Alas and Alack

I'm shamed by those of you whose lives are definitely busier. Your frequency of posts makes me look bad. Of course, there are others out there who also be ashamed of themselves (Hmm, mmm, Mother!)

Two weeks of vacation has seen a lot of action -- we went to the zoo, we've been swimming at Mima's pool several times (at least 3 or 4), shopping, and hanging out with Jen & Lydia a lot. I feel a little bit as though some of this will end when Lauren comes along. We'll be doing other things then -- making meals, babysitting Lydia, holding the newest member of the fam, and hanging out at their house a bit more. Craziness has also been compounded by Josh's two commitments after work plus a hobby (golf)! Deacon training started a few weeks ago every Tuesday night for two hours. Then, the guys at church are playing soccer in the month of June. This means that each week may contain several games. We're trying to adjust to a different schedule so that Josh can have some time with his family before going off to his activities. This usually means a SUPER easy supper with few dishes so he can play with Kate the whole time he's home. Wednesday night we had our first date night with Kate. She loves being at the table with us, and it's so cute to interact with her as a family.

Her meals have grown since the last post. She has expanded her repertoire to include rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and bananas. She hasn't really cared for bananas, but is in LOVE with sweet potatoes. Tomorrow we will introduce avocado and see how that goes. Josh (and Dad) don't really like avocados, so he was disappointed that we were going to be feeding her avocados when there are wonderful things like sweet potatoes, peaches, nectarines, and peaches in this world! They both consider avocado to be a non-food.

I have finally capitulated to marketing and the Disney culture! I bought my first Baby Einstein DVD. Kate liked it, of course. She even laughed at one of the songs. As she grows more curious and interactive with the world around her, I think that these visual cues can be very stimulating -- plus she's learning classical music! I mean, what is more classic than Old Macdonald? How does that fit onto a Baby Mozart dvd, I'll never know.

My Latest Tricks!

Hello everyone! Last week was my last week of school for this year! As the weather warms up, there's so little incentive to go to work (or school). I often wonder how people with regular jobs do it. And, how do people with regular jobs not wear shorts & tank tops to work during the summer? Especially in this Georgia heat. I started putting Kate in tank tops and shorts in 80 degree weather. :-)

This weekend was quite exciting. Jonathan, Ashley, and Brittny graduated from GCA. I've never been prouder of my "kids"! They represent the bulk of my teaching years. Up until this year, I taught them several classes each semester. It was a joy to watch them grow in faith and knowledge. We enjoyed so many good and crazy times together. Perhaps one of the highlights of our years together was our ten day trip to Washington, Pennsylvania, and Virginia in the RV. This class is the last one that I've taught such a large variety to, including Science (I think), English, Spanish I, II, and III, Rhetoric, Public Speaking, and Drama. No pictures of those bambinos, but my little girl is here in living color.

Kate had her first bit of cereal this week. She has loved it so far! It's so fun to see her learn how to eat. The swallowing action is subtlely different from drinking breast milk. Basically, I'm supplementing her afternoon meal with 1 T or so of rice cereal. Next week I believe that I will increase the times per day that we supplement with cereal. You should had seen her tonight at Jen & Ben's. She was reaching for the pizza like a big girl. Lydia really would like to feed her "big girl" food. I keep asking if we should give Kate pizza or applesauce or whatnot. She invariably answers, "yeah!" Also, two weeks ago, Kate discovered her feet. She's pictured here eating her tootsies. She thinks it is pretty hilarious when her big toe lands in her mouth. I imagine that would feel pretty funny!

Comparison

Here's Lydia at 5 months old. She was more sturdy sitting up and Kate definitely can't do what Lydia's doing in this pic for very long. Every time I put her on her belly, she turns over! :-) I'm going to try to find some kid pics of Josh and I. Don't hold your breath for baby pics of Josh. It's well established that Kate looks like Josh, though, so perhaps we don't need his baby pics. :-)

Photo Shoot!

Momma got out the real camera out and we had a photo shoot this morning. :-) We only have 2 more days of school, plus 2 more days of exams, and then we'll be done! Praise the Lord! Kate turns 5 months tomorrow. She's becoming more and more proficient at rolling over in both directions. She can pass toys back and forth between her two hands, which evidently is a milestone in brain development. She has a real sense of humor and loves the camera. This morning she even responded every time I said, "Smile!!!" Josh and I are so thankful for this precious bundle of joy!
P.S. I had a great first Mother's Day. The Bailey/Moseley/Johnson/Auton men planned & executed a wonderful meal on Sunday while the ladies lounged in the Bailey's new pool. It was completely delicious! Also, Josh gave me a Gift Certificate for an Anti-Stress Treatment at the Chateau Elan Spa. I can't tell you how much I need an anti-stress treatment.

Playtime

Kate is about to turn 5 months, and I just cannot believe it! These months fly by and crawl at the same time. Life before she came seems so much further away than a mere 5 months, and it also seems like I just had her yesterday! Enjoy the following little vignettes of Kate's little life! It shows her favorite things to play with right now. :-)










Just for Jennifer:

When I first started nursing, I stressed about making Kate eat every 3 hours, but she had enough trouble nursing without me making her eat when she wasn't hungry. So, I let her decide when she was hungry and we ended up nursing every 4 hours. This made me very happy because I could be on the same schedule every day! The schedule went through various permutations as she dropped night time feedings, but its current form is as follows:
7:30-8:30 or 8:00-9:00 Breakfast!
10:00-11:00ish Naptime
11:30-12:30 on school days or 12:00-1:00 other days Lunch!
1:30-3:00 Naptime
4:00-5:00 Supper #1
7:00-8:00 Naptime (sometimes this is earlier)
8:00-9:00 Supper #2
9:30 Bedtime

20 weeks

Sorry about the sparcity of posts lately. Life has been quite crowded. Notable occurrences -- Last night, Kate and I made a last minute trip to Joanne's last night and as I pulled into the parking lot, the car started making some really awful sounds. It sounded like the front passenger brake was making all of the screeching sounds, so I hopped out of the car and checked it out. The rotor's edge was ragged and in general it looked pretty decrepit. I couldn't believe that of all the places to be when my brakes look and sound terrible I was on Pleasant Hill, a 10 min ride on I-85 away from home. I could have been at Publix, a mere 2 minutes from my home. I called Josh immediately, because everything is more serious when you have the life of your precious child also to take into account. He decided to be our knight in shining armour and came to the rescue. We switched the car seat to the truck, and he drove the car home. :-) It was too late to take the car to the mechanic, so Josh reluctantly went to Advanced Auto Parts, almost hoping that they didn't have the necessary parts. He's done the brakes on my car before and let's just say that is has typically been a long, arduous and sometimes sanctification lessening process. But, last night, he got finished by 9:45 and I didn't hear any sailor talk from the garage! :-)
Also last night, Kate turned over from her back to her belly. I didn't even see it happen. She was on the floor playing next to my feet. The next thing I know, she's facing the opposite direction AND she's on her belly now. It was hilarious! She looked as though she wasn't quite sure what had happened either. I'll try to get pictures in general posted. After I take some, that is.