Four Month Darling

Dear Father Time,

Can you please slow down...just a little?  I can't believe how quickly my little girl is growing and I will admit, it's making me just a little bit sad.  I know that this is likely the last little baby in our home, so I'm trying hard to cherish and savor every little moment with Kate, but with our crazy, fun life...that is sometimes hard.  It seems like each time I look away and turn back she is growing, changing discovering something new.  I love watching all of these changes and discoveries, but at the same time, it reminds me of the fact that this is likely the last time I will watch a child of my own go through these moments.

So...if you could slow down...just a little, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Mommy to Katelyn (and Tyler and Lucas, too, b/c they are growing just as fast!)

This month Kate grew so much, physically and developmentally.  She is near the 70th percentile in all categories for her growth and is progressing wonderfully in her development.  She is SO close to rolling over (she has done it once on her own, but I think maybe we had put her down in the perfect position to make it easy for her to flip herself.  Now she just needs to figure out what to do with her shoulder) and is trying to sit on her own, too.  She enjoys being in the bumbo and is always trying to sit forward in her swing.  She smiles frequently and her laugh is SO cute.  With these chubby little cheeks smiling at you, what could ever be wrong?

She is sleeping through the night (mostly, unless mommy has been careless about what she eats) and her tummy issues seem to be easing up some.  She is tolerating milk products in small doses (although I still haven't tried to eat ice cream or drink a glass of milk) and we're still avoiding too many constipating foods, to try and keep her regular.

In other exciting news...WE'RE MOVING.

Yes - again...I know, we're crazy.  Not only are we moving with two small boys and a newborn, we're doing it during Christmas.  But...the opportunity fell into our laps and we decided to put our house on the  market, to see if we'd get any interest.  Well...not only did we get interest, we got a contract in one week!  So, we decided to bite the bullet and make the move.  We are super excited about the new house, as it is the perfect place for us to raise our family.  We had always hoped to move into our "forever home" when the kids were younger, so they could make most of their childhood memories in one place and with this home, we can do that.  Ironically, with this move, we will continue the pattern of our children being born in one home and celebrating their first birthdays in another.  For now though, we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in our new home. 

Merry Christmas to you all, if I don't post again before!

3 months of bliss

This is the best way I can explain these past three months.  Katelyn is such a joy and having a daughter is such a blessing to me.  I love my boys DEARLY, but there is something about having a daughter that is special for a mom...at least this mom.  :)

Kate continues to grow fabulously and is sleeping like a champ.  After a rough go of some acid reflux, we've finally gotten that under control, as well as determining that she has a milk protein allergy.  This is more of a problem for mom, as what I eat is what affects her most.  So, no ice cream, milk, or cheese (among many other dairy products) for this momma.  :(

She is starting to "talk" to us and is spending more and more time awake during the day "playing'.  She really likes her play gym and enjoys watching the boys, play too.  They continue to be so great with her.  I love watching their relationships develop.

Happy three month birthday baby girl...we love you SO very much!

October Fun

We've been all kinds of busy having lots of fall fun lately....three visits to various fall festivals/pumpkin patches in the past two weeks!  Our first outing was to Cox Farms.

We went with their buddies, Austin and Logan.  They always have so much fun together, with the big boys and little boys just 2 and 3 months apart from each other.  This foursome always produces a lot of energy, but it's so much fun to watch them all together.  They enjoyed big slides

 

and a petting zoo with some friendly goats.  Well, Luke didn't think they were so friendly, but Tyler loved them!

In fact...he was in such a hurry to see them, that he wandered over there all by himself and gave momma quite a scare when I realized he was not longer at the slide with us!  I looked over to the goat cages and there he was asking for some food to feed them.  But, Luke did love the wooden train he could climb through and the small pond where he could throw rocks!

Two Tremendous Months

Wow!!  I'm pretty sure this is probably the same thing I say each month that passes by in my newborns lives, but still.  WOW!!  I can't believe how quickly these last two months have gone by.  I will say that of the three, Kate has been my most "difficult" baby, if you can call her difficult.  But really, she is not.  She is a great sleeper and eater and just happens to have a fussy bit each evening.  She also has some reflux, which we are controlling with medication, b/c otherwise our fussy evenings, become full blow fussy DAYS.  And, we have had a few of those, when mommy decided maybe the medicine wasn't necessary.  Oops...guess that's not for me to decide.  Anywho...when she has gotten her regular doses of medicine, she has been a fantastic baby (you know, aside from those few evening hours). 

She also sleeps very well at night.  From our first week home, she was going 4 hours minimum, sometimes 5 or 6 and by 6 weeks was progressing to 8 hours on some nights.  Just recently, two days before hitting her two month birthday, she went 12 hours between feedings.  Wa-hoo baby girl!!  That's what momma likes.  :)

Her well check is not until next monday (a week after she officially hit two months), and I'm so excited to see what she will weigh.  I'm guessing close to 12 lbs...if not slightly over.  As you can see by these adorable cheeks, she does love to eat.

Yesterday I did her a mini-shoot for her two month pictures.  As you can see above, she is doing very well at holding her head up.  But, this is not surprising since she has been trying to do that since the day she was born.  She also has been flashing little smiles here and there for us too.  I can't wait to see what these next months will bring us.  You are such a wonderful addition to our family baby girl...we love you so much!!

Score!!

So, over the summer we ventured into the world of swim team, and this fall Tyler has officially made me a soccer mom!  Now that he's turned four, he's officially old enough to join the thousands (literally) of other kids in our area who play soccer in the fall.  I was a little leary of having him on a team, not because I didn't think he'd be able to kick the ball (b/c he actually kicks it very well), but more so because I wasn't sure he was old enough for a structured game (with competitors and a referee!...really for 4 year olds?).  But anyway, we decided to try it.  Yesterday was our first match of the season.

The first two practices were a little hairy, so we weren't sure what to expect on Saturday.  It could have gone much like practices where he sat on the sidelines and watched, b/c he didn't think he could do it like the coach wanted, or he could have not wanted to get off of the field.  Care to guess which one?  It was a little of both actually.  Here he was mad that he wasn't in...but later on he was sitting with me upset, b/c he didn't think he was doing well enough!  But honestly, for the first time participating in a structured sporting event, he did pretty well.

Here they are in pre-game...coach is giving them the run-down on rules of the game.  I mean really, with just two practices under our belt, this could be interesting.  Luckily this is a U5 team, so a few of the kids have played a couple of seasons already.

 Hoping he remembers he can't touch the ball with his hands.

 It's ok to use your head though!

 

Here they are pointing to their goal.  Not that it helped much...each team scored at least one goal for the other team.  One thing I really appreciated about the league is that for the U5, they do have referees to help them learn the rules of the game, but they do not actually keep "score".  So, there is no real winner or loser at the end.  Helps to not defeat the kids spirits at such a young age, I think.

 Tyler's first goal...he did a great job kicking it down field and into the goal!

 This little one couldn't quite remember that you can't touch the ball with your hands!  :)  She tried to pick it up and run with it, each time she got close to it.

 Kate, hanging out with daddy, enjoying the game.  Too soon baby girl, it will be your turn...and with two older brothers to teach you all about the game, I bet you're gonna be an awesome soccer chick!

Look at that form!  Ready...

 Set...

 

Kick!

 

Kate's Newborn Photos

We had a family newborn session done with Kate at the end of August and the pictures turned out SO good.  I love the hat and diaper cover, I'm so glad I found someone to make them.  They look so great in her birth announcements.

 

 

A "One"derful Month

Wow...it's hard to believe that just a little over a month ago we were still preparing for the arrival of our beautiful baby girl as she spent her last days inside my cozy belly.  I'm telling you, she HAD to be running out of room.  Look at that belly!

and that now, this little hours old baby...

is this one month old darling already pushing herself up!

When I learned that the precious baby I was carrying was actually my first daughter, I was overcome with emotion.  I was so very excited to be having a daughter and to have the opportunity to be a momma to both sons and a daughter.  I LOVE my boys to death, and there is nothing more special that being their "momma", but to be able to experience all of the things that a mother of a daughter experiences has me very excited, too.  I'm not sure I can even begin to explain the love I feel for this little girl...I look at her face and see mine (literally, b/c I really do think she looks so much like me!)
, but also all of the promise that the future holds for her.  Her first steps, first day at school, graduation, marriage, her own children.  I'm just so excited for her.

With each child I've been scared of what the introduction of another child would be like.  When pregnant with Luke, I really wondered how in the world I would be able to love another child like I loved Tyler.  But I can honestly say that I have never one time even questioned my love for either of my boys.  It's an amazing feeling actually!  And because of that, this time while pregnant with Katelyn, I didn't have the fear of how could I love her as much, b/c I knew I just would.  It's quite amazing how with each child, instead of having to share the amount of love my heart can hold, I actually believe that my heart has tripled in the amount of love it can hold.  I honestly think I love Les, Tyler and Lucas MORE with the addition of Katelyn to our family.  She just seems to have completed us.  If no more babies are in our future, I think I'm okay with that. 

But still, as I sit here, I have tears in my eyes just knowing that I'll never experience these times again.  Her first month is over and with that, all of the firsts she has experienced during that time.

Times likes her first family picture...

being welcomed home by her brothers...

her first bath (which she didn't exactly love)...

the first time she slept in her crib (ok, so she's not quite asleep yet)...

her first photo session with mommy...

and a professional photographer...

and other firsts I couldn't capture in a photo like her first smile and first time sleeping through the night.  It's been a month of firsts, and we've loved every minute of it.  Although I'm sad to see the first month go and know that she'll never be this small again, I'm excited for all of the other firsts we will experience in the months to come.   Happy one month birthday baby girl!  You are such a blessing to mommy and our entire family.  We love you so much.