Fun Times

My friend Sunee gave me the idea of yogurt-based finger paints (just plain yogurt mixed with food-coloring). Kate had a great time trying this out. ("What?! You mean I can make a mess with this stuff? Sweet!") Although, I have to admit Kate's attention span is somewhat limited. It took me way longer to set this up than the time she spent actually painting. But hey, we have fridge art to show off now.

Kate's newest toy is a baby doll stroller that I got from Once Upon a Child (resale shop near Anderson Mill & 183) for $3.50. She LOVES to push it around the house and even stops every so often to give her baby a drink from her sippy cup.

Last weekend, my parents visited to celebrate my Mom's birthday. As always, Kate loves playing with her Grandma and Grandpa. On Sunday afternoon we took a ride on the Cedar Rock Railroad. It was a nice to be outside and enjoy the great weather we're having.

Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed the train ride too.

Having fun with Adelaide

My friend Sunee posted some pictures of her daughter Adelaide and Kate from a playdate last week. Check them out here.

New Pics

Here are a few recent pics of our now 16 month old -- growin' like a weed.

Kate was pretty excited to get her very first baby doll (here she has it in a bjorn-like carrier). It's fun to see her starting to "pretend" play. She takes her baby for walks in the stroller, feeds it, and tucks it in for night-night.

Below Kate's enjoying a hearty meal of chili mac and peas. If there's one thing our kid is good at, it's eating. She's got a VERY healthy appetite and isn't very picky, which I'm thankful for, but she's pretty much terrible at chewing. I think she loves food so much she just wants to swallow it and move on to the next bite. Makes for some interesting diapers.

And here Kate is doing the macarena. Seriously, I don't know what she was up to here but it made me laugh and I snapped a pic.

July & August Videos

The entire Benefield household has been under the weather for the second half of July and first part of August, so blogging has taken a backseat to wiping noses and dispensing Maalox. Kate turned 15 months old on August 3, and she is certainly keeping us busy these days. Here are a few recent videos...


Kate and her friend Adelaide dancing and being silly--they get along so great these days:

Josh captured video of Kate pushing the laundry basket back and forth in our bedroom, and for some reason she thought it was the coolest thing ever and decided to lend some sound effects:

This last video illustrates how Kate finishes her lunches lately. We're in a transition from two naps to one, and she's feeling it...

A week with Grandparents in the Country

Last week we traveled to Elkhart to visit my parents and celebrate my 30th birthday. The plan was for Josh to leave on Sunday to go back home for work, and Kate and I would stay for a few days longer. Josh wound up getting sick while we were there, so he didn't get to partake in any of the birthday celebrations. :( He did go home and was sick all alone with no wife to give him Pepto and tell him not to eat tabasco sauce on his noodles (long story.) Poor guy. The upside to the story is that Kate and I were able to avoid catching his stomach bug and enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing week in the country. Here's a few pictures to document our time.

Now don't gross out. That's just a melted Snickers bar. While in Elkhart I helped my mom host a baby shower for my cousin, and we played the "guess the melted candy bar in the diaper" game (which, by the way, went over great with that side of the family...they LOVE the potty humor). My brother thought it would be hilarious to give Kate one of the diapers and get her to taste it, then blackmail her with the picture when she's 15. Here we're trying to coax her to take a lick...her expression says it all: "You want me to do what??"

My 30th birthday with a sweet little munchkin by my side.

On my parents' back porch.

Kate and her playmate, Grandma, who thoroughly entertained Kate the entire week and even let me sleep in each morning!

It was really hot outside, so Kate spent time nearly every day cooling off in this wash basin on the porch. So country.

Picking tomatoes in the garden.

Taking it easy in the swing...ahhhh.

Kate had a blast running around and exploring. I know she can't wait to go back!

Cuteness Factor Through the Roof!

I ran into a mom in the mall the other day who said her favorite age for her children was from about 12 months to 18 months because they were fun, interactive, learning about the world, yet still free of toddler independence and attitude. I'm beginning to understand what she meant. I'm having such a blast with Kate these days. She is a ham and cracks us up all the time. I'm amazed at how quickly she learns. I want to cherish and remember these days, especially when the toddler attitude really kicks in and discipline gets tough.

Below are a few miscellaneous recent pictures of Kate:


When my parents were in town, my mom helped Kate play "dress up." Amazing what you can do with one dish towel and a clothes pin.


Enjoying a nice day at the park:

Okay, so she's not totally attitude free. :-) She's pointing to the little tikes slide on our porch.
I love this picture. She's so demure. "Oh, you just caught me getting out of the bath!"

Roomba Chasin'

I usually turn on the Roomba (i.e., robot vacuum cleaner) after we leave the house, but this time I thought it might be fun for Kate to check it out . . .