Mark and Lindsey

Our Baby is 2!!!

2012-01-05T12:38:00.001-08:00

Wow, we can not believe our baby is 2!!! Happy Birthday to our sweet, sweet girl! I guess we can't really call her a baby anymore since she is our tenacious toddler! I was trying to find another word for active that would describe her and boy is tenacious perfect! Well obviously it starts with a t just like toddler so I was like "heck yeah", but look what it means:

tenacious [tuh-ney-shuhs]
Definition:
strong, unyielding
Synonyms:
adamant, bound, clinging, coherent, cohesive, determined, dogged, fast, firm, forceful, inflexible, intransigent, iron, meaning business, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, persevering, persistent, persisting, pertinacious, possessive, purposeful, relentless, resolute, retentive, set, solid, spunky, stalwart, staunch, steadfast, stout, strong-willed, stubborn, sturdy, sure, tight, tough, true, unforgetful, unshakable, unswerving

Well, she's not all these things, but the ones that stand out to me are; determined, fast, persistent, spunky, strong-willed, tough, and strong.

Kaitlyn is our tenacious little girl alright! These past two years have been a roller coaster, but definitely one I never want to get off of! The first year, was challenging and went by slowly. But the second year was a little easier and flew by! And I know the years to come will too. It is more than incredible to see her grow and learn. I thrive on watching her do something new for the first time. It really is true when people say "seeing the world through a child's eyes". It is the coolest thing. She has the cutest, funniest personality. She make us laugh, keep us on our toes, and is very independent! Let's not forget active and fast! In October Kaitlyn fractured her fibula and we had no idea. That's how tough she is:-) Kaitlyn's Granny noticed her limping one morning right after I dropped her off. The next day my mother and I took her to the doctor, which led to us ultimately finding out what was wrong and Kaitlyn getting a cast. But it didn't bother our tenacious toddler one bit! She had trouble walking the first day, but was practically running the next. She has this this unshakable quality about her that I love! She also has a very sweet, soft side. She is good about sharing, loves feeding mommy & daddy, gives lots of hugs and kisses, and has genuine concern for others.

Kaitlyn had her 2 year check-up right before her birthday. She weighed 26lbs. and was 2' 11.5" tall. She was right under the 50th percentile for her weight and in the 90th percentile for her height! Tall, lean girl! We need to get her to eat more, haha!

Kaitlyn's 2nd Birthday!

We celebrated Kaitlyn's 2nd birthday on her actual birthday!! Which is a big deal because, well, it falls on Christmas Eve (Mom & Dad's poor planning)! We thought since it fell on a Saturday this time and we had a big party for her last year, it would be neat to do something smaller on the actual day. The party went great! My favorite part was when everyone sang happy birthday to her...I almost cried and so did she!! It was too sweet to see her reaction...she looked a little scared at first, then really shy, and then like she liked it! Precious. My Dad got some great pics and my father-in-law got an awesome video of all of us singing to her!!

Kaitlyn had a great time at her birthday party - thanks to all who came and celebrated with us!
Check out my other blog here, to see the crafty side of her birthday party!

Christmas!

Christmas was even more fun this year! Kaitlyn was more into opening presents (instead of just playing with the wrapping), she knows who Santa is and recognizes him, and she loved the Christmas tree and all the "balls".

I mean, look how happy this kid is:

She loved opening her presents and even helping pass some out!

Princess ball!

I had to include this picture for you. Look how ridiculous all of our faces are (ok really just mine)...I was ecstatic to get my Britney cd, Mark was appalled at my excitement and Kaitlyn seems to be planning her getaway, lol!

Kaitlyn's birthday and Christmas were great. I haven't updated the blog since last summer, so I thought you might like to know what we've been up to the last 6 months!

In August, we took a nice little trip to this beautiful spot...

We went to Niagara Falls with Granny & Grand-daddy! It was Kaitlyn's first plane and boat ride! She did pretty well on the plane once we got settled and had taken off and she did great on the boat. Maid of the Mist was beyond awesome - everyone should do it at least once! We got soaked and rocked back and forth, but it was such a cool experience to see the falls up close!

They even had ponchos in Kaitlyn's size:)

We had an awesome view of the falls from our room (and restaurant here)...

And it was too cute to see Kaitlyn pulling her Elmo rolling bag through the airport (I wish I had a picture)!!!

Kaitlyn got her cast on in early October. I thought this was a good shot to show you since she is sporting her jean diaper and you can see how much of her leg it covered!!

Halloween kind of snuck up on us this year. Mainly because things were a little hectic with Kaitlyn's cast; bath time for instance! But I found her a cute ladybug costume on sale at Babies R Us. And Kaitlyn was not feeling so great on Halloween so I don't think we got any pictures of her smiling:-( But she was still stinkin' cute in her costume. And she did have fun trick-or-treating! She got around just fine, it was hard to tell she even had a cast!

In November, we took Kaitlyn on her first trip to the zoo! She didn't have a huge reaction...we think she was just taking it all in. She loved the monkeys, komodo dragon, and of course, the elephants!

~Some random fun facts from the last several months~

Sometimes we stay at Nana & Pops' and Kaitlyn loves the doggies (she wakes up barking - guess they are the first thing on her mind)! And lately (after the holidays) she says cookie when we talk about going over there because they let her decorate cookies a couple times:)

One day when Kaitlyn was watching a baby Einstein video, I noticed her doing the sign language along with them!! And when I asked her to do it after the movie was over, she did!! It was too cool, guess those baby Einstein videos really work!

Kaitlyn's favorite songs are "Itsy bitsy spider", "If you're happy and you know it", and "The wheels on the bus". She does all the motions to them as well - it is so cute!!

Kaitlyn loved when we would do the "bumble bee". Basically we would hold her sideways (like she's flying) and zoom her all around the house while making a buzzing noise:) And she even started saying "stop" and "go" while we played. She's not as into it lately.

Kaitlyn says "yes" and "no" so clearly and assuredly.

She is talking more and more and saying new words everyday! For instance, today she started saying "See" and "Vegetable".

When Kaitlyn first started holding our hands, she would close up her hand with all her finger tips touching and put it in the palm of our hands, lol - too cute!

She loves jumping (we think this had something to do with her fracture)!

She is so funny and will clap and say "yay" when the car slows down or gets off the highway because she knows we are close to our destination.

She is starting to count by pointing at each object and can count to 3!

Kaitlyn is very polite and says please, thank you, and excuse me:)

She was doing this funny thing for a while where she would make the same group of high-pitched sounds for something when it was the same. For example, she saw a picture of me and then pointed at me and said her little group of sounds, that basically meant "that's mommy too!" So cute! She hasn't been doing it as much lately.

Kaitlyn loves to tickle us!!! She "get us" with her hands and says "tickle tickle tickle" in her own cute way!

When Kaitlyn would get hurt by an object, Granny would say "bad table (or whatever hurt her)" to help distract her. So one day she bumped into the table at home, cried for a second and then hit the table and said her jibber jabber for "bad table"! Lol, it is so funny and she does it all the time!

She can recognize and say some colors!! She says green and purple pretty well!

We love Kaitlyn's "excited face". We say "Are you excited?" and she makes this face:

I think her daddy taught her that;-)

She has been saying "bye bye" so clearly lately and it is the cuuutest sounding thing ever!:) And I think she understands more on tv because she'll interact and answer them if they ask questions and she says "bye bye" after they say it.

It is so funny when Kaitlyn pretends to sleep and snore!

She recently started calling people/pets/things, for example; Chi-tah (Chiquita - chihuahua at Nana & Pops), Maw-mee & Daa-dee, and Pa-pee (paci - we only give it to at night - I know we need to get rid of it!!!).

Kaitlyn started singing not too long ago and we love it!! She'll sing from the back seat of the car sometimes:)

Some cute things she's been saying are: "What's that?", "Mmm...that tastes good!", "I spilt that". Too funny!

That's it for now...I know that was long and I'm sure I left a lot out!?!! I'll try not to wait so long before updating again!:)

Life at 18 months

2011-06-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

Our little angel is 18 months old today!!! We can't believe it, my how the time has flown! Watching her grow only gets more and more fun. Let's see...I know it's been a while since I've posted on here so I'm sure I'll leave a lot out, but lately she waves at everyone (and I mean everyone - people across parking lots), she gives us lots of kisses and hugs, and she is talking up a storm! She gibber jabbers all the time and can say more words. This week she really started saying "frog" and "rain". And she understands most of what we say and can follow simple direction. She is also starting to feed herself!! Oh how that will be nice at dinner time:-) We just got back from the beach and she loved it! She only tried to eat the sand once (a vast improvement from last year). Disciplining is getting challenging because she is testing us more and more. We are staying strong though, lol! I battle her every night to brush her teeth. She will brush them, but I need to get in there to finish the job. But it is getting easier. She loves her Elmo so much! If Sesame street is on she plays while it is on in the background, but as soon as Elmo comes on she bolts to the TV! And I recently bought her some boy Elmo pj's...I felt a little bad putting my little girl in boy pj's, but she loves them!! And they look cute on her:-) What about mom and dad? Well I have been staying home with Kaitlyn for 2 months now. I know; it has flown by! I am even busier than I was when I was working! That probably doesn't make sense, but I have less "me" time. And being at the house more has inspired me to decorate some of those blank walls and organize those messy cabinets. So my "To Do" list has quadrupled;-) I am physically exhausted by the end of the day, but I truly love spending so much time with her and being there for all the cute little things she does. I know she misses her Granny and Grand-daddy though so we try to see them often. Mark travels a lot so it's tough during the week. He was home for two weeks recently so that was nice:-) Here are some of my favorite pics that my Dad, the amazing photographer, took at the beach!

15 Months

2011-03-25T09:36:00.001-07:00

We just got back from the Dr. and Kaitlyn did great! She checked out well. She's 31" tall and weighs 22.7lbs. She's in the 70% for her height and right on target with her weight. So I guess she is eating well even though sometimes she can be picky!! She got her shots and screamed of course, but was fine shortly after. In fact, she was in a GREAT mood on the way home surprisingly and is now down for a nap.

Some cute new things she's been doing lately are that she's talking more; she'll say daddy (dah-dee), bath (high pitched noise that resembles the word), she's starting to say mom and mommy a little bit more. It's seems like she says it when she's mad or ready to be done with something (like get out of the highchair) and she says bird! Her Granny and Grand-daddy tought her that. She also uses the same sound and beginning when pointing at the butterflies on her wall. Too cute! She started walking on her tippy-toes in the last couple of days and pushing with her feet when she's on her princess car. She'll be driving it around in no time! She also covers her ears and makes cute baby sounds (we think she likes the way it sounds). Everything she does is freaking adorable. She's so much fun! Oh she is also our little collector. She loves to pile things up and they are usually in the same category like shoes, toys, receipts out of mommy's purse, etc. Something interesting she does at her Grandparent's house is she has a blow-up tent house thing and it has plastic balls in it. She picks out all the yellow ones and takes them to her princess chair - so smart!! She's does it all time and they are always yellow:-) She put on mommy's shoes the other night and walked a few steps in them! She likes to flip through books on her own and look at them. Sometimes she'll let us fininsh reading a book to her, but usually wants to stop half way through. We do it everynight so hopefully she'll enjoy it more in the future. She still loves bath time and will tollerate getting her teeth brushed. She loves to hide and when we hide or play peek-a-boo. She was also cracking up a noise I was making the other night and then she would do it and then I would do it and you get the picture:-) Well, I'm sure there's lots more to tell, but that's off the top of my head. Oh she loves to go outside so we are looking forward to the summer and being outside more! Ok, one last thing I can't believe I forgot! By far the cutest things shoes does right now is the happy dance!! When she's standing and is excited those little feet go ninety to nothing and we say "happy dance!!!" But of course she won't do it when we record her, so we are still trying to get it on video;-)

Our little one year old:-)

2011-01-26T18:18:00.000-08:00

Well this past year certainly has flown by!! Our little Kaitlyn turned one on Christmas Eve. So much has happened and she does something new everyday it is hard to keep up. I'll try to fill you in though. She is such a joy! I would describe her personality as cute, sweet, sassy, wild, and funny! She keeps us entertained and on our toes for sure! She's so funny and has been shy lately...she'll put her chin down to her chest and look up at you and sometimes tilt her head and put her shoulder on her cheek. She grunts when she wants something and is very persistent! She can bark like a doggy and make a sound like an elephant and do her arm like the trunk (Granny & Grandaddy taught her). She understands so much of what we say...she'll bring us stuff, she can high-five, and she points to the bathroom when we say "let's go brush your teeth!". And she'll even make this funny sound for the word Elmo (because that's who's on her toothbrush). It is absolutely presh. She plays more and more on her own. She loves her kitchen she got for Christmas and her other Christmas and Birthday toys (but we have stashed some away for later). She weighed 19lbs. at her 12 month. I think it's time to turn the car seat around soon!! Her poor little legs are way too long and have no room, lol! She says "Dada" all the time!! We have thought she's said a couple other words, but aren't sure. She'll repeat us when we say things too - the other day Mark was saying "yum, yum, yum" and she said it too:-) But we're not quit sure how to figure out what her first word is (I guess we'll go with Daddy - Darn it!;-)). She's so smart; a couple weeks ago I was looking for her hat and was trying to get out the door. I had given up hoping it was in the car and I said "Let's go Kaitlyn" and she darted off to the living room and I was getting anxious ready to go and went to get her when she was about to bend down and get her hat!! I didn't even know she knew what that meant. Too cute!! I can't wait until she can talk to us!! But some people say be careful what you wish for! Then I'm sure she'll tell us no, because she hears that all the time from us. She definitely tests us all the time. She knows not to touch the plant or the trash and she'll go for it and look back and wait for us to say something. Oh she is also sitting down!! It is seriously the cutest thing...her Granny showed me how she sits in her Princess chair and sometimes she misses, lol and then she will sit on the first step at home. It just blows my mind how much difference a year can make! Oh she is a pretty picky eater - I'm hoping it's a phase. But she loves fruits, cereal bars, puffs - mainly the sweet stuff. Sometimes I even hide some veggies and meat in her yogurt if she won't eat it otherwise. But she was really loving the chicken pot pie her Daddy made us this week!! We are having a ball! It's challenging at times, but we are living and learning and wouldn't change a thing. Happy Birthday too my sweet baby girl!! And many more...Love, Mommy.

10/11 Months!

2010-11-27T11:18:00.001-08:00

Well Kaitlyn just turned 11 months!! We can not belive she is almost a year old!?!! She is so big! She is so smart and so much fun. She really understands a lot of what we say now. Daddy has taught her to hand him the remote, she runs if you say we need to change you, she picks up her arms when we put the tray on her highchair and tell her "hands up", she barks like a doggy when you say "What does a doggy say?". It blows us away how much she comprehends about what's going on (but not really because we know she is a smart girl!!). Her favorite thing right now is her Einstein videos:) She loves the one Granny and Grandaddy gave her about Old MacDonald. She will walk towards the tv clapping and squeeling until you play it for her. And she dances, laughs, and squeels while watching it - it is seriously the cutest thing we've ever seen!! She loves people and is not afraid of a crowd. She goes to other people and doesn't mind them holding her. She's very independent! She loves hiding and when we try and "get" her. She has such a cute little personality; we love watching her grow and learn:)

9 Months

2010-10-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is 91/2 months old now. She is so much fun. She is walking all over the place. We got her first pair of big girl shoes last weekend. She recently started clapping and saying "Da Da"! Her favorite games to play are "Where's Kaitlyn?" and "I'm gonna get you!". She loves to pull the curtain in front of her and then pull it away so we can "find" her. And she loves when we sneak up behind her and "get" her. Mark and I picked out her Halloween costume today and she is going to be a bumble bee:-) Stayed tuned for pictures. At her 9 month appointment she weighed 17 lbs. 9oz. and was 2' 4'' tall.

8 Months

2010-09-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I've really been slacking on the blog!! That's what happens when your little one becomes mobile:-) Kaitlyn has been doing so much!! We had our first family vacation in Seagrove Beach, FL. She loved it! When we first walked down to the beach she was kicking and screaming (a happy scream). She also tried to eat the sand, well did eat the sand! I think she had enough of the beach by the end of the week. She started cruising while we were on vacation and she took 4 steps tonight!!!! We couldn't believe it. She took a step a few times this past weekend and has been standing by herself for several seconds lately. So we thought it might be coming - we are in trouble now!;-) And she is a super quick crawler - she's there one minute and gone the next! She starting saying "Ba ba ba" and "Am am am", which quickly turned into "Ma ma ma!!". You know Mark wasn't happy, lol! But he says it doesn't count and when she starts to say "Da da" it does count. Ok! We gave her some finger foods for the first time and it was so funny to watch her eat them:-) She is still trying to get down the coordination of getting them from her hand to her mouth. So cute!

Our little lady is 7 months old!!

2010-08-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

Oh gosh, I haven't blogged in forever! So much has happened. Kaitlyn turned 7 months and is giving us a run for our money, lol!! Kaitlyn started army crawling, got two teeth, and loves to stick her tongue out and spit (especially when we give her green stuff to eat). She is a pretty good eater. She loves her orange food and fruits. She is so funny and has a great personality! She is definitely a go-getter and will never sit still! We took her to get her 6 month pictures done (around 6 1/2 months). Here are a few of our favorites along with her 7 month picture:-)

A lot happened yesterday...

Our poor little lady was sick for the first time:-( It was no fun! But we got her checked out, some medicine and she is doing much better now! Although she was sick, she did quite a bit yesterday! She crawled for a little bit and then resorted back to her army crawl;-) She can sit up on her own now and when we go to check on her in her room she is sitting up in her crib!! So cute:-) So we had to lower her crib today. Now she is trying to pull up! And she will sit on her knees and play. She also waved at Daddy yesterday (we are 90% sure it was on purpose). Granny has been working with her on that. She is growing up so fast, we don't know what to do!

6 Months Dr. Appointment

2010-07-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn had her 6 month Dr. Appointment yesterday. The Dr. said everything looked good! She weighs 15lbs. 11oz. and is 27" tall; she is a long girl! She was pitiful when she got her shots and didn't feel very good the rest of the day, but is doing great today! Here are a couple of her 6 month pictures.

Happy 6 Months Baby Girl!!!

2010-06-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 6 months to our little Kaitlyn!! It has been such a fun time that has flown by! Kaitlyn is sitting up pretty well and really into playing with all of her toys. She loves her activity jumper, walker, and bongo drums! It is so funny to see those little legs go go go in her walker at Granny's house:-) She gets right down to business when she is in her activity jumper. She has so many toys on there; she has a lot of work to do!;-) And we opened the bongo drums last night and she LOVED them! Her smile, laugh, and squeels are the best (well, the squeels get pretty loud, lol)! She is such a fun, happy baby! We love you Kaitlyn and love watching you grow and do new things everyday!:-)

Mark had a good first Father's Day! Alex, Kaitlyn, and I coordinated and got this great shot for Daddy:-)

Happy 5 months!

2010-05-26T18:34:00.001-07:00

Miss Kaitlyn turned 5 months a couple days ago! Her favorite thing to do is roll around!! She is a rolly polly:-) We started giving her oatmeal recently and she seems to like it better than the rice cereal. She is getting so big, we can't believe it! Here are some pics from today:-)

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day! I was awakened to a big smile and a poopy diaper from Kaitlyn;-) Mark said he would make me anything I wanted for breakfast (I chose waffles). He made waffles with strawberries and bacon. Mark and Kaitlyn gave me a card with their voices recorded - priceless! They also gave me a photo book with pictures of Kaitlyn and I and a mug with her picture all over it:-) Then we had family over for dinner. It was a lovely day!

4 Month Dr. Appointment

2010-05-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

I took Kaitlyn for her 4 month Dr. appointment this past Tuesday. She gained two pounds and grew two inches in two months! She now weighs 13lbs. 7oz. and is 25" long. She's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 70th percentile for length. Our tall, lean girl!;-) It was horrible because Mark was out of town and I had to hold her down for her shots. She looked shocked at first and then she started screaming, her face turned beat red, and she was crying so hard no noise came out. I picked her up shortly after that and she calmed down. Never doing that again (me taking her alone that is)!! We are going to start her on rice cereal soon...I can't wait to see her reaction! She loves watching her hands grab themselves or objects (she's been doing this for a while, but her movements are more and more refined). She loves the pull-up game because she can lift her head all by herself and we're hoping this will help her sit-up soon! We have started putting her in the activity jumper, but she is not too sure about it yet.

Happy 4 Months Kaitlyn!!!

2010-04-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is doing new things everyday:) She is so much fun! Monday night she starting grabbing her feet and squeeling; it was so funny. She discovered her voice at midnight and wanted to keep trying it out. She is laughing more and more. Her little personality is really starting to shine through. We go to the Dr. on Tuesday and I can't wait because we haven't been in 2 months!

Kaitlyn update

2010-04-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is 15 weeks old and rolled over for the first time today!!! I was on my way home from work on the phone with Mark and he saw her do it while we were talking. I can't wait to see for myself! The work routine is getting easier the more I do it and Kaitlyn is getting more used to Granny and Grandaddy's. She is cooing, grabbing, and smiling up a storm lately. We have her 4 month well visit in a couple weeks and I can't wait to see how much she weighs. She has gotten so big and changed a lot! Easter was fun. We went to Bebe and Pops house. She was a little upset being out of her element so I didn't put the poofy dress on her...I didn't want to push it!;-) But Pops did gets some cute pictures, here are some for your viewing pleasure:) Oh and she loves her bumbo seat in the first picture. I think she feels like she's big and sitting up!

3 months old!

2010-03-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn turned 3 months old on Wednesday. Mom had her first full week back to work. Everyday got easier. Kaitlyn laughed for the first time on Monday at Granny and Gran-daddy's house! It was the cutest noise ever:) We are taking her to get her picture made tomorrow. She has been talking up a storm lately and making lots of bubbles and drool;-) We love her and love watching her grow!! P.S. Thanks to Aunt Alex for making the card and numbers!

Kaitlyn's latest things...

2010-03-14T14:25:00.001-07:00

Kaitlyn is smiling all the time and they are big open mouth nose crinkling adorable smiles!! She has also discovered her hands. It is so cute she'll put her hands in a prayer position:) I'm going back to work this week on Thursday and I know it is going to be so hard!! But I have really enjoyed my time with her and am so grateful she'll be with Granny and Gran-daddy! It will also be nice to catch up with everyone and be around other adults;-)

2 Month Dr. Visit

2010-02-26T12:08:00.001-08:00

Kaitlyn had her 2 month visit today. She had to get her shots and had the most pitiful cry, but she calmed down pretty quickly. She did a good job! She weighs 11lbs. 6oz. and is 23in. long! She is in the 87th percentile for her length! She will be a tall girl! She is already too long for a lot of her footie pj's. She is such a sweet baby. She has been cooing and smiling a lot!:) We entered her into a fresh faces contest to win a free photoshoot. We used this picture:) Please vote for her by clicking on this link: http://www.simplycorey.com/blog/?p=1335

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Love,

Kaitlyn

Lots of Firsts!

2010-02-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn has had a lot of firsts this week! She smiled at us, she is grabbing onto our shirts and my hair, she played with her first toy, and had her first bath in the baby tub! We have put her in the activity gym before, but this time she was actually interested in everything and started playing with one of the toys!

1 Month Check-Up!

2010-01-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn got a great report at the Dr. today! She weighs 9lbs. 13oz. and is 22" long. She has grown! The Dr. said she has gained a good amount of weight, but is still in the normal range. He commented on how strong she is, how well she is holding her head up already, and how she likes to stand when you hold her.

We have noticed that she is grabbing on to us now and smiling more. Not sure it's on purpose yet, but hopefully soon! She has also out grown a lot of her clothes. She is really long! We love her so much and love watching her grow!! Here is a picture from today:)

Happy 1 Month Kaitlyn!

2010-01-24T12:51:00.000-08:00

We love watching miss Kaitlyn grow so much! It seems like she changes everyday. We had an infant photo session done by Katey Follett photography when she was two weeks old. Here are a few of our favorites and some pictures of her recently.

Update

2010-01-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

We took Kaitlyn to the Dr. today. She now weighs 8lbs. 6oz. and is 21" long. She is in the 50th percentile for her weight and 70th percentile for her length. We have had a rough few days with her, but things seem to be getting better. She was eating all the time, not sleeping, and crying a lot. We took her to the Dr. over the weekend and they gave her a blood test and everything was ok. Just trying to crack the Kaitlyn code!

Our First Week

2009-12-31T10:55:00.000-08:00

Oh gosh time is flying by already! Kaitlyn was a week old yesterday:) I just want to get down some of the things that have happened, so I don't forget.

We brought Kaitlyn home from the hospital at 1:00am Sunday morning. Needless to say it was rough. We had a hard night, but made it through. My Mom came in the morning and we got some sleep.

Monday Kaitlyn had her first Dr. appt.! She did very well:) She is almost back to her birth weight! After that, Aunt Alex came over and helped out.

Tuesday we took Kaitlyn to the bank and over to Granny and Grand-daddy's to get out of the house. She slept the whole time. She likes to sleep during the day (of course). Granny brought over dinner and stayed the night.

Wednesday we went to Kaiser for a consultation and it was nice to get out of the house again. Kaitlyn loves riding in the car, it puts her right to sleep. When we got home we gave Kaitlyn her first bath! Uncle Eric and Aunt Robin brought dinner and came to meet her that evening.

Yesterday was Kaitlyn's 1 week birthday and New Year's Eve. We decided to celebrate by going to our favorite mexican restaurant, La Parilla! Everyone was so glad to see her and fussed over her because we go there all the time and they saw me when I was pregnant. Uncle Ron, Aunt Johanna, and family came to meet miss Kaitlyn last night.

Kaitlyn is a very good eater and is doing well. She is starting to stay awake more during the day so hopefully she won't wake up as much at night. We love everything about her, especially her chubby cheeks and pretty blue eyes!:) Thank you to everyone who has come over and helped and also sent food! We are very blessed.

The Delivery

2009-12-29T05:58:00.000-08:00

My water broke the night of my due date. I suspected that it was happening around 11:15pm, but was sure around 12:15am so we jumped in the car and headed to the hospital. We arrived around 1:00am and there were a line of cars! I guess they are busy around the holidays. We signed in and waited for a room.

Once we were admitted they decided to give me cytotec to induce labor. I got a few hours of sleep and awoke to contractions. I tolerated them until about 3cm and then decided to get the epidural. This is also when they started me on pitocin. They are not sure what caused it, but the baby's heartbeat dropped and they tried flipping me over and moving my belly, but it wasn't working. The nurse called the Dr. and before I knew it 5 people burst in the room, put an oxygen mask on me and finally they got her heartbeat back up. It was a 4 or 5 minute contraction that was squeezing her and once they reversed the pitocin she was fine.

The Dr. for the next shift came in and said I was progressing slowly and that we had two options. We could try the pitocin again and hope that heartbeat does not drop like it did before or we could have a c-section. We wanted to avoid a c-section at all cost so we decided to see how she reacted to upping the pitocin. Thank goodness her heartbeat was fine and I progressed quickly. Our midwife said we could have her around 10pm or 3am in the morning! Well of course I wanted to have her sooner than later and also I wanted a Christmas Eve baby:)

Last they checked I was 5cm and when they checked me again at 8pm I was 10!! We were so excited because I progressed much more quickly than they anticipated. I started pushing around 9:20 and had her at 10:19! It was a long labor, but my sweet husband kept me in good spirits by giving me a gift every so often to open - what a great idea! Thanks sweetheart!! It was an amazing experience and we are so glad she is here!!!

40 Weeks

2009-12-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

Gosh I was hoping I would not have to do this post, but here we are 40 weeks pregnant! We went to the Dr. today and nothing has changed since last week:( Here is a picture from this week...I am big, it is time!!

39 Weeks!

2009-12-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

They told us we are 1cm dilated and 40% effaced at the Dr. today! It doesn't necessarily mean much, but we'll take it. My belly is still measuring about 37" and the fhb was 132. We go again next Wednesday on our due date! Come on baby Kaitlyn!!:)

Crazy belly movements!!!

2009-12-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

38 Weeks!

2009-12-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

Only 2 weeks away! The Dr. went well today. My belly measured the same at 37" and the fhb was still in the 140's.

37 Week Dr. Visit

2009-12-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

We went to the Dr. on Wednesday and will be going every week now! My belly measured 37", the fhb was in the 140's, and the midwife guessed that she weighs about 6-61/2 lbs. We hope she does not get too much bigger! I think she is running out of room in there and I am running out of clothes!;-)

The Baby's Room!

2009-11-28T06:22:00.001-08:00

36 Weeks!

2009-11-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

Classes & Tours!

2009-11-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

We had our hospital tour this past Tuesday. It was fun and nice to know what to expect and where to go! We had our childbirth class all day yesterday and a couple hours today. Yesterday we learned all about the birth (maybe too much) and today we learned about newborn care. We feel a little more prepared now. Tomorrow we will be a month away!

Maternity Pics!

2009-11-18T17:17:00.000-08:00

We had some maternity pictures taken this past weekend. Here are a few of our favorites! Katey Follett was our photographer and did an awesome job!!:) Check out more of her work at http://www.kateyfollett.com/.

34 Weeks Dr. Appt.

2009-11-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

We went to the doctor yesterday. Everything was normal. My belly measured 34" and the fhb was in the 130's. She said she is still head down and on my right side and up in my rib, which was not a surprise to me! They discussed labor and hospital paperwork. It made it so real, we can't believe it is so close!! We can't wait to meet our baby girl!!!:)

Friends shower

2009-11-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome shower today given by Michelle, Kelley, and Alex! Thank you so much; everything was great!!

32 Weeks and 5 days Dr. Visit

2009-11-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

Today we had our regular Dr. Appointment and an ultra sound. My belly measured 32", baby's heart beat was 136, and her weight was 4.8lbs. She is measuring right on target at 32 weeks and 6 days. She is getting bigger and bigger and so am I!! Here is a picture from today and for fun it is next to my 16 weeks picture. What a difference!!

Family Shower

2009-11-02T15:50:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had a great shower given by my wonderful Aunts! Thank you Aunt Susie, Pat, Jackie, and Betty! Everything was wonderful! Here are some pictures:)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

I had to take advantage of being pregnant at Halloween and dress up as pregnant Britney! She wore this to the premier of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Work Shower

2009-10-24T14:34:00.001-07:00

We had our work shower yesterday and it was great! The food was yummy and we got lots of goodies! We are feeling even more prepared for baby Kaitlyn! Thanks everyone!!

30 Week Dr. Visit

2009-10-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

I went for my 30 week Dr. visit yesterday. Mark couldn't come because he was traveling on business:( Everything went well, Miss Kaitlyn's FHB was 136 and my belly measured 31". The Dr. said her heartbeat sounded beautiful!:)

Botany Woods Shower

2009-10-18T18:58:00.001-07:00

We had the Botany Woods neighborhood shower yesterday. Everything was so nice! Thanks to everyone for the lovely shower! Here are some pictures.

28 Week Dr. Visit

2009-10-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

We had our 28/29 week Dr. visit on Wednesday. I had to drink that icky orange stuff for the glucose test. All was well. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat and it was a lot louder this time! Our midwife, Ellen, said it was because she is bigger (makes sense). Her FHB was 150 and my belly measurement was 29". Here is a picture from today.

Family Shower

2009-10-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

We had our first baby shower this past weekend. Everthing was so nice and Kaitlyn got lots of goodies!:) Thank you Robin, Johanna, and Betty for a lovely shower!

28 week ultrasound

2009-10-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

We had an ultrasound yesterday. It was neat to see our baby girl again:) The ultrasound technician pointed out something fuzzy on her head - it was hair!! And we saw her moving her mouth, too cute! She was moving all around during the US. The US tech said she is head down right now (stay that way please!!) and that she was flipping from her back to her belly and I sure could feel it! Here is a profile pic from when she was moving her mouth. It kind of looks like bubbles are coming out of her mouth, but that is the umbilical cord. She weighs 2lbs. 15oz. right now and is measuring 29 weeks. Keep growing baby Kaitlyn!!

24 Week Dr. Visit

2009-09-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor today. Everything was normal. I have gained more weight (I think I'm going to stop writing what it is;-)), I am measuring at 25cm, and the baby's heartbeat was 144. She is kicking and moving all of the time! I can really see my stomach move now! We almost have the baby's room painted and are still searching for the perfect name:) Just over three months to go!

21 Weeks!

2009-08-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

Over half way there!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

2009-08-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

We had our 20 week ultra sound today and found out we are having a girl!! Our technician said the girl shot was "text book" and she was 100% sure (sorry Mark, no chance of a weenie, lol). She weighs 13 ounces and her heartbeat was 136. They measured my belly for the first time and it was 20 inches, which she said was normal. I'm finally gaining weight; I gained 8lbs. from the last visit. Here is a cute profile pic and the "girl shot" of our little baby girl!!!

16 Weeks Dr. Visit

2009-07-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

We went to the Doctor today. Everything was fine. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat, it was 140. They took my blood pressure and weighed me. I have gained 2 and 1/2 lbs. since my last visit, which they say is normal. And here is a picture of me today, 16 weeks about 4 months. Getting bigger!:)

We're having a baby!

2009-07-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is how we told our parents we were pregnant. We took this picture in New York and e-mailed it to them when we got back.

Wedding Pics!

2008-03-10T19:26:00.000-07:00