She's going to be 2!

It's been about 10 days since my last update, I know. I'm kinda slacking this month--can you blame me with all the holiday stuff and birthdays around the corner? Yep, birthdays I say--Kateli will be 2 and daddy will be--well, let's just say he's somewhere in his mid-thirties! :) Let me say that again, Kateli--my little baby girl--will be 2 at the end of the month. It's hard to believe how fast time flies when there are little kids in the household. Seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital and learning all about being parents. How exciting these first two years of parenthood have been, and we just keep having more and more fun each day. There are days that are harder than others, but God is good--he has blessed us with wonderful kids. So, let me tell you about our 2 year old to be...

She is talking up a storm--mostly in "Kateli" language, which means we don't understand half of what she says to us. She will sit and "read" books to herself and to her brother. She pages through the book pausing at each page and babbling for a little while before turning the page. She does say a lot that is understandable; it is unbelievable how far her speech has come along the last couple of months. It was so exciting when she started to say her name, I know I wrote about that, but lately the cutest thing is that when she wants something she says her name first and then the action, i.e. "Kateli 'mer'" (Kateli eat), and "Kateli play" are the ones tha I hear the most often. She is now putting two or more words together. So, we'll be riding in the car and she will say "Kateli moi abu"--let me translate--"Kateli more gummies". She loves to eat those yummy JP gummies grandma send for her. Now when you ask her her name, she will sometimes say "Kateli Mosh"; it's so cute to hear her. These days when she tries to repeat what we ask her to repeat, it sounds a bit more like the actual word than the made up words she fills in with before she can properly pronounce something. We are still working on the "por favor" instead of "please" when she speaks to mommy--it doesn't quite come out as "por favor", it's more like "a bor" or something like that, but she is trying. She still loves her little brother, and calls him "a liTTle baby"--doesn't use his name yet. She loves talking to her little brother too, she will go up to him and say "Aaabbooo aaabbooo"--she is imitating me when I coo with him. It is super cute to watch her do that and to see Joshua's intense focus on her. On the potty training front--let's just say we are NOT there yet. I thought we were much closer as she had begun to tell us "poopoo" when she was dirty, so we'd change her diapey. Nowadays the only way we know she is dirty is either because we notice that she's gone and hidden to do her business or we just get a whiff of it from across the room. She has not had another "Poop-casso" episode since my parents where here, so we're lucky on that front. I'll have to expand on that in another entry. Kateli LOVES to play with her babies. She is so nurturing with them. She rocks them to sleep, swaddles them in blankies, puts them in the swing to sleep, changes their diaper, and even nurses them. Yep, she doesn't allow those babies to starve--nope, she will nurse them and cover herself with a blankie just like mommy does when nursing little brother. The funny thing is if you walk by her when her baby is "eating" she tells you "baby, 'mer'" So, so cute! Lately she's been sticking a paci in her mouth and walking around with for mins at a time before she gets tired of it. We think it stems from all the kids she sees with pacis at church, as well as seeing her little brother use one as well, that she thinks she needs to participate. She never liked the paci, so we're sure this phase will pass soon.

Anyway, here are some pictures that I got of her yesterday. Enjoy!