Katmai Winter McKittrick

Katmai in the Wilderness May-June 2010 from Erin McKittrick on Vimeo.

Katmai’s video clips from the summer’s first two big trips.

Quick reminder – you can go to a large version of any photo by clicking on it!

My turn to drive!

Oh well, guess I’ll ride back here

Unfortunately, he did have to ride in the back seat when the car was actually moving… The two months since I last posted have been a busy time for Katmai. We left the Seldovia blizzards behind to take him to southern realms where the ground was showing, dragging him around on book tour with us for a month. Katmai toughed it out through over 4,000 miles of driving, sleeping in 20 different places, and attending all but one or two of our 15 hour-long presentations. He’s an adaptable kid.

Katmai on book tour (13-14 months) from Erin McKittrick on Vimeo.

And though I feel like we provide him with stimulation at home, seeing all those new people and places brought out an explosion of development. When we left he was 13 months old. He would take a few steps, only occasionally, mostly with the right foot, but basically was crawling. He knew around 10 signs and gestures to communicate.

At the zoo

Musician

In Eugene, at his aunt Valisa’s, we took him out to look at the moon – prompting his very first word. It all snowballed from that first word of “moon”. Now, he’s 14 months old. He’s walking everywhere, has a pretty good overhand throw, can climb down stairs, and between signs, sounds, and words, can communicate over 50 different things! Most of it happened in just a couple weeks. That’s a lot to show for a bunch of hours talking to mama in the car seat.

Blur of activity

I have to put in a list of his words here, because I just think it’s so cool:

words (9): moon, mama, dada, eye, ice, hi, balloon, dog, knee

sounds (3): clock (clicking), moo, neigh

signs (52): bird, kitty, bear, dog, mouse, whale, fish, pig, frog, horse, cow, monkey, mole, otter, moose, owl, walrus, baby, car, airplane, computer, light, telephone, fire, flower, tree, stars, grass, wind, rock, outside, rain, snow, up, down, sleep (bed), big, hot, sad, all-done, more, again, nursing (milk), eat, cheese, bread, water, ball, go-round, book, hat, bye-bye

He even occasionally combines them, creating such scintillating phrases as “more cheese”, “dog food”, “baby eat”, and “book all-gone”.

The highlight of Katmai’s vacation: go-rounds and the moon

First horse

But with all the great leaps, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: Go-rounds. Whether it’s the wind farms of Wyoming, the ceiling fans in a restaurant, or the loose knobs on someone’s kitchen cabinets, Katmai has a passion and obsession with spinning things that has lasted well over half his life. Did you know that lampshades often spin? That nearly every house has at least one loose drawer knob? Thanks to Katmai, I know all this and more.

Learning to slide

I don’t like this life vest

He’s added a number of secondary passions along the way. After go-rounds, moons and horses are his favorite things to point out and talk about, though balls and books are still the best toys. He likes most animals, but I think my friend Rachel started the horse obsession by taking Katmai to see and pet her horse. I’m not sure why he loves the moon so much (he’ll find it in every story book, as well as outside). Wait until he finds out that the moon goes around.

Ketchikan forest

with his cousin

California hiking

on the plane

Katmai’s first birthday from Erin McKittrick on Vimeo.

Katmai’s birthday was last weekend, on Valentine’s Day. We had a nice party, with some babies, some adults, and some good birthday pie. Katmai was excited to receive his new toys (though we still had to unwrap them for him), particularly the “go-rounds” (tops), and the birthday balloons still slowly deflating in the yurt.

Go round for my birthday

This year has been as special and eventful as any baby’s first year, with the twists that come from being part of a rather unconventional family. I wrote a post on Katmai’s first year in the woods on the Ground Truth Trekking blog.

Snowy hike

It’s been really fun to watch Katmai get more and more communicative lately. He’s picked up a few signs (”more”, “dog”, “nursing” and of course his favorite of all – “go-round”), but does most of his talking by pointing at things. I’m always surprised when he lets us know how much he understands. Who knew he could recognize cartoon flowers in books, and knows the word for them? When did he learn that he should point upwards when I mention that something is “in the sky”?

Katmai’s tricks: 12 months old from Erin McKittrick on Vimeo.

Katmai and Ellis

A beer ad?

Playing with dominoes

More fun with the go-round

Story time with Dad