Cotter's Graduation

I'll admit, I was a little surprised when I found out Cotter was going to have a special ceremony for preschool graduation. I thought Aidan's Kindergarten graduation a couple years ago was ridiculous enough! I guess I'm just not the sentimental type when it comes to things like this.

That having been said, I am very proud of Cotter and the progress he has made in the last year. A year ago, he had no interest in learning letter sounds and numbers or anything faintly academic. Now he is starting to sound out words to read! He is excited about going to Kindergarten next year and getting to go to the same school as Aidan. (And, for the record, so is Mommy!)

How do they know?

Roy and I have been involved over the past couple of weeks in a fairly large-scale home improvement project--tiling our bathroom, hallway and laundry room, painting, and other misc. tasks associated with beautifying these areas. Our kids all play independently pretty well, allowing us to get our hands dirty even during their waking hours. Well, during one such time, we allowed Kaitlyn to wander alone down the hall to the boys' room. I figured it takes her at least a couple minutes to climb all the way up to the top bunk bed, so we were okay for a minute or two before I had to go check on her. What I didn't realize is that a brother (who will remain nameless) had apparently left some "no-nos" in the bedroom for Kaitlyn to find. And, despite the fact that there were plenty of big, safe toys for Kaitlyn to find, somehow she, like all kids, likes to bee-line for that which would be to her potential detriment. Roughly one minute after Kaitlyn wandered down the hall, I hear the pitter-patter of her little feet back towards me. I glanced in her direction, and got quite a surprise. No joke, this is how the scene unfolded:

In one hand, Kaitlyn had a very sharp, OPEN pair of scissors, her little fingers wrapped around the sharp part. In the other hand, she is grasping a toy snake, which only looks dangerous. As I'm carefully taking the scissors away, I notice her munching on something. I pry open her mouth to find a lego. As I struggle the lego out (with much resistance on her part), she drops the snake, and a marble falls from her same hand. How in the world do they know what to do to give their parents a mild heart-attack? I'm actually kind of surprised she didn't climb up into the top bunk bed with the scissors, snake, legos and marble in hand, laughing to herself and she teeters over the edge.

A day after this experience, I was finishing some painting in the bathroom and I saw Kaitlyn prance by to go play in her room. No problem. At least that room is childproof. Well, I heard a bit of a gagging noise, and ran out to check on her, and she was gagging up an entire mouthful of pistatio nut shells, along with a little of her lunch. Up it came. I can't believe how many nut shells she had jammed into her mouth! And, the bad thing is that she dug them out of the top of the trash can for her little feast!

I really do try to keep her safe. She's never been to the ER (yet). I've never had to perform the Heimlich. I guess we all just have those moments when we look away...and, inevitably, THAT'S when the real action begins. This is just such a wild age, where they can get into trouble in just a matter of seconds! I keep praying that God will watch over her during those brief moments of inattentiveness on my part.

She's Growing Up!

Kaitlyn is experiencing a surge of development right now, which is so fun to see. But it's also a little sad. She may still weigh only 19 lbs, but I'm losing my baby!

For starters, she used to always call me "Bobby" instead of "Mommy." The "B" and "M" are phonetically very close, so she just mixed them up. But, now it's just "Mommy." I kind of miss "Bobby!"

And, just a few weeks ago, she didn't even have a word for book. Tonight, for the first time, she put two words together: "another book." Actually, it sounded a more like, "anu-uh bu."

She's also following directions better. If I tell her to sit down, she will (unless we are in the midst of a power struggle). If I tell her to go show Daddy something, she will go in search of him. If I tell her to go get her shoes, she will. If I ask her if she wants to read a book, she'll go in search of a book and plop down in my lap. However, if I tell her it's time for bed, she'll run the other way! (Unless she's really tired, in which case she'll go in search of her Lovey.)

And, Little Miss Independent thinks she has the world all figured out...and definitely wants to join in. This can be good...or bad.

For the good, Kaitlyn...
...finds a hairbrush, she brushes her hair.
...finds a washcloth, she scrubs her body.
...finds a phone (or a calculator), she holds it to her ear and says, "hello!"
...finds Mommy's shoes, she puts them on.
...finds an action figure, she moves it around, making nice boy-like sound effects.
...holds a banana, she makes monkey sounds.

For the bad, Kaitlyn...
...sees Mommy starting to prepare a meal, she climbs up into her seat, expecting immediate gratification. (Little does she know that the chicken will take 45 minutes to bake!)
...finds a potty...she stands in front of it, pulling her shirt up, just like her brothers. (Fortunately, she leaves her diaper on!)
...finds ANYONE'S toothbrush, she brushes her teeth.
...finds an ink pen, she takes off the top and colors all over our sofa.
...finds Mommy's make-up, she empties it out and gives herself a fine clown face.
...finds a box of tissue, she wipes her nose (with at least 50 of them).
...finds a "spanking spoon", she gives Cotter a spanking.
...has a poo-poo in her diaper, she comes and tells me "poo-poo," pointing at the diaper...and then runs the other way, because she doesn't necesarily enjoy a diaper change.
...finds a toilet brush, she...well, you get the picture.

I can't believe Kaitlyn will be 18 months in 2 days! She is such a delight, and, despite her antics, not a day goes by when I don't ponder what a joy and a blessing God has given us in her.