Doin' chores...

Kate has decided that she likes "working" outside. I'm not sure what she thinks she's doing exactly, but she looks at me like "mom, I'm BUSY...." We're happy that the weather has been nice, and is supposed to stay that way for awhile, because Kate would literally stay outside the entire day if we'd let her. She likes it so much that she has started throwing tantrums when we go inside. We were out in the yard for over two hours the other afternoon, and she still cried when we took her in to give her dinner. We're happy that she's loving being outside, though, and we're thinking a sand box may be in order soon!

A weekend of big changes!

Kate did some major growing up this weekend...or, maybe, Ryan and I did as we made some changes that Kate really had no choice about. First, and this is HUGE for me, Kate is now sleeping all the way through the night with no feedings!! For the first time since she was born, I have not gotten up even one time during the night for the past three nights! We were down to one feeding when she turned 9 months and I've known that I should cut the other one out for some time now, but I've been avoiding it because I thought it would be such a fight. To my surprise, it was no fight at all. The first two nights I went in and rocked her when she cried, and on the third she made no peep at all. Now, she is sleeping from 7 p.m. to past 7 a.m! For us, this is a major success!

The second change was that we put her facing forward in her BOB to go running. Ryan and I have been dreading this because she does so well in her infant seat. We were worried that she would melt down and that would be the end of our pleasant daily runs. Size-wise, she could have been doing it for awhile now, but Ryan and I just weren't ready. Just like with her sleeping, we were again pleasantly surprised. We had no big ambitions the first run out, but she did so well, we ran 9 miles! Yesterday, we went for over 6 and she was great again. She doesn't sleep like she did when she was all covered up, but she seems to enjoy seeing all the sights. Plus, she napped well in the early afternoon, which was fantastic (she rarely does this). Fingers crossed, this new schedule will be great!

And, finally, the third change was that we moved her into her bigger car seat. Minor compared to the other two, but it means no more lugging the infant seat with a 20+ pound baby in it. Of course, it also means no quick trips to the store with Kate contained, but I think we're ready to give that up anyway. Perhaps we're ALL growing up a bit!

Teeth!

Kate's now the obviously proud owner of two top and two bottom teeth. Yes, she's discovered biting but, luckily for me, we're nearly done with breastfeeding! Two more top teeth are almost peeking out. Teething doesn't seem to bother her too much, fortunately. I think I find it more disturbing than her, mostly because she looks so different! Where did my little baby go? I think we're entering toddlerland now....

What a difference a week makes...

We were only gone for a bit over a week, but Kate has become so much more mischievous and curious in that short time. I thought she could get into things before, but it was nothing compared to what she's able to do now! The pictures above show what she managed while I was brushing my teeth. Apparently, it's no longer enough to take stuff out of the drawers, she now wants to use the drawer as a stepping stone to get onto the bed. I'm sure she'll figure that out in no time, and then we'll really be in trouble! She can open all the drawers and cabinets in the house now, even the drawer under the oven. We decided to let her have "her" drawer in the kitchen, but since they are self-closing drawers (making for nasty finger-pinching), Ryan smartly thought of using the "finger pinch guard" that was in our baby-proofing kit. What did Kate proceed to do? Not surprisingly, the first thing she took off was the finger pinch guard!! What good is that?? On the upside, as long as we can avoid the pinching, the drawers keep her very occupied, so we won't complain about that!

In other "big" Kate news (big to us, anyway....), she has learned how to share this week. Well, sort of. She understands how to give something to someone, and it is her new favorite game. It takes her hours to tire of playing "give that to mommy, please..." Of course, her favorite part is "now it's Kate's turn!" Much to Hickory's delight, she's also learned that she can feed other people (and dogs). She's also discovered bouncy balls, and loves to play with them. We're working on rolling it back and forth. The excitement never ends!! :)

First haircut!

Our baby is growing up!! Not only does she now have two front teeth (with two more coming in fast), she's now had her first haircut. Starla and Bob's good friend and neighbor (and stylist), Lynda, was kind enough to come over while Kate was eating breakfast so that Kate could have a professional give her the first snip. Bless her, too, since it was only 7 a.m.! She just trimmed Kate's bangs, but already Kate looks like more like a toddler and less like a baby. I'm sure I'll love every age, but she is growing up SO fast!

Daddy's girl

We spent the majority of Father's Day driving back from Yreka, so it may not have been Ryan's most exciting Father's Day, but it was definitely special because it was his first. Day by day, Kate is becoming more and more of a daddy's girl. Her favorite part of the day is when he comes home. It's almost so overwhelming to her that she freezes and just shakes her whole body for a few moments. Then a HUGE grin breaks out and she's off crawling to him as fast as she can. When she sees him from afar, she yells "DA" to get his attention. She did this in the church at Jason and Cyndi's wedding because he was standing at the front as the best man; he didn't turn around, which made her say "DA" even louder. I think she thought it was a massive game of peek-a-boo, and nothing delighted her more than when he walked back down the aisle toward her. She only had eyes for her daddy. Yesterday, she saw him outside mowing the lawn while she was eating dinner and I finally had to just take her out there so she could "talk" to him because her calling became so insistent! It all completely melts my heart. Kate and I are VERY lucky girls!!

Oops!

I posted the wrong glisade video....here's the real fun!

Party girl

We're back! We've made it home from Yreka, and we're already wishing we were back on vacation. We all had such a great time and, of course, it went by way too fast. Kate was a good traveler and was quite the party girl while we were there. At Cyndi's wedding shower, Kate discovered a love of balloons that seems to rank right up there with her adoration of cats and cheese. We kept the balloons around the entire trip since it was like having an extra babysitter! Kate spent lots of time with Grandma Starla and Grandpa Bob, and she didn't mind one bit when mommy and daddy left. She got her two front teeth while there and is currently working on three more! She did her best to "distress" the new coffee table that Grandpa made by leaving her tiny bite marks all over it. He didn't seem to mind, graciously saying that it was made just for that. Kate also is working hard at walking. She seems to think that she can do it, but she gets a bit overconfident. She's great at walking while holding onto something, but is still pretty wobbly otherwise. She can stand alone well, though, so I know more independence is on the horizon for her. The biggest part of the trip, the wedding, was fantastic! Jason and Cyndi had a beautiful ceremony and the reception was great fun. Everyone was so happy to see them together; we all know they will have a lifetime of happiness together and they so richly deserve just that. All in all, it was a fantastic trip; I wish we could rewind and do it all again!

Fun for mommy & daddy!

Ryan and I got to enjoy some baby-free time in Yreka, while Grandma and Grandpa watched Kate. We did a climb on Mt. Shasta, starting at 7000 ft. and climbing to the Red Banks at 12000 ft. We got up just after 1 a.m. so we could start climbing by 3 a.m. It sounds insane, but it's the best way to get on and off the mountain early and it's a great way to see an incredible sunrise! The climb up is steep and challenging, but the best part is sliding on the way down. We could slide from nearly the top of our climb, in chutes that others have left behind. We got up some pretty good speed, using our ice axes as a break, but, really, the faster the better! It was one of the most fun days Ryan and I have had together, and Kate thoroughly enjoyed her time with Grandma and Grandpa!

Off to Yreka

We're off to Yreka tomorrow for Jason and Cyndi's wedding! As you can see, Kate is absolutely jumping for joy about it!! I'm sure we'll have many tales to share when we return....

Fun with Grandma Connie!

Kate (and Ryan and I) are entering into a very exciting time with ALL the grandparents!!! Grandma Connie has been visiting this week and, on Friday, we leave for Yreka to see Grandma Starla and Grandpa Bob. We'll stop at my dad's on the way down, so she'll have time with Grandpa Mac. Kate eats up the attention, and we love having extra sets of arms to hold her! We've had such fun this week. Grandma came to Kindermusic and has endured hours upon hours of playing hide & seek (somehow, I don't think she minds....) We just had a CD made of the photos taken yesterday, and there were "only" 85; I guess Grandma likes her grandbaby just a little bit! :) We love grandma, for sure!

Little Rascal

Grandma Connie got us a very cool new Kelty hiking pack, so Kate's all ready for summer hikes! The man at the store said she looked like one of the Little Rascals....little did he know that she definitely is a next generation Rascal! We took her for her first ride in the pack yesterday, and she seemed to love it. She now knows what it's like to be a tall(er) person, and I think she enjoyed the view. She tried to grab every tree we passed but, surprisingly, she left my hair alone!! Ryan's all set to take her backpacking. She may well end up being the youngest person to trek the Olympics!

Great weekend!

What a fantastic weekend! It started out on Friday when our friends Josh and Jen, from Bend, came to visit. We had a great time seeing the Olympic Peninsula sights with them. We visited Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge, and had great weather for both. My mom came into town on Saturday, so Ryan, Josh, Jen and I got to go out to dinner without any kids!!! It's been so long, Ryan and I have forgotten what it's like to just feed ourselves during dinner. Josh and Jen headed to Victoria on Sunday, and Ryan and I ran the North Olympic Discovery half marathon, which ends right by the water in Port Angeles. It's a great race, and this year we actually had nice weather for it. My mom and Kate watched as Ryan and I both ran our best times! Ryan came in 11th overall and 3rd in his age group, finishing in 1:27. I came in 8th out of the women (36th overall) and 1st in my age group, finishing in 1:36. Since we both placed in our age group, we both got plaques as awards! For Ryan, this is common since he's always been so fast but, for me, it's new and, I must say, I did enjoy it!!! Mom and Kate liked cheering us on and, as you can see above, Kate loved wearing our medals and eating post-run croissants!

Gratuitous photo post....

just because there isn't much cuter than roly-poly babies in summer hats. In my unbiased opinion, of course.

PS Please excuse all the phantom posts below....probably due to my lack of blogging savvy. ???

Growing up so fast!

Kate's already trying to play dress-up with mommy's things....granted, she has no idea what body part to put things on, but she's still just growing up so fast!! She loves to try on my shoes (only occasionally on her feet, mostly on her head). Yesterday, as I was brushing my teeth with her out of eyesight, I heard a maniacal little laugh. I went to check because that laugh always means she's into something fun and/or dangerous. I found her having a fantastic time taking all my underwear out of the drawer. Why DO we buy babies toys????

Best weather ever!

It's been SO incredibly nice and warm lately! By far, the best spring we've had since we've lived here. It's been around 80 degrees for a few days now, so Kate's getting to test out all the summer-y outfits I didn't think she'd ever wear in P.A. We're enjoying walks, runs, watering plants and just generally playing outside (for about the first time in Kate's life!) This area is truly spectacular when it's like this....I'm sure this town would be booming if it were this nice more often! We're just hoping it will hold or at least be decent for the half marathon this weekend....to be continued!

Hurricane Kate

I heard yesterday that Kate is one of the names for this year's upcoming hurricane season. How appropriate! As Ryan rightly pointed out, though, Hurricane Kate has already hit. She hits our house daily, rampaging through leaving quite the disaster zone in her path. We've given up on picking up the debris behind her; we just leave it until the end of the day and then await the next day's storm! It truly is astonishing how much havoc one little person can wreak! She hasn't learned how to open draws yet, but she's working hard at it, so I know it's coming. Currently, she's trying to do it with her mouth over the drawer pull....if she pulls it off, I'll definitely be taking film of that one!