Bebe

Kate loves the baby doll Mom and Dad gave to Beedoh and me to tell us we would have a new family member. Kate hugs "Bebe" and rests her head on her. She rocks her in the rocking chair and puts the phone up to her ear. She is adorable!

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I am so disappointed Kate won't let me put cute ribbons and bows in her hair anymore. If I even pretend to put something in her hair, she reaches up and pulls it out. I managed to put her hair in pigtails for about a half an hour today--just long enough to snap some photos of Kate and Bebe

Birthday Video

Happy Birthday Kate!

I can't believe my little baby is 1 year old. She is walking and chattering in her own language and has been so happy the last few weeks. We were in CA for Val's wedding over Memorial Day and then we were in Seattle for Kate's first birthday on 9.7.08 (ignore the date stamp on the photos). Kate and I are quite the travelers! Kate has made 23 individual flights, nearly all of them we have done alone-without Daddy. I'm exhausted! Kate spent her first birthday with Nana, Great Nana, Papa Craig, Great Grandpa, GiGi, Great Uncle Mark, Great Aunt Judy, Brent, Ella and Lilly. She spent almost an hour climbing in and out of her stroller and laughing over and over again.

Today we had a party for Kate. Her friends Ryan, Addison, Mimi, Irene and Anthony and their moms and dads all came to our house.

Kate wasn't too interested in her first cake, but she loved the pizza!

11 months

I can hardly believe Kate is 11 months old. I remember last year at this time being very pregnant and hot in the NC heat. We get the first 2 weeks of August off each year, and last year I spent my 2 weeks getting ready for Kate and finishing up our wedding scrapbook which I figured would never get done otherwise. This year we took a trip to CO for the first week. We stayed with both Kent and Debbie and my parents. Kate got to meet Great Gagy, which was wonderful for both of them. We went to the county fair and had popsicles naked outside.

Kate loved playing airplane with Papa Kent:

...and cuddling with Papa Craig.

She enjoyed being pulled in the wagon by Uncle Alex...
and having her toenails painted by Aunt Beedoh.

She spent lots of time outside playing on the slide...

and going for a dip in the hot tub.

Everywhere she went, she left her mark...

Kate is walking all over the place now and is very stable. Only the occasional crash now. She is very independent and enjoys her new freedom. She has also started saying her official first word: "Hi" and will say "Hi Dad" on the phone. We are having so much fun with her, especially now that she is interacting with us more and more.

While we were gone, Loren surprised me with new wood floors throughout the main level of our house. I was shocked! They are beautiful! In addition, he cleaned the bathrooms and refrigerator. I've got to leave more often!!

I admit I'm a little nervous to go back to school for the fall. My schedule is not as good as it has been in the past and I don't get as much time at home. I am trying to have a positive attitude and keep reminding myself it is only about 3 months...

How easily we forget...

When Kate is fussy in public, people sometimes make the comment "oh poor baby, life is rough isn't it..." but I'm not sure they actually think about this sarcastic statement. I think sometimes life really IS rough for a baby.

Imagine not being able to communicate your needs very well, having to guess and use trial and error to get what you need. Imagine using building up your muscles to be able to take a few steps and then once you can actually walk, you have no balance, and so you fall all the time. You also have decreased spatial perception, and so you also run into things all the time. People sometimes pick you up and take you places you don't want to go. You get interrupted during your playtime. You are tired and don't know how to go to sleep, and you DO have worries--people come and go and you don't really understand why or where or even if you'll ever see them again. You get sick and can't breathe and don't know why, or what to do about it, or even if it will ever get better. People tell you not to do things and you don't understand why.

Ok, you get the point...so when we are out and fussy, just remember: they are babies, not adults!

Chameleon head

Kate's hair changes color depending on the light- I can't tell if she is going to be a red head or not!?! What do you think?

Summertime and the living is easy...

I love summer- the pace of school is slow, the days are long and warm and the humidity is high (especially in our house, with a husband who is anti-A/C)--oh yeah, I don't love the humidity, but that doesn't stop me from loving summer! Kate has been participating in all the great summer kid activities including drinking water from the hose, taking naps in the afternoon, and playing outside in the rain.