Where Did My Baby Go?

It's almost hard to remember what I was doing this time last year with Kate.  She had just come home from the hospital at the beginning of May and we were trying to establish a routine of feeding, sleeping, and surviving.  Fast forward one year and now I'm trying to keep up with my always-moving 15-month-old toddler!  

Kate took her first independent steps on June 1st, just 3 days shy of what would have been her first birthday had she arrived on time.  It took her about a month to be "declared" an independent walker.  Her first major steps happened on July 4th.  Since then she continues to do a mix of walking and crawling.  The walking part still needs to be coaxed out of her at times.  Since she didn't crawl before she walked I think she's discovering that crawling is almost just as fun!  

Kate's walking also had a little set-back recently when I decided to return to using cloth diapers.  As my stash of bargain disposables was running low, it just seemed logical to go back to cloth since they were already paid for; however, Kate decided that walking in a cloth diaper was NOT for her.  In fact, she would barely crawl at times.  I think the big, bulky diaper threw her balance off and she wasn't sure what to do!  So, back to disposables for now until she gets a little steadier.  Those big 'ole cloth diapers sure were cute on her for awhile! 

Godparents

Godmommy Leah, Baby Bear, & Kate

Kate is so fortunate to have TWO sets of godparents who love her dearly.  We had one set of godparents, Dave and Leah, over for dinner the other night so they could see our new screened-in porch (pics are coming....I promise)!  Not only do they have their hands full with their own three children, but they always make time to love on our little one.  Since Blake and I are both only children, we are so fortunate to have wonderful friends who we love like family.

Baby Bear

Ellison & Ethan...they might not be our children, but the look on their faces is so "Blake" in front of the TV!

There She Goes!

'Round and 'round she goes!  That's the theme in our house at least.  Kate has become pretty darn good at pushing her little walker around the house.  She goes from the kitchen to the living room to the foyer, down the hall, and back to the kitchen....over and over again.  And she is so proud of herself when she zooms by mommy!

We're hoping all this "walking" will lead to independent walking very soon.  Kate actually took her first three steps without support on June 1st (3 days shy of what would have been her first birthday).  Blake took some time off this week and we worked and worked on walking, but Kate seems to be a cautious learner who won't try anything new without being completely sure of herself.   This is a pretty good trait to have, I suppose.

Our new favorite evening ritual is having Kate walk in between us.  When she reaches Blake or I she falls into our arms and gives us the best hug ever.  Every time I wrap her up in my arms a tiny piece of me wishes she would stay like this forever.  

There she goes!

'round and 'round!

Giving Back

Our wagon of goodies for the Family Room!

For Kate's first birthday we asked friends and family to bring donations for the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Forsyth Hospital instead of gifts.  The Family Room serves NICU parents and provides a comfortable place to grab a meal, a snack, and just to unwind. Blake and I used that room almost on a daily basis to eat lunch and get a snack (it took us a long time to want another pimento cheese sandwich again). :)

Today we took all of the donated goodies to the Ronald McDonald House on Hawthorne Rd.  The Family Room Coordinator was transporting everything over to Forsyth Hospital this afternoon.  We are so thankful for the support of this wonderful organization and know that lots of other families will benefit  from our donation.

Hanging out with Ronald 

Showering Drew, Mandy, & Baby Zoey with Love

Books galore!

Last Saturday we survived the impossible: a baby shower with three energetic toddlers running/cruising around.  As Blake said at the end of the evening, "that was much more fun than I thought it would be!"  He certainly wasn't knocking the company or the idea of the party, but you just never know what can happen with a room full of little ones!

We are so happy for Drew and Mandy (Kate's god-mommy extraordinaire) and can't wait to meet Baby Zoey.  I know she and Kate are going to be fast friends!  I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from the book-themed shower!

Strawberry cupcakes with the recipe courtesy of Oprah.com

Zoey Rae is going to be one loved little girl!

Flowers from our garden

Opening gifts

Mandy might be thinking, "what did I get myself into?" after being around the kids!

Excited daddy!  :)

 

The mom-to-be!

Caroline & Nate playing a potential disastrous game

Kate helping to open presents

Kate with the bow she "borrowed" from Zoey

End of the night...I think someone is worn out!

Oh, What a Weekend!

Kate's favorite expression when something "surprises" her

This post will be short because I haven't uploaded the photos from our weekend yet, but I wanted to include Kate's "surprised" expression on the blog.  This little face gets us every time!

New Experiences

It's amazing to watch Kate grow and play each day.  It's so fun to witness her making new discoveries, almost on a daily basis.  As she continues to learn to walk independently, we have a new skill...crawling!  Of course I'd describe her crawling as more as half-crawling, half-walking, but it allows her to make quick, forward progress while she is still learning to walk.  

Another new experience for Kate is eating watermelon.  I've included lots of "juicy" pictures of Kate enjoying her favorite new fruit!

Watermelon is so yummy!

Isn't summertime so wonderful?  While it's not technically summer yet, it sure has felt like it lately with the 90+ degree weather.  As a result, we've had limited outdoor playtime as a family.  Even though it's been a little toasty, we did sneak in a romp in the grass one evening this week and, of course, we had to peek at our growing garden.  Here's some pictures of Daddy and Kate having fun outside!

My favorite ride!

Veggie garden

No, those aren't weeds...those are our blackberry & raspberry bushes!