ONE YEAR OLD!

Well, it's hard for mommy and daddy to imagine that Kate just turned one year old on Thursday, May 29! We can vividly remember welcoming Kate into the world one year ago and daddy patiently waiting for the instruction manual to be delivered as well. It never came...

It really has been a whirlwind year full of surprises, challenges (little or no sleep in the beginning) and happiness. We really are trying to enjoy every moment because we've been told, and now we can see, how fast time flies. "They grow up so fast..."

Kate is "talking" more and more each day and she's quite a little singer too! The dance moves are coming along nicely, so she should be "no kidding" walking any day now.

We had a small birthday party for Kate on the actual day, just the three of us. Then on Saturday, Kate's Mimi and Poppy came over to her house and brought her the coolest toy ever! It's a little water table village thing that has lots of bells and whistles - literally! She had so much fun with that, so we thought BIGGER is better and put in a pool. It's a real beaut!

That same Saturday, we had some friends over and Kate made another friend, Sam. He's a few months younger, so they chatted for a bit, had some laughs and swapped stories about their rookie parents. Then Kate showed Sam her water table and they splashed around.

Here are some pictures from the week.



"Let's get this
party started!"








Kate playing with
some new goodies...








The cake from
our friends at
Rhodes Bakery.







"I don't think I'll
like this..."








"Wait a minute...
YES I DO!"








"Cake?
What cake?"








Kate in her
birthday dress
from Mimi.







Kate welcomes
Sam to her "crib".








"OK, put this here
and that goes
over there..."







"Got it!"









"This is SO COOL!"










Now we're talking!

Eleven Months Gone By...

Well, time seems to be flying by as mom and dad remember that eleven months ago, they were waiting for Miss Kate to arrive.

These days, Kate is ALMOST walking on her own two feet. She's learning how to crawl up stairs (with some very close supervision) and when she climbs up on the fireplace hearth, mommy and daddy rush to grab her, which she finds hilarious. She's never at a loss for "words" and while she throws out "Dada" during her conversations, we're working on "Mama".

The house is a baby proofing work in progress, which has the pets really confused. They do love to gather around her high chair at mealtime though, when food mysteriously falls from above.

Here are a few brand new pictures and a shot of a recent play date. (She has a much more active social life than mommy or daddy...)

Enjoy!



Mommy and Kate
hug it out.










Just plain CUTE!











Kate and her friend
Noah have some
quality toy time.

TEN MONTHS AND STILL HOPPIN'!

Kate just turned ten months old and continues to amaze mommy and daddy daily with her sweet disposition and sense of humor. She finds the littlest things fascinating, which fascinates mom and dad in return! Just last night, we put in an animated movie as Kate was going off to bed. She looked at the TV and started to laugh and reach out to the characters, while "talking" to them. We found it hilarious and much more entertaining to watch than any movie...

She's still making attempts at walking and will be there before we know it. Her cousins from Ohio were in town for Easter, so she got to hang out with them while mommy and daddy were slaving away at work (sigh...) She loved watching the bigger kids do their thing and was taking notes the whole time. On their last day here, we all got to hang out at Mimi and Poppy's place. We finished off the day with a photo shoot in the back yard.

Here are some Easter pics for you to enjoy.




"What's so funny?..."









"356, 357, 358..."







Kate (10 mo.),
Emma (6),
Gwen (17 mo.)
and Mary (4)
say "CHEESE!"







And we're done!

Kate Is Nine Months Old!

Well, time is flying as Kate just turned nine months old. Her doctor visit went well. He told us she is on target with height and weight. The doctor also confirmed that she inheirited daddy's big head. Hopefully one day she can wear a baseball cap... She is crawling and pulling herself up by tables and chairs. We're trying to get her walking by Easter so she won't be crawling on the grass looking for eggs! She's still pretty vocal, though no REAL words yet.

Kate celebrated nine months of P.W. (post-womb) life by taking a trip to see family in Birmingham. She used her new portable feeding chair (best thing ever!), hung out with family and got to see some real live horses! She met a horse named "SCOTCHY" and a pony named "RIO".

Since you came here for the pictures, here they are.

Enjoy!



Mommy introduces
Kate to "RIO".









"GIDDY UP!"








"SCOTCHY" checks
out Kate...








...and Kate checks
out "SCOTCHY".









Kate rockin' out.








Muggin' for
the camera.








"Daddy, are you
worried I might
make a..."







"...MESS!"











"Excuse me."












"OK, let's go...
I'll drive!"













Kate on the move.









"This one's mine..."

SNOW DAY!!!

About a week ago, we had a major event in Atlanta - white stuff fell from the sky and we got it all on film! Yes, it snowed - not once, but twice! We took the chance to introduce Kate to snow, since she might not see it again until she's driving in it.

I decided against writing my name in the snow, but our dog Toby proudly penned his name in big bold letters...

Here are some winter pics of the chilly day.

Happy Holidays!

Well, Kate's first holiday season has come and gone after many smiles AND viewings of "The Grinch"!

We spent Christmas Eve at Mimi and Poppy's where Kate got to see their holiday village set-up in all it's glory. Then we ate some roast beast (Kate's was strained of course) and opened some gifts. Kate got many nice things, which she clearly enjoyed, when she was done playing with the wrapping paper.

Christmas morning was spent at home, where she played with some new toys. The hands down favorite was an animal train. Later that day, we had an open house for family to stop by for some yummy food and to sit by the fire.

The following weekend, we headed to Birmingham to see the country folks. The food was great (as always) and Kate got to show off her "almost crawling" skills.

Kate decided to spend New Year's at home. She opted out of watching the ball drop at midnight however. Mommy and daddy almost did as well, but felt obligated to live up to their wild reputation. When the ball dropped, we had a sip of champagne to toast the New Year, then rolled over and went to sleep!

Kate turned seven-months-old on December 29. She weighs twenty pounds now, has two teeth and is working on a third. She's handling it really well...lots of drooling, not much complaining.

As you can see from the pics, she's SO close to crawling, though she hasn't quite figured out the whole forward motion yet. She's improvising by pulling herself along on the hardwood floors.

That's my girl!




Christmas Eve, with
the village in the
background.







"Poppy, just what I
always wanted!"








Playing with
new toys.









Christmas morning!









Sleepy AND happy!









Dinner in Birmingham.








"Aunt Patti, you have
a LOT of teeth!"









Yet more toys...








Hanging out with
Grandma Jane.









Chillin' with a book.









"OK...I'm ready to
go forward now..."









Showing off those
"baby blues"...

Kate's Trip to See "You Know Who!"

This past weekend we took Kate to the mall and ran into Santa Clause! Who knew he would be in town! So of course we had to snap a pic of Kate with the big guy!

Kate's changing before our eyes (and ears!) Now that she's six and a half months old, she has two teeth and a fun new game...letting out a high pitch squeal when she's happy. We have to remember not to laugh about it when we're out in public, however. As for her crawling - she's up on all fours and can go in reverse (sort of), so we think she'll put it in drive real soon.

Here are some pics of her St. Nick visit.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!





Posing by the tree.










Going to the mall.













Talking with the
Big Man himself!