2010

It's the last day of a wonderful and eventful year!  I close Twenty-Ten giving thanks for the amazing man I married this year.  He is everything I ever wanted in a husband and a Father for my children.  I give thanks for our happy and healthy baby girl, Katherine Elizabeth.  She is the most amazing gift and I am in awe of her, my love for her, and how she has brought so much joy to our lives. 

This morning we were playing with the people in the mirror! Kate loves this baby and so do I. 

What a cutiepie!

Kate loves to snuggle on Daddy!

Daddy and his #1 girl!

Mommy and her #1 girl!

Precious.

She loves these kisses on the cheeks!  She opens wide and smiles/laughs! 

Happy New Year!! 

Love

I feel like sitting down and writing about how much I love Kate!  There are so many parts of her that I love...well I am completely in love with all of her; every inch...every part, every smile, every laugh, every cry...I love her so much!
Her little feet and toes, the big toe kind of separates from the next toe and makes a V.  I just love it...so cute!  Her little legs are so strong...when she's in the tub or laying down on her back she kicks and kicks her little legs.  She always wants to stand up.  She will stand in your lap and look at you with those big blue eyes, all the while cooing, talking, and laughing away!  It is so much fun!  Her little butt is the cutest, when I undress her every night for bath time (which she loves), I carry her into the bathroom naked and just look at her cute little booty in the mirror...it makes me smile!  I can't get enough of her cute lil belly...I just love kissing and tickling it...it makes her laugh :)  Her laugh is amazing!
Her little arms are so soft...I could rub her little arms and legs and the bottom of her feet all day long!  Her hands are so playful, she is always reaching out to touch the nearest object.  A toy, my face, my hand- I love it when she grabs on to one of my fingers! Her little hands and fingers are amazing! 
Her cheeks are so kissable.  When we kiss them, her mouth opens and she gives a big grin.  This is one of my favorite things to do.  She seems to love it and so do I. 
Her little button nose is precious...I must have stared at it for hours...the cutest nose I've ever seen!
Her gorgeous big blue eyes are quite an asset.  I prayed she would have big eyes, like her Anties and I do!  Her dark full head of hair surprised me...I wonder if it will lighten up?!  Well, for now there is a lot of dark hair and it is a really pretty color.  Wonder if it will stay?!
So, as you can see...I have the perfect baby!!  :)
In addition to the perfect exterior package, Kate has the most amazing little personality.   She gave us her first smile when she was three weeks old and since then her personality just keeps coming out.  She laughs and laughs and loves to have conversations with me and Daddy.  She loves to play in bed with Daddy in the morning.  They talk and laugh every morning while I get showered and ready for the day.  She also loves listening to music, playing with her toys (many many toys!), and going outside.  The ladies at daycare think she is advanced, Caroline and Amy both say she does everything before most babies and think she will keep up this trend.  She started laughing and talking earlier than most babies and she's already playing in the exersaucer!  She's our little go-getter!
So...you can see why I am so in love with this little bundle of joy!  I feel incredibly blessed and will do my best to always be the best Mother for her.  I hope I never let her down, I will always be here to support her, encourage her, believe in her, and love her unconditionally.  My new little family is everything to me!

Kate sleeps...

through the night!!  Well, she did last night and I am thrilled!!  She slept from 8pm-4:20am!  That's my baby girl!  She's just a tad over 3 months right now, so I'm not sure if this is something that will continue or if it was just a fluke.  Either way I appreciate the extra sleep.  December 2nd...a night to remember :) 

The Great Trade-Off

I always knew that motherhood would change me. That was no surprise. In fact, when I was pregnant, people would often say “Oh your life is about to change FOREVER” with this ominous tone, like I had no idea what I had signed up for. And I would think “I sure hope so!” Can you imagine living your pre-baby life post-baby? I sure can’t. But for me, that was a good thing. I always knew I wanted children, and at the ripe (almost rotten) age of 32, I had done enough of the childless things to know that I wanted to do more of the child-full things. And so it began. Here are just a few of the many ways my life has changed. As a disclaimer, this is not a complaint list at all. I intend to print these blog posts out and include them in my scrapbook so I can forever remember my thoughts about this time. So with that… I have traded the following:


1)  Cute handbags for black bags under my eyes.  On the upside, black goes with everything!

                                                             Look at those bags!


2)  Cute stylish little tank tops for nursing tanks, tshirts, and yoga pants (no, I haven't worked out a bit since baby Kate was born).  I can't express how pathetic my wardrobe is at this point, but I am thankful for the comfort and stretchability of spandex! 


3)  Bottles of wine, for bottles and whine!

4)  Pumping weights (yep, my little 8 lb weights count) for pumping milk.  One day I might write a blog about the many similarities between me and a cow!  Really, I just might do it!

5)  Abs of steel for abs of flab. (For the record, the abs in my head match those on the cover of any ab video you see advertised. The mirror tells a very different story, but we all know mirrors lie. Rolling your eyes at me? OK fine. Go try on bathing suits in department store lighting in the dead of winter. See? Now you think mirrors lie too.)

6)  Rocking my skinny jeans for rocking my baby to sleep. In another 20 years skinny jeans will be cool again. I’ll just pick up the trend then… when I’m 53. Yikes! As a side note, I really do wish I had a picture of me in my pre-baby skinny jeans. Then again, it just might make me cry.

Me in the new uniform- a tank and stretchy, baggy pants!

7)  My own urge to party all night, for my daughter's urge to potty all night. In truth, I haven’t “partied” in a long, long time. Longer than I care to admit, actually. But should I feel the urge to again, I’m already conditioned for surviving without any sleep. So feel free to invite me to your next all-nighter. I can totally hang with the 8 week-olds.

Not exactly the middle of the night, but you get the picture. 

This was taken when Kate "graduated" from newborn dipes to 1's!!

8)  Singing along to my favorite songs on the radio for singing lullabyes.  You are My Sunshine, Kumbaya, All in the Golden Afternoon, & Baby Mine to name a few.  Plus, llistening to Baby Einstein Cd's!

9)  Hanging out on Facebook for hanging out on Babycenter.  I can't get enough of Babycenter and I am so thankful for all the Moms on the August 2010 board.  They have been so helpful- lots of information and laughs since I found out I was pregnant, and I actually made a few online Mommy friends!

I'm sure you noticed that many of these "changes" have to do with my appearance.  So I'll just put it out there, I'm vain.  There. I like to feel good about myself and that is evident in my appearance.  I don't wear fancy designer clothes, but I like to take care of myself and that is something I haven't had time for lately.  I know I'll never have time to take care of myself like I did pre-baby, but there are some things I can start doing right now.  Excercise and eating right!  Today starts operation motivation!  Dad, Holly, Kendra, Ken, and I have a pool going to see who can lose the most (percentage) by Christmas!  I think I'm going to win :)

In the mean time, stay tuned for my post about the cow!