I Survived

Even though New Year's Day still lies ahead, I count the holidays as pretty much over. I hate to be boring about it, but I'm actually pretty glad. I talked to a family friend yesterday and she said that she was just recovering from her holiday with family. I really think recovery is necessary. Simply opening gifts with a 3-year-old child is work. I feel like every moment leading up to Christmas was a mad rush. Between the Christmas cards, shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, baking treats for the office, putting up the tree, decorating the house and running other every day errands to get groceries and diapers, I am completely worn out.

But I'd do it all again. It was really worth it to spend time with our family. We had good food, generous gifts and wonderful memories.

Dear Santa

This is a true story.

Cate (spoken really fast and in a semi-quiet whisper): Mommy, did you know that Santa is going to come while we're sleeping and leave presents for us? Then, we'll wake up and open them!

Mommy: Really? That sounds exciting. What would you like for Santa to bring you?

Cate: All I want in my heart is a Princess calendar.

Mommy (in her head): How is it possible that a three-year-old remembers a calendar she glimpsed one time at the mall about three weeks ago? Better make an emergency trip to the mall to buy said calendar in case she remembers this on Christmas day.
Who would deny their girl the only thing she wants in her heart?

The best time ever

We spent last Sunday morning with my parents, playing and opening some gifts for the kids. Both Cate and Keaton had a great time, even if Keaton was a little fussy from being off his schedule.

My mom had a huge bag of costume jewelry for Cate to play with (thanks, Mom) and I've rarely seen Cate so invovled with something for so long. She put clip-on earrings on everybody including my dad, picked out necklaces for herself and regularly announced the time from her "watch" (actually a bracelet). My parents gave Keaton a little train that he's been playing with every day. It has three balls that you can drop in the top of the smokestack. The train makes noise, moves on its own and the balls roll around the inside of the smokestack and come out the back of the train. He loves it! He's learned in just a few short days to expect when the balls will come back out and he watches and waits. I'm still working with him on picking up the balls and putting them into the smokestack. When we left my parents, Cate gave my mom a hug and said, "I had the best time ever." It was really sweet.

All in all, we are enjoying the holidays with wonderful family and friends. I feel so fortunate to have a happy and healthy family.

Picky Eater

I have heard stories of children who only eat "white foods" -- white bread, white cheese (mozzarella, etc), milk, ice cream. I've heard about kids who don't eat meat. These so-called picky eaters...I was always convinced that these kids had parents who were falling down on the job. I mean, seriously. What kind of kid only eats white food?

Then, I had my own children.

Hello. My name is Beth and my daughter is a picky eater. The list of foods this child will eat is ridiculous. Mac and cheese, pb&j, McDonald's hamburgers, bagel (untoasted only), toaster waffles, bananas, the occasional apple, pancakes....we're getting close to the end of the list. It would be much longer if I started including things like cookies, ice cream, etc. I think we are at a crisis point -- she won't eat any vegetables. Not one. She won't eat any meat, save the occasional McD's hamburger. I've read books, articles and blogs. We've tried the "offer it a million times, surely she'll eat it eventually approach." Doesn't work. We've tried the "bribe with treats" approach. Doesn't work. We've tried the "go to bed hungry if you don't like what we're eating" approach. Doesn't work. I think if you closely examined this child's blood, you find she is largely made up of sugar and carbohydrates. You will also find that she has a very strong will and she knows when I'm trying some kind of fancy reverse psychology on her. I have no idea where she picked up that quality.

When Cate was born, I resolved that she wouldn't be a picky eater. I've always been adventurous when it comes to food. I like to try new things. I love cooking. I was looking forward to sharing that with her. I abandoned that dream. Now, I just want to get the child some proper nutrition. She needs protein, veggies, fruit.

Last night, Stephen suggested maybe we should consult a nutritionist. Are we crazy? Are a lot of kids like this? For now, I'm going to figure out how to hide vegetable puree in toaster waffles.

Dancing Queen....or....princess

The brutal truth

If you can't count on your friends to be honest with you, just ask Cate. She'll give it to you straight. On Saturday, we were in the car and Stephen was in charge of setting up the DVD player for Cate to watch her all-time favorite, Sleeping Beauty. He was having a little trouble but finally got it up and running. He handed the DVD player to Cate, she watched for a minute, then said it wasn't working. Stephen took it back and Cate said, "You didn't do a very good job with that Daddy."

In other news, Keaton is changing on a daily basis. His newest skill: sitting up. He's pretty excited about his new perspective on things.

Baby, it's cold outside

Cate's Christmas Program - Part Deux

Cate's Christmas Program

Comments! Yay!

I am such a geek. I know it. I own up to it. After having a blog for many months, I finally got two comments here in one day! I'm beside myself with excitement.

A key component of blogging (as opposed to a typical Web site) is the interactive part. In theory, someone posts on the blog, then people respond. I realize this blog is a little different because most of our posts don't really require any type of conversation or dialogue. But that doesn't stop me from wanting comments :) And I've been waiting patiently for all these months, hoping someone would start a commenting trend.

So, the props go out to my Aunt Annelle. She left not one, but TWO comments yesterday. Special Christmas surprises are in store for her.

Keaton in the bath

I put Keaton and Cate in the bathtub tonight and Keaton thought it was hilarious. He just leaned back in his bath seat and giggled. I had no idea a bath could be so funny.

Thanksgiving shots

We just returned from a trip to Houston for Thanksgiving, visiting Stephen's brother Ryan and his family. They were terrific hosts, even providing just about everything we could need for Keaton.Cate and Keaton's cousin, Quentin.
We've now completed our second plane trip with two kids and I think we've really got this down to a science. You generally get two kinds of looks from people when you're traveling with small children. There's the "gee, aren't they a sweet family with adorable children" look. These are the people who offer to help lift a bag into the overhead bin. The people who pick up the baby's binky when it hits the ground for the hundreth time. The people who come running out of the family restroom when your child leaves her beloved bear behind (true story, thanks to the people in the KCI airport for saving my life).

Then, you have the "please don't let those crazy people with two kids sit anywhere next to me" look. These are the people who either have children and are traveling without them or the people who don't have children at all. They give you dirty looks on the plane when your princess is crying because her ears hurt. They sigh loudly when your kids are whining because they have to wait in line for the bathroom. They may even actually move if you sit next to them in the airport restaurants. We ran into our share of both types, but you really appreciate the former when you've got a million bags, two strollers and a couple of tired kids.

Cate and Keaton actually did very well and I'm proud of them. Keaton just celebrated his six-month birthday and he's been on three plane trips. He's a seasoned traveller now. Cate has her very own Southwest frequent flier number. Happy baby K.Keaton's thankful Thanksgiving pose.

Christmastime is here

A few photos of Cate's Christmas dress.
Still experimenting with the new camera and some things I can do for interesting shots.

Sister and Brother

Baptism Part II

I've had all sorts of issues getting a good photo from Keaton's baptism. The shadows, the bright light....they wreak havoc on my photography skills. Thank goodness for Photoshop. And the friendly person at our church who supplied me with this family photo.

A time to be thankful

When I picked Keaton and Cate up from day care yesterday, Cate's teacher told me that they made thanksgiving turkeys. The kids told the teacher what they were thankful for and she wrote on the feathers for each child's turkey. When it was Cate's turn to finish her turkey, the teacher asked Cate what she was thankful for. Cate answered, "I'm thankful for Jesus because he helped me dress up as a princess for Halloween."

Kentucky Photos

Keaton hanging out in the car seat. Posing for the camera. Thinking over something important. At the park burning off some energy.

One more pic from the Elmo show

It's a Sesame Street trance.

Elmo and a Plane Ride

Last week, Sesame Street Live was in town so we took Cate to one evening performance. She loved it just as much as the show we saw last winter. I took a quick photo of her in front of the stage before the show started.

On Saturday morning, we packed up our entire house (at least it felt like it) and headed to the airport for our first family airplane trip. We went to visit my grandparents in Kentucky, so we flew into Nashville. Both kids did a great job on the plane and all weekend. It was nice to see my grandparents and it was actually fun to travel with the kids. We tried to take a family picture before we left, but it is very difficult to get everyone looking good and looking at the camera at the same time. Steve took about 10 pictures, but something is a little off in every one. My grandmother looks good in all of them though....not sure how she managed that.

Sweet Whispers in My Ear

I know that it's more fun when I post pictures, but I haven't got any new photos edited yet. I think just about everyone says they are busy, so I try not to say it that often. We're all busy, aren't we? I guess it's just a matter of what your priorities are. But in truth, we've had a lot going on lately. Just a week ago was Keaton's baptism. During the week, we had election day, Cate had a haircut, I was sick one day and we went to Nashville over the weekend. Now, we're back. Tonight, I'm getting a haircut after work, Stephen and I are responsible for organizing a volunteer event tomorrow evening, we've got KU football tickets on Saturday, KU basketball on Sunday and Stephen leaves for the week on Monday (he's going to Vegas, supposedly for work).

The real point of my post was to write something about what Cate said to me this weekend. We were driving in the car one evening after dinner. She said, "Mommy, I'm going to whisper something to you." I said okay. Then, she whispered in her quietest whispy voice, "Mommy, I love you." I couldn't ask for a sweeter little girl.

Keaton's Baptism

Keaton was baptized on Sunday. He was in a great mood most of the day and even made it through church with only a few difficult moments.

The hardest part of the whole gig was finding appropriate attire. I wasn't really sure what to get for him. I asked around and discovered that everybody does something a little different. I decided to go the traditional route and buy a white baptism suit. Thinking that it should be a good fit (not something he needs to grow into since he will only wear it once), I bought the 3-6 month suit on Tuesday evening. I tried it on him Thursday evening only to discover that it wouldn't even button around his neck. On Saturday night, I was frantically searching around Topeka for another outfit. I found a different white suit in 9-12 month size. I was sure it would fit.

That suit was stretched to it's limits! I was barely able to button it around his chest. Fortunately, he only had to wear it for roughly 2 hours. If you look closely at most of his baptism pictures, his tummy is hanging out because the top didn't quite meet the pants. We grow 'em big around the Martino house.

Miscellaneous Cuteness

Halloween onesie, provided by Mimi Halloween bib, courtesy of Dorothy Playing at home on the playgym Posing for all these photos really wears a guy out.

We made it!

After more than a week of Halloween activities, I can safely say that I'm glad it's over. Getting kids in and out of costumes plus carefully monitoring candy intake (although at least one princess still managed to get an upset tummy on Friday evening) plus keeping princess wands from gouging eyes of friends equals one tired mommy. But it was all worth it :) The kids had a great time.
Keaton was the happiest little skunk I've ever come across.

Our Little Ballerina

Cate has been taking dance now for several weeks. This Saturday was "observation day." It sounds kind of like something they do at a zoo and there's a reason for that. Watching a dozen three-year-olds learn ballet is much like.....well, I'm not sure I can describe it. If anything, it's definitely very high energy.

Stephen was out of town for his grandfather's funeral and our babysitter was sick, so Cate, Keaton and I went to dance together. Keaton was very cooperative and slept the entire time. We'll have to work a bit more on his appreciation of the arts. I realize I'm biased, but I thought Cate was adorable. The class performed at least one organized routine to a song. They also let each girl show several skills. I am not a dancer so I have no idea what all these ballet moves are called. I know they demonstrated "first position." I was so overwhelmed watching all that Cate had learned in such a short time that I forgot to pay attention to the names of the various things she was doing. She was having fun and I was very proud of her for trying so hard. I'm looking forward to several more observation days and the recital in May.

Halloween....Part I

I'm sure there will be more Halloween stories in the next few days, but we began the weeklong celebration this weekend and I've already got a few photos. Cate is into Disney princesses, as are most young girls I know. She decided months ago that she wanted to be a princess for Halloween. I took her to pick out a costume several weeks ago. She was very decisive and immediately went for the pink Sleeping Beauty dress. I completed her ensemble by finding a crown and wand.

Last Friday evening, the kids' day care had a "fall festival." I guess this is the new thing to do because I hear that they do it at a lot of day cares, schools, etc. They are still having their Halloween party this Friday as well, so I'm not sure why our particular day care added the festival. But anyway.....most parents sent costumes with the kids on Friday morning. I planned to leave work a little early so I could go get Cate dressed. When I arrived, her teacher told me that Cate was worried all day. She had been saying she needed to go home to get her costume. I have rarely seen her so excited as when I got her dress out and helped her put it on.

She immediately took the wand, pointed it at one of her classmates and said something like "lumpkin bumpkin, I turn you into a pumpkin." The entire room laughed and from then on, she wouldn't stop turning people into pumpkins. Unfortunately, the "spell" was typically accompanied by a sharp wack with the wand. Note to mom: never buy costume accessories that can double as weapons.

They say the cutest things....

I just got home from a weekend in Indianapolis. Stephen spent Friday evening, all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday taking care of Cate and Keaton. I think everyone missed me. It's nice to be needed :)

Cate seemed very excited to see me when I got home. She was a very good helper all evening, even offering to make me a chocolate surprise in her kitchen.

As I was trying to put her in bed, she asked to go to the bathroom (her second or third stalling tactic during the bedtime routine last night). I was beginning to get aggravated with her so I told her in stern voice that she could go potty (her second trip in about 30 minutes), but then she had to get in bed RIGHT AWAY and I added that she wasn't being a good listener and doing things quickly so we can get in bed on time. Her latest trick when I scold her is to say, in a somewhat bossy voice, "I love you mommy." She puts a lot of emphasis on the "love you" part, so it's almost like she's yelling at me, but she's yelling she loves me. You kind of have to hear it to understand why it's so funny.

So, last night, we were walking into her bathroom when she said in her most authoritative voice, "I love you mommy, but you've got to start listening to me."

World's Cutest Witch

Stephen's mom bought Cate this cute little Halloween outfit. I asked Cate to pose for a picture and this is what I got.

The Day Care Blues

A colleague at work told me that when he looked back on the first year his child was in day care, he found he had taken about three weeks of sick leave. Since day care is pretty much a germ fest (by no fault of their own), it's no surprise. Our pediatrician told us that we can expect Keaton to be sick for about one week out of each month for the first year he's in day care. Makes you feel like a great mom, doesn't it? Sending your kid to the petri dish every day doesn't seem like the greatest parenting decision.

Keaton's going through his first day care cold/stomach bug/etc. He's got a terrible diaper rash too. Poor little guy. Even with all that, he's just a happy little guy and always has a smile.

A Trip to the Dentist

Cate had her first visit to the dentist today. She did pretty well with the whole thing. She got her teeth cleaned and counted. The best part? Getting to pick out her very own princess toothbrush and sticker.

Later this evening, Stephen and Cate were looking at some older photos of the kids. Of course, they can't really be that old given that Keaton is only four months old and Cate is just three. Despite that, I couldn't help but think that the time flies by. I heard someone say that when you have young children, the days seem long but the weeks go by quickly.

All Princess, All the Time

It's all about princesses around our house. It all began with an innocent screening of the Little Mermaid a few months back. From there, we had to have a Princess Ariel birthday party. A few weeks back, we went on a scavenger hunt all over town for a copy of Beauty and Beast (apparently no store rents this movie -- it's crazy). Now, we are fully equipped with our Sleeping Beauty Halloween costume and we just watched the movie yesterday.

It's not like we needed any reminder that Cate believes she is a princess....but all the princess memorabilia available in the stores definitely helps keep it in the forefront of our minds at all times. A friend from work (thanks Dorothy!) bought Cate a Little Mermaid costume. It's quite the outfit, with scales and tail and everything. Cate loves it. A mermaid on the go.Yes, it's true. Princesses like Krispy Kreme donuts too.All this mermaid stuff is hard work.

Tales of Tag, Cousins and Smores

I continue to have fun experimenting with my new camera. There are so many things that I can do with it that I haven't even begun to figure out. I am also working on brushing up on my photo editing skills so that I can do all kinds of things with Photoshop. This is a photo I took of Cate running around in our backyard. I kind of like the way it captured her motion...she's pretty much constantly in motion at this age so it seems very appropriate to me. This is a photo I took of Keaton and Stephen. I took several different shots of them together, close ups and a few further away, so I could play around with them. I think we got a few that came out well.

We had a fun weekend with Cate and Keaton, but I had to come to work on Monday just so I could get some rest. I have no idea where these guys get their energy but I'd like to find out and see if I can get some.

Cate helped Stephen with recycling on Saturday morning. This is one of her favorite jobs at the moment. She helps load everything into the car, then goes to the recycling bins with one of us and helps unload it. She is actually a good helper and I think recycling and taking care of the environment are things she should learn about.

Around lunchtime, Cate had her second dance class. I dropped her off for her 45-minute class, then ran to the post office, the car wash and the gas station. After dance, we went home for lunch then Cate and Keaton had their naps. During naptime, I did several loads of laundry, made some cheesecake bars and a pie. Stephen worked on a few things around the house, then put the ladder up outside so he could work on our skylights which seem to leak at the most inopportune times. By the time he got up on the roof, Cate and Keaton were up so we all went outside. Cate and I played ball and a version of "tag" that mostly involved her chasing me around the yard. After about an hour of that, we fixed dinner, everyone got their baths and Saturday was done.....whew. On Sunday, we went to Olathe to visit Stephen's parents. Stephen brother, Ryan, was visiting with his family. Cate had a great time playing with her cousin Quentin who is just a few months younger. They played croquet in the backyard and made smores. As you can see from the pictures, Cate has a very interesting croquet technique. It reminds me a bit of someone chopping down a tree :) But it works for her. She really loved the smores, as did Quentin. Cate kept asking for another "smarshmallow" and Quentin asked many times for more smores.

We started the day out full of energy....this picture of Keaton pretty much sums up how we wrapped up the weekend.

Keaton and Daddy

Smarshmallows

More details to come later, but let's just say that smores and smarshmallows were a big hit with one little girl I know.

Zoo Night

Our local Parents as Teachers program had their Zoo Night on Friday. Stephen, Keaton, Cate and I went with a friend from church, Jack, and his mom, Kelly. The kids had a blast and I got a few cute pictures.

There is a great guy from our library who sings, read books, plays guitar -- he's really popular with the kiddos. He was a the zoo for this evening and all the little kids were dancing and singing with him. A little boy came up and grabbed Cate's hand to dance. She was pretty surprised and later she told me about it (even though I was there and saw it for myself). She said he grabbed her hand and pulled on her arm and she said, "I don't like that."

Besides the zoo and the terrific guy from the library, Parents as Teachers also had all kinds of coloring activities and more fun stuff.

Cate and Pop Pop

Dancing the Day Away

Cate had her first dance class this Saturday. She was so excited that she even requested a bath on Friday evening so she could be clean for class. Since she typically resists her bath, I took that as a sign that she was pretty excited.

She wears a black leotard, pink tights and ballet shoes for class. We bought the clothes a few weeks back when we signed up so she's been waiting for what seems like an eternity (for a three-year-old) to wear them. She was really cute, of course, and I think she had a lot of fun. When it came time for the parents to leave the kids for the class, she gave me a big hug and ran off for class. She came running out when it was over and told me how much fun it was.