The Katie Did

Happy First Birthday Katie!

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 17:39:38 -0500

Katie is One year old today. Over a late breakfast, Andy looked at me and asked if I remembered what I was doing a year ago. "Begging to go to the hospital !" I replied. Katie is growing well. She now has 3 3/4 teeth. I say 3/4 because she has 3 readily visible and 3 that are just breaking through the gums. Katie didn't start getting teeth until she was about 10 1/2 months old and now it seems like she is trying to catch up!

Katie is eating some more solid foods now, but still has a sensitive gag reflex. I have given her some of those "melt-in-your-mouth" baby fruit puffs to eat but they still tend to make her gag. She isn't much in to veggies, but does like fruits and oatmeal.

She is walking pretty well now. She hasn't had any major falls with owwies involved so hopefully she won't get scared off of walking. She did manage to take a nose dive into the baby gate and get a bruise in the middle of her forehead though the day before her birthday.

She has been fairly healthy this first year. Mainly just colds here and there and the odd fever lasting 24 hours or so. She had one bout of Impetigo, but licked that with a course of antibiotics. She is a petite little thing. At 9 months she had come up from the 12th percentile in height & weight to the 25%. I am curious to see where she is now.

We are so blessed to have Katie in our lives. She has a great laugh, an inquisitive mind, and lots of energy. She is starting to do more sign language now as well. We weren't as diligent with teaching it to her as we were her sister, but she is coming along. I do so love watching this little girl grow and learn...

I have been lax in my blogging and will now try to catch up. I am starting with this very recent photo and will be filling in the last 9 months as I can...

Opening Presents is Exhausting Mommy!

Sat, 24 Dec 2005 20:30:55 -0500

Andy's family opens presents on Christmas Eve so here we are. Karis was a little elf and helped Grandma hand them out. Katie pretty much slept through the whole thing. She is definitely the best present we got this year...

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Sat, 24 Dec 2005 20:11:52 -0500

Merry Christmas from all of Us! (yes, even Katie)

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...MY HAND!

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 18:08:17 -0500

Katie has discovered her hands, more specifically her right hand. She must have stared at it for a good 3 minutes today. She was fascinated, turning it from side to side. She has also started to suck and chew on it. So much fun watching her grow...

Katherine Renee, Fashionista

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 16:05:29 -0500

Katie received this dress from her "Aunt Barbara". Karis also has a navy sabbath dress so they went to church matching today. Before having kids myself, I always said I wouldn't dress my children in frilly clothes when they were a baby because I thought they looked so uncomfortable. I would just let them wear Sleep-n-Plays. Now that I have 2 daughters, I have ammended my view somewhat. Why you ask? Because they are just so darn cute in those little dresses!

I especially like Katie's tights. They are made by Trumpette. They look like she is wearing Mary Jane shoes but she isn't. So, Mommy gets the look of Mary Janes without the pain of having them fall off and constantly having to look for them.

Mommy Convicted of Sleeping While on Duty

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 19:02:08 -0500

Katie is now sleeping 6 hours straight at night. But I still haven't caught up on my sleep. I fall asleep any time I sit down to watch TV or read. I can barely keep my eyes open at times. Andy took this of us one evening as I was "supervising" the girls in the playroom.

Karate Kid II

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 15:59:31 -0500

Katie is now getting more active. Kicking her legs and waving her arms around. I think it looks like she is directing an orchestra sometimes. Either that or executing some karate movements. She is also getting talkative. Cooing some even when she isn't being talked to.

Thanks for Family & Friends at Thanksgiving Time

Sun, 27 Nov 2005 16:26:49 -0500

When Katie was 6 weeks old, we headed for Maryland to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We stayed with my good friend Barbara, who even gave up her room for our expanded family. Much to her mommy's delight, Katie got to meet 5 of her Uncles. She also got to meet her Aunt Elle, the 2nd newest member of the Nelson family. She was held briefly by her Grandmother Marilyn, the final grandparent to meet. She was just starting to smile and charmed all who met her. A good little traveler, she slept most of the 11+ hour trip up and back.

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity"- George Elliot

Thu, 24 Nov 2005 14:07:51 -0500

Bigger and more frequent smiles are appearing every day, much to our delight. There is nothing quite so pure as a baby's wide toothless grin. Except maybe a baby belly laugh of unadulterated joy. I look forward to hearing Katie's first giggles with much anticipation...

Daddy turns a deaf ear

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 19:56:16 -0500

Katie definitely has a healthy set of lungs. She can go from 0-60 on the scream-o-meter in about 5 seconds. And while it is heart wrenching to hear her so unhappy, it's easier to handle it this time around. I think it bothers Andy a little more than me. If Katie starts crying while he is holding her, Andy has his Bose noise canceling headphones on in a nanosecond. This picture shows Katie during her intermission, before the second act. It sounds something like this... Katie's Meltdown

Daddy's Little Katiedid

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 19:55:41 -0500

Andy is getting to be much more involved in the day to day care of Katie than he did Karis. Because she is bottle fed, he gets to feed her too. Lianne does most of the feedings so Andy has taken over the care of Karis. He is very pleased with his little harem. When Katie cries while he is holding her, they do the "Twist & Shout". He twists (rocks) and she shouts! You see him holding the lactation consultant reccommended binky from the hospital in her mouth here. She still has the tongue thrust reflex and doesn't keep it in herself even though sucking soothes her. This style of binky is supposed to be less damaging to efforts to nurse. I miss the binky keeper thingamajig that keeps binkies from falling on the floor when they are spit out. Getting tired of washing binkies. Karis has noticed where is is supposed to go and we have to gently steer her away from being "helpful" by jamming it into Katie's mouth!

“Is solace anywhere more comforting than that in the arms of a sister.” - Alice Walker

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 16:53:25 -0500

Karis does love her new little sister. She tries to be helpful when she can by sticking the binky and bulb syringe in Katie's mouth. She also likes to help rock Katie when she is in her car seat. This afternoon it was lovely outside, so we took the girls out in the backyard. Karis and Daddy played in the leaves while Katie watched and Mommy took pictures. I decided to take a photo of the girls together. Karis carefully followed our directions for holding Katie gently. How lucky am I to be blessed with these two adorable girls.

You've Got a Smile So Bright...

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 13:47:58 -0500

This is Katie's first smile! Isn't she cute? She grows more alert every day and is growing well. She gained almost 2 lbs in the first month. We are exclusively pumping and bottle feeding now. She just will not nurse effectively. The plan is to do this as long as possible and then go to formula. Again, not what we planned and definitely more expensive.

Stats at 1 month appointment:
Height- 21 inches = 50%
Weight- 9 lb 7 oz = 55%
Head Circumference- 14 1/4 inches = 25%

Down Home on the Farm

Sat, 22 Oct 2005 18:34:05 -0500

Andy's Grandfather and his wife Elin stopped by for a visit to meet Katie. Since we had lovely weather, it was decided to go to Joe Huber Family Farm for lunch. They have a good restaurant, a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and all sorts of other fall activities. After lunch we walked around a bit and took some photos. It was quite bright and windy so Katie spent the afternoon swaddled and covered. Maybe next year she can join in the festivities a bit more.

Life is a bowl of cherries...and all that jazz

Sun, 16 Oct 2005 13:50:38 -0500

Katie is now a little over 2 weeks old and causing us fits. Long story short... She came home jaundiced and sleepy and wouldn't eat enough. Under the watchful care of the pediatrician and lactation consultant, we supplimented with formula and a bottle and now she won't nurse. She is already hooked on the instant gratification of the bottle at this point in her young life! Much to the frustration of her parents. We will continue to work with the lactation consultants and hope for the best. If things don't work out we'll have to use formula. Not a great evil, but certainly not what is best or what we wanted.