Happy Meal

I have decided that Kate's Blog is my "baby book". Therefore, expect more posts on the happenings of Miss Kate. Today, she had her very first Happy Meal from McDonald's. She gobbled up her chicken nuggets and french fries; not all of it of course, mom and Blake helped her with it. The Happy Meal cost $3.96...it was $1.99 back in my day, right?! I just thought it would be interesting for Kate to know the difference in price of what my parents paid for a Happy Meal and what I paid - because when she looks back on this she can compare the cost to see what she is paying for a Happy Meal for her kids.

Itsy Bitsy, Teeny Weenie, Pink and White Bikini

Since Summer is coming right around the corner, we decided to get Kate a mini-pool. It is really cute. It is a hippo shaped type pool that has a spout that you can attach the hose to spray water. Well, Kate was not having this type of pool. She had her cute lil' bikini that her aunt's Melissa and Yancey (and cousins) bought her for her birthday. But, of course, Kate was so over this pool and wanted crawl around the yard instead. Typical Kate. Maybe when she realizes how hot it gets in Yuma she will be all over this pool and desperately want to be lying around in all those adorable swimsuits she has!

Sweatin' to the Oldies

Ok, this is really mean...but how many parents can say their kid looks like Richard Simmons?! Not too many proud parents. The story behind this is that Kate comes home with some crazy hair. She always leaves the house with nicely combed and tamed locks when she goes to the sitter's house in the morning. When we pick her up - her hair is out of control! Kate LOVES playing outside, even if it is hot...and she loves twirling her locks...so by the end of the day, when we pick her up - it is out of control! I had some fun with her the other day and put a bright headband on her and she looked like she was "sweatin' to the oldies" so I could not resist taking a picture of her reclining against the couch. Love this child, even her crazy "Kramer" hair!

First Steps

Kate took her first steps on Friday March 26th - 4 steps to be exact! She has been taking more and more steps each day with falling to her knees in between. Here is a video of Kate in all her glory - happy viewing! (don't mind the half-naked baby and crazy curls).

3 Amigos

Kate had a playdate with her buds, Molly and Grayson. We just had to check out Grayson's fancy new sand box! The kids had a blast "playing" with one another (mostly each one doing their own thing), eating sand and making a big 'ol mess. The moms had fun watching the kids and catching up with one another too! It's funny to see these little people come into their personalities. I know they each have their peronalities pretty much when they come out, but it is cool to see them develop into these neat little people. They are each so different. Grayson seems to be the shy type, Molly seems to like to keep to herself and observe, whereas Kate appears to be the outgoing and nosy one. Kate had fun checking out Grayson's crib and explored all around his pad. Grayson had fun using all of his words, especially "mine." Molly ended up stripping to her diaper because she decided to stand in the water meant for the sandbox. And of course we had to leave soon after snack time because it was getting really close to Kate's naptime - and we dare not go out of routine. Good times were had by all!


Molly standing in the water, staring at us like "what is the big deal?"


The only time all the kids looked in the same direction - watching Ramsey fill up a bucket with water, fascinating!


Grayson watching over the girls supervising them or making sure they weren't playing with something he wanted - "MINE"


Kate deciding to finally join in prior to being Miss nosy around Grayson's house "Oooooo, what are they doing over there?"

Easter Pictures

Picture it. A serene park. Birds chirping. The wind is calm. Baskets filled with eggs and a bunny calmly awaiting children to arrive. Then...Kate Ava arriving wreaking havoc on the set.







Kate took pictures with her cousins, Bella - age 3, and Natalia - 7 months. Bella is a mature 3-year old and prefers the company of adults. Natalia is the quiet and calm baby, nothing really seems to bother her and she is pretty easy going. Then, well, then there's Kate. Everybody knows when Kate has arrived. She knows how to make an entrance (just like her mom)! Bella was pretty much bribed to take pictures with her cousin, and wasn't really digging the whole thing as evidenced by her smiles in her pictures. Natalia was a good sport and lasted for as long as a 7-month old can tolerate...Kate. My sweet Kate Ava pounded on Bella's chest and pulled Natalia's hair. She ripped through the easter basket and chased the bunny. Bella's mom (and Kate's godmother) kept convincing Bella to sit through pictures with her cousins and smile for the camera. Natalia's grandmother soothed the crying girl after having her hair pulled. At one point Kate even kicked Natalia in the head after climbing over her to get to a toy she wanted. This made for a VERY entertaining afternoon at the park!

Spring Break Fun (except for the doctor visit)!

I have not blogged since Kate's birthday party so I thought I would fill you in on what has happened since then. We have been so busy! On the 22nd of March Kate had her 12-month check-up with her pediatrician, Dr. B. All is good! She weighed 22 pounds and measured 29 inches in length. Kate also had her MMR vaccination which was not fun to watch. I have never cried at any of her appointments when she was given her shots, but I did this time. I had never heard her cry the way she did, it broke my heart! Poor baby! She may have had a reaction to this shot because she was running a fever the next weekend and she broke out into this rash on her torso. The doc said that she could have a reaction up to 2 weeks later. Kate is also still teething (I swear she has been teething non-stop since she was 3 months old) so that may have had something to do with the fever. I see a new upper and lower tooth coming in...so far she has 2 upper and 2 lowers.

Her pediatrician gave us the "ok" to stop the formula and begin with whole milk. He also told us to take her off of the bottle as well. We are SLOWLY transitioning to that one. Kate is just beginning to actually use the sippy cup instead of use it as a toy. She seems to like the sip cup with the straw. Now she sucks as opposed to chewing on it and throwing it across the room. I also bought a sip cup called "Thinkbaby" which is supposed to "trick" them into thinking it is a bottle but is really a sip cup. She is too smart to be fooled by that. Chris and I just can't handle her crying for her bottle so we still give them to her. It is SO convenient so we will just keep that secret between all of us and won't say a thing to her pediatrician about the bottle debate. We will slowly tackle it just as we have approached this whole baby thing. I am just happy we have stopped with the formula - at $24 a container which lasted us one week we are happy to have switched to whole milk which is a mere $4.94 for 2 gallons!


(buh bye Similac!)


(Eating eggs - yum!)

One thing Kate has always been good at is eating - hmmm, just like her mommy and daddy. I made her scrambled eggs and she loves them. Kate has always tried whatever foods we have. She also does not like us feeding her so we just chop up bits and pieces of whatever we are eating for her. Some things she probably shouldn't eat is junk food, but on occasion it's ok, right?! We took Kate to the fair and she tried a yummy cinnamon roll and a corn dog - of course, she gobbled it right up! She was so good at the fair. Kate watched all of the people and took in all of the excitement around her. She was such a trooper with all of the loud noises, she even fell asleep in her stroller - which she never does! This girl is a creature of habit and only sleeps in her crib (or playpen at grandma's or the sitter's house) and she actually fell asleep in her stroller at the fair. I was shocked!


(sleeping at the Fair amidst the crowds and loud music blaring in front of a ride)


(Kate and mom at the Fair)

Lastly, Kate celebrated her 2nd Easter. We went over to Gramma Delia and Grampa Gary's house for Easter dinner. My mom wanted Kate to participate in an easter egg hunt...haha. She seemed to enjoy her eggs filled with treats. We tried to get her to pose with her goodies but she was far more interested in the rocks.


("Look what I got!")


("Hmmmm, I want to play in the rocks so you better take a quick pic mom")


("did you get the pic? I'm outta here")