Catching Up

I got a new copy of Photoshop Elements at home and I've been catching up on editing photos. I took these just a few weeks ago when the kids were playing on the swingset and splashing in the kiddie pools in the backyard.

Vacation, Interrupted

To say our vacation was interrupted is probably inaccurate. It never really started.

We made a grand plan to travel to St. Louis for five days last week. We had hotel reservations, plans for the zoo, the children's museum and even a few places to eat. I had Mapquested all the routes we needed. Lists were made. Day cares were notified of impending absences.

Of course, with two small children, I'm getting accustomed to our plans changing. Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Keaton started drooling in bucketfuls and he grew increasinly cranky. By Sunday evening, he was barely eating anything and randomly crying. To make matters worse, both kids were starting out at new day care providers on Monday. By Tuesday, it was clear that Keaton was not feeling well and on Wednesday morning (the day we were scheduled to leave) he woke up with a fever. We spent the first day of our "vacation" taking care of a cranky baby at home and running him to the doctor's office.

We made it to the doctor's office by lunch time and Keaton had no sign of a fever. The doctor, in addition to diagnosing me as crazy, said nothing was wrong and confirmed what we already knew: the little guy was cutting some new teeth.

Cate was so disappointed about cancelling our vacation. About two weeks ago, we made a paper chain at home and she had been removing one paper link each day, counting down the days to our trip. At her new day care, they asked all the kids about their favorite Fourth of July activity. Most of the kids said fireworks, a few said picnic and Cate said "thinking about my vacation." To say my heart was broken for that little girl would be an understatement.

As an alternative to our big St. Louis adventure, we set out for Kansas City on Thursday morning. We went to Union Station and Crown Center in the morning, where Keaton drew a crowd with his screaming. At one point, I drew a crowd when I screamed because Keaton bit me on the shoulder. We quickly packed up and headed to Olathe, where Stephen's parents graciously agreed to keep Keaton while Cate, Stephen and I enjoyed some other activities.

We found a hotel with an indoor water park and Cate had a lot of fun swimming there. We also took her to her first movie, Up. She impressed us both by sitting completely still and not saying a word for the entire movie. I see more movies in our future.

And thanks to one of my co-workers (shout out to Seth on this one), I learned about Kaleidoscope at the Hallmark Visitor's Center. They have awesome art activities for kids, so we took Cate over one morning. She had fun painting and coloring for more than an hour. Truthfully, the best thing for her was their unlimited supply of scotch tape. Who knew that scotch tape held such joy?

In case you can't tell, this little girl has serious attitude.
Working hard on some art projects at Kaleidoscope. Whatever Hallmark employee thought up this use for their leftover materials -- Genius.
Unpacking all her important stuff in her new princess backpack.
Enjoying some candy at Crown Center.

Congratulations, Happy Father's Day and Fourth of July

We've been on the go, nonstop for the last few weeks. At the end of June, Stephen's sister, Kristen, got married. We are pretty excited (especially Cate) to welcome Kristen's husband, John, to the family. Cate was a flower girl, accompanying her cousin Quentin down the aisle. More photos to come later, but here is a snapshot of Kristen and I after the wedding. That same weekend was Father's Day, so we went out to lunch, then to a cool Lego exhibit at Crown Center in Kansas City. We wrapped up with ice cream, primarily for Cate's benefit. Her ice cream cone was practically as big as her head.

For Independence Day, we decided it was time to host a party at our house. Stephen realized at some point that we hadn't hosted any kind of party since Cate was born, so we thought it was time. We had a Fourth of July brunch with cinnamon rolls, mimosas and bloody marys. Yum. And we invited our friends to bring kids. Let's just say it was little crowded at Chez Martino with about 10 kids and twice as many adults. Our neighborhood also has a little parade, so we loaded the kids up in their brand new red wagon (Keaton's birthday gift from Mimi and Pop Pop) and rolled down to the parade. Both kids got balloons and Cate came home with a sack of candy.

Both kids are growing up so quickly. I heard a friend once say that, at this age, the days are sometimes long, but the years go by quickly. It seems like I blinked and Cate is nearly four years old. We started both kids in new child care this week. I think the move will be good for them both, but dropping Cate off this morning made me realize how big she's getting. She took her backpack in and introduced herself to her new teachers. Mr. Keaton is also growing up. He's up to four words in is vocabulary now: dada, mama, ball and pop pop. Just this last weekend, he began walking in earnest. He goes for a half dozen steps at a time before crashing and he can stand, unassisted, for long periods. When I look at them, and we spend time with our family, I can't help but think how truly lucky we all are.

The park in our backyard

Stephen and his dad spent all day Friday assembling a new play set for our backyard. The kids are very excited because they now have their very own park in the backyard. Stephen and Pop Pop deserve medals for their hard work putting this thing together. There were dozens of unlabeled, similiar-size boards and hundreds of small screws, nails, bolts and washers. I think they used just about every tool we own from the hand saw to the drill. I think we all agreed that the hard work was worth it when the kids got their first chance to play.

Big Bday for Baby K

A few photos from Keaton's birthday party.
The birthday boy in his hat. Cate offered a little support when it was time to blow out the candle. While I think he was a little confused by all the commotion, Keaton definitely liked the cake and ice cream.
Opening presents. (P.S. Check out the curls on that guy!)
Playing with the ball that Mimi, Pop Pop and Cate picked out.

Mommy descriptions

Keaton playing at the park Memorial Day weekend.

A co-worker was telling me that someone asked her son to think of a word that would describe mommy. Her son said candy. It made me think that it's often surprising to parents how our children see us and the seemingly small things that really stick with them.

The kids both made cute Mother's Day cards at school. Cate's card had a place for the teacher to write something that their mom does that is special. Cate said that mommy is special because she makes good cake. I had to smile at that. One of the many things that girl has is mommy's sweet tooth.


Our baby boy -- getting big!

Anyone like chocolate cupcakes?

We enjoyed some chocolate cupcakes to celebrate Keaton's birthday last week.

Our Caribbean Amphibian

Cate's first dance recital was last Saturday. After watching roughly two hours of dancing by people we didn't know, we got to enjoy this little number.

There's a new haircut in town.

On a mission

Stephen is out of town for work this week and it requires a little adjustment for all of us. Yesterday, Keaton was crawling from room to room calling out "da." In one of the videos here, he is saying "da" while he looks in a couple of rooms. In the other video, take note of his tongue.

Keaton's Birthday Week

In celebration of Keaton's birthday, I'm going to share some video of his latest activities. Yesterday, he was performing a few tunes from his latest album, "How to drive Mommy crazy with loud banging."

Springtime is finally here!

A duet at the piano, led by Cate G. Martino. Accompaniment by Keaton Samuel, also known as Lovey.

I feel safe going with the springtime title for the post today. We've had a few chilly days, but it's officially spring with the storms, sunshine and unpredictable weather that defines Kansas this time of year.

We've had a lot going on between the kids and work. Keaton had double ear infections about a month ago. He missed three days of day care (two before we figured out something was truly wrong). He's very close to walking on his own. He cruises with ease around the house. He is also getting more verbal. I think we can officially say his first word that he associates meaning with is "da." I will admit, it stings a little, but I'm working hard on ma :)

Cate has been preparing for her dance recital coming up in just two weeks. We lost her ballet slippers so we ended up taking one Saturday off! Fortunately they have been found and we made it to dance class this week to get her costume which we ordered right around Christmas time. It's a green, frilly number that I'm sure she will be adorable wearing. Just last weekend, we took Cate to a birthday party at the zoo for a church friend. It was a great way to spend some time together as a family and also catch up with our friends from church. The weather was terrific and we had a truly enjoyable afternoon.

We celebrated Mother's Day, Stephen's birthday and Pop Pop's birthday (Stephen's dad) just a couple of weeks ago. This weekend, we went to a couple's shower for Stephen's sister. She is getting married in June and both Cate and I are in the wedding. Cate is getting her dress fitted this week and I have mine, but it still needs alterations.

Stephen hits the road on Memorial Day for a month-long travelling stint. He'll be in Reno and a couple of other places before the middle of June.

In between all this excitement, I've become expert at organizing swearing in ceremonies in Kansas government. We've sworn in a new Governor and Lt. Governor in the last three weeks. I also went to Chicago to speak a conference (up and back in about 24 hours) last week.

I think we are all ready for a little vacation, so we've planned a short trip to St. Louis the first week of July. We are looking forward to our first trip as a family. Now I just need to find the time to plan it!


The cake that Cate and I made for Stephen's birthday and Mother's Day -- peanut butter chocolate cakes with cream cheese and Butterfinger icing. Cate was in charge of the candles.

Pure cuteness. Exhibit A.

Pure cuteness. Exhibit B.

Cate performing a few numbers from Beauty and the Beast while we were visiting the zoo. As you can see, she was really into it.

Just the two of us

Stephen and I are rarely in photos anymore. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'd much rather be taking the photos than be part of the photo. In looking through some albums recently, I noticed that in my most of my recent photos, I'm pregnant. I think it's time to start making an effort to get in some pictures :)

We went to a Washburn Alumni Association dinner this weekend and got a chance to hang out with friends from college.

Wisdom of a Preschooler

Cate told Stephen yesterday that Mommy has two pairs of flip-flops.

"Daddy," she said, "you only have one pair. Mommy has lots of shoes."

Truer words have never been spoken by a 3-foot prophet.

Wake up time

It is fairly easy to wake up every day when you know you'll be greeted by this:

And in case you are wondering, yes, we do need to lower his crib mattress.

In related news, I am really missing Photoshop. In the past, I've had some access to Photoshop. As of now, I'm limited to Microsoft Office Picture Manager. It is horribly inadequate.

Merriment

Saturday was great weather so we played outside. There was running, swinging and general merriment.

Easter photos

We had a great Easter weekend. Except the weather on Sunday. Not good for egg hunting.

Rules

This morning in the car, Cate told me she was planning a Sleeping Beauty princess party for her birthday. We are fortunate that we have so much time to plan (her birthday isn't until August). She mentioned that she would ask all her friends to take their shoes off. I asked why they would have to take off their shoes.

Her reply?

"That's just the way my rules make, Mama."

Bunny Notes

Last weekend I took Cate to a play performed by local kids at a small theatre. It was based on the book "Pinkalicious." The story is about a girl who loves pink so much that turns pink. We had a great time at the play and Cate is already asking when we can go to another show.

Cate is looking forward to Easter this weekend. We'll be coloring eggs and making notes for the Easter bunny. The bunny notes may sound a little strange, but she's very excited and asked if we could leave him a note. Of course she also asked if we could leave him a plate of cookies, some cake, ice cream and a glass of milk. I suggested maybe a note would be better.

Standing on my own two feet

At less than 10 months old, Keaton started pulling himself a couple of weeks ago. He's cruising around a little so it's probably only a matter of weeks before the walking begins in earnest. I don't want to seem less than enthusiastic, but I can already tell he's going to be a handful! He loves to get into everything from dog water bowls to trash cans. Cate was never all that interested in things -- she just wanted a person to play with her. Keaton, on the other hand, seems drawn to anything he shouldn't play with. He loves electrical outlets and plastic sacks. If he isn't crawling at lightning speed toward the dog's bowls, he's ripping up newspaper or magazines and trying to eat them.


But it's all still fun! He's got the sweetest personality and he's always laughing. He loves watching Cate. I think he wonders what she's going to do next. And so do I.