For Those Who Were Complaining!

These pictures are for Auntie Meg and Aunt Kenni:)

I pulled Kate's hats from last winter out on the off chance that they might still fit. They all did, but were rather tight. Kate hates hats now, however, and immediately tried to pull them off. This one was on pretty good so she gave up and went back to playing.

We let her have spaghetti for the first time the other night. She got it everywhere, of course! Then she spilled some of her water onto her tray and started "painting". It was hilarious and she had so much fun! The close ups of her sauce covered face didn't turn out, but it was covered!

Kate is receiving GloryMagicFace II in this picture. Aunt Kenni gave GMF II to her as an early birthday gift. Aunt Kenni owns GloryMagicFace I in the form of a giant mylar balloon. In case you can't see, GMF II is a unicorn hobby horse. If you push a spot on her neck she makes clopping and neighing noises. Kate's shoulders were literally shaking with laughter when Kendra gave GMF to her. It was so funny!

Kate is also eating the animal crackers that Aunt Kenni gave her which is why her hand is in her mouth:)

We had the front door open last night because I was had the oven self-cleaning and the house reeked. Kate crawled right out the door, but then she got stuck on the threshold! I ran upstairs to get my camera so we wouldn't miss the moment. I got this one quick shot before she started crying for help!

That golden glow over Kate's head? Oh, that's just her hair. No, the wind wasn't blowing it up, it stuck up that way all day.

Reading with her beloved "Dada"

I just included this one because I thought David looked so handsome:)

Dreamer

"Look Mama, no hands!"

***update: Baby Kate started crawling this evening!!!***

Kate is so fond of David! She gets excited when she hears his key in the door at the end of the day!

She has figured out how to open doors and is fascinated with the cabinets. She pulled all my gladware out the other day!

I haven't done a "what she's doing now" update on Kate in a while. She is going to be 11 months old in 9 days! Her first birthday will be here in the blink of an eye. How can it be almost a year since I was laying in bed at 11:24 pm and experienced that first contraction of labor? It's amazing how much a baby changes and grows in a year! But I get ahead of myself:) Right now, she is still 10 and 1/2 months old. I have time!

Kate is a bit of a late developer I think, but that is fine. She is learning new things all the time and I am confident that she is perfectly healthy and "normal" (what ever that means;) In the last 3 days or so she has begun to make crawling motions for a few inches before she lets herself fall onto her tummy. It's coming folks! She can stand all by herself for about 10 seconds at a time and has even taken a small step a couple of times. She can now bend down and pick up an object from the floor as long as she has one hand on the sofa or coffee table for support. She can also sit up from a laying down position (that's new this week.) Cruising all around the furniture and walls and using her push toy is her favorite pastime. Reading herself books is a close second. I love watching/hearing her "read" as she flips the pages around while talking to herself and letting out an occasional giggle. Her favorite books are from the Bright Baby series. The pictures are real photographs of common animals and objects and I think she understands that better then drawings.

Kate is exploding with her skills on the eating front! She LOVES food of any kind:) We laugh that she is like a little dog because as soon as anyone pulls out any kind of food Kate cruises over as fast as she can and starts "begging" for a bite! I am able to give her more and more table food with some recent favorites being canned veggies, mac n cheese, cheese sticks, and very soft chicken. She has mastered the art of the sippy cup and seems to get a kick out of drinking from one. She tips it up all the way with her head thrown back! I had a little left over whole milk from some homemade mac n cheese and I gave that to her last night and she drank it right down and showed no signs of tummy upset. I have been very relieved at how well she's doing with food since I plan to stop nursing her at 12 months. She's going to have no problem!

Well, I think that about all the new things Kate is up to. I am sure there are more, but I can't think of them right now!

We Rested From Our Labors

This marked the third Labor Day in a row that we've been at Mike and Lisa Flanigan's home in Boone! I've lost count of how many times we've stayed up there by now, but as with every other time, this weekend was fun and refreshing! We love Boone and the Flanigans!

There was quite a crowd this time. The entire Flanigan fam, plus the entire Parks fam, pluse Steve, Lizzy, and Jason, George Schaaf and us! We played badmitten and vollyball and ate lots of good food. However, by far the most exciting thing was the announcement that Baby Flanigan will be arriving this March!!!

Chris and Kathryn's friendship has been such a blessing of fun, laughter, fellowship, and support for David and I and we can't wait to experience parenthood with them!

Here are some pictures of our time

Kate did great riding up after church on Sunday. She hadn't even had a nap! Right after this picture she started crying, but that was ok:)

Our little family! Last year when we were there over Labor Day I was about 8 weeks from my due date! If you look back at my Labor day post from last year you can see my big tummy!

Maggie and Sarah were very kind to watch Kate for me some on Monday so that I could play games and rest. She had a blast with all the attention from different people.

Hehehe....

Mama and her girl! Kate enjoyed chewing on the broken "shuttlecocks"

Jason post powdered donut. 

The lovely Parks sisters:) Next year there will be another baby in this picture! (Kath's not mine:)

Mountain Baby in her overalls!

The intrepid badmitten players! Unfortunately, those are looks of defeat by the more intrepid team of Chris and Steve

One more of my cutie!

Fridays with Granni

My wonderful mama sets aside Friday afternoons for Kate and I. I look forward to our times every week! Besides Dave, there is no one who I enjoy being with and talking with more then my mom. Our relationship has grown tremendously over the years and I am so grateful for her wisdom, counsel, and help in all areas of my life. I love her!

Today, we went up to Birkdale to have lunch at Brixx and then to Target for some necessities:) 

All of a sudden today Kate seems so much like a toddler! She just seems bigger and more mature. She is such a little companion to Mom and I!

Kate was having lots of fun standing on Mom and Dad's porch looking out at the yard.

I think Kate looks like she is punching me in the chin in this picture. She wasn't into having her picture taken with me at the moment!

I gave her a lemon to entertain her for a bit! She was making horrible faces after every lick but she kept going back for more! 

I finally got a picture of her sour face!

Kate loves her Granni! 

9 Month Stats

At her 9 month (almost 10 actually) check up today Kate checked out good and healthy!

She is:

19 lbs 9 oz which is the 50th %, she is slimming down!

28.5 inches long which is still 75th %

and a 50th % head still

I asked her pediatrician about the fact that Kate isn't crawling and she said that crawling is not a developmental milestone and it's fine that she isn't even close! This past week Kate has started cruising all around on the furniture and Doctor Perterson said she thinks Kate will be an early walker and that she might never crawl at all. That was good to hear that she is just fine:)

So it was a good appointment!

Laurel's Birthday Bash

A couple of weeks ago I got to travel over to Knoxville to visit Meg and Laurel! We had so much fun together! Laurel and Kate learn to interact a little more each time they are together. This time around they spent most of their time grabbing from each other:) Thankfully they were both very good natured about this.

I love the tops of their little heads! We had to laugh over the fact that the girls are almost the same size even though they are 3 months apart! (in recent doctor's appointments it has been discovered that Kate is actually 3 POUNDS heavier then Laurel! Oh my:)

Since it was so close to Laurel's first birthday while we were there, Meg decided to have Laurel's party so that we could attend! Laurel got to get her toes painted for the first time for the festivities:)

Will's sister, Lauren, is very talented at decorating cakes. She made this adorable cake for the party!

Laurel was a bit disgruntled about having to wear her party hat and having such a large crowd singing in her face. Heavy rests the crown....

The birthday girl enjoying her cake!

This was after she took to big a bite of cake (she was stuffing) and Meg pulled a hunk out of her mouth. Laurel did not appreciate that.

Opening gifts:)

Will and Meg have headed of to Gainsville, Fl for a year. Will is studying for a tax law certification. I was so grateful to get to spend some time with them before they left! I won't get to see them nearly as often while they are gone.