Katie's Christmas Present

Ever since Katie climbed out of her crib a few weeks ago, we decided that she would need to convert into the full sized bed sooner rather than later. So Todd's parents generously bought her a mattress, Dora sheets and Dora comforter for her big Christmas present from them. It was ordered the weekend before Christmas and delivered to the store later in the week. We were getting ready to go out of town so Todd picked it up today.

We had to do some rearranging of Katie's room to fit everything in there as she has quite a bit of furniture. After trying several combinations, we found one that seems to work. I put the Dora sheets and comforter on the bed. She was so excited when she came in and saw that her new bed was together and ready for her to sleep in (not without some issues getting it put together).

Tonight was the first night that I did not rock Katie before putting her in bed. We had to move the rocking chair out to make enough room for the bed. I asked her if she wanted her music on and she told me no. I guess that she is really growing up.

2 Short of 2

Katie will be 2 in just 2 short months. Where has our little baby gone? She has been replaced with a walking, talking toddler.

So much has changed since she has turned 1. I am simply amazed at the way that she has gone from barely walking to running, climbing up the stairs to being able to walk down, babbling to speaking in full sentences.

Over the past few weeks, Katie has been working on walking down the stairs by herself. She holds on to the railing and goes down one step at a time. There are definitely some moments where I am holding my breath and there is still some learning to be done.

Katie really looks up to Michael. She will sit with him while he plays games on the computer and cheer him on. She loves to go to his soccer games and clap when he kicks the ball. One downside is that she wants to be where he is and this does not always thrill Michael.

Her vocabulary continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Katie loves to be read to and it really doesn't matter what the book is. I have started taking her to storytime at the library where they read books and sing songs. She is completely taken in by the librarian reading stories and wants to stand right in front of her!

Katie will ask you a question and can tell you when she is ready to eat and what she wants to eat. If you ask her to get something for you, she will bring it to you. Some of her new words are careful, Shaggy, wipe nose, Thomas, Percy, Scooby Doo. Can you tell what show we like to watch here?

She has really started wearing her glasses now without us having to bribe her or trick her. I think she has finally realized that she can see a whole lot more with them on. It took a while to get this done but I feel like the battle is mostly over. Consistency was what finally did it. I am sure that seeing Michael and Todd with their glasses on didn't hurt any either.

Katie does want to get her way and can get quite upset when she doesn't. I am trying not to give in to her demands. Her nap time is becoming a bit more difficult but most days she realizes that she likes to sleep and wakes up feeling recharged. The carseat wars have also started but I just wait them out and they are usually resolved quickly.

I look forward to what the next 2 months bring us as we approach 2.

13 months old

Since Katie turned one last month, she has really started changing. It's so much fun to watch the changes and transformation as she discovers new things and explores every day.

Katie was taking a few steps at a time when she turned one. Over the past week, she has really taken off! We go outside and she just walks, falls down, gets back up and starts the whole process over again. She isn't afraid to crawl in the yard, on the driveway or walk in the grass barefoot. Inside she is just as fearless. Michael has put up a "wall" of furniture and toys to keep Katie away from his table. Katie doesn't let that stop her and she just climbs right over the back of the chair to get to what she wants!

Two more teeth have emerged over the past few days. They are the top molars on each side. What's so funny is that she still only has 2 teeth on the bottom. People always comment about her 2 little teeth. If she would open her mouth, they could see the rest of the teeth! These teeth haven't been quite as rough as the first few, thankfully.

Katie still loves water and had her first visit to the beach over Easter weekend. She loved crawling around in the sand and even tried to eat some. I think the water was a bit too cold for her but she enjoyed the heated pool much better back in my parents' neighborhood. She let me pull her around the pool on her stomach and her back and was just so relaxed.

Katie is eating pretty well now and eats almost every single thing that we put on her tray. It's funny because she is now getting to the point where she will throw food off the side if she is full. And then she always runs her hands through her hair. Wonder what it is that makes babies do that?

She continues to babble away and has a few words now. She says mama, dada, no and something that sounds like "what's up?". We have conversations where she "talks" to you but you have no idea what exactly she is saying even though she looks so determined to get her point across. If you ask Katie for a kiss, she will lean in and give you one with her mouth open. She also understands when you ask her to sit down and come over to you. And she even tries to brush her teeth when she sees Michael doing it too.

Here are a few recent pics of Katie:





Looking forward to watching Katie grow over the next few months. This is such an exciting age!

10 months and counting.....

for Katie, that is. It's hard to believe that in 2 short months, she is going to be 1! It seems like she was just born.

This past month was a time of many milestones for Katie. I love this age. She is so much fun and really starting to "talk" and interact with us, especially Michael. Katie learns something new every day and she is looking more like a toddler and less like a baby to me now.

Katie now has 4 teeth in less than one month. She has the front two bottom ones and then the top 2 lateral incisors. The front 2 top teeth are bulging under the surface but haven't emerged yet. It's kind of cute to see her smile as 2 of the teeth are pretty hidden. She is eating everything and has quite an appetite. We went to Todd's office on Tuesday for lunch and she ate a bit of my taco, trying to take a huge bite out of it. It was pretty funny!

She started army crawling the day after Christmas. Over the next 2 weeks, she learned how to sit back up from her stomach, crawl on her hands and knees, pull up to her feet on the couch or a person and can now cruise. It's like everything that had to do with movement clicked all at once. On Thursday, she actually went up the bottom 2 steps on the stairs using the railing. That was a little unnerving, as it means nowhere is safe to leave her. I see her thinking about letting go of what she is holding on to and standing by herself!

Katie's talks to just about everyone that she knows and is getting a bit more generous with her smiles. She loves to laugh at Michael as he does the most entertaining things to her and it's just a deep, rich laugh. She has started pointing at things that she wants, which is so cute.

I can't wait to see what this next month brings. Katie gets more and more fun the older she gets. I also have to start thinking about what to do for her birthday. I have a few ideas in mind!

Here is Katie at 10 months:

One short week

was all it took for Katie to go from a sitting baby to a mobile toddler. She started army crawling last Sunday, the 27th. In the course of one week, she has learned how to get back into a sitting position from her stomach, crawl on her hands and knees across the room, and pull up on to her knees. Today she finally pulled up on to her feet.

It's amazing to me how fast she is growing up. I am hit hard with the realization that my baby isn't going to be a baby for much longer. She is still very cuddly and loves to be held but she is asserting her independence. And I think that she is going to make Michael think twice about leaving his belongings out in Katie's reach. Anything available is now fair game.....I tried to warn him ahead of time!

In the midst of all this movement, Katie is also getting her third tooth. She already has the bottom two front teeth. This next tooth crept in unnoticed as it's not one of the two front teeth on top but one of the lateral incisors. It's already broken through the gums and explains the fever and slight crankiness. Maybe someday Katie will open her mouth for 5 seconds so I can take a picture of her cute little teeth!

Katie's 9 months old

Katie turned 9 months old on Wednesday. Since the day was already so busy with Todd's birthday and Michael's Christmas present, we decided to schedule her well check for today.

She weighed in at exactly 18 pounds (50%) and is 29 inches tall (90%). She has already grown 10 inches since she was born. She is basically following the same growth curve that Michael did. She is now wearing 9-12 month clothes and 12 month pajamas.

Her appointment was uneventful otherwise. She got 2 shots, which made her less than thrilled. Her growth is good and she is hitting all developmental milestones. She isn't crawling yet but can get around by rolling and doing a little army crawl. I actually think she may pull herself up to standing before she crawls. You can stand her up with support and she can hold her position for about 10 seconds.

Katie is very vocal. She loves to squeal and will "talk" to things and people. I set her in front of the Christmas tree last week and she lifted up her hands and started babbling to the tree. It was quite adorable. Two of her favorite things to say are "dad dad dad dad" and "mom mom mom mom". And she will say them directly to address us.

She eats pretty much anything that you put on her tray. And tried to grab at everything that you don't! I think she is going to be a good eater. If you are eating and she sees something she wants, she starts to move her mouth like she is eating. We practice with the sippy cup but she can't quite figure out how to tip it up. She knows what it's for though. And thankfully, we won't have to wean her from the bottle as she doesn't get one very often.

I think this next month is going to bring many changes for Katie. I expect that she will have another tooth, be crawling and pulling up by 10 months. Or she could totally surprise me and continue to be as laid back as she is. The only thing that Katie really doesn't like are naps and we are working on that. I know it's exciting to be up with Michael and I all day but sometimes a girl needs her sleep. She is a great nighttime sleeper and I will take that over a good napper anyday.

8 months old

Katie turned 8 months old today! She is growing up right before our eyes. Before we know it, she will be 1. I am amazed at the things she is learning and it's so much fun to watch her learn new things.

Tonight for dinner, she tried roast beef and loved it. There is no food that she won't touch. She has recently tried zucchini, squash and blueberry applesauce. She really enjoys eating banana puffs and can pick them up and put them in her mouth now. We have also given her the biter biscuits and she can spend at least 15 minutes just gnawing on it.

She is still toothless. It's really cute to see her. Even though she is getting bigger and looking less like a baby, this gives her a sweet look. And it's so fun to watch her try to eat everything. One of her favorite things to eat is her socks. She will pull her feet up to her mouth, suck on the sock for a while and then pull it off. Afterwards, she stuffs it down beside her in the carseat.

Katie isn't crawling yet but that doesn't mean that she doesn't get around. If you put her on the floor, she will sit there for a few minutes before moving her arms forward to reach something that she probably shouldn't have! Then she gets on her stomach and just rolls to wherever she wants to go. In the past few days, she has started trying to pull up on various things, like Michael's table and the toddler rocker. She got pretty frustrated the other day as she pulled up but could only get on her knees.

She has been going through a bit of a phase with going to bed. For a week or so, she didn't want to go to sleep at night. I have been trying to limit her late afternoon/early evening snooze between 5 and 6 and this has seemed to help. Sleeping during the daytime is hit or miss as we have a different schedule almost every day of the week with Michael's school or appointments. Typically, she will take 2 daytime naps and sleep between 10-12 hours per night. I'll take it!

I can't wait to see how much she has grown at her 9 month checkup in December. She is wearing some 9 month clothes already and seems to have big feet like Michael. Katie has a good bit of hair and I put a bow in it today. She has enough hair that it could hold it in. I think she is going to take after both Todd and myself in that area.

We are enjoying every minute of her time with us. Michael still gets the biggest laughs from her, although she appears to be serious to most people if she doesn't know them well. She can be tough to get a smile on cue but I think that's just a baby trait. Here are a few photos that I took of her today:

6 month checkup

We went to Katie's 6 month checkup yesterday. She now weighs 15lbs 10oz (50%) and is 27.5 inches long (95%). She was 7lbs 8.8oz and 19 inches when she was born so she has grown quite a bit. She also got 3 shots, which didn't make her too happy. She wanted to be held for most of the day and ran a fever from Friday night through this afternoon. We will have to go back next month to get her flu booster shot and probably the H1N1 shot as well. Can't believe how fast she is growing!!

First night in her room alone

Katie spent last night sleeping in her room for the first time since she was born! And she did great. She has been sleeping in a bassinet in our room after we brought her home from the hospital. The first week or so, she was sleeping with us a good bit but then I started putting her in the bassinet.

Her sleeping has been a little off lately and I thought that maybe she was a little too cramped in the bassinet. So I decided that Tuesday night would be the night for the crib. I put her down in it around 9:00 and she slept until 6:15 the next morning. That was success to me.

She likes to move around while she sleeps. I put her down in the crib one way and when I came back, she had turned her body around about 90 degrees. What's funny is that she now has some extra room but still sleeps with her legs in what I like to call the "ballerina position". Michael always slept completely stretched out and he outgrew the bassinet sometime shortly after he turned 2 months old.

Here are some pictures of her first night in her crib:

So that's what they're for

Katie has recently discovered her hands and all that they can do. Before when she would get startled or move too quickly, her hands and arms would fly up. Now her arms are making more deliberate movements and she can actually use her hands to get some things that she wants.

The main thing that she is interested in doing with her hands right now is sucking her thumb. If she can't quite get her thumb in, she will settle for as much of her fist that she can get in her mouth! It's quite cute to see her sucking her thumb, even though this is a habit that I definitely don't want her to continue. Sometimes when she is trying to get her thumb in her mouth, she scratches her face.

She is also using her hands to grab her dresses and pull the bottoms up toward her face. She can reach out and grab something that you put in her hands, as well as play with the balls on her exersaucer and infant rocker. She can hold a rattle if you help her to get her hands around it too.

Katie is also learning how to use her hands to pull on my shirt while she is nursing. I think this is so adorable because she likes to make sure that she has my full attention.

This is such a great milestone because it will lead to so many other things in the upcoming months. I can't believe that she can already grab things...guess we better start babyproofing again soon!!

I can't believe it.....Katie is 3 months old

Seems like just yesterday that Katie made her arrival in this world and now she is already 3 months old. The time just flies by too quickly. The second time around, you know how fast time is going to go and you are trying to cherish every moment. In some ironic twist of fate, it seems like there is less time to do everything you want to (I think it may have something to do with the fact that we also have Michael). We try to get as many pictures as we can and to capture the special moments in our memories.

Katie is getting bigger and even has a little chub on her legs and cheeks. It's so cute. She is less like a newborn every day. She is trying to move already. She can now scoot herself around on her back. We put her in her crib with her feet facing the end and when I came back in, they were facing the side! She is trying to roll over and swings her legs up to try to gain momentum. It's pretty funny to watch.

She is also very aware of her hands now and has learned how to clasp them together. She also likes to put as much of her hand as possible into her mouth and has started to suck her thumb. Michael also went through a phase when he did that. It's so adorable to watch....she definitely uses it for comfort. It's pretty funny too because she often keeps her fists clenched and she tries to find where she has hidden her thumb.

She loves to look at the world around her and follows people as they move. She enjoys the attention that she gets from her older brother Michael and he almost always makes her smile. If she doesn't smile, then she makes a face that says she knows what he is all about. I know he is going to teach her many things but I hope it's only the good ones!

Katie had her first opthalmologist appointment on June 8th. The doctor says that everything looks good so far but she is going to be nearsighted like her brother. So it looks like Katie will get glasses early like Michael. How much fun will that be to keep up with 2 kids in glasses?

I am looking forward to what the next month holds for Katie. She will have her 4 month well visit in July and I am anxious to see how much weight she has gained. Her head and neck keep getting stronger and I think she is going to be in the boppy and exersaucer by her 4 month appt!!

And what would this post be without some updated pictures of Katie?

11 weeks old already!

Katie is 11 weeks old today. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. She is developing quite the little personality. She is a relatively calm, happy baby unless it's time to eat and then you better watch out. It's amazing to me how much different she is from Michael. And I don't think it's just because she is a girl.

Katie is sleeping pretty well at night now. She slept from 10:15 Saturday night until 6:45 Sunday morning and from 9:00 - 4:00 last night. She typically stays up until at least 10:00 and some nights doesn't go to bed before 11:00. She definitely takes after Todd in that area. I can barely stay up past 10:00 some nights!

She is quite verbal now, making sounds in response to your talking to her. She loves to smile at you and her whole face lights up when she does it. Katie also seems to have strong neck muscles as she can almost hold her head up by herself. I can see that she will be getting into the Bumbo and exersaucer in a few weeks.

Her swing is her friend and she can pull the stars on the side to make it play music. We got a video of it and she did it several times so it wasn't by chance. She loves to look at what's going on around her and see all the crazy stuff that Michael does!

She is nursing well and growing like a weed. It seems like she has grown in length a good bit recently as she has some 3 month pajamas that she will only be able to wear once. She is obviously going to be long and lean like Michael and Todd. It's so much fun to dress her up in all the different clothes that she has.

Happy 11 weeks Katie!! We are so happy and blessed to have you here with us.