Birthy Story/Quick Update

It's a sunny Sunday morning and Sam laying next to me with his blue eyes wide open and is gently waving his arms and legs, he's utterly content. I have a cup of coffee and breakfast on my lap and I'm feeling grateful for my husband, and sweet children. God is good, really, really, good!

I wanted to take a quick minute to write up Sam's birth story for those who like to read birth stories.

I feel like I gave the impression in the weeks before his birth that I was really struggling that he hadn't come yet. I really wasn't. I was feeling well and getting good rest at night. I just THOUGHT he was going to come early due to my doctor and so it was kind of 2 weeks of limbo and feeling a bit anxious that his labor was going to be super quick and we weren't going to make it to the hospital. Anywho, just wanted everyone to know that I was actually doing great in the weeks before he came!

So, on Monday the 13th Kate and I headed out to Target around 3:30 to do our weekly grocery shopping. On the drive and while we were shopping I started noticing that I was having BH contractions that were coming with some regularity and, while not painful, were causing me to have to think about them. I was feeling a bit grumpy and had a few "panic-y" moments wondering if I should just head home. I didn't and made it though shopping but I called Dave when I got home and told him I would feel better if he could get home from work asap because I was feeling different.

We had a normal evening and went to bed around 11. The BH's were continuing but were anywhere from 9-20 minutes apart and felt very mild. I was prepared for this to be "it" but wasn't certain. Kate woke up around 11:30 and couldn't go back to sleep so we brought her into our room and read books in our bed until a little after midnight. It was a really sweet time that I feel like the Lord gave us as a last special moment with her as our "only". I fell asleep easily after that and at 3:12 I woke up to a painful contraction. I dozed and waited to see if I'd have another. When it came just 6 minutes later I woke Dave up and told him I thought Sam was gonna come soon. Because of my history of a fast labor with Kate my doctor had told me to call when I was contracting 5-7 minutes apart. I wanted to make sure this was "for real" since it was the middle of the night. After 30 minutes, during when time I had begun shaking all over which happened with Kate, David told me I had to call the doctor and not keep waiting. In the 10 minutes it took to get in touch with her and get into the car the contractions were 2-4 minutes apart. I was beginning to feel a little panic coming on because I knew things were going very fast again.

We got to the hospital a few minutes after 4 and David dropped me off at the door and went to park. I had to go in through the ER entrance since it was the middle of the night. That meant I had to get checked in by a guy from registration even though I had already called my doctor. I was as patient as I could be while the guy made me spell out my name and give my doctor's office. Thankfully they gave me a wheelchair because I needed to sit down. They put Dave and I in a little waiting room and told us that a nurse would be down to get us. It was really hard to stay calm in that little room, waiting. Then, the registration guy comes back in and says, "Are you having contractions?" Um, why do you think I am at the hospital at 4 in the morning buddy?

The nurse from L & D came down soon after that and thankfully she put us straight into a delivery room instead of taking me to triage. David and I laughed later because he said it was like a movie where the music is playing slowly and the nurse was calmly following her routine....until she checked me and realized I was about to deliver. Cue movie music speeding up and the room filling with nurses setting up the room and pulling out gloves and supplies as fast as they could. After she checked me the nurse was like, "Don't push, just don't push." I told her I would try but I wasn't promising anything. My doctor wasn't even at the hospital yet so they just pulled the only doctor on the floor (who was from a totally different practice) to come in and deliver Sam. He was so kind because I was laying on the bed in a way that made me feel tolerable and in control. The nurses wanted me to move down and I told them no and the doctor said, "She's fine." I was so grateful! He gave me 2 shots to numb me a bit "down below" to make the delivery more comfortable. By then my doctor had come in and about 4 pushes later Sam was born at 4:42 am! He was 8 pounds and 20 inches. I felt the biggest rush of relief and delight when I saw him! He cried before his feet even hit the air and he was beautiful!

He is one of the easiest babies I can imagine so far. He is eating without any trouble at all. He has slept two 3-3 1/2 hours stretches the past two nights and is calm and precious during the day. I'm totally smitten I have to admit. I told David I was afraid I love Sam too much:)

Kate is adjusting well, though I can tell she misses her normal routine with mama. She pretty much ignores Sam except for the occasional kiss.

David and I are both feeling great emotionally and loving having two kids.

My biggest prayer request would be for my quick healing. Sam was born with his hand against his face which led to some stitches that are proving to be very painful. I am trying not to get discouraged by this as it has been even worse then what I experienced with Kate. I know I will heal day by day.

We also all have coughs and runny noses that we can't seem to shake (going on over 3 weeks now.) Please pray for healing for all of us and protection over Sam!!!

Thanks to everyone in advance for your prayers and for all the love you show us!

Final Week

I took this picture last night at 38 weeks and 5 days. I will admit that I probably look at bit bigger then that in real life:) The black tank top is slimming, ha!

I had my ultrasound and 38 weeks appointment on Monday and I am so grateful that Sam's head is down and has also moved down quite a bit! He looks healthy and is growing well (the u/s gestimated 7lb 13 oz, but those are notoriously off in both directions.) I got a quick, albeit squished, glimpse of his face and he seems to look like Kate. He also has hair:) I am still 4-5 cm dilated but I'm not having any signs of labor. I think Sam is going to just take his sweet time.

I had to laugh yesterday because my OB had the nurse call and offer to set up an induction for after I turn 39 weeks (which is tomorrow.) My doctor seems to be pretty concerned over my history of fast labor combined with my already being 4-5. I told the nurse I was more comfortable waiting to let nature take it's course. She said that was ok but to make sure I head for the hospital as soon as I feel any pain. Then she said they don't want my husband delivering the baby on the road side and us ending up on the news. Ha! I informed her that no one is more concerned about that happening then I am and assured her we would head right in when I feel anything:)

So, for now I am just waiting. I have mentally been prepared for weeks that Sam would come early, but now I am realizing he could just as well hold off until late next week when I'm actually due. I do think we'll schedule an induction for next Thur/Fri if he hasn't come. Please be praying I go into labor on my own!

A Ramble

So I have pretty much blogged nothing about this pregnancy with Sam. It's amazing how having another child to care for pushes your pregnancy to the sidelines more often then not. With Kate, everything in our lives was focused on and awaiting her arrival. With our little guy there has been so much going on in our lives that his (now imminent) birth kinda snuck up on me. I guess I am just feeling like a want to record a few thoughts so that I can look back and remember what I was thinking and feeling at this time. I don't expect anyone to want to read it:)

-First, I was never so excited to meet Kate as I am to meet Sam. There was a lot of nervousness over what having a baby would be like and a lot of fear that something would happen to her that tempered my excitement over Kate's arrival. Now, I just can not wait to meet my little boy! I want so badly to see his face, to snuggle him, teach him to nurse, dress him in all his cute boy clothes. I am ready to savor the weeks of his being a newborn. I know how they fly and I'm ready to cherish them.

-I am so excited for Kate to meet Sam. I am full of curiosity as to how she is going to react when she sees him. I want to know how she'll respond when he comes home and she realizes it's "for keeps". She loooooves babies right now and wants to shower them with affection (sometimes by trying to sit on them!) We could have some fun times ahead.

-I'm also a little sad about Kate not being my only baby anymore. I love that girl to pieces. Being her mom has been a joy that I never could have anticipated. She delights me everyday and I miss her when I'm gone from her. The past couple nights as I've put her to bed I've wondered if it's the last time I'll see her before I'm holding her brother. Brother!? How can she be about to be a big sister? She's just my baby girl still in my mind! I'm glad we are having a boy because she can remain my "only baby girl" in my heart:)

-I'm interested to see how David and I respond to this birth/first few weeks both together and separately. We were pretty much tumbled end over end by emotion, ill health because of emotion, and just generally being overwhelmed after Kate was born. I genuinely thought we had ruined our lives by having a baby for those first 10 days or so. It was rough. We both feel so much better prepared this time. We know what to expect. We know how fast the hard times go by. We know we can survive with far less sleep then we'd like (we are both very sleep dependent people!) We are parents already. We know the deep, deep love that comes with having a child. I am confident this time is going to be much better...but, I'm still interested to see:)

-Surprises. I feel like this pregnancy has had quite a few. Heck, even finding out I was pregnant was a surprise! It was kinda fun and surprising to see how different I've felt and looked being pregnant with a boy. Finding out I had gestational diabetes was a big and hard surprise. Then, having my 37 week appointment and finding out I am 4 cm, but the doctor doesn't want him to come until next week (hence restricted activity) was another surprise. She also wants to induce me at 39 weeks because I'm so dilated and had such a fast labor with Kate...Oh, and she's not 100% sure Sam's head is down because he's still very high but didn't order an ultrasound until next Monday.....Do I feel like a time bomb? Maybe:)

-The LORD. I'm so glad He is ruling over our lives with wisdom and love. I was feeling very peaceful about the labor and delivery until my appointment this past Monday. Now I am tempted to think of all the things that could go wrong. I don't want Sam to come before his lungs are fully ready, but I'm so impatient for him to come at the same time. I am pretty dilated, but I know I could walk around this way until past his due date, two weeks from now. I don't want to live each day expecting him to come and then being let down or growing frustrated. I'm afraid about him coming super fast and being born at home (it happened to my mom's mom and my aunt!) I'm afraid he'll never drop but my water will break and I'll end up with a c-section. I can go round and round, but I don't need to because God knows the day, hour, and way in which Sam will come. I can rest in that. I truly can. And I believe I am. I am going to wait patiently and with out fear using the grace that is so abundantly available to me. Whether Sam arrives tonight or in two weeks it will be good.

That's all for now!

Then and Now

36 weeks with Kate

36 weeks with Sam

Kathryn Rebecca of SunnyBrook Farm

Yesterday Kate and I went with a large group of friends to Riverbend Farm out in Midland, NC. We did this last year around this time and it's hard to remember that Kate was not even one and couldn't walk! This year she had a blast running around, riding on a giant flat bed to a pumpkin field, enjoying ice cream on the covered porch, and sliding down the back of a pig statue. As much fun as she was having, I couldn't get her to smile for one picture! But here are some anyway:)

Here she is taking off on her adventure as soon as we got out of the car!

She decided to head back.

Contemplating what kind of pumpkin to pick...

She had to pick up quite a few pumpkins and then drop them because they were heavy!

She wanted to get closer to them

Thinking...

I have been trying to get her to say "cheese" and smile. Here she is saying "cheese" but no smile:)

The Follow Up

First of all, I want to thank all of you so very much for your prayers and support to us since we've been on this diagnosis path. It has been truly the biggest encouragement to me to experience the love and care of our bothers and sisters in Jesus. THANK YOU! You all are the greatest!

We had our follow up with the neurologist today to talk over the results of Kate's EEG and MRI. Praise the Lord, the MRI results were completely normal. So there is nothing wrong with the structure of her brain that would be causing these problems. As long as there is nothing weird on the blood work results (they aren't in yet as we just had them redrawn yesterday, and I am pretty sure they are going to be normal) then Kate's diagnosis is Epilepsy. The neurologist was unable to pinpoint exactly what kind of seizure Kate has been having from looking at the EEG. She said Kate's entire brain was showing seizure activity which would be considered a generalized seizure. However, it appeared at certain points on the EEG strip that the seizure was beginning on the left side of her brain (which would indicate partial seizures.) But, because the seizure activity then spread so rapidly it was impossible to tell if they are true partial or general seizures. The medication that she has been placed on is to treat both kinds so it doesn't really matter what they are.

The medicine is working really well since Kate has been on it twice a day and she is on the smallest dosage right now, which is great! The game plan from here is that she will follow up with the neurologist every so often and have EEGs intermittently to make sure she really is seizure free. David and I need to keep an eye on her here at home and if we notice seizure activity returning we will call the doctor and increase her medication dose. If we get to a place were, we, the doctor, and the EEGs indicate that she has been seizure free for 2 years then we can begin to taper off her medication and see if perhaps she has grown our of the epilepsy. It is a possibility (and certainly our prayer!) that Kate could grow out of this.

I am just so grateful to the Lord for providing a diagnosis and working treatment plan for us so quickly! You never want your child to be having seizures, but it really appears that we are in the best position we could be given the situation! God is very merciful.

Thank you again for all of your prayers!

The MRI

*If you are squemish or really tender hearted, be warned*

Thank you for praying for Kate's MRI today and for checking in tonight! The procedure went pretty well. We (Marilyn so kindly went with Kate and I) got down to Presbyterian at 7 this morning (I had been awake since 3:45 though because I got up to go to the bathroom then and couldn't fall back to sleep. Why does stress keep us up?)

We got checked in and after the anesthesiologist came and talked us through the procedure Kate had to take some Versed to get her calm and "loopy" so they could take her back and start her IV (she was also going to be given laughing gas before her IV was started.) She was SUCH a good girl and took the whole syringe of medicine with out any fight or spitting it out. I held her, all wrapped in blankets to get her warm so her veins would plump, in a little room for about 40 minutes while the medicine took affect. It was so funny because after awhile she started yelling out random words like, "Nigh nigh!" or "Ba" (bath.) Then, it was time to hand her off to the anesthesiologist who was going to take her into the MRI room and start her IV and they'd do the procedure. It was pretty hard to hand her off and not be able to stay with her. I'm almost never away from her and when I am I know she's with people I know and trust. In hindsight I kind of wish I'd pressed to be able to stay with her until her IV was in.

After about an hour and a half it was time to go to the recovery area and pick her up. When I walked in a nurse was holding Kate and she was crying really hard and her little face looked so distorted! Her eyes weren't open all the way and looked puffy. She still had her IV in her hand and it was making her so mad and she was desperately thirsty. She GULPED a cup of water once I told them what she was asking for. I got really upset as I held her and she thrashed around and cried. I could see that they had stuck her at least 4 times trying to get an IV started! That was really hard for me to take. I know she was sedated while it was happening and she won't remember any of it, but it was so tough for me to see as a mom. We got discharged shortly after we got her back and after some lunch at home she has been doing really well all day.

The only thing that happened that I am super upset about is that Kate was supposed to get labs drawn while her IV was being started and she was sedated. Well, as I was pulling in to the driveway on our way home from the hospital I got a call that her blood had gotten diluted with IV fluid and was not going to be useable. I have to take her back and have them redrawn. I am completely sad about this! I can not stand the thought of her having to be stuck again and with no sedation. I am so anxious that since the anesthesiologist had to stick her 4 times that the lab tech won't be able to get a vein. I am trying to surrender it all to Jesus. I know He is caring for my baby more then I do, but it's really hard for me. So if you could please be praying for my heart to be at rest and for the blood draw to go really smoothly when we do go back. Thank you so much!

Kate is in bed now and I am ready for some much need relaxing with Dave. Thanks again for checking in!

A Diagnosis

Thank you to all of you who have asked about, commented, and prayed for Kate since my last post. We saw a pediatric neurologist on August 31st and while Kate's exam looked normal in the office (as in she was using both sides of her body appropriately with equal strength and things like that) the doctor wanted her to have an EEG and an MRI and blood work done.

We had the EEG performed last Wednesday (September 8th.) I had requested prayers for Kate to have an "episode" while having the EEG performed. We didn't see any sort of startle or episode during the test and I felt pretty discouraged after it was over. It felt like such a lot to go through only to have it be useless. But then, this Wednesday, the nurse from the neurologist's office called and said that the EEG did show seizure activity even though Kate showed no visible signs of a seizure at the time. Right now it looks like she has some form of Epilepsy (a broader term for many different types of seizures that have no other underlying cause.) The doctor wanted her started on medication right away to get the seizure activity under control.

We started Kate on the anti seizure drug called Topamax (topiramate) last night and already this morning I have noticed that she hasn't "startled" once or had a seizure. She does seem a little "off" but she is also a bit sleep deprived right now so it's hard to say if that's the medicine talking or just being tired. We were told that she probably will be more tired and possibly have a loss of appetite as she adjusts to taking the medicine.

I don't have many more details beyond that right now because I've only been able to speak with the doctor's nurse as of right now. We won't see the doctor again until September 28th after Kate's MRI is performed next Wednesday the 22nd. She will have anesthesia for the MRI since she's too young to lay still for the test and her blood work will all be drawn while she is under sedation (I'm very glad for that!) Please pray for us for that whole experience! She can't eat or drink anything before the test because of the anesthesia, and if you know Kate, that is a hard thing to accomplish! Thankfully, the MRI will be done at 8am so she won't have to be deprived too long:)

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Our Little

We've had a lot going on with Kate in the past few months. I wanted to take a little time to update and ask you to pray for her. We have been noticing for a couple months that she is having episodes of seeming to startle for no obvious reason and then she "spaces out" for a few seconds. While she is spaced out she does not respond to her name or anything going on around her. She then seems to "wake up" and goes on as though nothing happened (although occasionally her mood would become more crabby). In the past week however these episodes have lengthened and she'll space our for 15-20 seconds and she seems noticeably tired/upset after the episode ends. We suspect she is having a form of seizure and saw her pediatrician this morning. Her pedi is also concerned about seizures (she thinks they might be what are called Partial Seizures) and referred us to a pediatric neurologist. We have an appointment to see the neuro next Tuesday, August 31st. Kate will have an EEG (electrodes placed on her scalp to measure brain waves) done and hopefully we can begin to get some answers.

*A particular prayer request would be, and this sounds a bit strange, that Kate would have one of these episodes while the EEG is being performed. We don't want her having seizures, but if she is, being able to catch one during the test will give the doctor a MUCH clearer picture of what is going on with her. There is no way for us to know when one will happen, but God does and He can do whatever needs to be done to help us get a diagnosis!*

David and I do not feel anxious about Kate (although, the episodes that happened while we were at the beach were a bit alarming.) We are just so grateful for the access we have to help from doctors and we are praying that God would give wisdom to those who treat Kate and that He would provide us with clear answers so that she can get the help she needs.

We had also noticed some stagnation and even some regression in her language development over the last few months that had us a bit concerned (could have been related to the upheaval of moving and living with my folks, or these possible seizures?) But, over the past two weeks she has begun to pick up many new words and is communicating very well through gestures and a couple of signs. I spoke with the pediatrician about this while we were there this morning and she isn't concerned right now, and neither are we. But you can also keep K's language development in your prayers! That she would continue to progress!

Besides these things, Kate is doing great and is so happy and cheerful lately which has been a delight to us! Here are some pictures of her sweetness:)

She climbed up on the sofa to read all by herself

She is really enjoying the baby equipment I've pulled out/gotten back from people lately:) This swing plays some very obnoxious music that Kate keeps running most of the time and makes our house feel like an elevator.

Summer's Buzzing Along

It's hard to believe we are already into July! We have been so busy with moving and vacationing and Dave has had a ton of wedding photography commitments it feels like the summer is whizzing by. Until we step outside that is! Constant days in the mid 90's are not one of the things I have treasured this summer:) Kate loves to go outside but I can hardly stand to take her unless we are at the pool or in the shade. Thankfully we have a little area with a swing down the street that is shaded so we do that. She LOVES swinging and calls it the "whee" since you say, "wheeee" when riding on it.

I wanted to capture the look on Kate's face when I first walk into her room to get her each morning. She gets so excited and says, "Mama!" with great delight. Well, the picture of her initial face was blurry and as soon as she saw me with the camera she got this look on her face:

She was quite confused:) It looks like the walls of her new room are pink, but they aren't. We have a purple sheet hung over the window to keep the light out and it casts a pinkish glow in her room.

I discovered the other night that she can get a really good ponytail going and I love the way it looks on her! It makes her look so grown up. Here is a picture of the front of her face (yes, she still uses a paci. I have no plans to give it up any time soon either.)

The back. I can hardly stand how cute it looks:)

Here is a shot of the front of our new house! We are loving it so much! I will eventually get some pictures of the inside, but I think I might wait until we have done some painting and put curtains up.

Our wonderful back yard. Our property line extends down to just the other side of the swing set. We are so blessed by this new home and beautiful lot! God is so generous towards us!

Just being Kate. All these pictures are in her stroller! We've been taking some strolls as a family after dinner in the evenings and for some reason I have remembered to grab the camera for them.

She really likes hanging out in our new master bathroom for some reason. I think she must have been trying to climb up to the counter here.

Just standin. It's a pretty common "kate" face to suck in her lower lip like that.

She especially loves getting into the shower. It doesn't have a door on it so she can just climb right in! She can't get back down off the step to get out though so I'll hear her calling, "Up pwee! Up pwee!" (help please)

I wanted to have a 16 week belly shot to post, but here I am at 17 weeks and still haven't taken one! Things are going well though. I am feeling the baby move a lot and I am so excited to find out what we are having on the 26th. Just 2 1/2 weeks away! I still don't feel like I've really grasped that I am pregnant and another baby will be here in 6 months. Not sure when that will hit me:)

I Shall Resume

David found my camera! New house updates and Kate updates to follow soon:) Thanks all for the feedback on my last post. I shall continue to update for the time being. I need to start putting up some "baby tummy" shots. I am 14 weeks tomorrow (how did it sneak up so fast!?)

So Long, Farewell?

I am thinking of calling it quits with this blog. I just don't feel motivated to spend time uploading pictures and writing out updates anymore. Especially because FB is a much easier way to do pictures:) But, I do like being able to look back and see what I've written about Kate and I'm sure I'll be talking more pictures when the new baby arrives (and maybe I get a better camera? I wish, I wish, I wish!) It's a dilemma. So, this is your chance. If you still check this blog (and I doubt there are many of you:) and you want to continue reading it then let me know and perhaps I shall rally! Maybe......

Where are you Spring?

There is not much exciting going on in the Malament household this looooong, coooold, snoooowy winter. I can honestly say that I have never longed for Spring the way I do this year! Warm, sunny days, and soft, breezy nights feel like a dream that might not ever be reality again! Kate has quite a wardrobe of cute warm weather dresses built up and I am so eager to be able to put them on her, haha.

We have had a few days recently that weren't bitterly cold and I was able to take Kate outside for a bit. She has discovered a new love! She adores the outdoors (her daddy coming out in her:) I let her go out on the back porch a couple times recently and now she'll go up to the back door and ask to go out. When we're outside she loves to point at things and say, "Oh, WOAH!" Which is her newest phrase. She tried to eat some dirt and mulch, but after I told her it was yucky she looks at it and says, "Blech." She gets very fascinated by seeing airplanes fly over head and even if we are inside and she hears one she stops to listen intently. I also have taken her to the play ground a couple of times. She is too small to climb on the equipment by herself yet, but by the Summer she'll be all over it I'm sure!

An area you can pray for if it crosses your mind is the sale of our house. We put it on the market back in January and have had lots of showings but no offers. When we decided to put it on the market we knew it would be tough to sell right now, but we really wanted to see if God might move us on. We want to stay in our same neighborhood, but invest in a bigger home while interest rates are so low. Our prayer is that God would show us his will for what house we are to live in right now and for us to be content with that. I love our little house and I know we could be happy here for several more years, but the idea of having a big "long term" home is very alluring. Especially because there is a home very near by that I would LOVE to own, and it's come down $15,000 since it went on the market making it a better and better deal. So, if you would like to join us in praying that God would make his will plain (which he will if our house doesn't sell, haha, we kind of can't miss him on this. We can't force our house to sell) we would appreciate it!

Here are the requested pictures of Kate!

She still loves to read books and the other day she was being so quiet behind the couch. I looked back and found her intently reading to herself:)

This is when she was out on the porch. I went out right after I took these, I didn't leave her out there alone, hehe.

Having so much fun running back and forth!

She is so curious! I love it when she bends down like this to examine something.

I posted this on Facebook but thought it deserved a repeat:) Gotta love those chocolate cookies!

Lately Kate has been climbing in to our book basket everyday and "reading" our books. It really cracks me up the way she sits on the pile of books and looks so pleased with herself.

I am pretty sure she's going to keep her big, blue eyes.

We got her the Jesus Storybook Bible and she LOVES it. She says, "Bible" and asks us to look at it with her lots. She really likes this page with various famous bible characters and points at certain ones each time. She is particularly fond of Mary. By the way, it is not warm enough for a short sleeved dress and bare feet but she was tying on a dress from my Aunt Allie so we could sent her a picture:)

Bad Pictures of a Big Girl

These pictures didn't turn out very well, but I think they really show how big Kate has gotten!

She looks hilarious in the one below:)

Her face in this last one looks JUST like me when I was a toddler!

The Great Kate Update

I hardly know where to begin on giving an update on our Baby Kate. Who really isn't a baby anymore! On December 5th she took off walking at our dear friends the Park's home and she hasn't looked back! Thus ended her days as a baby and life as a toddler rushed in! I am loving it:) While toddlerhood definitely has new challenges (stronger opinions of what she wants, the beginnings of tantrums, stair climbing) I am really liking this new stage a lot. Her little personality is coming out more and more and she is learning exciting new things all the time!

On the language front, Kate has stopped saying a lot of the words I last posted about her saying. I am sure she can still say them, she just chooses not to. Her current favorite things to say are, "What's that?" (often said with a little finger pointing at whatever object she's wondering about), "All done" (which is most often said when a loud noise ends, such as when I turn off the hair dryer), and her favorite of all, "Hot! Hot! Hot!" (which is said around the oven, microwave, fires, candles, mugs, steam or vapor of any kind. The girl gets the concept of "hot"!) My mom kept her over the weekend and she said that Kate said, "Thank you", as plain as day. I have yet to hear that one, but I've been teaching it to her for a long time so I am excited:)

The Boo Bear's current favorite activities are as follows: Climbing the stairs. She figured this out shortly after walking and it was quite a challenge for a few weeks until we finally borrowed a baby gate! I want her to learn and practice climbing the stairs, but it had gotten to the point where she pretty much only wanted to do that! She has picked up the concept of talking on the phone and can often be found with a toy phone up to her ear babbling into it! She also really likes to play peek-a-boo and will hold her blankie, bib, or the shower curtain during bath time up over her face and after you've said, "Where's baby Kate?," a few times she'll pull the blanket down and then right back up! It's lots of fun and so cute to watch! She still loves to look at books. Right now she is really enjoying her Jesus story bible that David got for their bible times. She is fascinated with the picture of Eve with the serpent and with a page that has drawings of many important bible characters. Joseph is on that page, wearing his colorful coat, and she will point to him if you ask her where he is. And anything with music is still a must in our house! One of these days I have to post a video of Kate's dancing. It's hilarious!

Ok, that's enough updating for now! Here are some pictures

I pulled out the camera the other day to finally take some updated pictures and Kate became hysterical when I wouldn't let her play with the camera. I snapped a few of her in the midst of the fit for her future viewing pleasure. Poor kid.

This was two minutes after the previous picture. She recovered her composure quickly:) She really likes to sit on beds for some reason.

Still having fun on my bed:)

I was in the kitchen and heard her talking really loudly and in long strings of sounds. I looked into the living room and found her talking on her toy phone she got for Christmas. I was able to snap a picture before she put it down.

I got this bouncy seat at the Goodwill a long time ago and it has been sitting in our guest room. I put Kate in it the other day so I could switch some laundry over and she thought it was great fun! It's shocking how big she is when you see her in this seat!

A Few Christmas Pictures

Enjoying a Christmas mornings "ba ba"

Liking the tissue paper in her first present

A gloworm!

It earned a hug

Opening her gift from Dad.

A soft, stuffed monkey!

It earned a hug also:)