Katie

Here's something I remember about being pregnant with Katie. I. Was. Terrified. Audrey was 2 and definitely a handful, as most 2 year olds are. I felt like I could barely handle her, much less another tiny baby. We were all the way in Arizona and our parents couldn't be there for the birth, so I was laboring and decided I HAD to call my mom in the middle of things. Vince looked at me like I was crazy. I needed to hear her say I could do this. Also, she said something along the lines of "it's a little late now, honey". Right.



My friend Kate sent me these funny frog socks to wear during labor so my feet wouldn't get cold, so of course I had to take a picture for her. Cue another "are you crazy?" look from Vince.

She was my smallest baby. My sweet Katie Bear. She was a snuggler from the beginning. My mom gave me a ring sling and I wore it constantly. Katie loved it. Curled up in a little ball all the time. It was pretty convenient so I could have two hands to deal with Audrey.



Home from the hospital.



Here we are at the Grand Canyon. See that lump in the sling? That would be Katie. She's still a snuggle bug. She loves to give hugs, to the point that it gets annoying. She will do the death grip around her siblings' necks until they submit to a hug whether they wanted one or not. And the girl loves a temper tantrum. I think she's a little dramatic. Not sure where she gets that from! *Ahem* Also, like her mother, she's slooooow as molasses. Seriously, I could start getting her ready for school at 5AM and she would still be late. My mom used to tell me that if I was moving any slower I'd be going backwards. See the similarity? We call it "Katie-time". My mom called it something like "Nicole, if you do not get moving right this minute, my head might explode and then I'll be forced to spank you and/or tell your father to spank you when he gets home". That's not a direct quote, because I'm sure there was some cursing involved. Hi Mom! Love ya!



Katie is a very sweet kid who will play by herself for hours. She has always been one of those easy kids that you never have to worry about. She entertains herself, goes to bed by herself (until recently), and usually doesn't have attitude. Unless she's throwing a tantrum. I'm pretty sure that God was trying to prepare me for her little brother. He was letting me have a break before Dr. Destructo came into existence. More on him in a later post. Lately she has become a little tougher to deal with though.


I love this picture! She looks so cute with her dirty face and she's so serious talking on the walkie-talkie.

Over the past year, my sweet baby girl has been taking lessons from her older sister called "how to throw attitude at mom". The tantrums have become more frequent and have less to do with the amount of sleep she didn't get and more to do with how mean I am that she didn't get her way. The good thing about this is that she's quick to apologize after and I get lots of bonus hugs. Katie is also our home-body. She would rather be at home with us and her toys than out and about. When she turned 3, all she could talk about was how much she wanted to do dance class. For her birthday all she asked for was dance stuff. Grandparents chipped in to pay for classes. I begged, cried, and pleaded to a dance instructor to enroll her in classes. She went three times. During two of which she sat in the corner and cried, refusing to participate. I apologized profusely and un-enrolled her. Did I learn my lesson? No. The next year, she did it to me again. At a different dance school. I was too embarrassed to go back to the other. She did last longer than 3 classes, but after a couple of months, she just refused to participate. This year, she decided to do gymnastics instead. I was afraid of the same thing happening, but she has lasted the whole year and has not quit once. I don't know if it has to do with age or the different structure of the classes, but I don't care as long as I don't have to slink out with my tail between my legs, never to return.

Did I mention she's kinda a girly-girl? She loves to wear dresses and twirl. But she does love to jump too. Like on the couch. And somehow managed to break her arm in the process.


Age 3.


Katie in the forest. Age 4.



Here's my Katie-Bear today. Still sweet. And a little sassy. I think she's the perfect middle child. She's like the buffer between her 2 crazy siblings. If you want a hug or 40, come on over.