Hayley and Kate Minter

I don’t remember when I began to read to Hayley, but I assumed Kate was too young to be interested in books. I was proven wrong today. Nana had given Kate three books a ocuple weeks ago, and today I read them to her for the first time and she actually seemed to like them, smiling, listening and looking at the colorful pictures while I read. She especially liked one about teddy bears.

Kate is also opening her hands more and grabbing and holding on to things, but she isn’t holding toys for long periods of time yet. She does like to grab my hands and fingers, especially when I put her binky in her mouth, like she’s trying to help me. I’ve been trying to get her to have some tummy time, but she REALLY hates it. She’ll stay on her tummy for no more than one minute at a time before she begins to cry. I even got her a new mat/gym to look at, but she prefers to be on her back right now. We’ll just have to keep trying.

I’ve put together another collection of our best Hayley pictures of the last year. **Best of Hayley 2006**.

Hayley woke up with the sniffles this morning. She seemed to be feeling okay, but her head felt warm to me. I took her temperature with a non-digital thermometer and it read normal. So, she left for school.

When I picked her up, her eyes looked very tired and she was still sniffling. I checked her temperature with a digital thermometer when we got home and her temperature was just over 100. I made her eat chicken soup and then I put her on the sofa with a cup of juice, a pillow, blanket, and her tigers. She wanted to watch a movie, so we started up “The Incredibles.” After some ice cream and more juice, she lay there quietly watching the movie. Once or twice she said she wanted to get up, but I told her she should rest so she could get better. Before I knew it, I heard her breathing loudly. I looked at her and saw that she had fallen asleep and she was snoring cutely. I turned off the tv and took Kate upstairs to give Hayley some quiet. She actually slept for about an hour! This from a girl who NEVER naps. I know she must have been feeling bad, poor thing.

When she woke up, her fever had broken and she looked better. She said, “Now can I get up and run around?” Some things never change.

This morning, Hayley said something that made me laugh, so I said, “Hayley, you’re funny.” She frowned and replied, “I don’t want to be funny. Daddy’s funny.” I laughed again.

This afternoon, she was sitting with me in the recliner and she said, “Have you ever heard of a cow jumping in a pile of leaves?” I said, “No.” Then she laughed. She said, “Ever heard of a sheep that bent down to get a drink of water and a crocodile came up and snapped at him?” I said, “No.” She laughed again. Then she said, “You’re supposed to laugh, Mama.” She then proceeded to ask me more questions in a similar vein (”Ever heard of a…?”) and when I would answer no, she and I would laugh.

Perhaps she wants to be funny after all.

Since the concentration has been on Hayley lately, we haven’t written much about Kate.

She is growing and developing pretty much “on schedule,” but she’s still not sleeping much at night. Her typical longest stretch of sleep is 4-5 hours, with the rare 6 hours. Her sleep during the day is very sporadic. She usually naps a couple of times in the morning, but never for very long at one time. And she also takes a few short naps in the afternoon. I’m not sure when she will begin to take longer and less frequent naps during the day, but I’m looking forward to being on more of a “schedule.”

Kate still “talks” a lot, smiles a lot, but she hasn’t laughed yet. We tickle her tummy, make silly faces, evverything we can think of, but we haven’t been able to make her laugh out loud.

Kate has also been discovering her hands more, bringing them together, chewing on them, etc. She also seems to be more aware of her tongue–we often see her sticking her tongue out, moving it around inside her mouth, chewing on it. And sometimes she makes little spit bubbles. She watches what’s going on around her more, and she likes being walked around facing out so she can see everything.

Ovevrall, Kate is a very sweet and happy baby, and I am trying to enjoy this time when she is little because before we know it, she’ll be 4 years old!

Our big girl turned four today! I think she was excited by a weekend of celebrations.

Saturday was the family party. All three sets of grandparents, Great-Grandma Nana, Aunt Beth, Tony, and five assorted kids made for a full house. After the cake and presents, we all went to the Factory Ice House for some skating. Hayley had a good time skating, though she spent most of the time with me holding both of her hands and gliding her around.

Sunday was the kids’ party. Three other little girls from the neighborhood (Claire, Amanda, and Emma) came over for a “Happy Feet” themed party. Holly had some crafts set up, making penguins out of pipe cleaners. The girls played for a bit, then had cake and gift boxes. We had a “Happy Feet” pinata for them, and then they did presents. The kids were over for about two hours, and I think they had a good time. Two of the three had their parent stay as well, so we adults had a nice visit in-between helping kids.

And today was her actual birthday. We did presents from us when she got up, then she went to school and (I assume) did something birthday-related there. Tonight was one last session of cake and ice cream.

Pictures should be online after I finish going through them, and deleting the ones that were too dark due to me forgetting to have the flash on. It’s hard to believe that she’s four already.

Happy Birthday, big girl!

I know Hayley watches a lot of television, but I don’t really realize how much until I hear her say something like she said this afternoon. She wanted to watch a DVD of Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons. When she saw the picture of the Roadrunner, she said, “Roadrunner high-speed with Time Warner Cable. He has high speed.”

Yes, he does.

Our Flickr pictures of the kids are back on the blog, in case anyone was missing them.

Hayley had her first day of preschool on Tuesday. So far, she seems to like it. Whenever we ask her what she did, she says, “I don’t remember,” but that’s a typical response for a kid her age. At least she doesn’t say she hates it and never wants to go back there. Although I’d wager that the outside play time is her favorite part of the day.

Katherine went for her two-month checkup today. The doctor said she’s perfectly healthy and growing well. But the poor baby had to get four shots today and she did NOT like that. I’ve never seen her little face so red. Even the doctor commented on it. But after a few minutes, some “real” tears, and a little nursing, she calmed down and went to sleep. She doesn’t have to go back to the doctor until 4 months, when she will need another four shots. Good thing they don’t remember these doctor visits.