(Scene: Mommy is pretending to snooze.)  Katelyn (very agitated):  Mommy!  You can't nap!

Mommy: Why not?

Katelyn (very seriously): Because the house will fall apart!

***

(Scene: Mommy and the girls are headed upstairs.  Kate has Greenbear tucked under one arm, the other hand has a finger in her nose.)  Katelyn: Mommy, get my drink.

Mommy (arms overflowing with wiggly Audrey and various things to go upstairs): You can carry it yourself, honey.

Katelyn: No I can't.  I don't have three hands, Mommy.

***

Also, she has been saying "Zoo time!" a lot lately.  I finally figured out why, after I sneezed!  "Zoo time"=Gesundheit!

Birthday party pix uploading to flickr as I write this.  So blog entry soon to come.

BTW, Kate went to the dentist today and did great.  I asked about the weird bumps on Audrey's gums, and she said they are painful but we probably won't see many more come up, if any at all.  They are rare and typically occur on the roof of the mouth.

I took a few of the semi-recent Katelyn and Audrey studio pictures, and compiled them into a desktop background.  As before, I made them in various sizes to match your own computer's desktop.  To find out what yours is set to, right-click on your current desktop, select Properties from the menu, select the Settings tab, and check out what it says for Screen Resolution.

Click on your closest match, and when the image loads, right click on the image and select "Set as Background"

1024 by 768 Pixels

1280 by 960 Pixels

1280 by 1024 Pixels

1400 by 1050 Pixels

1600 by 1200 Pixels

Kate gives her best thumbs-up, the only cheerleading move she knows.

That's Audrey, the crying Dalmatian.

Lots of stuff to share with you!  First up:  Audrey turned 6 months yesterday.  We took some pictures in the front yard and she was uncharacteristically stoic.

Audrey is usually our little ray of sunshine, don't let the pictures fool you.  Her current hobbies include drooling, shrieking, and kicking.  She loves having her clothes changed and when you pretend to eat her leg.  She is finally starting to appreciate being sung to.  She hates having her face wiped and being buckled into anything.

Next up:  we got some video of the two girls playing after dinner, both of them in their usual hyper state.  Paul translated the Kate-speak with subtitles!  Audrey only shrieks once or twice in the video, but prior to us turning on the camera the blood-curdling shrieks had been going on for about 15 minutes.  It puts a smile on your face and a migraine in your head all at the same time.  Anyways, observe the cuteness:

And in Mommy news, I wore my finished handknit tunic to church today.  It's made of bamboo yarn and I am very proud of it.  It was a big knitting challenge for me since I'm still a beginner.  Mom, thanks for all of those sewing skills, they really came in handy.  I wouldn't have been able to figure out the garment construction without them!

I gave Kate this bear today.

This is what she gave me in return:

We'll see how naptime goes.  My big brave girl.

Audrey had her 6 month checkup today, and the doctor tells me that those bumps on her gums are NOT A TOOTH.  They are some kind of calcium deposit in her gums.  They are hard and painful but should go away.  I guess that explains the weird location!

She weighs 15 lb 3.5 oz and is 26" long.  She sure seems heavier than that when I pick up the car seat carrier!

Audrey teeth pic:

Isn't that weird for her to get those first?  The back one has the points already through- it's blurry but I think you can tell from the photo.  Yesterday I noticed that the eyetooth on the other side is coming up.  Poor kid - it's been rough.  But she is a good sport and today she was totally happy regardless.  BTW, she turns 6 months on Saturday.  It's going by so fast!

And here she is totally trashed in the Jumperoo:

Now for some priceless Katelyn quotes:

"Daddy and I are going to play Donkey Kong.  Audrey, you're invited.  Mommy, you do the dishes."

(after a fall) "Mommy, I hurt my yeg!  I need corn!"  (yeg=leg, corn=bag of frozen corn that I use as an icepack)

We took some great video of the two of them playing tonight.  Hopefully Paul can make that into a YouTube video this week so you all can see it.  Also, Kate's birthday is coming up soon and I am gathering gift ideas (for the family only, you friends know I don't want you getting gifts), so just be patient!  You have all given us so much it is very hard to find anything we need, still I understand the desire to get her something for her birthday.  We are planning to take her to Sea World as her gift from us.

Audrey has cut her first tooth!  And it is not at all where I expected.  I was so busy looking at the bottom front two hiding beneath the gums that I missed the one coming in on the side!  It is her left lateral incisor.  I am not sure how I am going to get a picture of it, might have to wait until it comes through a little bit more.

And she is signing!  She has signed "eat" a couple of times, and now she is signing "diaper" like crazy.  It's actually her version of the sign for diaper:  she slaps the top of her diaper two times.  Of course I thought it was a fluke at first, but after a full day of actually paying attention, it's obvious that she is signing deliberately.  I think she has probably been signing it for a while and I just thought she was flailing.  But now I can tell the difference, and when I recognize and respond, she gets so happy!  I remember this stage with Kate too.  It is so cool when they realize they can actually communicate with you.  It cuts down on the frustration for everyone. 

Check flickr for the latest pix of our trip to Sweet Berry Farms.  I am amazed we made it there at all, because we were running late then stopped to buy sunglasses then stopped for the potty then stopped for carsickness.  It was all worth it in the end.  A fun time was had by all.  Kate rode the hayride with Daddy and her friend Noah and his family.  She also loved exploring all of the pumpkins.  We really wanted to do the pony ride but the line was super long, and she did pony rides at Octoberfest in our neighborhood park just the weekend before.  (Paul has a few cameraphone pictures of this to upload sometime.)   Here are some more highlights:

Better late than never. She's only 5 1/2 months now. We've started fruits and vegetables! So far, carrots and sweet potatoes are a big hit - appropriate, given that her nickname is Sweet Potato Pie. Pears are ok, prunes are tolerated, and peas are a big thumbs-down. Or throw up, as the case may be. She is rolling tummy to back now a little, but it requires intense concentration. Her gums are really swollen, but when I give her ibuprofen and the swelling goes down, I can see the little clear line of her bottom two front teeth!

A pic from baby dedication:

And just some cuteness:

More on our flickr site!  Now, let's all pause a moment to soak in some Motherly Wisdom.

1.  Going to the bathroom is a privilege.  If you have the opportunity, take it.

2.  A happy heart is the most important ingredient for a good day.

3.  There is no such thing as too many stickers.