The Kate Effect

waco zoo.

the zoo in Waco is AWESOME. Mostly because when you have kids under 5 years old - it's really hard to see an entire zoo in one day. Austin has a zoo of sorts - but it is a rescue zoo. As much as I appreciate what they are doing in rescuing the animals....it is not the same zoo experience. San Antonio Zoo is great but it is still "far away" and ginormous for little legs.

We had heard good things about the Waco zoo and Kate had a jar full of change she had been collecting (i.e. stealing from my purse) so off we went to try it out. The cousins came too and the whole things was a great time!

this is kate daydreaming about something while we chilled at the playground/picnics area - which was really shady and nice. PLUS its right in front of some of the exhibits...

Of course kate is going one way on a giant snake sculpture and Judah is going the other - they come to meet in the middle and instead of just going around each other... they head butt. Judah's noggin is harder and bigger but Kate's will power and determination are unbreakable. 

Aunt Rach was super knowledgable and read all the little info plates and answered all the curious questions. I mostly took pictures (until my lens broke and literally fell out off the camera, yikes.) and got everyone in trouble by suggesting we act like the animals... which is annoying to others I learned.

Kermit & Friends.

Kate and her neighbor-freinds found a frog family. yep a mama size, dad size & itty-bitty baby size. 

Thankfully the large one was the only one who allowed himself to be caught. I had fun watching the kids figure things out - everything from what they were going to put it in to how it was going to breathe. 

Kate was the bravest when it came to actually handling the frog. After feeling it's cold slimy skin for the first time she immediately came inside to get her garden gloves so she did not have to actually come in contact with it.

Within hours of the frogs release the frog family entered Witness Protection Program and relocated.

 

First Tooth

UNO. with numero UNO.

All Day and All night.

a few of my favorite things - in the new house.

 - the way the sunlight filters through the trees in the early evening - the leaf shadows dance around the dining room. the house is super bright and FULL of light.

- the dark, iron/copper-ish light fixtures. a majority of the fixtures go together - yay for constancy!

- i love the banister and stair which are really wide - kate uses the banister as a horse corralling area.

 

where rubber meets the road.

 

we are ecstatic about our sidewalk! sidewalks lead places...and where the sidewalk ends, poems begin.

our street has a slight curve on and incline. kate can ride two houses up to the corner and "coast" down at a good speed. she *loves* to coast.

this is her coming to a stop which kind of skidded ...and then she fell over. poor thing was trying to not run into her silly mom who was taking photos of her. 

can you see inside the little pack... there is a squished little kitty and a bag pork rinds!

key to my heart.

the day the movers came and moved the bulk of our stuff Kate went to hang out with some friends - when she came home we gave her own key and let her open the door to the new house. She was thrilled. the best photo is when she is chatting about her plans for her room on the doorstep and her key is hanging from her pink ... so chill. 

she is just plain cool sometimes.

tea time.

we have been busy moving and going in a million directions. the perfect way to stop and take a little moment was a tea party with Great Grandma Wachter.

the best part was that we arrived and Wanda suggested baking an Angel Food cake. It was a new recipe she had been wanting to try but had not had the opportunity while caring for Great Grandpa.

Kate, who had come straight from a two hour play-date with friends at a very busy loud playscape, settled right into the kitchen and the calm quiet kitchen. She had been so distracted and "wild" toward the end of the play-date... I think she was thrilled to be in a quiet space and getting so much on on one time with Great Grandma. They ran the kitchen and i stayed out of the way. I was amazed to see how well the worked together. Kate chatting away but attentive to every direction Grandma gave.

I think it was a special time for Kate because she has since talked ALOT about the cake baking & tea time. Angel Food cake was Great Grandpas favorite and he taught Kate about Angel Food cake. He also had tea parties with her a while back. 

Brad and I chose not to bring Kate to see him at the hospice or the memorial - there was so much change happening in her life and it was clear that she needed to not add those to the list. Though we did speak openly about his passing. 

This tea-time seemed to prove special for Kate, she was able to talk and remember great grandpa with great grandma...make his favorite cake and be in his home.

Wanda says she misses him but everything she does, the life she built, it was with him and she enjoys knowing the pieces of him that remain in her life. sweet memories.

*great grandma checking out kates' painted nails which she did herself*

broomballin'

Our youth got challenged to a broom-ball game by another youth group and we totally took the challenge! It was an awesome afternoon - full of misfitting helmets, handmade shirts, and LOTS of falling.

here's the cheering section: 

kate her friend where more interested int he ipad games...

actually kate really wanted to be on the ice but being on the ice during the game was CLEARLY not a good place for a 5 year old...we tried. 

yes that is me - with one of the last few helmets available...you HAD to wear a helmet to be on the ice...so i grabbed the bungie cord from the car to keep the shell of plastic on my head. it did NOT protect my head from bouncing on the ice.

i didn't think i would have so much fun, I prayed enough kids would come that i would not HAVE to play. but i found myself wanting to play so bad. i traded my camera for a stick and was having a blast until i went to defend and looked up to see Brad - Normally I would wait for the other team to hit the ball and I would block/intercept it - but this was BRAD - i couldn't let him get to the ball. So I went for it and went for it a little too hard. 

Lost my footing and my feet FLEW out from under me.  Landed flat on my back bouncing my head on the ice a few times. nice.

this freaked kate out a little.

and this is why Brad and I should play on the same team and not against each other. my head stopped hurt fairly quickly but my neck and upper back are quite sore. 

yay for broom-ball. yay for jimmy-rigged helmets. yay for ice in your pants.

 

 

new... everything.

everything seems to be changing and new... and challenging!

so as if a new house, neighborhood, new things to be learning, kid heading to kindergarten...I have decided that I need some new fashion inspiration. Two weeks ago I set out on a new challenge - 365 days of skirts. 

Initially I called it 365 days of No Pants...but it sounded all kinds of wrong. 

Basically I am determined to wear skirts and dresses until next May. My hope is that it will challenge me to think beyond my go to pair of jeans, establish a new feel & look for my wardrobe and maybe just maybe get used to a more feminine style.

we will see. more of a fashion experiment than a challenge.

I have already learned a few very important things. For instance, wearing shorts under your skirt in this breezy Texas city is a must. Yes, the windy day has always been a challenge with skirt wearing - but it didn't seem to be a big deal when i was only sporting the skirt on Sunday morning for a few hours. 

Now I wear a dress shopping and to the park and even to broom-ball & biking riding. YIKES! Trying to hold kate's hand, talk of the phone and carry a bag proved difficult the other day as my skirt whipped around in the ridiculously gusty wind...I am sad to the patrons of Schlotzky's saw more of me than I would have liked. 

Lesson number #1 - wise women shorts under skirts.

Lesson Number #2 - my chucks go great with skirts.

Lesson Number #3 - i feel more like a super-mom when i carry the groceries in - play tag in a skirt. If I was wearing jeans it would be no big deal - almost expected...but in a skirt, well I am just going beyond the call off duty by being cute AND still sweating.

I am sure there are more lessons to be learned - can't wait to learn them.

*Dress: Made by me last year, Cardigan: Sweater from Target I cut  down the front to make a cardigan, Belt: I think it's target...snagged at Goodwill and the altered to fit me, Boots: Maurices