Where did she learn that?

One of the most repeated phrases in our house is, "Where did she learn that?" Seriously. Kara is picking up words, ideas, and phrases that I don't remember teaching her. She is a little baby sponge. For instance...

I thought we could start working on letter recognition. We'd start with 'A'. Apparently she already learned some letters because later in the day she pointed out 'O' and 'T'. Where did she learn that?

We went to the park where some kids were playing soccer. She has never been interested in ball sports so I haven't bothered to encourage it. However, when Kara saw the other kids she screamed "soccer" and started kicking the balls. Where did she learn that?

Kara fell down the other day and bumped her knee. I haven't kissed her injuries, but she came to me crying and asking "knee...kiss".

Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but I'm a stay-at-home mom, and most of Kara's life is spent in my presence. It amazes me how quickly she will pick up on things and how she will suddenly recall something that happened days prior. Just another reminder that we need to stay on our toes. This kid is watching everything.

It's Autumn!

This week Kara has been learning about Autumn. She has been collecting dead leaves and acorns from the front yard, helping me make apple sauce, and playing fetch with cinnamon sticks. I'm not a fan of the last one, but Kara and Kermit think it's a great game.

We are also learning about pumpkins. Today, we went to Aunt Amber's house in College Station where we picked out pumpkins and decorated them.

Carson quickly realized pumpkins are heavy.

She's starting to look like a kid. What happened to our baby?

Kara and Carson decorating their pumpkins. A very happy mess of paint and glue.

Kara's pumpkin. The one-eyed booger.

We finished our visit with a jump on the trampoline. This day was too much fun to wear clothes!

Sharing the Potty

Potty excitement has hit the Fithian house! We're not potty training yet, but Kara is very good at telling us when she has pooped...mainly because she loves flushing it down the toilet. It's the little things that make her happy.

Our neighbor gave us a toddler training potty. Kara doesn't care to sit on it for long, but she will put her dolls and stuffed animals on it. Yesterday was Barbie's turn.

I walked into the bathroom, and Kara had a miniature Barbie doll sitting in the toilet (yes, "in the toilet," not "on the toilet"), and I asked Kara if Barbie was going peepee or poop. Kara said poop because that is her favorite. I told her that was nice, and as I was walking away, Kara turned to me excitedly and yelled, "BIG POOP!"

And there you have it. Barbie makes big poop. We never knew that. Don't worry, Barbie, everybody does it.

By the way, I promise to limit the number of potty entries, even though they are definitely some of the funnier stories that we have.

I want, I want!

Kara has mastered the phrase, "I want _________." Just fill in the blank. She wants cars, she wants Dada, she wants babies, she REALLY wants cookies.

On one hand, I'm excited that she has begun to use sentences. I also love that she verbalizes her desires. On the other hand, she has learned to repeat herself. So we will hear the same sentence about 20 times in a row unless we are able to fulfill that "want" immediately.

So much fun, right?

Lee and I are working on trying to find this funny because this behavior is honestly kind of annoying. And I've heard it just gets worse.

31 Years

A very happy 31st birthday to Lee! And yes, he does feel older. And yes, we put his candle in meatloaf.

Kara blew out the candle a few more times after Lee.

Family Camp

During my summers in college, I worked for a Christian camp called Pine Cove. Specifically, the family camp. This is where I was first encouraged to boldly live out my faith, and this is also where I began to learn that not every family is severely dysfunctional. In fact, they can be quite functional and intentional about glorifying the Lord. I loved observing and serving these families, and I hoped that I could one day go back as a camper.

Well, Lee and I had a kid, so off to family camp we went! Pine Cove, Week 9!

It was incredible! We loved it!

There is so much about Pine Cove that is completely awesome, but the craziest part is how the Holy Spirit is evident in everything that is going on. We watched callous and broken hearts change and heal over the course of the week, we saw a child with severe anxiety disorders open up and and become bold and outgoing, we were given clarity and peace over some of the questions and struggles we had been facing for a long time, Kara stopped freaking out when she had to go into a nursery setting (which is a major working of the Spirit). The counselors prayed over us before we came and with us during the week. We were pushed to move forward in our personal walks with the Lord, and encouraged to pour His love and model His grace in our family.

That is all the important stuff that happened at camp, but most of you have not been to Pine Cove and may think I am describing a Spartan camp out in tents, sitting around a fire and going on Spirit quests. My sister's exact comment, "I don't get it, do you just sit around on tire swings all day?"

Uh, no. Pine Cove is quite nice. We stayed in a motel-style room (A/C included), and we had delicious meals (not your average camp food). There were speaker sessions for the adults to attend during the week, and the kiddos went to their age appropriate programs. Kara was in the baby room/nursery where they played, sang songs, went swimming, took pony rides, and other fun baby things. They even kept the kids during naps so we could have some free time. During that time we had tons of fun activities to choose from like horseback riding, water rockets/skiing, paintball, zip lines, skeet shooting, arts and crafts, chilling out at the coffee house, swimming, bike rides, fishing, etc. If you couldn't find something enjoyable to do, you weren't trying. Lee and I did some of those activities, but we also rested and read our books.

The counselors at Pine Cove are amazing, not only because they spend their summer running around in 100 degree weather, sleeping in tiny bunks, and getting meager pay. But they serve with a holy dependence and joyfulness that is uncommon anywhere else. They provide rest for us, but they also provide an example of sacrifice and devotion.

Kara also loved Pine Cove. She thought it was fun to jump around with the counselors and do the cheers, she was fairly obsessed with watching the fish in the lake, and if there was a stage she was on it babbling into the microphone or dancing. By the end of the week she began to prefer the counselors to us which may have been my favorite part. There is something so special about seeing someone caring for your child with such love yet setting boundaries for them so they can feel secure. This means my kid had a great time and didn't become a crazy, whiny monster. Makes a mommy's heart smile.

OK. Picture time.

Kara playing on the top bunk bed.

Super hero theme night. We dressed up as Mario Bros. characters. Luigi, Mario, and Princess Peach. I got a hug from a little kid who thought I was really Mario. She was disappointed when I took off the mustache.

Kara wanted to wear a mustache too.

Playing on stage.

Kung-Pow theme night. Please note Lee's socks and sandals...if you can look past his awesome Kimono.

Master of baby kung fu. When she wears the outfit she goes around the house kicking the air and saying "yah!"

Hanging out in the coffee house during our free time.

New BFF Avery (8 year old). She and Kara would run off together.

Playing on the stage again. This time she found a microphone.

Carnival night. Kara got her face painted and went on the hayride while Lee played knock-out.

You can see the painted flower on Kara's cheek.

Lee playing knock-out...looking mighty fine with his backwards hat. It really does make him look younger.

Kara going off on her own. This picture is mainly to show you how pretty the camp is.

Pine Cove was fun!

Portlandia

We are done with plane travel for a long time. Lee, Kara, and I are still recovering from our recent trip to Portland, OR for cousin Kim's wedding.

People told us that babies sleep on planes. No. No, no, no, no, no. They're wrong. Kara took the four hour plane ride to mean four hours of non-stop attention seeking, jumping, kicking, and playing. By the end of the ride, Lee and I were spent. Luckily, we sat next to wonderfully understanding passengers who also took turns entertaining our little monkey.

Even with all of the attention, I can't say Kara enjoyed the plane ride. Five minutes into it she was telling us "all done". This was repeated at least fifty more times throughout the flight.

But four hours of crazy to get out of Houston in the middle of summer isn't too bad. The temperature in Portland was in the 60's, and Kara got to meet her northern Fithian cousins for the first time. Here's a picture of the entire group outside of the Wet Dog Cafe. This is Lee's dad's side of the family.

We had quite a few little ones to watch after. Between jumping out of windows, sneaking out of hotel rooms (Kara and Riley learned to open doors), and keeping them from running in the street we had our hands full.

Kara is very excited about her coloring.

The boys in back are planning their escape.

Connor and Ben doing what boys do...throwing giant rocks.

Kara decided to walk into the river fully clothed.

Owen is doing his drum solo on the restaurant mirror.

The wedding was beautiful, and we had a wonderful time at the reception. The kids danced until exhaustion set in and fits were thrown. Kim was a stunning bride, and she was such a gracious host to all of us. Her husband Chris is so fortunate to have her.

We didn't get any good pictures of the bride and groom. So here is a picture of a picture!

Kara and Riley going to the reception together.

Kara is dancing with Papo.

Who is going to get B's fancy necklace?

Trouble.

Like I mentioned. We were pretty tired after this trip. Here is Kara the day we left.