Milk from a Straw

We ate lunch at Applebee's after church yesterday. It was a spur of the moment decision, so we didn't have anything for Katherine. I ordered for her off the kid's menu; it said they would get a drink in a special cup with a lid. I thought that meant a plastic sippy cup. Nope. Just a styrofoam cup with a straw. Andrew showed Katherine how to use the straw, and she took off drinking. She was so proud of herself! This is a little recreation of the moment on our steps at home.

Video Camera Fun

I turned the video camera view finder where Katherine could see herself. Pretty cute!

I had to include this one also, so you can hear her saying "Bye, bye."

And another..finding Daddy's nose and FINALLY saying his name. Although Katherine said Daddy first, she's been calling him Mama for a couple of months.

Road Trip #2

Andrew & Katherine went to Cincinnati last weekend for our brother-in-law, Acha's, celebration. He completed his doctorate this spring, and their family is moving to Cameroon (Africa) next year to work as missionaries. Andrew & Katherine picked his parents up along the way, and they all spent the weekend together. Congratulations Acha! Grandpa Maxey & Katherine paying close attention during the program.

The Tornado

Andrew & Katherine were gone last weekend (more about that in another entry), so I wanted to do something totally out of the ordinary and fun. Amber Howard, my mom and I went to Atlanta to the water park. We had so, so, so much fun! There was one particular new ride called the tornado. After climbing up many flights of stairs carrying an enormous 3-4 person tube, you got on and went down a very steep slide into this HUGE funnel thing (several stories tall) where you zipped back and forth until you shot out of the end of it. The drops were so severe that they took your breath away, and you couldn't even scream. It was great fun! What a great memory!

Road Trip!

Katherine and I took our first road trip alone. We went to South Carolina to visit Bob, Gail & Devin. She is an excellent little traveler. DVDs in the van are an amazing distraction. We enjoyed yummy dinner and talking Thursday night. Friday, we took a walk around the neighborhood, toured Bob & Gail's new offices, and Katherine took a 3 hour nap! I got to enjoy that time catching a little snooze and reading a book. Friday night, we went to Just More Barbecue for dinner where there was a live bluegrass band. Gail & Emily (Devin's girlfriend) danced during one of the songs, which was hilarious. Saturday, we ate waffles, I helped Gail with her computer, and then we left for the 6 hour drive back home.

Bob has been working hard in the wooded area of their back yard. He made a path with stops at two little clearings with benches and a big swing. Very cool.

Katherine enjoyed the swing a couple of times with Gail, who was extremely pleased that Katherine can say "Gail." Dirt is fun to play in, especially in your PJs. Guess I should have kept Katherine's pants on her!

First Day of School (Year 2)

Katherine moved into the toddler room at school on Monday. She will be the oldest one in her class this year; then she'll skip the young two class and move straight to the older two's next year. I was more nervous about this year than I was last year taking her for the very first time at 8 weeks old. We were the last ones to arrive, so the others were playing already. I took her in, sat on the floor with her in my lap and talked about how she'd played in the room on Wednesday nights with Tom & Grace Ann. It took her about 45 seconds before she got up and ran to play with the others without looking back as I left the room. Her teachers reported that she did well on her first day and even took a 2 hour nap on a cot (no cribs in the toddler room).

Shoes & Bananas

Here are a few videos of Katherine saying some of her favorite words. Enjoy!