Another Great Weekend

We have had another great weekend spending time with friends and family!  Friday night we met Raymond, Tracy and Ms. Audrey for some food and fun at Red Elephant.  We always enjoying spending time with the Reavis family and Kate loves Ms. A!

After dinner we tried to pose the girls for some pictures - Audrey was all smiles and loved to get close to Kate's face - which was the only time Kate would smile.

Saturday, Kate and I went over to my parent's house to play while Justin and Papa were fishing.  I'm glad we had a relaxing Saturday because Sunday was packed with activities.  After church, we were invited over to Nanny's house for an early Fourth of July lunch.  Thanks Nanny for another wonderul lunch!

I tried to get some more pictures of Kate in her blue dress, but once again she didn't give me too many smiles. 

After our photo shoot, Uncle Jordan let Kate ride on his scooter.  He recently broke his foot and since he's not allowed to put any weight on it, he uses the scooter or crutches to get around. It's a sight, especially when Kate is along for the ride.

After a nice visit at Nanny's, Ms. Katie invited us over to swim!  This was our first time back in the pool since swimming lessons ended.  My little water bug stayed in the water about an hour before she decided it was time to get out.

Thanks again Ms. Katie for the pool party - we had a great time and can't wait to do it again!

Two little babies sitting in a chair...

I tried to get a cute picture of the two girls on their last night of swimming lessons and here's how they turned out.

Kate looks and smiles at the camera - Madelyn does not.

Madelyn looks and smiles at the camera - Kate does not.

Third time's a charm, right? 

Nope!  Neither one look.

Oh well, I tried. 

9 Month Doctor Visit

Tuesday, Kate and I went by ourselves to her 9 month doctor appointment.  Thankfully she didn't have to get shots but there was a toe prick.  She had two band aids on her toe when we left the doctor's office, but I didn't find either one later at the house, so that's a mystery.  I left the appointment without getting her stats or percentiles- the only thing I know is she weighs 17 lbs 13 oz.  I'm tempted to call and ask someone to read them over the phone - does that make me crazy?  I try to avoid being classified as a "crazy mother" (although Justin does not hesitate to call me out on something if he thinks it's ridiculous) but I have to know!  I guess I could wait until her 12 month appointment and get them then.  Knowing me, I will.  If I could look them up online I would have already done it - but there's something about being on the phone that makes Kate start crying or whining or shrieking.

Kate was thinking - "Woo hoo! No shots today!"

"But I have to get pricked in my toe?"

"Let's just sneak out and leave, they'll never miss us"

My Little Helper

Ever since Kate has become mobile, she follows me around the house - especially when I am cleaning.  I thought she would be afraid of the vacuum (aka the shop vac), but she sits right beside it and just watches - making sure it doesn't get away from her. 

Another chore she likes to participate in is folding laundry.  I usually put her in the laundry basket or she pulls up on it and proceeds to unfold the clothes- my underwear is her favorite.  She picks it up and waves it around and grins. 

Then, when she gets tired of "helping" me, this is what she does for some real adventure:

Yes, we have bought a baby gate, but I can barely climb over it and usually knock it out of place so we're looking into a different style.

Happy Father's Day!

Today was Justin's first Father's Day.  After church we went to Anthony's Wood Fire Grill for lunch and had a delicious meal.  Papa joined us but Mimi, Uncle Jordan and Ms. Katie were not able to be there - we missed you all! 

Sitting in the highchair - although she doesn't stay there long when grandparents are around.

Playing patty cake with Gigi.

Kate with the two proud grandpas.

Note to self - do not take future pictures with a store front as the backdrop, it looks terrible - sorry!

Kate was all out smiles by the time we left.

The proud daddy.

Happy Father's Day Justin!

Girl's night +1

Saturday night Kate and I had a girl's night and we had a guest - Ms. Madelyn! Madelyn was asleep when Erik and Mary dropped her off so Kate didn't notice she was here until she woke up.  My biggest surprise of the night was how Kate acted. When she woke up, Kate was excited to see her but as the night went on, Kate was not being very nice.  She crawls quicker than Madelyn right now, so she would take whatever toy Madelyn had and got very upset when I was giving Madelyn her bottle.  I thought Kate would be used to sharing after being at daycare, but I think the difference was that last night she had to share ME.  Luckily, Kate adjusted quickly and played nicely with Madelyn the rest of the night. 

It was harder than I thought to get a picture of the two of them together - someone kept crawling off.

Who knew a car seat would be so entertaining?

We all had a fun time and we can't wait to have Mady visit again!

9 Months Old

Thursday was a big day - not only was it Justin's birthday but Kate turned 9 months old.  This milestone has come with big changes.  It still surprises me to walk into Kate's room in the morning and see this:

Within a week or two, Kate quickly went from pushing herself into the sitting position, to rocking, them crawling, and now pulling herself up to a standing position.  One of the bigger changes is in her personality.  She has started to pitch (short) fits if we make her do something she does not want to.  Most often, it's when we change her diaper or get her dressed/undressed.  

I now find myself saying "no" constantly.  I can't take my eyes off of her for one minute.  I used to be able to put her in the middle of our bed with a couple toys while I got ready for work in the morning.  Now anymore. Now Kate crawls to either side of the bed and I run to catch her before she dives off the side.  Even stacking pillows around her does not block her in - she has learned to push them out of her way. 

I took her 9 month pictures beside her koala, but I as soon as I placed it beside her, Kate took off in another direction.

Here are some better pictures I managed to take in between outfit changes (she messed up three outfits before we made it to Mrs. Betsy's that morning).  One outfit never made it in a picture - it got dirty that quickly - I guess some days are like that. 

Showing off those teeth - still just the bottom two.

I also took her bumper out of her crib - my little monkey was quickly learning she could use it to climb up on the crib.  Another "fun" thing she has learned it throwing down her toys.  Pacifiers and her stuffed bear are usually on the floor outside her crib in the mornings and she finds it entertaining to drop toys when she's in a highchair.  Yes, 9 months has brought lots of changes but it's just a reminder how fast she is growing.  One of our games is for Kate to start at one end of the hall and for me to hide at the other end and jump out and say "boo".  She'll crawl until she sees me and then stop and laugh, then continue to crawl towards me once I hide again. I love every minute of being Kate's mom! 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Thursday was Justin's 29th birthday - we're getting old!  I talked him into a quick picture before he left for work.

After work, we went to Kate's swimming lesson and then were invited to eat dinner with Ms. Katie and Uncle Jordan.  I walked out the door without my camera so I didn't get any pictures - but we had a great visit.

More Swimming Lesson Pictures

Tuesday night Mimi and Papa stopped by swimming lessons to watch Kate.  Unfortunately they ended early because of a rain threat, but we managed to get some quick pictures.

Kate's favorite part of swimming lessons - floating on her back.

She also likes to drink the water.

After the lesson, Kate and Madelyn took some pictures with Papa.  I guess they both left their smiles in the pool.

Thanks Mimi and Papa for coming!

Birthday Dinner

Last night we were invited over to Raymond's parent's house for dinner to celebrate Raymond's birthday (Tuesday) and Justin's birthday (Thursday).  Audrey and Kate had a great time playing - they didn't really play together, but they will soon. 

I try to imagine Kate as a 15 month old, walking, talking, jumping, but it's hard to picture.  She really took to one of Audrey's toys and wouldn't go anywhere without it last night.  Since Audrey had another one at home, Mrs. Tracy was sweet to let Kate keep it (it's the green string with three blocks).  Thank you Tracy and Audrey! 

 Here are the girls with their daddys:

And our gracious host and wonderful cook (Audrey's Mimi):

Happy Birthday Raymond and Justin!

Another Strange Sleeping Position

Another example of Kate's strange sleeping positions...