"Doo-Dah" Days with Katy!

Last weekend Opa and I had the rare pleasure of taking care of Katy for a day while her mom and dad went to a wedding. I hope Katy had fun, because we sure did! It was so delightful to have the little princess around showing us all her latest tricks.

One of the things that we always do is sing a lot of songs. We read books and sing about the animals or whatever happens to strike us about the pictures. Somewhere along the way, Katy must have heard a song with "Doo-Dah" in it. She would just be playing with toys or walking around and start singing "Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah!" Opa and I could only think of one song with this phrase, and that was "Camptown Races." So that's what we sang every time she said "Doo-Dah!" So, Emily, if Katy takes a sudden interest in horse racing instead of her beloved "oo-baw" (football), you will have us to blame. Regardless, she was entertained by our singing; and it has made me smile for several days just remembering her "Doo-Dah's."

Opa was finishing up the last Harry Potter book this weekend (the book is in his left hand in the picture), but he still found plenty of time to share Cheerios with Katy and to fly her around the house, the yard, and even the neighborhood. He was holding her out on his arms like she was a little airplane and zooming around. After several minutes, he decided that he needed to add some upper body exercises to his workout at the gym! It was quite a workout. But Katy kept signing 'more' and dancing around his feet saying "O-paa." Who could resist?

The other thing Opa did was let Katy play with Oma's computer. You notice he didn't let Katy play with HIS computer . . . only Oma's! When Katy was finished, I had about 50 open windows and the voice capability was turned on so that every time you touched the keyboard, the computer talked. Yeesh! It is a miracle that I can post this blog message!

I posted a previous message about the John Deere tractor riding toy I found at TSC. Katy was just the perfect size for the tractor, and she spent quite a bit of time riding it around through the dining room, hallway, family room, kitchen and around again. This blog is done with John Deere green text to commemorate the tractor. The picture here was taken in the dining room on about round 49. One of Katy's latest tricks is to say "cheese" when you point the camera at her. Since she is much photographed, this was a no-brainer for her vocabulary. If you look carefully, you can see that her mouth is in the perfect position . . . she had just said "cheese" for me and the camera. What a ham!

The photo below was our tea party with the singing teapot on Sunday morning. It works best if you put cereal or fish crackers in the cups, but we also gave pretend treats to the dolly and fed her with the spoon.



Oh, I guess I am supposed to also try this me-me thing that Emily has tagged me with on the Katydid blog. I think I am supposed to list six habits. Although this seems kind of dangerous and potentially incriminating, here goes.

1) I like to shop, too, but have given up on most of the mall stores in favor of internet shopping. You can spend more in less time and not wear yourself out! :-) But seriously, my favorite shopping habit is shopping for toys that develop musical skills so that my grandchildren will grow up to share my love of music.

2) My second habit is walking. I try to walk at least two miles every day . . . preferably out of doors. I do this for myself because it improves my mental and spiritual outlook and improves my health. I think of it like eating. I wouldn't usually go a whole day without eating; so I don't usually go a day without walking either.

3) I floss my teeth every day and brush morning and evening with my Sonicare toothbrush. (Please tell Drew about this; I'm sure he will be impressed.) This is a habit that I resisted for many years as my dental hygienist lectured me about flossing. Then I had several thousand dollars worth of gum surgery . . . painful in more ways than one! I'm a slow learner, but I finally got it.

4) I call my parents every Sunday evening. For many years, we went out to lunch with Mom and Dad after church on Sunday and caught up on all the family news. When I moved away from Dayton to Pittsburgh, I started calling them on Sunday to check on their week. I think Emily used to call me from Ithaca every Sunday night when she was away in college, too. So, I think there is something genetic about this one. Sunday night = call your mother.

5) I hug people. Most of them I know pretty well, but sometimes not. If they look friendly and need a hug, I'm generous. My family gets "squasher" hugs with kisses on the end.

6) I read at the breakfast table. Greg and I pay attention to each other at all other meals, but we allow each other to read at breakfast. Greg gets the paper, but he lets me check the weather forecast and any headlines that catch my eye. Then I move on to my walking journal, my devotion book, and my Bible. Right now I'm in I Samuel . . . David just killed Goliath this morning. It was awesome.

Okay, I hope that wasn't too much information for you! I left out anything that violated health regulations, etc.