"I like Tiger Boy" (boy with painted face)
"I watch Monsters Aliens" (playing with "Missing Link" toy from McD's)
"I ride bug" (on bug-themed carousel)
"My Mommy" (to all children near her mother)
"I want to walk" ... "I sit with Mommy" (hopping down from bench next to Dad, walking around table and hopping up next to Mom at the pizzeria L&B Spumoni Gardens)

Kate's big event - she read (recognized) her first word, "Pizzeria," which she read off a sign on a store from the back of the car. She recognized the P and the Z's from having been to Uno earlier in the week.

"I playing hide-and-seek" (hiding behind armchair)
"I reading book" (picks up Fish Eyes and carries over) "I reading Fish Eyes"
"My Apatosaur" (carries over to read with dinosaur book)
"Baby time out" (punishing doll after receiving similar treatment post food-throwing)
"Sorry" (capitulating after third time out)

Isabel made a new friend last week, and we're having her over for a play date soon. She is only 1 week younger than Isabel and talks just as much. They live a couple of blocks away, which is nice. I decided I needed to socialize Isabel more, since she has a tendency to scream "MINE!" at any child who wanders near her. This is, of course, because at home she constantly has to defend her turf lest her toys be yanked out of her hands or she be pushed off of whatever toy she is riding. It is hard living with a three year old who thinks she is the boss. However, Isabel can defend herself. Last week another child tried to take a toy away from her when we were at an indoor play space. She yelled, "Stop it! MINE!" and got her point across. As a result, I decided Isabel should make more friends and I have been taking her places while Kate is in school that other toddlers hang out.

Kate has been exploring the concept of death much earlier than I expected. A teenager died in the park across from our house when he chased another kid and collapsed from a heart attack. His friends set up a memorial with flowers and candles, and of course, every time we pass by Kate has more questions about it. I decided on the honesty approach. "How did he get dead? Why did his heart break? My heart doesn't break when I run. Does your heart break? Do kids have hearts that break? You are a grown up, will your heart break? (Only really old people have their hearts break - 80 or 90) How old are you? Oh, you're a kid grownup. (Right)"

She got her MMR shot, since her egg allergy has calmed down quite a bit since last August. The allergist gave us the go ahead. She seems fine so far, but I hear it takes a week for side effects to set in. Now that we have the go ahead to eat wheat with abandon (her wheat allergy went away, yay!), her food options have really opened up. I can stop feeling guilty whenever she has a goldfish. Hopefully now we can get her back up in weight. She was 31" and 20 lbs 8 ounces. Little sprite, isn't she?

Kate is doing well in school, although she has entered a rough patch. She had an incident that she is still quite upset about where she took someone's special Star Wars book and the other kids ganged up on her and yelled at her to give it back. It took her a long time to calm down and she had to miss art that day. Every morning she tells me she wants to quit school and she doesn't want to go, but when I pick her up she likes it again. I guess it will just take time to forget about the incident.

Kate is getting even more and more independent. She does everything by herself, including getting dressed, which would be nice if only she'd dress for winter. Instead she comes down the stairs in shorts. She is so optimistic. She told me that we should go to a hotel with a swimming pool until summer comes. I think she is right.

You can definitely tell Isabel has a big sister. She likes to yell "MINE!" at other kids who come near her because she is convinced one only approaches to steal toys. She has learned to navigate the slides at the playground by herself and she LOVES the sandbox. This time we learned our lesson and bought our sand toys at Target the minute we saw them. Last year we missed our chance and did without. I have learned to embrace the sandbox, because I have discovered I can sit at the side and chat with other moms while Isabel is entertained for an hour. I couldn't do that with Kate, because she insisted on putting sand in her mouth, and I didn't want her to get dirty. I have given up on that dream.

Kate has had a change of heart and informed me that she no longer likes pink. Now she likes blue and purple. What? At least I hadn't bought any spring clothes yet. She has also decided she can wear shorts and pants and doesn't always have to wear a dress. Phew!

Ingredients:

1 TBSP butter
1/2 TBSP minced garlic
6 cups potatoes
6 cups chicken stock
1 pint sour cream
1 cup milk
2 cups cheese
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large stockpot, melt butter. Add minced garlic and saute over medium heat until brown, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and potatoes and stir. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 25 minutes until potatoes are tender. With a hand blender, puree the potatoes. When smooth, add sour cream, milk and cheese until well-blended. Add dill, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and stir until combined. Return to boiling and cook for 5 minutes until thick. Makes about full servings. Serve hot with bread.

Isabel has decided she loves the balance beam. We joined the Y a couple of weeks ago, and they have an open gym session for toddlers three days a week. They have an ankle high balance beam, and Isabel took a liking to it. She walks on it over and over again, and does really well given that she has only been walking for two months. The last time we went she did the beam about 20 times and would hardly give other kids a chance. She also loves the balls, except she's not the best when they get away and the other older kids steal them away before she can get to them. Fortunately she has a big sister and she knows how to handle this kind of disappointment. She is going through a bit of an attachment phase, unable to cope when I leave the room. I wonder if she is getting sick again?

It was so cold here this weekend we mostly stayed indoors and played. We finally opened another Netflix account, and we're looking forward to the new on demand service.

Isabel has her allergy checkup in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to some good news, I hope. I want to hear that our efforts to keep her reactions at bay have been successful.

2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk
3 cups (one pound) frozen corn kernels
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add coriander, cumin and cayenne. Raise heat to medium-high, and add wine. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add potatoes, stock, milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Add corn and cook until tender, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Using a hand blender or blender, puree about 1/2 the soup mixture, until it reaches a texture you like. Stir, and season with salt and pepper. Add cheese and stir until melted. Can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to three days. Serve with cornbread or toasted garlic bread.

2/3 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup gluten free flour mix ( I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 TBSP potato flour or soy flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP water
3 TBSP canola oil
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease an 8x8 glass baking pan or line a standard 12-hole muffin tin with papers. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the water, oil, milk, and buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the butter to make a thick paste. Transfer to prepared pan or muffin tins. Bake 20 minutes for the pan and 10 minutes for the muffins. Serve hot.