2 Months Old!

This little girl is getting so big! It is funny- we are with her and see her everyday, so we don't notice her change in size as much! Wow- what a growing girl!



We've had two nights now where Kate has "slept through the night". Before I was a parent, the term "sleeping through the night" was something much different than it is to me now. When parents would talk about their babies sleeping through the night, I assumed that they meant sleeping from 8pm to 8am. Sounded great! I've come to learn; however, that sleeping through the night is more like 9pm to 5:30am. I don't think I've ever been so excited to get to sleep *only* until 5:30am. The difference between waking up at 12:30, then 2:30, then 4:30, then 6:30; and then getting to sleep from 10pm to 5:30am is better than you can even begin to imagine. She hasn't given us (and when I say "us" I actually mean "me"... Matt sleeps peacefully through the 2:30am feeding) another one of those beautiful nights in a while, though. She'll come around.

I'm trying to wean her (and myself, let's be honest) off the swing. I don't mind putting her it in to calm her down and get her drowsy, but I'd like to start getting her used to her crib. She has taken one 45 minute nap in there. That is it. Looking back, it cracks me up that when I ordered the crib, I was so nervous it wouldn't be here by the time I delivered... but it made it in plenty of time. And yet, here it is 2 months into Kat's life, and she has only slept in it one time.

We got her a little seat called a "Bumbo" and she loves it! We don't leave her in it for too long yet, since she is still building head & neck strength, but she does great in it for short periods of time!


Kate had her first boat ride this past Saturday, when we rented a patio boat on Mission Viejo lake and went out with Chris Baldwin and his girlfriend, Carly. It was such a beautiful day (only in So. Cal!) and I forsee Kat being a houseboat driver of the next generation. Ok, maybe not, but you never know.


I think that is it for now... many more Kat tales to come!

Now I Get It.

It only took having a baby to understand my mother's neurosis.

Now I get why, even now at 25 years old, she still has me call after I get home to let her know I'm safe. Now I get why she would get so upset when I did something to put myself in danger. Now I get why she wouldn't let me drive late at night or go to Mexico with Summer's family... these are all things I hope Kate will understand, too, when she has a daughter. She is the most precious thing in my life... now I get it.

While I was feeding her last night, her tiny hand found the edge of my tank top and her little fingers hooked right on, and she held on so tightly, as if I'd leave her if she let go. She eventually stopped eating, and fell into a deep sleep with her right hand curled under her chin and her left hand still holding mommy down.

I scooped her up, swaddled her back up and rocked her as I walked over to lay her back down to sleep. For whatever reason, every motherly cell in my body cried, "Stop! Don't put her down! She is growing so fast- watch her every minute, or else she will grow and you'll miss it!"

Honestly, I don't know where the last seven weeks have gone. That sounds like such an old person thing to say, but truly. I look at the pictures from the hospital and I am shocked at how big she is now. It feels like so long ago I laid in the hospital bed and the doctor put this little, pink, squirming 7 pound girl on my belly... now she is 12 pounds, bright-eyed and the smiliest little thing. She is stronger than I thought any 7-week old could be and wants to stand already... she pushes with her legs and stops fussing the minute you hold her up to 'stand'. She can't walk too soon- she just can't- because I can't bear the thought of my tiny baby girl walking away from me! DON'T GROW UP TOO FAST, KATIE-BABY! YOU HEAR ME?!

So now I get it. I finally get the look in my mom's eyes as I came down the aisle on my wedding day. Her little girl had learned to walk and was walking away from her. It all makes perfect sense now.

But for now, she is in her swing... she can't crawl, she can't walk, she can't run... she can just grab on to me with her tiny fingers and keep me close for now!

Happy New Year!

We're 5 days into 2008 and it is a new year like no other before! Our little one is growing so fast and it was great to have her over the holidays with us for the first time.

Christmas was a blast- even though she is far too young to understand what Christmas is, it was still a great time! She looked so cute in her Christmas outfit that Matt's mom bought for her! We went to Ron & Barbara's house, as usual, and my mom and grandpa came down, too. It was a full house: Ron, Barbara, Lorna, Ben, Eloise, Chris, Madison, Cameron, Ryan, Beth, mom, grandpa, Matt, Kate and myself. We all definitely missed having Amy, Mike, Skye and Sydney around this year. We had a wonderful dinner, opened gifts (the ever popular 'gift exchange' was a hit for us- we took home the ice cream maker- woohoo!).

New Year's Eve was very mellow this year- we weren't up for a party with a 6 week old! So we stayed in, our family of three, and went to bed shortly after midnight. We're shooting for a healthier lifestyle this year... we slacked off on our walking once I was pregnant and unable to do too much exercise, so hopefully we will work our way back into that (although this week is supposed to be super rainy- not good for our walks), and we've said "Adios" to the ice cream, cookies, and general crap that we have been eating these past few months. We've both been guilty of "letting ourselves go", though I have had the benefit of losing some weight because of breastfeeding- so we're off to a new start this year.

Having a baby is a pretty crazy ride. For 7 weeks our lives have been dramatically different than they have ever been before. My days are filled with diapers, feedings, trying to fend off the fussies, smiles, joy, anxiety and small bouts of sleep.

Our house is a disaster- Christmas decorations still hanging on to their last few moments of glory before being packed away for another year, tiny socks strewn everywhere, a living room filled with a swing, a papasan seat, a play mat, a car seat, a boppy and cloth diaper burp rags in every room in the house. It is crazy, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

Kat is simply amazing to me. Sometimes I could just stare at her endlessly... except for at about 3am. I must say, she is sleeping much better at night- we usually get at least one 5-6 hour stretch, then another 3-4 bout. She smiles so much now and it is the most fulfilling feeling to have her make eye contact with you, recognize you and give you a big, toothless grin!

We love her! 13 days until we have a 2 month old!