Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving, mostly... except for when Katen screamed for the entire hour-long trip to Aunt Tammy's house. Mommy and Daddy wanted to bang their head against the steering wheel.

Here are a few pictures of Katen helping mommy taste test the pumpkin filling...









Yep, she approves.
Note to Santa: Bring Mommy a new kitchen, please. :)

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Rock A Bye

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This video shows Katen rocking to the sound of the music. She looooves any kind of music and always either rocks or does a little dancy dance if she's standing. I think this is particularly cute.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow




Today we had our second measurable snow of the year, so I bundled Katen up and we headed outside. She likes snow about as much as she likes grass.... not much. (She gets that honest.)
She also doesn't like hats. She's more of a hood girl apparently. :)

I've fallen and I can't get up. Yeah so now what?




AAaaaaaa! Get it off! I am not wearing this ridiculous thing. Not now, not EVER!


Belly Laughs

Sorry for the very dark video. The lighting wasn't so great but you get the idea.


This is a clip of Katen watching Daddy play with his new Nintendo Wii. She is just cracking up every time he swings the controller. He figures it out and starts really overemphasizing the swings which is accompanied by more laughter.



Picky, Picky, Picky

"What."

The little pickle has been asserting her ability to pick out different kinds of foods lately. She really loves Gerber yogurt bites and if I put them on her tray with some Cheerios she now picks out each and every one of the yogurt bites and eats them first. Then she'll dig into the cheerios. Until recently she'd take a fist full of whatever was on her tray. It's kind of funny to see her pick and choose.




This morning Daddy fed Katen breakfast for the first time. I forgot to tell him about some of her habits, so when she started clearing her tray (she literally swipes back and forth with her hand tossing pretty much everyting on the floor) he told her "no." Apparently that hurt her feelings and she got out the big lower lip and cried about it. (Oh boy.) Now we know to put her cereal in a bowl that has a suction cup on the bottom. It flies less easily that way.




The little turkey also won't let us feed her anymore. She's very adept at picking up food and feeding herself but I'd still feed her soups, cottage cheese, applesauce, etc. Well none of that anymore. She'd prefer to be in charge and she grabs at the spoon. What results is a massive food fight. She's really REALLY strong. Unhumanly strong for an 11 month old really. So... now I'm working on teaching her to use the spoon herself. She gets the general concept - scoopy the food, put it in your mouth - but sometimes she gets the wrong end of the spoon in her mouth or she flips the food from the bowl... well pretty much everywhere. That's okay though. Stuff washes and she's got to learn somehow. Ha!




Friday, November 7, 2008

Word Explosion

Well hellooo Katen!

You'd think with learning to cruise and say "Dada" she'd slow down and be happy with those skills for a while, but then that wouldn't be like Katen at all, would it?

All of a sudden she developed this vocabulary. She's gone from blowing raspberries and singing nonsense to saying "Momma" (YES!!! FINALLY! :: cough, cough :: uh I mean, good for her), and No, no which comes out as "nun nun nun." The funniest right now is probably the way she says "Uh-oh." It's so abrupt, sort of like "uh. OHHHH...." There are obviously a lot of uh-oh's as she throws everything on the floor imaginable.

What probably amazes me the most is that she really is using these words in the correct context. She knows who dada is and momma too. Uh-oh follows anything that falls to the floor and no, no, no usually comes right before she does something she knows she's not supposed to (of course) or if I'm torturing her. (aka Chaning her diaper or trying put her clothes on, heaven forbid.)

She'll practice them other times too. She likes to scold her toys (nun nun nun, naughty giraffe) and often asks me about dada. She seems satisfied when I tell her he's at work or lets go find him.

I honestly can't wait to see what's next. She'll be running from me before you know it. Christmas is going to be crazy!!

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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Election Healines Nov 5, 2008

Today's Front Pages Analysis

America Votes for Change

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor, Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Some polls and pundits predicted a landslide, but the headlines on the world’s front pages reflected the themes, slogans and ubiquitous logo of President-elect Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign.

• "Yes We Can." (The Record of Stockton, Calif.)
• "Change Comes to America." (Canada’s The Hamilton Spectator)
• "Change of Course." (Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald)
• "Face of Change." (Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald)
• "A New Hope." (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Many newspapers — particularly in the South — chose poignant civil rights themes to describe Obama’s unprecedented feat.

• "In Our Lifetime," declared The Anniston (Ala.) Star.
• "Obama Overcomes," said The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News.
• "Race is History," The Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise offered.
• "Obama Reaches The Mountaintop," said The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.

But for the majority of newspapers, the president-elect’s last name and new title were enough to tell the story.

• "Obama!" (The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa.)
• "Oh-Bama! (The Orange County (Calif.) Register
• "Mr. President." (The Chicago Sun-Times)
• "It’s Obama." (La Tribune of Paris, France)

Finally, for every victory, there is a defeat. The Arizona Republic summed up Sen. John McCain’s poignant concession speech. "Arizonan McCain gracious in defeat; calls for unity," the paper said.

Source: http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/recap.asp

Obama's Acceptance Speech:

Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama
(As prepared for delivery on Election Night, Nov. 4th, 2008)

From the associated press:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friendsthough passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Source: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/05/obama_speech.html

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Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween Fun

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Katen had a wonderful time handing out candy to the trick or treaters on Beggar's night. We had an early dinner and bath, and then dressed up in her costume over her jammies. The weather was so gorgeous (70's) that we decided to sit out on the driveway and take advantage of the beautiful evening. Probably one of the last for a while.

She pointed and stared at all the costumes and offered her slobbery snickers to anyone who looked hungry. Nobody took her up on it though. ( I wonder why. Ha!) Here's a short clip of Katen doing quality control on the candy.


While we sat outside waiting we also practiced clapping, so we can add that to the list of milestones achieved. You'll also notice in pictures etc that she's wearing fleece pj's. We had to put those away because she's allergic to polyester. We went to the mall today to find some 100% cotton jammies instead. They're not nearly as warm, so we'll have to put something under them but we don't want her breaking out on her whole body from the fleece either.

Here are a few more pictures of her costume. We visited daycare's fall party last Friday night before mommy's suprise birthday party and took a few pictures there as well.







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