Beth's Blurbs

Kaitlyn Sings Veggie Tales :)

2012-02-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Ride in the Snow

2012-01-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

New Potty

2012-01-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn got a new potty chair! No, we're not potty training yet, just playing with it for now. Kaitlyn had fun learning what to do with it.

Checking out the insides

Standing up

Sitting, with one foot still inside the potty :)

And finally sitting the "right" way.

SNOW!

2012-01-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

This week we have been getting a LOT of snow. Today we finally ventured outside to let Kaitlyn play with it. Last year she saw some snow, but was too little to know what was going on. Today she got to walk in it, touch it, and fall down in it.

Here is the video of her first few moments in the snow. She liked it!

Happily walking in the snow.

Smiling down at the snow.

I don't know what it is, but I like it!

Cloth Diapers : First 24 hours

2012-01-09T16:13:00.001-08:00

Our first set of cloth diapers arrived this weekend and we have now made it through our first 24 hours of cloth diapering! So far it has been really easy.

After washing our new diapers, Kaitlyn tried out her first one for a few hours last night. Here she is in her yellow diaper cover.

After a few hours in her diaper, I was happy to see no leaks! But could it hold her all night? The last few weeks Kaitlyn has really been wet in the mornings, so I was pretty skeptical. Getting ready for bed, I took out the used insert and threw it in our new wet bag and I put two new inserts into the same yellow cover. I also put an extra mattress cover down on the bed just in case. This morning I was pleased to find dry pj's! No leaks! Stuffing two inserts at night had done the trick.

This morning Kaitlyn made a big mess in her diaper, so then it was time to try her green diaper cover. I got to try out the new process of dumping contents into the toilet. In her clean diaper, Kaitlyn showed that she is still flexible, and her new fluff will not slow her down.

Then we were off to the library, our first trip out of the house leaving disposables behind. No problem!

The new diapers are pretty neat. The covers have adjustable snaps to fit babies from 8-35 pounds, and come in lots of cute colors. The inserts seem to be really soft and able to absorb a lot. I had thought I would have to change cloth diapers a lot more often, but so far today I have changed them the same number of times that I did disposable.

This evening I washed my first load of dirty diapers. When they came out of the wash I was happy to see that I couldn't tell which of them had gone in quite a bit more messy than the others. Another win!

This week I have also been trying out using cloth wipes. I made a solution for them using water, baby wash, baby oil, and baby lotion. They are working quite well, and also came out of the wash looking white and clean.

Everything went well today, and all the things I was worried about were not a problem at all. The first 24 hours went much better than I expected!

Library Time

2012-01-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

In the last week Kaitlyn and I have tried out two of the toddler classes at our local library.

On Thursday we went to the Toddler Play Group. We invited some new friends to go with us, a mom and her son who is one day older than Kaitlyn. There were lots of fun toys set out and lots of cute kids to watch. Kaitlyn was happy with both! The last 15 minutes we sang a few songs, but most of the time was free to play.

This morning we went to the Toddler Story Time. The first half hour the teacher read books and led us in singing some songs. Kaitlyn paid attention very well! She did run up to the teacher a few times and I had to grab her and sit her down again, but she was very interested in all the books and songs. The second half hour was time for free play, but the toys were not as fun as they were at the play group, so we got a little bored.

For free classes, these were pretty good! I haven't decided how often we will go yet, but I think Kaitlyn will enjoy them, and they will help her learn a few things. And the main thing is to just get us out of the house :)

My New Years Resolution

2012-01-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

It is January 1, 2012 and I have decided it is time to try something new. Today I ordered a few of these....

I have been thinking about cloth diapering since before Kaitlyn was born and have often read about them on the Cotton Babies Website. I have always known it would save a lot of money and of course be good for the environment. But I was fearful of how much extra time it would take, and how much mess I would have to deal with. I figured learning to take care of a newborn would be a lot of work and wasn't sure if I could handle dealing with cloth diapers on top of that. But I've never stopped thinking about trying it at some point.

Finally today I decided to go for it and placed an order. My friend Melissa wrote an excellent post about cloth diapers yesterday and it helped convince me. I won't have enough to go cloth full-time yet, but enough to get us started and see how it goes. If it goes well I can order some more and go full-time. Or maybe I'll be happy doing some of each. Or maybe I'll hate it. Hopefully it won't be option #3.

After doing some math I figure if I use what I ordered today for 3 months they will have paid for themselves, since I will be saving money on disposables. So I am committed to using them for at least that long. But hopefully they will work well for us, and when Kaitlyn is done using them she can pass them down to a little brother or sister and then we can really save some money by cloth diapering our next baby with what we already have!

So here we go on a new journey. I'm still kinda nervous, but kinda excited too. Now I just have to wait for them to arrive. Stay tuned to hear how it goes.

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year, celebrating the birth of Jesus with our family.

Having a toddler around makes Christmas way more fun, so of course there are lots of pictures of her!

Saying hello from inside her new pop-up tent!

Probably her favorite thing she got....a stroller to push around.

She had fun opening presents. She would pull off a small piece of paper and hand it to me or Paul over and over.

Opening her stocking at my parents house.

Checking out a new toy with her Grandma.

Playing with her cousin.

Being kinda silly.

It was so nice to spend time with my family. I'm already looking forward to next Christmas.

Peas Please

2011-12-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn has always loved eating peas. As a baby she loved her pureed peas. And now she loves eating whole peas. But somehow in the last few days she has developed a new way to eat them. She finds one pea that looks good, sticks out one finger and goes in for the smush. Once the poor pea is totally squashed then she gathers up the remains and eats them.

It is kinda funny to watch. Yes, it is playing with food. But she is eating them. And developing her fine motor skills at the same time.

Now if I could only get her to eat her carrots.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

The Nativity

2011-12-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

This week I got out our toy nativity set that we recently got passed down to us from my sister and her family. I thought it would be fun to tell Kaitlyn the story of Christmas, though I know she can't understand it yet. I figured we would play with it for about 10 minutes and then be done with it, since Kaitlyn is still so young. Boy was I wrong.

Kaitlyn LOVES the nativity set. We now play with it for hours each day. She loves to set up all the pieces on our end table, and then throw them all back in the bucket. She can repeat this game quite a few times!

Kaitlyn's favorite piece is, of course, the baby. She does not understand who this baby is right now. But I pray that one day she will know the story of this baby as the way her Saviour came into the world.

We Moved!

2011-12-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend after Thanksgiving moving. We didn't move very far, we stayed in the same apartment complex. But we finally moved into a larger apartment, which we had planned to do more than a year ago after Kaitlyn was born.

While moving has never been fun in the past, moving with a toddler around proved to be even more painful. Kaitlyn was not so helpful during the packing stage. She would start taking things OUT of boxes while we were trying to put things IN. But somehow we made it. She did enjoy the huge pile of empty boxes that we made while we were packing though. Here she is in a box from McDonald's:

She did help her Daddy pack one box...

And here she is in our new living room on the day of the move with random furniture everywhere:

Another tough part about moving and cleaning our old apartment was that someone always had to be taking care of Kaitlyn. My parents were so wonderful to help us two days in a row with moving and playing with Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was not so happy that Mommy and Daddy kept leaving her, but she was happy to get to know Grandma and Grandpa better.

We are slowly getting settled in. We don't have anything up on the walls yet, but we are sure enjoying having more space. Our living room has so much more room to play and for Kaitlyn to run around. Here is a picture of Kaitlyn in her corner of the living room. I love how the windows around her corner are really low so that she can look out them when the blinds are open.

Catching up on Pictures

2011-11-23T14:36:00.000-08:00

Two Videos

2011-11-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

This is what might happen when Kaitlyn finishes her breakfast and is wearing a shirt that is too big...

And this is what often happens at our play group: the two-year-olds run and the one-year-old thinks it is the funniest thing ever.

I just played these two videos about 5 times each for Kaitlyn and she was laughing so hard at them! She cracks herself up!

Halloween #2

2011-11-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn celebrated her 2nd Halloween this week. Here is a picture of her last year as a giraffe.

And this year she was a butterfly!

Kaitlyn went to three Halloween parties and had lots of fun playing with the other kids!

October

2011-10-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

This week Kaitlyn started clapping! We have been trying to get her to clap for months, and finally on Monday she was just walking around and started clapping. She was so happy about it too, it was very cute. She even knows the word "clap" now, so I can ask her to clap and she will do it!

Yesterday she climbed up on the couch by herself! She was working so hard trying to do it and getting frustrated because she couldn't quite make it. And then she did it and was sitting on the couch giggling. A few minutes later she got off the couch and grabbed her bottle of milk. Then she climbed back up on the couch while holding her bottle and was so happy to sit on the couch to drink her milk. Silly girl.

This morning Kaitlyn and I went to a big sale of kids stuff. For $40 Kailtyn got a Christmas dress, pj's, sweater, skirt, pants, 2 jackets, 3 long-sleeved shirts, 2 pairs of shoes (Nike's and Croc's), 2 books, and a toy piano! I think we did good shopping!

A New Job

2011-10-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful that Paul got a new job about two weeks ago. He is still working part-time as a math and computer programming tutor at our local community college. And he is now working as an Xbox game tester. Between the two jobs he has worked between 45-60 hours a week the last few weeks, and it is quite an adjustment for all of us.

Kaitlyn has shown that she does not like having Daddy gone for over 12 hours at a time. But she just laughs and laughs at him when he does come home. Everything that he does is funny.

We don't really know long the new job is going last, which means he doesn't really want to quit his old job yet. They also asked him to apply for a better game testing job and we are waiting to hear about that.

We are trying to adjust to being more busy and not seeing each other as much. And we are trying to be thankful that he is working!

Our Big Girl

2011-10-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is becomming less of a baby everyday. She is gaining more skills and getting more of an idea of what she wants. Here some things I don't want to forget about this last month:

~ Kaitlyn think watching me brush my teeth is SO FUNNY. One time I was standing at the sink brushing my teeth and she was pushing on my legs and getting upset. I couldn't understand what she wanted. I stepped back to look at her and she started laughing at me. Then I realized, she was trying to push me back so she could see me brushing my teeth! Now she does this everyday, and I think it is so cute.

~ Singing songs with motions is now very fun with her. She loves songs that involve me moving her around or doing hand motions. She cracks up during The Wheels on the Bus when the Moms say "SHH" and when the Babies say "WAAAH". Since those two things on the bus get the biggest laughs I repeat those verses a lot.

~ Kaitlyn has now started playing with two puzzles that we have. She loves taking the pieces out and playing with them and handing them to me to put back in their holes. I'm sure it won't be long before she is putting them back in herself.

~ Another fun toy lately has been a toy radio that hangs on the fridge. Kaitlyn recently learned how to push the button for it to play songs. She loves to push the button and run around while the music plays. As soon as the song is over she runs back to push the button again!

~ Kaitlyn is a great walker but still manages to fall down often. Recently we were outside walking on the sidewalk and she fell down and hit her face. Poor thing was not happy, but thankfully kids heal fast.

~ Kaitlyn now thinks that if someone is getting something out of the kitchen that she should get some too. If I get a drink of water out of the fridge, she complains that she wants some milk. If Daddy gets a glass of milk, oh my, she must have some too. If someone gets a snack, where is hers? Oh and a new method of telling me she wants some milk is to find an empty bottle on the floor and come and dump it in my lap.

~ Kaitlyn likes to bring books or toys over to me and put them in my hand or lap to play with. If something is already in my hand she will take it out and throw it on the floor so that she can put the new thing in my hand.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day Weekend we headed over the mountains to Paul's parents house. Kaitlyn had fun playing with Grandma.

And playing in the backyard.

Kaitlyn watched her Daddy and Grandpa play pickleball. She's almost ready.

And what's a Labor Day Weekend without a little BBQ?

Most of all, Kaitlyn spent the weekend WALKING EVERYWHERE!

Fun Things

2011-09-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Some of Kaitlyn's new favorite things are:

1. Playing with 2 metal mixing bowls. They are very noisy to bang together and drop on the kitchen floor.

2. A basket of clean laundry that I haven't gotten around to putting away for a few days. She takes one thing out and brings it to me, and gives me a big smile all proud of herself. Then she runs back to bring me one more thing. The game goes on and on.

3. When she hears the flush of the toilet she runs over to watch the water swirl around and go down. Thankfully she has learned not to touch it, just look.

Such a crazy kid :)

Playing Piano

2011-09-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

When we went to my parents house last weekend, my mom had the idea to let Kaitlyn try out their piano. First I played a song for her, and then she played a song for me! She was very serious as she played quite a song! Good idea mom!

One Year Pics

2011-08-25T20:35:00.001-07:00

Big Weekend!

2011-08-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

We didn't have any plans this last weekend, but it turned out to be a big weekend for our family.

Friday Kaitlyn started standing up and walking on her own. This was a big change from the 1-2 steps she had been taking for several weeks.

Saturday Kaitlyn got a new tooth. It is #8.

Saturday Kaitlyn tried her first casserole and LOVED it. It was chicken, rice, broccoli, and cheese. I wasn't sure she would even try it, but once she had a bite she kept eating and eating. She enjoyed leftovers Sunday too.

Saturday we took Kaitlyn swimming. She loves the water, and while she still wanted to hold onto my hand, she was walking all around the pool.

Sunday morning Kaitlyn slept in until 8:00! She normally gets up between 5:00-6:30. I woke up at 7:45 and was freaking out because I hadn't heard her yet. She woke up at 8:00 and started playing. I knew she slept well because she was giggling a lot that morning.

Sunday Kaitlyn tried goldfish crackers for the first time. Another win! This girl loves anything with cheese in it.

I wonder what will happen next weekend?

Kaitlyn is Walking!

2011-08-19T20:29:00.001-07:00

Kaitlyn has been taking 1-2 steps on her own for a few weeks now. But I didn't really count 2 steps at a time as really walking. Today she stepped it up to the next level. First she started standing up on her own without holding onto anything. She did that at least 3 times today. And she has taken 5 plus steps multiple times, so I think we can now say she's walking.

Tired of performing, and ready for bed, I get her to go again!

The funny part was how much Kaitlyn laughed when she watched the video of her walking and crying. I played it several times for her and she thought it was hilarious!

My baby is walking!

I'm Not Sleeping!

2011-08-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Spying On My Daughter

2011-08-09T19:23:00.001-07:00

Reading, talking, and getting sleepy :)

Hugs & Kisses

2011-08-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

I LOVE that Kaitlyn can now give me hugs! She will be playing happily by herself, turn around and see me, and crawl over to me. She will stand up and throw her arms around me in a big hug. Of course she has always cuddled with me, but now she can throw her arms around me. It makes me very happy.

Her kisses on the other hand are not so sweet. She opens her mouth wide and comes in like she is going to eat me. It is very wet, sometimes noisy, and can result in her biting me.

I guess I'll take what I can get!

Birthday Party!

2011-07-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Katilyn had a great first birthday party yesterday. She seemed to have a lot of fun.

First she got to eat lunch.

Then it was time to open presents!

She loved having Daddy throw her down into her new bean bag chair.

Then it was time for cake! She didn't eat a whole lot, but did taste the frosting a few times.

Here is the cake I made for the party.

Kaitlyn was very lucky to have both sets of her Grandparents at her party. Here she is with my parents and then Paul's parents.

My sister, brother-in-law, and niece were there too!

And of course her Mommy & Daddy!

Kaitlyn had so much fun and got so tired she fell asleep in the middle of the floor!

We had a great time celebrating our little sweetie. It's hard to believe how much she has grown. This morning I was working in the nursery at church and was amazed at all the new things she can do in there now. She crawled into the play house and was opening and closing the windows playing peekaboo with the other kids. She was climbing up the slide, and opening the microwave and cupboards of the play kitchen.

I am so happy to be her Mommy, and can't wait to see what the next year with her will bring.

1 Year

2011-07-30T08:50:00.001-07:00

Today is Kaitlyn's First Birthday! It's so hard to believe that my little sweetie is growing up.

This morning I read through the account I wrote of her birth (here), and it brought tears to my eyes. I remember it all so well, and it is still hard to believe that I was part of such an amazing miracle.

Yes, it's been a difficult year. And a wonderful year.

I love you so much Kaitlyn. I hope you have a fun day.

Here she is, one picture from every month...

4th of July

2011-07-05T11:57:00.001-07:00

To celebrate the holiday we went to a picnic with friends from church. We had a good time, though Kaitlyn was kinda fussy due to teething. She did get to enjoy watching the other little kids play, eating cheerios, and swinging!

Playing Ball with Daddy

2011-07-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

11 Months!

2011-07-01T15:53:00.001-07:00

This month we celebrated our first Father's Day. Kaitlyn loves her Daddy!

I love this picture of Kaitlyn because it shows her 3 teeth! Then about 3 days after Father's Day Kaitlyn got 2 more top teeth, so she now has 5 teeth. We have had a few rough weeks of teething, crying, and trouble sleeping this month. And I don't think we're done yet, as a few more look like they may be coming soon.

Kaitlyn loves to play! And she has learned some new things this month. She has a set of cups that nest inside of each other. She loves to chew on them and bang them on things. But last week she was holding two of them and starting putting one inside the other! We quickly found a few more of the cups from around the room and she went to work on stacking them. She often tried them the wrong way, but kept working hard to put them together and take them apart. Paul started playing too, and would hold one of the big cups and let her put the smaller ones inside. We were so proud of her for figuring out how they work!

Also this week Kaitlyn has started a game of handing a toy to me and then taking it back. She thinks it is hilarious and giggles while we do it. It is a fun game.

Another new thing this month was climbing stairs! Since we don't have any stairs in our apartment, Kaitlyn hasn't been around them. When we were at a friend's house we let her give their stairs a try. I thought she might climb one or two, but she took off and climbed the whole way up! A few days later we were at another friend's house and she climbed another whole flight of stairs. I guess she knows how now!

We let Kaitlyn try sitting in the grass again this month, and it went a little better than last time. She wouldn't put her arms down though, ha ha.

This month Kaitlyn has started standing on her own. She will let go of the furniture for a few minutes and then will usually sit down carefully. She also loves to make funny faces and noises.

Here is a video of Kaitlyn laughing. I was getting out a new garbage bag to put in the trash can and gave it a shake to open it up...and Kaitlyn starting laughing! So of course I shook it again and again. I don't know why it was so funny, but it sure was. Unfortunately I couldn't hold the camera still while I shook the bag, but the laugh is the important part!

Today I finally did something I've been meaning to do for months. Before Kaitlyn was born I sewed a cross stitch picture for her wall with her name on it. Today I finally took it out of the frame and sewed on her birth date and weight. It only took me 11 months to spend the 15 minutes it took to finish it! It's nice to finally have that checked off my to do list.

I can't believe Kaitlyn's birthday is only a month away!

First Swim!

2011-06-16T19:13:00.001-07:00

Today I decided it was time for Kaitlyn's first swim adventure. So I put her in a swim diaper and her swimming suit. I was a little worried that the suit would already be too small, but hooray it fits!

Then we walked to the swimming pool of our apartment complex. Kaitlyn LOVES to ride on Daddy's shoulders. She always has big smiles and giggles.

There is a tiny baby pool next to the regular size pool, and I took Kaitlyn in. And.....she started crying. I tried to play with her a bit, and she kept crying. So we got out and sat next to the pool for a few minutes. There were two kids in the big pool and she watched them play for a few minutes. Then she started looking carefully at the baby pool. I started splashing the water with my hand and she started giggling. Soon she was back in the water and happy. She sat on the step in the water. She stood up holding onto my hands. She splashed with her hands. And she jumped up and down. It was a success!

It was sure fun to watch her splash herself in the face and jump around. I hope we will be going to the little pool a few more times this summer. We at least have to use up our small package of swim diapers!

10 Months!

2011-05-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

As always, Kaitlyn is as busy as ever. She can get into everything, including taking things out of the garbage can and pulling things off of the end tables. When the dishwasher is open she tries to grab the dishes inside. She is easily walking along the furniture, and walking from one thing to another. She is even letting go for a few seconds and standing on her own. She can crawl from one room to another so fast, that we can't take our eyes off of her for a second.

There are some things that I do enjoy about her growing mobility. Sometimes I go into another room to do something, and I can hear her breathing getting closer and closer until she peeks into the room to find me.

Our love of peekaboo has also expanded. Now Kaitlyn can crawl around a corner and when I say, "Where's Kaitlyn?" She will crawl back and peek around the corner and smile really big, and I say, "Peekaboo!" This game is particularly helpful when she is crawling somewhere that I can't see her. Often saying "Where's Kaitlyn?" will bring her back to where I can see her. But sometimes she thinks it's funny to crawl faster in the opposite direction, haha.

I also love it when she crawls a long way away from me and sits up. Then turns to look at me, smiles really big, then crawls straight back to me for a hug.

Another thing that warms my heart is when I get out of the car and am about to open the door to the backseat to get Kaitlyn out. Everytime she sees me through the window she smiles SO BIG. Like she hasn't seen me in ages, and so happy I'm there.

And here are some things that Kaitlyn loves! She loves going for walks in her stroller. She loves to look all around and see everything. What she doesn't like is when the stroller stops, and she lets us know by fussing, that we need to get going again.

Kaitlyn loves playing in the nursery at church, watching the other kids and exploring all the new toys. She also loves going to a play group with some of our friends every week. She loves to see new things!

Kaitlyn likes to talk! Well, we can't understand her yet, but she seems to know what she's talking about. Sometimes she looks so serious when she talks, I just can't help but wonder what she thinks she is saying!

Kaitlyn also loves to read books! We went to the library last week and checked out her first library books!

Kaitlyn loves her Daddy. She lights up when he walks into the room, and loves his tickles. Daddy can always get lots of giggles out of her.

Kaitlyn loves to look at babies and other kids. She even loves to look at pictures and videos of herself on my computer. She has this cute little squeal of excitement when she sees them. She can be playing on the floor with her toys while I am reading a friends' blog on my computer, and when I come across a picture of a baby I hear the squeal from across the room - she saw it!

Speaking of my computer, Kaitlyn loves to come over and type on my keyboard when I am trying to write an email or something. Sometimes she gets the settings on my computer changed, and it takes me awhile to figure out how to change them back. Sometimes she deletes things I have written too.

Kaitlyn loves to eat! She especially loves to feed herself. Last night she must have been really hungry because for dinner she ate peas, oatmeal, peaches, bread, cheese, puffs, and chicken! I was kinda just wondering how long she would keep eating if I kept offering her different things and she just kept eating. I think she was in the high chair for about an hour. Last week she did decide she hated vegetables, and no matter how I tried to mix them with oatmeal or applesauce, she knew they were there and would not eat them for anything. This week the veggies are going better and she is eating them, except for those carrots.

This month Kaitlyn got her 3rd tooth. This is her first tooth on the top! Some more should be coming soon.

This month we haven't taken as many pictures, but we seem to have a lot of pictures of Kaitlyn sleeping! So here is the sleeping collection.

Wherever I put her down in the pack n play, she always seems to wiggle around until her head is squished into the top or corner.

She loves to sit in her high chair. I guess it is a comfy spot.

We often talk about how cute she is when she is asleep.

Sometimes she finds some interesting positions to sleep in.

And sometimes in her pack n play she is NOT sleeping.

I don't know how we got so many sleeping pictures this month, but we did.

I can't believe there's only 2 months to go until her birthday!

9 Months!

2011-04-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is 9 months old today and I have a lot to write about! She is now so busy doing things all the time. Here are some of her favorites:

Morning aerobics: Jumping

Afternoon typing lessons

Play some music

Chase after a ball in the kitchen

Crawl around with something in the mouth

Watch a little TV (Regis & Kelly)

Get upset

Find a box when Mommy & Daddy aren't looking and turn it over on yourself

Get worn out

Get some more exercise

And eat

Yes Kaitlyn is very busy. She has now perfected crawling and standing up, and is now taking some steps while holding onto the furniture. She can now feed herself, which she loves! She has enjoyed some new foods like macaroni and cheese and scrambled egg yolks. And she now weighs over 22 pounds!

First Easter

2011-04-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn had a great first Easter. She had a lot of fun playing in the nusery at church. And then she went over to her Grandma and Grandpa's house to play. Her aunt and cousin came over too! It was a busy day, and she was very tired at the end of it.

Day at the Park

2011-04-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we finally had some sun! So we went to the park! Kaitlyn got to try out the slide!

We played with our ball

Kaitlyn did not enjoy her first experience with grass. She kept trying to put her hands down to crawl, but did not like her hands touching the grass.

Kaitlyn walked around with Daddy and watched the other kids play

And yes, Mommy was there too!

Today we decided to go out for the 2nd day in a row and try a different park. It was a warm day and nice to get out for a walk. We sat Kaitlyn in the grass and again she did not like it. We also tried the swings! She cried as we were strapping her in, but then started laughing when she got going!

A few more pics...

2011-04-04T04:57:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn and Mommy after they got home all wet from the rain

Kaitlyn and Daddy watching a few minutes of TV before they both fell asleep

8 Months

2011-03-30T07:17:00.001-07:00

Another month has gone by. Kaitlyn is now so busy. She spends most of her time pulling herself up to standing. And falling down.

This month she has tried lots of new foods: squash, peaches, carrots, yogurt, green beans, apricots, and mangoes! She seems to like everything so far.

This month Kaitlyn also got her 2nd bottom tooth. She likes to try to bite our hands, faces, legs, and feet. And now it hurts!

She makes us laugh a lot. We love her so much!

A Special Message From Kaitlyn

2011-03-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

2 Things Today

2011-03-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn has done 2 new things today.

This morning she went exploring and crawled all the way into the kitchen! She kept turning around and smiling at me, and then going some more. She can really get around now.

Then this evening I was washing dishes and happened to look into the living room and Kaitlyn had pulled herself up and was holidng onto the chair STANDING UP. Unfortunately she chose the rocking chair for her first pull up, and the chair started to swivel around and she fell down.

So, my baby can not only move herself from room to room, she can now pull up to standing! Oh my!

Look at Me

2011-03-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

Can you see my one tooth?

Can you see how I get up on my hands and knees?

Can you see how I am trying to pull myself up?

She just keeps on doing new things! This last week she has been getting up on her hands and knees all the time and rocking back and forth. She is still crawling with her tummy on the ground though, but she can move fast! Last night I was using my cell phone and she was watching me so closely. Knowing she was so interested, I set my phone down on the floor and she moved SO FAST to get over to it and grab it. And the last few days she has started trying to pull herself up by holding onto the couch or my legs. A few times she has gotten up onto her knees. Another new task this week has been dumping the toy baskets over and pulling out all the toys and books!

Last weekend we took Kaitlyn on her first overnight trip! We spent two nights at Paul's parents house. Kaitlyn and Grandma had a lot of fun together. While we were there, Kaitlyn started making a new face, we now call her fish face. She now likes to pucker up her lips like a fish!

Kaitlyn is getting better and better at eating. She is now eating oatmeal, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, apples, bananas, pears, blueberries and peaches! Coming soon will be carrots, green beans, mangoes, apricots, and yogurt.

And one more picture. Paul took this one before I got up one morning. He said Kaitlyn was falling asleep on the couch with her toy, but it kept playing music and waking her up. She finally did fall asleep at the wheel...no driving for her!

7 Months

2011-03-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

She really wants to get ahold of that camera!

I got Kaitlyn this new toy a few weeks ago. Since several of our friends have it, I knew it was a fun one. We put all the shapes in the bucket and set it next to Kaitlyn and she loves to take each one out, taste it, drop it, and then take out another one. Sometimes she will dump them out too. Once they are all out on the floor she's done....until we come over and put them back in the bucket for her to take out again. Someday she will get the idea of putting them back in!

Kaitlyn hit another big milestone last week. Her first little tooth made its appearance. Now we're just wondering when we will see another one. She's finally doing better at eating, and starting to get the idea of what we're doing. Now she gets really excited when she sees me putting food in her little bowl.

Kaitlyn loves to sit up. She is often seen twirling her hands and feet around in circles. We play peekaboo a lot. And she likes to laugh when we make funny noises or sing silly songs.

A few days ago Kaitlyn was in her little bathtub and figured out that slapping the top of the water with her hand created a big splash! She thought it was so funny. She made a big mess and we both laughed a lot. I thought it was pretty cute, though I don't think it will be so cute over the next few years.

Another big change for us this month is that after 7 months of pumping milk for Kaitlyn, I stopped last week. After seeing a huge drop in my supply over the last few weeks, and some other issues, we decided it was time to stop. I sure didn't know what an emotional process it was going to be for me. After 16 months of pregnancy and breastfeeding, it was hard to let go of this amazing thing my body has been doing. It also brought up again how disappointed I am that I wasn't able to nurse her the normal way. And while I'm sad that I didn't make it longer, I'm trying to just be proud of myself for making it this long when we had so many problems to deal with. I'm still getting used to the idea that my body is mine again. I can take whatever cold medicine I want, and I could have a special "drink" for my birthday this week.

I sure love these two:

Yes, This Post is About Kaitlyn

2011-02-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Oh, I need to catch up on the new things that Kaitlyn is doing. Here's a random list of things she does and likes:

Giggles when Daddy kisses her tummy and has whiskers
Very good at sitting up now
Loves to slap her legs with her hands, and will do it for quite awhile
Her talking now has some new sounds, especially da-da-da
Still loves to be naked
Favorite food so far are peas
Is able to get up on her hands and knees for a few seconds
Though not crawling, can move forwards somehow
Favorite part of bath time is sucking the water out of the washcloth
Had her first flu last week
Loves to play with her feet, and sometimes taste them

This morning Kaitlyn did something new. Sometimes I will put her diaper rag over her face and she will just wait helplessly for me to take it off. Today she started pulling it off herself. So we spent a long time together with me putting it over her head and her pulling it off and smiling. It's fun to learn new games!

Kaitlyn has a favorite TV commercial. It's for Quest HD internet. Whenever it comes on she looks up at the TV and smiles really big. Last week I started saying it was her favorite commercial, but thought it was maybe just coincidence that she was looking up when it came on. But now it is clear that the second the commercial comes on she is fascinated by it. A couple of days ago she was crying, and as soon as it started she stopped crying, turned around, and smiled at the TV. And this morning she was in my lap totally asleep! The commercial came on and she immediately opened her eyes wide, whipped her body around towards the TV and gave a big smile. Nap time was over! I still don't understand what it is about the commercial she loves so much!

It is so fun to watch Kaitlyn play on the floor by herself now. She is such a busy girl, and has so much to do. She will roll over a few times and pick up a toy. Examine it, taste it, shake it, and drop it. Then inch forward a bit to find another toy and do it all again. She is so intent on moving around and figuring out what things do. I just love to watch her work.

Kaitlyn tried some new rice crackers this week. They kinda just melt in your mouth. I handed her one and she knew just what to do with it!

And Kaitlyn got her first Valentine in the mail today!

The Car Seat Pictures

2011-02-09T11:39:00.001-08:00

Here she is at 1 day, 3 months, and 6 months! Watch her grow!

6 Months

2011-02-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn is now 6 months and getting bigger all the time. At her doctor appointment yesterday she weighed in at 19 pounds and 7 ounces, which is above the 95th percentile.

As much as Kaitlyn loves her bottle, she is not such a fan of solid foods yet. So far she has tried some rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, and apples. Sometimes she will get excited about getting the food in her mouth, but she still mostly spits it out.

Kaitlyn is now sitting up on her own pretty well. She is not crawling yet, but between rolling and wiggling she can get around.

Paul thought it would be fun to buy Kaitlyn a bag of Sun Chips, with the bag that is so incredibly noisy. She will sit for quite awhile just touching it and turning it over and making LOTS of noise.

Kaitlyn loves to get her hands on our computer keyboards. She sees Paul and I both pushing the little buttons and she thinks that she should be able to do that too. A few nights ago Paul got tired of her grabbing for his keyboard so he set her up in her high chair with an extra keyboard to play with. She was so happy and banged away for quite awhile.

It's hard to believe that she is really 6 months already! I love you litte sweetie!

Food, Take One

2011-01-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn is now 5 and a half months old, and she loves to watch us eat. She will watch our fork go up and down, study us while we chew, and watch the process over and over again. This morning we decided it was time to let her give eating a try. Her first meal was rice cereal mixed with formula. I tasted it, and it was terrible. But she is used to the taste of formula, right? I wasn't sure if I was going to give her rice cereal or not, since it has no nutritional value. But I got a free box of it, so I decided to give it a try. She hated it. And here's the proof.

I'm not sure if she really hated the taste of it, or she just didn't know what to do with it. So, I'm not sure whether to try the same thing again tomorrow, try something different, or just wait a few days.

January

2011-01-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

2011 didn't start off too great for our family, as all 3 of us were sick. I had it the worst, and it was awful. But Kaitlyn was a very good girl for me while I was so sick. she was content to sit on the couch with me and just hang out, without me having to do much to entertain her. Fortunately, we are now healthy. Here are some notes on what Kaitlyn has been up to.

She still loves to eat, and is now fairly good at holding her bottle. We'll probably be starting some solids in the next few days.

After a nice bottle, this is the best place for a nap.

After a nap, it's time to play! In addition to putting toys into her mouth, Kaitlyn now likes to shake them all around. She enjoys it, except when she hits herself in the face with them.

She also loves to listen to Mommy or Daddy sing to her.

In the last few weeks Kaitlyn has started to enjoy looking at books. She often will let out a squeal when I open a book and try to grab at the pictures. It's a little hard for me to turn the pages with her hands in the way, but I hope we will share many more hours reading books together.

This last weekend Kaitlyn and I went to several parties together. Saturday we went to my Grandma's 90th birthday party. Kaitlyn was kinda overwhelmed meeting so many new people, but we had a good time. Then on Sunday we went to a baby shower for two ladies at our church. Here she is decked out for the shower in a new outfit one of her Grandma's sent her. She is only 5 months old, but this 9 month size outfit is none too big for our "little" sweetie who continues to grow.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

5 Months Old!

2010-12-30T14:47:00.001-08:00

Kaitlyn is now 5 months old!

This week Kaitlyn did something I totally did not expect...she starting sitting up on her own!

Look at me sitting up so tall!

Hey, sitting up is a great position for playing with my blocks!

This last month went pretty fast. Kaitlyn and I attended a lot of Christmas parties and had a lot of fun. We had a wonderful Christmas with our family. I am also happy to report that my emotional problems that were really bad last month were so much better this month.

This month was the first month that I gave Kaitlyn a bedtime. We have been doing pretty well with it. But it is still hard to get her afternoon nap to be at a reasonably consistent time to make bedtime easier. When she gets really tired and it's not bedtime yet, I have learned to take her clothes off. She immideately gets happy again and we can make it a little longer until bath time and bed time.

Of course Kaitlyn has started doing lots of new things this month. She now loves to reach up and grab our faces. She has even pulled my glasses off my face a few times. She enjoys sitting in her high chair and playing with her toys. She is getting much more mobile with rolling and inching around. She loves to find cords and hold onto them so tight that it's hard for me to get them out of her hands. She is fascinated by watching us eat. She will watch the fork go up and down so intently. She is starting to get her knees up under her when on her tummy. She is now ticklish and will laugh pretty hard when Daddy tickles her. She is now drooling everywhere. And she is doing a great job playing with her new toys that she got for Christmas.

We're now starting month 6, and planning to try some solid foods in a few weeks!

Baby's First Christmas

2010-12-27T16:36:00.001-08:00

Paul, Kaitlyn and I spent Christmas Eve at Paul's grandparents house.

Kaitlyn enjoyed seeing her Great Grandma

and taking a nap by the tree!

Christmas Day we first went to my parents house. Kaitlyn did a great job opening presents. I did help her open them, but I was surprised that as soon as we put a present in front of her she would start trying to open it. She got some fun stacking cups.

And a ball that rolls around on the floor and plays music.

We had to try that one out right away!

Along with presents, we enjoyed spending time with our family. Here is Kaitlyn with her cousin Lori.

Then we all went over to my aunt and grandma's house. Kaitlyn opened MORE presents, including some blocks

a book

and a doll.

We had a good day.

And we were very tired when we got home.

The next day Kaitlyn was ready to play with her toys! Here she is practicing driving. This toy has lots of things that make noises and play muusic, and I was surprised how well she did.

And we enjoyed playing with her new blocks. Again I was surprised at how well she did. She knew right away how to knock down all the towers I built, and was doing pretty well at sitting up too!

We had a great first Christmas with Kaitlyn. It's hard to imagine what next Christmas will be like!

For Grandma Shari

2010-12-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Grandma Shari! We're sorry we don't get to see you today, but here's a little video of Kaitlyn. This was just before bath time and bed time last night. I finally got a video with some giggles.

It's Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T06:20:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas Eve! I have been telling Kaitlyn all about Christmas and she is getting excited!

Last weekend she got to meet Santa for the first time! I put her in his lap, and she was suddenly amazed by her feet! She did not look at Santa at all, and I could not get her to look up at me.

We're looking forward to some new toys for Christmas!

New Things

2010-12-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn has been working hard on doing some new things. Between rolling and wiggling she is really moving around on the floor. She can easily get off her blanket and get to things that are not hers to play with. I am not ready for her to be so mobile yet. I really have to keep an eye on her when I put her on the floor. She is also starting to get her knees up under her. She hasn't made it up on her hands and knees at the same time yet, but I'm sure it won't be long.

She has also been working on growing these chunky thighs!

This last week I sat her up in her high chair for the first time. Here she says, "This is fun Mommy, but where's the food?"

I haven't started giving her any solid food yet, but she enjoys sitting in her chair to play with toys. It is so fun to watch her drop one on the floor and then stare down at it.

Kaitlyn loves to listen to me sing to her. Sometimes when she is fussy I start singing and she stops fussing and smiles at me. She now can hold her own bottle sometimes. And she is now really good at reaching out to grab something and put it into her mouth. It's amazing how she does new things every week!

Gettig Ready for Christmas!

2010-12-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn is getting ready for her first Christmas!

She knows the truth: Who needs Santa when I have Grandma!

She likes to go to parties! These are her friends at our class at the hospital. Do you see the little boy trying to hold hands with Kaitlyn?

She also went to a party with friends from our church. The youngest three at the party were all wearing red and white stripes! Here she is between Ben and Grant. First Ben looks mad at her.

Then he tries to whisper something to her!

Kaitlyn and I are attending two more parties today, with food, presents and Santa!

Week 19

2010-12-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

This last week I have been working on getting Kaitlyn's life a little more on a schedule. Up until now we have let her sleep whenever she wanted, which was easiest for us. But now I am working on getting her used to a set bedtime. It has been going pretty well, though she gets so tired in the evenings that it can be a lot of work to keep her up.

I have been thinking about trying to make this change for quite awhile, but the time has finally come. The past few months Paul has been so helpful with taking care of Kaitlyn when she wakes up at night so that I can get some sleep. But Paul is starting a new job where he is working 10 hour night shifts! We are very thankful that he has a job, but this will definately be changing our sleeping schedule. Now I will be getting up with her at night, and I'm a little concerned about getting enough sleep. Hopefully getting her on a bit of a schedule will help.

One of Kaitlyn's new tricks is to stick out her tongue and blow bubbles. It is pretty cute, though messy. Um, I guess she is up from her nap...I better go pick her up!

4 Months!

2010-11-30T15:28:00.001-08:00

Today marks the end of another month. It's amazing how fast they go. Month number 4 was a good one for Kaitlyn, probably her happiest one so far.

Yesterday we took Kaitlyn to her 4 month doctor appointment, and her doctor was very happy with how she is doing. Our *little* sweetie now weighs a whopping 16 pounds and 11 ounces, which puts her in the 97th percentile. She is 25.5 inches long, which is in the 90th percentile. I guess she is a big girl! She also got another round of shots, which she did pretty well with. We are so happy to have a healthy baby.

The best parts of the month probably were seeing Kaitlyn learn to roll over, grab her feet, and giggle, along with celebrating Thanksgiving with our families.

Since this is my blog, and it really is all about bragging anyway, I might as well brag a little more! I can hardly believe that I have made it to 4 months with pumping my milk. The first few weeks were so hard, and I had no idea that I could make it this long. I think I deserve some sort of award. Maybe it's in the mail? I still have no idea how long I will keep this up. Nearly everyday I think about quitting, and yet everyday I keep going. Perhaps I'm a little stubborn?

This month has been great in a lot of ways, but it also has been an emotional one for me. Another round of post-partem emotions has hit me, and that part hasn't been so fun. I feel fine for a few days, and then don't quite feel like myself for a few days. Sometimes for no real reason I feel overwhelmed and like crying. Hopefully this next month will see an improvement in this department!

Next up: month 5 and Christmas!

Thanksgiving Week

2010-11-27T11:35:00.001-08:00

This week was Kaitlyn's first Thanksgiving. After a week of snow and icy roads, we were happy that we were able to make it to Paul's family celebration. We were especially glad that Paul's parents were able to make it over the pass to spend the day with us. Kaitlyn did great being passed around and meeting lots of new family. Her favorite part was the special treat that her Grandma brought her - her first doll. Here's a picture of Kaitlyn in her pajamas after the long day, playing with her new toy. Thank you Grandma Shari!

This week I was thinking a lot about what was going on this time last year. It was two days before Thanksgiving last year when I found out I was pregnant. What a life changing day! Then we spent Thanksgiving day still in shock as we went to celebrate with both Paul's family and then my family, keeping our secret to ourselves.

I am so thankful for my beautiful happy girl. Each week she continues to grow and learn new things. This week she has started laughing, which of course is one of the best sounds in the world! Unfortunately, after the first good chuckle, she gets the hiccups, so the rest of her giggles are interrupted with hiccups. She also now loves to grab her feet! When I lay her down on her changing table or the floor to loves to stretch her arms and legs out really far for a big stretch, and then curl up and grab her feet.

And she's definately getting better at holding onto her toys and getting them into her mouth. Here's the poor little sweetie teething:

It's hard to believe we're now officially into the Christmas season! I'm listening to Christmas music as I write, and I love it. Four weeks from today is Christmas Day!

First Snow!

2010-11-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn saw her first snow yesterday at church! And today it has been snowing a lot too, so we ran outside to take a picture.

Yes, More Pictures :)

2010-11-20T11:59:00.000-08:00

This week Kaitlyn had her first close encounter with a dog, while visiting her great-grandparents. Both Kaitlyn and the dog just stared at each other for awhile and weren't quite sure what to do. It was pretty funny.

This picture I took after I realized that Kaitlyn had been pretty quiet in her doorway jumper for a few minutes. I took a peek at her and found her passed out! And here she is trying to lick her blanket!

And Kaitlyn has a little something she would like to say...

She Did It!

2010-11-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn has now rolled from her tummy to her back quite a few times. And the last week or so she has been working so hard to roll from her back to her tummy. She would get so close and then start crying because she couldn't quite do it. This morning she was at it again, trying so hard, and she finally did it! Then she stayed on her tummy for a few minutes, and then rolled onto her back again. I'm so proud of her!

Another thing she was been doing a lot this week is "singing". She especially likes to sing with her fist in her mouth. Here's a sample of her sitting on the couch, chewing on her fist, and singing away. Sorry the picture is sideways, so you have to turn your head :)

This last week Kaitlyn and I also shared a cold for the second time. It's so nice to share everything together! But despite the cold, she stayed pretty happy this time. Here's a few pictures of her week 15!

She just smiles so much now, and I LOVE it. Even when I am exhausted or in the middle of cleaning her spit up off of myself, her big smile just warms my heart.

First Halloween

2010-11-02T05:02:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn enjoyed her first holiday last week. She was the cutest little giraffe I have ever seen!

Unfortunately she did not enjoy her costume too much. Each time she wore it she only lasted about 5 minutes in it before she was complaining that it needed to come off. She got to go to two parties this year, the first one at our class at the hospital. These are just a few of the babies that were there.

And here is Kaitlyn with her friends from church.

Kaitlyn didn't make it to the party I went to on Halloween...she stayed home with Daddy and slept the night away.

3 Months!

2010-10-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

My baby girl is 3 months old today!

Kaitlyn is learning to do a lot of new things. After a few weeks of rolling from her tummy to her back, she is now working on rolling from her back to her tummy. She has been working on it for a few days now and is so close. It makes her quite upset that she can't do it, but I'm sure she'll have it soon.

She loves to sit up and stand up, and does not want to be held like a baby unless she's eating. She likes to sit up on the couch next to me and be able to look around. We also set up our doorway jumper this last week and Kaitlyn LOVES it. She bounces all around and turns around in circles, making happy little noises. She still likes her swing a lot too.

Kaitlyn loves to chew on her hands, and sometimes she manages to get both of them in her mouth at the same time. She likes to look at a few of her toys. One of them she can now grab hold of and pull it into her mouth. She also loves to watch TV. It's amazing how far she can turn her head around to try to get a glimpse of it.

She likes to listen to me talk and sing to her, and now I often get big smiles in return. Kaitlyn is making a lot more noises these days too. It's fun to talk to her and have her "talk" back to me.

Kaitlyn has been doing great in the nursery at church the last few weeks. I have put her in several times during MOPS, and this last week was the first time I put her in on a Sunday morning. She definitely gets tired after time in the nursery, with all the new things and people to look at.

Now that she is 3 months old, Kaitlyn is graduating from the 0-3 month baby class we have been attending at the hospital. We will now be with the "big kids" in the 3-6 month class.

Of course, her favorite activity is still eating. Based on how loud she screams when she wants to do it, we're pretty sure it's her favorite thing.

The pictures from lucky Week 13:

Look how much she's grown! Here she was one day old

And here she is at 3 months

This is something fun we had made at 6 weeks and just got back this week

And here she is happy in her doorway jumper!

Teething?

2010-10-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

This week we have had a few hard days, as Kaitlyn seems to have begun teething. It's a little early, isn't it? But she has started drooling, gnawing on her hands, and getting very fussy. She will chew on my fingers too, but doesn't quite understand what to do with the teething toys yet. Oh, why does teething have to hurt so much?

Here are our pictures to share from (yikes) Week 12:
A happy baby!
Come on Mommy, no more pictures!
So tired after playing with toys

She is Rolling!

2010-10-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

I think it's safe to say that Kaitlyn is officially able to roll from her tummy to her back. She did it twice on accident, first at 4 weeks and then once a few weeks after that.

But she has now done it twice each day for 3 days. I usually put her down on the floor on her tummy for a few minutes every morning, until she starts screaming. Tuesday I put her down and she just had it in her head, "I must roll!" As soon as I put her down she started leaning to the side and squirming around and flipped over. I wasn't sure if it was an accident or not, so I rolled her back on her tummy and she started leaning again, and then flipped over again! I put her back on her tummy and by then she was fussing too much to do it again so I picked her up. Same thing happened Wednesday and Thursday, she rolled twice in about 5 minutes, and was fussing too much for a third time. It's so funny how I put her down she just knows that she has to do it, and immediately starts leaning to the side. This morning I put her on her tummy and was going to try to take a video of her rolling and of course she wouldn't do it! Oh, I'm not ready for her to grow up!

This week I started a Bible Study with other mommy's from my church. We're doing a study called Believing God by Beth Moore. There is homework that we have to do, and I am hoping that I will be able to get it done after Kaitlyn goes to bed at night.

From Week 11, she likes to sit on the couch:

And she is starting to enjoy her toys a little more!

Sick Days

2010-10-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

This week brought Kaitlyn's first cold. Her little nose was so stuffy and it was hard for her to breathe. There was a lot of snorting and noisy breathing going on. Of course she doesn't yet know how to breathe through her mouth, or know what to do with the junk in her nose. So she wasn't very happy about it. She spent two days just wanting to be held and taking all her naps in my lap. We had to cancel some of our plans, and spend the time on the couch or in the rocking chair. I didn't get much done, but tried to remind myself to enjoy the extra cuddle time with her. I know it won't be long before cuddling with Mommy is not her favorite activity anymore.

The good news is that Kaitlyn slept 9 hours straight - twice this week!

Week 10 in over and uh-oh - I didn't take ANY pictures this week.

2 Months!

2010-10-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's October already and Kaitlyn is 2 months old.

This last week Kaitlyn had her first professional photos taken, and she did great. I wasn't expecting to get smiles out of her but we did. They are very cute pictures, but I guess it's not hard to get cute pictures when you have such a cute baby!

The last three days Kaitlyn has started a new stage of crying off and on all morning and then not really napping during the day. She just closes her eyes for a few minutes here and there. I'm hoping that this is a quick stage. The other thing that we are waiting to say good-bye to is the spitting up stage. We won't miss that too much whenever it leaves.

Even with the problems, we are still in love with this little girl, and amazed at all the little things that she does.

Pictures from Week 9 of Paul & Kaitlyn chasing ducks outside our door and posing for pictures!

I Love Doctors?

2010-09-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

Do I love going to the doctor? No, I really don't. But I was quite shocked what I found when I was looking at my calendar a few days ago.

I have gone to some kind of doctor's office or clinic at least once a week for the last 22 weeks! That's 5 months! And a lot of weeks I went more than once. I'm pretty sure I've had more appointments in the last 5 months than in the whole rest of my life combined.

Before Kaitlyn was born I was going to my Obstetritian's office to see my doctor, have ultrasounds, get non-stress tests, and have blood work done. I also went to a specialist for gestational diabetes and a physical therapist for my lower back pain.

Since Kaitlyn has been born I have gone back to my OB's office for a check up, had more blood work done and gone back to the diabetes specialist, taken Kaitlyn to her Pediatritian several times, and gone to the Breastfeeding Clinic at the hospital a few times.

And after 22 weeks of going to those places - this week we finally have no doctor appointments scheduled! We actually don't have any scheduled until 2 months from now, when we take Kaitlyn back to her Pediatritian for her 4 month check up and shots. Hopefully we won't need to take her in for anything before then.

Tired of Tired

2010-09-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's what I am! Tired of being tired.

This week (week 8) I had to do another glucose test. Those are just so fun. After doing the one hour and three hour tests while I was pregnant, I now got to do a two hour test. The good news is that I no longer have diabetes! Hurray!

The bad news is that I have a good chance of getting gestational diabetes again with future pregnancies, and of developing type 2 diabetes. My doctors want to keep giving me these annoying tests: when I finish breastfeeding, as soon as I get pregnant again, and then pretty much for the rest of my life. Oh well, I'll try not to think about that now.

Kaitlyn has had a good week. This week she has started smiling a lot more. Yesterday she started fussing and I went over to her and smiled real big and said "hi!". She stopped fussing and smiled back at me. It was really fun to see her make the switch from crying to smiling when she saw me.

Twice this morning I saw Kaitlyn staring at her hands. This is the first time I've seen her doing this, and it is exciting because I know that it is a step in the direction of her learning what those things can do.

Kaitlyn likes going places with me. Everywhere we go is a new opportunity to see new things. She also likes that when we go somewhere I hold her so much. When we're at home I am always trying to take a shower, eat dinner, or do laundry. But when we go to visit a friend, to church, or a play group, I just hold her and she is happy to be close to me as she looks around at all the new things, has a little to eat to calm down from all the stimulation, and then has a nice nap in my arms. I enjoy this time with her too!

One new place we went this week was our first MOPS meeting. Mothers of Pre-Schoolers is a group that meets at our church for moms and kids preschool age and younger to get together. I'm looking forward to getting to know some other moms there, learning some new things, and doing a Bible study with some of the moms from the group.

Here's the pictures from Week 8:

Playing in my diaper and socks!

I'm a Little Lady!

Hi there!

Thinking

2010-09-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Today I had to go to the hospital for a two hour glucose test. Because I had gestational diabetes they are now testing me to make sure that I no longer have diabetes. So I had a few hours away from Paul and Kaitlyn this morning which gave me some time to ponder my new life as a Mommy.

It's still quite strange for me to go out by myself. Sometimes I just stop and think, "Is this for real? Do I really have a husband and daughter at home waiting for me?" It's still hard to believe. And then I think about how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family.

It's also amazing how my feelings can change so quickly. Just last night I was fed up with Kaitlyn crying and eating and making messes and I needed a break, and then this morning after a short time away from her I missed being with her.

I've also noticed that it just feels strange to go somewhere without her. Like I'm missing a part of myself. I carried her with me for so long when I was pregnant, and now I have her with me most of the time. So when she is not with me, it's almost like I don't know who I am.

I've heard that babies have to learn that their Mommy is a seperate person than they are, just like they have to learn that their hand is a part of themself that is always there. I feel kinda like a baby in this respect, that I still need to learn that I am a seperate person from Kaitlyn.

After pondering these things during my two hours at the hospital, I heard one of my favorite songs on the radio on my way home, which of course made me cry. Here are some of the words:

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

God gives me so many blessings, and I need to remember to keep thanking Him for them. And even if a few things are taken away right now, like my sleep and time for myself, my heart will choose to say, "Lord blessed be Your name!"

Another Week, Another Post

2010-09-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

Week 7 has flown by! This week my niece Lori turned 13 and we went to a birthday party for her. Kaitlyn and I went to a baby shower for two ladies from our Sunday school class. We visited one of my friends at her house. We went to two Mom and Baby groups. And we had to take Kaitlyn to the doctor to get her first shots!

Paul and I were pretty nervous about taking Kaitlyn to get her shots. But she did great. She screamed for about 10 seconds until I picked her up and was able to calm her down. And then she was fine. Our doctor told us that many babies are either more fussy or more sleepy after shots, and fortunately Kaitlyn was the sleepy baby. She slept a lot that evening and the next day. And she now weighs over 11.5 pounds!

Here's a picture of Kaitlyn and me at the baby shower with our friends Sarah and Jacqui and their babies Ben and Miriam:

And here's Kaitlyn. She's starting to like her toys!

6 Weeks!

2010-09-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Oh my, how did we make it to 6 weeks already? I've heard a lot of people say that the first 6 weeks are the hardest, so in my mind I have kept the 6 week mark as the first goal to reach. And now here we are. So now things get easy, right?

Honestly things are getting easier. Life is feeling a little more "normal", if there is such a thing. It's getting easier to take Kaitlyn places, which allows me to see more people and not be stuck at home.

This week Paul and I had our first date without Kaitlyn. My parents got to play with her while we took off for a few hours to some places that we used to go when we were dating and first married. It was nice to have time to have fun together and have conversation other than, "Can you get me that?" and "Could you do that for me?"

Today Kaitlyn and I went to a play group with other moms and babies from our Sunday School class. It was so nice to connect with them again, after missing them during the summer, and see how the babies are growing.

And Kaitlyn is growing all the time too! When I picked her up this morning I asked her if she had grown overnight. She felt bigger. And she is much more alert and able to look at things. She sure is a cutie!

Playing with Daddy

Our Sleeping Beauty

Sunday Morning

2010-09-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

I have never been a morning person. 5:00 AM has never been a time when anything other than sleeping sounded like a good idea. But this morning at 5:00 AM I was happy to get up to feed my little girl.

When I woke up to her little cries and looked at the clock, I realized that she had been sleeping for 7.5 hours. A new record! I got her up and fed her in the quiet of the morning, with some of my favorite worship music playing. Kaitlyn just stared at me while she ate. After she ate we snuggled and rocked for awhile and listened to the music. And then we both went back to sleep for a little while before it was time to get ready for church.

After the scramble to get all three of us ready for church, I enjoyed going to Sunday School to be encouraged and enjoy some time to talk with friends.

When we came home from church, we all three took a nap. Exactly how Sunday afternoons should be!

Tomorrow morning I may not be happy to get up at 5:00 AM, or whenever my little sweetie decides I should get up. But today was a great morning. Even at 5:00 AM.

5 Weeks!

2010-09-04T08:25:00.001-07:00

We made it through week 5 and Kaitlyn had her first trip to my parents house to play with Grandma and Grandpa. We also got to see her aunt, uncle, and niece! I couldn't believe that she hardly took any naps the whole day.

Kaitlyn also had her first trip to church. I tried to keep her awake for a few hours before we went to church so that she would sleep through church and not make any noise. It worked, she slept through the whole thing. Here she is all dressed up and ready for church:
As you can see she is laying on her changing table and staring at the wall. She absolutely loves doing that!

And here she is trying out a new toy for the first time. You can see she didn't like it too much. Maybe next time.

This week Kaitlyn set a record of sleeping 7 hours straight. We are looking forward to when that becomes normal.

Kaitlyn's case of thrush is getting much better. Mine is not getting better as quickly.

Yesterday evening Paul, Kaitlyn and I went for a long walk. It was a beautiful and warm evening and nice to be outside. Kaitlyn enjoyed a few minutes of the walk at the beginning and at the end, but slept through most of it. The rolling stroller is just such a nice motion for sleeping! By the end of the walk I was in a lot of pain! I guess I am not fully recovered from giving birth yet.

Kaitlyn is definately making progress holding her head up. It is so fun to watch her hold it up, especially when she is trying to look at me. And she is so much better and looking at things. I like to move my head from one side of her to the other and watch her follow me with her eyes. She is still having trouble with gas and spitting up, but she is still our little sweetheart.

Reflecting on One Month

2010-08-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, Kaitlyn is one month old. While feeding her early this morning I just stared at her and couldn't believe how beautiful and precious she is, and how much I care about her.

It's hard to believe that a month has gone by already. I'm not sure how to describe this last month, as it has been so full of both difficult and painful things, and wonderful and amazing things.

Where can I start? The first two weeks my body hurt so much that it was difficult to move very much. And then all of the sudden when we hit two weeks I felt so much better. After a long hard pregnancy and a few weeks of recovery, my body is now starting to feel more like my own. Sometimes it's hard to remember that now I can do things like take the garbage out and clean the bathroom, as I'm not an invalid anymore.

My emotions have run wild this last month. I have cried often, felt overwhelmed here and there, and felt like a failure at times. And at other times I have been overwhelmed with joy as I watch my husband play with Kaitlyn, or as she falls asleep in my arms. I have been amazed at how quickly my emotions can go up and down.

Sleep is another challenge, of course. Just a few hours here and there is tough. But it is getting better. Kaitlyn now has a record of sleeping 7 hours straight, but about 5-6 is "normal" right now.

The most difficult part has been everything related to feeding little Kaitlyn. I have been working so hard to be successful with breastfeeding and we have met a lot of obstacles. After three trips to the hospital to meet with a lactation consultant, they cannot figure out what our problem is. I have the milk and she has a great latch, but she is not able to get my milk out. I have talked with several people who are all at a loss as to what the problem is.

So for the last month I have been pumping my milk and then feeding it to Kaitlyn in a bottle, which is a time consuming and emotional process. I try to focus on the fact that she IS getting my milk, the best thing for her. And I try not to focus on how much work it is, or on how long I can keep this up.

To add to our feeding problems, Kaitlyn and I have developed thrush. We took her to her doctor today to get a perscription for it, and I got two perscriptions for me from my doctor yesterday. Hopefully all these pills and ointments will heal us quickly.

The good news though all of our feeding issues, is that Kaitlyn IS eating and gaining weight. Today she weighed in at 10 pounds and 8 ounces!

I am beginning to feel more comfortable taking Kaitlyn places. I know that while staying at home is a lot easier, that I really need to get out of the house and see other people as much as I can. Fortunately there are several mom and baby play groups that Kaitlyn and I can go to. And Paul likes to take us places too, like the park or Walmart.

In spite of all these problems that I can list, I am happy. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and such a sweet daughter. She makes such cute faces and noises. Seeing her grow and learn new things is fun. She is starting to hold her head up more, and now can stare at things for a long time. It's amazing to think about how many more things she has to learn!

Well I finally wrote this post, that I have been putting off for quite awhile. I still don't feel like I have the words to describe this last month, how hard and wonderful it has been. Maybe month 2 will be easier to describe.

4 Weeks!

2010-08-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Kaitlyn is 4 weeks old today, and we have had a busy week!

First, Kaitlyn somehow managed to roll over this morning! I put her on her tummy and turned my back on her for a minute. She was very quiet, so I turned around to see what she was doing and she was on her back, waving her arms around, and looking very confused. I was sad that I didn't see her first roll, but here's how she looked just after it:

This week was Kaitlyn's first trip to the park and first ride in her stroller. She slept through the first half of our walk through the park, but then woke up to look at some trees.

Kaitlyn also met three of her great-grandparents this week!

Kaitlyn and I also attended a Mom and Baby Group at Evergreen Hospital this week where we met some other Mom's and little babies. It was so nice to listen to and share with Mom's who are going through similar struggles with newborns.

This week also brought two clogged milk ducts and now possibly thrush. Ouch. Fortunately the clogged ducts went away pretty quickly, but I think Kaitlyn and I may need to go to the doctor to treat this thrush. Hopefully we will feel better soon.

Yeah, this was a busy week. It is nice to feel a little more comfortable taking Kaitlyn places, but it is still exhausting!

3 Weeks!

2010-08-21T20:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday marked 3 weeks of Kaitlyn's life with us, and we had a busy day. First we went to Kaitlyn's Pediatritian and were happy to find out that she is up to 9 pounds 9 ounces, finally a half pound over her birth weight.

Then the three of us went grocery shopping. When we entered the store Kaitlyn got really still with her eyes wide open, trying to figure out her new surroundings. After a few minutes of overstimulation she slept through the rest of the event.

And lastly, Kaitlyn had her first evening out on the town. We went to the mall! Paul and I like to go to the mall to wander around and people watch - it's a cheap date. It was fun to have Kaitlyn with us this time. It was also my first time to try out my front carrier with her. She was so happy snuggled up against me feeling the movement of me walking. She slept the whole time we walked around the mall, sat for awhile, and then walked some more. We didn't do anything too exciting, but it was a special time for me to be out with my two sweethearts. It was a good day!

Here's some pictures from Week 3:

We Love Grandparents!

2010-08-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

We love visits from Kaitlyn's wonderful Grandparents! Kaitlyn loves being held by them, and we look forward to many more visits with them. We are very blessed to have them in our lives.

Grandpa and Grandma Ptolemy

Grandma Bomar

Grandpa Bomar

2 Weeks!

2010-08-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is 2 weeks old...and so fun to take pictures of:

1 Week!

2010-08-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Our new family at one week:

Days 3-6

2010-08-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Kaitlyn likes to sleep!

Day 4: We think she's pretty cute!

Day 4: She likes to sleep with Daddy!

Day 5: After lots of spitting up, one is happy one is not!

Day 6: She doesn't mind sleeping with Mommy either!

Day 6: All clean after first bath at home!

Day 6: A clean baby sure smells nice!

Kaitlyn's Birth Story

2010-08-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, July 30th, I was not a happy camper. I was 2 days overdue, and had not slept more than an hour or two the previous 2 nights due to having constant contractions and so much pain. I was scheduled to be induced the next day, so I didn't want to go to my regular Doctor appointment that morning. And then since we were going, I was hoping that for some reason my Doctor would decide that I needed to be admitted to the hospital, so that I would not have to go home from the appointment to suffer through another day and night of contractions before returning to the hospital the next morning.

My appointment was at 10:30 in the morning, and I started with a 20 minute non-stress test to moniter Kaitlyn's heartbeat and my contractions. Then I was moved into a room to see my Doctor. She came into the room as I was getting up on the examining table. And then I felt my water break. At first I wasn't positive what it was, but then it just kept coming and coming, until I had made a huge mess :) I remember just feeling so relieved that I didn't have to go home for another day. We were also very happy that my water broke with my Doctor right there, and that it had not happened at home where we would have to deal with the mess!

Then they wheeled me downstairs to Labor and Delivery and we checked into the hospital! I got into my room at noon and was 5 cm dialated. Paul called both sets of our parents so they could start heading our way. Paul's parents began their 3 hour drive to the hospital. My parents arrived quickly so that my mom could be with us throughout the labor and delivery.

It seemed so unreal that we were finally in the hospital. My nurse asked me what I planned to do for pain, and we answered that we wanted to try to go without pain medication, or at least wait as long as possible to have an epidural. A few minutes later I was telling Paul that maybe I really did want to have an epidural! My contractions had become very painful and I was quite scared about what was all still to come.

As painful and scary as it was, things continued to move quickly. After a few hours I was up to 7 cm, and then it was not long before I was 9. I spent most of the time sitting on a birthing ball rocking back and forth. Paul was standing in front of me and I held onto him for dear life. I kept waiting for my nurse to ask again if I wanted an epidural, but she never did. So I never got one.

I was getting pretty tired, as I was not able to relax at all between contractions. I knew I was close to starting to push, and finally decided to get into the bed. But I was really scared to start pushing! I was laying on my side, legs clamped together, and clinging onto the bedrails. The nurse said, "You know, you do have to open your legs to get this baby out!" I didn't care, I was really scared to push!

Without my consent my body started to push, and I finally agreed to open my legs. I started pushing at 5 pm. I didn't feel like my pushing was making any progress but my nurse and Doctor kept assuring me that I was. It seemed like they were telling me for an hour that they could see the head and it was so close to coming out.

With every contraction I endured and every push I made my nurse and then my Doctor would tell me what a good job I was doing, how strong I was, and how much progress I was making. Despite the pain, sometimes I would find it amusing, knowing that they said this to everyone, no matter how good they were doing. But even though I knew they were saying these things whether they were true or not, their encouragement helped a lot.

Paul also did a great job encouraging me. Many times I told him, "I can't do this anymore." and he would say, "You ARE doing it." I am so glad that he was there to help me.

Finally a head came out, and then a whole body. I'm not quite sure how to describe the feeling. She was born at 6:40 pm. I heard a little cry, and then she was placed on my chest. As my Doctor delievered my placenta, gave me a few stitches, and whatever else she was doing to cause so much pain, I tried to just focus on the face of the little one I was holding.

I held Kaitlyn and nursed her for over an hour before Paul's parents and my Dad came into the room (my mom was already there). They all got to hold her and then watch as my nurse gave her a bath and weighed her. She was 9 pounds, 1 ounce, 20.6 inches long. After measuring her head my nurse said, "That's a big head!"

It was very special to have our parents there to share those moments with us, and they then left about 9:00 pm. Paul walked them down the hall, proudly carrying his new daughter. My nurse then helped me get out bed and into the bathroom, which was not an easy trip. But after I survived getting out of bed and going to the bathroom I felt so good. The pain my body had been in for weeks was gone, and they say you get a rush of feel-good hormones after delivery too. I couldn't believe how great I felt. I was walking around my room, and eating my dinner standing up.

Paul and I spent some time with our daughter and then we attempted to settle down for the night. We put Kaitlyn in her bassinet between us and tried to sleep. After a few minutes Paul whispered, "Are you awake?" I was still wide awake so we talked for awhile longer. Then he fell sleep for several hours. I was wide awake so I figured if I wasn't going to sleep I might as well be holding my daughter.

So I brought little Kaitlyn into bed with me and held her through the night. She felt so wonderful in my arms, as they had been aching to hold her for weeks. As I held her I thought about all the events of the day and how everything had gone even better than we could have planned it. I was so happy that I did not have to be induced, and that my body was able to do what it was made to do on its own. I couldn't believe our luck in how my water broke right when my Doctor came into the room, and it happened in a place where we didn't have to clean it up. I was amazed that everything progressed quickly with no complications. I was blessed that all of our parents were able to come and share the event with us. And I just couldn't believe that I gave birth! And to a 9 pound baby with no epidural! I had done it! There were so many things to be thankful for. As I kept going over them I thought about the Bible verse that says that Mary pondered many things in her heart after Jesus was born, and I felt that was what I was doing as I held Kaitlyn though the night.

Well, that's the story of Kaitlyn's birthday! Thanks for letting me share it with you! I am so thankful and feel so blessed to have such a beautiful little girl!

Here She Is!

2010-08-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures we took today!
Birth story coming soon!

Kaitlyn Ruth - 2 Days Old

Every Part is Perfect!

Our New Family

Due Date

2010-07-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today is my due date and I'm still pregnant.

These last five weeks have not been very fun. The threat of pre-eclampsia made my twice-weekly doctor appointments full of ordering extra tests and talk of induction at nearly every appointment. I was put on strict bed rest for one week, and then partial bed rest for the next four.

Being faced with the real possibility of being induced at a moments notice for the last five weeks has really played with my emotions, which being pregnant were fragile enough. Twice a week I have gone to the doctor with my bag packed just in case I was sent straight to labor and delivery. On top of all the talk of induction, the fact that I started dilating over a month ago, and have been having contractions for over a month, gave me hope that I would go into labor on my own before now.

Then there is the physical pain. I've had a lot of it. And it just doesn't quit.

Being so fat and unable to move has left me with few options for dealing with the physical pain and emotional turbulence...except crying. And there have been a lot of tears. Some days I have managed to make it through without crying, and other days I cried several times.

The heat of summer has made everything more miserable, along with it becoming more and more difficult to sleep. And then there are the endless dirty dishes and dirty everything that I haven't had the ability to clean.

There are a few good things that I can say about these last five weeks. First, I have a healthy baby girl living inside me. I love feeling her move and get the hiccups. I love feeling different body parts stick out and just knowing that she is with me. I can't wait to hold her and look at her.

Second, my husband has continued to love me and try to take care of me though everything. Sometimes I don't know how he puts up with me, with how much I cry and tell him I am in pain. But instead of looking at me like the miserable blob of a human that I feel like, he continues to tell me that he loves me and that he wants to be with me. And he continues to remind me that this pain will not last forever and that little Kaitlyn will be here soon.

Yesterday my doctor set a date to induce me, due to the many risks that come with going past my due date with gestational diabetes and the threat of pre-eclampsia. We are scheduled to be at the hospital very early Saturday morning to finally have this baby. I had been hoping to avoid induction and go into labor on my own, because induction raises the chances of needing further medical interventions like a c-section. Fortunately I am already almost four centimeters dilated, which means that my body has been preparing for delivery and will hopefully respond more easily to induction.

Three days. I will be holding Kaitlyn in three days.

Of course there a lot of fears: the pain of labor and delivery and if I will be able to handle it all, unknown complications, dealing with what my body will go through to heal from giving birth, adjusting to a new schedule with little sleep, learning to breastfeed and the multitude of complications that can come with it, learning to deal with a crying baby, and being responsible for a new little life twenty-four hours a day everyday.

And of course there are so many things that I just can't wait for. Mostly I just can't wait to hold her and stare at her for hours. To snuggle her close and watch her fall asleep in my arms.

Three days. I will be holding Kaitlyn in three days.

Full-Term

2010-07-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today marks 37 weeks, and I now have a full-term baby inside me.

It's time to come out little sweetheart. I can't wait to meet you!

An Anniversary

2010-07-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Paul and I have been married 3 years today!

I am so thankful to have a best friend who cares about me more than I deserve.

Bed Rest: Day 3

2010-07-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

I am 36 weeks pregnant, and Kaitlyn can now come anytime!

The bummer is that I now have pre-eclampsia and am stuck at home on bedrest. Now my only job is to be an incubator. Hopefully I will go into labor on my own before my symptoms get any worse and the doctors decide they need to induce me. I have been having some contractions the last three days. We'll see what happens!

Bedrest is kinda tough. Right now I would like to go get the mail and get the dishwasher started, but I can't. Instead I waste time on my computer and watch dumb shows on TV. Paul is taking care of me. Yesterday he brought home a frozen pizza and some yummy cherries. And he even mopped the kitchen floor for me!

Baby Shower #2

2010-06-28T21:47:00.001-07:00

I had a fabulous baby shower a few weeks ago hosted by these lovely ladies, Anne and Tash!

I was so blessed by everyone who came to show their love and support. And I got a lot of really cute stuff!

Here is a fun picture of the four of us girls who were pregnant at the shower. It is so nice to have friends to share the journey with!

Baby Shower #1

2010-06-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful Baby Shower at the church in Burien where I grew up. It was attended by my family, Paul's family, and a few friends from college. There were also ladies from the church, many who have known me since I was born. Here is a picture of me with my mom, sister, and niece.

And this is a special picture with Frieda. She is holding the baby quilt that she made when my mom was pregnant with me, and I am holding the quilt she made for my baby!

The shower was so much fun, and I am so grateful for everyone who attended!

Kaitlyn Update

2010-06-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

I had an ultrasound today, and little Kaitlyn looks great! She is still showing girl parts which is good news. And I was really excited to hear that she is head down, which is the position we want her in for birth.

Everything looks healthy and she is measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule and over 5 pounds! Yikes! She should be coming early...the question is how early?

Things I Like and Don't Like

2010-06-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's June! Less than two months until our baby is due. If only we knew when she was actually going to come...

Here are some things that I like and don't like about pregnancy right now:

I LIKE feeling Kaitlyn move around inside of me. I love feeling big bumps sticking out on different sides of my tummy and knowing it is her.

I DON'T LIKE going to the bathroom all the time. I thought I had to go a lot a few weeks ago, but now it is getting ridiculous.

I LIKE my husband. He is very patient with me, and very good at taking care of me and making me feel loved. I feel so lucky to have him with me!

I DON'T LIKE gestational diabetes. My doctors are still unsure if I really have it or not, but I have been testing my blood sugar several times a day and am on a special diet. It's not very fun.

I LIKE naps!

I DON'T LIKE moving. It pretty much hurts to do anything these days...walk, roll over in bed, get up off the couch, etc.

I LIKE my church. I have so many friends there that are pregnant or have babies and I greatly value their friendship and support.

I DON'T LIKE washing dishes. I'm not sure how this relates to pregnancy, but I still don't like it.

I LIKE my growing collection of little baby things. They are so fun to look at and play with.

Well, those are my likes and dislikes for today. Thanks for reading!

I'm Not Very Crafty, But...

2010-04-28T20:54:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I'm not a real Arts & Craftsy type of person, but here is something new that is hanging on our wall:

I painted these letters and hung them up with ribbon. I think it is fun to look at!

And here is the sewing project I recently finished:

It still has room to add a birth date and weight under the name. We'll see how long it takes me to add that info after she is born.

Oh, and you noticed the name?

3rd Trimester!

2010-04-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Yikes! I just started my 3rd Trimester. Time is going quickly. Several people have been asking to see what I look like these days, so here you go. How much bigger am I going to get?

6 Months

And, here's a picture from the day we found out we are having a girl, 6 weeks ago:

Head on Right, Body on Left

But this is my favorite one:

Baby Bottom on Right, Legs crossed on Left

99

2010-04-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

99 Days until my due date!

Time is ticking by. In some ways I can't wait to be done being pregnant, as it has been a painful process. In other ways I think I will miss being pregnant, especially feeling her move around inside me.

Yesterday instead of working in the nursery during MOPS, I was invited to attend the meeting with the other moms. They wanted me to see what their group is like, and they are hoping I will join them next year. They seem like a great group of moms and I am hoping to join them in the fall, though it's hard to imagine what my life with a newborn will truly be like!

Paul and I have started attending Baby Classes. We have been to the first two meetings and have learned about taking care of infants and breastfeeding.

I'm trying to finish up some craft projects I've been working on. They should all be done in the next few days, so there should be pictures coming soon!

New Stuff!

2010-03-29T18:51:00.001-07:00

This weekend we got some awesome things for our little girl! A couple from my parents church wanted to get rid of a bunch of stuff and happened to think of us. So we got this green plaid stroller and car seat:

And this green jungle pack n' play:

We also got two baby carriers and a diaper genie. Everything is in great condition and it is such a blessing to see God provide some of the things we need. I can't wait to use them!

Registering and Hospital Touring

2010-03-26T22:02:00.001-07:00

This week I did two fun things on my pregnancy check list: I registered at Babies R Us and toured the Maternity Center at Evergreen Hospital.

Registering was pretty fun. Babies R Us is full of cute stuff. The tough part is figuring out what I want. And what I really NEED. As we don't have much space in our apartment or much money, we have to choose wisely. The worst part of registering is that after picking out tons of fun stuff, I came home and wanted to play with all my new stuff, but didn't have any yet.

Then tonight I took my hospital tour. Aside from the all the pain involved, I can't wait to go there to meet my little sweetie. I love that you are in the same room for everything....labor, delivery, recovery, and post-partum. It's so nice that you don't have to move. Each room has a big couch for Daddy to sleep on, a rocking chair, a table, refrigerator, a sink designed for baby's first bath, a bathroom with whirpool, and a flat-screen TV with DVD and CD player (gotta remember to bring movies and music!). I also found it interesting that from the time you are in active labor until about two hours after delivery you have a nurse assigned only to you. It's nice to know that my nurse will not be busy with other patients when I need her. Anyway, it looks like a nice place...I may not want to go home. :)

In other news, I am now feeling Baby moving around pretty regularly, which is SO fun. I know it will not be quite so much fun in a few months when the kicks get harder and more painful, but right now it is just fun.

I am now 5 months pregnant. 4 to go!!!

Names

2010-03-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Now that we know we're having a girl everyone is asking us if we have chosen a name. The answer is no.

We had our first name discussion last week and it didn't go very well. I told Paul the name that I had finally come up with and he hates it. I knew this would happen, but it was still dissapointing. Then Paul told me the name that he likes. I was kinda surprized, because it is a fairly common name and I expected him to only like things more unique. He also says that he's not sure if he will like any name other than this one. I tried suggesting a few other names to no avail.

So, now I am trying to decide if I like this name or not. It does not quite fit what I thought I wanted, but it's not too bad. Maybe it will continue to grow on me. Yikes, names are hard!

Baby Girl

2010-03-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

It's a GIRL!!! And it's such a relief to finally know.

Baby Girl looked very healthy this morning at our ultrasound. She has two arms and legs, two kidneys, a beating heart with four chambers, a stomach and spine, and even a head! She measured right on schedule at 20 weeks, which is the halfway point of pregnancy.

She had her legs crossed for most of the ultrasound, and had some hiccups too. She put her hands in front of her face and played with her umbilical cord.

It is so nice to finally be able to say "she", but it still feels so weird. I can't wait to meet her.

Growing

2010-03-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

The baby and I are definately growing! The baby should be nearly 10 inches long. When I look at my tape measure that looks so big! I still imagine the baby being only about an inch or two. I *think* I have felt the baby move a few times over the last few days, though it's still kinda hard to tell for sure.

I have been growing too, which has been painful! My stomach hurt every evening for a few weeks as my ligaments were being stretched out, but has been feeling better the last few days. I have just started wearing some of my larger maternity shirts, which make me feel a lot bigger too.

Two more days until I am hoping to be able to say "he" or "she" instead of always "the baby". I can't wait!

Four Down

2010-02-25T14:23:00.000-08:00

Four months down and Five to go!!!

It seems like the weeks are going by fast. But it seems like a long way to go still.