Katharine Lange: October 2014

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Leia The Comedian Movie - 10/23/2014

May I have your attention please! Leia has decided to debut her career as a standup comedian, and she has some very important things to say…

Leia The Standup Comedian! from Katharine Transue on Vimeo.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Leia Week 68: More Cognitive Development - 10/15/2014

Leia's communication skills really took a leap this week. She's had all the signs, but she figured out how to really put them together and how to use them in different circumstances. For example, we have always been working on "more" vs. "all done" in relationship to her food and meals, but all of a sudden when we were at the park, she climbed the stairs, went down the slide, had a huge grin, and then said "more please!" Then she proceeded to go around and do the whole circuit again and again, saying "more please" each time! It was so amazing! Also, whenever she's hungry she usually just asks for milk, but now she's really starting to distinguish whether she wants food or milk. We had a lot of fun play sessions with her this week and it was so fun watching her make these progressions.

Morning snuggles in bed with Dad…there is always so much to talk about!

Speed racer zooming off with her monkey lunch bag!

Sometimes you have to ditch your bike and check things out on foot…problem is, she literally ditches the bike and mom and dad have to carry it back home!

Exploring is so fun!

Perfect rainbow in Truckee this week…the picture doesn't do it justice, but it was really bright and you could see both ends!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Leia Week 67: Smart Cookie - 10/8/14

Watching Leia's development this week was really exciting. We discovered that she's big enough to ride her wood kick bike, and now it's absolutely her favorite activity! It only took a few minutes for her to figure out how to steer the thing properly, and then she was off, deftly maneuvering between the cars in the driveway and racing down the street so fast we actually have to run to keep up with her! Now she has to have at least 1-2 riding sessions per day or she gets very upset. The next cool thing that I found out about her was that she magically knows how to use the trash can. There was a little piece of paper trash on the floor, which she pointed out to me. I told her, "Oh that's yucky, that's trash. Do you want to throw it away in the trash can?" And what did she do? She picked it up, walked over the trash can, opened the lid, and threw it away! How did she figure that out all of a sudden?? It's not like we taught her. Really makes you realize how much they watch what you are doing and how perceptive they are! And finally, we've had so much trouble with Leia fighting us and screaming about diaper changes since she was 6 months old that people started telling us that she'll probably potty train early. So one day I was so sick of fighting her that I randomly decided to just ask her if she wanted to try to use the toilet. Why not, I didn't have much to lose…either she potty trains early and I don't fight with her about diapers or we are right where we started and waiting for the normal age. Well guess what, when I asked her, she said yes and walked straight over to the bathroom! Unfortunately, by the time I got the diaper off and got her on the toilet she had already pooped on the floor. Oh well. But seeing it kind scared her to see that happen, so I had to reassure her that it was all ok. The next morning I didn't even have to ask. All of a sudden she walked over to the bathroom door and pointed. I asked if she wanted to poop on the toilet and she nodded yes! Again, the timing didn't work out too well and we had all sorts of accidents on the floor, and she was really upset about the whole thing, but I was just so impressed that she knew what was going on and was willing to try. I guess the whole thing kind of traumatized her though, because now when I ask she says no and gets a little stressed. But on the bright side, she's not fighting me about the diaper changes anymore! I figure we'll wait a few weeks, hopefully she'll forget, and we can try again.

Sword fighting with Chelsea…"Off with your head!"

Big E loves his Aunt Kat…so far I've got the magic "quiet down" touch!

About 30 seconds of instruction was all she needed, then she was steering and racing like a champ!

I'm #1!

Running so fast she threw off her shoes!

Perfect Leia size pumpkin courtesy of Lizard!

These two stole my phone…little did they know that their crazy picture would land front and center on the blog!

Neither rain nor snow nor Steelers with get in the way of Leia's daily bike sessions!

Too bad she pulled off her new racing goggles because they are really cool!

Missing her old Monkey Bouncer…so much fun to go back use all her "baby toys"!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Leia Week 66: Finally the Rain Came! - 10/1/2014

With the big King Fire and all the thick smoke that's been blanketing all of Tahoe, it's been a tough couple weeks of being stuck inside. All of us were going a little stir crazy, but especially Leia. Finally the rain came, which was just what we needed to put out the fire, but it also continued to trap us a bit. When it finally let up, Leia had her first experience with puddle jumping, and let me tell you, it sure was fun! She officially turned 15 months old right at the beginning of this week, and we had a couple fun days of hot tub swimming. Also, our previously great eater (pesto chicken with couscous, middle eastern spiced eggplant with polenta, curry chicken salad sandwiches, eggs with salsa, salsa straight from the jar, etc.), has been a little picky and fussy lately, much to our distress. She only wants to drink milk, which, on the plus side, has gotten her to like whole milk more (as long as we mix in a little booby milk that is). Finally, after a particularly bad night, we figured it out…another new tooth popped through! That's 5 on the top, and still only 2 on the bottom. Josh and I also learned how to say "Thank You" in sign language, only to realize that Leia has known it and been saying it to us for quite some time now! She's so advanced!!

Looking stylie in her new fun fall clothes!

Mom, have you seen the rest of my hamburger?

Nice to snuggle up in a robe after a great dip in the hot tub!

Monkey in her arms and cats on her feet.

The only time she gets to watch the TV is when the steelers are on, and Josh has to tell her not to stand so close!

Mommy wrestling!

So jealous of that Downward Dog!

Leia's corner.

Little lunch break in the middle of a Reno wind storm…not very relaxing!

She's got her bag and she's outta here!

Uncle Josh finally gets a good little snuggle with Emmett.

Guess who's starting to smile!

Put your hands up and don't move!

Enough already with all the pictures!

Leia likes to push the stroller rather than ride in these days.

Puddle jumping with Linda and Grief!

Reading in bed!

One man band.

Soon she'll be good enough to put out a hat and make us some money!

Flying with Mom!

Leia's Got Rhythm Movie - 10/15/2014

True to her can't sit still nature, Leia loves to dance. She has loved to since day one. We have a previous video of her early dancing that is also posted on this blog, but now she's at a whole new level and picked up some fabulous new moves! I actually have another dance movie that I need to make of some moves that came before this, but this new video was so funny that it just couldn't wait. Please enjoy!

Leia's Got Rhythm HR from Katharine Transue on Vimeo.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Leia Week 65: The End of an Era - 9/24/2014

We had a pretty mellow week at home. Leia is very into dollies again, and she had a day at school where she wouldn't part with one of her favorites and had to bring it home for the night. Neither Josh nor I are too fond of these dolls because they are so featureless and lame. Oh well, what can you do. On the bright side, it's caused her to add a new word to her vocabulary - Baby! Leia is also really into this one purple and silver book of Nursery Rhymes that she just got as a present. She insists on having us read this book every time before bed, but again, Josh and I hate the book because it turns out nursery rhymes are very racist, sexist, and abusive (just go back and read See Saw Margery Daw, My Little Hen, and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe if you don't know what I'm talking about!). I think Leia really likes the pictures of this particular book because the same rhymes in a different book don't seem to be as interesting to her. She's loving running around the house and playing chase with Dad, being a little goof, and dancing. It is absolutely hilarious to watch her moves. We will upload some of the latest dance videos soon.

The biggest news of the week was that we finally cut Leia off from breast feeding. It was a really sad time for both of us. Well, more sad for me, Leia was just pissed. And now that I am no longer the best source of milk, she is starting to snuggle up to Daddy for comfort more and me less! I guess the punishment fits the crime, but it sure hurts:( We made it a good long stretch, 15 months, and even though I didn't really want to stop, it was probably a good time in her development. Now we are putting a big dent in our stored up milk in the freezer...I definitely thought those 3 huge boxes would last longer! Anyway, hopefully now we'll be able to start trying for another baby… I love you Leia, thanks for all our special feeding time together!