Christmas 2008

We headed back to Michigan for Christmas this year and the first thing Kate said when we got out of the car after the 10 hour drive was "That's a LOT of snow!" She then spent the rest of the week reminding Dada to be "careful on the ice" and asking him "how are the roads?" :) Here are a few pictures of Kate having fun decorating Christmas cookies at Papa and Grandma Marsiglia's house and playing their piano. There's also a picture of Kate with her cousins Noah, Aidan and Jacob.

Holiday Show at School

Kate had a holiday show at her preschool this year. Each class sang two holiday songs. It is not easy to get 12 2-year olds to sing- note the one child lying on the floor crying during the performance....

Halloween Parade at School

I love this age and I hate this age....

Kate is close to 2 1/2 now and while there are a lot of things I love about this age, including her ability to communicate what she thinks and feels, there are a lot of things I hate about this age too, including her ability to communicate what she thinks and feels, LOUDLY, while stomping her feet and throwing toys across the room. Who was it who said that trying to negotiate with a 2 year old was like trying to negotiate with a terrorist? Apparently, someone living with a 2 year old...

At the same time, I'm amazed every day with the funny and insightful things she says. Since I have been very remiss in getting these things into her baby book, I'll write down a few here:

1. Daddy: Kate's devotion to Paul borders on hero worship. While on some level, I'm a bit jealous being the current "second-best" parent, I love that they have such a close relationship. I had work off on Tuesday (gotta love those random Federal holidays) and Kate had school off too, so we spent the day together. When Paul left for work, Kate erupted into sobs and was crying, "I want my Daddy! I want my Daddy!" She calmed down about 2 minutes after he left. Then about 10 minutes later she said "I was crying. I was very,very sad. I wanted my Daddy. But now I'm fine!"

2. Politics: During this year's election cycle, Kate has been very interested in pointing out pictures of Obama and McCain in every TV ad, magazine and newspaper she sees. This week, after several days of pointing out all the magazine covers declaring Obama's victory, she turned to me with a confused look on her face and said "What happened to Me-cain?" :)

In other news, we have gotten rid of the crib and Kate now has a toddler bed. I've posted a few pictures of her in her new bed here. You will see that although we no longer have a crib, we still have a pacifier (although only at night). Some say I should take it away from her - I say that is one battle I am not prepared to fight with my little terrorist :) Hell, if it helps her get to sleep, she can have it until high school if she wants...

Some Early Fall Pictures

A Visit from Grandma

We've had a pretty busy October so far. Grandma Marsiglia came to visit. Kate had a great time and still refers to the guest bedroom as "Grandma's room." She also says that Grandma is currently gone "visiting Papa."

'Nastics

Despite the fact that Kate's gymnastics class always seems to be a bit chaotic to Paul and I, she really seems to like it. As she likes to say "I'm 'cited about 'nastics."