Kathleen Dances for Her Supper

So, unfortunately this video is so dark as to be almost unwatchable... But if you can make it out, Kathleen is dancing for her supper! We were listening to Tommy Makem at dinner a few nights ago (Jim and I were warming up for the Makem and Spain concert we went to last night), and Kathleen just started to dance along to the music. She's loved Irish music since she was a little baby, but now we have proof!

For The Birds

Kathleen is completely enamored of birds! Her daddy made a very wise investment of about three dollars in some bird seed, and our lanai is now bird central. There are all sorts of little birds, and occasionally a not-so-little bird. Kathleen is thrilled with all of them. She runs up to the sliding glass door, waving her arms, and squealing with delight, mystified when they fly away. Other times she'll just sit quietly, entranced by the birds' hopping and tussling over the food. All the time she signs "bird" when she sees them. Despite our best efforts to teach her the sign over the course of several months, she's only learned and begun to use the sign thanks to her "Signing Time" video, which, aside from the birds, might be her favorite thing in the world. She loves to watch the little children signing, and her ability to sign has skyrocketed because of it. (Her daddy and I tell ourselves that having the "Signing Time" theme song constantly running through your brain is a small price to pay for your daughter's increased communication... although we have a more difficult time remembering that when we're trying to sleep!) We haven't managed to get a good picture of Kathleen and her birds yet, but we'll keep trying and we'll post it when we do.

Kicking Off The New Year

Kicking It
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

The new year arrived with plenty of fanfare here in Hawaii. Apparently the Golby household is the only household on the island that didn't spend thousands of dollars on fireworks to set off all New Year's Eve. If you've never been to Hawaii for New Year's, then you've never seen anything like it! I thought that Germans lit a lot of fireworks on New Year's, but they'd meet their match in the Hawaiians! Mercifully, Kathleen slept right through the festivities, but Jim and I sat on the lanai and watched the fireworks for hours. They began at about 7:30 (so Kathleen got to see a little before she went to bed) and continued right into the new year!

Kathleen's not slowing down for 2007! She's still very, very busy. We took her to the park the other day, and she had a great time tossing her ball and (a new trick) kicking it. She's still entranced by basketball on television (which works out great for her dad) and plays her own little version of basketball with an empty oatmeal container. We hold it up above her head and tell her, "Dunk it, dunk it!" Kathleen, in turn, runs up, sticks the ball inside, and then cheers madly. We're not kidding -- WNBA, here she comes!

We're realizing that Kathleen also understands more than we'd given her credit for. Yesterday I was talking about a rhino for some reason, and Kathleen starting sniffing. She was sniffing because in "Moo, Baa, La, La, La" the rhinoceros snorts and snuffs! Kathleen can also (mostly) show you where her ears and nose are. She can always show you where her bellybutton is. She's utterly fascinated by it! Her signing is coming along, too. It's not consistent yet, but she's signed "fan," "baby," "ball" and "banana" recently. I think 2007 is going to be a big year!