Bath Time Fun!

As part of our bedtime routine we give Caitlyn a bath and she absolutely loves it!  Actually, I think Nate and I love it just as much.  We take turns giving her a bath and tonight was Nate's turn.  While Caitlyn had fun playing with her toys in the water, Nate had fun playing with Caitlyn's hair and giving her different "styles"!  We will enjoy this now because I'm sure she will soon not let us play with her hair in the bathtub.  I can just hear her now saying "Dad, stop messing with my hair"!  

Rockin' a mohawk!  

Check-out my mohawk!  

Messy hair after towel drying it.  

Daddy decided to be nice and comb it so it looks pretty!  

Walking with Bob

Bob is our stroller!  We have a B.O.B. stroller so I've just named it that!  This morning I took Caitlyn for a walk with Bob.  The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, so it was a perfect morning for a walk.  Every day this week we've had something to do in the morning, either a mom's group our a play date so today we finally had time to have a quiet morning at home.  I bundled Caitlyn up in all her warm clothes and headed outside!

Friendship Day

I don't believe that Valentine's Day should be so focused on romantic love so I have always called in Friendship Day since I've been a teacher.  I enjoy teaching kids that Valentine's Day is about loving others whether it's your husband/wife or just a friend.  It's about showing people that you care about them.  I hope to teach this to Caitlyn some day when she will understand.  So, this year we didn't do much because she didn't even know it was a special day.  Nate and I did buy cards for each other and we got Caitlyn a special little gift from us.  I remember my mom always getting me a little something special on Valentine's Day so I wanted to do the same for her.  In the evening, Nate came home early to cook a special dinner for us. He made steak, garlic potatoes, and asparagus.  I love that Nate takes the time and energy to show us he loves us by giving us cards and making dinner.  We have never given each other Valentine's gifts because we would rather just spend time with each other.  The best Valentine's gift that Nate gave me was my daughter, the ability to be a stay-at-home mom, and just the overall providing for our family.  That is much better than any tangible wrapped gift, if you ask me!

A few pictures of Caitlyn opening her cards..........

9 Months

On February 8th we went to Caitlyn's 9 month well check.  Dr. Bradshaw said she is doing great and we are thoroughly enjoying everyday with our little girl!  She seems to change a lot every month so here is what Caitlyn is up to now.

Growing: She weighed in at 20lb. 1oz. which is the 65th percentile.  She measured 28.5 inches long which is the 72nd percentile.  Her growth has really slowed down in the last few months.  At 6, almost 7, months she weighed 18lb. 8oz. and was 27.9 inches long.  She can still wear some of her 9 month clothes but she is also starting to wear some 12 month clothes.

Eating: Caitlyn loves to eat!  She is now drinking 3 bottles a day and eating 3 meals a day.  In breaks down to breakfast, lunch, and dinner then a bottle before each nap and at bedtime.  We have started giving her a few finger foods that she can pick up on her own and we have also started giving her dairy and protein.  The things she will not have until she's at least 1 are honey, nuts, peanut butter, fish, sugar, juice, and cows milk.  Other than that, she can try it.  She has loved everything we've given her except avocados.  She has also figured out how to drink from her sippy cup and loves to drink water at meal times!   When she has her formula, she has been starting to hold the bottle herself.  Surprisingly, she a pretty clean eater (so far)!

Yogurt Face

 Sleeping: Caitlyn is a great sleeper!  She falls asleep in her crib, on her own!  She typically goes to sleep for the night at about 8:00p.m. and will sleep through the night for about 12 hours.  She takes 2 naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  On Tuesday's and Thursday's when we have our Mom groups, her morning nap is either short while she's in the nursery or it doesn't happen at all.  But, the other days, we are really into a great schedule and routine!

Sleeping Beauty!  

Moving: She is all over the place now and loves to crawl!  She really enjoys to get into things that she really shouldn't be getting into.  So, we are saying "no" a lot and using the sign.  She has started to pull herself up to her knees but not all the way up to her feet.  Unfortunately, she does not like her "Traveling Disneyland" anymore.  I'm assuming that now that she can crawl she doesn't want to be stuck in the seat of the toy.  Caitlyn does enjoy swinging in the baby swing at the park near our house.  She mostly enjoys toys that either light up or make noise.  She seems to be a very social baby because she seems to really enjoy playing with her friends in the nursery at church.

She did love to play in her "Traveling Disneyland" a few months ago.

"Hmmm, what's out there?"  

"Weeee, this is so fun!"  

We have a CRAWLER!

Caitlyn started crawling just a few crawls on January 22nd and was very mobile a couple weeks later in the beginning of February.  She loves her new found mobility but it is definitely making things a little harder for mom and dad!

Look at me, I'm about to crawl!  

Kristin's 32nd Birthday

Time goes by too fast!  Another birthday for me and this year was number 32!  I celebrated with a quiet weekend with family.  On Saturday, we had my parents and my in-laws over for dinner.  Nate made a yummy dinner of tri-tip, twice baked potatoes, asparagus, and salad.  He also made a gluten free chocolate cake with lavender colored cream cheese frosting!  All of my favorite things!  After dinner I opened presents and I was thrilled to see that Nate gave me a Cricut!  I can't wait to make lots of paper crafts!  I have so many ideas of things I want to make with it for Caitlyn's birthday party.  I also got a DSW gift card from my in-laws and a Nordstrom gift card from my parents.  I am a blessed girl to have such an amazing family and I loved celebrating my birthday with them!

On Sunday we went to church in the morning and then came home to have lunch and take naps!  We watched some Grey's Anatomy and just had some play time at home with Caitlyn.  For dinner we went to my favorite restaurant, PF Changs!

This birthday, was the first time that I realized that this is not just a special day for me but it's a special day for my parents too.  Being a mom made me realize this because I'm so excited to celebrate all of Caitlyn's birthday's because it's the day I became a mom.  Now I know the excitement that my parents must feel on my birthday too!  But really, I think February 5th was the best day for my Grandpa!  He finally had a granddaughter!

Little Miss Independent

My little newborn is becoming a girl with a mind of her own!  Not too long ago she was completely dependent on me but now she can do a  couple things for herself.  She has discovered that when she decides she's done sitting in her bumbo seat, she can get herself out all on her own!  She can even pull the tray off and play with it before she decides to flop out of the seat.   Putting her in the bumbo is no longer a safe place while I run into another room for 30 seconds.

She is so proud of herself!  She pulled the tray off, put it upside down and used it as a toy!

I sat her in her seat, with toys around her, and ran into the closet for less than a minute.  I came out to find her out of her bumbo and playing peak-a-boo with the curtains.  

She is also becoming a little  more independent because she is starting to eat a few finger foods.  She is still eating mostly pureed foods but I do give her about 1 thing a day that she can pick up on her own.  So far, she has picked up chicken pieces, gerber puffs, avocado (hated it!), rice noodles and cooked carrots. She is becoming an expert at using her pincer grasp!

Eating Gerber Puffs and picking them up on her own.  No need for Momma or Dada!  We just watch to make sure she is safe.  But, recently we learned that we need to switch to just plain cheerios.  Our pediatrician told us that the gerber puffs are just filled with "crap" and cheerios would be much better for our little Caitlyn.