PHEW...

Mom got an email from BabyCenter.com on this and I was Super excited to read it. Hopefully this means paci can stick around for awhile longer!!!

Is it true that sucking on a pacifier or thumb ruins a child's teeth or bite?

Expert Answers
The BabyCenter Editorial Team
No, not unless it continues into the preschool years.
It's perfectly healthy and natural for a baby to suck, and fingers or a pacifier can come in very handy for soothing. A child is most likely to enjoy thumb-sucking or a pacifier during the years when she has her baby teeth, and there's no reason to worry about long-term problems with the teeth or jaw at that point.
It's a good idea to discourage thumb-sucking and pacifier use before your child gets permanent teeth, though. Continued sucking after that time can lead to problems with the front teeth tipping outward or not developing properly.
Permanent teeth usually start showing up by age 4 to 6, and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends that parents help children put a stop to these habits by age 3. (For help with the pacifier, see ten ways to banish the binky.)
If your child enjoys sucking on a pacifier or her fingers, talk with her dentist. He can monitor her jaw and teeth to make sure that they're developing properly.
One thing that's bad for your child's teeth at any age: dipping that pacifier in something sweet.


I LOVE PACI'S!!!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

Hugs and Kisses

I am a really affectionate little girl and I love to give hugs and kisses! Everyone loves my hugs and kisses! Daddy especially likes it when I pat him on the back when I give him hugs...so I do!

I love you!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

Cuddle time

I LOVE to cuddle!! It is so much fun to lay really close to mommy and daddy, but also a brilliant way to push off bed time!!! I have them figured out. They think it is so cute when I ask to cuddle they do it! When they ask me "what time is it Kate" I say "cuddle time" - even though I know they want me to say "nigh night time". I used to say "nigh night time, but not anymore...I have them fooled! Heehee!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

More bed time...

When mommy puts me down to bed she puts lamby, Bella, Mia and Ducky all at my sides. After she does that she gets two more pacis (I already have 3 pacis from when she rocky rocks me and hums and shh's) and puts them on my chest. She them puts 5 fingers over my face and says..."you have 5 paci's Kate" and then counts all 5 (one in each hand, 2 on my chest and one in my mouth.- unless I like to trick her that night and hide one). I then giggle, mommy says she loves me and we say nigh night.

I almost forgot...I now sleep on a big girl pillow in my crib.


"Good night mommy"

"See ya, goodbye"

"I love you mommy"

All things I say to mommy as she leaves the room after putting me down to bed. Mommy was so excited once I started to tell her these things at bed time.
Love,
Kate
xoxo

Bed time ritual...

Ever since I was a newborn mommy has performed the same bedtime ritual. She starts by humming "hey passer policeman"...or something like that - mommy does not really know the words right, so she has always hummed it. After humming that for awhile she starts saying "shh...shh...shh" in the same beat over and over again. I love it so much and look forward to the same bedtime ritual. Since she has done it thousands of times I have started humming and shh'ing with her. I love to do it and mommy thinks it is pretty funny. To make mommy really laugh while she starts humming I will tell her to start shh'ing and when she shh'es I tell her to hum....I am hilarious!

Love,
Kate
xoxo

The most perfect words

Kate usually sends all the blog updates, but this one was so special to mommy that I had to send it. Kate now says all on her own and at surprising moments...

"I love you mommy"

"I love you Daddy"

"I love you...Nama, Papa, Nama Vicki, Papa Dick, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Rob, Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Tom, Uncle Chris, Tom, Meghan, Anna, Murphy, Peanut, Gigi, Gipa, etc"

It is amazing how fast she is growing and how amazing she is.
Love,
Anne (mommy)
xoxo

Christmas Day!

Have I mentioned I LOVE Christmas?! I do! We got to Grama and Papa’s around 11:00 and had a great big breakfast that Grama made while we waited for everyone else to arrive! I showed Grama and Papa my new baby doll…I was allowed to bring one present with me to their house and I chose my baby doll! They thought she was really neat and we named her “Emily”!

Once everyone got there we snacked and then opened presents…something that I have learned takes a LONG time when you have so many people on the family! It was fun though! Tom and I acted like little elves and helped Papa pass out presents. It was so fun to carry the presents to everyone…especially the really BIG ones!

Once again, I got lots of fun presents…a baby doll that has a paci, a helicopter (yeah!... I asked for that a lot), a garbage truck (just like Tom), my first Cabbage Patch kid, these really cool dolls that have snap on clothes and lots of clothes to change them with, clothes, a dress up kit, and lots of other fun stuff! It was fun to see all Tom’s toys too…he got a really cool HUGE garbage truck – sometimes I really LOVE boys toys!

We had a great dinner of lasagna and Papa let us have some of his Godiva chocolates (yummy)! I got to stay up super late (even after all the other cousins went to bed) because we were not staying the night like everyone else…I was such a good girl too! I love a party and act like the best little girl so no one wants to put me to bed or have me leave before the party is over!

I am sad Christmas is over and my cousins Tom and Meghan and Uncle Tom and Aunt Carolyn had to go home! BUT…I love playing with all my toys and they will all be back in about 1 month! Tom and I are going to have our birthday parties together! It’s going to be Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme! I can’t wait! It is going to be February 6th…mark your calendars!

Love,
Kate
xoxo

Christmas Morning!

Everyone kept talking about Santa coming and they were right….he came to our house! He even ate the cookies we set out for him the night before and left me a really nice note! I woke up in mommy and daddy’s bed Christmas morning and was so excited when daddy reminded me that Santa came. The first thing I said was “did he eat the cookies”? We were all so excited that we did not even brush our teeth before we went downstairs…I could see from the balcony that Santa did come to our house and that he left me LOTS of toys! Whenever anyone would ask me what I wanted from Santa I would say “toys…a baby doll”! Guess what, he got me the coolest baby doll ever – one that talks, eat, and potties! I got so many things from Santa, mommy and daddy and I love it all! I got a table and chair set for my new playroom, a kitchen, shoes, kitchen food, kitchen pots and pans, dishes and lots of stuff to pretend with, and a big puppy, my very own pillow with my name on it. I got a giant Cinderella doll I love to carry around and dance with and lots of other stuff!

Murphy even got some fun presents I helped her open. I should mention that I love opening presents and I really got a hang of it after my first few! I do like to take breaks between openings though to play with my presents AND I want to open everything out of the boxes! Finally mom and dad had to put a rule that I could only open a few out of the box at a time…there was a lot of stuff everywhere!

Mommy made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and once we were done opening presents, eating and playing some we got ready to spend the day at Grama and Papa house with all the family! We had around 6-8 inches of snow and the roads were not good at all, so daddy had to drive careful...I reminded him of that by saying "careful daddy" and "whoa daddy" whenever I thought he needed a reminder! We got to Grama and Papa's safe!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

Christmas Eve!

Grama Vicki, Papa Dick, Uncle Chris, Gigi and Gipa all came to our house for Christmas Eve and I was so excited! This is the first Christmas Eve we have ever had at our house and it turned out to be a lot of fun! The weather was getting bad on Christmas Eve, so I am so glad everyone could make the trip to Kansas City. We ate lots of good food…appetizers (mom made me DIP!!), lasagna, Papa’s famous Caesar salad and bread and lots of good desserts (pies and cheesecake)!

Present time…Gigi and Gipa (my Great Grandma and Great Grandpa) got me lots of fun stuff…a baby doll and stroller, a really cool pretend fish tank that looks like it has real fishies in it, a mickey mouse doll and some other fun stuff! We opened their presents early so they could get driving back to Pittsburg before the blizzard came! Luckily, they got home safely….thank you for everything Gigi and Gipa! I love you!

Uncle Chris got me a leap frog learning system with books that go along with it, a pretty dress and some tights…you will not believe it, but a really nice lady (Aunt Molly) who works with Uncle Chris even sent me a present straight from NYC! She sent me the cutest Baby Gap outfit that is so soft and comfy! Thank you Aunt Molly…hopefully I will meet her one day!

Grama Vicki and Papa Dick got me too many presents to name…a baby doll thay goes in the bathy that I love (she even pees), lots of fun stuff to play with my babies, a pink fort, an easel and lots of coloring stuff, a table and chairs (that I helped Papa Dick put together), a microwave and lots of kitchen stuff, a medical kit and lots of clothes!! WOW….am I spoiled or what???

Since I got so many presents, mommy and daddy decided to turn the office/guest room into an office/playroom! I will have to show you pictures later, but it is so cool!! Daddy, Papa Dick and Uncle Chris all carried out the bedroom stuff to get my room all ready…YIPPEE!

The baby doll Grama and Papa got me that goes in the bathtub has a hole in its bottom – I was so excited to see this that I ran to the bathroom and got out my thermometer and put it on the babies bottom to take its temp…everyone thought that was really funny. I just wanted to make sure the baby was not sick!

Thank you everyone for such a FUN Christmas Eve and for all the presents. I love you all and can not wait until the next get together!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

More cousin pictures...

More about the cousins...

I almost forgot some fun details I never want to forget. Tom and I sang “Jingle Bell Rock” all week long and would wear the jingle bells Grama had around our neck and shake them as we sang! Grama and Papa kept trying to get pictures of them with all 4 of us kiddos…some of the pictures were really funny! Tom and I would help Papa with his famous Caesar salad and say “bam” (like Emeril) as we threw the parmesan cheese on the salad…we love to help Papa! We love to sit under tables or under the easel and pretend we are driving to “Hallmark” to see mommy at work…even when mommy is sitting right next to us. Tom and I both had highchairs in the kitchen and we would sit across the room from each other to eat meals...it was pretty funny!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

Cousins!

I just LOVE my cousins: Tom, Meghan and Anna and love it when we are all together! Everyone was here all of last week through Christmas and we had so much fun playing with each other! We played pool in Grama and Papa’s basement, read books, danced, played with toys, played hide and seek, I got to hold my baby cousins…we had so much fun!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

It's Christmas Time!

I think Christmas time might just be my favorite time of year (just like my mommy)! I get to go to lots of parties (and I love parties), all my family visits, there are lots of presents, we get to eat great food and I get to play with my cousins! I almost forgot…at this time of year it seems like Mom and Dad let me stay up later to party with them!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

Ponytail!

Mommy recently did my hair in a ponytail and pigtails for the first time. I did not let her keep them in very long though (I love to pull out the holders!)...even though mom and Dad said I looked SUPER cute! Here is a picture of the ponytail!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

Party Girl!

I love a party...just like my mom. Grama tells me she would love to stay up late and hang out with lots of people too! I was such a good girl for mom and dad Saturday night that they let me stay up until 10pm and party with them and their friends! I had so much fun and still talk about the party! I remind then that Mr. Chris picked me up and bent up and down! I played with Miss Lori, Miss Michelle, Miss Dawnielle and Miss Courtney! Everyone had fun playing with me!

Mom kept asking me "Kate, do you want to go night night" I would say "No night night mommy" and she would say "Okay"!!! It was SO cool!! They let me do anything I wanted as long as I was a little angel (and I was)! When is the next party??? I am ready!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

"Count to Three"

I really like to hide and do my business (poop that is). So, I try to have some privacy and when someone comes to me and asks what I am doing I say "count to 3"...so they can continue to give me more privacy! I learned "count to three" from Papa when we play hide and seek.

I love to play hide and seek...count to three!
Love,
Kate
xoxo

In the know...

It has been awhile since I did an update...here you go:

• I say "gross" to anything spooky or scary or ugly
• My favorite foods are dip, cheetos and cookies...."uh oh" says mommy!!
• When Papa Dick was watching me the other day I headed out the garage door and when Papa Dick asked me where I was going I said " Going to Jalepenos for Dip". My favorite food at my favotite restaurant....all the Horton's were proud when they heard!! Mommy thinks I have a lot of "Horton" in me....whatever that means!
• I love my cousins...and miss my cousins Tom and wish he lived in Kansas....or, even in Missouri like Anna. I ask if Tom is at Grama's all the time.
• I love baby dolls. In fact, if you ask me what I want Santa to bring I will say "presents", then "toys", then "baby dolls" . I name most my baby dolls "Mia" because Mommy named one of mine Mia and I love that name!!! I also have baby Bella though. Lambie is still my favorite! Than k you Larsons!
• My mom is so excited for my latest trick....when she picks me up from work I get so excited to see her. I run to see her and then say..."Mommy's cany, where did it go?", then run to the drawer and find a peppermint patty and give it to mommy. She is such a good mommy that she gives me a bite...or two. Everyone is so suprised a girl my size LOVES peppermint patties!!! YEH SUGAR!!!
• I love looking at catalogs and ads! Grama is so great and saves all the Sundat newspaper ads for me to look at. I love looking at toys and tell Grama what "Kate has", what "Kate Wants" and what 'Anna wants" (have to look out for my baby cousin)> My favorite catalog is from Toys R Us. I pick out all the great toys and LOVE to pick out SHAQ!!! Shaquille O'Neil is my favorite....he is a big man who plays basketball and does some advertising with TRU! I really like Shaq!
• I love Target and love to shop there and point it out whenever we drive by it. I love to give the bog red balls hugs! I even recognize the advertisements and the shopping bags. I LOVE Target!
• Sometimes I get boo boos and I want Grama, Daddy or mommy to kiss them. It makes them feel better!
• I have been getting a little bit shy lately and I will cry if a large crowd of people get around me and laugh. Especially if my mommy or daddy laugh too....it makes me sad
• Today was the girls night (and husbands) Xmas party!! I had so MUCH fun! I was such a good girl and was so nice and entertaining to everyone that mom and Dad let me stay up until 10pm!!! WOW! I love a party and act on my best behavior so no one remembers it is WAY past my bed time!!! I can't wait until I am old enough to host my own parties!!!!

Love,

Kate

xoxo

Thanksgiving week!!!

Thanksgiving week was so much fun this year! Mommy and Daddy took off work and I got to celebrate with all 3 of my cousins, Aunts, Uncles and Grama and Papa Fimmen. We had really good food, played like crazy and laughed a lot. We played hide and go seek a lot, ran around like crazy, tried on jewelry, played with Grama yips in her bathroom, took bathies, walked and had a blast! I can’t wait until Christmas time!
Love,
Kate
xoxo