i ♥ faces: Sweet Dreams

This week's theme @ i ♥ faces is "Sweet Dreams." Having had my daughter in January of this year, I have many newborn sweet sleepy pictures, but I decided to do something a little different this time around.

She was fresh out of the bath and fell asleep in the chair. Oh how I miss her being this little already. I can't believe I am planning her very 1st birthday party. Where does the time go?

Be sure to check out the other "Sweet Dreams" photos for this week!

Photo Challenge - We ♥ Tooshies!

This week's theme @ i ♥ faces is "Tooshies." Who can resist a baby's tooshie? The only tough part about this week's theme is that it had to be a covered tooshie. I found this picture of Katelyn that I took a couple of weeks ago. Oh, how she loves to stand at that door. And she's at that age where getting her dressed ends in tears for everyone involved so the diaper cover was as far as we got. Check out that "rat-tail" she's been growing since before she was born. She's bringing the 80s back all on her own ;)



Go check out the other cute tooshies this week!

Pumpkins, Photo Shoots, Tantrums, Oh My!

Wow, how about an update? Katelyn turned 10 months this past weekend. She is no longer an infant and is moving right into toddler town.

Here's a recap of the past month:

• Katelyn had a great time carving pumpkins and dressing up for her FIRST Halloween.
  
• She made it into the top 20 of Central Florida's Most Huggable Baby Contest (like we needed a contest to know this...haha)
• She claps up a storm and knows when to "pat it" when we sing "Pat-a-Cake"
• She pulls up on anything and everything including the cat.
• She says kitty when she sees the cat. It sounds more like "Keeeeee-tea"
• She is finally saying Mama but still doesn't have a clue who the heck I am ;)
• She will stand on her own for 15 seconds before she falls on her butt.
• She only gives Mama kisses and not Dada. I secretly believe this is payback for Dada being so thrilled that she said "Dada" before "Mama." Oh, that karma. :)
• She had her first real photo shoot for the contest mentioned above. She was quite the professional. The magazine comes out on 12/2! Mama will be getting many copies :)
• She pushes her little Tonka push toy all around the house until she either runs into the wall or some other object.
• She waves like a champ. She moves her little fingers up and down, and it's completely adorable.
  
• She waved at the jello the other day at the grocery store. Guess we need to work on that ;)
• The tantrums have started early. She can easily turn on the waterworks when something is taken away from her. "No" is not her favorite word.
• I'm still amazed everyday that I get to be her Mom. She makes me want to have 3 more. Okay, so maybe just one more.
  

Katelyn @ 9 Months

Example of tantrum. She's still pretty cute though :)

Please vote for Katelyn!

Thanks for voting everyone! It looks like she is moving on to Round Two! YAYAYAYAY!

Photo Challenge - Excited!

This week's theme @ i ♥ faces is "Excited." I immediately thought of the following photo of Katelyn at her cousin's 4th birthday party. It was a princess themed event.

8 Months Today!

My Katie-bear turned 8 months today. She is such a joy, and I am amazed by her sweetness. Ok, she isn't perfect but who is? That's the beauty of nature - it makes you forget those late nights when they will not stop crying. Besides who wants to read about that? It's so much more fun to talk about her cute giggle or the sweet way she snuggles into your neck. Ah, sometimes at night I don't want her to go to sleep because I just want to snuggle and admire her cuteness.

People keep telling me what a great baby she is so I guess I must be doing something right. I am sure it has more to do with her than me. We got really lucky with her - and we know and appreciate it everyday.

There's a First Time for Everything

Katelyn went to the park for the first time today. It was just our community tot lot but it has baby swings, which aren't always so easy to come by. She absolutely L-O-V-E-D it! She didn't quit smiling the whole time we were there. We didn't stay for too long because it was hotter than hot, and I thought it was a good idea to dress the little one in jeans. Who knew it could be so hot @ 10:00 am? YUCK!

I have officially failed at posting everyday. I am at least posting more often so that has to count for something, right? School is going okay. I basically have until December 15th to complete my assignments which is pretty cool. I get to work as far as ahead as I want. Not sure if I will be taking any classes in the Spring. I don't feel I am on the right path. I need to feel that going back to school is the right thing for me. However, something feels a little off. Why is life so difficult?

Until next time...

Happening too fast

Everything is happening way too fast. I turn around and Katelyn is doing something new. She says Dada like a champ even though she doesn't really know what she is saying. Yes, that's what I tell myself so that I feel better. ;) She recently learned to clap which I find to be AAAA-mazing! I know, I'm THAT Mom! The mom that finds every little thing to be such an accomplishment. It is neat to see her watching us do things and try to do them too. Then when she finally "gets it" it is just the best feeling. :) Oh, now when I break out the camera to take pictures she tries to peek around the camera to look at me. AWW! It may be the cutest damn thing I have ever seen. Or if the laptop is between her and I she does the same thing. It really is sweet. And I officially have the baby fever. I sooo want another child. Not anytime soon or anything but definitely would like to add to the family in the next few years.

Is it possible that perfection could be duplicated? One can only hope :)

Happy? Labor Day

Or is it Merry Labor Day? HA! I had hopes of getting to the gym but that didn't happen. I haven't been feeling well so working out has been a challenge. Lukas, Katelyn, my mom, and I went to lunch at my favorite place - Chilis! This marked Katelyn's first time sitting in a restaurant high chair! I think she enjoyed it much more than sitting in her silly old car seat. After lunch Katelyn went home for a nap, and my mom and I headed to Jo-Ann's to look around for materials to make Katelyn's Halloween costume. I spent a good 40 minutes wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles of Jo-Ann's picking up random things and putting them back on the shelf. It was fun, really. So in the end, I have decided to BUY Katelyn's costume this year. I know, I am a horrible mom! After it was all said and done, it was going to cost more to make it then to buy it and honestly, I was too overwhelmed. I am also too much of a perfectionist to just throw a costume together so the project was a disaster in the making. Perhaps, I will know how to sew by next Halloween. Yeah, probably not but it was a nice thought. Now that Halloween is settled, I need to start planning her 1st birthday party! I think I want to have it somewhere but have no idea where. Any ideas? Is it too cold to have it outside? Maybe. Dang, the next baby will be born in April!

The loveliness that is an extended weekend.

Lukas took Friday off so we had a 4-day weekend and it was quite nice to have the extra help with the little monkey. We headed down to West Palm to see Luke's family on Friday. Katelyn did really well this time around with her naps and sleeping at night. We didn't even bother bringing the pack n play this time since she will NEVER sleep in it. So we skipped the middle man and just put her in bed with us and it worked out well aside from the numerous times I was hit in the head or she needed her binky. Katelyn had so much fun spending time with her Aunt Natalie, Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Dave, Me-Ma, and Grandpa. It is obvious how much she is loved. We headed home Saturday evening in hopes of getting some projects done around the house the next 2 days. Yeah, right! Oh well, guess there is always next weekend. Oh, we were almost home when we had a minor incident involving road rage and the Target parking lot. Oh, boys will be boys.