What a Fix I'm In!

Aaarg! Shiver me timbers!

Momma, a lily pad is on my head!
I sat her ON the lily pad when I left her. When I came back, this is how I found her. I think she was trying to get the tag. She has a BIG thing for tags!

She sure loves to get her head into everything! What a daddy's little girl! Josh is right, momma's girl doesn't sound quite as nice. She's going through a "Ma-ma-ma-ma" phase right now.

Fun Facts:
1. I can say ma-ma-ma-ma and mean it. Sometimes I say "mom" and sound really grown up.
2. I love to drink out of a big girl's cup. Forget the sippy cup thing. I'm skipping it!
3. I still go to bed at 9:30 and wake up at 8:00. Yeah for mom!
4. I'm nursing 4 times a day for about 5 minutes each time. It just dropped down from 1 hr to 5 minutes. Mom wasn't really prepared for that. I think her feelings are hurt.
5. Although she is proficient at rolling all over and sitting up quite well, she has shown NO ability at getting up on hands & knees and therefore is several steps away from crawling. Unless she skips the step altogether, I don't think Josh's goal of walking by 8 months will be attained.
6. Food favorites: Avocado mixed with peach. It's yummy, you should all try it. (I have!)
7. She loves to play itsy-bitsy spider, peek-a-boo, This little piggy, and How Big is the Baby?

Speaking of which, I overheard Josh playing with Kate: " This little piggy went to Publix. This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy went to Ingles. This little piggy went to Kroger. And this little piggy was hungry and cried, 'Wee, wee, wee, all the way home.' " Sometimes, he just throws in one original one and keeps the rest the same. My favorite one was, "This little piggy went to Autozone. :-)

Random Movie Recommendation: BBC Series North and South -- It is NOT about the Civil War. It's based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell and is set in England. I watched it on my computer and stayed up late one night finishing it IN BED. I'm sure my soul will go to perdition, but it was sort of like reading in bed, right?

Don't I Look So Purty?

Taken at David's Bridal. . . I think she'll have to have a little coronet for Brittny's wedding. It looks so precious!

Dum-dum-du-dum

Alright, it's way too early for her to be thinking about weddings, but she did think it was awesome to have a photo shoot with her mom's veil on. A couple of nights ago we had a bridal extravaganza with Brittny. In the course of the evening, Jen's veil came down and boy, did Lydia's eyes brighten up when Bit-ny let her try it on. In fact, she rarely likes to "sit" for pictures, but she was quite content to let me snap a few. Knowing how long my camera takes to recover between shots, this many pictures means she was patient for QUITE a while. I WISH I had had my film camera there. Also, there are three new posts, so don't miss them. I let too many pictures pile up, and this is what happens!

How Old Are You?

Lydia's P-0-0-l Party was a big hit! We've taken to spelling out 'that word' because Lydia loves it so much that every time it is mentioned, she wants to go there! I know that this is what Mima and Papa were thinking of when they put their pool in -- wonderful family gatherings. Of course, Kate won't be having her parties at the pool, but what can you expect, being born in December! The party had a distinct Dora theme. Cake, many of the presents, and probably Lydia's favorite thing there: be-woons!

6 Months

Kate turned six months on Sunday. As I scan over old pictures, it is so much fun to see her personality growing and showing itself on her face and body. Her well-baby check up went great! She now weighs 14 lbs 7 oz, so she is maintaining her somewhat petite frame. Her latest accomplishments are eating in a booster seat (instead of the bumbo), saying mamamamamama, drinking apple juice for the first time (quite messily, I might add), and being more loveable than ever!

Sometime last week, almost without my noticing it, Kate started sitting up like a proper English schoolmistress taking tea. Jen had suggested that I put a boppy around her and let her just sit and play on the floor. What a great idea! This gave a bit of a cushion in case she did fall, but let her have the independence and different view of the world that she has been craving. Since last week, she has grown more sturdy. Boy, does she love to sit up and play with her big girl toys. I brought out a ring stacker and Fisher Price telephone and her bag of links. She is so over her rattles and 'baby' toys!

Kate loves her books. She loves mommy's books even more. There is something completely satisfying about 200 pages of paperback novel melting in your mouth that can't be replaced with cloth books, plastic books, or even board books.


Cousin Lydia loves to be with Kate anywhere she is. So, if Kate sits, Lydia tries to sit right next to her. I think we convinced Lydia to read that "Taggies" book to Kate. She can, too!

Look, Mom! Even though this book has tags all over it, I know where the "real" tag is! No kidding. When I gave it to her the first time, she discovered the real tag in a few seconds. There's no fooling kids about real tags and fake tags, that is for sure!


Gagi, Mima, and the grand daughties. I never thought that I would let my kids call their grands by such funny little names. The important thing is, that the Grandma's are happy, so I guess I'll be happy too. I grew up with a family of Grandma's and Grandpa's -- no nana's, papa's, pawpaw's, or gam's. I think that it may be a Southern thing to come up with so many derivations. What do ya'll think? What do you call your grands, and, more importantly, what do your kids call theirs?

God Gave Us Fathers

I'm too sexy for this catwalk

I'm sorry if many of you miss the illusion contained in the title, but so be it. It was absolutely imperative to use it. Katie-boo got some sunglasses like her dadda, although hers are hot pink and Josh's are not. Kate loves her dad so much. She responds to him with loads of smiles when he comes home from work and is up for lots of play time with him. They have their own special version of This Little Piggy and Itsy Bitsy Spider (which Kate loves!). Josh is a wonderful dad. I think we all knew he would be, but it's been such a blessing to watch him grow into parenting and into his special relationship with Kate. I often ruminate how good God is in giving us what we really need. We carefully select our husbands and the future father of our children according to the needs that we perceive and the desires we predict. But, God is so good! He knows the things we cannot and gives us the best, better than we knew! So, thank God for Fathers!

Mommy doesn't get a lot of pictures with Kate, so enjoy these glimpses of baby right after her bath. We used to have bath time only twice a week. But, with the onset of summer, sunscreen, the pool, and especially EATING, we have to bathe her everyday or every other. She enjoys them more, so it works well!