Zongker Family Blog

Katrina has had a fun last couple of weeks!  On Christmas, she got “spoiled”, but it’s nice that everyone thought of her.  She got *lots* of art stuff, which she’s really into right now.  She also got a “FurReal Bird”, a special toy she asked Santa for.  It says many phrases, but it also taught her something cute/funny to say.  Here is a conversation she recently had with her Dad:

Katrina: What’s up?

Jeremy: Not much.  What’s up with you?

Katrina: Just chillin’!

She also got to stay up & help us ring in the New Year!  We “camped out” in the living room: Jeremy made a fire in the fireplace & Jeanette put together a “makeshift tent” using a sheet & our dining room chairs (with Jeremy’s help).  Then, the 3 of us sat under it & played Katrina’s board games & watched one of her favorite movies, “The Little Mermaid”, while snacking on the many good “munchies” we received for Christmas, as well.  At about 5 minutes until midnight, we turned the T.V. on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”, to watch the “ball drop”.  She helped us count down from 10, then yelled, “Happy New Year”!  It was fun & especially exciting for her, getting to stay up so late!  Of course, she was pretty tired the next day, but we all have nice memories of our own, little, personal “New Year’s Party”, now!

Katrina colored this picture of a dinosaur last night that I though was particularly good for her. She made up the red/blue pattern, did a pretty good job of staying in the lines and even signed it for me. I just had to post the picture.

This Halloween was the best one yet!  Katrina got to be her favorite character, “Dora the Explorer“!  After she got all dressed up, we went to the Fall Fun Fest at our church.  We met Katrina’s Uncle Jason, Aunt Stephanie and cousins, Jamie & Austin there.  They had a “candy walk” for the kids, which was great!  They also had games, but they were more geared toward the older kids… maybe next year we’ll enjoy those, more!

Katrina’s older cousin, Jamie dressed up as a Power Ranger S.P.D. & Austin wore the monkey costume that the kids’ Nana made for Jamie’s first Halloween (before Katrina or Austin were even born)!  All three looked super-cute & they had a great time together.  After the candy walk, we all enjoyed free popcorn & pop that the church had also provided.  Then, we “split up”, so Jamie & Austin could go trick-or-treating around their neighborhood & Katrina could go around ours.

It was so cool seeing how quickly & easily Kat got “the hang” of trick-or-treating this year!  After the first 2 houses, or so, she was all ready to run up onto the next porch.  Her eyes lit up, as she’d ring the doorbell, and then again, once the homeowner came to the door & she’d say, “Trick or treat!?”  Everyone recognized that she was Dora, too & that seemed to make her especially happy.  Her lil’ plastic pumpkin was so full that Mommy had to carry it, most of the time.  Daddy wheeled her folded-up umbrella stroller around, just in case she got tired, but that didn’t happen!  She was a great, lil’ Explorer, on a journey to get some candy!  Don’t forget to check out the photos we took, on her adventure!

Mommy & Daddy had a hard time finding Katrina’s costume for Halloween this year.  They knew what she wanted to be, SHE knew what she wanted to be, in fact, they had even seen the costume, all over the stores last year, but it just wasn’t nearly as popular, this time, I guess…  If you know much about her, (or very little, for that matter), you have guessed that she wanted to be “Dora the Explorer“, of course!

They made the costume in sizes 2T and up last year & she just wasn’t big enough, yet.  So, this year, we decided that she would HAVE to get it…  That was before we realized how hard it was to come by, especially in a size 2T (most stores had it in 3T-4T, or 4-6X only).  Then, Mommy’s friend, Heather from the Tulsa Moms board told us that she had seen it in the Wal-Mart in Sapulpa, OK (which is about a 45-minute drive from here).  Mommy called & had them hold it for us, because they said it was their LAST ONE in that size!  So, many thanks go out to Heather!  She was actually going to buy it for us & let us pay her back, but at the last minute, we decided to go & pick it up, ourselves, because Sapulpa’s really not THAT far away…  Katrina was really ecstatic to get it, too!  We tried it on her & took pictures the next day.

Katrina also got to help Mommy & Daddy carve her very first Jack-o-Lantern this year.  It was a lot of fun.  She didn’t want to touch the “yuckies” inside, but she really enjoyed scooping them out, with a big kitchen spoon!  She even decided on the shapes for the eyes & nose & said she wanted him to have “lots of teeth”.  We named him Jack.  He looked very nice, once he was finished & we put a candle inside.  You can see pictures of him, as well.  Daddy also washed the seeds & roasted & salted them.  This was a special treat.  Katrina liked eating them, as much as Mommy & Daddy do!

Today, Katrina & Mommy went to the Tulsa Zoo.  We met some of the members of the Tulsa Moms forum board & their kids, there.  It was a lot of fun!  Katrina loved seeing the animals (one of her favorites is the elephants), as well as socializing with some of the little girls & their Mommies, too.

The ones we met up there, at the entrance were Rhonda & her daughter, Elisabeth & newborn son, Max, Misty & her daughter, Ann-Marie & Trisha & her daughter, Talesia.  Mommy took a few pictures of the trip, along the way, to show you what a great time all the kids had!  Katrina was the oldest, but she, Elisabeth & Ann-Marie were all “chit-chatting” off & on…  We also met another member of the board, Jenny & her sons, Vinny & Matt around lunchtime.  Katrina had played with Vinny before, but she hardly noticed Matt, probably because he’s also a newborn!

In any case, it was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing…  The only thing that we didn’t care for was all the bees swarming around!  Mommy kept “freaking out”, trying to keep them away!  It was also cute how all of the Moms were “getting their exercise”, walking & pushing the strollers and/or carrying their lil’ ones, while all the kids got to just “cruise”.  Fun stuff!

We love getting together with other members of the board!  It really gives Katrina an opportunity to interact with other kids (and Mommy gets a chance to socialize with other adults, too)!  Although it’s beginning to get too cold to go & enjoy it any more this year, we’re hoping that this was just the first of many more great trips to the zoo, to come!

Katrina had never been to a pumpkin patch before, but Mommy had been posting on the Tulsa Moms forum board, for a while, making new online friends who were also local Moms, and one of them suggested that we all meet there, as a fun get-together for the kids.  Misty had taken her daughter, Ann-Marie several times, and another Mom, Trisha had taken her daughter, Talesia once before, when the day finally arrived…
We weren’t sure exactly how many were coming, but Mommy knew it would be a fun, new experience for Katrina, so we made sure to bring our camera.  We met Misty & Ann-Marie, Trisha & Talesia and Jodi & Logan, all for the very first time.  The kids had a blast!  The Moms also enjoyed the social outing, as there was a lot to talk about, with Halloween coming up!
Katrina got to pet & feed a goat and ride a pony, which she had done before, but she also got to climb on the pumpkins & see a scarecrow & some haystacks up close, for the very first time.  She also helped Mommy pick out the first ever pumpkin that we made into a jack-o-lantern, together as a family!  She, Logan & Ann-Marie walked around together quite a bit, while Tally stayed in her stroller (since she’s too young to walk, just yet).  It was fun for all, as you can see from our pictures!
The day was beautiful, weather-wise & it was great getting to meet everyone, too.  Our thanks to Misty for suggesting this awesome get-together!  We hope that there are many more, to come!