First day of "school"!!

Kate started daycare at Towson (finally!!) last week. We're very happy, it's super convenient, and the first day - after I spent three hours with her and getting to know the teacher and their daily routines - she gave me a hug and kiss and said a contented "See ya!" Every day since then has been a little tougher, but I think she's enjoying herself, at least in between the hello's and goodbye's. Above she was playing with some baby dolls in the room (it's so cute to watch her hold them, rock them, feed them, and put them safely in their tiny car seat for "night night." And finally, what's her most favorite part of going to "school?" - her lunch box!

Kate was opening her first birthday present the other night - coloring and sticker books with crayons, and a children's bible from Aunt Gina, Uncle Jared, and Leah! She really enjoys the process of tearing into the paper and finding what's inside this year, yay!  Thanks guys!!

And a couple weekends ago Grandmom and Grandad came over to visit with Aunt Kim, Uncle Josh, and Evan, and Kate played one of her favorite games with Grandad before they left.

Phone Call with Grandmom...

Kate's newest thing is having actual conversations with people on the phone. Her first was with me on my way home from the Nascar race in Dover, and it was so adorable and sweet. Now she tends to throw a fit when we don't give her the phone when we're talking to anybody, so even when our Jamaican field hockey coach at Towson called the other day, she's yelling "NANA!!!!" from the backseat the whole time I'm talking...very professional, I know.

Anyway, this is her first "conversation" with Grandmom, and I gotta give her credit for taking the baby talk for quite some time. She's been a little more coherent these days, but certainly not during this call...

Weber's Farm...

It was a beauuuuutiful Sunday to be outside and spend pre-football hours down on the farm with the fam. Nana Fo and Papou came down for the day, and we had so much fun with the tractors, slides, and pumpkins. The farm is kind of in the middle of town, so it's not quite what we're used to (think parking lots for tons of people trying to escape "city life" for the day; an ENTRY FEE just to enjoy the place; pumpkins all in bins, not in a *patch*; a hay ride, which basically circled the neighbor's house; and long lines of people everywhere.) It was fun to see everyone in Ravens gear, even though the boys aren't having much luck in recent weeks...but I digress.

So when I said we enjoyed the slides, this is what I was talking about. There was a really steep hill with four long sliding boards lined up, and flocks of people slide down on a burlap sack, and it was super fast. Kate loved it, and each of us got our turn taking her down...

Check out these superstars...

Kate do it...

Pardon the little issue I was having with the whole getting started at the top...what can I say, I'm a little less agile for slides...and now it's caught on tape (er, video).

Aside from the fact that there is indeed a caterpillar in our kitchen, it sure provided some lengthy entertainment for our little miss!

Fall weekends are the best...

We caught some Towson field hockey action on Sunday, and there's always a few furry friends among the fans for Katelyn to play with...this poor little guy barely survived her hugs!

On Saturday, in honor of fire prevention awareness month (or something to that effect), several local fire companies had open houses and family activities throughout the weekend. We caught two of them, and below, Kate gives the "hang ten" signal from the driver's seat of a fire truck!

Friday night we caught one final Orioles game, complete with a rain delay, fireworks, and a win!