Cate lately

So I've posted a lot of pictures from the summer (and I'm sure there are plenty more), but I haven't written much about what the kids are like these days. The dawning realization that Max will be going into 2nd grade next week has me feeling the need to preserve some details about who these little people are now so that I won't forget. I looked through Max's elementary school yearbook today and noticed (1) that he looks totally different than he did just in the fall of last year and (2) that the 4th and 5th graders don't even look like little kids anymore! They look like pre-teens! I can't believe that this will be Max in just a few short years. It all just happens so fast.

At least my sweet Cate is still little for now ...

And, though she is growing by leaps and bounds, she tells me all the time that she "just likes to be little" :) This might seem an odd thing for such a strong-willed girl to say, but I assure you it has everything to do with the fact that she is scary smart and has already learned that when a grown-up says "Don't you want to be a big girl and _____" they are inevitably trying to get her to do something she has already said she does not want to do. Ex.:

Cate: "Mommy, I don't want to go to school"

Me: "Cate, you're a big girl now and big girls get to go to school. Don't you want to be a big girl and go to school?"

Cate: "Mommy, I not big. I little. I just like to be little." { stinker eyes, followed by power-play smile }

Oh, I love her anyway!

Cate is talking all the time now around the house, and is in the super fun stage of experimenting with new words! This week she has been really into the word 'exactly.' She uses it all the time: "Mommy, can I have one of those exactly?" (said while pointing vaguely in the direction of the snacks) "Mommy, I not ready to go to bed exactly." And my favorite: "OOWWWW EXACTLY!!!!!!" (after taking a bite of too hot oatmeal).

Cate is also learning that it might be a good idea to consider things carefully before doing everything her brother asks her to do (a valuable lesson indeed!) Just a few weeks ago, Max could count on Cate to answer "Max, of course" in response to his question: "Cate, who is awesome??" :D But this week, I heard her pause and answer "Mmmmax and Cate". By the end of the week, she was just answering "Cate". Max is up in his room working on a new gimmick now.

Max and Cate have also gotten into a few little squabbles as of late which (oddly enough) I love! For the longest time Max was the only one talking. Now, little missy stands up for herself and puts Knoxville's Big Talker in his place when need be. Squabbles are few and far between, though. In general, Max and Cate have an adorably close relationship & can spend entire afternoons playing imaginary stuff together. Our furniture may be (is) worse for wear, but scenes like this make me happy :)

teamwork on the couch fort!

Cate will also be going to preschool 2 days / week at the beginning of September! She has gotten pretty used to being at home, and really resisted the idea at first (see above conversation), but I'm working on her daily and she seems to be coming around! I'm not going to say whether there are bribes involved or not ;D Cate will also be joining a soccer team later this month! She always loved watching Max when he played and kicking the ball into the goal at his practices. I hope she enjoys playing soccer as much when it's for her own team!

Here's a pic of Cate just after we got home from the Upward soccer evaluation. We just took her to see if she did, in fact, know what she was talking about when she said she wanted to play soccer. She did.

Doesn't she look fierce?

Well, that doesn't even come close to covering everything. But, at least it's something. Something special.

p.s. Cate's problem ear (her right ear) cleared briefly this summer - long enough for us to get confirmation that, when it's clear, Cate can actually hear out of her right ear!!!! This was great news considering we had never gotten anything but a poor hearing test on that ear. Unfortunately, we are still struggling with a lot of ear infections :( Hoping for a better year in this department.