First haircut

Kate had her first real haircut today (by real, I mean by someone other than me). We had a coupon for one of the glittery- hot pink kids places and Kate loved it. She also got a mani-pedi. Don't know who enjoyed it more- Kate or me :) Except I can't get over how BIG she looks!

Here is Kate counting to 21, complete with a bout of giggles in the middle:

DIY maternity scrubs

I'm pretty pleased with these scrubs I converted into maternity scrubs. They were old ones that were a size too large, and I made a gathered empire waist on the top and used my bella band (which never really worked for me) as the panel for the bottoms. I've never been able to wear drawstring pants below my baby belly- my babies are too low! So I really need the over the belly type. These are totally comfy now!

August update

It is back to school time at the UT-Houston School of Dentistry, and students are once again filling the hallways. I've got about 12 lectures to give this fall, and 9 of them are in the next few weeks, so I've been busy getting those prepared.

I'm feeling so much better this month than last. In July I had 6 migraines, felt like I was going to throw up all the time and was completely exhausted. The funny thing is that now that I'm feeling better, I realize how really badly I was feeling during June and July.

I'm still tired, but I do have energy to make it past 7pm without a nap. At 15 weeks now, belly is growing and is visible- although still maybe in the "too much lunch or pregnant?" category. I don't think I've felt any movement yet, but I'm definitely on the lookout! I've switched doctors and am now seeing a family friend, which I debated over, but finally went with and am very happy I did! I can call him on his cell phone and he calls me back himself in 20 minutes. Much improved over leaving a message on the nurse phone and waiting 48+ hours for a bad reply from the nurse.

Kate is thrilled that she is going to be a big sister and gives kisses to my tummy every day. She talks all the time about our baby and how she is going to be a good helper. I think she really is.

We had a great time at the Wehmeyer family reunion in early July. Kate went on vacation for most of June and July with her grandmas and absolutely loved every minute of it. She spent lots of time with her cousins and on the lake in Washington.

I've realized in writing this post that I have very few photos from our entire summer. I'll need to be better. I do have a couple of videos, though! Kate loves to make up songs and sings to herself while she is going to sleep all the time. I don't know how to edit the videos, so you get the entire thing.

Photo summary of June, July

Sorry I've been MIA...I haven't been feeling well the past few months:

Due 2.5.12 :)

Ballet

How did it get to be almost June? Sorry for the long time with no updates. We've had a very crazy, very busy spring. 

Our house in NC sold and (finally) closed, and our condo in Iowa City also sold, so we were thrilled about that! 

Loren has been spending some time in San Antonio and some time in Austin. Still 3 nights/week gone. He is only sleeping in his truck in Austin, though--and he did buy a cot this weekend so he can upgrade to sleeping in his office. San Antonio pays for him to have a hotel room, since he is "on assignment."

Kate is continuing to thrive at her preschool. She can write the entire alphabet and can write words that are dictated to her. She loves to collect sticks on walks and loves ballet lessons. She recently had a recital, and Annie came to see it. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Getting ready:

She looked at herself in the mirror and said "I'm beeeeeeautiful!" and she was.

 You can just see the excitement in her face!

These are some of the girls from Kate's preschool.

Kate is the 4th from the right.

...phew! That was a lot of work!

Annie!

...and then meltdown on the way to the car. It was a long, exciting day! Kate wanted to take off her shoes and leotard and walk in just her tights. She "compromised" with having one arm inside her leotard.

Needless to say, she slept in the next day!

Houston Rodeo

The Houston Rodeo is a big deal in Houston...it lasts the entire month of March and takes place at Reliant Stadium, just about a mile from our house. We went the last weekend and had a great time! It is really like the State Fair, Texas style. They have famous country singers perform each evening and a rodeo. Kate's favorite part was the mutton busting, where 5 year olds wearing helmets hold onto a sheep and attempt to ride it across the arena. It was hysterical, however, no chance I'm letting my baby do that! She also loved the rides. She brought her piggy bank and spent her own money to buy tickets for the rides.

Kate loves her Texas hat and wears it whenever she can:)

Kate has made some new friends at preschool- Nethia, Snow, Lucy, Solice and Eden, to name a few. They are a very diverse group of kids!

She also loves the little girl down the street, Simone. Their favorite game is hide and seek.

Like mother like daughter

We've had quite a busy past few months with moving, new jobs, new preschool, new home, etc. We've finally found a church that seems to fit us pretty well (although they do serve free doughnuts every Sunday which really is annoying) and it is a bit far to drive, but we think it is worth it--at least for now.

Kate has really been thriving in her new preschool. She can now write her own name, and is very interested in writing in general. She asks me to spell words to her so she can write things on paper all the time. And she loves cutting and pasting. She is quite the little craftster. Not surprising, I guess, considering her mother's love for sewing!

Speaking of sewing, remember that kids sewing machine Annie gave Kate for Christmas? Well, here it is in action. I love that she has her scissors and cell phone ready next to the machine and she is wearing her slippers that are just like ones that I have. Really reminds you that kids are always watching! The baggie in the bottom of the photo is her scrap bag where I put all my little pieces and she uses them to cut and sew on her own machine.

Speaking of new machines...I was dying to get an embroidery machine and I finally did--I got a cheap one off craigslist, but look what it can do! Sneak peaks of Kate's spring wardrobe:

I'm currently in San Diego for a dental teacher's conference, which is why I actually had time to get a long overdue post up!