Carter is 3! (Photo Dump)

Weight: 32.2 pounds (53rd percentile)

Height: 38.8 inches (75th percentile)

My sweet baby boy, you turned 3 this weekend! Sadly, you were diagnosed with strep throat on Friday afternoon, so our day full of fun parties and family did not get to happen since you were contagious, but we made the most of it and postponed your party for two weeks. On Saturday, we tried to fill your newly free day with your favorites - pancakes, new golf clubs, and play time in the backyard. We went and picked up your $40 worth of balloons we had paid for in advance (and couldn't cancel), too, so the backyard looked extra festive.

After lunch and naps, we played a little more at home, went to Rosa's for dinner, and then enjoyed a few of the 40 cupcakes I had baked for the party. (Bitter? Me? Not at all...)

Finally...the time had come...your daddy took you to play golf! On the GOLF COURSE! You were seriously giddy and BEYOND excited the whole time.

The next day, you were no longer contagious, so we had some serious catching up to do! We headed down to Gammy and Doc's house first to spend the morning with your Wade cousins who had come in town for your birthday! FINALLY! You got some great gifts and enjoyed playing with Pearson and sweet Owen. We went swimming and then caught a quick power nap in the car before dinner with Liam, Grant, Chase, Sarah, and Gramma Pat.  

Given the circumstances, I think we definitely made the most of it! And now, we have ANOTHER celebration to look forward to in 10 days! Woohoo! Happy birthday, sweet boy! XO!

Kathryn Reese: 8 Months

Weight: 16.8 pounds (our scale)

Height: 28 inches (my guess)

Clothes: 6-9 months/6-12 months

Diapers: Size 3

Chickadee, one more month has passed in your sweet little life. You are such a little firecracker - dramatic, persistent, stubborn, loud...eerily like your mother. (Yikes!) You are truly growing into a little girl and becoming less and less of a baby each day. You desperately want to GO and move all the time, but poor thing, you just can't figure it out yet. You still scoot around in circles when on your tummy, but you still haven't found your knees or all fours yet, so you can't crawl despite your desire. We are meeting again with your physical therapist, Ellen, this week just to be sure there's nothing holding you back physically. I think you're just a little slower than most on the gross motor skills, but she's going to help us play a little catch up so you don't get behind. You also love to stand and hold onto furniture, toys, etc. but haven't taken any cruising steps yet.

On the schedule front, you are FINALLY consistent in your schedule. You drink 6-7 ounces at 7am, 11am, 3pm, and 7pm, eat solids at 8am, noon(ish), and 6pm, and nap from 9-10:30am and 1-2:30pm. Bedtime is between 7 and 7:30pm, and you wake for the day around 7am. It's AMAZING to finally have predictability in your sleeping patterns. I feel like we finally have the freedom to make plans! Along those lines, we typically get out and about for a play date or something around 11 and then spend the late afternoons going for walks, to the park, or playing outside now that the weather is so nice. You LOVE being outside and going for walks in the stroller. You will tolerate a shopping cart when we go run errands, and you are OVER the car seat. We will more than likely move you to a big girl car seat soon - you are getting awfully heavy to carry in your infant seat!

As far as food goes, we had an interesting month as you battled some serious digestive issues this month. I'd say the low point was the stool study. One day, when you are about 13 and tell me you hate me, I'm going to remind you that when you were 7 months old, I had to collect your poop and put it into cups for testing. That, my dear child, is LOVE. :/ Fortunately, you didn't have any kind of intestinal infection or parasite, so we are being very careful with your diet and have taken you off of dairy entirely. You are now on soy formula and limited solids and doing wonderfully. Thank goodness!

You are cutting at least one top tooth right now, and I can't wait to see your little smile with those top teeth in! You are also making all kinds of noise - squealing, cooing, giggling, and attempting to make vowel sounds. Some of your other favorite things this month were splashing in the bath tub with your brother, ripping my glasses off of my face in the mornings, studying our watches, and feeding yourself puffs and Cheerios. You are a sweetheart little lady, and we love you!

Kathryn Reese: 7 Months!

Weight: 16.2 pounds (our scale)

Length: 27 inches (our measurement)

Clothes: 6 month, 6-9 month

Diapers: Finishing up size 2, moving to 3!

Sister, another month has come and gone. That was quick! Not a whole lot of change in routine this month - still taking 2 naps, usually from 8:30-10am and 1-2:30/3pm. Bedtime is 6:30/7pm and wake time is 6:30/7am. You are typically taking 6-8oz bottles every four hours, but lately you've been fighting them a LOT because your top teeth are coming in! OUCH!

The biggest change this month is that you now eat real food - as in table food! You are a rockstar with MumMums, puffs, and yogurt melts, so we are slowly beginning to add mushy vegetables, fruits, pasta, etc to your menu. Most days, you are pretty much a garbage disposal - no matter what I put in your mouth, you just want MORE! Your favorite purees are sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots, and a banana/mixed berries combo. You went through a phase where you wouldn't touch anything green by itself, so we had to stir a small amount of peas and green beans into your sweet potatoes or mix the greens with fruit. (Sneaky, huh?) We haven't tried again, but we will soon. Whatever works, right?

You are now a very solid sitter, and I rarely see you topple over anymore. If you do, it's because you were reaching for something out of reach or because you heard a loud noise and were trying to find it. You are very dramatic when you do fall and it often takes a while to calm you down. You reverted back to absolute HATRED of tummy time for a while this month, but I think it's because you are so focused on sitting/standing. When you're on your tummy lately, you pivot in circles on your tummy and scoot backwards a little if REALLY motivated. I have a feeling that you might stand/cruise before crawling since you've pulled yourself and stood up holding onto things a few times. You may be one of those babies that walks before they crawl. You just seem to have no interest in it. We'll see.

You still have your two bottom teeth, and those top two toofers should be coming ANY DAY. They are bulging and mean. I can't wait to be over those dumb things! You have found your voice this month, and boy do you love to use it! You squeal, crow, and blow raspberries constantly. 

Your current loves are walks in the stroller, swinging at the park, the doorway jumper and your stuffed dog, Violet. You absolutely hate the car seat (still) and sometimes resist the high chair. You seem to just tolerate the exersaucer...I think you just want to GO.

Not much else to report this month - we'll see how things change in month 8! :) Love you, lady bug!

Valentine's Day: 2014

Better late than never, huh? :) 

Photo Dump 2: This and That

 Kate wearing the first piece of girl clothing I ever bought...it was put into a "Maybe One Day" box just in case I ever had a girl. :) 

 The (neglected) first born - Emma!

 Baby Mozart

 Showing off his "beard"

Those eyes!

 Outtake from Kate's 7-month photo shoot tonight.

 He just had to join her in the glider. She is not impressed.

Photo Dump 1: Park Day

One of my New Year's resolutions was to use my actual camera more so that not ALL of my children's baby pictures were taken on a phone, so I took my Nikon and the kids up to Hope Park last week during a beautiful afternoon and got some cute photos! Enjoy!

Kathryn Reese: 6 months!

 Weight: 15 pounds, 12 ounces (40th percentile)

Length: 26.3 inches (65th percentile)

Head Circumference: 17.5 inches (95th percentile)

Diapers: 2 during the day, 3 at night

Clothes: 3-6 month

Happy half birthday, lady bug! I cannot believe you've already been with us for half of a year. That just seems NUTS! You get better and better every single day, and you are really becoming fun! Your current favorites are lights/screens (tv, computer, phone, etc...sadly), your puppy toy, and your doorway jumper. Just like big brother, you LOVE the jumper! I think you spent a good half hour in it yesterday morning. It was LOVELY!

So, about halfway through this month, you battled some serious sleep regression...as in, you cried for your ENTIRE nap. Didn't sleep at all. Brutal. So, we tried to reassess things, and it seemed like you were trying to transition from 3 naps to 2 naps all on your own. As of the last week, I can happily say that we've done it! Almost every day, you are up around 6:30am, nap from about 8:15/8:30-10, and then nap again from about 12:30-2:30. You've had an occasional day here and there where your naps weren't long enough and you needed a late afternoon cat nap, but for the most part, you now take two naps that are around two hours each. Amazing! Bedtime has become a little earlier - usually 6:30pm - and the 5 o'clock hour can get ugly, but you'll get there! Because of this change, you've also dropped down to four feedings, basically. (The second feeding of the day ends up getting split - 6 oz at 10 when you wake up from the morning nap and 2 more with your "lunch" which you eat right before your afternoon nap.) Whatever works, right?

Speaking of "lunch," you now eat real food! You have been showing interest in our food for a LONG time, so we tried introducing oatmeal and pears right around the time you turned five months, but baby girl, you just weren't ready. You cried every time I touched a spoon to your lips. So, we took a break for about 10 days and tried again about a week ago. Total success! You've had sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, apples, pears, and prunes. You devour almost everything except squash...that you just kind of tolerate. :) Your new obsession is Mum Mums. I think you'll do really well with table food, but I'm holding off for another month or so just because your little tummy is still super sensitive, and you've been battling some reflux/constipation issues with the introduction of food.

You CAN sit up, but you aren't very confident with it yet. I also don't think you really like it yet. Most of the time, I have to force the issue, and if you are tired at all, you throw yourself backwards and just lie down. I think you like to play the game with me to see how many times I'll pick you back up. Stinker!

Speaking of motor skills, you got discharged from PT! You kicked that torticollis in the...booty! Wahoo! While I loved working with your physical therapist and watching you make progress, that was an EXPENSIVE little venture. Glad you're developing so well and that we are done with that!

You did great at your check-up this morning. Dr. Newton noticed that you seem to have a minor flat spot on your head on the right side (related to your torticolis), but since your hair covers it up so much, he didn't think we needed a band. Yay! We love watching you grow and develop every day - keep it up little bug!