this time. She goes poo and pee in the potty every day. The other day she told me she had to go pee, but I told her to try going on her own because I was laying down. She came back a minute later with wet pants. She didn't make it in time. I was like, "Ohhh, you wet your pants?" She said, "Yes, but I got the towels down to dry it up!" There was a little wet spot on the bathroom floor that she had put a towel on to soak it up. I was amazed and sorry that I hadn't gotten up to help her get her pants off.

I think she has totally adjusted to Christian. It was touch and go there for a while. She would act out/whine, hit us (and hit the back of his head once), and generally be irritable. That has mostly faded away, and she is our normal, pleasant child again. There was one time in the car I asked her to check his head -- it always flops onto his chest. She had helped push it back in its spot before. So I asked her, and I looked at her in the mirror as I drove. She looked out the window in the opposite direction of Christian. She didn't say anything. I asked her repeatedly until she finally said (not checking), "He's fine."

She never asks to hold Christian, but she likes being around him (and getting in his face) and talking to him. She has me pretend to be Christian, and we carry out conversations that way.

She is the best helper I've ever met. She will get anything and everything that I ask her to. She even climbed up in the fridge to get me a bottled water because I said I was thirsty.

She likes to ask how my food tastes and if I like it. In the morning she'll ask me if I got enough rest. If I'm sick she'll ask my sick status all the time. She often will say (unprompted), "Thanks for dinner, Mommy." SO thoughtful.

She figured out how to dress her little mini princesses finally (I always had to do it before), and it has kept her occupied for hours. Now she likes to pretend she IS the mini princess getting dressed, and talks out (while acting out) the process.

She just started swimming lessons today (pics will be coming) and LOVED it. She starts pre-school next month, and then I may as well hand her the car keys. Hope I can handle it!!