Spring Break!

I am so happy to be on spring break this week--giving me a chance to be home with Kate all day long:) I'm in heaven. We went to the library, to Gymboree Play and Music, to the vet, to Salsa babies and today we are going the Dr. for more shots:( Tomorrow we'll go swimming with Kate's best friend, Addison. Kate is so close to crawling. She can scoot well, but also gets up on all fours. She loves to stand, and would love to be cruising along our windowsills--not too long! I'm trying hard not to help her all the time and to let her figure out how to move on her own, so she has started to get a few bumps and bruises.

As for eating, she's had apples, banana, teething cookies, sweet potato and onion...yes, onion. Loren gave her onion the other day. No reaction. She isn't too interested in eating other than nursing. She is in a very pinchy phase of nursing right now...she opens and closes her little fingers and squeezes my skin. I got a "nursing necklace" which has virtually solved the problem! She loves the necklace, and it is baby safe, so we are happy:)

I'm also pretty sure that Kate understands the word "Stella." She loves Stella and squeals with delight when she sees her. Stella, on the other hand, is a little wary of the now mobile thing that squeezes skin and pulls hair!

6 months

6 months

She likes to tie her hair up in ribbons and bows...

Ok, so maybe it is a little bit of a stretch, but I managed to put a barrette in Kate's hair for the first time last week. At six months, she is still a little thin on top, but there is more every day! She has also begun scooting around on her tummy like a little inchworm. Stella is no longer safe...we are enjoying the beautiful spring weather and spring flowers that are blooming everywhere. My mom and dad and Alex were visiting last week for Kate's baptism which went very well. She really wanted to jump in to the water, though! Maybe she wishes she were a Baptist:) I'm hoping to take her to a swimming pool over spring break.

Avocado

Yummy! We started solids this past week since Kate is almost 6 months old. She wasn't thrilled with rice cereal, but LOVED avocado. She even leaned over and licked it off the tray! Maybe she will be a little guacamole lover like her dad....hmmm...

Fat Fingers

I was finally able to get my rings off yesterday! Sounds strange, but it does have a story behind it...I had removed my wedding and engagement rings when I was about 7 months pregnant due to increasingly swollen fingers. In September after Kate was born, I thought I'd try them back on again. They really went on pretty easily. However, when I tried to take them off I discovered that they were truly stuck. I pulled and pulled and only made my finger swell. We tried soap, lotion, cold, raising my arm and Windex. No luck. When my finger started turning blue, we decided to go to a jeweler and ask to have it cut off. With tiny newborn in tow, we drove to the closest jeweler and asked for help. They told me that cutting it would ruin the ring. She tried to pull it and twist it as well, but my finger only swelled more and the skin underneath was now raw from our efforts. The jeweler said to wait a few months and try again. A few months!! I thought she was totally crazy. So here we are in February, 5 months later, and I finally got it off. I'm taking it today to get it resized:)

5 months

Kate is 5 months old today! She has been battling an ear infection, so she is a bit under the weather, but recovering quickly. Her newest talent includes sitting:) She can sit for short periods (30seconds) all by herself. She does do a back arch eventually that sends her flying backwards on her head if you aren't careful! She is growing and developing so quickly, we can't wait to see what new trick she'll pick up!