3 Years Together!

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary! In some ways, it seems like it was just yesterday... in other ways it seems like we've been married forever! Not in a bad way... it just feels so natural- like it has always been this way.

We were so cute- so excited to go out and start our life together.

Matt is the greatest husband... I never imagined I could end up with such a wonderful man. So funny to look back at middle school when I used to cry and wish I had a boyfriend- someone to love me and make me feel special. Summer would tell me that one day I'd find someone... then I had my high school relationship. It lasted almost 3 years, but in my heart I knew I'd never marry him. We weren't right for each other in that way. And then there was Matt...

Scott told me one day that I should date his roommate. In fact, I think his exact words were, "You should go out with my roommate. You guys could get married." I didn't want to be hooked up through Scott, so I scoffed at first. Then, I gave in and said, "Ok, Scott... hook it up." I started at Concordia and would come over to hang out with them often... the rest is history. And here we are three years later with a perfect little girl and happier than I could ever ask!

On Sunday, Kat and my mom were baptized! It was cool to have them baptized together- what a special day! My mom decided she was ready to do that, and it means a lot to me. Kate looked so funny in her big, puffy white dress!

We had a little get together over at Matt's mom & dad's house following the service and then stayed to watch the Super Bowl (which I watched very little of... not really into football).

Kate had her 10-week check up yesterday. She is 13lbs. 4oz. and 22 3/4 inches long. She is in the 90th percentile for her age! Big girl! The doctor said she looks great and is ahead of the game developmentally with her social interaction and her neck control! She even said that the way Kat was holding herself up while laying on her belly was what a typical 4-month old would be doing. She is a super baby! She got her first round of immunizations, which wasn't fun. Poor baby. She had to have one oral vaccine and 4 injections. She didn't realize that it hurt until about the middle of the second shot when her sweet little face contorted into a full blown angry face! She started wailing and I couldn't help but cry a little bit... poor little thing! She made it through, though, and is doing just fine today.

So baptism Sunday, first shots Monday and our anniversary today... fun, fun!

Don't Lift Your Baby by Their Head

David and Kelly Sopp put out an amazing book called, Safe Baby Handling Tips. Here are a few choice excerpts:







Funny- Kat loves the dryer... it's so toasty.

We're at 10 1/2 weeks now and life is great! Our girl is growing so fast and is getting to be more and more fun everyday! She laughed for the first time on Januray 22nd and it was amazing! I'll admit, I teared up. She laughs if you bounce her on your knee and sing to her... it's a crack up!




Life with a baby is definitely different... but for whatever reason, it makes sense. After not even 3 months, it feels like life is just supposed to be this way. She comes to work with me during the week and that has gotten SO much better! She hated it at first, and wouldn't nap at all. But here we are, almost a month later, and she is almost into two hours of a nap! I had to get a little travel swing to help her nap, but hey, it's survival around here.

I have to laugh at how content I am now that I never wear make-up and am covered in spit-up half of everyday. Who knew vanity and shame would disappear with the birth of your child? I do; however, find myself embarrassed by one thing: the mommy voice. You know what I am talking about, don't you? It's that voice that haunts every video of our daughter. The high-pitched, squeaky, voice of a woman who's dignity has been stolen by a tiny, bundle of love. "Hey you! Hey you!", "Smile for mommy!", "You love your daddy, don't you?", "Where's my girl... THERE SHE IS!" Don't laugh: this, too, can happen to you.

We moved up to size 2 diapers yesterday, and though it hurts my heart a little bit to know she has grown so much, it brings me great joy because I know we will experience fewer 'blow-outs' with a correctly fitting diaper.

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!

One month old!

Kate turned one month on the 18th and she couldn't be more phenomenal! She is growing so fast and already weighs 10lbs. 9oz. as of the 19th! Big girl! She is starting to sleep for longer stretches at night which is pretty much amazing... last night she slept from about 10pm until almost 4am! That is six hours of sleepy bliss for me. I actually ended up having to unwrap her swaddle to get her to start waking up because I needed to feed her... I was in some pain from going so long without feeding her.

After I fed her last night, it was about 4:30am and I just didn't want to put her down. She was all cuddled up on my chest, sound asleep, and my brain started going. I realized how blessed I am. With my daughter on my chest and my husband asleep next to me, I felt like everything was right with the world. What a wonderful little family I have! I got a little choked up... I'll admit it. Eventually I put her back down and she slept for another 4 hours... amazing!

The first month has been such a period of learning. Nursing is finally something I can enjoy- instead of crying and hating every minute of it. I thought women were liars when they said "it gets better," but it really does. I never knew how many diapers a newborn baby could go through. Holy crap! No pun intended... Seriously, I change her wet pants before I feed her, then she poops in the clean diaper, then I change her again and it isn't long before we hear her let loose again. I read, while I was pregnant, that a breastfed baby should have a dirty diaper for every feeding... but I guess I just didn't realize how often that was. Dang! Supposedly she will start pooping less now that she is one month old. We'll see!

She has started smiling and it is the best thing in the world! She only does it in response to seeing someone else smile right now... I guess that is how their brains work, but it is amazing! She is going to be such a charmer. Look out, Daddy! The other night she giggled in her sleep and I just about melted into a puddle of goo right there. It was the cutest thing ever!

Matt is probably the greatest dad in the world. For real. He adores her so much and it makes my heart all fuzzy and warm. I really value that, since my dad wasn't around for me. I have a whole new love and respect for Matt that I can't really explain... there is nothing like seeing your husband become a dad.

I am so excited for Christmas- our first Christmas as a family of three! This little girl is going to be SO spoiled... I can already tell. It is so special to my mom and my grandpa, too, to have a new little one at Christmas time. Especially for my grandpa, since with all the scares we've had with his health, we never knew if he'd get to see this day. He tells me everytime he holds her how happy he is that he got to be here to see her. It is so special to me, too. I hope she will know how much he adores her.

Ok, now that I have made myself cry, I will use the rest of this time that she is sleeping to eat some breakfast and pick up around the house. Many more stories to come!

2 1/2 Weeks Later...

I can't believe we have had our baby girl for almost 3 weeks now! Things are going well- learning more everyday and things are getting easier! It is amazing how our bodies can adapt to living on so little sleep! Last night she went for a 4-hour stretch of sleep! Woohoo! You know you're a new parent when you're excited to sleep for only 4 hours, as opposed to 1 1/2 - 2 hours!

She is already changing so much and losing that 'newborn' look, at least I think so! She is starting to look like a "baby" instead of a "newborn", if that makes sense!

Here is a fun little creation I made of a few of her pictures:

Make a scrapbook!