Happy Birthday, Kathryn!

Today was Kathryn's second birthday! I can't believe how fast these two years have gone by! I did well today...it was yesterday that I kept crying when I'd think about it! Sorry I didn't post until tonight...I wanted to make sure to spend lots of time with my girl today.

We had a great day together. We played lots with her new kitchen set that she got for Christmas, read books, went to Toys 'R Us to get a birthday present, where they also gave her a special birthday crown (that she then wore for the entire rest of the day) and a balloon (see the picture at the beginning of the post), and ate dinner at Chick-Fil-A so she could play on the playground afterwords and get some ice cream. She even went all the way up the playground for the first time and climbed all through the tubes. Enjoy some pictures from today as well as some from the past few weeks, and read a [long] update about what Kathryn is up to these days.

Opening her present. Can you believe she's two years old?!?

The traditional on-the-stairs birthday pictures.


And ones from a year ago to compare. It's amazing how much she's changed! She looks so much like a little girl now, and not a baby!



Kathryn has loved having her daddy home for Christmas break, and missed him so much today! She kept asking about him all day...

Looking beautiful and grown up in her special dress.

Here is a bit about Kathryn's life these days...
Spiritually
Kathryn is starting to show even more of an understanding of Jesus in particular. Of course she loves to read in her toddler Bible, especially stories of Jesus with the children and of Jesus healing people. However, up until the other day, whenever we mentioned going to church, she'd get all excited and say/sign "fish". Why fish? Because they feed the kids goldfish crackers in nursery! But just the other day we mentioned going to church, and her first word was "Jesus". Then of course she said "fish"! Also, the other day we were passing a house on our street that is very decorated for Christmas with all kinds of snowmen, santa clauses, reindeer, etc. in the yard. They also have a nativity scene set up, and when we passed their yard, she immediately said "Jesus". It was cool to us that in the midst of all that she saw, Jesus stood out to her most. It's also a sign that she's starting to understand why we celebrate Christmas, something we've really tried to teach her this year!

Physically
Kathryn is still an on-the-go kinda girl. She's always moving, even in her sleep! She still loves to play outside, and the cold weather makes it really hard. She never seems to mind the cold, asking to go outside (and not wanting to go inside) even on the coldest of days. I however am not such a fan of playing outside on those days, so am always trying to think of various indoor activities to help her get her energy out.

Here she is walking our neighbor's dog, Mercy. Whenever we see Mercy outside, Kathryn loves walking her down the sidewalk.

Riding her new bike she got for Christmas.



Talking
Kathryn is talking more and more every day. Some new words include: ready (sounds like "betty"), me, mine, thank you, love you, car, KK (for Aunt KK), more (not just the sign anymore!), baby...that's all I can think of for now, but every day she adds new words! And of course she babbles all the time, having entire conversations in gibberish.

Some of the things we hear most often around the house include: mama (which she says about 3,487 times an hour, no joke!), dada, hello (whenever the phone rings), juice, more, and this (in reference to almost anything).

Helping
Kathryn loves to help me do things. Some of her favorites are giving Jackson his paci, throwing away diapers, doing the dishes (aka playing in the water), Swiffering the floors, wiping anything with a paper towel or washcloth, or anything else she sees us doing.

Activities
Some of Kathryn's favorite activities are drawing, coloring, singing, dancing, cleaning, playing outside, cooking, watching videos, reading, taking care of Jackson, brushing her teeth, and imitating mommy and daddy.

Sleeping
Kathryn usually goes to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 at night, and sleeps until about 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning. She takes one nap after lunchtime, going down sometime between 12:30 and 1:30, and sleeps anywhere from 1-3 hours. I consider it a good nap if it's at least and hour and a half. Anything less than that isn't ideal.

Behavior
Because she is now 2 years old, discipline is a constant thing these days. However, Kathryn shows a heart of understanding and learning in this area that sometimes surprises me. Of course she has her impulsive toddler moments, but whenever we need to discipline her, she almost always shows a heart of sorrow and repentance. She is also good to apologize to others when needed. Since she doesn't yet say "sorry" (we're working on the sign for this), she will pat the other person on the arm, leg, or head with a very concerned look on her face. She's also very good to show and practice obedience after being disciplined, as we almost always go back to the scene of the offense and practice what she should have done. She is in a screaming/screeching phase, and we're working on obeying without a scream or melting on the floor as well.

She is doing really well with pretend playing. She loves cooking things for people in her new kitchen set she got for Christmas. She also loves taking care of her baby dolls, and will "change" their diapers, wipe them with washcloths, feed them, burp them, etc. She also loves to dress up in random things, as you can see in these pictures. (And yes, she put them on herself! How fun it is when she walks into a room like this!)


Other Random
Kathryn loves to take her shoes and socks off in the car. This is often an issue for us, and I have to tell her as soon as we get in the car if it's an ok trip to take them off or if she needs to leave them on.
Kathryn loves game shows! She loves watching Wheel of Fortune in the evenings, and sometimes Jeopardy, and also loves The Price is Right in the later mornings. She doesn't get to watch them every day, but enjoys it when she does.
She still takes her paci for naptime and bedtime. I was planning on taking it away shortly after she turned two, but am now getting sad about it because it is another part of her babyhood gone. We'll see...she's quite attached to it and I anticipate some rough naptimes and bedtimes without it, whenever we decide to take the plunge.
Speaking of taking the plunge, we're not potty training yet, and will start whenever she shows readiness. She's not as eager to sit on the potty as she was a couple of months ago (probably due to all the travel and change of routine she's had with the holidays), so we may start trying to encourage it again soon.
Kathryn loves to take a bath, and whenever we mention that it's bathtime, she immediately starts undressing herself (including taking off her diaper) and heads to the bathroom. Don't worry, though, she throws the diaper away herself and puts her clothes in the hamper! That's my girl!
We still call her Punky sometimes as her nickname. I think we started calling her that as a shorter name for Pumpkin. Either way, I really like it and think it's cute for her!

We are so thankful for our sweet little girl. These past two years have been so rich, and we are blessed to be allowed to be her parents. We pray for her all the time, that as she continues to grow up, she'll not only grow physically but also spiritually, coming to the point where she will call on the name of the Lord for her salvation. We can think of no greater thing for our children. Thank You, God, for our precious Kathryn Elizabeth!