Spring is here + Kate update

We are so happy that it's finally getting warmer outside. Hopefully all this sickness will leave us! I'm happy to say that we are all well right now, aside from James' severe neck pain (slipped disc/pinched nerve.. owwwwww. that's another story!).

I had to make an Easter craft - peeps!!

Kate is doing great ever since getting over the last stomach virus (I was the lucky one to catch it - I think that was the 4th stomach bug I've had since July. No need to diet girls, just keep getting the yuck bug!!) So Kate's eating habits have been... strange. She just doesn't want so of her favorite foods anymore, and she often spits them out. But she still doesn't want new stuff either, so what to do?? We will keep trying. :)

We recently visited with Miss Reagan, my friend Stacy's daughter. Isn't her hair beautiful?? I'm sorry that this is the only photo I took. I couldn't focus long enough to take more - 2 girls into everything! Kate had so much fun playing - she was immediately at ease (and putting all of Reagan's toys in her mouth.. sorry Stacy).

So Kate has been crawling very well and very fast the last couple of months. It has been so much fun!! She is all about the cats, as usual.

I turned around the other day to see her on top of the steps! she's never climbed them before, but it's her new favorite trick.

My co-worker Lindsay pointed out that we probably need the baby gate with the cat side door on it. Oh yeah!! Glad we didn't buy it already, because I totally forgot about how the kitties would get up the stairs.

This weekend Kate really started standing more. Like every moment she could. She's trying to get to the cat.

Cat was not amused.

So now she's really into everything!! Cruising around the coffee table trying to get the remote. Or anything that's up there, really.

On Saturday, we had to go outside in the sunshine. We went for a walk in Decatur and took Kate to her favorite swing.

We aren't sure who this little boy is, but I think they liked each other! :)

Weeee!!!

Last week we had a follow up visit with the ENT. Kate's doctor had referred us to the ENT back in January because she still had some fluid in her ears. He didn't do anything then, but asked us to come back in March to see. Well I'm happy to report that one ear was completely clear, and the other was 95% clear. He said her ears should be fine, especially with the warmer months coming. I'm so happy to hear that - as ears can be so problematic for kids!!!

We also saw Dr. Sells yesterday, Kate's regular doctor. She weighs 22 lbs now. 90 percentile in height, 60 percentile in weight (don't ask me how that all works).

Her blood is showing to be a little anemic though, so we have a feeling that she has inherited my blood disorder. :(

Not the end of the world, obviously!! (I have lived fine with it - Beta Thalassemia). But I was hoping she wouldn't have it. We will go to Egleston for more tests on Friday to find out for sure. It could be that her iron is low, but the doctor and I both doubt it. Will keep you posted!

James is also getting an MRI to see what's going on in his neck. He has had bone spurs hitting a nerve - which as you can imagine causes a ton of pain. He's been dealing with this on and off for years. It seems to be getting worse, so it's time to do something about it!! Will give you an update on this as well.

Gettin Crafty II

Valentine's Day is coming up, and that means our little Kate turns 1!!!! So hard to believe.

I've been keeping pretty busy with little crafts revolving around the birthday and holiday.

This is my "craft closet". This is where the magic happens!! hahahha
This doesn't really fall under the category of making something, but whatever. I finally hung up some photos that I've had forever. I had stopped putting up new photos and I took down a lot of old ones since we had our house on the market. Well that was 6 months ago, and I'm tired of not having our photos up!! I decided: we do still live here. I don't care if they see them, I want to be able to enjoy them. So here's one arrangement at the stairs. I'm very pleased with it. Of course I've changed the photos inside the frames all around since this photo.

And you can't tell, but these are some photos from our wedding... just hung. When did we get married??? yeah, almost 6 years ago.

Here are some of our Valentine's decorations.. how fun!! I love pink and red, and Kate does, too (she can't argue- heehee).

Here's one of the birthday projects I made. Our little Valentine on the wall.

And we can't forget our other Valentine, Lanndyn. I have always made a point to send a Valentine gift to Lanndyn every year. She looks forward to it! This year, I found out she and her mom are going to start a sewing class (she does want to be a fashion designer, after all). I decided she needed a pincushion.
oooohhhh.... ahhh. Work friends, you will recognize the fabric. :)

And now for my favorite part...

I freakin made shoes!!!!

I got a pattern online for making baby shoes, and I spent 2-1/2 hours the other night making these. I had not completely finished them, but I had to take a photo because I was so excited!! James wants me to go into business, and I told him he was crazy. No way. But I would consider making another pair or 2. Hopefully Kate can where these on her birthday- that will be the true test of craftsmanship. :)

by the way, I have no idea why all of the above is underlined. Blogger is so ridiculous sometimes!!

Vacation begins and Kate crawls!

Hello there!


Most exciting news of the day: Kate is crawling! Barely, but it counts. :) She crawled across the room to me this afternoon after I picked her up from daycare! No one said anything about it at daycare, but I am guessing that she may have crawled there, too. (the ladies are so thoughtful and sensitive - in a good way; wouldn't be surprised if they wanted me to think she started crawling at home).


Speaking of daycare, here's a photo:



Here's some of the babies with Ms. Samira and Ms. Juliet. So, someone got this cool wagon, and they strap the babies in and roll them around the bldg!! It is hilarious.
Of course my kid is the one not looking at the camera..

Starting at the top right is Emme (who sadly cries 99.9% of the times I've been there), Kate (duh), Giavanni (called Gia), Camille and Reed (who is a girl). Lots of little ladies!
I believe we have 6 girls and 1 boy in the class, but we will be getting new babies soon.

Last weekend we went from our normal bottle feeding routine to..
"I do it, Mommy" - suddenly she wanted to hold it! And she's always put her hands on the bottle, but they have been at the nipple where you can't hold it alone. She just understood how to do it one day and now enjoys feeding herself.

And now she knows how to pull up, too, although she does not do this too often. She is becoming more interested in standing.

Standing alone. Amazing!!


I know I said I probably wouldn't write again until after the holidays, but I'm feeling much better today and I feel like the last entry wasn't very "positive".
So I'm writing again because I have more energy than I know what to do with!
And everything is DONE... what a relief. Presents are bought and made and wrapped.
And work is over for a few days at least.
I made these for some peeps at the office, and for Gail. They are hanging candle holders, from one of Martha's ideas. The crystal at the bottom hangs underneath. I have 4 on my front porch and they've been there for 4 years. That's a good thing, Martha.

And I just finished this notebook cover for Lanndyn.

Oh... ahhhhh....
And I threw in a bag. We get lots of goodies from work. This was a free bag that I've had for a while, and I know Lanndyn loves pink - time to hand it down (it really has not been used). I added the flower pin. The notebooks were free from work, too.


Who knows if she'll actually use them, but it's the thought that counts. It was fun to make, especially the felt stitching.


So I don't want you to think that Lanndyn is not getting anything else - she is getting
THE... Justice Hot Pink Electric Guitar!! Apparently a hot item this year for tweens. James did the shopping (we had a list, thankfully!), and he found one at the Phipps Justice store (Justice used to be called the Limited Too, but they are trying to rebrand it or something).
James was trying to decide if he should get the guitar or the boots, and the sales lady told him he was crazy. We didn't know that people had been driving in from out of state to get the guitar, and that it was the only one left in Atlanta. That made up his mind!
I know she will be very excited to get this present - I can't wait to see her face!!!
I WILL bring the camera, so cross your fingers on happy photos (remember, she is 10 and hates to have her photo taken).


Merry Christmas Eve - Eve!! (My Dad always says that.. cheesy, but I love it)

Gettin crafty and blowing raspberries

Howdy!
Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend. We are still recovering from being sick. We all have a cold, but Kate's turned into an ear infection. I thought breastfed babies weren't supposed to get them, but maybe that's a bunch of crap.

On the food front, we have recently tried carrots, squash and apples. I can't see that she's excited about anything yet. I think she just wants her bottle.

Here we are trying carrots. (Kate: that does not look like my bottle)

(not my bottle)

(you're not fooling me)

We basically have to fight her to get the food in. She would rather suck her thumb. It gets messy!!

I've been getting pretty crafty these days. On the sewing machine specifically. Kate is so inspiring! Plus baby clothes and other stuff are so tiny - it's not a time consuming project usually. There are all these places to buy cute baby clothes, and most of them are just onesies with embellishments. I decided I could make those myself. I don't have photos of everything, but here's a few items that I have made.

I made three of these blocks for Kate, plus a bag to keep them in.

I made this shirt for Kate. I used fabric that was a couple of dollars on clearance, and some ribbon I already had. I thought it would be big on her, but turns out she will only get to wear it that one time. Good thing I took a photo!

More crafts to post later.

Back to Kate! (Because Blogger is not easy to layout. Grrr!!)

anyway, she is loving some raspberries these days.

I wasn't able to get the video I wanted to download, so I put this shorter video on instead. It's still cute - it shows how she has found her tongue I guess. She did this weird mouth-open-tongue-moving thing all weekend, but hasn't done it since.

See y'all later!