Here I Am!

We're back-I know you guys have been wondering were we have been. My students have informed me that blogging is, "like so 2 years ago-get a face book account Mrs. Costa!", but I know all of our faithful visitors don't care. You just want to see what Kate's been up to. Well, what we've all been waiting for has happened-drum roll please...Kate has discovered the wonderful world of walking! Kate finally started walking on Tuesday and has not looked back-today she tried to run from her father, who was chasing her around the kitchen. It ended in a fall, but it's the fastest we have seen her go. She's doing great. Check out our first attempt at a video to see for yourself! (If the video stops at 4 seconds, move the cursor forward a little and it will play the rest...I don't know why it stops at 4 seconds)

Minneapolis, Minnesota

I went to Minneapolis for four days last week for an International Baccalaureate conference to learn about changes in the curriculum to a course I teach for the programme (that's how IB people spell program-it's all very British). Much to my surprise, Minneapolis is a wonderful city-we went to the Mall of America-yes, I rode a few roller coasters-, a Twins game, ate at a wonderful Brazilian Restaurant in the theatre district (once again-how IB people spell theater), and saw the Mississippi River for the first time in my life. The city has these skywalks that connect the entire downtown area, so you never have to go outside until you get to your destination. I had a great time even though I missed Jeff and Kate terribly, but we all survived. I brought Kate back a Moose puppet-we named her Minnie.

Kate's Christening

Kate was christened on Sunday, April 13th at our church. She did very well, but as you can see, all the excitement wore her out. Lots of family came to celebrate with her and enjoyed an afternoon at our house. We are so thankful that God has given her to us.

A Day with Mommy

I stayed home from work a couple of weeks ago to have a Mommy and Kate day. I realized three things-

1-I'm sure that I will never stop falling more in love with my daughter.
2-It's equally as tiring to be a stay-at-home mom as it is to be a working mom-there is just more time to clean the house when you stay at home! Jeff was very impressed with the cleanliness of the kitchen and the dinner that was ready for him.
3-My Mom was right (as usual), Kate has learned so many new things since she turned one. She amazes me everyday with her new communication skills.

Kate is almost 15 months and has so many new words and sounds. She will tell you what a horse, cow, and duck say, constantly calls for her Dada, Nana, and Mama, says her word for please when she needs something, and is starting to say her own form of thank you when you remind her to say it. She can also sign thank you, more, all done and is an expert at giving kisses. All you have to do is say "I love you" or "Bye Bye" and she will blow you a kiss.



Here she is with her Pebble Flintstone's hair style, showing how proud she is that she caught something with her fork. I know, there is a lot of green on her plate, but she won't eat vegetables that are any other color. She eats green beans like they are french fries and her favorite food is broccoli! Kate is also eating her Nonnie's world famous meatballs. Nonnie's meatballs and chicken cutlets are some of her favorites.



We did lots of playing-you see here that she has her all important soccer goal and basketball goal. She will sometimes try to say GOAL when she scores-it make her Dad very proud. We also spent a lot of time outside and, of course, reading books. We had a wonderful day.

Welcome Home, Daddy

Jeff has been away for a few days visiting Uncle David and returned today. So Kate and I made him a picture using sidewalk chalk. Kate made a few marks (on the left side of the flowers) and then bit into one of the pieces-a pink one-when I wasn't looking. Don't worry, she survived. I managed to get most of it out of her mouth. We're happy your home Daddy, we missed you!

Grandma Costa

Sadly, Jeff's grandmother, Anne Costa, passed away Easter weekend. She was always so elegant, gracious, and kind. She will be missed. Jeff was able to join his entire family for the funeral in New York this past weekend and we are so glad she was able to meet Kate over Christmas this past year. Here is a picture from that visit.

Easter Pictures

It was such a joy to watch Kate participate in her 2nd annual Matthews' Family Easter Egg Hunt. It is amazing how much this year was different than last-she is no longer that 8 week old infant sleeping in my arms all afternoon. She was so happy putting those chocolate easter eggs into her basket-what she didn't know was that Daddy and Mommy were dreading the temptation of eating them all.


Kate seemed to treasure each treat that she found and Daddy was getting a workout helping her "walk" from tree to tree.

All the participants, except Grandma who is behind the camera.