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.

The white flag is waving

Okay, I missed posting last night. I really am okay with that. Katelyn started getting a runny nose on Sunday night (as I posted about) and it just kept getting worse. To the point that she had a fever over 100 on Monday morning. I really wanted to wait it out and see how she did on Monday but thought maybe I should at least call the doctor. Well, I was fully expecting them to just tell me to give her some tylenol and watch her and to call back if she got worse. WRONG! The nurse said the magic words, "well, you might want to bring her in with everything going around...you know, swine flu." What the hell was I supposed to say to that? So off to the doctor we went. The nurse made it seem like I should bring her in, then the doctor is looking at me and his eyes are saying "Aw, first time mom." ARGH! To top it all off, Katelyn didn't even have a fever when we got there. I have heard that children will take every opportunity to make their parents look stupid and so it begins. I loved spending $25 on absolutely nothing! I know, I know, better to be safe than sorry. I should've just listened to my mommy instinct.

The day went from bad to worse rather quickly. Daddy went to put Katelyn to bed and all I could hear upstairs was my poor baby screaming her head off. She was crying the "Mama, please help me. Something is wrong" cry. I wanted to cry too. The problem was that she was so completely stuffed up that she could no longer breathe through her nose. Not such a big deal but to a baby who loves to go to sleep with her binky it spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. It was freaking her out that she couldn't breathe and all she wanted to do was go to sleep. So, I sat with her in the steamed up bathroom while Daddy went to get some Vick's Baby Rub. Amazing stuff! I wish I would have known, I could have had some on-hand for situations like this.

The only positive to all this is that she has been taking 2 hour naps during the day. ah, I sometimes miss the newborn stage. I'm hoping this will get her on some type of napping schedule. Eh, I know, pipe dreams!

Until next time...

So it begins..

Tomorrow starts another semester of college. Yeah, you heard me right, I'm going back to college because the tens of thousands that I am already paying back isn't nearly enough. I am thinking about becoming a nurse. I say "thinking" because...well, I'm not sure. I do feel like accounting isn't for me though. I knew it about halfway through my graduate program, but I'm not a quitter so I wasted more money just so I could say "I didn't quit." What? Yeah, don't try to figure me out. I originally wanted to be a nurse but fell into the accounting thing because I LOVE numbers and it seemed easy enough. Both are still true but wow, it is boooooring! I am only taking one class this semester just to feel things out. I hope to discover what I really want to do with my life. I may end up having to suck it up and stick with the accounting gig. We shall see.

In other news, Katelyn is teething up a storm, and I noticed she started having a runny nose today. It's possible it is from the teething. Oh, I sure do hope so. With all the piggy flu craziness, I really would rather her avoid any sort of sickness. She seems to have a pretty awesome immune system since she has only had one cold in the 7 months she's been on the outside. Guess I'll see how she is tomorrow. My worst fear is that I won't know she is sick. Hopefully, that mommy intuition will let me know when it is something serious :)

Night folks!

Day 4...I think.

Gosh, this is only Day 4 of posting, and I am already struggling. I try to think of something throughout the day to write about but by the time I get the time I am either too tired or have nothing to write about.

Nothing too eventful going on this weekend, and I like it! Today was spent doing the usual errands and grocery shopping. Now I am off to read some more of my book before I fall asleep.

Night!