Kate's First Haircut

Last Saturday (February 12^th), we took Daddy to get his haircut and Kate ended up getting a haircut too! Sadly, I didn’t have a camera because we hadn’t planned to cut her hair, but Justin took a couple pictures on his cell phone.  I always thought the first haircut would be a huge deal, but now I’m glad we didn’t make a special trip because it took Justin’s barber less than a minute to clip Kate’s hair.  One snip of her bangs, and two snips of the back and we were done!

A quick shot from the back - her hair looks so much nicer (and fuller) now that it is all one length!  Just one more sign she's growing up too fast.

17 Months Old

 February 17th was another milestone for Kate – 17 months old. Wow. Justin and I have noticed how much more verbal she has been just in the last couple of days. The newest thing she is doing is trying to repeat what we say. This morning we asked her to say “bird” and she said “bur”, we tell her say “green” when the traffic light turns green and she repeats “eeen”. The other morning we saw a flock of birds and I told her the birds say “tweat, tweat”. She chirped back at me when I asked her what the birds say.

One of our biggest accomplishments is that Kate no longer takes a pacifier. We had been limiting her pacy to sleep time and the occasional church service, but I decided we needed to start the process of getting rid of it all together. Justin and I lucked out because we took it away one night and Kate never acted like she missed it. There was one or two times Kate would come out of her room with a pacifier and when I took it and threw it away, she just grinned and laughed. Kate’s kitty has been our life saver – Mrs. Betsy says kitty has magical powers. I think as long as she has her kitty life is good. It hit me hard when I realized Kate no longer needed her pacifier because it was just one more sign my little girl is no longer a baby.

Kate loves to give “sugar” (kisses) and “high-fives” on demand. Every morning, Justin walks us out to the car and buckles Kate in her car seat. Before we leave, he asks both Kate and I to give him “sugar” and a “high-five”. I know our current morning routine won’t last forever, but for now, it’s the best way to start my day.

Driving her car.

 Exploring everything! 

This is Kate's latest talent.  She loves to hold her shirt in her mouth and show off her belly.  If you ask "Where is Kate's belly?" this is her reponse.  This afternoon she stood in this position at the front door and waved as the neighbors walked or drove by.



Tough Thursday

I have to vent - Thursday was not the best day. We went to the neurologist to get Justin’s tests results: abnormal brain waves = no driving for 6 months (bad news). The good news is that we have one month down, five more to go. I was prepared for that news, but I was not prepared for what I found when we left the doctor’s office. Someone hit my car and scrapped/dented it up pretty good. My poor car has already been hit two other times this year, all of them being hit and runs. I’m so frustrated – why would someone do that and not leave a note? I’ll tell you why: they are embarrassed or just don’t care.

I do have to confess a time when I just didn’t care. I did a hit and run once at FSU. For those of you that attended FSU, you know what a sparse commodity a parking spot was. Students were hunted down and followed to their car in the hopes of getting their parking spot. I am not exaggerating when I say I have spent hours searching and waiting for parking spaces. One afternoon, this person was parked crooked and as I was trying to squeeze my car in the spot, I hit their side view mirror. I immediately left and justified my actions by saying they shouldn’t have been so rude and taken up two parking spaces - they deserved it. I still stand by my actions, but Justin says this has been my payback. He might be right.

I should be grateful that we have a little extra money in savings to make these repairs – but who wants to spend their hard earned money on repairs, especially when you didn’t cause them? I think the thing that bothers me the most is that I look like a crazy driver. I’ve already gotten a couple recommendations for repair shops, I’m just hoping they are quick and the repair costs are reasonable. On the bright side, I don’t have to go without a vehicle since Justin’s truck is sitting in our driveway, asking to be driven.

Everything happens for a reason. We are very fortunate that this seizure has occurred at this time in our lives. I have plenty of help from friends and family and with Justin’s work situation, I only need to take him to work or pick him up a couple times a week, if that. I believe God challenges us on different levels, at different times in our lives, to mold us into better individuals. One of the things He is currently challenging me with is to be a little more flexible. I’m a planner and do not like to change my plans on a whim, but I think I’m slowly learning to “go with the flow”.

Maybe the 6 month driving suspension is God’s sign to me to stay part time until Justin can drive??? That’s the assumption I’m going to operate under – unless I get another sign (i.e. Justin not bringing in a paycheck for several more months).

 Hit and Run #1

Hit and Run #2

and last, but not least - Hit and Run #3

They say things comes in threes, so that better be my 3 for the year!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  After church Sunday night we went over to Gigi and Granddaddy's house (Nanny, Aunt Katie and Uncle Jordan were there too) for a little Valentine's Day celebration.  Family get togethers are one of my favorite things to do - it doesn't get much better than that. 

 Kate loved playing this game with anyone who was willing to talk into the other end.

Thank you Mrs. Janay for stitching Kate's valentine's shirt, I love it!

I couldn’t believe all the gifts Kate received – outfits, pajamas, a wallet, snow globe, a cell phone, a rain jacket, cards, etc and that doesn’t even include the bath toys we got her.  Even Justin and I got a couple things!  Kate also had a great Valentine's Day today at Mrs. Betsy's.  Thank you Mrs. Betsy for the wonderful picture frame, picture and balloon (and of coarse the laughs in your blog posts).     

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day.  I'm smelling my (burnt) dinner as Justin keeps saying "oh man". I was just told "it's not too bad" so I'm going to look on the bright side since my husband is willing to cook for me (even if it is a frozen skillet meal).  Lucky for me I'm not starving right now.