Trying something new

Mommy wants me to try something new with the blog.  And, instead of writing once a month (which has not been as frequent recently), I will write more when there is something fun to share.  Hopefully, this will end up being more often and not such long posts.  We will see how this goes.  I hope that she remembers that I am a toddler and really like my routine - so maybe this adjustment wont be too crazy. :)

Some fun things about me right now that I thought you would want to know:
* I love watching tv (we usually rent dvds from the public library since we don't have cable).  My favorite shows right now are: Mickey Mouse Club House, Doc McStuffins, NiHao KaiLan, Dora, Boz, Barney, and Word World.  
* Some of the funny things I often do from these shows -  
    I walk around saying, "Tip toe, tip toe, tip toe" (Mom thinks this is from a Dora episode but isn't sure).  As you will see below, I ALWAYS dance to the introduction song to Doc McStuffins. 
   I like to "Crouch like a dragon, up like a dragon, down like a dragon, up like a dragon."  
   I can name all the characters on Mickey Mouse - and love seeing them in stores.
* Each night I LOVE my routine - and do NOT like to drift from it.  In the bath I like to play with bubbles or tub paint (and it is a BIG treat when I get both on the same night).  Then, after I have on my diaper but before I put on my pjs, I like to climb in Mommy and Daddy's bed and play under their covers.  Most nights I want to read my books there and do not enjoy putting on my pjs (b/c I know it signifies bedtime) - I can squirm and run all over to keep from putting on my pjs.  Then we all three go out to a little couch outside my room for night-night prayers. But, before I sit on the couch, I have to say Night-Night to the abbigator in the cabinet next to the couch.  (Guessing not many kids say Night-Night to an alligator skull that their Daddy has collected- ha ha!).  Next, we sit on the couch - and it must be in the same order with Daddy in the middle and Mommy and I on either side - and say out prayers.  Lastly, Mommy and I go into my room where she holds me and sings me My Night-Night song and then she puts me in my bed upside down - b/c I like to be silly and roll around until I end up on my tummy to go to sleep.  She then covers me with a super-soft sheet and my Pooh blanket, says Goodnight and that she and Daddy love me, and then closes the door. 
* I can finally count to TEN.  I used to skip three and four, but just this past week I started including them and LOVE to count off anything we are playing with. 

Now for my FUNNY story.  Last week at MOPS, Mommy came to pick me up from my time with MOPPETS and my teacher for that day, Mrs. Vetter, told her what had happened that morning.  She said -- Your daughter is a princess.  Today we were having our snack, and all the kids were sitting in their little chairs b/c we have the rule that all bottoms must be in the chairs for snack time.  Well, then I put on some music for us to listen to while they ate.  That is when Caitlyn said, "I must dance" and got up to dance to the music. And, the rules just had to be broken because she was so cute I had to just let her dance.    THANKS, Mrs, Vetter for letting Caitlyn JUST DANCE. :)
I am guessing it looked a bit like this (this is what she always does to the intro song for Doc McStuffins):

Happy New Year

Hi family and friends.
It has been a long time since I have shared with you.  And, boy have I been busy.  So, I will try to hit the high points of the last two or so months.

At the end of November, we (Mommy, Daddy, NaiNai, and I) took a vacation through the North East.  We visited Niagara Falls, Boston, New York City, and ended up at our Uncle Marc and Aunt Olivia's house in Virginia  (details in pictures below).  It was a total of 40+ driving hours broken up over ten days, but we sure were thankful that some friends let us borrow their portable dvd player so I could watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - over and over and over again.  Mommy had brought several dvds for me to choose from but I kept choosing the same one - I think the adults got a bit tired of it after a while. :)

In mid-December, Mommy and I traveled to Georgia to visit with family there.  It was nice to be away from the cold and snow for a week - and to get to play outside since I don't get to do that much here this time of the year.   I had so much fun playing with Poppy, Nana, Aunt Celeste, Uncle Calvin, Aunt Janet and her husband- David, and cousin Andrew.   

We were back home to share the holidays with Daddy.  I did not totally get all that was going on, but I enjoyed opening a few presents and playing with some of the fun Christmas decorations around the house.  We also read some of the Christmas story of the Bible and talked about it being Jesus' birthday.   I also really loved reading some Christmas books (and still pick those off my shelf most nights).  At night, it was fun to drive around and look at Christmas lights in nearby towns.  The highlight for me may have been decorating the Gingerbread house - and eating candy off of it for the next week.

For the rest of the holidays, it has been really, really, really cold and snowy outside.  So, we have spent lots of time indoors.  We are thankful for the local libraries and have enjoyed various books and dvds from there. 

Our fun in photos:

 

Niagara was really cold and rainy.  Now we know why there aren't many tourists there in late November.

  

 

 

I may have had the most fun of all in the hotel rooms.  I loved playing in the big beds and talking on the telephones in the rooms (we don't have a home phone so this was new to me. - Mommy finally learned after a day or two to just unplug the phones so I was sure not to make any unwanted calls. :)

  

 

Taking a much-needed nap in Boston.  Mommy and Daddy got tired of carrying me so we just rode the subway for a couple of hours while I slept. 

New York was really cold, too.  But, we still insisted on riding on top of the double-decker bus so that we could see all the sites.  I had a good nap here, too.

 

Fun playing with my cousin's stuff that I found in his room.  Daddy called this my Mr. T look.  I have no clue who that is, Daddy. :)

   

Thanksgiving with the Schaubach family in Virginia:

Back in Illinois, helping Daddy get the snow off his car:

Our family Christmas picture taken at church:

Daddy and Mommy helped me just a tiny bit with decorating the Gingerbread house.

 

 

The finished product:

 

Fun playing around the house (I loved staying in my pj's some days):

 

My artwork from church:

Daddy helping me get some of the candy from the Gingerbread house:

How long will it take me to figure out how to get it on my own??  (Mommy says "Thankfully she gave up and only got the candy with our help")

My Christmas stocking:

Opening presents:

  

I hope you all had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!