Zoo Day

Today we made a trip over to the Orange County Zoo. Matt and I had gone once before- before Kathryn was a part of our lives. It is a perfect zoo for a younger toddler- it's small, free admission for under 2 and only $2 for adults. There's a petting zoo-ish type area, which was where Kate clearly had the most fun.

I didn't really notice it while we were there, but now looking at the pictures, I have to laugh at her "bodyguard" of a father. Please observe.

All seems well here. Daddy and daughter are smiling and happy.


Still visiting the sheep. Daddy's hand making sure fingers aren't jabbed within biting distance. Note, daughter's other arm is also restrained.


Carefully approaching tiny goat in petting area. Note daddy's eye contact with mom, warning her to speed up picture taking process before tiny goat turns on daughter. For future reference, I believe we may see this look again when I am taking photos of Kate and her prom date...


Ahh... daughter is finally allowed to walk around on her own. Kind of. Note "hand-of-safety" attached to back of dress.


This is so typical Matt... but I love it. He cares so tenderly for Kate and it is apparent in every way. We had a fun day walking around the little zoo, checking out animals and hearing Kate refer to every animal as a dog (coyotes, peccaries), a kitty (bobcat, raccoons, fox) or a bird (well... yeah, she got those right).

Genetics

There is a tradition that runs in my family. It was passed down to me from my mother, to her from her mother... maybe even to my grandmother from her mother. It is well known among family to be something the women in our family have in common. Perhaps genetic.

What is it, you ask? Ok... I'll tell you. Come closer:
We're terrible housekeepers.

It's true. I've always wanted to be Suzy Homemaker, but I am afraid it may not be in the cards. There are times when I look around and think, My word. If some old friend showed up at my door right now, I'd have to poke my head out through the door and give them directions to meet me at the nearest Starbucks in order to avoid complete embarrassment. That's pretty bad.

I went on a cleaning kick the other night (which happens oh-so-rarely). The strange thing is, I feel SO good when my house is spic-and-span. Really good. Like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. Like I can breathe a little easier. So it should be easy to keep things clean right? Hmm. Funny how that never works out.

I've informed Matt that once we're homeowners, I intend to hire a cleaning service. Once I have that pride of ownership, instead of that crappy "eh, it's a rental" attitude, I hope I'll feel a bit more motivated. I hope. But just in case, I plan to hire the professionals.

In the meantime, if you intend to drop by... could you give me 24 hours notice? I'll have some tidying up to do.

Where's your....?

I've started my own little project- a 365 project. One photo every day for 365 days! It will be tough to actually commit to taking and posting a photo every day, but I like the challenge! www.onephotofor365.blogspot.com

Today Kate and I went out in the yard to play and take some pictures. To keep her attention, we played the "Where is your _______?" game!

Where is your mouth?

Check out the CHOMPERS! These "first year" molars are intense! They must h.u.r.t because she has been extraordinarily whiny! They look huge- I can only imagine how much they must ache :(

Where are your eyes?


Where are your feet?


She is so cute- it really is unreal. She is just so much fun.

All I have ever wanted was to be a mommy. When I was little, I wanted to be a mommy. In high school, I knew one day I wanted kids. When I met Matt, his desire to have kids in the future was a big plus. When I got pregnant so quickly, my dreams were coming true. Now I have this perfect little bundle of love... and I am so blessed. But sometimes I find myself wondering: how could I ever love another child as much as I love Kate?

I know I will (presuming that we're blessed with another baby one day). But it was difficult to imagine loving Kate as much as I do before she was born. Now that she is in our lives, I wonder... could I love another little person as much as I love her? How can someone have that much love? The love I feel for her is sometimes overwhelming. The natural love and protection I have for her is sometimes even frightening- like I would do ANYTHING to protect my daughter. As an only child, I never felt any competition for love. I am excited for the future- for God to teach me how much a human being is capable of loving. I think that I am sadly unaware of how much capability to love we are actually given as humans. It really is boundless, I am sure.

I'm off to bed... before I crawl under the covers tonight, I'll no doubt turn on my video monitor, take a look at my sleeping sweet pea and thank God for that girl. That girl! She is a blessing beyond words. And Matt will, no doubt, get a kiss too. :)

New business!

So I finally figured out how to add crap from our Etsy site to my blog... now you can see my shameless promotion of my mom's and my business! I think maybe I'll skim Etsy for some other stuff I love another time and share a few of things I have found from other sellers there that I adore :) I could spend a lot of money on Etsy. A lot. So much fun, unique stuff!

Now, about Kate- since she is the whole reason this blog ever started. Much to my chagrin (and yes, I loooove the word "chagrin"), Kate is growing up so much each day. Don't get me wrong, I love to see her learn and grow... but it is crazy! My once immobile little pile of baby has turned into a cruising machine. She is no longer satisfied playing with her toys on the floor. Oh no. She is pulling up on EVERYTHING (including unsafe, unanchored things- gosh, Alison... get the babyproofing finished for craps sake...) and walking holding on to furniture like it ain't no thang. Life was so much easier when she couldn't go anywhere. But damned if it ain't sweeter now that she gets that "I'm so proud of myself" look on her face when she is standing up.

She particularly enjoys standing against the mirror and giving her reflection sweet baby kisses. Dang... we made one cute little girl.




Ooh! And! Exciting news! Kate is finally crawling like a real baby! Though she still reverts to the trusty army crawl once in a while, she is finally a crawling machine (mostly because that is the easiest way to pull herself to standing).

I'm in the midst of the 1st birthday party planning. We were just watching Ace of Cakes on the Food Network, and someone had a Charm City Cake made for their daughters' 1st birthday (twin girls). I love my girl with everything I've got, but I'm not going to spend everything I've got on a freaking cake. She'll have to settle for my homemade Duncan Hines variety. If she remembers in her adulthood and struggles with it, then I guess we'll pay for her therapy. Eh.

Busy day tomorrow- church, teaching Sunday School (look out high schoolers because it is going to be fun), then off to T-town to pay a visit to the proudest grandma and great-grandpa this side of Heaven. And the freaking jumpiest weiner dog... but I digress...

Due to this aforementioned busyness, I am sending myself off to bed.

9 Months In, 9 Months Out...

I wonder why the nine months of pregnancy felt so much different than the nine months of motherhood... aside from the obvious. While I really did enjoy my pregnancy, in hindsight it feels like I was pregnant for a long, long time when I compare it to the nine months we've had with Kate. The nine months since she has joined us has flown by.

In Babies R Us today, I was buying Kate's new carseat (since she has grown out of the infant seat) and a mom was commenting on how cute Kate was... she asked how old, and I told her nine months. She went on to tell me about her 3-month old and that her mom tells her that they should not always hold the baby so much so she won't get spoiled, blah-blah-blah. It made me kind of sad... I wanted to yell, "hold her"! Hold her for as long as you can! Because soon she'll be squiggling and squirming and trying to explore the world around her and cuddles will be fewer. Just sayin'.

As I finished my purchase and wished her a good day, she noticed the carseat in out cart. "Oh, she gets a big girl carseat now!" Yep... that made me kinda sad too.

Taking the nine month monkey pic was an adventure. Most of them turned out like this:

We did manage to at least get this one, to show the comparison:


I've become slightly obsessed with remembering the little things... we're all so focused on 'milestones', that I think sometimes the little things get lost. I took Kate to the park last week for her first time on the swing- she loved it! She giggled every time I pushed her, then she'd come back, I'd tickle her feet and she'd squeal with laughter. It was too precious.

Another 'little thing' was last Sunday. She woke up earlier than usual and seemed just as happy as could be. She had her bottle, we played for a while, watched some Baby Einstein "First Signs" for a while... then time came for her oatmeal and fruit. She started yawning in her highchair before I ever had her food ready, and was visibly getting tired. A fun Kate fact: her comfort habit is pulling her hair. Not hard... just kind of like you might twirl your hair through your fingers. So I step over to the counter to grab her cup, turn back around, and sticky-oatmeal-applesauce fingers are running through her sweet, just bathed the night before hair. I almost wanted to be frustrated, because she'd need to have a bath before church now, but I had to laugh. Look at this face...

Makes it look like she has an abundance of hair, hehe. Using a little product always adds volume, right? So, we took a quick bath and she took a fantastic nap before church.

After church, we headed up to Torrance to visit my mom and grandpa. Kate is the light of their lives these days. She has so many people who love her.

I think she has made my grandpa so much more positive in his attitude recently. In May, he broke his neck and has been fitted in a halo for over 3 months now... I don't think I'd be very positive, but he is hanging in there like a trooper and I just know Kate has so much to do with that. Poor guy... he looks like he's been through the ringer, but he is being so upbeat about it. Plus, he can tell all the ladies he was in a motorcycle accident, or something cool like that ;-) That will make up for the fact he hasn't had a haircut in months!


Yep. I love my family.

I miss Matt!

I've realized this week that I often take my fantastic husband for granted. He has been gone since Friday on a fishing trip with his brothers and it has been just Kate and I. As much as I have really enjoyed the time for the two of us, I miss seeing them together. There is just something about watching my husband and our daughter interact that makes everything alright in the world. Yeah... cheeseball, I know. Mushy, indeed. But what can you do- I'm a sap. Lucky for me, he'll be home tomorrow.

In an attempt to not be a fatty-fatty-fat-fat any longer, I've been working with a trainer in hopes of becoming a toned, shapely, hot young mom. This last time I worked out with her, I got my butt kicked. My quads hurt SO bad afterward, that getting down on the floor to play with Kate had to be a hilarious site. I've seriously been having to hold onto furniture to lower myself onto chairs... it is out of control. But the burn is good, right? Hopefully it means something is working.

Well, before I curl up with my trashy magazine and celebrities and fashion, here are a couple more pictures... because what blog post is complete with out some Kate pics?

Mamarazzi class!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to learn how the heck to use my DSLR *out* of auto mode! I actually wasn't using auto too much- mostly Av (aperture priority). Occasionally I'd try manual mode, but it never yielded very good results. Now, I feel so much more confident with my camera and I learned that editing is AMAZING! Adobe Lightroom is a phenominal program... I think I'm in love. I didn't realize when I bought my camera that this would become such a fun little hobby.

Poor Kate... she is destined to be at the end of my camera for the rest of her life!

Here are some of my favorites from the class! The little guy we shot on Saturday was so sweet and SUCH a trooper... look at his sweet little eyes! Adorable!






And of course, I had to try out my new found skills on Kate...







I am thinking I should probably start up a blog strictly for photos, since this could get a bit ridiculous. If I do, you'll hear about it!

Finally Updating...

Right... so, it has only been about a month since I updated this bad boy. Eh well... full-time job, child and husband take up some time, strangely enough.

On to the important stuff: Kate has two teeth, is army-crawling all over the place and is my sweet little 8-month old super baby! Here's the monthly monkey picture and the best attempt at getting a picture of her little chompers!




Kate had her first 4th of July experience and, in typical Kate Conrad fashion, wasn't going to miss one second of the excitement. We went to my mom & grandpa's house to watch the fireworks, Matt's parents and Eloise also joined us, and Kate wasn't about to go to sleep before she saw some stuff blow up in the sky. Can't blame her- it's exciting business when you're a little squirt like her.



As it turns out, Kate and Matt were able to survive the 5 days without me while I took 8 of the CLC kids and 4 FPCO kids up to the Sacramento Delta for our annual houseboat trip. It was fantastic to not be pregnant this year so I could wakeboard and the like. It was not fantastic; however, to miss my daughter with every thread of my being. Leaving her was the worst- I was a wreck. But we all survived and now we're reunited (and it feels so good). I do believe she will be a daddy's girl... I mean look at them- she's his mini-female-me:

The matching dimple is almost too cute to bear! This, of course, was before Matt made a sudden decision to Bic his head last night... we're full of surprises in the Conrad household, you know.

Suddenly she has learned to army crawl and it is so fun! I know she'll be up crawling around soon... it will come soon- too soon! What happened to my tiny little schmoopsy!?

She's also very into her walker. Ok, now darn it, I am a good mom... and yes, I let her play in a walker sometimes. She's no where near any stairs, I watch her closely to make sure she isn't getting into things, and I leave her in it for very short periods of time... so to all you baby walker critics, if you have a problem with that, then... well... deal with it, I guess. She finally figured out how to go forward- it was all backward for a while, which was pretty funny. This was before she had it mastered, but still undeniably cute...


Well, it is approaching 11pm and I won't make it much longer... I'll try to be more diligent on updating here. Maybe. We'll see.

Still no tooth in sight.

So for all that I was sure we'd be seeing some teeth by now, the smile remains toothless. She is sleeping ok now, but still chews everything in sight. I swear she's been "teething" for months now. The gums feel ready- just no chompers yet.

She is getting so fun- so much personality. I love hearing her talk, "Ba-ba-ba-ba-baaa," and "La-lala," and "da-da-da-da-daaaaa". Yeah. Lots of 'dada'... not so much 'mama'. But it isn't like she even knows what either of those things mean. It is fun to hear it, nonetheless.

Kate's first time on the grass was interesting... can't say she was a huge fan:




We hit the 7th month and are rapidly approaching 8 months. I can't believe how fast this first year is going. There was a little 12 day old baby girl at church last week, and she was sooo tiny. I said I didn't think Kate was ever that small. As it turns out- this baby was bigger than Kate when she was born! She was close to 9 pounds- Kate wasn't even 8 pounds! How quickly I've forgotten what an itty bitty little thing she was. Look at the comparison!



In a little over a week I'll be leaving my girl for almost a week to take my youth group on houseboats :( While I am excited about the trip, the thought of leaving my sweet girl for a week is tearing me up. I know Matt is the best daddy ever and will take great care of her- I will just miss her. Will she forget me? Will she get her first tooth or start crawling while I'm gone, and I will miss those things? Ahhh! Yeah. I'm a wreck.

We took her down to Crystal Cove last weekend for her first beach experience: it was beautiful down there! The last time we'd gone down there was the day I went into labor :) It was super sunny and the waves were huge! There were dolphins playing in the surf... it was a perfect Southern California day. Not sure Kate was a big fan... I dipped her feet in the water, and she wasn't terribly pleased. The water was a little cold and the waves were very loud... it might have been a bit overwhelming for a little squirt.



Well, we're getting ready to start our day... many more stories to come!

Teething is NO FUN.

I almost wish I could remember how it felt to start growing your first teeth so that I could sympathize a little better with my poor little lady. The two swollen bumps on her lower gums and her fussiness are sure signs that we'll soon see the appearance of Kate's first teeth! While it is an exciting step, it is rough. She has been Fussy McFusserson the past few nights and hasn't slept her usual 10-12 hours in a while. Oh well- if she needs the comfort in the night, then comfort she shall have.

I am not usually a huge fan of hot weather, but it is fun to be able to let Kate hang out in nothing but a diaper... those baby rolls of chubbiness are too cute not to enjoy now that it is nice and warm!

At her 6 month check up last week (even though she was 6 1/2 months) she was weighing in at 18.7 lbs. and was 26 inches long... big girl! We build them sturdy in the Conrad family. She is a lover of food- totally happy with her oatmeal, veggies and fruit. In fact, she seems to be more fired up about veggies than she is about fruit. Weird!

Here are some pictures from hanging out in her activity center (clothing optional- diaper required):




My mom and I have started our own little business: Kiss Me, Katie Handpainted Wall Letters. Right now we are just using an Etsy shop, but we're hoping to take it beyond that. We paint wall letters for children's rooms. So if you need a baby gift- we're your girls! Etsy is super cool- there is so much fun stuff on there, and it is all handmade. I could do some serious shopping on there! Cute shoes, purses, clothes, art... everything you could want!

Kate is continually fabulous- she can sit on her own like a champ now, and I can tell we aren't far from her crawling days... it won't be long now. She is such a happy, smiley little girl (aside from the teething fun). I am more and more in love with her everyday. Sometimes, when I am tired and frustrated, I don't feel worthy to be a mommy to such an amazing little miracle. She is just too perfect for words!

Well, we're well on our way to the 7-month mark... where has the time gone???

Happy Half Birthday!

On Sunday Kate hit the 6 month mark! We're half way to her first birthday and I can't believe how quickly time is passing. She has changed so much! Between 5 months and 6 months and good crop of hair has appeared on her head and I swear there is a little more there every day! So cute and fluffy!

Here is the 6 month monkey pic:


A couple of weekends ago, we made a trip out to the desert for one night. She did great and went in the pool for the first time... its hard to say whether she liked it or not. She didn't seem to *not* like it, but wasn't too sure about it (but this picture makes it look like she was unhappy- she really wasn't).



It only took 6 months, but I think I am finally getting into the swing of motherhood. It all works out now (most of the time) and I am learning to relax and enjoy Kate more, rather than worrying all the time. She gets more and more fun all the time- I just want to sit on the floor and play with her and teach her all day!

Eating is fun now... she really digs oatmeal and now we're starting to add veggies and fruits. Right now we're on carrots- makes for some wacky colored diapers, that is for sure! The faces she makes when trying something new are classic! I would post pictures, but we've been slow on picture taking since my Rebel XT is out of commission right now (huge bummer...).

Soon she will be moving all over the place (she already propels herself across the room by rolling over and over and over...) and I am going to be exhausted, but we are so excited about all of the wonderful things to come.

I was really awakened to how blessed we are when I read that the girl who runs a website I frequent (mom4life.com) lost her baby boy at 37 weeks. They discovered that he no longer had a heartbeat and she had to deliver her sweet angel, only to bury him days later. For someone I don't even know, her story haunted me. It tore at my heart and I thought about it a lot. It isn't fair. But her faith in God is awe-inspiring. She trusts in God's will and is being so faithful. I admire that. It opened my eyes to hear her story, and it made me all the more thankful for the beautiful baby girl napping in the room next to me. I don't know how I could be so blessed, but I am thankful.

In other news, my grandpa took a pretty nasty fall last Monday. He fractured a vertebrae in his neck and has been fitted with a 'halo' (one of those metal things they screw into your head). He'll be in that for 3 months. If you read this, please take a minute to lift him up in prayer, that he would remain in good spirits and that he would not encounter any setbacks that would keep him from returning to life as usual fairly soon. Thanks! Kat wants her great-grandpa to be able to come down and visit again!

Feliz!

Cinco de Mayo! After I posted that last one I realized it was Cinco de Mayo. A year ago today, we had our friends over for a fiesta and announced that our guest room would be transformed into a nursery in the coming months! Oh, how time flies!

New Lens!

I splurged and bought a new lens for my camera (ok, it isn't a big splurge... it is the cheapest lens you can get, but it is SO cool!). Here are a few from my first times playing with it:






Takes some getting used to... it doesn't zoom, so I have to do the work of moving around, but that is kind of neat. I have also discovered the beauty of shooting in RAW- very cool! It gives you so much more control in editing (i.e. it makes my pics look so much better than they actually come out looking, since I'm no pro). I'm even shooting in manual mode, people... adios, "Auto" mode!

Kate is more and more fantastic all the time and even when I think it is impossible to be any more in love with her, I find myself more in love with her each day. Today I realized how frightening love can be. As I watched tv, there was a teaser to a story that would be aired on 48 Hours or one of those mystery shows: a nanny accused of killing this little baby girl. I felt physically ill. Who could do that? What would I do if someone tried to hurt my daughter? The answer scares me. I felt like a lioness. A mother bear. If someone tried to harm my Kathryn, my cub, Lord help them. Even the very thought of it made this... I can only explain it as a 'heat', build up inside of me... scary. I'm not a violent person, and I'm certainly not the strongest. But God forbid anyone should threaten harm upon my family, there is a primal part of me that would do anything to protect her. Rawr.

Whoo. That was heavy. On a lighter note, my amazing, wonderful and always thoughtful Matt watched the lovebug today so I could go use my Glen Ivy gift certificates today with my mom! Now, pre-natal massages were great. Super. But it was SO fantastic to get a real-deal massage today! The facial was excellent as well. Ooh. I feel refreshed! And do you know how long it's been since I was able to enjoy a hot tub? Over 16 months, I can tell you that, because hot tubs are a "no no" when you're pregnant. It was amaaaaaazing! So thanks, Matty-C... Best. Husband. Ever.

Well, it's off to bed for me. Hooray for sleep!