Cooking with Gas

The best little sous chef around! She had to concentrate so hard on her mixing. When I took out the eggs, she picked one up, held it out to me and said "open!"

Say it Sista!

Katie will be 21 months old tomorrow! She is only 3 months away from the big 2! She is going to start "school" 2 days a week pretty soon. I can't believe how big she is, how much she no longer looks like a little baby face, and how much she communicates. Some of her favorite phrases (because she's beyond just a word here and there) are:
Pick it up (major emphasis on the "p") She actually means to pick her up when she says this.
Blow Bubbles
Brush Teeth
Sit Here
All wet (she squirts steve with the bath toys, then laughs and calls him all wet)
Play Playdough
Eat Apple
Baby Doll House
Peek-a-boo, I see you
Ride Heeboo (Horse)

These are just her regulars, she is also a parrot and will try to repeat almost everything we say. I am honestly suprised that she has not produced a curse word yet. I think she is saving it for the most inappropriate situation she can. She will also sing you a song if you ask for one. Her favorites to sing are the ABC's, elmo's world, and rockabye your bear. She gets out ABC and then repeats to the tune of the song. With the bear song, she tries to do the motions that go along with the lyrics and it is so cute. She also loves her buddy, baby Will, and regularly asks to see Baby Will. My girlie is so grown-up!

OK-one more story. The other day Katie and Steve were watching the Jungle book. At the beginning the baby is left in the forest and it is alone and crying. Katie got very worried when she saw this, and pointed to the baby and said to Steve "pick up, pick baby up!" It was the sweetest thing!

Rave Reviews

As a parent, of course you always think your baby is the best - the cutest, the smartest, the funniest, just overall the best there is. I am certainalty a huge Katie fan! But, it's always nice to hear an outsider, a third-party, someone who doesn't know you at all agree that your baby is awesome. Last night when I went to pick up Katie from the playroom at the YMCA, a new babysitter immedialty told me, "she is a smart little girl! She sang a song to me! We talked and played and she is just such a joy!" Go Katie!

Visiting Apple Dada

Steve is back at Larriland again this year. So, Katie and I stopped by to visit him in the pumpkin field last weekend. On the way there she bust out with "see apple dada!" She has continued to refer to Steve as apple dada randomly all week.

Check out the pics, taken on my new Black Cherry Chocolate phone with the super convenient removable memory card! I am loving it.

Katie lovin on the ghost (he got kisses too)

Katie and Apple Dada in the field

Wheelbarrow ride!

(this seemed like a great idea, until I tried to end said ride. Katie was not having it!)

Daddy's 28!

Steve and many other Shearer family members have birthdays in September, so we all celebrated last weekend at Granny's.

This is Katie not liking pumpkin pie. Don't worry, we aren't giving up on it yet, by New Year's she'll love it!

Katie's cousins took great care of her, including cleaning off this "wee" for Katie to play on!

Modeling Mama's earrings (thanks Amber & Jack!!)

Swinging with the girls!

Watching the Game

No big suprise here - We all love to watch the Ravens! Even Tater-tot, who knows what football players and footballs are and can say "touchdown!" Now if we could only get her to say Ravens...

Here's a shot of the three Ray-Rays

I like to call this shot "Katie's Heaven" because she loves to dip, and disgusting as it is, would go from caramel, to french onion to humus with one chip.

Bye guys!!