The parts of my face

Here's a little sample of Katie Jo showing off. The only way she'd let me tape her doing it was if I squatted beside her and aimed the camera at both of us. Thankfully, I got the only person in the view finder that really mattered! The audio and video are not in synch so she may do the motion before you hear my voice. Just wanted you to know she's not a psychic.

The 96 hour shut-ins

Here's our little sleeping beauty!

This was a FREE toy with a recent party I hosted. I had enough people order items that this pop-up play center came with the package. Katie Jo likes it and it folds down into a little circle so it's easy to put away when we're done. It's a lot like the one we have for her outside with a different theme on each side of the center. I think she'll be able to enjoy this for quite a while.

Presenting "The Amazing Katie Jo." Here she is making one of her many towers with the blocks. If there had been a shot after this one it would have shown her knocking them down and clapping with glee. She is just so darn smart! And yes that is a diaper wipes box we use to hold the blocks. I found that cutting the hole just a little bit bigger was just perfect for her little hands.

And unfortunately that's all folks. I was laid out for most of last week with a bug and Katie Jo, though not technically sick, was not feeling up to par. We're all better now and look for a much more in depth blog next week or so.

I will add that she is learning so quickly I can't quite keep up with it all. She knows so much and everyday Jay and I are amazed at her capacity for knowledge. She now knows the hand motions to the whole song "If you're happy and you know it." Just this weekend she got her hands dirty and Jay showed her how to wipe them together to get them clean. Well, wouldn't you know that she did it every time after that. She also has become quite proficient at dressing herself by putting her hands through the arm holes and undressing by stepping out of her pants. I would love to tap into her little brain and find out how many words she really understands because I'm thinking it's in the hundreds. Sorry to go on about her but really this is more to help me remember her milestones later on. Oh, and all teeth are in and accounted for. I guess all we have left are the two year molars.

The best things come in small packages

All I can say is, give a kid a box full of packing peanuts and you've got yourself a party!

Oct. 16-22

Well, we had quite a busy week and have the pictures to prove it. On Tuesday I got in a couple of boxes filled with toys (for other people) from a Discovery Toy party I had. It didn't take Katie Jo long to find the peanuts and discover what fun they'd be if she sat among them and threw them about. It kept her busy for quite some time. This week Jay also built a play area for Katie Jo and her climbing toy and playhouse. It is a great area with woodchips and she seems to love having her own "spot" to play in. We also went over to visit with Reilly Kaye one day and had some fun playing in her wagon outside. The weather has been so beautiful. We love this time of year! During the weekend we were in Lyman for family time and the Clemson game. Gran and Katie Jo had fun playing together outside and smelling the flowers. We walked across the street to visit the Collie, James, and he let Katie Jo love on him. Katie Jo probably thought he was the horse she sees in her animal books! On Saturday Jay and I went to Clemson with two of Jay's buddies he graduated with and their significant others. We had a ball tailgating all day and the game was awesome. Joni hung out with us after saving us a primo parking space and we all had a great time looking at the floats on Bowman field and shopping for tiger gear downtown.

Ah, the crashing of cymbal's. Music to my ears!

Here's a little video of a song Katie Jo composed on the drums.

All I Want for Christmas is a Drum Set!

While we were in Lyman this weekend we got to visit with the grands. Katie Jo found Uncle Matt's drum set in the garage and boy did she go to town! All that jamming with Aretha, the Doobie Brothers, and Mia has paid off. Looks like the garage has become a virtual vacuum of music mania. I also got a few photos of her with the hood on her jacket up which makes her look like a garden gnome!
We also went over to Gran and Pops Sunday afternoon. Pop showed Katie Jo how to spin a ball on her finger and she tried to do it too, without much luck! She has really become an imitator even more lately. Today she said her name about three times and considering what a mouthful it is that was quite a feat. She also has learned a couple of new songs in Child's Day Out and when we practice them at home she's really getting into the hand motions. We'll have to get those on video. Ok, I digressed. Anyway enjoy the photos.

Gantt Family Reunion

So on Saturday this past weekend Jay, Joni, KJ and myself drove up to Lake Hartwell State Park for the Gantt family reunion. We had a nice time visiting with family and eating a delicious lunch. One family member brought their super cute Jack Russell terriers and Katie Jo loved watching them chase balls and run around. She also played with Aunt Margaret and Aunt Linda read to her. Everyone enjoyed seeing how much she had grown and what a big girl she is turning in to. It was a good time as you'll see from the pics.

Dancing Queen

Here I am dancing around with Daddy and being silly.

Pumpkin Patch

Last Friday we went with our MACARONI (who knows what that stands for?) group from church to the Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch in Mt. Pleasant. It was overall fun but sooo tiring for Mom and KJ! First, we walked around in the pumpkins and then went over to the jump castles. KJ is a little too young for that yet but thankfully they had a small one for toddlers. Toddlers? Can you believe we're already using that word? Anyhoo, we had fun jumping around and crawling thru the tunnels. Next we went over to see the animals and KJ especially enjoyed the bunnies. She wanted to take one home but we had to leave them for the other children to enjoy. Lastly, we rode the truck aka "hayride" and as you'll see from the last photo we were pooped by then. When we left we hadn't eaten lunch and had packed one so Mom did some quick brainstorming and decided against sitting at a picnic table with bugs flying around. So we hoofed it to the van and had a picnic on the floor. Thank Goodness for sto and go seats! We flipped the screen down, popped in a Einstein DVD, and had a nice relaxing lunch in the air conditioning!

Weekend in Charlotte

This weekend we made our way to Charlotte. Daddy had a golf date with some buddies and Momma had a date with her friend Kelly for some shopping. We stopped over Friday with our friends Martin, April and Maddie. I'd never met Maddie before but we had a great time hanging out and playing. I can't wait to see her again!





















On Saturday Momma dropped Daddy off and made her way to Kelly's. While they caught up I took a nice long nap and then we went shopping. Momma got me a couple of cute outfits. Imagine that! Kelly had a great big beast of a dog named Gus and a little beast of a dog named Harper. I had such fun petting them. Then Momma found me leaning against Gus like he was a Lazyboy. So she got a cute shot. Then I leaned over and hugged him and she got another snapshot.

Momma just had to include this shot. This was from last week when I ran through the sprinkler in the yard. I was a wet mess!





And here I am today with Daddy. We were playing outside and Momma caught us being silly. I am sure glad to be home!

Blazing a trail through the firehouse

Today Momma and me took a tour of one of the local fire stations with our MOMS club. We got to see inside where they hang out, watch tv, and eat. That part was pretty boring considering at a year and a half my attention span is non-existent. But then the fun started when we went back outside and looked at a fire truck up close. I loved touching the buttons and wheels and I even got to sit inside. We had a blast. Momma even got a picture of me with the great big American Flag. Go USA!