Waiting for Santa

Katrina loves parties, and I think that this is in part due to the fact that at parties, she gets to eat treats, like cookies. It therefore should have come as no surprise that she was very excited to put out a plate of cookies for Santa. She understood that cookies get eaten, she understood that Santa was coming - apparently it wasn't too far a leap for her to understand that we had to put out cookies for the man in red. Katrina got to pick out what cookies she wanted to leave and she even dictated a note for us to put near the cookies and milk. When she came down the next morning, she didn't even glance at the tree with the presents - her first thought was if Santa came to eat the cookies. He had.

Christmas party

On the Saturday before Christmas, we headed out to my mom for her annual Christmas party which has returned in recent years to the Christmas caroling party that it once was. Bob brought his keyboard, and Catriona, Terry, Bob, and Elaine brought music for all to share. We sung a beautiful array of carols, that mesmerized Katrina who stayed up almost two hours after her bedtime to listen. We loved the that we got a chance to see our family and friends.






The morning after the party, Katrina woke up to open presents that our friends had left for her. She loved each and every one, especially the dragon and lunchbag, both of which she dragged all over the house, going "shopping."

Chicken! Chicken!

Katrina is super excited. Every morning for the past few days, she has been saying "Chicken! Chicken!"

"Kitchen?" we ask.

"Yesh! Chicken!"

We then pick her up and take her to her new play kitchen that she got over the weekend. When I told my boss that John and I were planning on getting Katrina a kitchen for her birthday, he said that his girls had one that we might be interested in. Well that just made my day, so on Sunday we swung by to pick up the kitchen, complete with food, dishes, silverware, a shopping cart, and a shopping basket. Katrina was overwhelmed by all the toys (she is also the proud owner now of an easel and accessories), so she grabbed the first available toy in the pile - a baby doll stroller. After we loaded up the car, we took a long walk with Katrina pushing the stroller for most of the way. When she started to get tired, she asked to be put in the stroller, although it was too small for her. When we asked if we could carry her, she made it very clear that she wasn't leaving the stroller behind. So John carried her sitting in the stroller, back to the car. It was really cute.

When we got home, we put up the kitchen in the corner of the dining room, and spent the rest of the day eating and cooking salad, chicken, pasta, cookies, and other goodies. We have been spending a lot of time washing and baking an orange and flipping a donut on the griddle. We have been walking around the house "shopping" for dinner. We have all been eating veggie burgers and drinking cherry juice. The one thing sure to make Katrina cry every evening is when we have to say goodnight to the kitchen. This is only alleviated by carrying a purple spatula to bed.

So to two very special girls who parted with some of their toys - thank you. You have made Katrina very, very happy.

Tree falls down!

Last weekend we went outside of Baltimore to a farm to a cut down our Christmas tree. I chose the farm because they promised a "true Christmas experience," complete with reindeer, toy trains, a train ride, and a gift shop. Several things conspired to make it less than an ideal trip. First, it rained a lot the night before so everything was muddy. Second, it was cold - so cold that Katrina started to complain about her hands and when I put her in a train (at her loud insistence), she started to shiver. Third, Maryland has had a drought and that makes for some very unusual trees that reminded me of yo-yos - a big ball of green at the base, with a tall string or stalk coming out of the top. Boy did this trip make us miss our 6ft by 7ft trees that we used to get in State College.

That being said, we did find a tree, Katrina did watch it being cut down, and it looks perfect in our home. Katrina likes to go up to the tree and say "Pretty!" followed by "Tree! Cut! Falls down!" and a toddler that falls into a heap of giggles onto the floor.

The cute with the frustrating

So Katrina is super-cute. John and I are convinced of this fact and can of course approach this scientifically without bias. But in the past month, besides being cute by trying on her mittens and my hat, being able to identify songs that she wants us to sing (Hock, hock = Hickory-Dickory Dock), and being able to have running conversations with us, she is sharing with us some difficult moments.

Things that have reduced Katrina to tears and screaming:
Windows in car rolled down after being asked down, down
Windows in car rolled up after being asked up, up!
Book about the pigs being read, despite repeatedly being told "pigs! pigs!"
Book about the pigs being put down to pick up another book
Putting lotion on
Putting lotion off
Giving kisses
Taking kisses off (this involves sucking her cheek and usually reduces her to giggles)
Putting hat on
Taking hat off
Putting hood on
Putting hood down
Being picked up
Being put down
Serving something that is too big to pick up with her toddler fork
Cutting said item into smaller pieces so that it could be picked up with toddler fork
Giving water after demands of water please!
Putting water in the red cup instead of the green cup
Putting water in the green cup instead of the yellow cup (yes, one right after the other)
Putting pj bottoms on
Putting new pj bottoms on that she has chosen (this is only resolved by putting the original pj bottoms on that were rejected)
Singing the wrong song

Overheard

We were driving to a Christmas cookie party on Sunday. John was in the backseat with Katrina reading books. After he had gone through all of the books that we had brought, I suggested that he tell Katrina (who was getting antsy) a story.

"Once there was a hippo. This hippo lived in a two-story detached house in the Serengeti Desert. Every day, the hippo, whose name was Hippo Campus, would leave his two-story detached house in the Serengeti to meet up with his friends. These included Zippy the Zebra who has black stripes on his white skin, or white stripes on his black skin. Zippy would go by so fast that it was hard to have a conversation..."

The story went on for another ten minutes or so - apparently Hippo met up with the meanest lion in the Serengeti (Lucifer the Lion), whom he made cry by telling him that he had bad breath (apparently antelope are stringy and get caught in the teeth). Hippo Campus was able to solve Lucifer's problem by going back to his two-story detached house, getting his toothbrush (because hippo have BIG teeth), and giving it to Lucifer. Lucifer in turn, saves Hippo Campus from becoming a meal to a pack of hungry lions a few days later. Katrina spent the whole time saying "Yes" at every pause, totally entranced with the story.

I love storytime!

St. Nick's Day

This year was the first time we really got a chance to celebrate St. Nick's day with Katrina. We put out our shoes on the 5th of December and lo and behold, the next day they were busting with stuff! Some of the items found their way first to Buni and Lena's house, but eventually made their way home and in good time too! That St Nick - so clever with his gifts! This year Katrina got a LEGO set, four books, some barrettes, a purse, a cookie cutter, a xylophone to play in the tub, some ginger cookies, and an awesome hand-made purple backpack to cart her goodies in. What fun!

Sharing the love

Yesterday was John's birthday. It was really good to get a chance to celebrate the evening with him (my conference finished up in the afternoon). We may not say it as often as we should, but I think that Katrina and I are pretty darn lucky to have him in our lives. John is a supportive and loving husband and the best dad that I have ever seen. He helps with everything, loves us to pieces, and gives the best hugs in the world. We love you honey!

Tune in tomorrow for our St. Nick's pictures!

For Mommy

Dear Mommy,

I miss you so much! When I think about you, my lower lip juts out and I get real sad...

Katrina

Soy un hombre sincero

And that is about all the spanish I know, which makes my trips to Chile a fun exercise in pantomiming and gaffes. Why am I talking about Spanish? Somehow my blogger preferences are set such that everything is in Spanish. I will never post in Chile again...But seriously, later tonight I will post videos for Mommy who is at a conference when a) I had a lot of big things going on (e.g. talk at a nearby workshop) b) b) Katrina doesn't sleep through the night because of a cough that won't go away and c) I feel like I'm getting sick. Did I mention that Katrina really misses her Mommy. Really, really, really. *sigh*

Most of the pictures were taken from last weekend, where I visited my folks with Katrina. She got a kick out of rocking in the little rocking chair and seeing the horsies in the field next door. Plus, she got to meet cousin Andy (picture of that with the movies...)