February already?

It seems like just yesterday it was still 2008. Now, here we are in mid-February 2009and I have no idea where the time has gone.

Since I have only a few minutes today, here is a quick update on the activities of the Topeka Martinos.

Keaton now has two teeth, both on the bottom. The first one came through several weeks ago and second one just appeared in the last day or so. He seems to be growing too because he is eating and sleeping even more than usual. Last check, he weighed around 24 pounds, so he's a big boy! He isn't crawling yet, but he gets where he needs to go by scooting on his bottom or on his belly.

Cate is also growing. Stephen and I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that suddenly her pants are too short. She loves her ballet class and is looking forward to her recital in May.

Stephen's work-related travel has slowed down some but he has two trips planned in March and another one in late May.

I started a new job in late January as spokesperson and communications director for Governor Sebelius. It has been quite a change of pace for me, but I like it. I never imagined how busy my work day could be.

This week, a new Dillon's grocery store opened in Greensburg. I thought some of my Kentucky family might like to see some news clips from the grand opening. The Governor and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano attended.

Secretary of Homeland Security visits Greensburg (with video)


Greensburg Dedicates Dillons, Looks to Future (with video)

Prove It

Our Christmas festivities this year largely focused on Cate. It was the first holiday that she has had a sense of what was happening. In some ways, I think the anticipation of Santa and gifts was more exciting than the actual event. She was truly shocked to see presents under the tree on Christmas morning and she seemed to love everything she opened.

It was a "princess" Christmas with all kinds of princess gifts. One of her favorites was a princess nightgown. She left last Sunday morning to visit her cousin Quentin in Houston. I packed her bag last Saturday evening. On Sunday morning, she got up and asked, "Where is my princess nightgown?" I told her that I had washed it. She then asked, "Can I see it?" I replied that I had already packed it in her back. "Good," she said.

A few photo highlights from the holiday...
Wearing a new coat to Christmas Eve church services

Keaton came down with a cold just a few days before Christmas, so he wasn't feeling his best all week. He still enjoyed watching all the action and opening a few gifts.



Cate was happy to assume the role of "present distributor" on Christmas morning. She brought gifts to us, saying "Merry Christmas Mama" and "Merry Christmas Dada" with each gift.

The first gift Cate opened, a princess comforter and sheet set for her bed.

Posing with a new Barbie

Cate loves her Fancy Nancy books. Santa found some Fancy Nancy dress up clothes for Christmas. We had to put them on immediately and do our best ballerina pose.

No Fancy Nancy outfit is complete without plenty of accessories. Note the necklace, earrings, ring and lip gloss.

While there were lots of fun toys, I couldn't resist getting a few new outfits for Cate for Christmas. She loved this one - zebra print dress, matching shoes and hot pink shirt and tights.

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.