These days...

These days, life is so good. Kate is a perfect mix between affectionate and independent and I am really trying to appreciate the simplicity of now. I know life will only get busier, but right now is so good.

Here are a few pictures to show what Kate has been up to...

Oh this sock! It's one of my mom's (clean) slipper socks and Kate carries it everywhere, hangs it around her neck, and will walk up to us, hold it out, and stick out her foot for us to put it on her. We do, then she waddles around with one foot covered in a big ol' floppy sock. 

She LOVES jewelry right now. Everyday, she notices earrings we are wearing and gently pulls on them, "ahhh"ing. She also loves to carry these Mardi Gras beads around and put them on, take them off.

Remote controls are still a hot commodity, as are our phones because she LOVES when we play music from them. She'll walk up to me with my phone, hold it out to me, and start dancing. Get the tunes on Mama.

She does this all the time! She hasn't learned how to completely roll over, but she'll stand like this for a while and sometimes we'll roll her over.

 I don't know how I don't have a picture of it, but she can climb ANYTHING in 2 seconds flat. Well, I guess I don't have a picture because I tear across the house to catch her before she face plants off the couch while she's STANDING after she climbed up there. That happened.

She used to love being carried up and down the dock, but Pop Pop someone let her walk it herself, so now that's ALL she wants to do. It's fine though, she's good about letting us hold her hand :)

Sometimes I leave for work before Brett, so he'll take her on a "ride" as I leave so she doesn't fuss. If she cries, I pick her back up and snuggle her and I'll do this as many times as necessary :) 

Maybe I'm a wimp, but when she cries because her Mama leaves, it breaks my heart. I also don't believe in sneaking out of the house. Not good for her trust.

Dog bowls - as soon as the dogs finish eating, she immediately has to reach up and hand me the empty bowl. According to Kate, empty dog bowls can't stay on the floor.

And don't mind the outdated chair cushions - they are now recovered :)

I try to rotate her toys, storing some away for a while because I don't want to live in a daycare, and she gets so excited all over again about "new" toys. We opened this cabinet the other day, and she was THRILLED with all of her old new toys and actually sat and played for about 20 minutes!

Sometimes when we're walking around, she'll reach up and grab my hand. Sweet girl!

Loves to stand at the back door, watching Dada do yard work or the dogs running around. She sure loves Maggie, and they "talk" to each other through the door :)

And we've been watching some GATOR FOOTBALL!! Not the prettiest performances so far, but a win is a win so we'll take it!

I am really enjoying this stage - Kate learns things so quickly and it's amazing to watch her little mind go. Her personality is shining, and she definitely knows what she wants...and isn't afraid to let you know! I love that she can walk so well and has started showing some interest in her toys. Sometimes she'll even come climb in my lap for a book and lets me read her a couple of pages. She finally took a bottle from me for the first time at about 13 months. She loves going places in the car - kicks her legs and gets so excited when we walk towards the car. She also likes "face timing" with Brett when he worked late and sometimes even cried when we had to hang up. She cracks up when we stick our tongue out and loves being chased. She claps and gives high-fives and gets the hiccups whenever she laughs hard. I love her more than anything in this world.

She had her 1 year checkup (at 13 months) and her height was above the growth chart and her weight was about the 35th percentile. Long and lean!