Love, Tea and Cats

Last night, prompted my my encouragement, Holly told me she loved me "uv moma".... it was the most precious thing ever spoken.... my heart melted!!!

Below are pictures of Cleocatra kneeding on Holly and Holly actually NOT attacking her and trying to kiss her..... a first. Holly does love her kitties.

Today I had Tea at the Adolphus with my Mom, Sister, and Peggy Pate. Mom took me to celebrate my birthday. It was a lovely experience. Holly wasn't allowed, too young. Daddy took care of her at home. David read to Holly from TS Elliots book of practical cats, which is what the musical "CATS" is based on.... particularly they read about Rum-Tum Tugger.... my favorite cat from CATS.

Emily has arrived!!

Good News! Our friend Heather (Katie's Mom) had her baby, Emily Marie at 9:17 this morning. She weighed 7 pounds and 6 ounces and is 19.25 inches long. Mommy and baby are doing well. Emily is reportedly eating like a champ! Woo Hoo! We are so happy for the Keating family! I'll post a pic as soon as I have one.


In the mean time, here are a few Holly pics..... she loves to play "IN" boxes or anything that seems like one.

Holly is really into the word "NO" right now. I don't think she knows exactly what it means. She seems to say it whenever she wants to control what is happening, not when she really means NO. She has also learned to shake her head "Yes" which is coming in handy.

Daddy gave Holly a "Heart Bear" for Valentine's Day (Mommy got a dozen red roses). The bear is red and has hearts all over it, including a heart nose. Holly loves to point them out and say "hot" (which means heart). She knows what it is and loves to show it off. She made the sign for bear today..... so cute! Very rewarding when she picks up a sign.

Picky Eating

Holly's officially in the "picky toddler" eating phase (per Dr.Hull -- I was worried because she wanted more and more formula and quit eating fruit and most veggies).

She eats mostly formula (in a straw cup), avocados and cheerios.

The other day she got a bit overzealous with the avocado and then fell asleep in her high-chair. It was sooooo adorable! As long as she's eating her formula she's getting all the nutrition she needs, but she does have to learn to eat eventually so we're working on getting it down to three formula cups a day.

I tried to skip the morning cup the other day.... big boo boo.... suffice it to say, she was not happy, she thought it was bottle weaning all over again. So, we will continue to have the morning cup. I'll try one of the mid morning or mid afternoon cups instead.

Sunday we went to Pojo's birthday party -- it was a lot of fun. Holly was so busy, the whole time. Mary and Matthias were helping her a long and Pojo and Grangie were just enammered with their grandbaby!

Monday we went to the St.Vincent De Paul's (Heather & Katie's church) Mommy & Me -- it was lots of fun, we got to play with all kinds of unfamiliar toys.

Yesterday we went to Kindermusik and learned some new signs (which help stimulate additional vocabulary). Holly can now say keys (which she already said, but didn't know it ... she says Key for Katie). We also realized that she is making her own sign for more (or a lot). She touches her right index finger to her left palm.

We're having our floors re-done next week. Holly and I will be at Marmee's during the day while they work on the house. We're looking forward to the adventure!

Holly has decided that it is hilarious to pull Cyndell's tail..... as you can imagine, Cyndell isn't so happy about that. We're working on it.

Holly LOVES her blocks -- her favorite toys right now. We clap together every time she stacks a block. Also, she is OBSESSED with "The Going to Bed Book" by Sandra Boynton. She doesn't want me to read any other bed time books except that one. Over and over and over. It's really cute... but I'm getting a little sick of that book. I think she likes the animals (there's a pink piggy, a cat, a moose, etc...), moon, and boat.

She is so much fun to play with, now days, and she is so adorably cute.... I just love being her Mommy. Better run... we have a play date this morning!

Socks in the Toilet & our friend Megan (or is it Eggin'?)

Yesterday Holly deoposited four pairs of socks into the toilet -- before I realized what she was doing! Little sneek. She loves to play in the sock drawer... always good for at least 20 minutes of entertainment while I get ready in the morning. Above is a picture of Holly wearing one of Mommy's socks -- she's convinced they belong on her arms instead of her feet.

We went to story time at the library yesterday. We hadn't been in a while, so it was really nice to sing the "old" songs. Holly decided to say bye to her friend Megan, so she said "ba ba Eggin"... it was soooo cute!! Below is a picture of Megan from one of our recent play dates.