The Water Table

We pulled the water table up from the basement on Saturday. Yep. That's how nice the weather was - I officially allowed Kate to play in the water. Unofficially, she had been using buckets and cups for about a week . . .

She enjoyed dumping water. Into the toy. Onto the grass. Any which way. She will also take a 'stirring device' (like a spoon), add 'ingredients' (like grass or rocks), and then been "Cooking with water."

Here is a link to a little less than a year ago, when Kate was first playing at the table. I knew she was much more grown up from when she last played with it, but I was still surprised to see how much she has changed in a year.

3 confessions

I have 3 confessions to make to my friends and family across the blog-o-sphere.

1) I now listen to NPR. Yep, I'm a follower of the National Public Radio. Almost even pledged during their spring pledge drive. But I had only been listening for only about a week at that point, and I used that as an excuse for not sending money we didn't have to send in the first place. I swear to you, I won't be that person who says, "I heard on NPR that . . . ". But I do learn fascinating things, from titles of cool movies that I've added to the Netflix list, to good interviews on issues surrounding the Gulf Coast oil spill.

2) I love to tape. You need a room prepped for painting, I'm your taping girl. This week, a co-worker asked for people to come over and help tape at their new house. It was like a dream come true!!

3) We've taught Kate how to say, "Monkeybutt." When she sees a money in a book, that's what she says. And it's so cute. Mon-kee-butt. Very enunciated. I know my mother will shake her head at this. But it's so funny.

Baby in a Box

After unloading the newest box of diapers, Kate wanted to play in the box. Usually this means she wants to sit in it and have me pull her around. "Wheee!" But I didn't really want to pull her around, so tried out this option. She liked it a lot. If she angled it just right, she could look out the slit in the 'top'. Otherwise, she just used it as a bumper box.

Taking a break from playing hard.

Here I am!

A sleeping first

When I got home from work earlier in the week, Kate was still napping. I peeked in on her, and found her sleeping - sitting up! Terry said she spent about 30 minutes talking and playing before quieting down. Apparently she just tuckered herself out so much she didn't even lay down to sleep. I like how she's holding on so that she won't fall over.

23 month self portrait

Taken a day late. Posted even later. Enjoy!

Blow for Snow

In our Field of Dandelions, I mean, in our back yard, Kate has learned (via Terry) that if you blow on the white dandelions, it looks like snow. So she will pick one for you and bring it to you to create the snow. How can I deny her? Even as it makes more dandelions for our field?

Someday . . .

I'll be big enough to actually fit into Grandma's kitty sweatshirt. Until then, I'll just look very cute wearing it. I actually looked super cute when I was smiling, but wasn't too into posing for this picture.

Leggos at home

After having so much fun with the Leggos at Grandma and Grandpa's house, I pulled out the Leggos we got at the Consignment shop about a month ago.

Kate loves the leggos. What cracks me up is that she will build towers as tall as she can, but they must be made of entirely the same shape. All singles, or all quads. If you hand her a triple, while she is building a quad tower, she'll look at it, say "Nooo," and then chuck it behind her. And she gets a little bit distraught when they fall over and break apart. So funny.

Here, in addition to seeing her work with the Leggos, you may notice that she is wearing Grandma's socks. And here is her proclivity for not wanting to wear a shirt between the hours of 4 and 6 pm. We do insist on shirts at dinner time, much to her dismay.

I totally dig how much she concentrates . . .

Sick baby bath

When we got back from the trip to Oregon earlier in the month, Kate got her first ever Puking Sickness. We were sitting down to dinner, and all of the sudden, up came lunch. Fortunately, she was wearing what I call the "2nd chance bib" - the type that catches food for eating later. Well, it also served a good job of catching a lot of puke.

But not all, so it was Bathtime for Kate. She loved the bath, as she always does. You couldn't even tell that she had been sick.

That is, until she threw up the 2nd half of lunch 30 minutes after the bath. And essentially dry heaved every hour for the next 5 hours.

She's a trooper, though. Recovered quickly.

Bathroom Remodel - The final chapter

Well, the remodel is done and we are all moved in to our new -twice as big as before - bathroom.

The first view is from the door, and we will tour around in an attempt to give you a 360 view of everything. Yes, that a pile of clean laundry on the folding table.

Keep in mind (for those of you who saw the original bathroom), the toilet is in the same place as before.

Close up of the classy faucet. And the detail paint work done by one of our students, Sarah.

Close up of the super pretty tiles in the shower.

While we still have a few small things to finish, like towel racks, it's quite functional and a joy to use. And I'd like to believe that we will more than make back the money we spent on it with a higher resale value some day. :)

Bathroom remodel - part 3

Bathroom remodel - part 2

Deconstruction in process. This is looking into the space from our office. The door on the left was the original door into our bedroom. We've since relocated that door (it's behind me on the left). You can see on the ceiling a strip that is brighter. That's where the old bathroom wall was located. It's gone now, effectively doubling the size of the bathroom. Where the chair is in the picture is approximately where the new bathroom door is located. For this picture, I'm standing in about the same place as the last one, but the door has been framed, the plumbing completed, and the drywall put up. What you see is the future location of the washer/dryer.

Pan right, and on the right wall is the hook-up for the sink. It's about in the same place as before.

Bathroom remodel - part 1

A dream of ours for about 3 years has been to remodel the bathroom. I tried to document the progress of this project. The true 'before' pictures are on the other computer, so you don't get to see them here. But for some perspective . . . .

This picture was taken from the door, looking left. This shelf was above the toilet. You get a sense of how wide the bathroom was. Pan right, to see the sink. And part of the dryer.

Keep panning right to see the rest of the laundry set up, and the door (open) for the doorway I am standing in.

Next posts with be during and after results.

The Oregon Zoo

I think that if Kate had her way, she'd have spend the entire day looking at the ducks. Which is kinda funny, considering that you can find ducks ANYWHERE, but the lions and monkeys, well, they are a 'zoo specialty'. The three sisters, at the end of the day! I think we are smiling because we made it through the zoo with all our children still with us.

Grandma and Kate. For about the last 40 minutes, Kate was running LIKE CRAZY and was very unhappy to be 'corralled' into being near us. So we all took turns trying to keep her happy.

This included a ride on Auntie Suzi's shoulders.

Wow - that bear is TALL!

I think Seth thinks so, too!

How many of the "Oshel" clan can you count in this picture?

When Kate is running around the house, it seems so normal. But when we get outside, she looks so small! And she's so darn fast!

Legos at Grandma & Grandpa's

The last day in Oregon, the massive bag of Legos made an appearance. A favorite with all the grandkids. I love how they are so concentrated on making the tower tall.

Notice how all 5 grandkids who were in the house are actually in the picture.

Sleeping baby

Okay - time for a bunch of story telling that is out of order. When Kate and I were returning from Oregon during my spring break, we left after dinner and a busy day at the zoo. She was asleep within 10 minutes of starting the car ride. Slept most the way home. As it should be!

Helping fix dinner

This is what it looks like when Kate 'helps' me with dinner. Usually it's her playing with water in the sink. At least I don't have to hold her while trying to cook! You should also notice the Kix on the counter next to her. Fun to eat or to play with.