merry christmas!

halloween

We had a great Halloween! 

Kate loved her ladybug costume. 

(Picked out and purchased by her Dad)

She wore it all day. To visit Peter in his office. Then in our town's Halloween parade. 

I think she was too busy checking everything out to smile, but I know she had a good time.

And I must say, we had the cutest ladybug and elephant there. 

 our friends, the Wiebe Firemen!

this ear is soooo interesting...

grandma and grandpa!

pumpkin patch

Taking your child to a pumpkin patch is an unspoken parent rule. It doesnt matter if you pick pumpkins, carve pumpkins (gross), or make homemade roasted pumpkin seeds (yum), you simply must take your babies and capture adorable cute perfect photos. 

There are a few to choose from in our area. Some, shall we say, are low-maintenance. Others are super fancy and super popular. But it just so happened that the bubonic plague hit our household and knocked us all out for a week. So we were quickly running out of pumpkin patch time. (One must go before Halloween or it simply doesnt count. Or something like that.)

A plan was quickly devised. We would meet up with the Macks and take the babies after church. To the local pumpkin patch/Christmas tree farm (Santa's Forest. Maybe you have heard of it? Its a magical forest featuring a  train and wild turkeys and Santa's trees. Right smack dab in the middle of good ol' Kern County farm land)

No pressure. No long drive. No matching lil' pumpkin t-shirts. Easy. 

Which was a good plan because dragging babies anywhere after church is never the best idea. 

They were not super impressed, didnt really feel like smiling, and were more interested in eating the pumpkins than anything. But they sure were cute.

 

  

six months

I am behind on posting these pictures. A whole month behind. 

Nevertheless, here is Kate at six months.

(six months?!?! wahhhh....)

kate's dedication

 A couple weeks ago, we dedicated Kate in our church. This was very important to Peter and I and we were so happy our family and friends were there to join us and celebrate.

 Baby dedication is a decision made by the parents to raise their child in a Godly, loving home. 

It is a public pledge to teach the child about Jesus and His sacrificial love. It is a commitment also made by the church body to help support the parents in striving to show their children what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

We love our church. We love that it is multi-generational. 

We can connect with friends our age and still learn from those older and wiser. We like how our church is invested in our community and committed to touching lives around us, especially children. 

We are excited to raise Kate in our church and we pray that she grows to love the Lord.

Thanks to Katie for these photos!

best friends

A couple weeks ago we went up to Fresno to celebrate Ruby's dedication with our good friends the Brooks. Child dedication is so special and important and we were honored to be there and show our love and support for their family.

Sadly, I did not get any pics of the event, but I did get a few of the baby girls in action.

This is the only shot I have of Kate and Sandy in their adorable dresses.

Sometimes, you just need to change into comfy clothes and roll around on the floor.

And sometimes you need to wrestle.

And sometimes (especially when its your party) you decide you would rather not play. And instead look for someone to rescue you.

And sometimes your parents decide to stuff you all in a chair and take a precious, perfect photo.

And then sometimes this happens.

And then this.

 And then your parents accept reality and call it done.

feeding my baby

This week Kate turned six months old. I am still trying to internally process that, which is why I haven't updated this little blog with her weekly pics. (excuses, excuses)

This week also marked an important milestone: the introduction of real food! Yes, I am one of those who waited the full six months to start real food. More than anything else because the thought of feeding my daughter actual food stressed me out.
What should I start with?
How often?
How much?
What about allergies?
Poop issues?

you want to feed me WHAT?

Up until this point, feeding Kate has been quite easy. (not counting those agonizing first couple weeks when I cried every time she latched on. the pain. oh, the pain) Although I lament that she wont take a bottle and still pretty much eats every 2-3 hours, I really have nothing to complain about and I am very thankful. I produce a lot of milk. I am home and dont have to mess with a pump. She gets hungry, I feed her. Easy. And lets be honest, I have not tried hard enough with the bottle. I should have started it earlier and been more consistent. But I was afraid. So I didnt. And I have come to terms with this is just the way it is. Until I stop nursing, my baby is, quite literally, attached to me throughout the day.

There will be many more years of freedom and longer than two hours to myself. There wont be many more years of nursing my babies. (a reminder to myself when I am drowning in a pool of breastmilk and self-pity)

{side note: I have more opinions and criticism thrown at me for this than anything else. No, my baby will not take a bottle. Yes, I have tried different kinds, methods, times of day. Yes, I realize I could have more time to myself/husband if she did. Maybe she still will. Maybe she wont. Maybe next baby.}

So for some reason the thought of starting food was not exciting to me. We have had a good thing going, and I wasnt ready to throw something else into the mix. But after talking more with friends and researching a little more, I began to finally come around. And I will admit, making the food was fun! I love being in the kitchen and cooking for my family, so this is just a new addition. The Beaba makes it easy and fun and I like knowing she is already eating food made by me.

Not sure how long I will do just purees. She already wants to use her fingers. But for now, sweet potatoes are all the rage over here.

Yeah, she may have only ingested like a teaspoon of food, but I consider it a success!
Next up: avocados and pears.

five months

Another big month for our little Kate. I will admit, some days have been a bit challenging. Teething plus nap times full of tears make for VERY long days. She is still sleeping through the night most nights, so I am willing to take that over long days. I have also had to come to terms with the fact that I dont really have a cuddly baby. Kate definitely prefers squirming and scooting and standing over snuggling with Mama. She is a very busy girl and loves to move and roll all over, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

dodger game

I am way behind on posting this, but oh well. I want to document it anyway.

At the end of June, we took Kate to her first Dodger game. Obviously, this was a momentous occasion for this Dodger loving family (especially Peter). We were fortunate enough to have tickets in a box (thanks leftover points from an old credit card) which was perfect for our little one. She was able to spread out and play and I was able to nurse her {sorta} discreetly.

 the best we could do. she was VERY distracted.

 

very worried about the Dodgers performance

 

The ride home was a little rough (i.e. lots of tears), but overall the trip went great! Obviously, Kate wont remember any of it, but I know we will look back and smile.

swimming

Kate went swimming for the first time with Peter a couple weeks ago and loved it!

She especially liked it when he would glide her through the water really fast. With the super hot summers, we are thankful both of our parents have a pool!

 crossed ankles. her signature pose.

Hopefully we have a little water baby on our hands!