More Easter Photos

I thought I'd post a few more Easter photos of Cate, in case anyone is interested. We thought she looked pretty cute.

Happy Easter!

In spite of the cool weather, we had a terrific Easter. Cate was so excited to wear her Easter dress (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Martino). She's been asking to wear it nearly every day since it was hung in her closet. We thought she looked pretty adorable. She also had a hat, gloves and purse to match -- she was particularly in love with the purse. She put her gloves inside, along with a picture of herself and makeup brush and carried the whole thing to church.

We had to do our Easter egg hunt inside because it was so chilly, but I think Cate still had a good time. She liked looking for the eggs, but she was really happy to eat the candy inside. Next year, I think we're going to have a non-candy Easter. I had to bring a huge bowl of candy to work today to unload some of it. Unfortunately, I have managed to eat about five pieces all by myself so I think I am defeating the purpose of getting it out of the house.

Stephen took a few photos of me for the baby's memory book.
Yes, I am actually that big. No, we are not having twins. I think I had better cut back on the Easter candy...

A fun week

We had a fun week last week and the weekend was nice too. We had several days of good weather, so we went up to the park one evening. Cate loves going to park and now she's asking to go every day! Of course, the weather turned cold again on Saturday and it's been cold or rainy every day since. But as soon as it warms up we are looking forward to getting out and doing some more fun things outside.

Stephen had a press conference this week to announce a new program from his office, the creation of the Kansas Responsible Gaming Alliance. Here are a few links where you can read about it (including video of Stephen in the first link).

Help for those with a gambling problem

Group aims to expand counseling for problem gamblers

Gambling addiction help increases

I took a few new pictures of Cate this weekend and have posted them here in a slideshow. Click on the quotation button in the bottom left corner of the slideshow for captions. I'm still trying to find a place online to post pictures for viewing. I can't seem to find a site that does everything I want...maybe I'm just too picky :)

Spring is coming!

The weather here in Kansas is finally nice for at least a couple of days! I know spring is on the way, but we've still got a few weeks of unpredictable cold/warm weather to get through before I will officially be happy. Cate is definitely ready to go outside and play. I had grand plans of taking her to the park this Saturday, but that crashed and burned when I saw the weather forecast: 45 for a high, with a light rain and snow mix. Yuck.

On the home front, things are pretty much business as usual. Cate is almost entirely potty trained. I can't believe how easy it went. Either she was just ready to do it or all our preparation paid off. Maybe a combination of both. She is still wearing a pull-up at night but we'll probably try to go without that this weekend. She's had only two or three accidents total, so she's done a great job.

Cate is really into a girly phase right now, which involves wearing dresses and fixing hair. She wants to wear the same two or three dresses to day care every day. They probably think she has a very limited wardrobe. Today, she wore a jean skirt that my parents got for her. It has a cute sweater, but it was little to warm for today so we paired it with a pink shirt. She was pretty excited since she says pink is her favorite color. She also wanted to wear her Elmo barette. She wanted to take her picture and I think she would have posed all morning if I had let her.

We spent a large part of last weekend at home. Cate discovered an Easter bunny that my parents got her in the past and she had a great time playing with it. It plays music and moves. I also got a picture of her sucking her thumb (which she doesn't do a whole lot anymore) and holding on to Bear. This bear is her favorite and I'm not sure what we'll do if something ever happens to it.

At work, both Stephen and I are very busy. Stephen has some travel coming up for work, so we're planning for that. I'm starting to get into "prepare for maternity leave" mode. I'm trying to be as productive as possible so that I won't have to worry about work when I am on maternity leave this summer. With only 2 1/2 months until the baby arrives, I am trying to get things in order sooner rather than later.

A Couple More Things

I forgot to add a few important items to my update yesterday. First off, we've rescheduled Cate's surgery for tomorrow (Thursday, February 21). She will get a new set of ear tubes and she is having her adenoids removed. Both are fairly minor procedures, but they do require general anesthesia. I think it takes a few minutes (at least) off my life every time she has to go under a general. I am sure she will be just fine, but keep us in your thoughts tomorrow. She is scheduled for surgery at 8:30, she'll go to recovery for a little while, then we'll be in the pediatric unit for a bit while they monitor to make sure there aren't any complications. I am hoping we'll be home around or just after lunch time.

The other big news we have is that we have officially begun working with Cate on potty training. I never imagined that I would be so interested in this particular subject.....but when you have kids, it kind of becomes the center of your world for a certain amount of time. Stephen and I went out for dinner on Sunday evening and it was a central point of conversation. We really need to find some other hobbies, right? :) Anyway, Cate is doing so well, we are really proud of her. We bought her a potty chair a long time ago and we've let her sit on it whenever she likes. I checked out some books at the library to read up on the subject and I checked out some books for Cate as well. I also got her the infamous "Elmo Potty" DVD and she has watched in at least 1000 times. Finally, she started asking if she could wear "underpants" and we figured it was time to really get going with this. I took her to the store and let her pick out her very own pair -- of course, she chose Elmo. She was so excited to wear them last weekend. I was a little apprehensive. But she went the whole weekend with only two accidents. Then, on Monday and Tuesday at day care, she didn't have one single accident. We may have some backsliding at some point, but for now, she is really doing a great job. Several times, she has said to us "Mommy and Daddy so proud of me." That just about breaks my heart. We are, obviously, extremely proud of her all the time.

Finally, I thought I'd draw your attention to my latest attempt to let people sign up for updates to this blog. I got rid of the old FeedBlitz email updates on the right-hand side of the blog and now I have added a feature so you can get updates through RSS. If you don't know how to do this, it's pretty simple. If you have a Google or Yahoo account (I know most people do now), you can "subscribe" to blogs and get the updates sent to your Google or Yahoo home page. Just click on the logo I've added to the right-hand side of the page and you can follow the instructions. It works with quite a few feed readers, so if you are using something else, there should be instructions there for you.

The Weekend

Due to the weather, it was a pretty uneventful weekend at our house. We stayed in a large part of the weekend. We did venture out in the rain on Saturday and Cate got some new markers (the highlight of her day). She was happy to spend time coloring with them when we got home. She is very serious about her coloring.
Stephen and I did not get to celebrate Valentine's Day together because he was out of town. He was doing a little tour of the state for work, visiting newspapers to talk about the new casinos coming into the state. I have included links to a couple of the articles that resulted from his interviews. I am sure there will be more articles as the casinos get closer to actually opening and I'll keep posting information about them here.

Next step toward Ford Co. casino could be finished by late March

Gaming reps visit

Since we didn't spend much time together during the weekend, we had a babysitter on Sunday evening and caught a movie and dinner.

Cate and I baked some bread for one of our neighbors. It was so delicious that I had to post a couple of photos here. I am not particularly skilled at food photography, so these aren't terrific. But if you like banana bread and coconut, I am sure you will love this recipe. You can see the coconut on the top of the bread...it got all toasted and yummy. And the lime glaze on the top is fantastic. It's a litte sour and little sweet. Plus, it's a Cooking Light recipe, so it's pretty healthy!

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 193 (21% from fat); FAT 4.6g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.1g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 2.9g; CHOLESTEROL 35mg; CALCIUM 15mg; SODIUM 179mg; FIBER 1.1g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007

Cute Toddler Toes

Every parent knows there are lots of cute things about babies and toddlers. They've got sweet little fingers and hands, chubby thighs and cute toes. You know what I am talking about. They are so tiny and sweet -- it's just hard to resist. Toddlers also have the cutest little bellies. Cate insisted on running around without socks or shoes on Wednesday evening. Since it was a fairly warm day and evening, I didn't protest too much. Plus, I got a few picture of her little feet. I am savoring all these things because it won't be long before she isn't a toddler anymore. The time just flies by.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone has a nice day on this Hallmark holiday. Cate was excited this morning because she got to wear a new outfit (courtesy in part from her cousin Quentin's Valentine's package) and there is a party at her day care this afternoon. We provided the napkins, plates and heart-shaped pink cookies for the party. Given the looks of things, Cate will be on a serious sugar high by the time I pick her up this afternoon. There were two other moms with cookies, plus fruit snacks, cheese, crackers, juice....the list goes on.

When I told her that there would be a party, she said, "For me?" She cracks me up.

Bubbles, Sesame Street and more

It seems like all we have been doing lately is working, but we have found some time to do a few fun things too. First of all, our Sesame Street Live experience was terrific. Stephen and I had a great time....and I think Cate liked it too. We had really good seats at the show, so it was easy for her to see. When the characters all came out, the look on her face was priceless. I really think she couldn't believe her eyes. There was a short intermission about halfway through and we got some popcorn and drinks. During the second half of the show, she was a little preoccupied with the popcorn, but she sang along to some of the songs and clapped her hands. Afterwards, we asked her what she wanted for dinner and she was very firm that she wanted pancakes. We found an IHOP and she ate five small pancakes. I guess she really wanted pancakes. All in all, it was a really fun evening.

We have not been able to do much outside because the weather has been just terrible. When it's not raining ice or snowing, it's freezing cold and windy. We've spent quite a few Saturday playing in the play area at the mall or just hanging out at home doing play doh, baking something and watching some Elmo on TV. There was one day back in January when it was fairly warm (although there was still snow on the ground) and we ventured out to blow some bubbles. I posted a few pictures here.

I'm still not feeling great, but at least we are past the halfway point on the pregnancy! Only 3 1/2 more months to go! We haven't made much progress on a name for this little guy, but Cate calls him Allie. We have no idea where she came up with that, but there are lots of things she says that are mysterious. One recent development that is cute and has us mystified: when she really wants something, she will beg "puleez" and then "pretty puleez." If that doesn't do the trick, she resorts to "puleez for the good Lord." The first time she said it, we kind of looked at each other as if to confirm that's what she really said. Not sure where she picked that one up, but I guess there are definitely worse things she could say.

I am still trying to figure out how to get Flickr to do what I want with photos. I have tried posting another slide show here. Click on the i in the middle of the slideshow to get captions.

I'm so excited!

I am trying to contain my excitment. In just a few short days, we'll be taking Cate to a Sesame Street Live performance at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City! The show is all about Elmo and it's titled, "When Elmo Grows Up."


I've learned that when I get such high expectations for something like it, it doesn't usually come through. So I'm really trying to temper my enthusiasm on this one. But I have scripted out our entire day on Saturday :) I've mostly focused on wearing Cate out here in Topeka in the morning so we can get her down for a good nap before we leave for Kansas City. Nap time has become a real battle for us and she is usually a complete monster by about 6 in the evening if she doesn't get an afternoon nap. Yes, I know, it's hard to imagine someone so cute being so difficult, but I am not exaggerating.

I plan to take the camera along on Saturday, so hopefully I'll snap a few good pictures. We have relatively good seats. I'm hoping it will be easy for Cate to see everything.

Everything else is going well except that we continue to battle the usual round of winter illness. Cate was sick the week before last, I wasn't feeling good the end of last week and Steve stayed home sick from work yesterday. I began the day today with a visit to the friendly dentist to get some cavities worked on -- yuck. Other than that, I think we're doing well. My belly is growing and the baby is kicking around every day. We are starting to work on some baby names too. Work is super busy for both of us now because the Legislature is back in session until early May. I'm already looking forward to summer!

24 Hours of Cuteness

Well, it has been one busy week! It seems like we have had a lot going on this week. The Legislature comes back to Topeka full-time next week and that's usually when our busiest time around the Martino household occurs. But I guess our busy time started a week early.

For starters, I had two doctor's appointments this week. We had our first sonogram on Wednesday morning. Aside from the fact that I had to drink 32 ounces of water beforehand (that's a lot of water for a pregnant gal), it was absolutely terrific. Not only did we verify the baby is a boy, but he is also very healthy and very active. He didn't sit still for a moment of the half-hour we were there. He flipped from one side of my belly to the other, semi-waved at the camera, gave us lots of good shots of his arms, legs, face, belly, etc and just generally made mom and dad very happy. I also went back to the ear, nose and throat doctor this week to see if there is anything more they can do for my coughing and congestion. I am still very congested, coughing quite a bit and I have an awful pain in my side as a result of the coughing. Unfortunately, there aren't many more options for treating these problems but the doctor did prescribe one last medication that might offer some relief. Unfortunately, it takes a while to show any results, so I've got at least another week or two before I'll be able to tell if I'm getting any better.

On the Cate front, she has been absolutely adorable for the last 24 hours. I will admit I think she's cute almost all the time, but she has been on a roll the last day. Apparently she was putting on quite the show at day care yesterday. She climbed up the stairs to the top of the slide in her room and asked one of her teachers to stand by. She then said, "I sing for you" and proceeded to sing an original number for her teacher. When she was done, she said, "Good?" and her teacher told her it was. Cate then said, "You clap for me." Once the clapping was complete, she climbed down the stairs and took a bow for the class. What a performer.

Then last night, after we had done her bath and read her story before bedtime, I sat down with her in the rocking chair. She put her arms around my neck and gave me a big hug. She said, "I love you." I told her that I loved her too and gave her some kisses. She kept her arms around my neck and said, "Mommy - my best friend." I have no idea where she heard that, but it was pretty sweet.

To cap it all off, this morning she decided she was a chicken. She was making clucking noises like a chicken and insisted that I address her as chicken. I got a good laugh out of that one.

Finally, if you want to know what Stephen is up to these days, there is a story about his work in the Lawrence Journal World today. You can read it online and there is also a short video on the left-hand side, about mid-way down the page. He's very busy at work these days.

It's a boy!

Christmas 2007

Christmas was definitely memorable this year. Cate had wonderful time with family and opening gifts. Stephen and I got her a kitchen set, which we set up in the living room for her to find on Christmas Eve morning. She loves it and has been playing with it nonstop at home. We also got her some books, a Cabbage Patch baby and a few new clothing items. She got many wonderful gifts from Mimi and PopPop (Stephen's parents) and from her cousin Quentin and aunt KB. She has been having a great time playing with all her new toys and reading her new books.

I spent the entire holiday season sick. And I'm still sick. I'm currently on week six or seven (I've lost count) of a horrible sinus/cold thing. I am beginning to think that I won't get better until the baby is born. I've exhausted most of the medicinal remedies available to a pregnant person. To whine just a bit more, I've got either a broken rib or a severely pulled muscle in my side from all the coughing. My nose is either running or completely stuffy all the time. In addition to several other pregnancy-related ailments, I have not been in very good shape for this holiday. I'm sure I'll always remember this Christmas, but I am really looking forward to getting past all this.

Cate went to the ear, nose and throat doctor yesterday for a regular check-up. She had tubes put in her ears when she was just over a year old. At the check-up, she failed her hearing test and they said she needs new tubes as well as her adenoids removed. We'll be going in for that minor surgery on January 22. Needless to say, Stephen and I were shocked that she failed the hearing test and we're a bit worried about doing general anethesia for this surgery. But it sounds like it's something she needs, so we'll be doing it.

I have spent just a bit of time playing around with Flickr, so here is a link to a slideshow of pictures from Christmas. If you move your mouse to the middle of the page, an "i" comes up and you can click for my creative photo captions.

Christmas Program Video

I got a couple of video clips from Cate's Christmas program. They are a little fuzzy and very short. The camera was malfunctioning and I still can't figure out what went wrong. I am sure it had nothing to do with the operator. Later this week, I'll have an update on our Christmas celebrations, along with some photos. It's been a crazy couple of weeks.

Cate's Christmas Program

I finally found some time to edit the photos and video from Cate's Christmas program. Each classroom in her day care performs a song and/or a short rhyme. Stephen and I are biased (obviously) but we love the Christmas program because Cate looks so beautiful!

I think she likes it too. Cate likes to get dressed up and she likes to get on stage and sing her songs. In the photo album, there is a photo of her lifting up her dress, as nearly all young girls do when they wear a dress.

Cate's Dance Performance

A few nights ago, Cate was listening to some music that plays on one of her toys. She picked up a small pink flashlight and started doing a little dance performance for Stephen and me. She went on for about half an hour and we loved it! You can tell from the smile on her face how much she loves having our attention for her "performances." We had been playing in the family room all day, so please ignore the mess of toys on the floor in the background :)

I'm a Little Teapot

Cate is quite the performer. She loves to sign and dance. Of course, getting her to perform for the camera is another story. She recently learned the words and corresponding movements for "I'm a Little Teapot." This is a short video of one of the first times she sang it from beginning to end. She is a little distracted toward the end, but I still think it's cute.

The Ice Storm

This week has turned out to be a little out of the ordinary. We got a fair amount of ice in the area on Monday evening/Tuesday. Lots of people are without power. Luckily, we are not among them. We've got a few big limbs down around our house, but we are basically okay. We were cooped up at home on Tuesday and Wednesday. Work and schools were all closed on Tuesday; just schools on Wednesday.

Adding to the mix, I have the cold that just won't quit. I've been battling it for at least two weeks now and it shows no signs of slowing down. The doctor has given me various medications, but I am not sure they are doing much good. The only thing I know for certain is that I am tired of coughing. Lots of coughing with this cold.

The good news is that we had a prenatal check-up this week and everything seems fine with the baby so far. We are scheduled for a sonogram on January 9. I am counting the days. I am excited to meet our baby for the first time. I remember when we saw Cate, she was trying to suck her thumb but she kept missing her mouth and hitting herself in the head. It was pretty cool. I have a feeling this baby is a boy, but I'm still excited for the sonogram so we can verify that everything looks good health-wise for the baby.

I decided to post another Halloween picture of Cate since I don't have any new photos. This is Cate giving her best witch impersonation.

Her Christmas program got postponed this week, but I should have some wonderful new pics after her program this Monday, the 17th.

Once a month just won't cut it

So it looks like I am only able to get this blog updated about once a month. I know at least a few people who read it and hopefully you'll forgive me for being constantly behind on so many things!

What's been going on in the Martino household lately? It seems like there is something new every day. Most recently, we've all been sick. Cate has the persistent runny nose and cough that seems to come with being in day care during the winter. Stephen is pretty much over his cough and cold. I've still got a nasty cough and lots of congestion, but hopefully some new medicine this week will help. Cate had a 24-hour bug of some kind last weekend. She threw up (for the first time ever) on Friday evening. It definitely scared her and she doesn't seem eager to do it again. No surprise there. She said, "Mommy, I spilled." She seems to think throwing up is kind of like spilling a cup of juice. On Monday, when she got in the car to go to day care she told me, "Mommy, I no spill again." Poor thing.

Probably the biggest news is that Cate will have a little brother or sister later this spring. Officially, the doctor says we can expect Little Martino #2 on June 2. I haven't been feeling too hot, but hopefully I will get to feeling better now that I am officially out of the first trimester.

In not-so-upbeat news, one of our wiener dogs died on Halloween. We adopted Sam nearly five years ago from the Lawrence Humane Society. He had not been well cared for in his previous life, but we were still surprised that he died so young. He seemed fine recently. We came home the Sunday evening before Halloween and he was coughing, clearly not feeling too great. By Tuesday, the vet was sure he had a heart condition. He was suffering quite a bit, so we made the difficult decision to put him to sleep on that Wednesday. Mallory, our other wiener dog, seems a little sad and has been acting out a bit. Cate is also wondering where Sam has gone. We told her he went to heaven. She often asks about him and says, "Sam went to heaven? Come back?"

We're gearing up for the holidays. The house is decorated, the shopping is nearly done and now we are just enjoying the season. Cate is pretty excited about Christmas trees, Christmas music, decorations and everything that goes along with this time of year. It's fun to see everything through her eyes. She has her day care Christmas program on Monday evening and I am excited to see what they have come up with for this year. It's a 30-40 minute program where each class does one song. It's just perfect for this age group -- not too long, not too short. I will try to take some video and post it here next week.

Happy Holidays!

Fall Pictures

The leaves are turning and falling everywhere right now. It's a great time to get nice fall photos.

We had some pumpkins on our porch this year and Cate really loved them. A squirrel took a particular interest in one of the pumpkins and managed to eat more than half of it (and it was a big pumpkin!) in about a week's time. Cate was pretty upset and she kept saying, "Mommy, a squirrel ate my pumpkin on the front porch!"

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago before we left the house for church.