Kaitlyn: Month Fifteen

Our little Katie Bug is growing up so fast!

Miss Kaitlyn,

You are becoming more and more a little toddler everyday. Somedays, I think you turned two instead of one this past December. Uncle Jon has taken to calling you "Miss Grabby Hands" because you are in-to-everything! You are very curious and want to explore, touch, and sometimes taste whatever you can get you hands on. You are able to reach the counters now, so we have to be extra careful as to what is on the ledges. You are very good at reaching up for mom and dad's hairbrushes in the bathroom and opening the pen drawer to get out markers, pens and pencils.  You are also experimenting with boundaries. Before, I could sternly tell you "no," and you would immediately stop doing what you were doing and take interest in something else. Now you keep reaching for whatever you aren't supposed to, and smile at me like "but I am so cute!!" It takes a lot more effort to redirect your attention and it usually involves tears and you hands flying up to your mouth. You have become very dramatic. I have NO idea where you get that from....(as Grandpa would say "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!")

With the bouts of drama and tears, we also have lots of happy, laughing and love. You are very affectionate and have been giving everyone lots of hugs, usually randomly when you want to and not when you are asked to. :o) You really don't give kisses, but if someone is persistent enough, you will turn your cheek to the side and allow him/her to kiss you on the cheek. You take such joy in playtime, and I love to hear you shrieking with happiness when you find something that amuses you. Your smile is so bright it lights up my day instantly, and I love to see the sparkle in your eyes. Uncle Jon has been teaching you how to dance, and poor girl, you  love to show off your new moves. Maybe someone with some rhythm should teach you a thing or two. LOL! You also love to show your tummy, and occasionally will assist others with showing off their own tummy (usually daddy's)!!

Playing with your Sand and Water Play Table

We have been feeding you more "big girl foods" these past few months and you now eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks in between. We are not always successful at getting you to eat all of your meal, but you usually eat something each time. You have several snacks throughout the day and drink from a sippee cup very well (lots of water and a splash of juice). You do not like drinking milk from a sippee cup, but you are down to 3ish bottles a day, with the majority of milk right before you go to bed. That is going to be a hard bottle to get rid of, I imagine.

Feeding the Dolphins with Mommy at SeaWorld

While you continue to sleep fairly well at night, we are having an awful time with naps. You do not like to lay down for naps, and we physically have to hold you down with us for 2-5 minutes until you fall asleep. Once you are down, you sleep 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Some days you don't want to nap at all, and we are lucky if you manage to take one 30 min nap. At Aunt Nomi's, you are such a good girl and go right to sleep in the pack and play all by yourself, so I hear. I have no earthly idea how Nomi does it, but I am now trying to get you to take naps in your crib by yourself.  Hopefully by your 18 month update, you will be ready to transition to a toddler bed for naps and bedtime.

Your new water slide

You are talking so much more!! You constantly babble and can now say several words:

Momma

Daddy

Baby

"Peas" for Please

"Bock" for Block

Bye

More

"Bi-an" for Brian, Nomi's boyfriend

Bubbles

Bottle

Budd-e!, Mom's Dog

Bella

"Pollo" for Apollo, Nomi's dog

"Ice Ceam," but only once for Papa and Jon

Katie and Grandpa

Despite any of the challenges, we are loving this new stage in your life! You are so fun, interactive and bring us endless amounts of joy and more patience than we ever knew we had. We love you so much and are very excited to see how you change and grow this spring/summer.

Love,  

Mommy

"Two Under Two"

So this morning, I took a little pregnancy test.....

and we are expecting another baby!!!!!

I took a pregnancy test this morning, one of those double lines ones. I could see the most faint second line, so I called for Paul to come and verify. Paul didn't believe that it was positive, but he rushed out to buy more tests that have a definitive "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant." Yeah, two more tests later and all three say "Pregnant!"

We are really, really excited, but it hasn't quite sunk in for me just yet. I am still completely shocked that I am actually pregnant. We were planning on trying to expand our family again this summer, so it's not such a far fetched idea....we just weren't planning on it happening right now. But it is all in God's Plan, and I know that it will work out just fine. ::Le sigh:: "Two Under Two"....oh goodness.

An open letter to Katie

My dearest Kaitlyn,

There is something I want you to know, love. I do this all for you. With everything that I have, I do this so that one day you can have more, do more, and have every opportunity. I hope you know that I love you so much. Every minute of lost sleep, every tear, ache and drop of sweat is worth it for my precious baby girl.

I hope you know that I am always with you in spirit, and that I am fighting like hell to be there more in person. Your beautiful smile makes every day worth it to me, and it always will....

I love you,
Mom

We are ready for Spring!!

Paul and I got Kaitlyn a sand and water play table today. Judging by her reaction, I think it is a hit!!

Kaitlyn: Month Thirteen

I don't know if I am going to continue to do monthly updates for Katie Bug. Maybe quarterly updates???  But I haven't posted in awhile, and I thought I should write to let everyone (if anyone still reads this) know that we are doing okay. It has been a busy month full of parties and a new year, and lots of work for mom/dad/grandma/everyone.

Kaitlyn is doing fantastic!! She is growing so fast....

She runs
She babbles and talks to everything and everyone all the time....maybe she is mine
She shares her chewed up food
She tries to eat with a fork and spoon, but still prefers her hands
She helps get herself dressed
                                and undressed
She loves to give hugs
She brings toys to share with you now
She tries to stack objects
She is scared of the vacuum
She loves to throw things on the floor...even food, especially food
She hates bows, hats, ponytails and anything cute I try to put in her hair
She loves balloons; H.E.B. is great right now
She adores her daddy
She tries to lift everything....even 24 packs of water
She doesn't want to take two naps a day anymore, sometimes she thinks she doesn't need any naps
She hates the sippy cup for drinking, loves to chew on it and throw it on the floor
She loves to swing
She LOVES grandma, (again, still)
She has the most adorable laugh
She likes to put lids on containers, like her bottle
She wants to be with the big girls all the time
She LOVES the water, almost as much as Uncle Jon's files
She is a drama.queen.

Example.....

She is just the most precious child I have ever met. And I am so not biased. I am dumbfounded on a weekly, daily basis, of how blessed/lucky I am to have such a sweet daughter. We are so in love with our Katie Bug.

Kaitlyn's First Snow!

We got snow in San Antonio!!!

I honestly couldn't believe it; we hear the predictions once a winter, or every other winter and nothing ever comes of it. But this year, it did! I imagine the total was less than 1/4 inch. Just enough to get everyone excited, cancel school and delay work. :o) The ice was (always seems to be) the worst part.

Katie wasn't quite sure what to think of the snow. She walked around the driveway a bit before venturing out into our deserted street and promptly fell on her booty after crossing a patch of ice. She got to enjoy a snow day with Grandma and Uncle Jon while Paul and I were off to work.

Interestingly enough, Grandma said that Oklahoma was having a horrible blizzard. The news said it was the worst they've had since February 1983, the blizzard I was born in. How cool that we had Katie's first snowfall on my birthday!

Last Drop

Today was the last day that Katie got a bottle of breast milk. I have been hanging onto the last bag of frozen milk for a couple of days. She should have gotten it on the 30th or 31st, but I just couldn't part with it...

Breastfeeding is something I always knew that I would do, something I am very passionate about, and something I never thought I would have this much of a battle with. A year ago today, I didn't know if it was something that I could continue with. The beginning of my breastfeeding relationship with Katie started out so shaky, I thought about quitting in the first and second week. Honestly, without my friends and family there to support me, listen to me cry, give me encouraging advice, and help me out, I don't think I would have made it past the NICU. I distinctly remember talking to my dad, who was halfway around the world in Afghanistan, and him encouraging me to keep pumping, that things would get better and I would feel differently about things in a few days or a week. I am so glad that I did.

I told myself then that I would pump for two weeks,
then for six weeks,
to the end of my maternity leave.
to six months,
then to a year.

I had to set small goals to keep myself going in the beginning, but I am here. I did it!! I made it to my original goal of twelve months!! I think I have pumped in every situation you can imagine, from bathroom stalls, driving in the car, sitting in parking lots, in my home office, the NICU, small rooms at work, doctor's offices, airports, in the living room while watching TV with the family....you name it, and my pump and I have been there. lol! It was definitely worth it all in the end.

I want you to know that mommy loves you so very much my precious baby girl, and I would do anything in this world to help you succeed.

Happy One Year, My Love. 

Kaitlyn's First Birthday Party

Katie Bug's First Birthday Party was today! Oh what a fun and crazy day it was. Aunt Nomi and Aunt Leslie came over early to help me get everything set up for the party. We had Spice of Life cater with Chicken Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Rolls, Salad and lots of yummy desserts. Cathy Young, the same baker that made our wedding cake, made the most amazing ladybug cake for Katie. We even had a moon bounce!!

The Birthday Ladybug

Yummy and Delish Cake!

Katie's smash cake

Note to self, Katie HATES hats, of any kind.

This is much better than that hat, Grandpa

Katie and Carmen, BFF's

Katie helped open some of her presents

Katie's very own My American Girl Doll

Playing with Daddy after the party

Katie with her birthday balloons



"Happy Birthday!"


Thank you everyone for coming and sharing this special day with us!  We have had such a great year this past year with Katie, and we appreciate all the love and support that our family and friends have given us.  We are so very blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives who love us and want to share our blessing of our baby girl with us. We love you all dearly!

Happy Birthday Katie Boo!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

We wish our friends and family health and happiness this year. We had a life changing 2010, and we are looking forward to a peaceful and exciting 2011.

I don't know if she is gonna make it to New Year's.....

Katie playing with the puppies and Grandma

Katie and Grandma



Kisses for my angel baby...she was out by 11:40pm. Almost made it!

Some of you may remember, New Year's Eve 2009 was the day we brought Katie home from the hospital. My how time has flow by this year....



Daddy and Katie

 

Katie and Uncle Jason

Sleeping on Grandma when the New Year came

Happy First Birthday, Kaitlyn

This year, Kaitlyn's first birthday fell on a Wednesday. Paul and I both requested the day off and hadn't really planned too much. We were hoping for a "low key" day. Mom and Papa bought Katie a new playground set for the backyard for her birthday, and Rainbow was coming bright and early to install everything.

We are too cool to sit down for pictures this month...

We ended up having a sort of "impromptu" birthday party at our house that evening. Meghan is in town visiting for the week, Grandma and Grandpa and Jon came over with Mom and Papa, Paul's dad spent the day with us and then in the evening, Noemi and Isabella came over to wish Katie a happy birthday. Mom and Grandma made a quick run to find us some yummy cupcakes, and we had cupcake and ice cream and watched Katie open her presents. While that was probably the highlight of her day, I think the rest of us had a blast playing on her new toy!

Katie's new Playground

Grandpa and Paul having fun already!

Grandpa going down the slide

Katie swinging with Daddy

Katie decides to test the slide since Grandpa said it was safe

Climbing up the ramp

Playing in the fort

Katie sliding with Aunt Meghan

Grandpa Paul, Katie and her Daddy

Kaitlyn and Grandma

Aunt Meghan got Katie The Ladybug Girl and a Pillow Pet

Getting better at opening these boxes!

She doesn't look amused

New Lamb Rocker from Grandma and Grandpa

Woohoo!!!

Singing Happy Birthday to Katie!

"What is this???"

Sugar is GOOD! Why didn't y'all tell me?!?

Want some?

Kaitlyn: Month Twelve

Katie Bug,

This month's letter is going to be a bit different than before. Your daddy and I both handwrote you letters and placed them in your baby book for you to read later, but I still wanted to post some updates of what you have been up to this month.

You continue to amaze us with how quickly you are growing and changing. Your personality is so cute, and I love that you are communicating more and more.

Sleeping: Usually from 9pm to 7am, followed by another 1.5 to 2 hours more sleep after a bottle. Takes 1-2 naps for 1 hour each (if we are lucky)

Clothing: You are about to move on up to 12-18 month clothing and are now in size 4 shoes. Medium Diapers.

Mealtime: 16oz of milk in four bottles. Sometimes you take an extra two ounces of milk before bedtime. You eat lots of "regular" food now and you have tried so many things. (Kiwi, Pineapple, Apple, Banana, Grapes-your favorite, Strawberries, Melon, Cantaloupe, Raspberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Broccoli, Spinach, Carrots, Sweet Potatoe, Brussell Sprouts, Peas, Beans, Corn, Butternut Squash, Mashed Potatoes, Ham, Turkey, Chicken, a very small amount of beef, pasta, toast…)

Developments:
-Plays "Peek-A-Boo" and "Chase"
-Waves "hi" and "bye" when people talk to you (most of the time)
-picks up the cell phone and attempts a bad version of "hi!" This is too cute
-Stands up from sitting and climbs without help (December 4th)
-Top Left Incisor (December 12th), Top Right Incisor (December 22nd)
-Indicates wants with gestures, imitates some activities (You brought Grandma your bib this week when you wanted to eat)
-Bending over to pick up objects
-Enjoys gazing at her reflection (You love to smile at the baby in the mirror)
-Holds out an arm or leg to help you dress her (You are really good at getting clothes off)
-Eats with fingers

We love you so much baby girl and can't tell you how much you have made our lives more complete. We wish you a wonderful birthday full of fun and can't wait to see all that you learn next year.

Love Always,
Mommy