Has it been a year?

Wow... time flies when you're having fun. And even if you're not. Fast forward to another Valentine's day already behind us (this time Mommy BOUGHT Dr. Suess Valentines for the regular ed 6th graders... and only hand-painted those for the eight SpEd classroom students).

Most significant happening of late? Katera was invited to her FIRST EVER birthday party! Can you imagine how thrilled we were? Yes, it was a fellow South Ridge Elementary classmate... and yes, it just so happened to be Andrew, who is also *sort of* family, in that his older sister is married to Katera's older brother... but it still counts, right? It was a bowling and pizza party at Big Al's in Vancouver. Daddy took her, since Mom had a long standing doll-making playdate scheduled for the same day.

We were unsure what to expect from Katera. Would she care at ALL about the bowling? Would she look at the ball, or completely ignore the whole thing, overwhelmed by the noise and activity of a rowdy bowling alley?

Well.... no worries! She LOVED it! They had those adaptive ramps which were perfect for both Katera and Andrew.... all they had to do was have their dad's line things up, then push their ball down the ramp. Katera sent her ball down the lane (inflatable gutter bumpers in place) and just LAUGHED and LAUGHED as she watched it roll down to the pins and knock them down. She was so excited, she didn't want to wait her turn and would head over to try picking up another ball! Here's a shot of Andrew getting ready for a strike...

 

 All in all, great fun for all.... even the arcade had a number of activities that Andrew and Katera could both do. Her favorite was the Spin 'n Win ... and the Wheel of Fortune!

We'll be back, Big Al! We're thinking regular bowling dates from now on with the Griffins. Thank you, Andrew, for inviting Katera!

Okay, well...

Katera's been in the ER and/or ICU twice since Halloween.... , and just this week, had one dandy allergic reaction to yet another seizure drug. This girl's body just does NOT like Big Pharma! Today is the school Valentine party and she is well enough to be there to hand out the artsy, hand-made Valentines that Mom made (she refuses to buy those cheesy Hannah Montana ones at the store). Here's our girl, doing a "Glamour Shot" yesterday after Jackie gave her a nice, relaxing massage. Ahhhh...

Trick-or-Treat!

This is Katera's first year going out trick-or-treating with a friend!

She was a leopard... thanks to mom's great luck at Value Village. It was a beautiful, warm, dry evening... despite predictions of rain. Great fun was had by all!

Another one bites the dust...

Karl found another "Farmer Says" See 'n Say toy at Goodwill on Saturday. Katera was with him and practically went berserk when she saw it.

So many Farmer Says's, so little time to break them all! Oh, well... 99 cents is a small price to pay for a few days (or minutes) of bliss.

This one lasted a whole 48 hours! So, if anyone out there is wondering what to get Katera for Christmas, just shop Goodwill and look for a See 'n Say... the old-fashioned, non-electronic ones with the big lever on the side like this one. But don't pay more than $1.99! :)

School Daze

Here I am, getting on the "short bus" with my beloved Tammy... my own private driver and classroom assistant extraordinaire. It was a long summer... just me and Mom. Thank goodness I get to do something different!


Wherever Tammy goes, I go! And, I get the front seat!

Current Obsession: Froggie

So, you noticed that I got a little intimidated by putting the entire chronology of Katera's life here, in order? I decided to just pick up with NOW... and move on. Maybe I'll digress into remembering the past at some point, but right now it's all I can do to keep up with her on a daily basis. Hey! It's summer vacation!

So... here is Katera's favorite toy.


Froggie was a gift from my good friend, Lynn, when Katera was born... way back in 1996, and has remained a favorite ever since. It's her "must have" at bedtime, and the rattling sound of Froggie, being shaken is what we often hear through the monitor, first thing in the morning. He's a little worse for wear these days! :)

Currently, she's been obsessed with playing with Froggie... shaking him, tossing him, putting him in and out of things, throwing him and crawling after him, from room to room.

I Love a Parade!

Here I am with Daddy at the 4th of July parade.

Why go downtown? The parade comes to MY house!