I think I saw a puddy tat! I did! I did!

For a little while now, we've been thinking Ben can say "cat", but weren't sure because a lot of what he babbles fits the situation he's in. "Out!" when he was struggling to get out of his car seat. "I want that!" when reaching for something the other day. But stuff he's not really saying, of course.

But this morning, he looked up, saw Suzie, grinned and yelled "CAT!" Then after we got all excited, he started saying "kitty cat! kitty cat!" over and over. Mike calls the cats "kitties" when talking to Ben, I call them "cats".

So he is now up to three words. "Mama", "Da Da", and "Kitty Cat". Or four, depending how you look at it!

The Party

We had 11 kids plus Kaia come to her party. We held it at the same park she and her class used to go to on Fridays. The picnic tables were in the shade, and there was a nice wind, so as long as I stayed there, I didn't get too hot. The kids ran wild for the first hour or so, then sat down for ice cream cakes in little planters. I put crushed oreos on top with gummi worms and bugs. They all seemed to enjoy them, and ran off again after eating. A few of the other women helped me get them all rinsed and ready for planting, then we sat down to open presents. However, in a repeat performance from last year, Kaia took a brief moment to head out to the field to throw up. With the combination of sugar and excitement, she was just undone. Natasha came to the rescue with homeopathics and aromatherapy face spray, and Kaia, feeling much better, commenced the gift-opening. She got some excellent loot, and is currently playing with her fairy garden, occasionally looking over at her bag of other goodies and grinning.

Not sure when exactly this was taken, but here are three of her friends walking with her up the hill. She is holding the Star Wars card Mike and I got for her. When it's opened, it loudly plays the Star Wars theme song.

Ben had a great time watching everyone, but got tired pretty quickly. It was a lot to take in for such a little man!

We planted flowers in the pots after gift opening. Went pretty fast, really. Not the best craft for a party if you're looking to take up time....but the kids who took part seemed to have fun.

Ben crashed in his daddy's arms and slept for a bit. After he woke up and spent some time playing in the grass, and playing a game called "how many times can I get this stick in my mouth and how many times will my parents pull it out?"

The kids all played on the playground equipment for awhile, then slowly trickled home. Overall, I think everyone had a good time.

After we got home, we were all hot and sweaty, so we got into bathing suits and went to the pool. It made all four of us feel much better. Kaia swam over 5 laps lengthwise!! I don't know where she got the energy! We came home after an hour or so, put Ben to bed, and are now just relaxing a bit.

21st Century Girl

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Kaia: Where did you find it?
Me: Online.
Kaia: What dot com?
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Reading with Uncle Mick

Two Top Teeth

and now, for the close up! He doesn't usually like to show off his top teeth, so I was happy to get a shot of this smile!

Birthday Week

Yesterday was Kaia's 7th birthday. My parents and my brother came up and celebrated with us. It was a really good day. Kaia and her grandparents went swimming at our apartment's pool, and Kaia got tons of gifts. She'll be getting more on Saturday when she has her party with friends, which makes me want to edit her room again. I think that in a week or two when she goes down to spend the weekend with my parents I will edit and reorganize her room.

She got a few more starts to book series - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, The Boxcar Children, Ramona Quimby. She also got some more books for younger kids, which she still enjoys and can be easier to read.

Tomorrow should be a blast. I have to go get all the supplies -planters, flowers, cake, ice cream, etc. - tonight when Mike gets home. The party is in the afternoon so I'll have plenty of time to prepare...thinking about it, I should maybe get the flowers tomorrow morning....

Will post pictures from today a little later, and several from tomorrow I'm sure. This morning we're off to a park play date with my mom's group.

In more notaboutme news!!!

She's having a girl!!!!!!