Kate dressed up as a Princess today!

...for a minute...Kate asked me to help her dress as a Princess. This was quite a moment for me, ripe with photo opps., however Kate wasn't really into it, as you can plainly see. The next minute, she had stripped off the princess gear, except for the purple fancy, fluffy dress shoes and decided to be an mailman instead. That would have been a better picture in hind sight.

Happy Mother's Day

photo credit:P.Haver

This weekend we went to visit Mamoo and Grandad in Maryland. Kate had a total blast and was quite sad to leave. We have been having quite a lot of dialogue about consequences lately and she couldn't wait to tell her Mamoo and Grandad all about consequences. For example, the night before she wouldn't pick up her toys and was told that the consequence would be for Mommy and Daddy to take her buddies (stuffed animals) out of her room. That consequence hit it where it hurt as Kate holds two categories of her toys above all others: her buddies and her books. Anyhow, when Grandad accidently locked Kate and Mamoo out of the house, Kate was quick to point out that there should be a consequence for Grandad. The consequence quite logically was to take Grandad's toad(a quite ugly garden statue sort of thing) away. She was relentless with the consequence and she is now upstairs now sleeping with Grandad's toad...

Before we headed back to NC, we stopped in DC for a visit to the Natural Science Museum. Kate loved the museum, especially the dinosaurs. Here are two pictures of Kate holding some bugs-I really don't know where she gets this fascination for all things creepy crawley...

The Birds in North Carolina

Perhaps not the best place to post inside jokes, as this might seem odd, but this pic. was just too good not to post. Game Over!

Now It's Crocodiles...

Kate now is in love with this huge crocodile. And yes it is a crocodile, not an alligator. She has been carrying it around for days and sleeping with it every night. We bought it for her Peter Pan party (Tic-Toc the crocodile which will "swim" in Meramaid Lagoon.) I haven't been able to pry it from her hands. She gets many a stare as we go through our day while she is carrying this thing. It is quite a conversation starter.

This, hopefully, won't be my defining moment

O-k, I am so embarrassed that I have succumbed to the "theme" party. I am now among the ranks of uber-soccer moms that plan intricate theme filled parties. The thing is that I tried to leave the planning for Kate's 3rd birthday as a backyard BBQ, nice and easy. But Kate has been on me for weeks now, as she attends her friends’ parties and begins to see the theme element to a party, to have a Peter Pan Pirate Party. Now, I know, perhaps in partly in disbelief and part in sadness, that my girl, Kate, is not interested in pink fairies, tutus, princesses, baby dolls, or even ponies. (I have a sneaky suspicion she is just being contrary for my sake-you know a prequel to those teenage years-I mean what little girl would rather dress as a pirate than a fairy?) She's more turned on to snakes, lizards, and pirates. But for some reason, I just can't bring myself to plan a pirate-themed party for my 3-year-old girl. I know I shouldn't succumb to those gender stereotypes, but come on-a pirate? So, I made up basic invites and had them addressed and ready to go, when I heard her tell her Mamoo(Grandma)-that she, "really wanted a Peter Pan Pirate Party but Mommy said it just was too difficult to do." I heard it as a direct challenge. Damn it, the things that you find yourself doing for your child.....

This is probably why you don't see many children flying kites anymore

Please note that this is filmed in double speed. The whole ordeal probably took close to an hour. I thought it was funny, and I have been playing with some new editing software...

The Jungle

It may not be evident by the picture, but she really did have a great time at The Jungle. The main reason being two-fold 1) the monkeys and 2) she was able to eat chicken fingers like for seven days straight (thank goodness that chicken is international cuisine)!!

We're back from a terrific week in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. Here is a highlight video from our week. The full-length feature will be coming out this May:) Sorry to say, the video quality doesn't do a justice to the real thing.

And here are some random shots...Again, our photographic skills can not match the beauty of this paradise, so I won't bore you with any of the 5 zillion shots we have of monkeys, sloths, birds, lizards, iquanas, sunsets, rain forest canopies, ocean views, quaint Central American towns, sparce infrastructure, the astounding view from our bungalow, etc., etc.