Kate is 6 months!

I know I always say this, but what the heck!?  How on earth is my little girl already 6 months!?  These past 6 months seriously flew by.  Between getting our house ready to sale, all of our visitors, living in Utah for a month, and moving to Montana, I can hardly keep up!  Poor little Kate probably doesn't know the difference between her house and a complete strangers house!

Kate is still such a little sweetheart.  I just love her to pieces.  She's done great with all of our traveling and will sleep in pretty much any bed I put her in.  Thank goodness.  When Trey was her age, I felt like if he wasn't in his own bed, he had a really hard time adjusting.  Maybe I'm just more laid back as a second time mom, who knows.

[My friend Carlee captured this shot of Kate at our last bbq we had with the dental students]

Kate is 4 months in this pic

I just recently started Kate on solids and she is really not a fan.  I tried giving her oatmeal and banana puree and she gagged with every spoonful.  And now it's gotten to the point where she just cries when I feed her.  I dread feeding her because I pretty much have to hold her head in place to get the darn spoon in her mouth.  She wants nothing to do with it!  Hopefully that will change soon.

(Don't be fooled by this picture)

Kate is our little smiler.  It's easy to get her to laugh, and when she does I don't want her to stop because it's so dang cute!  She is starting to become more of a mommy's girl and just lights up every time I come in the room.  It makes my day. :)  

One thing Kate isn't good at is sleeping!  She does great for naps but when it comes time for bed she is up at least every 4 hours if not sooner!  That really is not acceptable.  I know I need to just let her cry but I've become too big of a softy.  I think I did too much of that with Trey that I can't bring myself to do it with Kate.  She slept better as a newborn than she does now.  It's pathetic!  I know a lot of it is my fault because I let her sleep in bed with me A LOT when we were in Pittsburgh and then with all of our traveling it was hard not giving in to her every little whimper.  But now that she finally has her own room and an actual crib to sleep in I'm ready for her to sleep longer at nights!  Come on Kate!  I know you can do it!  {Crossing my fingers I don't have to let her cry it out}

[Picture taken about a month ago on our way to go swimming in Bear Lake]

Kate is just like her mommy.  She has to have a soft blanket by her face when she sleeps.  It's the cutest little thing... I swaddle her up, give her her binki, and lay her in her crib.  I have to be sure to put the soft blanket right next to her face or she will just keep turning her head back and forth until she can find it.  She then nuzzles her little face in to it and will most of the time go right to sleep.  She occasionally will let me rock her but for the majority of the time she just likes to be laid down with her binki and blanket and fall asleep on her own.  I was so used to rocking Trey to sleep every night I hardly know what to do with myself!  It's too easy!!  I never believed that babies actually did that without training them to do that, until I had one of my own.  Crazy!  Maybe it's the binki that does the trick...

Just today I noticed that Kate has a tooth!  I've been checking her gums lately because she has been pretty fussy lately and I thought maybe she was teething.  Every time I checked I couldn't feel anything.  Until today!  Hooray for a bottom tooth!

Kate's 6 Month Stats:
weight: 17lbs 7oz  75th %
height:  26.5in  75th %
head:  44cm  92%

A friend of my sisters, took some pictures of my kids while we were in Utah.  Here's a few of miss Kate.

Kate was not very cooperative to say the least.  For someone who smiles as much as she does, we couldn't get even one picture of her with her cute little dimples.  I've decided taking my kids to get pictures is at the top of my list of things I don't like to do.  It is exhausting and my kids never want to cooperate.

And here are some random pictures I've taken over the past couple of weeks

And my personal favorite...

Trey thought he was being so helpful.

The best part was she didn't seem to mind!

Love my little munchkin!

Celebrating 5 Years

Yesterday we celebrated 5 years of marriage.
WHAT!?!?
The good news is we are still happy and in love!

We decided to keep the day low key since we have so many other things we need to be spending money on right now.  We did however take our kids to the park, and later for a picnic down by the river.  We wanted to go down by Point State Park and walk along the river but ended up going right in the middle of a Pirates game.  Bad idea.  There was NO parking.  So instead we went down to Southside.

And I shouldn't say we didn't spend any money because we did buy ourselves a new camera (our current one broke) and are planning to buy a double stroller as soon as we can make our minds up on one.  What can I say, we're hopeless romantics!

I have to say we've accomplished a lot over the past 5 years:

 We...

~Moved across the country
~Bought a house

~Had 2 kids (cute ones at that!)

~Graduated Dental School
~Sold our house

~Got a job in Montana

I'd consider it a success!!

Jeff and Trey surprised me with flowers and a really sweet card, both for our anniversary and Mother's Day.  I am one lucky wife and an even luckier mother to have such adorable little kids.  Nothing brings me more joy than my little family.

I can't wait to start this next chapter of our lives with the people that I love so dearly.

Here's to the last 5 years and the next 5 years to come!

My friend wrote a beautiful Mothers Day post that so eloquently portrays the thoughts and feelings of so many mothers.  It touched so close to home for me that I wanted to share it with every mom out there.  (And because she says exactly what I want to say, but don't have the skills to say it so perfectly)  So thank you Taryn!
http://randtpalmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/most-beautiful-mess.html

Miss Kate is 4 months!

 I had good intentions of doing a 2 month post for Kate and obviously never got around to it because she is 4 months old as of yesterday.  I'm doing a horrible job of recording all of Kate's milestones and cute little things that she does so I'm gonna do my best to remember them.

At 2 months:
For the first couple of weeks of Kate's life she had her days and nights a little confused.  She would sleep so much in the day that she had a hard time going to sleep for the night until around 2am.  And then it was hard getting her back to sleep when she'd wake up for a feeding.  She slowly figured it out and now sleeps much better at night.  FEW!

Kate first smiled at me when she a little over a month old.  She has the most adorable little dimples that are going to steal a man's heart someday.

She isn't a huge fan of her carseat.  She isn't like Trey who pretty much slept away the first few months of his life in that thing.  It was a lifesaver.  For Kate, not so much.  She often will cry in the car.
Kate was born with "stork bite" on her forehead.  It gets really dark when she cries or is pooping. :)  The doc says it will most likely go away by the age of 2.

If you talk to Kate for long enough she will usually start cooing back at you.  She loves when give her attention and talk to her.

Kate has had a few 8-10 hour stretches at night which is amazing for a 2 month old, but alas, like every good thing, it doesn't last.  But I can't complain.  She is generally a really good sleeper and will only wake up once or twice in the night.  

She got her first cold when she was 3 weeks old.  Poor thing could hardly breathe, but we got through it and she was such a trooper, didn't complain much.

Kate LOVES bathtime.  She has only cried once when she has been bathed and that was the very first time.  She isn't so much a fan when we take her out and get her dressed.

She doesn't like to have a messy diaper.  She cries if she's poopy for long.

Kate loves to be cuddled and loves to be held, but can also be pretty content for long periods of time without being held.  She loves her swing and spends a lot of her day in there.  When we are out and about Kate mostly hangs out in the bjorn since she only lasts for a short period of time in her carseat.  But she sleeps great in the bjorn so I don't mind.

2 Week Stats:
Weight ~ 10 lbs 2 oz.  90%
Height ~ 21 3/4" 90-95%
Head ~ 15"  90%

2 Month Stats:

Weight ~ 13 lbs 3 oz.  90%
Height ~ 24" 90%
Head ~ 16 1/4"  90%

Kate at 1 month

2 Month pics

Almost 3 months...

3 Months

Almost 4 months...

 

At 4 months:

Kate is such a joy to have around.  She is so easy going and will just go with the flow.
I don't have Kate on any sort of schedule.  I kept debating whether I should put her on one, but have enjoyed so much not having to stress over any sort of schedule that I don't know if I could go back.
She sleeps when she's tired, eats when she's hungry, and goes to bed whenever I feel like putting her to bed.  It's kind of nice.  With Trey I was always worried about when he needed to wake up, when he needed to go to sleep, and how often I needed to be feeding him.  I kind of like the no schedule thing.  It works for her.
Kate is such a smiler.  It doesn't take much to get her to smile.  Especially if you're her mom! :)
The best word I can think of to describe Kate is SWEET.  She really is the sweetest little thing.  And most people who have met her will tell you the same thing.
Kate has just started blowing bubbles and making noises with her tongue.  I often can get her to mimick me and it is pretty darn cute.
Kate was born with a clogged tear duct in her left eye.  I felt like I was constantly having to wipe it with a warm washcloth to clear all the goop out of her eye.  It would get a lot worse when she was sick.  I kept wondering how long it would take to unclog and a couple days after I got back from Utah I noticed it was better.  Yahoo!!
Kate LOVES to have a soft blanket next to her face when she is going to sleep.  She nuzzles her little head right into it and will often go right to sleep.  I'm so glad I figured that trick out so early on!  Occasionally I get nervous because she will often have her whole face covered by the blanket, but that's just how she likes it!
She hasn't been very consistent with sleeping at night (I guess that's what I get when I don't put her on a strict schedule)  But I'm not going to complain because she always goes right back to sleep.  She typically has her long stretch first (anywhere from 6-8 hours) and then will do either one or two 3 hour stretches after that.  I hate to admit it but I've currently kicked Jeff out of our bed and replaced his spot with Kate, we got sick of having the pack and play shoved in the corner of our room for showings so she's now in my bed until we move and have an actual room for her.  I kinda like my sleeping buddy... for now.  (It's weird because Trey never slept in our room past day 2 of being home from the hospital, funny how things change from kid to kid)
I've been lucky (knock on wood) getting Trey and Kate to nap around the same time.  It has been my only sanity during the day if I can at least have a break or (most of the time a nap) sometime during their naps.
Kate generally takes a 3-4 hour nap during the middle of the day sometime and then 2 or 3 other shorter naps that range from a half hour to an hour.
Kate loves when I put her in the baby bjorn.  It has been a lifesaver with a toddler!
She is good at taking a bottle (again, knock on wood) as long as you make sure it's warm enough!  She's a stinker about the temperature!
Kate loves her binki.
Still not a fan of the carseat or driving in the car.... 
Still loves her baths....
And loves her older brother.  She is pretty entertained by him.
Her first airplane ride she was 3 months old and she did great!  Slept the majority of the time.
Got another blasted cold right before she was 3 months.  I'm blaming it on her older brother!
Overall, Kate has been such a joy to have around.  She has definitely been easier than Trey was in a lot of ways.  Don't get me wrong, she has her fussy moments for sure... but then, what baby doesn't!?

4 Month Stats:  (still waiting on this)
 Weight ~ 15lbs 8 oz.  (80-85%)
Height ~ 25 1/4"  (85%)
Head ~ can't remember but I know it's in the 95%

My friend Carlee captured this picture one day and I just LOVE IT!!
I mean... seriously!?!?

Best attempt at 4 Month Photos...

I've decided it's nearly impossible to get them both looking and smiling at the same time... I need a camera that takes pictures faster than a point a shoot I guess...

 AND.... this is the point where my camera died.  Literally.  Dead.  Guess it's time to get that new camera.... ;)  (I WISH!)

 

gotta love the phone pics.

Kate appears to be so serious in most of these photos but she really is a smiley baby, I just have a hard time getting it on camera!

The BIG 2!!

Well I'm just getting around to Trey's 2 year post.  I'm starting to wonder if I will ever catch up.

Some things I want to remember:

Trey is such a good older brother.  I worried about how he would change when Kate was born, but aside from a few more tantrums and an occasional jealousy, he really has adjusted better than I expected.
He is so cute with Kate and is very protective of her.  He tries to give her her binki when she is crying or will even share his favorite blankets with her.  He has never been rude to Kate or intentionally hurt her.  If he does accidentally throw a ball at her head or perhaps land right on top of her while she's sitting in her carseat (this has happened on more than one occasion) he always feels so bad and is so quick to say I'm sorry. (In sign language of course)  He loves holding Kate and thinks it's so funny when she smacks his face or touches any of his toys when she's laying by him.  I'm excited for the stage when they can actually play together!
Trey is one smart kid.  He understands way more than we give him credit for.  We are often surprised at the amount of things he seems to understand.  Now if we could only get him to talk!
Speaking of talking.... he is one stubborn little boy and despite our many efforts, he refuses to talk.  It is getting frustrating for both him and us because it is resulting in a lot of whiny behavior.  I'm convinced Kate is going to talk before he does!
Trey still likes to be rocked before bed.  His bedtime routine consists of a bath, a couple of stories, and then Jeff or I will rock him for a couple of minutes while we sing to him.  Then if we are lucky, he goes to bed without waking up 2 or 3 more times for us to put back on his socks, give him ANOTHER drink of water, sing him ONE MORE song, or tell us that he has peed in his diaper.  Yeah, we understand way too much considering he doesn't talk!  And he is learning far too early how to delay his bedtime.  He's a stinker, and we are suckers!
Trey LOVES puzzles.  He is so good at them too.  I really can't believe how fast he picks up on things.  He can put together 24 piece jigsaw puzzles all by himself, unless you are sitting by him and then he acts like he doesn't know how to do it.
He still has an obsession over trucks and buses.  We finally got him to sit in the firetruck at the fire station for the first time!  He was pretty excited about it.  And every time we see a bus he tells us that he wants to go on it by pointing to himself and then pointing to the bus.
Trey is very particular about things, probably a little OCD at times.  He puts things back just like he found them, he doesn't like to be messy or have a runny nose, he has a certain cup for certain drinks, he is very orderly when he puts away his toys and books,  he has a set routine at night just the way he likes it.  For example: he won't get in bed unless he has socks on (he gets mad if we don't put socks on after he gets dressed too), he wants you to have his blankets a certain way when you rock him or he won't lay down (2 on one shoulder, one on the other), and then is particular about the way you put his blankets on him when you lay him down (he wants all of his blankets on him and then will take certain ones off when you leave the room).
The other night we got a babysitter and left her with no instructions on how to put him to bed because we figured we'd just put him to bed when we got home to save the babysitter the hassle.  She ended up bathing him and putting him to bed anyway and relied solely on Trey's instructions.  He told/showed her everything to do just the way he likes it and she understood him.  We had quite the laugh when we got home.  We don't always give in to all of his commands and will often try and convince him otherwise, but sometimes it's just not worth the fight.

We love our little guy and all of his weird quirks, especially when he showers us with all of his hugs and kisses.

Trey's stats at his two year appt:
Weight ~ 31 lbs  80%
Height ~ 36 1/4 in  90%
Head ~ 20.5 in above 95%

 Pictures from February:

I found Trey like this in both of these pictures.
I laughed pretty hard when I saw that he had climbed in Kate's swing.

Love the sleeping photos

Pictures from March:
Trey went through a phase where he was REALLY into cars.  He would line all of them up often and always be carrying his two favorite (of the day) in his hand.  He still likes them but doesn't play with them as much.

Still loving basketball...

Trey on his Birthday.
I can't believe how big he's getting!

Trey 2 years and Kate 2 months

This was the best picture I could get.
Kate looks like she doesn't have any ears.  Oh well.

Random pics over the past couple of months:
(taken from my phone so not the best of quality)

Apparently I should have bought this playmat for Trey....

So far the terrible 2 phase has had it's ups and downs, but overall our little guy is so much fun.  He makes us laugh on a regular basis and really is pretty obedient.  He does have his fair share of tantrums and quite often has his whiny moments (but I'm attributing that to the fact that he doesn't talk).... crossing our fingers that he figures it out soon!  We truly couldn't ask for a better kid!  We love him to pieces!!