Mommy Says: Katie’s really been enjoying all her wonderful birthday presents (thanks everyone!) and she’s moving quite fast these days (in her cute new shoes!).

She has figured out pulling the alligator toy she got from Kelsey, dropping the balls on the ramp she got from marsha and tom, pushing and riding on the John Deere tractor she got from G’ma and G’pa Donahue, playing with her beach toys in the sandbox and tub, and the list goes on. She loves her books and looks adorable in her clothes. She’s recently been working on her drumming skills, perhaps because Mom and Dad’s friends were playing Rock Band on the Wii at our Memorial Day party.

Just today Katie asked G’ma Anne to put on her ladybug raincoat so she could go out and visit mom and aunt jill (who had a raincoat on, which is where we think she got the idea). You can really see her brain working on cause & effect, open/close, etc. She’s also started copying things we’re doing. It’s pretty cute when she fake sneezes after I do. We went on a road trip with G’ma and G’pa Donahue on Saturday. She wanted nothing to do with the baby lunch I packed for her first picnic. Instead, she decided she’d rather eat from all of our sandwiches. So cute she is. She’s up for trying anything foodwise, and still continues to love the outside, rain or shine.

Other road trips she’s taken in the last few weeks include a trip to Southwick Zoo with G’pa Greg and Meme Lynn (Greg, pls send photos!) and a trip to Newburyport with G’pa Tom and G’ma Anne for Father’s Day.

I think her favorite part of the day was going to the park.

Mommy Says: Sorry we’ve been away for awhile. Our home PC got a horrible “bring the computer to its knees” virus and we’ve been spending nights moving files at a DOS prompt and rebuilding the machine from the ground up. We’re up and running again, so I will try to catch y’all up with a few posts. First off, Katie had her first birthday. She loves the “Happy Birthday” song so much that I sometimes use it to snap her out of a crying fit. The daycare made her a cute construction paper crown that she’s asked to wear on many occasions. Most importantly however, is that we’ve learned Katie loves cake. She had a Hello Kitty cake that I made at her WB birthday party and an Elmo cake that I made for her CT birthday. Oh wait, I should be more clear, it’s less the cake than the frosting. Grampa Tom has decided to feed this love of cake and frosting by bringing her cupcakes when he comes to visit. Yay frosting!

Mommy says: Just like her parents, Katie likes to keep busy. She’s had quite a whirlwind of a weekend. I will have to stick to words at the moment, as I left the camera in WB on saturday. On Saturday we went to WB to visit the family. Katie absolutely LOVES Zach, the dog. She tucks her head into his chest and tries to wrap her arms around him. She also squeals with delight to see him everytime we return to the house. He too likes Katie, I am sure in part due to the fact that she shares all her meals with him. Grandma, Katie and I spent at least an hour down at Uncle clint/Aunt Cindy’s place, socializing with her second cousins and visiting all the animals. We also went over to see the cousins Hay–Jill, Tim, Maia and Duncan were in the house, and more than happy to keep Katie entertained with their pet menagerie. She got to see the koi pond, pet the chickens, and chase 4 cats around. This wonderful day also included lunch and dinner with G’pa and G’ma. Katie made the most adorable faces when trying grandma’s lemonade, enjoyed a taste of G’pa’s meatball, and later, had her first BBQ food–frank and beans with G’pa. Grandma and Grandpa also gave Katie her first babydoll. It is amazing how taken she is with the baby. She carries it around, mostly around the neck, sometimes by the arm or foot. She loves to play with the baby eyes that open and shut. She has played with it every day since. She even seemed to be talking to the baby on the way home in the car. Her trip to WB was so much fun she took a 3 hour nap Sunday morning.

Sunday was also an exciting day, as Mom and Dad’s friends came over for a BBQ, and brought their Rockband setup. Katie seemed really taken with the drums. As always, she was also quite interested in whatever other folks were eating, so she tried some salsa and chips, among other tasty treats.

Today was yet another exciting day. We went with G’pa and Meme Kulchuk to Southwick’s Zoo. Katie was fully engaged for hours…it was 2pm before we started to see her slow down. She seemed to really love the hyacinth macaw, the monkeys, and the petting zoo. She went right up to the pygmy goats with no fear. She was very curious about how they ate, tilting her head and studying how the grain went in. She also liked the deer park area, where the deer come right up and eat out of Grandpa greg’s hand. she spent a bunch of time watching the carousel go around, and tried a bit of everyone’s lunch, taking bites directly from the hamburger, hot dog, and licking the ketchup off the french fries. From there we then went to the outlet stores. Luckily she slept while dad circled looking for spots. We took her to the stride rite store and bought her her first hard soled shoes. She was so funny trying to walk in them, high stepping, and trying to flip the off her feet. Despite all this activity, she still came home and ran around the house for hours, laughing and tormenting the cat. She’s just incredible. She brought many ear to ear smiles to our faces, and to both sets of grandparents this weekend. We are so blessed to have her. Thanks Katie for making all our lives better.