And She's Off . ..

Katie's learning to walk has been an interesting process. She took her first steps shortly after turning eleven months old, but she subsequently got sick and stopped walking altogether for several weeks. Since then, she has been willing to walk by herself only when she feels like it. Holding on to furniture, one of our hands, or crawling were preferred modes of "transportation." However, everything changed while we were in Cali these last six days. Katie just decided that she wanted to walk, and walk she did. Whether it was chasing our friend, Clara's dog around the house, getting into mischief, or simply exploring, Katie has not stopped walking since. Here is a short video. Unfortunately, the lighting is poor, but it will give you a small taste.

Family Celebration

A picture of my Aunt Ruth, Ben & I, my cousin, Sarah and her husband, Nate, my cousin, Abby, and her husband, Shane at Sarah and Nate's weddingin Cali, Colombia. What a beautiful day!

The Beautiful Bride and Groom

Here is my cousin, Sarah, and her new husband, Nate. We hope to see them here in Bogota before they move to Canada (or I should say before Sarah moves to Canada to join her husband).

Cousin Sarah's Wedding

Cali Mio

We just returned from an 11 hour trek to Cali, a city of three million people located in tierra caliente (warm country). The drive was beautiful, but we had a few moments of panic (or at least I did) as we passed many trucks on windy, mountainous roads and as our brakes failed midway. So there we were just past La Linea, the highest point of our journey (some 10,000 feet above sea level), when we got stuck behind a long line of slow-moving trucks making the descend. Because we weren't driving in low gear and we were using the brakes a lot, we lost our brakes. Add a crying child who wanted to escape from her car seat, and we were having the time of our life! Fortunately, we saw a roadside tienda that advertised a mechanic who specialized in frenos (brakes). So I kept Katie entertained in the tienda while Ben stood with the mechanic in the rain helping repair the brakes. I wish I had thought to take our camera from the car because after Katie finished chasing the small dog that the owner of the tienda had, she stood on the porch and bounced up and down trying to get Ben's attention by saying "Hola, dada! Hola, dada!" This was her first Spanish word. Well, thankfully, the mechanic knew what he was doing, and we made it safely to Cali where we enjoyed the wedding of my cousin, Sarah, and visited with friends who live there.

Our Little One Year Old

Katie has grown and changed so much in this first year. Weighing in at 23 pounds and just shy of 31 inches, she has grown quite literally. Katie has become quite social, often initiating interactions with older kids and even adults. She loves climbing things whether they be boxes, playground areas, stairs, or ledges, and she has a bit of a daredevil streak. One of her favorite thingsto do is slide down the slide head first face down. The faster, the better! She walks some independently, but prefers to hold on to one of our hands. She loves to bee bop to music and turns almost anything in our house into a drum (the fruit of her music class??). Katie can often be found pulling all the books off of the shelf and then sitting and leafing through them as if she is reading them. Every day is a new adventure with her. We are so grateful for the gift of her life. Here are some pictures from her first birthday party that we held at Monte Sion where Ben works.

What Do You Mean I Can't Talk on the Phone?

Katie is a buddy social butterfly. She likes nothing better than to be around people (and to be the center of attention). Something new she has been doing is carrying around her toy phone, the real phone (and sometimes calling random people!), or a book/ puzzle piece held to her ear while chattering away a mile a minute. While her words are limited to "I" (for "hi"), "boo" (from peek a boo), "moo" (for a cow), "woof", mama, daddy, and papa, she sure sounds like she is having whole conversations.

First Cake

Birthday Cake #1

In order to be able to celebrate Katie's birthday with our church family, Ben made a large cake shaped like a chocolate labrador, and everyone sang happy birthday to both of them. Poor Katie was so tired though (her nap was overdue) that she not only didn't want to eat cake, but she also decided to decorate the floor with it.

A New Pet

Katie's fascination with animals particularly dogs continues to grow. One of her first words was "woof." While we would love to get a pet at some point, we think she is a little young for a real live dog. So Grandpa and Grandma Shore helped out by sending Katie this very real looking stuffed dog.

Happy Birthday, Ben and Katie!

Ben and Katie's birthday began with opening presents in bed, a good cup of coffee, and Cinnabons (yup, they finally made it to Bogota). Here the birthday boy and girl enjoy a little daddy/baby bonding time while reading one of Katie's new books.

Thank you, Auntie Kim!

Here's our morning loving little girl freshly dressed in little overalls that Auntie Kim (from our Colombian family) gave Katie before she was born.

Yo! What's up?

Little did we know that Katie was learning gang signs! Here she is full of post-bath joy waiting for Ben to tame her wild locks and put some feetie pajamas on her.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Auntie Suzy and Familia Leonard

The whole gang!

Ready to celebrate!

Emily and Zachary enjoyed blowing bubbles.

Introducing the birthday girl!

Here are Marcela, Alexander, and little Maria Jose. Maria Jose and Katie are good buddies!

Birthday treats!

The birthday girl and the birthday boy (ahem, man!)

Well, the little Katester has finally turned one! It is amazing how quickly this year went by and how much Katie has changed. Weighing in a 23 pounds and almost 31 inches, Katie is the quintessential toddler. Constantly in motion, imitating anything and everyone who strikes her fancy, Katie keeps momma and papa busy. We had a party for her and her little friends from play group and their families at Monte Sion where Ben works. Everyone had a lot of fun eating, blowing bubbles, playing "soccer," making creations with Play Dough, coloring, and exploring.