The Due Date

It was a year ago today that I sat on our couch pouting. Kathryn was due 11/11 and my uterus hadn't made any moves yet. Over it. People that were due with their babies after me had already had their babies. I was getting grumpy.

It's funny looking back... she was worth every single minute more that she stayed "in the oven", but I was so crabby and tired of being pregnant. Seven days later- bam, baby! And a year later, I miss being pregnant. Funny how that goes.

We had a fun scare on Monday morning at 3:00am. I woke up to the sound of the smoke alarm in Kate's room screaming at us! I don't think I have ever moved so quickly in my life- out of bed, down the hall and into her room. She hadn't even woken up at that point- which REALLY scared me at first... then she started to stir. I took her out of the room and Matt came in to check out the alarm. It was no biggie- our heater had come on for the first time in many months and the dust that collected was burning off, which triggered the smoke detector. After that adrenaline rush, it wasn't easy getting back to sleep.

Now she is working on two new teeth and has been quite the crab. On that note, time to go deal with Crabby McGee!

Cute as a bug!

Last night was a first for Kate: her first Halloween! We took some time pre-Halloween night to get some good shots in her costume, and then had a playdate with her friend Sienna, who was also sporting the ladybug look, coincidentally.





That first picture cracks me up... poor Kathryn doesn't get to spend a ton of time with other babies, so when she does get some social time, she is all over it- literally. She kept trying to pull to standing using Sienna's dress, crawling all over her, putting her finger in Sienna's mouth (and yes- she did get bit), and trying to give her little friend kisses (which amounts to licking her). Babies are so funny.

So we're halfway into month 11 and I'm planning Kate's 1st birthday party. Unreal. Matt and I spent some time in the backyard last week trying to get one good picture to use for her invitations... out of 81 pictures, here are some faves (the first one is the one we used for the invite, by the by):





It is amazing how much she has changed, even just within this last month/ month-and-a-half. She's a cruising machine- zipping around the furniture like it's no big deal; she proudly declares "Baba!" when she catches even the slightest glimpse of her bottle (which, much to my dismay, I am planning our escape from once that first birthday hits); if you ask for a kiss, she'll plant one on your cheek (open mouth I'm afraid... I swear I'm trying to teach her to be a lady...) and then the sweetest part- she says, "isssss!". Now, to anyone else this probably means nothing, but I SWEAR she is saying Kiss! She does it all the time- there is no way it's just a coincidence. Is there? No- there's no way.

Her personality is really starting to shine- she's always been a sweet and mellow baby, but now she is just so personable. She babbles away with full inflection in her voice and has fun little conversations with her toys. She shakes her head "No" when she starts to head for a "No-no zone" in the house. She slays me- she is hilarious!

Tomorrow morning should be an interesting experiment... our first "Fall Back" with a baby. So on a morning that used to bring a delicious extra hour of sleep, we'll see what Miss K does. On that note, I am off to reset the clocks, put my laundry in the dryer and maybe read a little before I call it a night.

Ugh.

Dear Next Door Neighbor's Dog,

Thanks for that fun barking fit. I love when Kate gets a 20-minute morning nap. It puts her in a great mood.

One request: can you SHUT UP for her afternoon nap?
Thanks.



I'm not bitter. Not at all.
Off to get Crabby McGee.

New lens!

October-13
Originally uploaded by A-Rad

As a birthday gift from my mom and grandpa, I got a sweet new lens for my camera! Woohoo! My mom says it is like giving herself a gift, since she gets the outcome from it.

Matt and I took Kate out to the backyard with our new, big ol' pumpkin to try out this new lens... fun! It was an overcast day, which was actually kind of nice- so many pictures of her end up with "hot spots" from the sun (bright spots on her face). Cloud cover is much appreciated.

I just love this expression- she is such a happy girl!

Pumpkin Patch!

Big changes occur in one year...
OCTOBER 2007:


OCTOBER 2008:


I much prefer the latter image- don't you? =)

We took Kate to her first pumpkin patch today! It was a lot of fun- animals to look at, pumpkins to play with and lots of photo ops. I'm sure it will be a lot more fun for her once she is a bit bigger, but Matt and I had a good time at least. Without further ado, some photo highlights from our day.

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.

Double Digits.

10 months old- what gives? That is only two months away from 1-year old and that, my friends, is impossible. There is no way my sweet baby girl could possibly be approaching one year old. No way! The 10 month monkey picture was a failure... I couldn't get my camera to work with me, and I definitely couldn't keep my squirmy wormy daughter to sit still. The result? A horribly blurry picture- but check out that heart melting "I think I'm so funny" smile behind that blur :) Truth is, I'm probably going to cheat and try to take a better one tomorrow. What?



I'll be honest... with all the new babies I see around, I get to thinking. Thinking how neat it was to be pregnant, thinking how unbelievably wonderful it is to get the first glimpse of your baby on the ultrasound, thinking how amazing it is to hold your new baby for the first time and the love you feel all at once. Sometimes I have to remind myself not to blurt out, "Matt- I'm ready for another one!" because there is a slight chance he might say, "Yeah!"

I have to remind myself that Kate isn't even one yet. That I love a glass of wine here and there. That I can sleep for 8 hours at night if I so choose. That my body just became my own again a few short months ago. That the night sweats and emotions after having a new baby could ONLY be amplified by another little one running around.

Yes. I think we will wait. Phew.