SeaWorld Christmas

December has been such a fun and busy month for our family. My dad had surgery on his right arm and right foot at the beginning of the month, and he is home with us for three weeks on Convalescent Leave. He has to return to duty January 4th, and we are so excited that he has been here to hang out with us. My grandparents also came down for the holidays and they will be here the 22nd to the 3rd of January. We have been having a great time watching movies, eating out, and most recently visiting Sea World!

Grandma and Grandpa Murray

Shoulder Ride!

ho, Ho, HO...Merry Christmas Y'all!

Gotta make sure we have good luck!

Our Family

Getting Ready for the Christmas Show

Cookie Monster!!!!

So much fun!

Katie had such a fun time looking at everything around her and watching the Sesame Street Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was probably the most special one that I have had to date. I was off for a few days before and after Christmas and it really felt good to just get away from work and spend some time with the ones I love.

Christmas Tree 2010

 For Christmas Eve, Paul invited a few people over to our house. His best friend, dad, my parents, brother and grandparents came over to spend some time with Katie, Paul and myself. Everyone, sans Jason, returned Christmas morning to open presents with us and eat Christmas Lunch. Paul woke Kaitlyn up very early so that he could show her all the presents that Santa had left. She wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but she started catching on after awhile (with a few naps spread throughout). Before lunch, Paul's mom and step dad stopped by briefly to exchange gifts before continuing on to Paul's grandparents house.


Visiting in the Kitchen



Best Friends

"Gam Gam" and Katie

Milk and Cookies for Santa



Katie opening her stocking

Learn and Play Puppy from Uncle Jason

Daddy and Katie opening gifts Christmas Morning

Santa present for Kaitlyn



Daddy sharing his XBOX games with Katie



Best present of all

Four Generations

Our Family



Grandma and Grandpa with Katie



Katie and Uncle Jon



Grandma and Grandpa Murray with Katie

Grandma and Grandpa Gauna with Katie

Katie got a lot of presents!!



Reading Katie her Christmas Card

 

Intermission for Katie



New doll from Grandma and Grandpa

Jon got a new mybook from mom and papa



Kinect for Paul!



Kindle for Grandpa

Cooler for Dad

Kindle for Grandma, as well!

Duvet cover for mom and papa

iPad from mom and papa

Katie with Grandpa Paul

Grandma and Mom helped me make a delicious dinner of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green been casserole, corn, rolls, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, "the green stuff" (a Murray Family tradition), and lots of yummy desserts. Katie loved all the new food! She even ate a whole tamale!

This is yummy, Grandma!!

Merry Christmas, A Bit Early

Paul and I wanted to do something really special for mom and dad this year. They have helped us out more than we ever imagined, and we couldn't have made it though this year without them (well any year, actually).

Some of y'all know what I had in mind for them this year. It is something that they have never had, and I knew that it was something that mom had been wanting for a long time. Grandma went with me in October to find it and then I cleared it by Paul and Jon for the final approval. Unfortunately, it had to be delivered before Christmas, but it didn't really seem to matter in the end. Mom and Papa were so SURPRISED and super EXCITED!

I kept trying to focus the video, but I didn't realize I had it on manual focus rather than auto focus...oops. I was just so excited to tell mom finally! I hate keeping secrets!

Some other pictures of the day:

Surprise! Santa brought y'all a new bedroom set!!!

Mom was so surprised...which is hard to do!!

Breaking down mom and papa's room

She had no idea they were coming, so we had to move all the old stuff out QUICK.

Katie supervising

ho, Ho, HO!!

New bedroom set going in!

Mom and Papa's new bed and nightstand with new duvet

New dresser

Merry Christmas Mom and Papa! We love you so much and can't thank you enough for all that you have done for us. We could not have asked for better parents.

30 days complete

I am thankful for this wonderful life. It may not always be perfect, but we are so blessed. We have great family, stable jobs, a great group of friends, the most adorable daughter. The things in my life that I am so thankful for are not measured by money, which makes them even better. They are priceless. :o)

I am thankful for the 11 months I have been able to produce breast milk for our precious Katie Bug! She is doing so well and growing up so quickly! :o)

Kaitlyn: Month Eleven

Kaitlyn Marie,

Kaitlyn witht Pigtails

I cannot believe that today marks your eleventh month, and neither can anyone else. As your first birthday approaches, I have received a lot of comments about how quickly time has passed. It seems to most that I was just pregnant with you and anticipating your arrival. At the same time, our life before you were here seems SO far away, it is hard to remember what it was like without you. You are such a blessing to our family, and we are so thankful to God to have you as our daughter.

Going to SeaWorld with Mom, Grandma and Gam Gam

You are becoming such a little toddler. You walk almost everywhere, and when you can't walk fast enough, you fall down trying to run and crawl at top speed. You seem to be off the charts with your motor skills while holding back on your speech (who would have thought that of my child….hahaha). You are so curious about the world around you and love to learn about everything.

"Look what I can do!"

You are quite the studious little girl; you have such a serious face while you taking in everything around you. You love to laugh and play, especially hide and seek with daddy! You could play for 30 minutes at least walking to the bedroom to find daddy and then running away squealing when he comes after you. You have even started to dance. About a week ago, we took you to Mass and you were bouncing on the pew to the music. Grandma and Grandpa said this past weekend you have started to do more than just bounce and you are even able to keep up with the rhythm. I hope that you love and enjoy music as much as we do as you get older.

Being Silly with Aunt Tara

You had your First Halloween and First Thanksgiving this month. For Thanksgiving, we spent the morning with your dad's side of the family and had lunch. You were finally able to meet the rest of your great uncles and cousins, and had a good time playing with Cynthia, Sophia, Zoe and Derek. We took a quick break mid-afternoon to put up the Christmas Tree and Decorations and then we had dinner with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Jon. You had a plate of home-made sweet potatoes, Turkey/Cranberry/Apple baby food, lots of puffs, a strawberry Popsicle, and an incredibly small taste of pumpkin pie. I think that is the most that you have ever eaten in one sitting!!

Kaitlyn and Mommy for Thanksgiving 2010

More Eleven Month News:

Sleeping: Your sleep has begun to vary depending on who is around.  You love to wake up in the middle of the night for extra snuggles from your daddy. I keep warning him that will back-fire on him later, but he loves getting the extra time with you, and who can blame him. Otherwise, you have been sleeping about 9-10 hours straight and then falling asleep for an hour or two after having a morning bottle. You take about two naps for an hour or so throughout the day.
Clothing: 6-12 month or 9-12 month, size three and a half shoes (although, they are getting snug), medium diapers.
Mealtime: 16oz of milk in four and 2-3 jars of 4.5oz baby food, although you have seemed to be more resistant to the baby food and reach more for "regular" food this month. You still love your puffs, yogurt melts and fiddlesticks!

Daddy loves to be silly!

Developments:
-Waves "hi" and "bye" (when you want to…)
-Says "ma-ma" (Nov 19) and "da-da" (Nov 15) but not specific
-Learned how to give "High Five"
-Plays Peek-a-Boo
-Puts one object on top of other or into a container
-Stoops from standing position while not holding on
-Imitates wants with gestures
-Pushes toys while walking (your activity table is a favorite)

Dog Pile on Daddy

We love you very much Katie Bug and we are so proud to call your ours. Happy Eleven Month Birthday!

Love Always,
Mommy

I am thankful for the talented co-workers that I work alongside. They make the day go by smoother and we have a lot of laughs. It is nice to be on a good team.

I am so thankful the day is over. I am so tired!!

I am thankful for sleepovers with grandparents ao that I can sleep in an extra 45 min! (I am beginning to see a theme of thankfulness for sleep. Hey, I take it when I can get it!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is the "Mac Daddy" of Thankfulness.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I have so very much to be grateful for, as y'all have been reading along with me. I am so thankful today for wonderful childhood memories. Every year, Jon and I would run down the back alley to Grandma's house bright and early. All of our cousins would come over, and we would spend all day playing, stuffing ourselves and trying to eat just one more dessert. I was surrounded by family, my wonderful mom and dad, my cool aunts and uncles and the world's best grandparents.

Grandma always made such a wonderful Thanksgiving spread, and she still does! I wish that I were there to spend the day with everyone. To gather around the table with my 14 cousins, and their 20 children. I miss being able to see my whole family at one time; we are a big bunch. Now that we are older and have families and in-laws of our own, we aren't always together at the same time, but we always have that sense of family togetherness.

So today, I am so very thankful for the good roots that my mom and dad gave me and for the experiences, such as this one, that molded me into the woman I am today. And a special Thanksgiving to all the Murray clan. I wish we were there with you today. Love y'all.

I am thankful for family dinners. They are my favorite part of the day.

I am thankful for time spent together as a family.

Is thankful to have lost three pounds!! 22 more to loose.

I am thankful that we are able to give back to others. Got our "angel" from the Angel Tree today.

I am thankful for the ten months and 21 days I was able to pump milk for our Boo Bear.

I am thankful for the opportunity to spend quality time with good friends this weekend!

I am thankful for friends who are available to chat late at night when I need someone to talk to.

I am thankful for my mommie's generosity and excited for Katie's first birthday! It's going to be amazing!

"Me Time"

I am thankful for some free time to get away. With it being dark at 6pm and having worked more weekends this month than last, I am starting to feel secluded. Wake, pump, work, and sleep. Tonight, I managed to sneak away for a quick pedicure (first since July)! It felt good to just relax for an hour and not have to do anything.

I am thankful for the chances I get to take relaxing bubble baths.

I am thankful for weekend lunches with Katie (and sometimes Paul, usually my parents). I love getting to see her during my work day. It always brings a smile to my face and lights up my afternoon.

I am so thankful for my wonderful parents (and Katie is thankful for her amazing grandparents.) I could not have asked for a more loving and special mom and dad. They would (and have) do anything for myself, my brother, my husband, my baby girl, my friends...I love that they enjoy Kaitlyn as much as they do; it brings such joy to Paul and I to see them with her. Every weekend when my dad comes home, he is so excited to see Katie, and she inevitably ends up sleeping over sometime each week! :o) Mom has made it a point to see Katie Bug every single day since she has arrived (only missing two or three days), even if Katie is already asleep and she just comes over to hold her or smile at her. She is such a lucky and blessed baby girl, just like her mama and daddy. I am so thankful that our family has found peace and togetherness.

I am so thankful for good days at work! It has been a long time coming. The floor has been very rough lately.

I am so thankful for the freedoms that I am able to enjoy. Thank you to all the service men and woman who have fought and continue to fight for our freedoms and to protect this great county.