Bath Time and Other Toddler Adventures

There is never a dull moment in this house! Katie has a double dose of energy and curiosity! Now those of you with little boys may disagree, but I believe little girls can be just as rambunctious and daredevilish as little boys.

Just this past week, I put Katie in her crib for her morning nap. Although she protested, I left her there (knowing it sometimes takes her a bit to fall asleep), and I took a shower. When I was done, I looked at our video monitor, only to realize that Katie wasn't in her crib. Oh, yes . . . at 16months old, Katie managed to climb out of her crib (without a bruise or bump) and was happily pulling books off her shelf when I came flying into her room. This is just one example of our little "no fear" climber. No piece of furniture is safe . . . and if and when, Katie reaches the top of her "mountain/piece of furniture," she stands tall, waving her arms (like only Miss America could), watching to see my reaction.

Additionally, supposedly baby proof drawers are no longer safe, as Katie has learned to open them (and empty them I might add). And she's fast!!! On the other hand, she is very sweet, is sensitive to other's (especially if someone is crying), and loves to give hugs & snuggles.

Lately, she loves to put on either Ben's or my shoes and clomp around in them. And Katie likes to stand in the bathroom while I dry my hair and do my makeup, so she can brush her hair, "put on my lip gloss," and try to straighten her hair. Some of her new words or expressions are "Mo, mama (for "more, mama"), "up," "hot" followed by "ow," "bear," and others that I can't think of at the moment. Our little girl is growing and changing! While she can be a handful, we love her to pieces!

A Visit from Grandpa and Grandma Shore

Grandma, Daddy, and Katie enjoying a spin at Parque Museo del Chico
A splishin' and a splashin'

Yeah, we're almost done with the tour of the Catedral de Sal

Grandpa and Grandma standing at one of the stations of the cross at the Catedral de Sal

One of the beautiful colonial streets in La Candeleria

Grandma, Grandpa, Mommy, and Katie in front of a large cathedral in La Candeleria

Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, and Katie

So many pigeons to chase and so little time!

Can I borrow some of that bird seed?

The highlight of our Christmas season was having family to share it with. My parents arrived several days after Christmas for about a week's stay. Not only was it so fun to receive goodies from the states, notes and gifts from friends & family, but it was wonderful to be able to share this time with Grandma and Grandpa.

While we enjoyed quiet times playing cards, taking Katie to the parks in our development, and just sharing meals together, we also had the opportunity to go down to the Candelaria, a colonial section of Bogota full of museums, eateries, old cathedrals, and the presidential palace. And we were able to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday at a wonderful old Colombian hacienda, known for its ambience and its wonderful food.

Another day, we traveled about an hour to a town called Zipaquira to visit an amazing underground cathedral made of salt. Still another day, we took Katie to her favority park (that you may recognize from earlier photos)--Parque del Museo Chico. This park is a mixture of a duck pond, fountains (great for splashing in), a children's library, and all manner of children's play equipment. We enjoyed the quiet of the city, as post-Christmas, the majority of Bogotanos travel, and the weather is a balmy 70 degrees and sunny. We were so grateful for this time together, and we look forward to Grandma's return in August (shortly before the baby arrives--or so we hope!).

Christmas 2008

After an exhausting first trimester, I am finally catching up with the blog. I apologize for the long silence. Christmas 2008 was rather quiet. Rather than traveling like many of our friends did, we stayed at home and enjoyed time together as a family. Katie had the opportunity to really enjoy Christmas lights, music, decorations, and presents this year. However, I didn't quite know how I will explain to her that the fish, elephants, sea gulls, and monkeys that decorated the parks and malls are not typical North American holiday decorations. She certainly loved them.