Mommy:  Kate, do you want to play Mario Kart with me?

Kate:  No, Mommy, you aren't very good.  Have you been practicing?  I want to play with Daddy instead.

Daddy, concealing a laugh:  Kate, be nice.  You can play with Mommy.

Kate:  But Daddy, she falls down A LOT.

*  *  *

Song lyrics overheard (correct lyrics are in parentheses):

Beautiful one, I yuv! (love)
Beautiful one, by the door!  (I adore)
Beautiful one, I SO MUST SING!!!!!!  (my soul must sing)
-- from "Beautiful One"

To see you high and yifted up (lifted up)
Shining in the yight of your GORY... (light of Your glory)
Pour out your powdered yuv (power and love)
As we sing HOWEE, HOWEE, HOWEE!!!  (holy holy holy)
--from "Open the Eyes of My Heart"

To get full effect, screech off key with gusto, head thrown back, and eyes closed.

Audrey turned 1 on April 27th. We had a party for her at Grammy and Grandpa's house and then another tiny party at our place a few days later. How fast this year has gone!

Audrey is walking fast now, and can climb the stairs in approximately 45 seconds.  She is such a sparkly little personality. She just lights up around people and loves to laugh and interact with others.  She loves to open and close things, push buttons, clean up toys, make a mess again, and dance. Her favorite song is "I've Got The Joy...", the kid's Sunday School song. She likes the "and I'm so happy, so very happy" part, and does the hand motions. She is only marginally interested in TV, but loves the remote. She loves to look at books and push little carts and play with musical instruments. She points with two fingers which looks like a crazy gang sign and it cracks us up. She is obsessed with hair and will sit and brush my hair for quite a while, although it really hurts, not from the pulling, but from her whacking me in the head with the brush. She also loves to brush her teeth. She does not like teething or being forced to sit at the table too long. She wants me to hold her a lot, partly because she is clingy but also because it gives her a better view of the world.  She is "early to bed, early to rise" -- she starts getting crabby at 7:30 regardless of when she got up from nap, which can make some nights very interesting.  She's my snuggly little bug and my silly little imp.  I love her coppery blond hair and how it boingy curls in the back. 

Her current "words": Mama, Daddy, Katelyn, Bay-er, Aud-ie, Nana, Papa, Gaga (Grandpa), done, dogga, more, guck (cup), gack (snack), gacker (cracker), uh-oh, ilk (milk), ck (yuck), baba (bottle), per (diaper), out, bush (brush). She also signs more, please, cup, juice, milk, sleep, diaper, bath, pick up, all done, out, play, and probably some others I have forgotten.  She can throw a world class tantrum now, especially when she doesn't want to take a nap and really needs one, or if she is sick of the car seat.  But overall she is a really good sport, and reminds me of Paul in that she is basically very adaptable and good natured, and it takes a lot to really rile her up (but once you do, watch out).  She has been consistent since birth in that her default mood is "happy."  She is vibrant and delightful and keeps us hopping!

Current food likes include: cheese, pears, crackers, ham, strawberries, mac and cheese, blueberries, grapes, bananas, chicken nuggets, pizza, spaghetti, guacamole, beans, and ANYTHING dipped in ketchup.  In fact some days I suspect all she eats is ketchup, licking it off of whatever she dipped in it, and then throwing the main food on the floor to be gobbled up by the dog before I notice.  Right now she is cutting molars and is super picky about her food - some days nothing sounds good but ice chips.  (We survived this stage with Kate so I am less worried about it the second time around.)  At her 1 year checkup she weighed 19 lb 4 oz (25%) and measured 30 1/4 in (80%).

Watch out world, here she comes!  We love you, sweetheart pie!

Katelyn:  Mommy, I drew you a picture!

Mommy:  Thanks honey, can I see it?

Katelyn:  Look, I wrote a word right here.  M - O - O.  That spells Amy!

We did bluebonnet pictures again this year.  It was super windy and kind of overcast and I didn't get any spectacular pictures, but everyone was primarily happy and there were no ants.  So that translates to success in my book.

Kate and Noah share a kiss.  Daddy will probably flip out when he sees this.

It was impossible to get them to all be still and look toward the camera.  I don't know how those school picture people do it.  We tried everything.  Crystal even brought a whistle.

After picture time we went to the park and had a picnic then played.  Three buses of elementary school kids showed up but fortunately they were not allowed on the toddler playground.

You can find the entire set here.

So she's really walking now.

This video is from Friday. Since then she has improved tremendously and can now walk 3-4 feet before falling. I expect she will be running by next week. Yes, that's veggie tales music in the background. Yes, the light's weird, because Mommy doesn't really know how to use the video camera that well. And yes, that is a giant tea stain on our carpet. We like it. It's one of a kind.

OH MY GOSH.  This is going by too fast.  Is she REALLY that close to being a year old?

I call her my sugar because she is so sweet.  She gives great hugs and well-meant although very drooly and kind of bite-y kisses.  She's very very busy but always takes time out to give a great big smile to everyone.

She's crazy smart in the same way that Paul is.  I am amazed at her problem-solving skills and how she figures out how things work.  Recent examples:

• Refrigerator magnets: she loves to feel the pull as she holds them close to the fridge, and giggles to let them go mid-air and watch them snap into place.
• She can "do" a simple puzzle, that meaning she knows where everything goes but simply lacks the coordination to actually get the piece in the hole.  She sort of lays the pieces on top of the holes.
• She wanted to walk across the kitchen one day so she dragged a kitchen chair along with her for support.
• I gave her a snack trap with treats inside.  Instead of reaching in to get the treat and pulling her hand out, she grabbed it so the rubber lid was completely open, then shook all of the treats out.  So much for that.

Currently, she is refusing to nap, so I'd better cut this short.  She's a handful, but she's a delight!

Edited the next day to add:  Princess Smartypants also ran out of banana at lunch whilst Mother was away from the table, so she grabbed the banana off the table and started eating it like a big kid.  Mother returned to find Her Highness burying her face in the banana, raking her fingernails down the sides of it, trying to peel it.  Not sure how much peel was actually ingested.

In other news, a suspect only known as Little Miss Trouble went on a 10 minute destructive rampage this morning that included emptying an entire box of baby wipes and eating dog food.  She is still at large.  Rumor has it that a massive diaper explosion may occur later in the day.

So this past weekend we celebrated Easter.  It's always a very special time for our family, because we celebrate Jesus and His resurrection.  But this year was more special than ever because of what it meant for Katelyn.

Kate's been asking questions about Jesus for a while now.  She knows that Jesus lives in Mommy's and Daddy's hearts and that He helps us.  She knows that the Bible is God's word and that we seek to obey Him.  She knows that as much as she wants to do the right things, she is not strong enough to do it on her own. 

So last Wednesday night before bed, Katelyn decided that she wanted Jesus to live in her heart too.  She asked Daddy to help her, and they prayed together.  She is forgiven and loved and free.

She's still got a natural bent toward sin; we all do.  But already, when she does mess up, there is a change in how she handles it.  They are subtle changes, probably ones that no one else would notice, but that we as parents saw immediately.  She submits more readily to parental authority, with much less drama.  She has greater awareness of how her actions affect other people, and shown true repentance for wrongs.  There is evidence of God working in her heart.  On Easter, Paul asked her how her heart feels now with Jesus living inside.  She thought about it for a minute, then said, "It feels kind of like loving and sharing."

As she matures, she will no doubt grow spiritually.  She'll be learning her whole life long.  But what a blessing to see my sweet child embrace the truth of salvation at such a young age. 

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14